The following day Ella and I and Ella’s three dogs went to Blandford Forum. This is a beautiful Georgian town a great deal of which was rebuilt after a Great Fire by the Bastard brothers – a name which seems to have died out.
A house which survived the Great Fire
19th January 2012: I wrote up my blog over New Year on my laptop. Subsequently the nasty little thing went on the blink and has been sent away maybe never to be seen again. So I am having to try to re-remember what I have done and wrote about. I want to be up to date before I depart for three weeks from Brize Norton on an RAF flight for the Falklands on Sunday so I can concentrate on blogging about the Falklands when I get back…
So…back to 10 October 2011. The Van has an awning with side enclosures and this has never been “erected” (is that what you do to an awning?) since a failed attempt in September 2010. A fellow surveyor, Ella, promised to help me so we agreed to meet up in the camp site of an extraordinarily named pub “True Lovers’ Knot” between Wimborne and Blandford Forum. She has a smaller, neater outfit, a Bilbo’s (their use of the appostrophe). She erected her awning in three quarters of an hour. After more than three hours on mine we finished mine with a little bodging at the end.
I very much doubt the awning will see the light of day frequently if at all….
On my father’s 94th birthday we took him across to Yarmouth for lunch.
It was a beautiful day and the Lymington river and the Solent were busy with sailors of all shapes and sizes…
The following weekend I had lunch with Simon’s friends from Keble who had sponsored an organ pipe in the memory of Simon and Tim. After lunch we went on to the Chapel to a lovely service for the dedication of the organ
Sally, John, Judith, Tim’s son and Sue
and later that month there was a get together with friends from way back in the days in Northumberland:
Rosemary, my father and Coral
Tyntesfield, acquired by the Nat Trust in 2002 is a Gothic Revival pile, built between 1863 and the 1880s. There is still a lot of conservation work to do. The family fortune – when the house was built, they were one of the richest families in England –was from importing guano from South America. Lord Wraxhall, the then owner, was kidnapped in 1988 and locked in the boot of his car during a burglary.
The Chapel – there is a bridge across to the house for Upstairs.
One of the elaborate fireplaces
Tiling around a bath
And the “downstairs” – wonderfully chaotic
The bells….
Change of venue – a Poor House
- now used as offices.
I overlooked blogging this, so I might find it difficult to slot into the right order – so I apologise if it causes confusion…
I went to Bristol via Birmingham – by car.
While in Birmingham I went to visit the Back-to-backs behind Hurst Street (Nat Trust). I had never been there before; the restoration of the block of buildings post dates our time in Birmingham.
From inside the courtyard
Four of the dwellings are themed in different eras and types of employment – all carefully researched from the various censuses.
I really recommend this visit. There was an extended family in our guided group and this added interest as the great grandmother had been born and spent her early childhood in a Birmingham Back-to-back so she was able to add information.
No photos were allowed in the interiors. However I begged permission to take a couple of photos of one of the glassblower’s drawers of wares – glass eyes.
The laundry and toilet block and the great grandmother
Two ages of lavatory
In Bristol I stayed with Mike and Linda. Linda was at Bristol Poly at the same time as me and she had arranged a mini-reunion with some of the girls I shared a house with. I hadn’t seen Sue, Meriel and Alison since in 1971.
Also at the lunch were a couple of Linda’s lecturers.
On the following day Mike and I went to Tynetsfield – see Part 2
