Will this summer never end?!

This green and pleasant land... no longer.
This is how our backyard has looked for many weeks now

I am sure most of you have heard about the extreme heat Europe has been suffering in recent weeks, including here in the UK where records have been broken, with multiple locations surpassing 40ºC for the first time ever over a three-day period. For weeks either side of that particularly horrific week, temperatures have ranged from mid 20s to mid 30s, much higher than the traditional average. 

The BBC weather forecast on 18 July 2022 - for the following day
*the horror*

But worst of all has been the lack of rain. It's literally been months since we had any - I think perhaps six or seven weeks ago we had a shower that lasted about two minutes, but nothing since. It's the driest year since 1975 and I believe that record will soon be broken. 

Much of the southern half of England is now officially in drought, with water restrictions imposed. I feel like I am back in Australia. All those photos I've published over the years, showing our back garden in all its verdant, lush glory... they are a distant memory. The photo at the top of this blog post represents what the garden has looked like for the past six weeks or so. All the trees in the surrounding woods are stress-shedding their leaves as a survival tactic. The leaves are expendable - they are one less thing the trees have to feed.

Moving on...

Not long after returning from Norway in July, Kevin was contacted by a work colleague who had tragically lost both her elderly parents in the space of a couple of weeks. Michele had solemnly promised her mother that she would take care of the couple's beloved cat, Daisy May - however that was problematic in that Michele and her husband are currently living in rented accommodation with their own 15-year-old cat, whilst their house is being renovated.

With feelings of guilt and desperation in equal measure, Michele thought of us. In short, we have inherited a 17-year-old, arthritic tortoiseshell cat who, in her first few days at our place, hid behind or under furniture, refusing to eat, drink, wee or poo. Thankfully on Day 4 she finally emerged and has since warmed to us. Daisy May is the cutest little thing, and after some initial and quite labour-intensive toileting issues, she's pretty low maintenance as she sleeps about 17 hours a day. In the past couple of weeks she's also started spending more time outside in the garden, which is also helping with the ablutions issue. 

We're not sure how long we'll have Daisy May - at present we are just 'fostering' but moving house is traumatic for a geriatric cat and there's every chance she'll live with us indefinitely.

Daisy May - 17 years young

As you can see from these two photos, the 'crossed paws' pose
is a favourite of Daisy May's

In the midst of all this we had a brief sortie to Bristol, planned prior to the arrival of Daisy May, which city I had not visited since 1986 when I stayed with friends who were running a pub there. It was Kevin's first time in Bristol, but he really was at no disadvantage because the city has changed so dramatically in the past couple of decades that I recognised almost nothing.

Neighbour Saskia was happy to spend time with Daisy May for the couple of days we were in Bristol, so that worked out fine.

View from our Bristol hotel room, over the Avon Gorge and towards the Clifton Suspension Bridge

One of the Clifton Suspension Bridge pylons.
Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, its construction was not completed until 1864, some five years after his death

Kevin and Yours Truly with the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the background

The Avon Gorge Hotel, where we stayed in Bristol

Moody colours and an impressive chandelier in the foyer of our Bristol hotel,
The Avon Gorge Hotel

View of the Clifton Suspension Bridge from the bar of the Avon Gorge Hotel

The terrace of the Avon Gorge Hotel at night - viewed from our bedroom

Thankfully we avoided the extreme heat that bookended our trip to Bristol, and we were able to trudge around an entire day, taking in the sights.

Our hotel was located in the desirable Clifton Village area, and there were plenty of dining and shopping options within a short walk of our accommodation. We also bought tickets for a hop-on / hop-off bus which allowed us to explore a much wider area of the city.

One of the pretty streets in Clifton Village in Bristol

Clifton Village has an abundance of period architecture
- these lovely terraces were just across the street from our hotel

Bristol is incredibly hilly, and many of the streets are much higher on one side
than the other - with stone steps leading up to house entrances

Colourful and quirky houses in Clifton Village

Characterful buildings abound in the Clifton Village part of Bristol

Fabulous nautical lighting in an Italian café where we breakfasted on our first morning

Every street in Bristol seems to have historic and well preserved stone buildings

Of course Bristol has a strong maritime history, but these days it constitutes a much smaller part of the city's industry. There are still commercial ports in operation but much of the dockside area has been redeveloped into apartment blocks, cafés and restaurants. The biggest earners for the city are now creative media, technology, electronics and aerospace engineering industries.

There's also a huge student population, with two universities attracting both British and international students - the University of Bristol and the University of Western England. 

The Old Fish Market pub in Bristol

Vibrantly painted houses above Bristol's harbour

The former Lloyds Banking Group building which is about to be converted into apartments

This fabulous 1960s architectural gem is a car park!
- NCP Car Park on Prince Street, Bristol

We were very happy with the dining options in this student-friendly city, which meant there were affordable options in abundance. On our second evening we dined at a vegan mezze bar called Koo Cha. The food was incredible, but unfortunately the venue suffered from that all too common malaise in modern eateries - no soft furnishings which translates into noise reverberation of such a volume that it's impossible to hold a conversation. We fled after our main course, unable to stand it any longer. 

Fortunately, just down the street we stumbled upon the utterly charming and authentically French bistro La Guinguette, where we indulged in dessert, coffee and a glass of Monbazillac. Now, I don't remember the last time I saw Crêpes Suzette on a menu, but it would have to have been sometime in the mid 80s, and even then it was considered a bit retro, a hangover from 1970s dinner parties. And yes, Dear Reader, I succumbed to temptation! I'm happy to report our waiter offered the full theatre of this dish that I remembered of yore - see photo below.

Fantastic middle eastern vegan food at Koo Cha in the Montpelier
district of Bristol, but the noise inside was truly awful

Oh, boy - the food was amazing at Koo Cha!
Those dishes are small, trust me :-D 

We stumbled upon this adorable Parisian bistro, La Guinguette,
just down the road from Koo Cha

My first Crêpes Suzette since the 1980s! Absolutely delicious 

We'd decided to go to Bristol for a short break because we have recently been exploring in greater depth the counties of Wiltshire and Somerset, with a view to potentially buying a house in the next year or two. It seemed sensible to include Bristol in our research. I can't say I'll be racing back there - it was interesting and perfectly pleasant, but there was nothing that really grabbed me.

But a bonus of our trip to Bristol was that we 'discovered' Bradford-on-Avon because we had to drive through it. I mean, how has this gorgeous town escaped my notice up until now?! It's one of those weird gaps in my UK knowledge, and of course the name was familiar to me, but I really had no sense of what it was like, or even where it was.

The Town Bridge over the River Avon, in Bradford-on-Avon

Beautiful Georgian architecture everywhere you turn in Bradford-on-Avon

Casement windows and summer blooms in Bradford-on-Avon

Bradford-on-Avon is an Instagrammer's dream!
The Bridge Tea Rooms turn up frequently on 'beautiful England' social media accounts

Being only a 30-minute drive south-east from Bath, most of the buildings in Bradford-on-Avon are constructed of that beautiful pale coloured 'Bath stone' and the town is incredibly well preserved, with two very important historic buildings - a tiny Saxon church dating back to somewhere between 700-1,000 AD, and a gigantic tithe barn constructed in the 14th century and once part of nearby Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset (in the Middle Ages it was the richest nunnery in England). For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, the Abbey was entitled to 10 per cent of the produce of its tenant farmers - this was called a tithe - and the barn was built to store that produce. 

Both historic buildings can be visited free of charge.

There are many winding, steep streets leading away from the Avon River which is the hub of the town, and cosy little lanes dotted with independent shops and cafés, as well as a small street market twice a week. 

With a population of only 10,000 and being situated in the middle of beautiful Wiltshire countryside, it's somewhere we could happily consider living - despite only having spent a few hours there.

The tiny Church of St Laurence in Bradford-on-Avon, one of the few surviving Saxon churches in England. It dates back to somewhere between 700-1,000 AD
(and just look at that yellowed grass....)

Altar of the Church of St Laurence, Bradford-on-Avon

The truly impressive Tithe Barn in Bradford-on-Avon, dating from around 1330

The former Abbey Mill, now converted to apartments, in Bradford-on-Avon

St Thomas More Catholic Church in Bradford-on-Avon 
(this building used to be the Town Hall)

Doors of Holy Trinity Church in Bradford-on-Avon

One of the sweet little lanes in Bradford-on-Avon

There are some mighty hills in Bradford-on-Avon!

It's been great to get back out exploring, now that Covid has lost some of its grip on the world, but of course we are still very content at Frensham where there is much to take delight in, despite this abominably hot and dry summer.

At long last I have managed to capture the antics of two of our regular badger visitors in all their stripey-faced, black-stockinged glory. Click on the two short video links below, and have your volume up!

At the time of publishing this blog post, we have just returned from a few days in Glasgow where we attended a wedding - and where it was unusually hot at 27ºC, but that was 10ºC cooler than Surrey so we weren't complaining! A short blog post on that trip coming soon...

Until next time,

- Maree  xo