TEN.

Yes, I actually live in this beautiful green world!
Early morning sun filtering through ancient trees in a lane just a few minutes' walk from home

 

Today, 4 August 2024, it is ten years since Kevin and I returned to the UK.

Having spent close to two years here in 2008-09, we went back to Australia for a number of reasons, but primarily because we each had an elderly parent whom we wanted to help our siblings support. But in all honesty, as soon as the plane touched down in Sydney I was longing to head straight back to the UK. It took five years before circumstances allowed us to do that.

Kevin insists that when we made the decision to move back to England, we agreed it would be for about five years. My memory of that conversation is that five years was an initial minimum period. 

Anyhoo, here we are, a decade later, with no plans of leaving Blighty anytime soon.

This looks fake, doesn't it?
But no, this is early summer in Wiltshire - lush green grass and fields of rape in startling bloom
(with one of Wiltshire's white horses on the distant hillside)

People here are often agog that I would choose to live in often wet and grey England* rather than in 'sunny' Australia. Of course these are the people who have no concept of the El Niño / La Niña weather patterns, which on Australia's east coast, particularly, can mean month after month of extreme heat with no rain, followed by month after month of rain. And when I say rain, I mean REAL rain - proper deluges, unlike the pitiful drizzle we mostly experience here in the UK. Those uninformed folk also have no real appreciation of how awful it is to suffer through temps in the 30s and 40s for half the year (or more, depending on where you live), rather than just experiencing it for two weeks at an air conditioned resort where the most strenuous activity is crooking one's finger to order another mai-tai by the pool.

* At the time of starting to write this post, Britain has been in the grip of a hot spell, entering our fifth day of temperatures around 30ºC and blazing sunshine all day from 05:30-21:30. Once again I am sitting in a darkened house with the fan positioned about 60cm away.

I've said it many times before, but for those of you new to this blog, I cannot express strongly enough how much I hate, loathe and despise hot weather. Although we've had the occasional summer here when it's been hellishly hot, most years it's a walk in the park compared to life in Australia. We'll get a few days or even a week or two of hot temperatures, and then we're back to civilised temperatures in the 20s. Still warmer than my personal preference, but tolerable for me. And this makes such a difference to my enjoyment of life. 

The gentleness of summer in South West Wales - The Gower Peninsula

Anyway, as regular readers will know, after the massive expense and incredible stress of multiple spouse visa renewals, followed by permanent residency status being granted, I finally became a British citizen back in 2021, right in the middle of Covid. So now I am in the enviable position of being able to choose whether I live in Australia or the UK. I do not take this privilege lightly. I realise I am very fortunate to have the choice.

Instagram post with a screenshot from my virtual citizenship ceremony 
on 8 April 2021

Here's a link to my very first Tunnels of Green post, shortly after we arrived back in Blighty in 2014:

https://tunnelsofgreen.blogspot.com/2014/08/back-in-surrey-at-last.html

Nothing has changed in terms of my enthusiasm for this green and pleasant land. I still regularly look around me and think, with fascinated disbelief, I live here!

And in that moment, all the things that have drawn me to the northern hemisphere since childhood come flooding back. 

It was along these gorgeous, leafy lanes, these ancient woodlands, these green rolling hills that my literary heroes walked. This (mostly) gentle landscape and its folklore are what inspired many of my musical idols. Its great cities with their centuries of history and incredible architecture have seen so many momentous events, helping to shape the history of humankind. Even the ghastly monotony of suburbia, with its endless rows of identical houses, contributed to the frustrated and angry rhetoric of the punk and new wave music that caught my imagination as a teenager. 

Britain's seasons are a glory to behold. The lush, verdant splendour of summer, the gold and scarlet magic of autumn, the invigorating chill of winter, and the absolutely bonkers explosion of growth in spring. And, yes, the rain. I'm still not tired of it.

So it's the beauty as well as the ugliness that stimulate me, the history and the benefits of modern life in a wealthy 'first world' country. I feel so fortunate to be residing here. There's an endless supply of historic buildings, art galleries, gardens and cultural activities to explore. Not to mention the proximity to Europe and especially Norway, of course, making trips to 'exotic' places easy and affordable.

Virginia Woolf's modest yet charming bedroom in her country home,
Monk's House in Rodmell, East Sussex

The Cobb in Lyme Regis, West Dorset.
Jane Austen aficionados will know this was the setting for a crucial event in her novel Persuasion

Ah, London. I have a love/hate relationship with this grand city.
It's dirty, crowded and expensive. But there is soooo much to see!

Just one of the incredible historic houses we've visited in the past ten years
- Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire
(we've been here multiple times)

The Great Parlour, Wightwick Manor (West Midlands).
The house is decorated with William Morris wallpapers and soft furnishings, and is home to 
nearly 200 works by artists associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Right at this moment Britain, like many other countries, is experiencing social unrest from a sadly ignorant and racist sector of the population. In cities across the country, a bunch of misinformed, disgruntled white people are wreaking havoc as they randomly destroy property and cause injury to police who are justifiably trying to keep the peace and protect other people's property. These racist morons want to blame all their woes on asylum seekers and muslims, with this latest spate of violent activity arising from an appalling tragedy where a number of young children were murdered in a frenzied knife attack by a young black man. However he was not an asylum seeker (he was born in Cardiff!), nor is he a muslim. 

Environmentally this nation is in a terrible state, with privatised water companies allowed to give massive profits to their shareholders for decades, all the while failing to maintain and improve infrastructure. The result is that most of Britain's rivers and beaches are unfit for bathing and drinking water in some towns is periodically compromised.

Fourteen years of Conservative Party 'leadership' (*splutter*) has also taken its toll. In their final three years, we suffered scandal after scandal under three different Tory Prime Ministers. However there is a sense of relief that those inept, law-breaking, greedy, corrupt, duplicitous Tories have finally been resolutely ousted in an historic election result that saw the Conservative Party lose 251 parliamentary seats. Labour has inherited a truly dire economic situation and difficult decisions will need to be made; that £22 billion hole in the budget has to be made up somehow. One would hope that their first target will be the tax-dodging multi-billionaires who were best mates with senior Tories, but I'm not so naive as to believe that.

Despite this current state of affairs there does seem to be a moderate sense of optimism. And certainly the UK is not alone in facing the three three significant challenges described above. The world is in a mess.

Looking forward to more of these soon:
A frosty morning here in Frensham - absolute bliss! ♥️ ❄️ 

Australia will always have a strong place in my heart, and who knows whether circumstances will dictate a return there one day. But for now, and the foreseeable future, England - with all its problems, and its pleasures - is home.

Cheers to ten years living in this wonderful country 🥂

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

Quietly drifting through spring and summer

 

The Gallery, Strawberry Hill House
- Twickenham, London

Salutations from cool, grey and sometimes wet south-east England, which is going down for most people as the most disappointing spring and summer for many years. After some weeks of temperatures in the low-to-mid 20s in the first half of June, things turned decidedly less summery and we have languished in the teens for a while now. I, of course, am perfectly content.

Naturally, I picked the one hot day of the summer so far to drive four hours into south-west Somerset to look at a couple of houses for sale, and to trudge around looking at a nearby historic house and garden. More on that later.

Be warned: This will be a fairly lengthy post as it's been some months since I last updated this blog!

Throughout March and April, in villages and towns all over Britain, and even along motorways, blackthorn is in blossom.
Clouds of white flowers are everywhere, and they fall like confetti as the blossoms die

Looking back over the past few months, the spring foliage seemed to be particularly glorious this year, perhaps to make up for endless weeks of grey skies and mild temperatures though winter. The blooms also seemed to linger much longer, I assume because of the mild conditions.

Each year across England's countryside, the almost fluorescent hue of flowering rape
signals that summer is on its way

Vibrant patches of yellow rapeseed fields dot the Wiltshire landscape

The photos never do them justice, but as always in early spring, the woodlands are full of gorgeous, perfumed bluebells

The flamboyant flower of Aesculus hippocastanum, the horse chestnut

Another sign of spring:
Some of the locals, blackfaced sheep in a nearby field in Frensham

One of the many 'tunnels of green' in our local area:
the magnificent lime and beech avenue in Farnham Park, which stretches for more than a kilometre

Unlike 2023, it's been a relatively quiet year for visitors from abroad, with only four parties gracing Frensham with their presence between April and June. 

At the beginning of April we had a visit from Fairleigh and Jaya, the daughter and granddaughter of our dear friends Ed and Karen. Fairleigh is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Gender Studies at a New Zealand university and she was in the UK for several months undertaking academic research. We had known Fairleigh as a child, teenager and young adult in Canberra but it had been some years since we'd met, and it was really nice to renew the acquaintance and find we were very much in sync in terms of politics, music and film. With her 14-year-old Jaya in tow, we scarpered about the local area taking in the sights, including a visit to Jane Austen's house in nearby Chawton.

Just a few weeks later it was the turn of Fairleigh's parents Ed and Karen to return to Frensham, on their first trip to Europe since before Covid. What a joy to spend time with them after such a gap! As with many longstanding friendships, we picked up like we had only seen each other a couple of weeks ago. Our schedule included leisurely dinners and breakfasts at home, bracing walks on the South Downs and a couple of cosy pub lunches. Ed and Karen then took off for travels around Greece, Sicily and France, meeting up with Fairleigh in the south of France (Jaya had by that time returned home to school in New Zealand). 

Many of you will know that I love to cook and I am forever trying out new recipes. In honour of Ed and Karen's visit I attempted the creation pictured below - a dark chocolate tart flavoured with dried black limes and dried rose petals. Even if I do say so myself, it was a triumph! This dessert has all the rich opulence of a French-style tart, with hints of Middle Eastern spices. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you, Waitrose, for the recipe!

Happily we managed to have a final meet-up with Ed and Karen in London in mid-May, hearing all about their European adventures over a fantastic meal at one of the Mildred's vegan restaurants in London, in King's Cross to be precise.

Dark Chocolate Tart with Dried Black Limes and Rose Petals
Silly me - forgot to take a photo once I had successfully removed the tart from the baking tin 🤭

Lesley arrived at the beginning of June for her annual visit to the UK, with a full programme of petsitting assignments across West Sussex, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Somerset and Denbighshire (north Wales). Over Lesley's first few weeks in the country we met up multiple times to visit gardens and historic houses, attend a garden fair and enjoy pub meals including one in the very cute village of Eartham, near Petworth in West Sussex, to celebrate Lesley's birthday. As always I treasured having a close friend in relative proximity over the course of many weeks, during which we tried to make up for the lengthy periods when we don't see each other.

Sadly, Lesley commences her journey back to Australia tomorrow, but we are hoping to have a final drink or two at Heathrow before she disappears back to the southern hemisphere.

Who doesn't love a chequerboard lawn?!
On Lesley's first day we blew away her long-haul-flight cobwebs with a visit to Vann House & Gardens, near Godalming.
As you can tell from my attire, it was a chilly-ish summer day, despite the sunshine

The open gardens in the village of Peaslake (about 20 mins south-east of Guildford)
were a tad disappointing, but *OH BOY* they had the best tea tent of any open gardens
I've ever visited, including multiple gluten-free options for Lesley.
That's a coffee and chocolate cake. It was scrumptious!
Plus...

...there was also a really good jazz trio!

The glories of Surrey ♥️
 Rolling fields in Peaslake

Lesley, Kevin and I had braved a long line of cars waiting to enter the Stansted Park Garden show in Rowland's Castle, Hampshire

How fantastic is this dog composed of succulents?!
One of the many exhibitors at the Stansted Park Garden Show

Lesley and Kevin in the gardens at Parham House near Storrington, West Sussex

The dovecote at Parham House

The towering windows of Parham House's Great Hall

Incredible display of delphiniums inside the walled garden at West Dean Gardens, near Chichester in West Sussex.
Some of them were around 2 metres high!

The impossibly romantic dovecote at West Dean Gardens
*swoon*

Part of the Edwardian pergola at West Dean Gardens

The venue for Lesley's birthday lunch - a very cute pub, in a very cute West Sussex village:
The George in Eartham, near Petworth

Bottoms up! 🥂
A glass or two of fizz to celebrate Lesley's birthday, at The George in Eartham

Lesley in front of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Singleton,
a few minutes from West Dean Gardens 

Lastly, Kate and Hannah joined us in mid June, having travelled to London from their home in New York a couple of days earlier. Kate was another visitor who hadn't been back to the UK since before Covid, and she was thrilled to finally be able to show her wife Hannah around Frensham Heights where Kate was a gap-year placement back in 2009. Again, despite not having seen each other for six years, we fell back into easy conversation and some fascinating discussions were had, comparing Australian, British and American culture. We had drinks and dinner at one of our local pubs with a number of other people from Kate's time at Frensham. It was wonderful to finally meet Hannah, who is absolutely adorable.

Culturally we have had quite a few fun events over the spring and summer, including finally seeing one of our favourite Eurovision acts, KEiiNO, at the wonderful Royal Vauxhall Tavern. It's a venue we've frequented many times over the past ten years for Kate Bush tribute nights. The gig was a sell-out, with a fun crowd who did not hide their adoration for this wonderful trio from Norway. KEiiNO have very enthusiastic fans, some of whom follow them around the world.

The always-effervescent Alexandra Rotan, lead singer of Norwegian pop group KEiiNO

Sámi rap artist Fred Buljo, who contributes joik (traditional Sámi singing) to every KEiiNO song.
Here he is joik-ing and playing a modern version of a traditional Sámi drum

One of our favourite music venues in London, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern
- an LGBTQ+ institution

Click on the video below for a small sample of our joyous evening seeing KEiiNO perform at the RVT:

One Sunday evening in mid April we nipped down to Portsmouth, less than an hour away, to see Beautiful Mechanica perform live for the first time in many years. This band is the side-project of Graham Sampson who is 'Morrissey' in my favourite Smiths tribute band, The Smyths. Beautiful Mechanica's influences are from dreampop and 'shoegaze' artists such as Cocteau Twins, Cigarettes After Sex and Suede. It was an intimate but excellent gig showcasing Graham's songwriting skills and vocal talent, and I finally got to meet him in person, having become online friends with him a few years ago. 

Poster for the Beautiful Mechanica gig in Southsea (near Portsmouth)

Graham and the rest of Beautiful Mechanica on stage,
wowing the crowd with an evening of gorgeous songs

As usual we hosted our annual Eurovision party in May. Blimey, what a year for controversy! The Netherlands act was disqualified over a dispute with an Israeli journalist and there were other reports of aggressive behaviour from the same journalist, with several artists lodging complaints with the organisers. This kind of thing has never before occurred at a Eurovision contest, but I suppose some kind of tension was to be expected - many Eurovision fans had wanted Israel to be banned from this year's competition, due to the war in Gaza.

We loved the winning song from Swiss artist Nemo but were a little sad for Croatia's act Baby Lasagne who came so close to winning with their really fun tune. However it was completely unfathomable that my beloved Norway was somehow placed last in the competition, despite a stellar performance by Gåte of a fabulously energetic song that the crowd seemed to love. Gåte have had a successful career in Scandinavian for more than 20 years, merging traditional Norwegian folk music with metal and electronica. Such a disappointing outcome.

Oh well, as I say every year, 'You just can't pick it' in Eurovision. Great songs are overlooked by the official jury and the public alike, and absolutely rubbish songs/acts (yes, I'm referring to YOU, Cyprus!) finish in the top 10. Go figure.

Nonethless, Gåte's profile has been raised internationally and we have tickets to see them perform in London in December, so participating in Eurovision certainly wasn't a wasted effort.

Nailing my flag to the mast ahead of the Eurovision 2024 grand final:
Yours Truly, before guests arrived for our annual Eurovision party

One of the things I love about living in the countryside in England is the seasonal programme of quirky community events. Lots of villages annually host a scarecrow competition and Frensham is no exception, with this year's theme being 'Heroes & Villains'. On the first weekend in May I strolled down into the village to join the throng of adults and children following the scarecrow trail with their checklists as there were 57 to see! There was a refreshments tent and a general air of jollity, a lovely activity to while away an hour or so. Apparently more than 2,000 people attended over the three days.

Naturally I was delighted to come across this particular creation
at the Frensham Scarecrow Festival!
#bowieforever

...and another one for Maree - this scarecrow was easily identifiable as
Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox

The Cybermen have invaded Frensham - HEEEEELLLPP  😱
#drwho

The local pub, The Holly Bush, got into the spirit of the Scarecrow Festival with their own creation. I think it was Scooby-Doo?

Darth Vader guarding the signposts down on Shortfield Common, Frensham village

Meanwhlie, the search for a house continues. *sigh* 

We recently widened our search area a little further south-west; still in Somerset but close to the county border with Devon, in the villages surrounding Taunton which is a very substantial and pleasant town.

It's quite a long drive to the Taunton region (about 200km, which means 3-4 hours of driving in crowded England) so I decided to stay overnight and was fortunate enough to line up two house viewings, one on the day I arrived and another on the following day, just before I made the journey home. The first house was a bungalow in a nice village on the edge of the gorgeous Quantock Hills, with the added bonus of being a mere 20-minute drive from the north Somerset coast. The house was very appealing but they are asking too much money - it's still on the market - and I didn't really fall in love with it. 

After that viewing I visited Hestercombe House & Gardens, killing a few hours before I could check into my Air B&B accommodation. Blimey, it was hard work trudging around in the 30ºC heat. The woman on the front desk at Hestercombe had told me I should do the full woodland trail as it was very shady, and indeed it was... but it was also very steep! Not ideal terrain on such a hot day. Still, I managed to complete the trail. And the formal gardens themselves were exceptional.

The second property I viewed was a truly adorable cottage in an idyllic village a little further west, heading towards Exmoor National Park. Unfortunately, as expected, it was just a smidge too small in terms of floorspace and storage. We're not looking for something palatial and we don't have a lot of stuff, but we've determined that two fully grown adults do need at least 90 square metres. 

It was good to explore this beautiful area as a potential location for our retirement, but I do have reservations. Taunton is perhaps just a bit too far away from Surrey and London. 

And so, on we go...

This was my Air B&B accommodation for the night - a bedroom in one of the
former lodge houses on the Hestercombe estate, near Taunton in south-west Somerset

Hestercombe House, parts of which which date from 1280

A river of irises at Hestercombe House & Gardens, just north of Taunton in Somerset

View over the Victorian Terrace (foreground) and Edwardian Formal Garden.
These were designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Edward Lutyens and completed in 1908
- Hestercombe House & Gardens near Taunton

Peephole feature in one of the garden walls surrounding the Edwardian Formal Garden
at Hestercombe

Looking back towards Hestercombe House from the Edwardian Formal Garden

Hestercombe Gardens

Frensham's academic year finished a couple of weeks ago and we enjoyed a number of social events to farewell departing staff and bid our fellow residents a good summer break. Almost immediately, however, Kevin and Matt took off with their bikes, driving to Scotland to meet up with another friend in order to ride the Hebridean Way which runs from the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides (Vatersay) to the northern end (Lewis), taking in ten islands. They're away for about ten days. I am envious as it's many years since I got to visit those particular islands.

While Kevin has been cycling around the glorious landscapes of Scotland, I've been at home looking after Daisy May who has given us no small measure of worry in the past couple of months. One evening back in May, Kevin was on the couch minding his own business when suddenly Daisy May, curled up beside him, had a seizure. I raced in from the kitchen when I heard Kevin's anguished cries and it truly was horrific to see this poor old girl twitching and spasming uncontrollably, eyes fully dilated and mouth frothing. Thankfully the seizure ended after perhaps the longest 45 seconds of our lives, and then it was off to the emergency vet who declared that Daisy's blood pressure was spiked but that was normal in such a situation. Otherwise she appeared to be fine.

Remarkably, our sweet 18-year-old cat seemed to fully recover within a few hours and has been back to her normal self ever since, though naturally we are now on tenterhooks, anticipating a repeat. We fervently hope that is not the case.

I call this photographic portrait 'Cat with Pheasant'
As you can see, neither the pheasant, nor Daisy May, are in any way perturbed by each other's presence

Daisy May doing what she does best: snoozing

During Kevin's sojourn in the Hebrides I recently visited Strawberry Hill House, which has long been on my must-see list. Every time I drive back into that area of London (Twickenham / Hampton Court / Ham / Kingston / Richmond / Wimbledon) I marvel at the wealth of history contained in a relatively small area. When we lived in Epsom this part of south west London was very accessible to us, being only 30-45 minutes from home.

As you will have seen from the lead photo in this blog post, Strawberry Hill House is an absolute knockout.

Considered Britain’s finest example of Georgian Gothic Revival architecture and interior decoration, this was the home of Horace Walpole, England’s first Prime Minister. The house was originally a much smaller dwelling erected in 1698, but Walpole expanded and transformed the house between 1747-1792. Sadly, successive owners John and George Waldegrave tore through their family fortune and then auctioned off nearly the entirety of the house's contents in 1842. Fast-forward to the 21st century and Strawberry Hill House underwent a two-year, £9 million restoration, reopening to the public in late 2010, however most of the paintings are digital copies of what would have once hung on the walls in Walpole's time, and even the books lining the shelves in the library were recently purchased from antiquarian book dealers and are not representative of Walpole's collection.

The interiors are just so surprising and exciting. In addition to many of the rooms being painted or papered in rich jewel tones, unconventionally for the period there is a use of neutral tones - most notable in the house's woodwork. In most grand houses of the period, and beyond, occupants would have suffered the oppressive tones of dark timber. 

The most impressive room is The Gallery, with its papier-mâché and gold leaf fan-vaulted ceiling, scarlet damask covered walls and beautiful parquet floor. Apparently Walpole once commented on the room: “I begin to be ashamed of my own magnificence; Strawberry is growing sumptuous in its latter day; it will scarce be any longer like the fruit of its name, or the modesty of its ancient demeanour…” You can hire this room for weddings, private dinner parties etc. I'm sure it costs an absolute fortune but, my goodness, the event would be memorable for your guests!

Exterior of Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, London

Strawberry Hill House abuts St Mary's University, a small university originally founded in 1850 as a college for training Catholic schoolmasters

Another view of the incredibly opulent Gallery, in Strawberry Hill House

The Holbein Chamber at Strawberry Hill House,
so named because in Walpole's time it contained 20 original Holbein portraits

The staircase at Strawberry Hill House. 
The neutral tones of the stairs, railings and panelling is most unusual for an 18th century house 

Quatrefoil skylights flood the staircase with natural light
- Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham

The Blue Bedchamber, Strawberry Hill House

The Library at Strawberry Hill House, with its elaborately painted ceiling.
Those decorative arches actually open out to allow access to the books behind

Strawberry Hill House: the Round Drawing Room

One of the most appealing things about Strawberry Hill House is that every single window is a work of art. There is stained glass galore, and marvellous shapes - mostly arched trefoil, or quatrefoil. Apparently Strawberry Hill House is remarkable for the fact that none of the windows open out in a traditional way; they are 'pocket' windows that slide sideways into a crevice so that they disappear. The reason for this window design was because apparently Wimpole did not want anything to impede the outside views.

Quatrefoil window at Strawberry Hill House

One of the many stained-glass windows at Strawberry Hill House

Are you still with me? Well done!

Well, there you have it - a rundown of spring and summer (thus far) for 2024. 

I'll close with some pictures of local flora and fauna, taken in the past few days. Despite the cool temperatures most days, it definitely does look and smell like summer; we are currently enjoying the heady scent of honeysuckle, star jasmine, tumbling roses and majestic lime trees in flower. It is divine.

Newly-mown path through summer grass on Spreakley Common, Frensham,
with a stand of lime trees in the distance

Lime tree in flower: the scent of summer

This summer we have regularly had a family of three badgers visiting our terrace in the evenings
- this is a blurry shot of mummy & baby badger

Fluffy clouds over Frensham Little Pond, just down the road from home

Another 'tunnel of green' - at Frensham Little Pond

Until next time,

- Maree  xo