{Blenheim Palace Garden Party}

Is there anything so glorious as a sunny English summer? Combine that with an old fashioned garden party at Blenheim Palace with fabulous company & you've got the recipe for a perfect evening (and weekend in the end).
Last Saturday I had the Great British Garden Party at Blenheim Palace booked but realised it was going to be a really long journey home late at night, so I decided to treat myself to an overnight stay in an old coaching inn, in Woodstock, which was the best decision.
 I spent Saturday afternoon perusing the lovely shops and enjoying a pint in a beer garden, before walking the 4 minutes to Blenheim's gates!

{charming Cotswold village!}

{my coaching inn} 

& then the gloriousness that is Blenheim Palace:

The interiors are just as striking, with this lovely library (although I couldn't imagine actually living in a place like this (birthplace of Winston Churchill)) :

{stunning ceiling!}

& then back out to the grounds to enjoy all the entertainment, from live music to cricket matches to croquet to Pimms to fabulous gardens!

{all dressed up with somewhere to go!}

{cheers!}

& then it finished with fireworks playing to all the Proms favourites, including Jerusalem!

{sound on!}

Now that things are starting to slow down with teaching, I'm hoping I'll have some more time to catch up on blogging, life, and other things!
x
L

{quotable thursdays}

On the weekend, my Dad sent me this poem that he wrote about the famed Globe Inn on the canal, near Leighton Buzzard. It's been a historic coaching inn for bargees for centuries. I often take guests there and we were lucky enough to have a Sunday roast there right off the barge, when we rented one from the Wyvern Shipping Co. in March.
So today's quote is the poem:

The Globe

Oh to be at the Globe,

That ancient canal-side inn,

To watch the barges gliding past,

The ducks and dabchicks swim.

Oh to be at the Globe

With bitters firm in hand

A gentle breeze across the fields

When Spring is on the land.

Oh to be at the Globe, 

When the sun is surely set

To dine on beef and yorkies

Washed down with choicest 'wet'.

Oh to leave the Globe at last

And wend the long way home

By bridal path and working lock

No more this day to roam.

{my parents at the lock, en route to the Globe}

{early morning rise on the barge, headed to  the Globe}

{one of my first trips to the Globe after moving to LB}

{in the sunshine!}

{with book club!}

xo, L

{TGIF-canal trip}

Dear blogland,
It's been an insane week...and last week was rather busy too. I'm drowning under 101 deadlines and sadly my parents also left to return to Canada this week.
But my Dad sent this lovely poem about our barge trip the other week, and I thought it was a good way to end a hectic week, to look forward to tea in bed tomorrow morning (although I'll be working a lot this weekend)...and to remember to take a breath even when times are busy!

AGAIN

We shall return another day

To grasp the tiller in our hand

And ply the water roads

Of this green and pleasant land.

All we ask as we embark

Are loved ones near and far

To share the early morning mists,

The evening's distant star.

We'll wend our way through country towns,

Through marsh and weir and fen,

Through rivers bold and narrow locks

And stop we know not when.

The stakes we'll drive in greening fields

To tie our mooring lines

And tether us more firmly

To simpler, gentle times.

                             MJC

& to give you a real feel at how peaceful it can be on the water: 

Happy Friday!

x

L

{snow}

We got snow this weekend & it was just too pretty to not share these pics of Leighton Buzzard I took! There's something very beautiful about England at Christmas time...

{the market cross and the big Christmas tree in Leighton Buzzard}

{the medieval church of All Saints}

{the market cross}

{Mary Norton's house, where she wrote the Borrowers}

{& my little house-chota house}

{snow comes to Chota House!}

xo,
L

{chastleton house}

{gorgeous Chastleton House}

Chastleton House is a Jacobean manor preserved in time. Eery cobwebs and dust appear on furniture frozen in time. Unlike other manors or great estates where subsequent generations had money to make a mark and often transform the fabric and makeup of a house,  the aspirations of the merchant who built it never were realised. Built between 1607 and 1612 by a prosperous wool merchant who had hoped to gain a title, the family became more and more impoverished, and thus no renovations were undertaken or no new furniture bought. For us, it means an authentic Jacobean house and a visit that brings to life the way people lived in the 17th century.


In early August, my cousins and I try to take a few days off and go on a 'clark holiday'. Our first was to Highclere Castle (the home of Downton Abbey) and highlights from past trips have been to places like the Peak District, walking in the footsteps of Eliza Bennett and her beloved Mr Darcy. This year we visited the Cotswolds, with stunning little villages on the water and lovely National Trust properties like Chastleton!

{the fabulous entrance leads into an amazing hall}

{the interior hall--it was a chilly August day so we were happy for the fire}

{furniture frozen in time}

{the plasterwork is seriously stunning and amazingly original!}

{old jacobean bed with the bedspread that was painstakingly done by hand 100s of years ago!}

 At the top of the house is what feels like a grand hall, with the largest original plaster ceiling in existence in England. This was not a formal entertaining space--rather it was used for exercise when the English weather was rainy--shuttlecocks were found under the floorboards indicating the family used to play badminton up here!

 Downstairs unsurprisingly were the servants' quarters with a wonderful old kitchen:

From there we drove to some beautiful Cotswolds villages including Bourton on the Water:

A truly wonderful Clark Holiday--already looking forward to next year!

xo

L