Another trip to the New Forest

Yesterday was lovely. Although we had another bit of bad luck when my partner’s bank called her to say her details had been stolen (my credit card company called only a few days ago to say the same thing – not related – and they had to send me a new card and account number.) However, thanks to their vigilance, she was contacted straight away and there hasn’t been too much damage.

Anyway, we arrived in Burley just after 1pm with two very excited dogs and found a quiet sunny spot to lay out all the picnic stuff (for those of you interested: butternut tarte with caramelised onion and apple, fresh salad, sweetcorn, bottle of bubbly, spiced carrot cake and kettles chips! I do a fabulous picnic!) We then spent a happy couple of hours lazing in the sun and taking photos before heading into the village for a cream tea. I also bought a rather magnificent walking stick with a deer antler handle. If I have to use a walking stick from time to time, why not a handsome one?

Then it was back into the forest for a game of mini boules, more exploring for the dogs and more lazing for the humans before we decided to head into Lymington and walk down to the old quay and eat fish and chips in the last of the sunshine.

We got home around 10pm; tired, grubby, well fed and satisfied and with over 200 photos. A very good day indeed.

Today my partner headed over to Brick Lane market where it is reputed most stolen bikes end up. She saw one Brompton but sadly, not hers. Although she realised she was probably looking at bikes that were stolen from some other poor sod and that made her sad. Back home (I had to go and help my mum with her shopping) we ate fresh bagels from Brick Lane and discussed getting another dog.

Now I’m thinking a pre-dinner nap might be in order and then a bit of telly and a glass of wine before the weekend is over...

Tough day

Friday's are normally a good day for me, but today has been, to say the least, tough. Actually it's been a really hard week! Part of me would like to crawl under the duvet and forget it all. Maybe I could wake up in a couple of days and feel better able to deal with everything.

Tomorrow we're off to the New Forest with our friend and her dog because if you remember from a previous blog, Charlie (the dog) hasn't got much longer after a massive tumour was removed from her spleen. She's in good form at the moment though so we're making the most of her wonderful company while we can. I'm taking my camera and we'll be making an album of the day. I'm looking forward to a cream tea! And maybe next week will be better.

Maybe.

The New Forest

We went to the New Forest yesterday. It was pretty close to perfect! From us, the Forest is about 2.5 hours away. For some people that may seem far, but for someone who does a lot of driving it doesn’t feel very far and it’s a pleasant trip.

Our weekend started on Friday with dinner round at friends. We had a great evening and decided to leave the car because J offered to pick us up the next morning to go and get it. So it was decided we would get a taxi home and the wine started flowing. They are lovely people and we seemed to talk about everything and anything – silly to serious. We had a wee hangover the next morning and were running late, unfortunately, J wasn’t, so we left him in the front room reading a book about hens as we raced around getting ready.

I put together an absolute feast: sandwiches, bananas and cake for lunch, salad with tuna and new potatoes for supper with strawberries for desert!

Before long we were on the road, with an excited dog and enough food for about six people! We hit nasty traffic problems in west London but eventually got down to the Forest around 1pm. The sun was shining and we pulled off and found a quiet part of the forest to lay down our blankets and laze about reading the Guardian and eating our lunch. Pluto was very happy and took himself off to explore, occasionally he would trot back and lick our faces unexpectedly just to say hi or he would sit sunbathing at our feet. Around 3.30pm we headed over to Burley for a gorgeous cream tea and a look round the shops. Despite Burley having only about 8 shops, my partner managed to buy a new cycle helmet and wallet and bizarrely I fell in love with a peg bag decorated with witches and bought that! (Burley is famous for its witches!). We then headed to another quiet part of the forest, where Pluto was chased by an over protective mare looking after her foal, I had a nap, my partner went for a walk and then we had the most gorgeous supper outside in the sun. We popped back to Burley, went to the pub for a drink before heading back home just after 8pm...

I am finding it increasingly difficult to leave beauty to return to chaos each time. I love the countryside, and I’m afraid London does not provide the succour it once did. But as long as I have my partner and my dog, it’s fair to say I have more happiness than most, and could live pretty much anywhere. Very soon we will be house hunting again so that hopefully we can live in our own little bit of paradise...

Off to see the fantastic Dulwich Ukulele Club this evening at the Brockwell Park Bandstand.

All in all, a great weekend I think you'll agree!

Chickens, drinks and sleeping well

Slept like a log last night. Getting up was a problem though. Every time I sat back down I started to drift off! Taking the dog to the park helped – it’s a glorious day and it was lovely to get some fresh air…

Last night I spent an hour with the chickens, they pretend they don’t care but actually they really like having you out in the garden with them. I tidied up their house – always a pleasant experience – and then headed in for a bath and a beer.

A friend who lives in Oz is back for a couple of days so tonight I’ll be heading into town to see him. I’m not sure how I’ll manage, I truly am very, very tired.

We’ve decided to head down to the New Forest this Saturday. Take a picnic and laze about all day letting the dog run off some steam and catching up on our reading.

Better do some work now though – not the weekend just yet!

Cream tea

Well I had another interview – it went really well (especially my presentation) but of course I won’t know how well for a couple of days! All I can say with certainty is that I did my very best and they seemed to like me, but then I did my very best and they seemed to like me at the Falmouth interview also, and we know how that ended up!

The interview was down in Hampshire and afterwards, realising how near I was to the New Forest, I decided to go for a little drive to really make the most of the day and it was a very good decision! The weather was a bit rubbish but the Forest is one of my favourite places (I used to live very near). I ended up in Burley and had a cream tea and did a bit of shopping before reluctantly getting back in the car and heading back home.

I got a lovely welcome from my partner and the dog who seemed to think that regardless of the outcome of the interview I was still a bit of a super star!

I haven’t been sleeping well because of everything that’s happening and last night was no exception, I got 2.5 hours and everything is a struggle this morning. At least I can sleep in tomorrow which will help but I do wish there was a switch I could flick to stop my mind racing along and keeping me up till all hours…

This evening I am having a suit fitting. I’m having a bespoke suit made for the wedding which I’m very excited about. It’s very decadent because bespoke costs an arm and a leg (actually you would need bespoke if you didn’t have an arm and a leg I guess…) I’ve got the shoes, and will also have a nice white shirt made as well and that’s me all gussied up and dandy.

Anyway, I don’t seem to have achieved much this morning so I shall need to crack on… before I drop off…

Tentastic!

What a fantastic Easter Bank Holiday! For those of you who may not know; we have about 6 or 8 BH’s in England - not sure what it is for the rest of the UK – but basically it’s a day off work in the week and most everyone agrees BH’s rock! Easter we have two – Good Friday and Easter Monday.

We decided to make the most of our four day weekend and go camping in the New Forest. I partly grew up around Christchurch and Mudeford and spent a lot of time in the Forest and wanted to share that with my partner. So we decided to pack the car, take the dog and head out on the open road…

I should give you some background: the New Forest is England’s newest national park and one of the most stunning areas of natural beauty. It’s also a massive place famous for (among other things) wild ponies, commoner’s rights (the right to graze your animals in the forest), cream teas, magnificent trees and wildlife and pretty villages dotted here and there.

The Forest got its name in 1079 by William The Conqueror who claimed the area as his ‘new hunting forest’. The ancient system established by William to protect and manage the woodlands and wilderness heaths is still in place today through the efforts of Verderers, Agisters and Commoners – literally the judges, stockmen and land users of the forest. And its proximity to the sea is most obvious in places such as Buckler's Hard, where ships for Nelson's fleet were built, using the mighty oaks from the forest.

We had to set off on Saturday because Friday I spent the day with the RNLI Tower Pier crew on a photo assignment being taken up and down the Thames on a very fast rescue boat! It was a great day and really nice of them to let me hang around drinking tea and biscuits with them. We were due to head off at stupid o’clock on the Saturday but common sense prevailed and in the end we drove off just after 8am.

We stayed in Lymington on the edge of the forest and we couldn't wait to explore. We got to the campsite with a very mellow pooch (he slept for most of the journey, seems his travel sickness is a thing of the past) and put up our new tent. After unpacking, we made sandwiches and sat in the sunshine with a cup of freshly brewed tea before heading back out to Christchurch.

Christchurch is very pretty! There are the castle ruins, the huge and very attractive Priory and the river Stour leading down to the harbour full of sailing and rowing boats, swans and ducks. And on a lovely sunny day it’s bliss to get a really big ice-cream (strawberry and mint choc chip – weird combination but it worked for me) and look out over the water. The dog was very excited by it all and it was nice to go for a fairly long walk and stretch our legs. We then went and got a coffee and looked in a few shops before ambling back to the car. That night we sat round the fire eating pasta and drinking beer. Later that same night however, we were hunkered down in our double sleeping bag with everything we could think of either on top of us or on us – it was FREEZING! We were wearing hats and jackets and all sorts. Pluto was in with us and we made him a little den just in case even his fur wasn’t enough. The next morning very early, I stumbled out of the tent, started a fire and put a brew on. About an hour later after a hot shower, I started to thaw… and once again it turned into a hot sunny day.

Restored by egg rolls and tea, we jumped in the car and this time went to Mudeford Quay. I took lots of photos and then bought some crab lines, bait and a bucket and we sat crabbing for an hour… we caught five but they went straight back in. I managed another ice cream and when we felt we had harassed the local crab population for long enough, we took the very scenic A35 up to Lyndhurst where we stopped for pasties before heading to Emory Down to go for a long walk in the Forest. Pluto made friends with a young pony; we saw two deer (that was a real treat), a custard yellow butterfly, 2 kestrels, and a variety of other birds… We also happened upon some gorgeous young cows and bullocks (I have a thing about cows) and I took at least another 20 photos.

That night we cooked burgers and sweetcorn and thankfully it was less cold so we slept better. We needed to head home the following morning so we packed up, filled up (bacon and egg rolls and more tea) and headed off… sad to be going but really, really happy that we had such a fantastic time.

Camping is great. If you have a sense of fun and adventure then camping is definitely for you. Yes it can be a little uncomfortable and it can get very cold, but it’s a fantastic way of getting around spontaneously and without spending a huge amount of money. Our trip was so cheap and yet we did so much. So for anyone that hasn’t been camping or is fairly new to camping (this was my first ever time) here are some top tips:

1. Don’t underestimate how cold it can get. Throw in extra t-shirts which are great for adding layers, and if you have a car, take a couple of extra blankets.


2. If you have knee or back problems, a roll mat may not be comfortable enough – try an air bed.


3. A portable bar-b-q is great for cooking and warmth. Take along some bundles of wood for after you’ve cooked so it feels like a campfire.


4. Don’t take loads of pots and pans. We used one old frying pan and one pot the whole weekend. In fact don’t be suckered into thinking you need loads of fancy equipment – you really don’t. Take the basics and ask other people what they take when they go camping.


5. Pre-cook food, we took along a big pasta dish which just needed heating up and home made garlic bread which we just stuck on the barbie.


6. Don’t forget a bottle opener, a sharp knife and lots of matches/lighters!


7. Wet wipes are great for a quick spruce before bed if there is a long queue for the wash rooms.


8. Look on the review sections of campsites and listen to what people that have actually stayed there think. You might think it’s worth joining the Camping and Caravan club – we’ve just joined.


9. Remember to air tents and sleeping bags on the line when you get back in case they are still a bit damp…

We live in a very beautiful country so my last tip is just to have fun and explore. It only took us 2.5 hrs to get back and we spent a contented afternoon unpacking, doing laundry and then grabbing a very satisfying nap. One of the best Easter’s I’ve ever had… and yes, there was chocolate too!

“But in its wild scenery lies its greatest charm...... Nowhere, in extent at least, spread such stretches of heath and moor, golden in the spring with the blaze of furze, and in the autumn purple with heather, and bronzed with the fading fern. Nowhere in England rise such oak-woods, their boughs rimed with the frostwork of lichens, and dark beech-groves with their floor of red brown leaves, on which the branches weave their own warp and woof of light and shade."
John Wise, 1895 - The New Forest. It’s History and Its Scenery.

Homes for hedgehogs and vegetables

A whole day spent in the garden yesterday, bliss! I’m achy and need a rub down with a copy of Gardener’s World but am very happy that I managed to spend time in our own little ecology centre yesterday…

Friday we went for dinner in the evening with friends which was a lot of fun. Saturday I had to go and get some camping stuff (we’re off to the New Forest at Easter! The missus, me and the dog makes three!). I ended up buying another sleeping bag; two roll mats; a dog tether (don’t ask) and plastic plates. And then Sunday we took the dog up Crystal Palace Park where, as you can imagine, he had a whale of a time. Then we came back to a huge breakfast which we ate in the garden, followed by a day of planting, trying to save our lawn and garden maintenance. I bought my partner some asparagus and a rose called Cambridge Castle (she went to Cambridge University) for her Easter present. I couldn’t exactly hide them for a week so she got them yesterday. And so they got planted with liberal helpings of horse poo.

We’re building a raised vegetable patch (we have clay soil and most veggies prefer good drainage) and we’ve now decided to extend the vegetable patch outward. So yesterday I was treating the wood with preserver, and by the amount I got on myself, I should stay looking 33 for quite a number of years to come…

My partner also sanded the lawn. Our turf never really took for a variety of reasons, so she spent hours spiking the lawn and brushing in sand to improve the drainage. Then we sprinkled lawn seed and gave it a good watering. Hopefully, we should have a decent lawn (or getting that way) within a month or so.

I was going to start building my hedgehog house as well but covered in wood preserver and dirt; I decided to head inside at 6 and soak myself clean in the bath and then made a rather fabulous roast dinner. The organic beef that was left is now in my sandwiches and its touch and go whether I’m going to make it till lunchtime…