Oh, to be in England now that April's there....and a little bit of magic...

One thing I could always rely on to bring about a sense of melancholy and sadness when I was living in Australia at this time of year was reading Robert Browning's

'Home Thoughts from Abroad'

Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,

And all the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!

Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover

Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew

The buttercups, the little children's dower

Far brighter than this gaudy melon flower!

I had started to think I must have taken leave of my senses to want to return to what has been a cold, damp grey and generally miserable place for what seems like the last six months, that maybe I had been wishing for something which didn't really exist, just in my imagination and in the writings of Browning et al. I thought that I must have had my rose coloured glasses on whenever we came over here for a visit and it had all been a terrible mistake.....then at the weekend, something magical happened....

The temperature was noticeably higher and along with the daffodils and hyacinths in the garden pink blossom started to appear on the plum tree, the trees lost their stark silhouette, softened by tiny pale green leaves bursting from their buds..

On Wednesday I did my 'pilgrimage' to the hairdresser in Hampshire and took the route I usually do but thought I might try a different 'back' way...as I drove through tiny country lines dotted with bright yellow daffodils and marvelled at how different the landscape looked to the last time I was there, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I stopped the car, opposite a green field sloping away from me upwards to dense forest and saw two beautiful deer in the evening sun as birds sang from, it seemed, every surrounding tree. I grabbed my ever-present camera and.....nothing! Flat as a pancake - so, this is the nearest I could find to the actual scene....

Since then, there have been two absolutely glorious days and I cannot think of anywhere in the world I would rather be on days like these! My neighbour is busy with several ewes all about to lamb and I watch the ones already born leaping around in her orchard opposite my window....

Phew.....just in time.....I was seriously starting to think about getting some shipping estimates...

But, for now, April is here, in England and I am happy and grateful to be part of such a magical time.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing this weekend I hope it's magical too.........s

Busy, busy....

I've been a busy, busy Easter bunny & have been missing out on what you've all been up to whilst we temporarily turned the M.H into a 'B & B' over the last two weeks!!!

We waved off the last of a long line of visiting children, friends of children, old friends, new friends & neighbours on Saturday and the last day or so has passed in a chocolate induced daze!

Looking forward to catching up with all your news - hope you all had the most wonderful Easter weekend...the U.K is looking yellow - daffodils with their sunny heads blowing in the wind and the ground covered with primroses...hello Spring! Now, please excuse me whilst I go for a long lie down....wake me up when it's gin & tonic time.........s

Howards End is on the Landing....

Currently reading (& loving) the newest book from one of my very favourites:

Sorry to have been posting about so many books lately but I just couldn't get out of 'book mode' without a mention of this...

Inside the cover:

'Early one autumn afternoon in pursuit of an elusive book on her shelves, Susan Hill encountered dozens of others that she had never read, or forgotten she owned, or wanted to read for a second time. The discovery inspired her to embark on a year-long voyage through her books, forsaking new purchases in order to get to know her collection again'.

She describes a book which is left lying on a shelf as a dead thing but also a chrysalis, packed with the potential to burst into new life. How often have you picked up a long ago read book which didn't hold much fascination or appeal when you read it only to have a completely different opinion on second reading due to your own maturity, life changing circumstances or emotional journey?

I really enjoyed Susan's literary blog which came to a sudden halt (after starting to read this book, I found out why) and she makes a really interesting point which I have been mulling over for the last few days. I would be interested to hear your views.

''The start of the journey also coincided with my decision to curtail my use of the internet, which can have an insidious, corrosive effect. Too much internet usage fragments the brain and dissipates concentration so that after a while, one's ability to spend long, focused hours immersed in a single subject becomes blunted. Information comes pre-digested in small pieces, one grazes on endless ready-meals and snacks of the mind, and the result is mental malnutrition. The internet can also have a pernicious influence on reading because it is full of book-related gossip and chatter on which it is fatally easy to waste time that should be spent actually paying close, careful attention to the books themselves, whether writing them or reading them."

Whether you agree with any of that or not, if you are a bookworm, (albeit the unfocused butterfly blog addicted variety like me!!) please read this - you won't be disappointed.......s

Weekend reading....in my dreams...

I would love to be planning a weekend with nothing more arduous than re-reading some of my favourite books...I love these...I bought the first one 'Salvation Creek' for a plane trip back to the U.K from Sydney and was hooked!





Upon my return I had to get hold of the sequel which I enjoyed just as much:

I don't want to spoil your enjoyment if you haven't read either of them but just to give a bit of background info - the first book is the story of how Susan ends up living on beautiful Pittwater, just north of Sydney after a series of life dramas which make her re-assess her priorities about work and where she wants to live. If you know Pittwater and have ever dreamed of living the island life, you will love it. If you don't - it will make you realise what you have missed!

The second book continues her story when she marries Bob who lives, rather fortuitously, at 'Tarrangaua' built as a holiday home for the iconic Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar. Anyone who ever went to school in Australia will know of her most famous work:

My Country

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes.

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running in your veins,

Strong love of grey-blue distance

Brown streams and soft dim skies

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror -

The wide brown land for me!

An opal-hearted country,

A wilful, lavish land -

All you who have not loved her,

You will not understand -

Though earth holds many splendours,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

I have left out the 3rd, 4th & 5th verses but these three hold the conundrum which dominates a lot of my thoughts and plans...if only I had the conviction of Ms. Mackellar. She evoked, with this poem, the passion of a young nation tired of being seen as 'Britain's grubby apron'. In a single line - 'I love a sunburnt country' she embraced everything Australian and made fools of an establishment that continued to yearn for 'green and shaded lanes'. I think maybe my indecision about green & shaded lanes or the wide brown land is best left for another post.......have a happy weekend whether your love is green or brown........s

A Lot on My Plate....

This was me today - well not exactly homemaker, more sandwich maker....I didn't have such a wide smile on my face and there was steam rising (not just from the AGA I might add).....


The L.A.B had a meeting at the M.H today which he sometimes does - on these days, I get up early and put on my 'corporate caterer' hat (it doesn't fit that well...!!) and off I go...(Good job I got lots of experience at the school canteen)...Shopping, chopping, cutting, slicing.....cucumber and cream cheese....

Trout & watercress quiche....easy peasy.....just line a flan tin with (ready made of course!) puff pastry...bake blind until golden and then tip in pieces of trout (or salmon), a chopped up bag of watercress, some dill, 4 eggs beaten with 300 ml double cream, salt & pepper...into the oven until golden and slightly risen...you're done & the lovely quiche-y aroma scents the house, welcoming the corporate visitors to the home of, if not a high-flying caterer, at least a domestic goddess.....!

More chopping, slicing, mixing & spreading - chicken, spring onion, celery & walnuts with mayo this time....

When I returned this afternoon, there were only empty plates so I think I might be roped in to do it again! I once had a vision of opening my own catering business but after several of these lunches requiring enough food for (only) 4, the very idea sends me into a cold sweat......sandwich anyone?.........s

Opulent Orchids on a Sunny Sunday..

We spent a happy afternoon yesterday at the R.H.S Gardens, Wisley in Surrey where they had a fabulous display of orchids in the glasshouse, to coincide with the Mothering Sunday weekend...
I would never turn down an orchid in any shape or form although I tend not to go for these bright colours - they looked wonderful in the tropical setting of the glasshouse but I find in the setting of the home, they can look garish...




These reminded me of displays I have seen in Sydney and Singapore - displayed en masse in shallow metal bowls and suspended over water...beautiful....

We were hoping to see lots of bulbs but were a bit disappointed - no daffodils in bloom and only a sparse carpet of crocuses...

Interesting blossoms starting to appear....

And you know I just cannot walk past any statuary sporting angel wings!

All in all, a day filled with the promise of Spring...& helped along by a delicious afternoon tea and some time well spent in the huge and well stocked shop which, luckily, had a great selection of books of my favourite subject.....if I tell you that the ones I noted down had titles like 'Saha' 'Meals in Heels' and 'Canteen' you'll quickly guess where I spent most of my time....I didn't have very high hopes for the outing when we arrived and saw the serried ranks of cars stretching as far as the eye could see; I heard the deep sigh emanating from the LAB and a few mutterings along the lines of 'You must be joking' but I can happily report, it all turned out well in the end!

Hope your week turns out the way you would like.......s

On My Wish List this Weekend...

This morning, this plopped through my letter box & I have hardly been able to tear myself away from it! Thanks Sarah at semiexpat for telling me about this place - I have been a regular visitor ever since...their new catalogue contains yet more covetable, beautiful objects....Everything in their shops is displayed stylishly (as in the photos below) and basically, you could just turn up and completely furnish your house from top to bottom & then accessorise every room too - all in the one visit (should be you inclined...I have always found that a disastrous way of furnishing but have had no option when arriving on another continent sans EVERYTHING!! I have never had success that way...I have always regretted at least one of the hurried purchases later and wished I had had more time to think it through.)

This is not in the same league as Habitat or Ikea though (just in case your thoughts were wandering in that direction: catalogues, entire room displays)...far from it - think more along on the lines of the warehouse of a very exclusive (& sometimes very expensive) interior design company and you will be on the right track.

Whatever is on your weekend wish list, have a happy one.....s