Preparing for an Adventure of a Lifetime

Hello everyone.

This week has been generally quieter, and we have finished a few small jobs around the house and garden - nothing too big, just things that needed attention. We still found time to go out for coffee on a couple of days. 

Most of this week has been spent planning, buying, and preparing for our holiday. However, by Friday, I had itchy feet to get out and about, and we visited Coughton Court in Alcester.

The forecast was for rain, but we went anyway. This time, the forecast was correct, and as we arrived, there was a very heavy shower. We sat in the car and waited for it to pass over. When we were able, we made straight for the house to stay dry.

Coughton Court is a large country house dating from the Tudor period. The gatehouse dates back to the mid-1530s and is the oldest part of the building. I really liked the turrets and windows and was pleased to be able to climb the winding staircase to view the surroundings from the rooftop.

The Coughton estate dates back to 1409, when the Throckmorton family owned the land and built the property. It remains their family home to this day.

Coughton Court also holds a place in history for two attempted assassination plots. The first plot was to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in 1583, and the second was to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Although the Gunpowder Plot was the more infamous of the two, the Throckmorton family were only indirectly involved when some of the conspirators rode to Coughton after their plan had been thwarted.

During this time, the Throckmorton family was firmly Catholic; however, since the country was mainly Protestant, openly supporting Catholic priests was dangerous. Instead, the family built a a hidden priest hole so that any Catholic priest could hide if an search party arrived unexpectedly. We were able to see this.

The National Trust currently manages the house, but from next year, the current Throckmorton family will take over this role.

By the time we came back outside, the rain had stopped, the sun had come out, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon strolling around the gardens. 

And so to the adventure.

Hubby and I will be off travelling very soon on a holiday we have been planning and looking forward to for a long time. It was impossible until retirement, but now we have the opportunity to enjoy ourselves and make some good memories together. 

We will be visiting Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Vancouver, Canada.

I will be back in November when I will come visiting all my blogging friends and tell you all about our time away. D will still be around to keep an eye on things, and who knows, she may put up a blog post herself.

 

Until then, enjoy the rest of this month and step into Autumn or Spring if you live on the other side of the globe from this small corner.

See you all soon.

B x

Week One

Hello and welcome to you all. Thank you for taking the time to visit here. 

Firstly, a huge thank you to all of you for the good wishes and encouragement we received on my husband's retirement last week. You are all kind and thoughtful people, and we were quite overwhelmed.

And so the reality of retirement has now begun!

I realise that there will be lots of mundane and routine jobs still to do, but we can share them a bit more now. The cleaning, washing and cooking still need to be done, but there will also be lots of projects, travel and other things to enjoy. The best thing is that we can do all this, but at our own pace and in the way that suits us best.

This week we visited Bakewell in the Derbyshire Dales. It has been about two years since our last visit but we enjoyed it just as much as last time. The weather forecast was to expect some rain. However, it remained dry while we were there and we didn't need coats all day. A lesson learned, 'to sometimes just go out anyway.'

We arrived at lunchtime and indulged in Bakewell's famous sweet treats: the Bakewell Tart and the Bakewell Pudding. Three places claim to have the original recipe: 'The Bakewell Tart Shop and Coffee House', 'The Bakewell Pudding Shop' and 'Bloomers of Bakewell'. We went to the 'Bakewell Tart Shop', which sold Bakewell tarts, Including Iced Bakewell tarts, moist Bakewell tarts, and the traditional Bakewell pudding. 

Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Pudding

I think my favourite was the pudding.

According to legend, the Bakewell pudding came about from a happy accident when a nineteenth-century cook at the now-demolished White Horse Inn misinterpreted the requirements for a dessert, and thus created the first pudding. The Bakewell tart was a later creation, featuring a shortcrust pastry base and a filling of jam and frangipane, topped with almonds. There is also a more commercial variation, with icing and a cherry on top, made by a company that claims to make 'exceedingly good cakes'. 

We enjoyed looking in shops in town and a stroll along the River Wye. The ducks, swans and geese were happily enjoying being fed by visitors. One man was hand-feeding a goose! I value my fingertips too much for that type of close encounter.

We also walked up the hill to visit the parish church of All Saints. The current building is about 180 years old, having replaced the original Medieval church. In the church yard, we found these two Saxon cross bases, a reminder of the long history associated with the church. 

Inside, there are some beautiful stained glass windows like this one.

We had a lovely few hours in Bakewell and I would certainly go back again and enjoy more Bakewell pudding, of course.

Back at home, hubby has enjoyed working on a new jigsaw. One of his birthday presents this year was this carry jigsaw puzzle case. It means that we can easily clear the table for meals or other crafting activities. We tried it out and it works perfectly. 

He completed this puzzle in just a few hours. It had 500 pieces, and the scene is Scarborough. He may need to move on to 1000 pieces next time. I managed to fit in a few pieces myself as well.

We have also been trying out various coffee/tea places that also have sweet treats and catching up with friends. The weather has been mostly good, and this first week of retirement has gone well.

I hope your week has gone well wherever you are, you are in good health and that you have enjoyed a little sunshine in your life.

B