Days to Cherish

This is the distant hill we can see from our house, on a perfect autumn afternoon

It's been a while since I posted.

Work has been crazy-busy and with my long working days and hellish commute, I find that I simply don't have the energy to devote to this activity. My Fridays off are generally filled with errands, appointments, housework and personal admin. On Saturdays we do usually try to get out and about, unless Kevin is on boarding duty. However since the new academic year started, Kevin's new role as Head of Physics has meant we've had less time for gadding about the country.

But I couldn't let this season, my favourite time of year, pass without sharing some of the glories.

In very early autumn we searching for signs of colour - unsuccessfully, for the most part, as we had a very mild start to the season. In fact it was almost an Indian Summer until well into October.

Very early autumn from Harting Down - part of the South Downs, West Sussex.
Some of the trees just starting to turn

Early autumn in the churchyard of St Mary and St Gabriel,
in South Harting, in our neighbouring county of West Sussex

Above and in the picture below - 'chocolate box' cottages in the West Sussex village
of South Harting, where we enjoyed a fireside drink in the local pub

Our immediate environs remain gobsmackingly, unbelievably gorgeous, despite the fact that we've been back here at Frensham for well over a year now and should be blasé about it. I don't think I ever will be. See the proof below.

Afternoon light at the corner of our garden fence, looking south-east.
I know our Australian friends and family will be regarding that verdant ground with envious eyes

Across the road from our bungalow - The Aldridge Theatre (far left), with an avenue of
intensely red acers, and the beech hedge in the foreground

(our house is opposite those white cones in the distance
- they are an all-weather canopy in front of the school's art studio)

One of those incredibly red acers across the street from our house

One of my favourite trees at Frensham Heights
- this glorious gingko is beautiful in summer, but absolutely stunning in autumn
as it turns bright gold

Optimum autumn colour
- ivy and virginia creeper on the main entrance to Frensham Heights School 

One of the benefits of all that damp, misty autumn weather is the abundance of fungi that springs up everywhere, mixed in with the trees sprouting their cones and acorns. Most of the fungi are poisonous and I'd never risk illness or death by harvesting my own, without being trained. But they're fascinating to look at.

I know spring is vibrant because of everything bursting into bloom, but autumn holds just as many pleasures, if only you open your eyes.

Tiny candle-like immature cones, on one of the school's cedars

Fool's Conecap on a fallen log

A miniature forest of fungi on this fallen log in woodland at Frensham Heights School
(Common Inkcap - each mushroom is about 7-8 centimetres high)

Yes, this is real!
There was a great expanse of these fairytale toadstools (Fly Agaric) on the lawn at work

Dinner plate shelf fungi on a tree at Limnerslease,
the former home of artists G F Watts and Mary Watts, near Compton

Dew on tree berries, Frensham Heights School front lawn

A walk from our front door in any given direction - but particularly south - leads to winding country lanes with their deep shadows, opening out to wide green fields and expanses of natural forest. The whole of Surrey is currently blanketed in a carpet of gold, but already many trees are bare and this most beautiful time of year will shortly give way to the more austere beauty of winter. 

The other end of Summerfield Lane

Sheep grazing on the high fields close to Nash's Copse, near Dockenfield
- this is the other side of the distant hill that we can see from our backyard

A tunnel of green and gold - West End Lane, about five minutes' walk from home

Yours truly basking in late afternoon golden light in early November
- on the distant hill we can see from the house

Amber autumn sunlight creates the illusion that the tops of these pine trees are ablaze

The mud has returned to Surrey - which is as it should be!

Golden beech in one of my favourite bits of woodland, just below the school
- it's known as 'Secret Sands'

(I often stand in this woodland - which is elevated between two lanes - and twirl around in circles, staring up at the tree canopy and the sky. Thankfully, I've only ever come across another human there on one occasion. So I don't yet have a reputation as a local eccentric, as far as I'm aware...)

Some of you will have seen a few of these shots before, either on Facebook or my Instagram account, but I hope you won't object to the repetitive content.

FYI:  If you are an Instagram user, you can follow me (@mareepsasja), and some of the content that I publish on Instagram does not end up on this blog. I only have 96 followers, LOL - the internet 'influencers' are under no threat from me!

Despite the hectic pace of everyday life, we have managed a few short jaunts since returning from Norway in late August. 

In early October we were thrilled to catch up with my nephew Damian, his wife Kristy, and children Joshua and Alyssa, who were on a short visit from Sydney. It was more than three years since I had seen them, and well over five years for Kevin, and I think the kids had a challenge to remember us. But by the end of our day together in Brighton, we were old friends.

I got Kristy's permission to publish some photos of us all on Facebook (my FB security settings are such that only my 'Friends' can see my pictures on that platform), but as this is a blog open to the internet, I'm not including any photos of the family.

Über cool hair salon in Brighton

The satisfyingly kitsch Victorian splendour of Brighton Pier

I spent a Sunday in October at Arundel Castle in West Sussex, catching up with a former work colleague. Kevin and I visited this magnificent castle and lovely village a couple of years ago, and with it being an easy one-hour drive from home, it was a pleasure to take a second look.

The Keep, Arundel Castle, West Sussex.
Established in 1067, the castle was damaged in the English Civil War (1642-1651)
and then restored during the 18th and 19th centuries

Arundel Castle Keep and Barbican Tower

Spectacular views across the town of Arundel and the West Sussex countryside, from the Barbican Towers 

I've been into London for the day several times in the past couple of months, catching up with friends and visiting exhibitions. In October Kevin and I joined friends Roy and Tracey to see a special screening of the original Blade Runner film at the Royal Albert Hall, with a live orchestra providing the fabulous Vangelis score.

This was a particularly special event, given that the person who stole every scene he was in, and one of my all-time favourite actors - Rutger Hauer - had passed away at the age of 75 just a few months before. 

Click here to view 3 minutes and 54 seconds of one of Rutger's finest moments in cinema - the famous 'tears in rain' scene towards the end of Blade Runner.

I managed to meet Rutger at the Sydney premiere of his film Salute of the Jugger (also known as The Blood of Heroes in some countries), way back in 1990, and although his career has had its up and downs over the decades, I have always followed him with interest. 

RIP, you big hunk of Dutch talent.

The Royal Albert Hall - with no scaffolding, for once!

The following day we explored the Design Museum in Kensington. A lot of you probably don't associate London with cutting edge design and modern architecture, and my own focus has always been on the history of the city and its buildings. However, Britain does have a solid track record in these areas, and this museum pays homage to all forms of design.

Such a fascinating piece of architecture - look at all those shapes in the ceiling!

A fascinating exhibit shows the full horror of a single passenger's plastic waste on a long haul flight - and the alternative products being developed to mitigate this

I have a bit of a weakness for Anglepoise lamps - which this particular exhibit indulged

Ah, the fashion of my heyday!
The bold designs of Vivienne Westwood's 'Seditionaries' series, 1976-1978

Thank goodness for 1976.
Although I was only to really discover punk a couple of years later, at age 14,
even in the far-flung suburbs of Sydney the energy of this cultural movement would change my life

I promise this post is ending soon.

After a leisurely breakfast one Saturday in early November, on a whim we decided to explore a bit more of Wiltshire. This is a county that's always held appeal for us, but aside from passing through it on our way to Bath, the Cotswolds or to Wales, we haven't spent that much time there.

It was a typically drizzly autumn day, and we only had a few hours so we took the scenic (B-road) route towards Devizes, and returned via a brief stop in Marlborough. We plan to do some more exploring when we have proper time to do the area justice.

One of Wiltshire's famous hillside chalk horses - this one at Cherhill, just north of Devizes

The Halloween decorations were out in Devizes

Stone cottage near Devizes in Wiltshire

Silbury Hill - Europe's largest man-made prehistoric mound (built between BC 2400-2300) 

Charming pub in the prosperous town of Marlborough

In the course of plotting the route for our Wiltshire day out, I came to the realisation that Highclere Castle (that's Downton Abbey to you) is less than an hour's drive from us.

WHAT THE ??!?!!!!

How did I live this long in Surrey without realising this? It's literally 20 minutes' drive slightly north-west from Basingstoke. Admittedly, it's only open on certain dates and you need to book tickets in advance, but needless to say, we have plans to rectify this day-trip oversight. 

Watch this space - no doubt there will be a Highclere Castle post coming your way in 2020... 

And so I will close with a couple of snaps of what we have named 'Pheasant Central' - ie our backyard. It's been a joy to watch the elder Mr P bring his offspring to feed in our garden, with Mr P Junior gradually developing his tail feathers and adult male colours. And Mr P has invited his extended family on occasion: Kevin counted nine pheasants in the garden at one time during the recent half-term holidays.

Mr P Senior (at the rear), with P Junior in the foreground - foraging for seed from our birdfeeders

Close-up of Mr P Senior - what a handsome chap!

We are still enjoying nightly visits from the badgers, though I confess to a diminution in my affection, upon the discovery that they are steadfastly eating their way through my spring bulbs, planted in late October and which were just starting to show their green shoots above the soil level. *pesky devils!*

Here's hoping the bulbs make it through to spring...

Pine woods near The Sands, about 10 minutes' drive from home

At the peak of Autumn glory - a field on Summerfield Lane, immediately below the school.
At most times of the day you can usually find 2-3 roe deer munching on the foliage

Until next time,
- Maree xo

Right where I should be

It's here!

...sort of.

Spectacular maple across the street from our house
- at Frensham Heights School

Well, dear reader, here we are. Finally the intensity of this year's hellish and interminable summer has diminished, although in the past week we have had numerous days in the mid 20s, and more worrying are the warm nights - temperatures of around 15-19ºC overnight! This is mid October, remember - and it's England. We are yet to have a frost here in the south-east.

Despite the perplexing temperatures, we have been enjoying the visual glories of this most wonderful of seasons.

Fruiting hawthorn with its vivid red berries

A nearby field offering a panorama of autumn colours

As if oak trees weren't beautiful enough, their sweet little acorns are worth waiting for - 
cylindrical, mahogany coloured nuts, wearing haute couture hats

Dwarf maples, and the sculpture affectionately referred to as 'The Elephant Poo'
- in front of our shed

The almost unreal colours of Virginia Creeper in early autumn
- this shot taken at my workplace

A very atmospheric, misty autumn morning in our backyard

I am absolutely delighting in rediscovering the Frensham local environs. My favourite walks of yore lead me past the most fondly remembered cottages, most memorable trees... it is like meeting up with old friends after a long absence.

The oaks (ah, the oaks!), many of them centuries old, spreading their gracious limbs protectively across the landscape. Jewelled holly trees, their red berries shining against glossy, dark green leaves. The gentle curve of hills. Shady glades. Dappled light.

I see all this and instantly any angst is washed away. 

This game plan of ours - to return to the UK, to wait for a vacancy at Frensham, and finally to wait for an opportunity to move back on-site... it's been well worth the perseverance.

One of my favourite oaks - truly memorable, with its gnarled and twisted exposed roots.
It's hidden away up a little incline, off a quiet lane only a few minutes' walk from the school.
I'm sure in the dead of night, this tree comes to life and wanders around the Surrey countryside

Hales Place - one of the grand homes nearby.
This is the best shot you can get - the house is cloistered away behind a gigantic yew hedge 
and an impressive gated entry (see below)

The main gate at Hales Place

The last of the brambles

Walnut Tree Cottage - one of my local favourites. It is country cottage perfection
(note the oast house immediately behind - the pointy tower)

This hot air balloon came silently drifting above me one afternoon, on one of my walks,
and I was only made aware of it at the sound of the flame being fired up.
It's advertising The Packhouse, a fabulous local antiques/gift emporium

Arts & Crafts architectural style in nearby Spreakley, just below the school

Spreakley Hollow - another of my favourite local homes.
I am a sucker for leaded windows and ornate gates

Weekly meeting of the Frensham Feline Secret Society
- plotting the downfall of the human race, no doubt!

How I love a turret!
Many of the local farms historically grew hops, and there is an abundance of
oast houses, some of which have been converted into housing
(this picture, and below)

The only real difference between when we lived here the first time, and now? 

Mud.

Ten years ago, even after a week or two of hot weather, there were certain paths that would still be muddy and boggy, perhaps they would even have retained their puddles, despite the dry weather. No more. The ground appears to be so thirsty now, particularly after a very dry year with six months of relentlessly hot weather, that there is no mud - even after a couple of days of solid rain. 

Climate change is a reality, and I am in fear of how this glorious landscape will change. I also think the change will come much faster than anybody - in their most doom-laden anticipations - dares to estimate.

Autumn sunrises really are the BEST - our garden in early October, at dawn

The last of the summer roses

This house, in the street next to the school, has some of the best views in the district.
I hope they appreciate it

Coochy-coochy-coo!
These adorable babies followed me, in an orderly line, across a field.
Perhaps they recognised a human whose skin didn't excrete the smell of consumed meat,
and who had an absence of leather on her person...

The church of St Mary The Virgin, in the village of Frensham - just below the school.
Parts of it date from the 13th century

In the churchyard of St Mary The Virgin in Frensham,
the tombstones range from grand Celtic crosses....

... to far more humble, simpler examples

The River Wey passes through the village of Frensham

We surprised a couple of deer in a field below the school, on one of our afternoon walks

This secluded path took me about ten minutes to walk - didn't see another soul... *bliss*

A home away from home for your beloved poultry while you go on holiday?
Yes, in Surrey we have it all

And what of our new abode, you ask?

We have just about got the place shipshape. Our first few weeks were a whirlwind of unpacking and trying to make our possessions fit, and a mad frenzy of online shopping to order window coverings, light fittings, bathroom cabinets and all sorts of other necessities. We've also sourced quite a few things second-hand - there are bargains to be had out there!

Thank goodness the departing family offered us their relatively new white goods at a reasonable price - which meant we didn't have to worry about that side of things.

We've also had our first visitors, with Fiona and Geoff calling in for lunch on their way to Heathrow. They were unfortunate in coming on the only rainy day we'd had for weeks, so our tour of the school was necessarily brief.

Our front doorstep
(made less picturesque by the dark green food recycling bin and electrical cabinets,
however this is real life)

Our entry hall - now sporting a cover on the ugly radiator, and how about that glam light fitting?
From naked bulb to *bling* - courtesy of Facebook Marketplace
(a £125 light fitting purchased second-hand, BNIB, for £30)

More dawn beauty in our garden - this is what we wake up to every day

These delicate roses grace our garden, courtesy of our next-door neighbours'
lack of gardening skills!
(they don't prune, feed, weed or water... we have the benefit of their climbing rose,
which I have been de-aphidising, pruning and watering since we arrived)

Our living room - not terribly large, but lots of light and a great outlook

Autumn's fruit bounty - blushing pears adorning our coffee table

Washing up with a view - outlook from the kitchen window

A wee spot of antipodean greenery.
We had New Zealand pittosporum in our garden in Australia
and although it's not very common here in the UK, I managed to find an online supplier
- six bushes now happily situated in my oversized planters 

Bistro seating now in place, bird feeders erected - 
all set for us to sit on the terrace and enjoy that incredible autumn light

Our drinks table awaits your delectation!

Our guest bedroom - please visit!

Kevin of course is thrilled to have his very own shed for the first time since leaving Australia, and he's spent quite some hours erecting shelving and sorting all his bike paraphernalia. 

We have more storage in this house than we've had for many years - it's wonderful to actually have proper places to store things. We've been 'making do' and squirrelling things away in odd places for so long... which of course has meant that when we needed an item that had been squashed into an inaccessible corner of wardrobe (behind the suitcase and shoe rack, etc), it's been a lengthy and frustrating job to get it out, and then to put it back again.

We do also have a third bedroom which I have named The Room of Perpetual Gloom. It's north-facing, which here in the northern hemisphere means it doesn't get any direct sun. It also adjoins our neighbour's bungalow, again limiting the direct light (we only have one short stretch of common wall - the house is all but free-standing). Strangely, our predecessors in this house, who had the entire place painted in a neutral shade of magnolia, elected to paint this one room a cold shade of lavender blue. 

WHAT THE???!!! 

This room is so offensive to me that for the first three weeks I could hardly bear to enter. After a couple of minutes I would flee, cursing and muttering dementedly about paint colours and gigantic mirrors. In that room I found myself losing the will to live.

It has now been reserved to house a small wardrobe and chest of drawers that couldn't be accommodated in the other two bedrooms, as well as a bookshelf, a small desk that we don't really use, and a blanket box.

I'm yet to paint the room, and I'm still on the hunt for an affordable large mirror - in the hope that it will generate a bit more light.

The Room of Perpetual Gloom
*the horror*

It is serenely quiet here. 

Both of our near neighbours very obligingly disappear just about every weekend - the gals next door are always off doing scuba diving or other outdoor pursuits, and the family behind us go back to enjoy the more metropolitan delights of their London home.

Thus most of the time the only sounds we hear are the wind in the trees, the barking of pheasants and the clatter of squirrels scurrying along overhead branches. Occasionally, if the wind is blowing the right way, the strains of the church bells from St Mary The Virgin in Frensham village drift up to us.

And at night, there is naught but the sonorous hooting of owls.

It is bliss.

This sculpture by Anna Gillespie graces the promenade outside the art studios
(right across the street from our bungalow)
- those are acorns, not warts!

An avenue of maples in front of the school's art and theatre buildings,
opposite our place

Autumn leaves festooning the school's main entrance

Yours truly, enjoying an afternoon stroll through the school's woodland

The only negative in all this is that my commute to work has increased by at least ten minutes. Doesn't sound like much, but when you were already spending between 45-90 minutes travelling to work, another ten can just about push you over the edge. Thank goodness for my vast library of music, and the fabulous offerings available from BBC iPlayer Radio. I've listened to more radio drama programmes in the past year than in my entire lifetime. 

On my first journey from Frensham to work I almost hit a deer that bounded out from the woods right in front of me, as I headed towards Farnham. I leave home at 5.45am in order to miss the traffic, so I'm afraid in this area wildlife is an added peril.

I'll have to seriously consider whether I can continue the drudgery of commuting to the other side of Surrey. Even at only three days a week it's a strain (I work from home on Wednesdays, and by compressing my full-time hours into four long days, have Fridays off).

Late afternoon light - taken from our little garden fence

Commuting woes aside, this beautiful place is where I am meant to be - I have no doubt of that.

This is now home.

A bright moon over a pink sunrise

Until next time,
- Maree  xo