Littlestone

Sitting here now with jeans on and 2 cardies and indeed socks for the first time in weeks, it seems somewhat unlikely that we recently had a stunningly hot weekend, one day of which was spent with Ed and Sarah in Littlestone. When we first arrived I established an outpost in the middle of the lawn, lying flat out in the sun and soaking up the rays like a lizard, paper in one hand and coffee in the other; a rare and guiltly enjoyed moment of idleness.

The garden backs straight onto Littlestone golf course and the boys usually go pelting across the vast open space, but this time were curtailed by 'actual golfers'... Georgia however took up a position with Patrick on top of the wall, all the better to see the action.


We had a fabulous lunch outside - Stan ate his body weight and perhaps mine too, in prawns (no granny there this time to indulge and peel them for him). After lunch we were planning a trip to ride on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch "little train", which astonishingly we have ever done before, despite some pretty avid train fans amongst the smaller people in the family. A slight distraction came along in the form of a friend of Ed and Sarah's who was riding her horse and had promised Patrick the chance to have a go.

This naturally extended into G wanting a go (although the boys were rather reticent?). It reminded me of Georgia's very natural posture om a horse and how I have been talking forever about setting up a regular session for her and I to go riding. (note to self "pull finger out"!). She was really lucky to go for a short walk down the road and back; heath and safety thrown to the wind, - bare feet and no hard hat, but hey?

Horseman/womanship over we realised that the last chance for the train was rushing towards us and so hurled the kids in the car, Patrick still his PJ's,and made it in time for a short ride up the line to Dymchurch and back.



The sky had been darkening though all afternoon and by the time we got to Dymchurch, where we had to wait for 20 minutes for the return journey. It was by now chucking it down however the sprogs scoffed down an ice cream and loved every minute, I think I would have benefited from more clothes!

Raff was ecstatic and we all had a pretty good time - Mouse however trembled and shook for the whole journey and nearly shed her own skin when the train let off steam and whistled loudly as it departed.
Ed, I'm not sure you needed the sign, the ladies have always known which way to go - thank you for lovely da

Drapers Reviews

The reviews are coming in and they're all good!

Time Out say "The daily-changing menu is firmly contemporary British, neatly matching the no-nonsense aesthetics of the pub’s refit. Devilled duck hearts on toast, ox tongue and lardy cake all make appearances, though it was the angels on horseback that tickled our fancy." and " The most memorable aspect of the Drapers wasn’t the food or drink, or even the well-proportioned building; it was the impeccable service. The team were well-mannered to a fault, and eager to ensure the equally well-mannered customers were well looked after."


View London says "The Drapers Arms is undoubtedly upmarket; however, it’s conversely unpretentious. With amazingly friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere, it's worth checking out if you're in the area, providing a welcomed respite from the madcap antics of nearby Upper Street."

Evening Standard "It’s always been a pleasure to be in these handsome rooms. When it comes to the food, the new owners have clearly opted for St-John-goes-to-the-pub but, with Fergus Henderson’s restaurant having just been voted the best in London, who’s complaining?"

Ghost boat

I have been woken for the past two mornings at 5 by Mouse barking and barking at something. I thought it might be a fox or something she could see in the garden and so this morning I opened the skylight to look out and saw the most beautiful sight. The marsh had the slightest mist, patchy and mostly just hovering above the water and emerging from it was Decima.

I pelted downstairs, grabbed my camera and ran to the bottom of the garden and captured these shots. Wish I had a telephoto lens, but they still certainly evoke the magic.






Back upstairs once again, I popped my head out of the roof and caught her as she sailed into the early sunlight. Mouse I forgive you, this time.

Garden

The garden was looking amazing last weekend so I took loads of pics, most of them speak for themselves, but these are of the leeks which I left to go to seed in the veg patch because of the awesome flower spikes they produce. The plants are now taller then me and just about bursting into flower

My Dixter inspired collection of pots - am hoping they will get better and better as the summer progresses, there are Cannas and Lillies to come and I will re-plant the tin bath with Nicotiana and grasses.

Running

Georgia is joining me this year in the Race for Life so today we went for our first 'training' session.....Let's say we may need to practice a little more often if we are going to manage to run further than the first corner.
We made it, in fits and starts eventually to the sea wall where we then sat amongst the Konik ponies for half an hour. They are such placid and beautiful creatures, not bothered by the dog at all and very inquisitive. Regular blog readers may remember the incident when one of them tried to eat one of Stan's wellies - today my trainers were the subject of some good but reasonably gentle chomping. Georgia had fun gathering grass and clover to feed them whilst I was mesmerised by one of the Marsh Harriers, criss crossing the rape fields, looking for lucnh but never seeming to find any. G and I decided we really are so lucky to have all of this on our doorstep. She was rather put out when a group of two or three families with loads of kids came along and joined in the horse play.

Kings Wood picnic

A few weeks ago we had a fantastic day out in Kings Wood with Mum, Brian, Mark, Eleanor, Isabella and Freddy. Mum had laid on a supreme feast with everyone's favourite food - Stan was particularly thrilled by the 2 bags of prawns from Bluey in Oare - which his personal peeler (Granny) fed him one by one! Oh to be the youngest and most indulged..! What will he do and in fact what will we all do when she sets off (again) on a grand adventure? Yes, for those who didn't know the siren, Sri Lanka, has called again and she and Brian are off in August for 2-3 years. We will miss you both so very much, but at least we can plan a grand trip as compensation

Anyway, back to Kings Wood. Here are a selection of Brian's pics - I didn't take any that day, so thanks Brian

Freddy


Trying to hear Jem Finer's piece working


Long walk = shoulder ride


Georgia and Brian


Use the force!


A gaggle of cousins - or whatever the collective noun is; brood, rabble, hullabaloo?

Stan's party

Well he had two, obviously.
School night normal tea with the Berry bunch followed by choc cake (champers for the grown ups, hooray for birthdays.



Then on the following Sunday a party for his school mates at Gym Club. They had a ball and whenever I took a picture M played the clown/panto "he's behind you" etc etc, so the kids look particularly happy