Category: National Trust

Day 9: Hinton Ampner

Another National Trust house with fabulous gardens. Feeling a bit nostalgic about this one – for some years I’ve been a regular visitor. It’s been a useful (calming) stopover coffee place on my way to visit my parents, and more recently to help clear my childhood home. But now that the house is dealt with and my mother has moved into residential care many miles away, I no longer have any reason to be in this part of the country. It all feels pretty strange – but at least it’s not so overwhelming as clearing out the belongings of someone who has died.

For me, Hinton Ampner (near Winchester) is mostly about the gardens – but the house is pretty too. It is on a smaller, more domestic scale than a lot of NT places, so it is perfectly possible to imagine living there. That drawing room has wonderful windows with fabulous views on two sides – and those sofas are very enticing!

Plus, the NT shortbread is up to standard….

Blogvember day 8: Drama in the outlines

Not sure where this is all heading (geometric quilts? twisted stitch patterns? more dye bath possibilities?) but the pictures I am taking at the moment, from street scenes to modern art, seem to be full of lines – if not always straight ones!

I had hoped to get some decent autumn shots this year, but between the relentless grey gloom, family events at weekends and finally storm Cieràn seeing off the leaves, it doesn’t seem likely. Sheffield Park (National Trust, about 20 miles away) is probably our closest reliably dramatic woodland -some years it can be spectacular. I took these a few seasons ago.

I think it’s the lake reflections that do the trick! This was actually the photo that inspired the knitwear in the centre of the first set of pictures.

Challenges for November

Some known, some anticipated, others not.

It seems we are all about to face them – again.

I had already decided to do more of the above. We did manage to get to several National Trust places over half term – bit soggy, but so, so worth it. The pictures above were taken this morning at Sheffield Park, near Uckfield in Sussex. And I have set myself a (rather lenient!) target on my step counter – 25,000 in the first week. 6,200 today. So we’ll see!

The big decision, though, is work. I teach in a secondary school. In September I agreed to return till Christmas to cover full time for an absent colleague. But the Covid levels are shooting up, we now have lockdown – and the schools are to remain open. What to do… ? My family are opposed. I feel totally healthy but I do have risk factors. I am not committed (contractually or financially) to carry on with this job. BUT I want to, and I would feel very bad pulling out just when they need me. So I have the next three days to weigh it all up. Hmm.

Whatever the outcome, I am hoping to be more productive this month than I managed during the first few weeks of the Spring lockdown. More action on the Etsy front, for a start. I never stop actually spinning, dyeing and creating stuff – just put off the boring bits, like uploading photos and listing new items. They pile up in a classy wicker basket, looking rather smug. I enjoy them enormously – but that is not quite the point.

I am also considering embarking on a blogging challenge – but that needs a bit more reflection. Some might (probably will) think that I should put a great deal more effort into sussing out the new WordPress before I try to get too clever. Honestly, it was a doddle before but now I get endless error messages, things disappear and it tells me I have NO RIGHT to edit anymore!!

It’s mostly the image blocks that get me in trouble. Hence the scruffy presentation at the top there. I will try to do better.