Glam Christmas

On the 8th December we intended to have a long day out to the Malverns, the weather decided otherwise, here it was the start of a snowstorm lasting a couple of days.  The temperature was in the minus figures, it was biting cold and the snowflakes were horizontal in the driving wind.

Never mind, we stopped off at Hanbury Hall for a 70's and 80's themed Christmas!  The idea came about because in the 70's and 80's the hall was rented out and the occupants became fairly infamous locally for their wild parties. 

Christmas card perfect on the outside, but like an explosion in a glitter factory inside!

The huge tree in the hallway had been lovingly decorated with different colours of lametta, the front drawing room was playing Morecombe and Wise on a loop on the TV and people were relaxing with babycham and snowballs, next to a silver glitter tree. 

The dining room was stuffed with tupperware holding all manner of 70's and 80's food.  Twiglets and cheese balls, anyone?

The retro bar was taking orders for babycham and snowballs at £2 each (2017 prices!), all drunk straight from the bottle with a straw.  Just look at that pineapple ice bucket! 

In the main drawing room, vintage toys were scattered under the tree

Despite being a child in the 70's, some of these were new to me, never heard of computacar, others, like the Grandstand video game, I had heard of but didn't have myself. We did have Monopoly (much to my dad's annoyance as I always won!) and Frustration (which we still have!)  

Actually, most of these toys never crossed the threshold into our house, I feel quite deprived now!

Upstairs, more cabinets with the now rarer items displayed, all belonging to volunteers I believe

I did have a Sinclair ZX81 which was black and white, but my mother bought it off a second hand man at the rag market. I do wish I still had it as it would probably be worth a decent bit by now, but I kept it in good condition and sold it in the 90's to a young lad who was interested in computing

One bedroom upstairs was dedicated to the morning after the night before, sometime in the 80's, Katharine Hamnett Wham t shirt, denim clothing and Frankie GTH bag scattered about the room, another bedroom had a body in a sleeping bag on the floor!

Across the parterre and in the long gallery were yet more toys, we found a pair of rainbow Christmas trees and played Buckaroo for a while, both losing and both fed up of picking the bits up from where they had been thrown by the mule 

Back outside, and the snow wasn't stopping, we had a quick wander around, the house really does look picture perfect in the snow

The vegetable patch was covered with a gentle layer of Winter frosting and we spoke to the chickens, and the lady feeding them, before continuing our walk 

We found this mistletoe at arms length, I couldn't bring myself to pinch a bit!

Past the parterre, which I have once again managed to capture on a tilt (I can't blame the camera, it is user error!), we continued back to the car and home.

I managed to take this photo while we were driving back home down the lanes, and it really is one of my favourite snow pictures so far this year.

Hope you are all staying safe if you have had icy weather, and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dovecotes of the rich and pious

Before the snow came and marooned us in our cottage we had been out into Worcestershire, catching up on National Trust properties which are too small to spend much time at individually.

First port of call was the 16th century half timbered dovecote at Hawford. Originally part of a wealthy monastic grange, the dovecote now stands alone, neatly tucked away between handsome detached houses in this peaceful hamlet off the A449.

We walked around the place twice before I discovered the double doors were open and disappeared from OH's view! 

Inside was actually cosy, with brick floor and half timbered walls standing on a small sandstone wall.  Despite an opening for a ladder, there was not one there up to the other levels, and with floorboards missing it would be dangerous for visitors. 

I love these mini buildings, and can imagine them with an inglenook fireplace to one wall and woodburner at full pelt, warming the whole place through. Although they would never have been heated, it makes a nice thought!

As I can't find out much about Hawford monastic grange, I can only imagine it is no longer around because of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries. 

There is no parking at Hawford, and the dovecote is a short way up a private road, which you can walk up but not drive. Vehicles are tolerated on the grass verges in the nearby lane.

Our next building was across the river Severn, and a hundred years into the future, the 17th century Wichenford dovecote.

Another half timbered cute property, this time with a picturesque brookside setting, and again just off a private access road.

The surroundings were stunning

We will have to revisit in Summer, this is just too pretty!

Here, the doorway made me feel gigantic, poor OH had to squeeze himself in. The floor was raised too so it was quite a step up.

(had to throw these boots when I wore them in snow the other day as the sole had split, I'd worn them so often, ah well, several years and £20 so not too bad) Spot the £1.95 Kipling bag!

That's quite a step (OH in his Merrell trainers which were too ugly until he tried them on, £8 CS find and comfy as walking on air!)

Inside, all of the 560 little nesting areas were still present, and someone at the National Trust has spent ages making paper doves to fill the spaces

As there was an impressive cupola on top for the birds to enter, this dovecote had more light inside, despite the tiny door.

One last view of the gorgeous half timbered exterior and we were off

We had lunch outside the parish church and drove towards our next property, the largest and possibly oldest tithe barn in England, 14th century Leigh Court Barn, managed by English Heritage.

Leigh Court Barn is huge, a whopping 140 feet long, 33 feet high and 34 feet wide. It was built around 1325 (dated by style of carpentry and radiocarbon dating). There are two pairs of huge doors on both sides of the building

Here, you can just see the walls bowing, the foundations are inadequate to support the building and it has now been underpinned to prevent collapse, although the brick infill would originally have been more lightweight wattle and daub.

Apologies for the blurry shot, my phone is not good at low light photography, however, it makes the woven panels easy to see.  The above doors would be opened on both sides when grain was laid out, and the wind would help sort the wheat from the chaff.  

These huge cathedral like arches of oak are stunning. There are nine pairs of solid oak cruck timbers, in effect the ribs of the building, holding it all together.

 As you enter the building, to the right is an area for cider making, and judging by the size of the equipment, they made a lot here.

The barn was originally part of the Leigh Court grange, or monastic farm, belonging to the monks of Pershore in Worcestershire, and here they stored grain grown on their land.

The steep sided roof is originally thought to have been thatched

The view from the other end of the barn is just as spectacular, and it was a sunny day with the low winter sun helping to create a warm glow through the barn.

These wooden pegs have been in place for 800 years, holding everything together

(Oops! Seems my maths is out on this post and Leigh Court Barn is in fact only coming up to 700 years old Back to school for me!)

Despite being in the care of the National Trust and English Heritage, all of the above properties are free to enter usually during hours of daylight, but as they are not manned there are no facilities at any of them.

I'm quite pleased with the photos as my camera of choice is my new toy, a smart phone, and a cheap one at that. I decided to bite the bullet when I ended up spending my £10 per six month pay as you go top up in one afternoon trying to sort out a problem with the rental. I realised the phone could be offset against my business, and it has been worth it so far, despite the frustrations of initially getting used to it, saves me lugging my camera around and I always have it on me.

Just one pennypinching purchase to share this time, and it is this pretty bracelet in shades of grey, just 50p and from Denmark. The company is called Pilgrim (kind of fits with the monastic theme to this post!).

Of course it goes without saying that my Christmas shopping is all done, and at minimal cost but with maximum thought.

When I discover a quick way to get photos from my phone to my blog I will be back on a regular basis.

Sloe gin, sloe gin...

It's that time of year when I feel I should be out in the hedgerows, gathering all the free food Mother Nature has to offer.

Not this year.  But, we did crack open a bottle of 4 year old sloe gin the other day and it was rather potent and very warming!

So I thought I would share my recipe with you, no point in buying that expensive shop bought stuff, when you can make great sloe gin at home for a fraction of the price. 

You will need some cheap gin, I use Aldi gin, tastes great anyway but is cheap, bottles or glass jars to brew your gin in, and sugar, lots.

Collect your sloes, they are the fruit of the blackthorn, a plum related bushy tree which grows to a height of around 25 feet. Beware, blackthorns have huge thorns and can grow suckers, which means they can be thick and bushy around the base, you will invariably get caught up in the thorns as you scramble for the fruit!

 Sloes are about the size of your thumbnail, they are bitter to the taste and have a large stone in the centre, they also have a white bloom.

Don't bother picking wrinkled ones, and watch out for infested ones too, some insects like to burrow into ripe sloes. Most old recipes state that you wait until first frost before picking your sloes, no, just pick your sloes and put them on the freezer overnight after washing. This also makes the next stage, pricking them, easier. 

I use a long needle to prick sloes, a bodkin. I hold each one up between finger and thumb and skewer straight through twice, then pop into the chosen container. Mine are these old Tip tree bottles.

Fill your chosen container two thirds full with sloes. Pour over lots of granulated white sugar and tap gently so the sugar gets into all the crevices. Pour enough sugar in to just cover the sloes. Then fill your bottles with cheap gin! 

Now comes the hard bit, put those containers in a dark place and shake occasionally for a couple of months, decant the liquid off into another container, preferably a bottle this time, and enjoy!

Some folk use the gin soaked sloes and cover them in chocolate, I'm afraid I just squeeze them and throw them out.

As an aside, here's Joe Bonamassa singing about the very stuff!

Day trippers

One day a week OH and I pack a picnic and go off somewhere, if you've been with me a while and have a long memory, you may remember my weekly posts about our little trips out. 

As the OH is a big lover of all things Cotswolds, he persuaded me that we needed to visit again. I was after a particular treat from one of the little shops there, so it seemed a good idea.

First stop was Hanbury in Worcestershire, for a cup of tea and a breath of fresh air accompanied by a stunning, albeit misty, view.

 Thankfully, as we headed south the weather brightened and soon the sun was shining gloriously in a deep blue sky.

We ended up in Chipping Campden, a small market town in Gloucestershire, noted for its 14th to 17th century high street. Tip: during school holidays you can park on the school car park for free.

The walk round to the high street from the school is interesting, past St James church and the cart wash, a small museum dedicated to Arts and Crafts, and some rather gorgeous private houses.

I love these gatehouses, or pepperpot lodges as I believe they are called, originally the  entrance to Campden House, a grand country home built by Sir Baptist Hicks in 1613. Unfortunately, it was burnt to the ground thirty years later, and only parts remain, as well as a trace of the gardens under local fields.

The local almshouses

Not seven, but eight!

Random village house with fab stone mullion windows and hay feeders by the front door

The market hall

It's difficult to tell from the photos, but the floor of the market hall is incredibly uneven, but it is still used for stalls occasionally 

Top of St James' church

We found the little food shop we came to visit and bought ourselves a Christmas treat, proper marrons glace, expensive but proper!

It was like stepping back in time as the shop only takes real money, not cards. 

Back to reality and I've been looking for a pair of ankle boots for a while, scouring eBay with no luck. Popped into my local chazza the other day and...voila!

Faux leather Chelsea boots, brand new!  They are only supermarket ones, Aldi I think, but were mine for £3.95 and brand new. I've worn them three times now and they are waterproof and warm.

Another Aldi purchase now, but not second hand.

Both the OH and I love Jelly Belly beans, but they are expensive. I happened to buy some of Aldi's own brand a while back an they are mouthwateringly good!

They were on offer the other day, down to just 89p a bag, oh go on then!

As I'm the not-so-proud owner of a new smart phone (not a ridiculously expensive one!) I'm tending to take all my photos on it at the moment, I think they all look OK, and I'm even able to crop them and everything, ohh get me!.

 hope everyone had a safe Hallowe'en and bonfire night.