Wanderings in Wiltshire and Somerset

Blazing autumn foliage at National Trust property Stourhead, in Wiltshire

Ciderrrrrr!!!!!!!

Right, good to get that out of the way.

A few weeks ago I took a couple of days off work so that Kevin and I could improve our acquaintance with the western half of the county of Wiltshire. We're hoping to buy a house sometime in the next year or two, with a view to retirement some years down the track, and we've had to cast our affordability net increasingly further away from Surrey and London. For some mad reason, despite the financial instability caused by Brexit combined with Covid, property prices have continued to boom in the past two years here in the UK. Go figure.

So we booked into a quiet little B&B just outside the market town of Devizes, which sits smack-bang in the centre of Wiltshire. The town itself is pleasant enough and we enjoyed a very nice meal out - our first visit to an Indian restaurant since before Covid hit. A couple of Wiltshire's famed hillside white horses are within easy reach and we dutifully visited them. The Westbury White Horse in particular is impressive. Surrounded by the remains of an Iron Age fort more than 2,000 years old, the Westbury White Horse is the oldest of Wiltshire’s eight white chalk horses - it was cut into the hillside in 1778.

Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire - cut into the hillside in 1778.
It was concreted over and painted in 1957 to preserve the shape and reduce the amount of maintenance required

The view from above Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire

View of Westbury White Horse from below the hillside

Over two days we drove around areas where we'd seen some attractive and possibly affordable properties online. Being less than an hour's drive from Bath (south), and just over an hour's drive from the Cotswolds (north), many of the buildings are constructed from the lovely, golden stone for which those areas are famous. 

We came across a number of cute villages where we'd happily pitch our tent, including Erlestoke which has a higher than average ratio of character properties, as the photos below demonstrate. (I rush to point out that our budget does not stretch to such beauties, but we'd be happy to be surrounded by dwellings of this type)

An example of that very appealing golden stone - cottage in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

Black-and-white charm in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

A crisp-looking cottage with smart blue trim in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

We think this was the former rectory to Holy Savour's Church in Erlestoke, Wiltshire

It was really by accident that I'd recently heard of Frome (pronounced 'froom'), just over the border in Somerset. Thank you, Hugh Grant! Back in April he was spotted in a Frome bakery and my interest was piqued - it must be a nice place if HG buys baked goods there, right? 

Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt.

Yes, folks - in Frome we realised we'd found a strong contender for our retirement location. 

Frome in Somerset has some lovely narrow, steep and historical streets

Frome is a small-ish market town, with a population of only 26,000 - in contrast with our own local market town of Farnham in Surrey which has about 40,000 inhabitants. The town was established in the 7th century and is mentioned in The Domesday Book. It lies on the eastern edge of the Mendip Hills.

In recent years Frome has become a bit of a haven for arty, quirky types with its narrow and cobbled streets dotted with independent shops, many of which are affiliated with charities and social and environmental causes. God forbid, it's been named in the Top 10 of one of those 'Britain's coolest towns' lists, which is surely a death knell for us as prospective property buyers, but we'll wait and see.

Cheap Street is charming and traffic-free, crammed with 16th and 17th century buildings and an historic 'leat' still flowing its length (a leat is a an open watercourse that flows to a mill).

Parts of Frome have been used as locations for a number of historical dramas including the TV series Poldark. 

After a distinct lack of vegan/vegetarian-friendly dining establishments in Devizes we were gratified to discover wide choice in Frome and we enjoyed a fantastic vegan sharing board in a two-storey, glass-fronted restaurant in the town's 'artisan quarter' of St Catherine's.

Best of all... Frome even has a little cinema - squeeeeeeeeee!!!!

The High Pavement - just one of the quaint eating establishments in Frome

Deadly is the Female - vintage fashion emporium in Frome

Our lunchtime view - from restaurant / wine bar / shop Eight Stony Street, in Frome

The vegan sharing board at Eight Stony Street was superb:
pumpernickel, muhammara, baked beetroot with dukkah, burnt leeks with lovage,
slow roasted celeriac with mushroom ketchup, and olives.... plus a cheeky side of skin-on fries

Characterful Cheap Street in Frome - the leat flowing down its centre 

Many of the shops in Frome were decorated for Halloween

So watch this space. We'll be keeping a close eye on the property market in Frome and its surrounding environs, and hoping a modest two-bedroom cottage or terrace is within our means.

Bramble & Wild florist in Frome

Now I ask you - any town with a dwelling named 'The Cat House' must be nice, don't you think?

🎵🎶 How much is that doggy in the window? 🎵🎶
Dog-friendly micropub Just Ales in Frome - right opposite the Bath Cats & Dogs Home charity shop :-) 

That's a serious front door to this house in Frome
(are they expecting an invasion?)

French General Trading is a combo antiques store / bar / moules eatery!

This jaunt around a small portion of the West Country was capped off by a return visit to National Trust property Stourhead, just under an hour's drive south-west of Devizes. It's 12 or 13 years since we were last there, but during that time Stourhead has remained in my memory as one of the most spectacularly beautiful historic properties I've ever visited. I am pleased to say that after returning a few weeks ago, it retains that accolade.

We had the good fortune to visit on a beautifully sunny day after a week of very grey and wet weather, and of course it was late October which = peak autumn. The gardens designed by Henry Hoare II are the ideal vehicle for the season, dazzling the beholder with reds, ambers and golds which are reflected in the lake. There are plenty of follies punctuating the gardens, most of which you can access.

The Pantheon at Stourhead

View from The Gothic Cottage, Stourhead

The Gothic Cottage, Stourhead

Harvest display at Stourhead

The towering Palladian portico of the house at National Trust property, Stourhead

Autumnal glory reflected in the lake at Stourhead in Wiltshire

The gatehouse at Stourhead

We'll definitely try not to leave it 13 years between visits to Stourhead in future and I imagine if we end up living in that neck of the woods, we will be regular visitors.

And in case you were wondering, that reference to 'cider' at the start of this post is, of course, an affectionate nod to the accent prevalent in England's West Country. Think Stephen Merchant, Vicki Pollard and pirates. Ooh arrrr.

We both love the West Country accent which is fortunate because, as my close friends are aware, I absolutely will not consider moving to a region that I consider has an ugly local accent. So there.

As usual, I'm including a couple of snaps reflecting the current season here in beautiful Surrey. We won't be able to afford to live here once we leave school accommodation - whenever that may be - but in the meantime we're making the most of every day.

A peek through the autumn leaves - just before sunset in Frensham

Sunrise from the field just outside our back garden

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

Wes Anderson: deeper than whimsy

A still from The French Dispatch, featuring some of the central characters

OK, this blog post will not be of much interest to some of you. But it's my blog and the choice of material is mine - so there!

Promotional poster for the 180 Studios exhibition on The French Dispatch

Many of my friends and family will already know that I am a bit of a cinephile. At various periods in my life I've been known to visit the cinema several times a week, and to return to the cinema two, three, even four times to re-watch a film I really, really love.

I have very fond memories of the entire family huddling in front of the TV and our living room's woefully inadequate two-bar heater on a winter's afternoon in the Sydney suburb of Panania in the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose was to enjoy movies from Hollywood's 'golden era' as well as fabulously kitsch Elvis classics like Viva Las Vegas and Double Trouble, and simple, entertaining fare such as Doris Day / Rock Hudson rom-coms. At some point during the film one of us would race backwards and forwards into the kitchen during the commercial breaks to cook fresh pikelets (a smaller version of American-style pancakes) and brew up a big pot of Bushell's tea.

In my teens I developed a taste for less commercial cinema, my eyes opened by the likes of David Lynch's Eraserhead and Julien Temple's The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Maturing into my 20s, my preferences moved on to arthouse and foreign cinema, having only had fairly limited exposure to these previously. In case you don't know me well, I should probably mention at this point that one particular film - Wim Wenders' Der Himmel über Berlin (released with the title Wings of Desire in English-speaking countries) had such a profound effect on me that it actually changed the course of my life at the age of 24, for which I will forever be grateful.

My all-time favourite film, Der Himmel über Berlin, by Wim Wenders (1987)

Then, in my late 20s and early 30s, I was fortunate enough to study film theory at university, alongside my formal majors of German and Contemporary Europe. So for a number of years I delved deep into the world of the auteur, studied how novels had been turned into film, and examined world cinema from the Silent Era up to the modern day, under the tutelage of several lecturers including Roger Hillman, who taught me both German and Film History. One of my favourite units during this time was a collaboration between the Film History and English Literature departments, on the representation of vampires in both novel and film. At the time my university was fortunate enough to have a visiting American fellow, Rich Pascal, who was an expert on gothic literature and in particular vampires. *bliss*

All this is a preamble to explain my deep love of American filmmaker, Wes Anderson.

Texan-born Wes Anderson with one of his regular cast members, Bill Murray
[photo: gettotext.com]

My earliest memory of being introduced to Wes Anderson is in the late 1990s when Rushmore was released. I didn't get to see it until a couple of years later, on video (remember video?). This film was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Was it a comedy? No, because there were moments that were resoundingly sad. Was it a drama? No, because it had too many quirky characters that alternately made you laugh and cringe. Was that scene tragic or funny? (Is it OK to laugh here?) 

I would later discover that this mix of genre is part of Wes Anderson's formula, and I heartily recommend you watch this hilarious video which gives a very neat overview of the WA school of filmmaking (whoever created this video is a LIVING GENIUS).

Critics are divided over this director's films which are often criticised for their themes of nostalgia for WA's childhood, for their very distinct visual styling, and for being 'whimsical.' Well, this middle-aged lover of cinema is a big fan of whimsy, but in any event his films go far deeper than that.

Cracking soundtracks and a recurring cast of unique actors are further reasons for Anderson's formula resonating with me. Bill Murray, Owen and Luke Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Angelica Huston and Jason Schwartzman have all appeared in numerous of his films.

Exterior of the 180 Studios exhibition for The French Dispatch, in London

Anyway, the reason for this blog post is that after 20 months of basically doing bugger-all due to Covid, yesterday I ventured into central London to attend an exhibition relating to the much-delayed (it should have been released in 2020) and highly-anticipated Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch. 

Editions of the fictional publication The French Dispatch, on display at the 180 Studios exhibition

The film itself, which Kevin and I had seen a couple of weeks previously in a nearly-empty cinema (another Covid era milestone; first cinema visit since February 2020), has been described by some fans as the 'most Wes ever.' By this they are alluding to the fact that every single WA predilection, theme and characteristic has been crammed into the film, x100, resulting in a cinema experience that requires several viewings to fully appreciate. There is such an intense level of detailed imagery, so many layers to the narrative, so many cultural references right from the opening scene which is a superb homage to Jacque Tati's Mon Oncle (1958). Kevin and I were a bit overwhelmed, but I'm aware that we are not alone in that view. It's probably not for everyone. 

All the same, I was agog at the exhibition at 180 Studios on The Strand in London, which just happens to be located directly opposite where I worked in Australia House for a couple of years. Original sets, props, costumes and artwork... fantastically detailed models of the town used in the film... the full-scale artwork that is the centrepiece of one of the film's vignettes (a series of 10 frescoes, each one at least 2 metres high and a metre wide). There is even a reproduction of the Le Sans Blague café where you can enjoy a beverage of your choice.

Wow. And I wasn't the only one impressed; every person wandering around had a look of awe on their face.

OK, those of you who speak French - I defy you not to giggle at the name of this fictional town!

Opening dialogue from the film, explaining the history of the publication The French Dispatch

Owen Wilson's character in The French Dispatch is Herbsaint Sazerac, 'the cycling reporter'
❤️I love Owen Wilson ❤️

❤️ Tilda  ❤️
Her portrayal of character J. K. L. Berensen was - as always - absolutely stellar 

*sigh*  I kind of miss typewriters

Model of the fictional French town, Ennui-sur-Blasé, where most of The French Dispatch is set
(see photo below for detail of the section circled in green)

A nod to one of WA's earlier films

The gigantic series of frescoes known in the film as Simone, Naked, Cell Block J, Hobby Room

The gorgeous Léa Seydoux plays Simone, a prison guard and the inspiration for the frescoes shown above
(and that is the full-scale electric chair used in the film)

Fantastic sectional view of the plane used to transport the frescoes in The French Dispatch
- this is the genuine model that was featured in the film... the detail was amazing!

If you're unfamiliar with Wes Anderson, I hope this blog post might encourage you to explore his work. The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably his most 'commercial' film, and perhaps a good one to start with. You can't go wrong with *swoon* Ralph Fiennes playing a camp hotel concierge from a bygone era.

My personal favourite? Oooh... (purses lips, narrows eyes, rubs chin). I do indeed love Grand Budapest but the WA film I return to most frequently - because naturally I have all the films on DVD, except for The French Dispatch which obviously hasn't yet been released on DVD - is The Darjeeling. This is controversial amongst WA fans but there is one particular, and quite 'non WA' scene that touches me very deeply. If I had to pick a Top Three, it would be The Darjeeling (2007), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Then again, next week I might have a different Top Three 😃

Coffee cups from the fictional café Le Sans Blague in The French Dispatch

Until next time,

- Maree  xo