PAINT BOX ~ Pink and Green

Shocking Pink and Green

Some colour combinations are so delightful, and this shocking pink and green chest of drawers we came across sitting outside an antiques shop really appeals to us. It's got a 1970s India type of vibe to it.  If only we had somewhere to put it in our cottage!

A few weeks ago the continued winter weather had us worried that Spring would not come, and Summer could not follow.

But we have seen our first Bumblebee of the season, a few Butterflies and glorious sunshine! The woods are now alive with magic.

Down in the woods ..... things are stirring!



A kitchen display at the Cath Kidston store in Marlborough

It's not pink, or green, but we love this cheerful kitchen display at our local Cath Kidston shop. It would fit perfectly into our tiny cottage - we may just have to take it away!

FOLKLORIC ~ Staddle Stones

Alice and The Caterpillar meet by a mushroom
John Tenniel

Epilogue to Through the Looking Glass

A boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July --

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear
Pleased a simple tale to hear --

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream --
Lingering in the golden gleam --
Life what is it but a dream?

Lewis Carroll

All of my life I have been mesmerised by Lewis Carroll. His photographs and his writing epitomised the idea of England which first captured my heart and made me want to live here. I love his poems which I find quite poignant, and of course Alice. I have collected illustrations and items which remind me of his books and am always thrilled to find anything which touches an 'Alice' chord within me. Our cottage is full of Mad Tea Party and Cheshire Cat vignettes. I always loved that a lot of what he wrote has double meaning and although it resonates heavily with children you can read and re-read and find deeper meaning. It took me sometime to understand - and then thanks to Grace Slick and The Jefferson Airplane with 'White Rabbit'  and a wander through the psychelic streets of Haight Ashbury to realise that the naughty caterpillar (and Alice) were under the enfluence of magic mushrooms and other rather special substances. Mushrooms are forever associated with magic and Fairies and most children delight in finding them in any form.

A set of 6 fabulous stone mushrooms for sale
from the Salisbury Salvo website

There are a lot of things in England which do seem to be Alice like. There are of course those magnifient West Country teas, or tea at The Ritz, how civilised! When I first moved here I was enthralled by giant stone mushrooms I came across in gardens, especially in villages and on farms. I wanted one, or two! They were fairy like and instantly Alice like, but I could not imagine that the generally stoic English public would be so sentimental about fairies or Alice to have strewn these items across their little enchanted isle.  I was living in London in those days and there was no internet (imagine!?) so it took me awhile to work out just what they really were.

When I finally did I was even more excited! I should have just asked a countryman, but instead it dawned on me one fine day when I came across a really magical little building in the wonderful Wiltshire landscape!

Little building from Sheldon Manor, near Chippenham, Wiltshire
From here:

Once upon a time these uncommon looking things were quite common and they had a very important use. They are known as 'Staddle Stones' a kind of magical name just in itself.  From the Wikipedia page: "In Middle English staddle or stadle is stathel, from Old English stathol, a foundation, support or trunk of a tree. The tops of the staddles were usually circular and this made it almost impossible for a rodent to climb up and into the hay or grain stored above. The air could freely circulate beneath the stored crops and this helped to keep it dry. Bee hives were often set on top of staddle stones to keep out predators and provide dry and airy conditions."

An old barn supported on several Staddle Stones at Boscombe, Wiltshire
Photo by Mike Searle, from here:

Staddle Stones of old were made of sandstone, red sandstone or granite, according to whatever materials were available locally. Today some garden centres sell reproductions made of cement but they are not anywhere near as magical and it takes  along time for them to achieve the any kind of patina or growth of the wonderful lichen that adds to the ancient look and charm of the old ones.

You often see old cattle troughs and sinks being placed upon Staddle Stones, still with their mushroom tops, or otherwise and this makes a lovely planter. I came across this pretty one in Ramsbury.



Conical shaped Staddle Stones in Ramsbury, Wiltshire

Mushroom Staddle Stones for sale at Below Stairs, Hungerford



Recently when I posted a fine set of these magical mushrooms for sale at a favourite shop, Below Stairs in Hungerford, ( their website:)   Nella from the lovely Acorn Country Living here:  asked if they had a special name. This reminded me once again of how much these stones meant to me and what a part they had played in my life in England. Since living here I have found out that they were also used in America, but most of them were made of timber there and have not survived.

I always look for them on our travels and they never cease to delight. Once they were quite common, less so today, but to me they will always be magical and Alice like.

And finally, here is the one in our garden which covers the old well that was once used by our village before it was connected to mains water in 1936.  Today the cats often sit upon it watching the birds in the trees.  As soon as we viewed our tiny Arts and Crafts cottage we fell in love with it and when I saw this mushroom in the back garden I knew we had to live here. Our very own little bit of 'Alice'.

Our much loved Staddle Stone over our old well

 

 

Further reading: The Wiki page for Staddle Stones

SEASONAL ~ Let there be light

Littlecote Woods, Berkshire

I love the light in England this time of year. As foilage brightens the days begin and end in a twilight world. It is my favourite hour of the day. The light plays tricks with you, casting an ethereal glow over the landscapes. It makes everything seem as if it is in the distance, just out of reach. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so much magic. Sometimes it is like living in an illuminated manuscript.

Windows of old cottages, manor houses and religious buildings have always enchanted me. New glass has nothing in common with glass that has aged.  It has a special muted quality, a soft focus.

Windows from The Bell, Ramsbury and  Littlecote House

I have an inquisitive mind (curiosity killed the cat!) and cannot resist looking in as I walk past a window where the curtains are not drawn. Often the owners provide little vignettes to snare our interest. Looking at windows from the outside gives a glimpse into the life of those who lived or are living in a house.

The delightful  'frog' window in Hungerford, Berkshire, and antique china illuminated by lamp light in Aldbourne, Wiltshire

Windows in Chilton Foliat, Berkshire

Looking at the world outside through an old glass window frames the world in a different way than when seen from the ground. 

Looking out at the beautiful views from Littlecote House

Not everything in life that we desire costs a lot of money. This Mintons tea cup is one of our favourite items, collected from a charity shop in Hungerford for truly next to nothing. It was created sometime in the years between 1873 and 1912 which makes it over 100 years old and possibly 140. It wears it's age well despite a crack which has been crudely glued by a previous owner anxious to save the cup. But not for use, simply because it is so very very beautiful. 

No tea pours through it these days, but the light still does. The china is so fine that it is translucent. The hand painted decoration is exquisite. 

When I look at it I am grateful to Mintons for creating it, to whoever it was who did not throw it away when it was broken and to that person who still loved it enough to hope that by giving it to charity it would find a new owner to cherish it. And we do. 

Exquisite fine china Mintons tea cup, broken but it's beauty undimmed

ENCHANTED ~ Dragon Cottages

A cottage at Haslemere, Surrey Helen Allingham

Like many parts of Britain the area of Wiltshire we live in is graced with old cottages both thatched and red brick tiled. When I was a child I decided that the tiles were from dragons or sea serpents and I named the cottages adorned with them 'dragon cottages' because they looked as if they had scales. Children's minds are funny things!

A Green Dragon and his scales

Tiles hung on a side of a building

This one even has a dragon ridge on it's roof!

As I grew up elsewhere I did not set eyes upon an English dragon cottage save in books and magazines until I landed upon this sceptred isle in the 70s.

Magical Cotchford Farm

The first that I saw in person were in Sussex. I had to make pilgrimages to many favourite authors homes, and to historic houses and gardens. Many of them were hung with red clay tiles. I was in Heaven, but sadly in those days only photographers carried decent cameras and so I have just slightly blurry photo memories of those early halycon times in the English countryside I loved so much.

Cotchford Farm was dear to my heart for two reasons, it had been the home of Winnie The Pooh author A.A. Milne where he wrote the Pooh stories for his young son Christopher Robin and later in the 60s the last home of the very talented but ill fated boy-child, Rolling Stone Brian Jones.  There are statues of the Winnie The Pooh characters in the garden and more than a slight air of sorrow pervades it, but the farm house is so pretty.

Christopher Robin and Pooh 1925 at Cotchford Farm

Another favourite childhood author of mine was Rudyard Kipling. I loved that he adored cats and his poem The Cat Who Walked Alone is still a favourite of mine and Mrs Black's. I had to visit his house, and was delighted to find that it too was hung with clay tiles!

Bateman's home of Rudyard Kipling

Bateman's is the wonderful Jacobean manor where poet Rudyard Kipling lived from 1902-1936. It is in Burwash, Etchingham, East Sussex and is open to the public via The National Trust.

Bateman's National Trust

I never tire of looking for buildings hung with red tiles be they humble or grand and now I take photographs. The workers cottages we live in have a few dragon scales and our particular cottage has quite a few Dragons inside and out as we collect them.

I love the elaborate tile decoration which you find all over Britain on cottages, grand houses and shops. 

This is the magnificent Merchant's House, Marlborough, Wiltshire

Courtyards and alleys in Marlborough

This building is cheating a little as strictly speaking these are not tile hung, but built into the fabric of this wonderful old bulding at Kingsclere. I can still imagine them as Dragon scales, for quite a special Dragon. It's a most loved place of mine. The initials on it are of one of the greatest ever racehorse trainers John Porter (2 March 1838 – 21 February 1922) who built Kingsclere on the Hampshire Downs and also founded Newbury Racecourse in Berkshire. During his career he trained racehorses for royalty and his horses won twenty three British Classic races including the Epsom Derby seven times. Some of his most famous horses include the Triple Crown winners  Ormonde (1886), Common (1891), and Flying Fox (1899).  You can read more about him and Kingsclere here: National Racing Museum.

While I was growing up in America I collected books about England, especially those with illustrations of country cottages inclduing my 'Dragon Cottages'. I knew I'd live here one day and it kept my dream alive to look at them.

One of my favourite artists was Helen Allingham,  (26 September 1848 – 28 September 1926)  the  English watercolourist and illustrator of the victorian era. I know her view of England is a romantic one, but that is the point isn't it? I love the way her paintings are so soft, almost always include animals and birds and do have a dreamy quality to them.

A cottage at Shere, c.1875

Where I grew up a few people had prairie style gardens, but not many. It was thought in those days that your garden, or 'yard' as Americans call them, should be a tidy place. My Great Grandmother was a magical woman. Very self sufficient, a little mysterious and set in the old ways. She had a tiny cottage a cat and a cottage garden. I still remember her sweeping her dirt path to keep it free of weeds and less dusty.



Kentish Garden, Helen Allingham

Although her cottage was in a rural backwater of Northern California she may have been the one who first set me dreaming of the world beyond, of castles and kings and dragon cottages.

PLACES ~ Bow Belles Cafe

Summer really is a wash out  here. News reports tell us that June was the wettest month since records began, and there is no let up in sight. But we are grateful that unlike some parts of England and the world, we are safe, not flooded and occasionally we still have electricity,  heating (and yes, evenings are so cold, we still need it!) and internet access.

There is nothing to do but remember the few sunny days of blossom and birdsong we have had fondly and stop off for tea and cake when we find a pretty cafe.

The wonderful house on Hungerford Bridge,
and that stunning Wisteria

A favourite stopping place for tea or lunch
Bow Belles Cafe in Marlborough, Wiltshire

Bow Belles cafe is located at the back of Bow House shop, in a very pretty Victorian house
 in Marlborough High Street.
 Can you see we are being watched by the little dog upstairs?

You have to pass through the shop to reach the cafe! Time to admire items .....

Too many choices, and cakes too

The cafe furniture is beautiful

The china and silverware are lovely too - as is the food!

The toilets for customers of the cafe are an opportunity for the owners to show off more of their superb design expertise. The rooms are lavishly decorated in a black and green wallpaper with glittery Komodo Dragons that look as if they are wearing tiny sparkly sequins, and stocked with scented soaps and hand creams. It's all sold in the shop, the wallpaper is 'Komodo' by Osborne and Little and we so want it!  

And, at the back is a beautiful secret garden all white and green.

Bow House & Bow Belles Cafe Marlborough & Hungerford

Happy May Bank Holiday!

It's still raining here and so you know it must be a Bank Holiday coming up! We're going away for a few days to even deeper countryside to visit old friends. I hope that wherever you are a little sunshine comes your way this weekend, or if not, then perhaps a rainbow.