Monday, July 23, 2018

Life back at the house

Monday morning was time for us to leave Kantara in the hands of the team at Debdale. Just before we went, Martin, the man who was going to be dealing with Kantara, gave us a guided tour of another boat which had just finished being zinc-sprayed, and he answered a number of questions we had about the process. Anxieties assuaged, we drove away back to St Albans and a list of decorating jobs to do.

We were already glad of the break when it came to Wednesday afternoon, when we went with a group from church to Chenies Manor.





It's a beautiful, Jacobean manor house that's been extended and altered over the centuries. It's privately owned, so it's only open to the public for just three hours on two days a week. The current owners are responsible for an enormous amount of restoration work, and the interior and exterior are a joy to behold. The gardens, too, are remarkable.











Though much of the grass was being regularly watered, and was very green, the long dry spell had taken a toll on this lawn in particular.




Steve returned from Poland on Friday, having spent several days with Karolina at her parents' home. They actually had quite a lot of rain while we were parched.

Yesterday evening found us eating in a very pleasant restaurant right next to the Kennet and Avon Canal in Reading. We'd driven Jess to a gig in the town - it was the simplest and quickest way for her to get there - and didn't stay for that. We were hungry and thirsty, and we do know their entire repertoire really quite well!



But, having enjoyed a fine, leisurely meal at Browns, we drove back to the venue and caught Said the Maiden's second 45-minute set. We didn't go in (and we're glad we didn't, because it was, Jess told us, unbearably hot and stuffy), but the park bench we sat on looked through a side door onto the stage, so we could enjoy the performance from a very pleasant, much cooler position.

Today? More flipping decorating. Wallpaper stripping. Oh joy!



5 comments:

  1. What an incredibly beautiful house!

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  2. Is there a purpose to all this re-decorating? Are you thinking of selling up?

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    1. No, not selling up yet, Val. I think it's going to be useful for some years yet. All of the decorating is only what we would have done, little by little over the past seven years. This was a catching-up exercise!

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  3. And I don't know if I've said it already, but Chenies Manor is one stunning house. I love the chimnies!

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  4. It's really wonderful. We'll be back.

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