Still in the Lake District, here is the stunning photograph myf took of that lovely Ashness Bridge.
I'm so pleased that we are both members of the National Trust as there are so many beautiful places to visit in the British Isles. We've been to many of them. (I even have a National Trust passport which I get stamped with a little pictorial image every time we visit one of their properties). So on the way home we broke our journey by calling in to Dunham Massey in Cheshire
The story of Dunham Massey begins in about 1560 with Sir George Booth - a staunch Presbyterian. Unlike all the other NT properties we've visited, this one tells the story of the scandals, finances and colourful history of Dunham Massey with a series of well-designed and beautifully written parchment descriptions of the scandals, at the entrance to every room. For example, the 7th Earl, George Harry Grey (1827-83) was an orphan when he inherited. He loved gambling, racing, shooting and grand building schemes. But his second marriage was to a circus performer and bare back rider called Catherine Cocks. The stalwarts of Cheshire society most certainly did not approve. The newly weds were treated so badly that they decided to leave. They packed up, took all the silver and the best of the pictures and moved to Enville. They never came back. Each room in the mansion gave a great description to the history and some were decorated in a most surprising way.
After a tour of the house we explored the garden. And once again I was given a buggy.
Great fun, and a perfect way to see the garden while my young friend could walk around at her own pace without me limping along.
I must admit I did have a few minor mishaps. The first was when I approached a second iron gate and bashed into it instead of braking (no damage to either gate or buggy). Next, as I was reversing, myf shouted out "STOP" just before I backed into two unsuspecting ladies. Then I drove the buggy into the restaurant before I was reminded that you can't take buggies into retaurants! We managed the rest of our tour without further mishap. This is the working mill
Back home now and a visit to the Mall Galleries in London for the opening of this year's Royal Society of Miniature Painters annual exhibition. Here is Tom Mulliner accepting the prize for the most outstanding portrait miniature in the exhibition which I sponsor (The Mundy Sovereign Award) from Dame Patricia Routledge
This amused me - seen at a traffic light from behind a van specialising in Loo Hire.
Note the numberplate - loo4poo.
And finally, here is my latest oil painting. Thirty-five inches high I call it "Thursday's Child".
