Out and About June 2020 Part 2

I love open gardens they are so inspiring. and I was so pleased when the NGS decided gardens could be open again. Good for the charity too. I booked for us to visit to several local gardens, We went off to White House garden calling at Alcester on the way. A lovely little place

The bunting made the town look festive but there were not many folk about

White Cottage garden was delightful.

A good shot of this butterfly

Then to Inkberrow. This village is supposed to have been the inspiration for the setting of The Archers and here is The Bull

The church stands has a commanding view of the countryside but the anthills are the main feature. Some if them are over a hundred years old! The Valley is the site of a Medieval farm and is now a nature reserve. If you enjoy wild flowers and wildlife the this is the place to come

This proved to be a super day out. Now to the next garden…….

Forthampton Court used to be part of Tewkesbury Abbey many centuries ago. It has lawns, trees, herbaceous borders, walled veg garden, stunning views across to the Abbey and so on. It has a head gardener and part time under gardener and it shows. It also has a large holiday cottage with a walled rose garden.

The stunning tapestry hedge: green and copper beech and yew.

And easy watering….

The Severn floods get into the grounds, but fortunately not garden or house.

Greenhouse with grapevine and amazing potting shed, so well organised:

The Old Vicarage has the most lovely sun terrace, croquet lawn, wild area etc

Compare 1962 with today

A very stylish fruit cage

Fabulous shot!

And the neighbours include llamas and:

We then had a little wander around and came to Hartpury. So interesting with its old buildings and history.

And in the churchyard was the bee shelter with beehives

Oak leaf seat and below the tomb of Thomas Sloper who died in 1676.

The Mill awaiting restoration

Now The Dell Malvern This garden had several wood carvings and a railway track on the old croquet lawn, old wendy house but was definitely work in progress

Dragon above and chessman below

Above Tony resting and below Tony the Tiger, more energetic!

And so to Brockworth Court The Tithe barn is marketed as a wedding venue.

The Church is next door

This is a beautiful garden, lots of greenery, shrubs and box hedges to set off the flowering plants but needed weeding!

As June ends we are looking forward to July and being able to travel again…….

Wildlife and Out and About Tewkesbury June 2020 Part 1

Isabel and Simon our resident mallards have produced a family of nine. They love visiting at breakfast time and lunchtime well anytime really in the hope of food.

Various other ducks have visited and one brown one liked sitting on the mat and was always trying to get indoors!

Little Grey Rabbit has had four very lively bunnies.

Look how well camouflaged he is

They look very cute but when they decide to eat your newly planted runner be they become a nuisance! I have put chicken wire over the front as the beans climbed up the chain link fence and I couldn’t see how this bunny had got in until I saw it leap through the chain link fence Look at this little clip to watch how:

A walk around the Marina one afternoon we caught sight of a reed bunting? Watching too many episodes of Countryfile!

And always trying to get a perfect butterfly shot!

And now for a walk around Tewkesbury. Here is the High Street. Not many people about.

Victoria gardens The arch has wisteria and roses which are unaffected by flooding. And the Volunteers turn up twice a week

Probably the most photographed scenic view of the cottages by the mill

No medieval Festival this year but the hedge has been trimmed and flags are being put out

We decided to give Henry an outing and went off to Hereford for the day. It meant for a longer journey we had our own tea making and toilet, as such weren’t allowed to be open by then. Happily they have suitable parking close to the football stadium and town centre. Hereford has a charming town centre and lovely riverside gardens

A very striking and ornate cathedral

Famous people are celebrated here Nelson above and Nell below

May 2020 Lockdown Continues

An excellent start to the month as my runner beans had germinated! We also continued to tidy up the garden

Still no response to my offer to be a NHS telephone Volunteer.

Using Zoom we enjoyed a talk from David Dawson Director of Devizes Museum. We thought we were the most distant attendees but no, a lady from Australia was eating her evening dinner and a guy who had not yet had breakfast from Vancouver!

We put out bunting for VE Day.

More walking along the Avon, around the Ham, along the Severn, along the Carrant and finally the Nature reserve which during the winter was a huge lake.

On 12 May we heard the first Cuckoo of Spring whilst walking by the River Severn on the Ham which is a large common that floods in winter and by 17 May the swallows had returned to the Marina.

Now that we were able to travel I was able to retrieve my summer clothes stored for the winter in Devizes! Said Hello to friends James & Carol. We also went to Weston Super Mare park to meet up with friend Vanessa and enjoy a picnic. It’s a very well maintained park and volunteers were hard at work planting summer bedding.

These stunning flowers caught my eye. Don’t know the name of them

It’s now strawberry season in the Vale of Evesham and on the way home from Evesham we found this strawberry farm.

As we had responded to the call for Volunteers to help pick Britains’ crops this summer we asked if they need help but all their pickers (50-60 of them) had arrived, We just bought lots of strawberries and I made more jam!

We have had a few outings along the Severn in the inflatable.

The Fleet Inn at Twynning. Such a pity it is closed.

The new davits have been fitted and make life so much easier! We now need a new cover!

Had a surprisingly quick 2 hour visit to A & E at Cheltenham on Friday afternoon as our local MIU is closed. Tony had somehow cut his hand the day before. He was dealt with extremely efficiently and he is now fully recovered from his ordeal!!! I waited outside in the car as I was not allowed in. Happily I had taken my kindle!

An interesting fact: in April we drive 14 miles and in May 452! During the winter19/20 we averaged 942 per month.

April 2020 Lockdown

A very quiet month.

I rekindled my interest in wild flowers and have made a garden using what materials were to hand namely logs and rabbit proof wild flowers. I have thistles, docks, cuckoo pint, huge verbascums, forget me nots, and poppies and I have added four foxgloves in the hope that they will self seed. I’ve also identified all the nearby trees.

Spot the enemy lurking under the garden table!

I planted runner beans alongside the chain link fence on Good Friday and my four tubs are full of pansies and violas and look very colourful.

We have done a lot of walking! Perhaps the highlight of our walks was meeting a cockatoo sitting on a garden wall. We had a good conversation!

This is the old railway- a lovely green corridor

And here is the M5 motorway on 3 April. Looking north

Looking south

We found a few jobs to keep us busy like refurbishing the garden table and chairs we inherited, cleaning the awnings and Tony painted the boat roof. I made cheese pastry (for a mince beef pie) for the very first time and it was so good I shall make it again. I found some frozen flaky pastry at the back of the freezer so made eccles cakes and strawberry slices. I ordered pies from Brocklebys located in the Vale of Belvoir. They came frozen with reusable ice packs and sheeps wool insulation. Arrived in perfect condition

The weather continued to be fine so we just had to buy a sun umbrella so that we could lunch in the shade!

March 2020

A quiet birthday for me and then a trip to Oxford in Henry looking for more of Tony’s ancestors. We have three super days in the Chilterns researching his Bitmead and Quartermaine families.

Holy Trinity Church West Hendred. The earliest Bitmead was Richard born about 1723 and with his wife had four children three of whom survived.

The Quartermaines were here at Chalgrove

This dinky little church is at Wheatfield is in the middle of a field!

Tony was pleased to find the tomb of a Quartermaine Hughes

We found so many Bitmeads and Quartermaines in so many pretty villages with so many amazing old churches that I haven’t sorted them all out yet! We do need to return.

Lewknor is where Thomas Bitmead married Mary Quartermaine on 3rd July 1848

The church shares an area with a playground and the school on the right. It was very disappointing, very neglected compared to the so many other churches we saw.

The bare interior with lunchtime tables

The plans for the future

As we approached Ipsden St Mary we could hear organ music. The organist was playing and it really added to the atmosphere!

Immediately outside the gate we found this monstrosity – a water pump! Presented by Rajah Singh in 1865. I wonder why?

Somewhat reluctantly we returned to Tewkesbury but we did have another birthday to look forward to However events and functions started to be cancelled and Tony’s 70th birthday party was too. So on 22nd Tony’s birthday and our wedding anniversary I made a batch of rhubarb jam- delicious!

Disater struck on 23rd when returning to our berth after visiting the fuel pump the bow thruster burnt out. The replacement proved to be a very expensive! And then Lockdown was announced!