Yes hot again, same as, same as. Perhaps not quite as hot as Monday, and the mid- morning was definitely cooler with a pleasant breeze.
I slept really really well, almost without interruptions. Perhaps the swimming helped, I had wondered if increased exercise might make a difference.
But, I didn’t get a lie in because I was due to pick up Fleur at around 07.30 because we had swims booked at Didcot at 08.20.
So H was merely ushered outside and then invited back in again.
F and I had a good swim, though I think she was held up by swimmers who were slower than she was, but who thought they were faster than they actually were.
As for me, I was held up too, by 3 tortoises in line, who were definitely not going to give way. Three in a slow line is two too many to overtake. They gradually gave up, or exited, so things improved and I was able to continue at my own pace. The pool was pleasantly cool and fairy quiet when I got out.
We returned home to pick up Heidi and then to return Fleur home and pick up Minnie for her to join us on our walk.
I thought we might walk by the river at Little Basildon but gave up on that idea due to the presence of paddle boarders in the car park area. The beach there is small and dogs rushing through the water might upset paddle boarders.
I knew it would be too late to park at Pangbourne so headed for Basildon Park which is an NT managed ancient House with wonderful far reaching fields and woodland.
We were there as it opened and entry was not too complicated with not too many people in the way.
The approach to their fields is via an uphill woodland walkway, which used to be illuminated with fairy lights giving it a magical grotto quality. Either they were not switched on or are no longer there.
What there is, is a nice new wooden bench just as you reach the top of the slope. I eyed it up, booking a ticket for my return journey.
We had a lovely ramble across the field as far as this plank bench in the middle of absolutely nowhere. You have to know it is there if you want to park your bottom somewhere. Because it is all there is.
It was a beautiful morning to be out and about – a really pleasant breeze kept the temperature down, and it was mid morning by now.
As we returned to the car, I tested out the new bench under the shade of the walkway trees. There, Minnie had to be remonstrated with because she kept uttering woofs at anything and everything that went by.
Basildon Park is a popular day out with locals, never mind those from further afield. So by now there was a constant stream of people.
I arrived back to return Minnie at around 12.15pm.
This meant I had been on the go since 07.30 and I felt I deserved a rest. And lunch.
I received some beautiful thank you flowers from the Illis… but then Minnie will be visiting again this weekend for a couple of sleep over nights. In between my art course and entertaining visitors. Looks like a busy weekend!
I took lunch and the rest I had promised myself.
I have one stuffed pepper left to enjoy. Like many Greek recipes, they seem to taste better as they mature. And those stuffed veg were good. I shall eat it with some of my remaining beans.
From Greece, Tina has emailed to say they are safe and the fires are dying down … but …
We’re fine. We are safe, thank you! There were constant telephone alarms advising evacuations..Yesterday, we were ready to leave with passports, deeds and degrees…and computers. Fortunately, today the danger here is past!
We had 🚁s to-ing and fro-ing overhead throughout daylight hours, but this morning the fires have been put out. Cats are calm, and no doubt they’re relieved the ear-splitting sounds of engines and cacophonous telephone alarms have stopped.
Must have been scary after the fires of six years ago. She has repeated her invitation for me to visit this Autumn.
Thought for the Day
How to sell a visit to Basildon Park …
At the time of its building, the design of Basildon was already old-fashioned. From 1750s onwards large houses were being built without a rustic, and having the principal floor on the ground was becoming commonplace. Basildon, with its piano nobile, large portico denoting status, and main facade falsely elongated by fenestrated walls, was never innovative architecture, but, like many other houses, was built to bolster the status of its owner, the newly rich Sir Francis Sykes, keen for a political career.
Basildon is not one of the great houses of Britain; houses of similar style and size exist the length of the country. Neither is the mansion of great architectural importance. Its architect, described as “one of the most prolific of the 18th century”[43] is far better known for his works elsewhere.[44] Neither is Basildon remarkable for its contents. While it has some fine plasterwork, its contents, though high quality antiques, are not of the finest museum quality and its art collection consists mostly of mediocre paintings of the 17th and 18th century Italian schools, bought for their size and suitability for the decoration of the interiors rather than for their quality.[25]
Instead, Basildon is remarkable and notable for its survival against all odds in the 20th century. At a time when it was near ruin and its destruction seemed inevitable, it was saved. Since 1900, over 1,000 country houses,[45] many of far greater architectural importance than Basildon, have been demolished. The destruction of many of these houses began as a trickle just prior to World War I, but became a tidal wave in 1955, when one house was demolished every five days.[45] The destruction did not halt until 1975,[45] by which time the Iliffe’s restoration work at Basildon was almost completed.
In 1978, the Iliffes gave the house, together with its park and a large endowment for its upkeep, to the National Trust, enabling the house to provide a paying public with not only an insight to the interior of a grand house during both the 18th and 19th centuries, but also a rare view of how such houses were adapted to suit a more modern life-style during the last half of the 20th century. It was Lord and Lady Iliffe’s wish that “The National Trust will protect it and its park for future generations to enjoy.”[46]
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