renaissance man
I ordered some cushion covers and a ‘cowboy’ style belt from TEMU. The two cushion covers arrived as expected. The belt? Wasn’t the one I ordered.
From what I’ve heard from other folk shopping with TEMU, this is normal. Apparently they then jerk you around issuing ‘credit’, instead of a straight refund or sending the correct item.
I’ve decided to leave it as is. They didn’t get much of my money. They won’t be getting any more.
All things considered, getting home is alright, I guess? Initially I felt rather deflated. Back to the same old same old…
But then Chester re-appeared. Having gone AWOL – according to Mel – for a spell, his reappearance was a real mood-sweetener.
So, we’re back home.
Antonio, who only got back from collecting Ali from NZ on Thursday, is off to Spain again today, for his work. So we’ve hardly seen him!
Our lovely neighbour, Mel, who fed and looked after Chester – inc. giving him his meds – whilst we were away, popped round for tea and a catch up.
This is the sort of thing, above, that makes home-coming less happy. Goddamn clutter!
I brought a set of shelves back indoors, that has been out in the garden a good long while. And I restocked it with books, clearing two other areas that were ‘library overflow’; namely, the upstairs landing shelves, and the shelves near the dartboard.
This in turn freed up space to use the ‘new’ (Freecycle) metal IKEA storage unit, which we’ll be using as a temporary shoe storage solution.
I guess that means we’ve been reasonably industrious for our sacred-Sunday of rest?
Oh, all this rearranging also entailed swapping the two armchairs round, so as to maintain some form of passageway, ‘twixt the chairs.
Damn! Our brief break is nearly over. And I’m just getting started on relaxing!
Sad to go. But we’ve had an ace time. Took a few parting snaps.
We’ve tried our best to leave the place as close to how we found it as we can. It was immaculate. And I can’t pretend we leave it quite so shiny. But we did our best.
But what a great week! A few daily outing type haunts. Some quality chill time at the flat. Just the one (fiscally crippling) meal out. And lots of good eating ‘at home’.
Brilliant!
CHARTWELL
En-route home, we stopped at Chartwell House, which is now run by the NT. Wow! What a place.
Despite being slightly ‘out of season’, this is undoubtedly one of the most popular NT places we’ve been. Very, very, very busy!
Once parked, it’s ‘timed entry’ tickets. We thought that meant a tour. Turned out it didn’t.
The grounds are astonishing. Quite hilly. With lots of water features, all on different levels. And all fabulously planted.
And so, to the house…
I love the way the bookshelves in the study/library are flush to the walls, even over the doorway. And there’s a great aerial view model of D-Day…
Blah…
I overheard the NT volunteer/guide in the room featured in pics below telling an interesting anecdote about the beautiful rug featured in the first of the next gallery of photos.
Apparently Winston came down in the middle of the night in one (no doubt historically momentous) occasion, and tripped on the tassels of this exquisite piece of textile. So he got some scissors and simply cut the tassels off.
It’s an odd house, in terms of the stuff inside it. Being both very domestic, and personal, but simultaneously a place to display art and artefacts of a ‘great man of history’.
I didn’t really photograph the rooms that are most altered, the gallery type spaces. It makes me wonder how much is displayed as it was (when Churchill lived there), and how much has been altered, and to what degree, for the sake of creating a public exhibition of Churchill’s life and times.
And back out into the gardens…
Then we visited his art studio, a short walk from the main house.
The complex of buildings housing the art studio is massive. We only got to see inside a tiny portion of it. I wonder what the rest is/was for?
An extraordinary home, in an unbelievably gorgeous location. The views it commands of the valley (is this the Weald?) are fabulous. Sadly my iPhone camera fails utterly in capturing such stuff.
But this was certainly a fun and very worthwhile place to visit.
POSTSCRIPT
We had a fab break in St Leonard’s on Sea, and would love to go back again. So it was nice to see the above feedback after our stay in Markwick Place.
I’m enjoying The Command of The Ocean so much, I thought I’d see if I could encourage Topping Books to get the author booked as a speaker.
Looking into it, I discovered his third volume of British Naval history, The Price of Victory, comes out very soon (see above). I’ve emailed Topping with my suggestion. I wonder if anything will come of it?
I’m feeling a little sad this morning. Partly down to the change in weather, perhaps? It’s still grey n’ rainy. But more due to the knowledge this terrific little holiday is nearing its end.
I could sooo do with another week! Not just another week off work, either. But another week elsewhere. Somewhere different. 17 Markwick Terrace, where we’ve been staying, is wonderful.
Teresa cooked a fab lunch, of sardines n’ ‘taters, tomatoes, etc, on flatbreads. We’ll pop out to Bookbusters in a bit. I’d like to get Tintin & The Lake of Sharks, the only Tintin album I’ve never previously owned.
I nearly bought it in Rye Bookshop. It Teresa talked me out of it. It’s not officially part of the Hergé canon. Although it was supervised by him. And it came out in 1972, the year o’ my birth.
We’re planning to visit Chartwell, NT, tomorrow, en-route home. And also, to pick up a brand new toilet, that Dad and Claire happened to have surplus! Thanks, folks.
Well, we went to Bookbusters, and even the Hastings Oxfam (shouldn’t have bothered with the latter, esp’ as it was in the soulless and busy town centre), in search of Tintin. No dice.
We did get a gift for Mel, as a thank you for looking after Chester (two gifts actually: a stick of rock and a book on The Tudors). I got a book on the Pre-Raph’s, for Teresa. And, for myself, a little ex-library hardback of Thomas Hardy’s ‘unstageable’ Napoleonic play, The Dynasts.
Back ‘home’, watching Kind Hearts & Coronets, a terrific old Ealing film. A lack comedy, in which the truly wonderful AlecGuiness plays numerous ill-fated members of the d’Ascoyne family.
The fab’ food and fun continue… a lovely omelette, with home made fries and salad. We watched most of Two Way Stretch, with Peter Sellers and co.
And we’re rounding off an already indulgent day/evening, with some blockbuster action movie silliness… Under Siege!
Don’t diss his cooking. He’ll do a lot worse than pee in your paella.
I tried to find images of some naval apparel, as described in Command of The Sea (‘brown camlet boat cloak, lined with green baize’). I didn’t find exactly what I hoped to, but I did find this:
It was grey and wet today. We had planned to toddle around Alexandra Park. But, in the Biblical downpour? Nope…
So, instead we visited Hastings Museum & Gallery…
I rather like the badgers, in the stained glass wi Dow, which is halfway up the older larger staircase, leading to the museums first floor.
They have a very mixed and varied collection. Including an exhibit about a local Hastings guy who rose to international fame pretending to be an Indian; Grey Owl, or, rather more prosaically, Archibald Belaney.
Tucked away at the rear of the complex, are an intriguing set of spaces. They certainly possess the ‘wow factor’. This area is called The Durban Hall, apparently. It’s pretty astonishing.
The Durbar Hall rooms, with their exquisite dark carved wood panelling, are truly breathtaking. The upper floor is loaded with interesting artefacts. The lower floor resembles a kind of mini-theatre.
Eventually, after sitting mesmerised in the lower room for some time, we exited this incredible space, and saw the remainder of the Museum and Gallery.
Their new temporary art exhibit was closed (still in the process of being hung). But some of their permanent collection was on display.
And, finally, back home…
What a great day. Filled with simple pleasures.
After a delish’ breakfast on the balcony, we set off, around 11 am, for Rye. My dad’s birthplace.
Rye, as it is now, is clearly a ‘boutique’ little town. Lots of expensive shops. More art galleries in one street than many cities have in total!
Rye Art is a terrific place. Great art, fabulous building – all higgledy-piggledy, and Tardis like (way bigger inside than it looks from outside) – and great music playing.
Another interesting gallery was an old butcher’s shop, showing stuff by an artist named O’Duffy:
It was odd and unexpected to see Dangermouse, Animal, and The Cookie Monster in Rye. We hoped we might see Tom Baker. But, alas, no sightings.
We had a table booked for 1 pm at The Mermaid Inn. Got there about 12.30, and had a drink in a lounge type room (Dr Syn’s Chamber!). For lunch we both had roast lamb. Which was delicious. And we shared a rare glass of Merlot (rare because I’m back to more or less tee-total).
After a fab but rather painfully costly lunch, we mooched around the town a bit more. Walking past Lamb House (shut, rather annoyingly!), and having a look ‘round St Mary’s.
ST MARY’S CHURCH
Exhausted, we ambled back to the car. Passing a few points of possible family history type interest: the now closed Gasson Antiques shop, and the Grammar School. We also took in the touristy gate. And then, back to the car and ‘home’ to Markwick Terrace.
Today we visited Bodiam Castle. Fortunately it’s NT. After we parked up we went in the wrong way! But that afforded some nice views!
It’s an amazing place. And we had a great time.
As we rounded the northern face, we came to where the modern day access is – originally it was accessed via an L-shaped arrangement – over the moat. Very picturesque!
Back in the day, the folks who lived here had all their many toilets empty into the moat. Eugh! So fish were kept on a separate pond. That’s no longer the case, thankfully! And now there are fish aplenty in the water around the castle.
After the guardroom it was onwards and upwards… to the northern tower. Wow! So high. I got the ol’ vertigo!
The view atop the tower was breathtaking. And looking down, and around, was amazing.
So, back down, to Teresa. She didn’t want to go to the top!
After the vertiginous ascent and descent, it was back around at ground level. We even took an informative half-hour tour
Having been up the main or North tower, I wanted to also go up the Postern or rear tower. Teresa was having none of either, alas!
And finally, taking leave of Bodium…
The Barbican, that once stood on the bend or ‘knee’ of the olde approach, is reduced to this mere pillar.
