Having been bereft of full time help in the garden this month due to Amanda finding she needed to spread her wings in search of a teaching post, I am well and truly reconnected with the garden on a daily basis. A cathartic process in some ways enabling me to take back control over the daily running of the garden. The design business has meant that past few years I had been overseeing and planning now I am well and truly stretching and bending limbs and tendons!
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Having spent a minute or two researching the history of Mothers Day I find it fascinating (especially being one myself!) that this tradition is still going strong. (more…)
Watching the national evening news tonight. Tube strikes, massive rail fare rises, appalling state of inner city schools etc which caused me to reflect on how lucky we are up here in the Highlands of Scotland. (more…)
We had a brace of Hotel inspectors in to see us the other week. After all these years we know many of them, but in this case neither of them had been before. Inspectors generally come singly, book in advance, and do not declare themselves until checkout in the morning. At this stage they will sit down with whomsoever wants to discuss the visit, and go through their experience.
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We certainly live in area of outstanding natural contradictions (beauty too of
course) Last week we had howling gales and snow, this week we have T shirt
weather (if you come from round these parts) and snow drops, winter aconites,
cyclamen and crocus miraculously sprouting all around us.
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I was reading a rather depressing article in a magazine the other day which was quoting statistics about the increased deaths, marital break ups, crime etc which occur around Christmas (added to which we have the Mayan prophecy of Armageddon this year) – all very gloomy.
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It would seem that we have become a nation of involuntary renters. By this I mean that it would appear that on an increasing number of occasions when we think we have bought an article or service it turns out we have in fact only rented it.
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We had to cut down a very large Beech tree at the front of the house last week, it was rotten in the middle and was in danger of bringing down a fairly healthy specimen next to it. We think it was planted around the time the house was built in 1820. Apparently Beech trees are only viable for this sort of period and then start to drop large limbs and eventually die off.
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Wendy and I were recently in London to receive an award from the Good Hotel Guide. It was a very low key affair which we enjoyed greatly, met some charming people and were able to eat at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond which is absolutely stunning in a very relaxed way.
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It’s been sometime since we wrote anything – which does not mean that we have been idle!! Busy over Christmas and New Year with family, friends and a number of guests who have become firm friends over the years. Apparently the firework display at New Year was one of our best and was certainly enjoyed by our neighbours and some villagers who turn out to watch each year. Thinking of passing a hat round next time!
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