David and a Scottish Wedding

Wow, what a week last week was! First David Hepler, our very good friend from Munich, came to visit for a couple days, then we drove up to Scotland for Lindsay and Diane Graham's wedding. In the process we got to see lots of friends and even Gordon, Jeff's brother.

But first, remember the fruit we went foraging for that I wrote about in the last blog? Well, here's what came of it: a mixed-fruit cobbler. What better way to get your 5-a-day?


Luckily we had an extra mouth to help eat the cobbler. David came on Monday, 30th August in the afternoon to stay with us a couple nights. Luckily Jeff had the whole week off, but I had to work Monday and Tuesday. On Jeff and David got to go walking in the Malvern hills, just about a 30-minute drive north of our house.

David doing what he does best

A picnic with a view
Finding blackberries along the path is an extra bonus!

Tuesday evening we had dinner at a local pub called The Bumble Bee, then of course more cobbler for dessert. Wednesday morning I made a full-English breakfast, we packed up, and in afternoon we drove into Gloucester and took David to the Cathedral.
Unfortunately our time with David quickly came to an end. We dropped him off at the bus station where he caught a bus to London and we headed up the road to David and Sharon Palmer's house north of Preston (about 3 hours). After arriving at their house, we went to supper at a local Italian restaurant, then back to their house for more chatting and then to bed. The next morning we left quite early to continue our journey up to Perth.

On the way we stopped at a National Trust property called Acorn Bank Gardens and Watermill, not too far from the Lake District.

The view from the front of the property

The main reason for going to this particular property is due to their having a nice tea room and us having a coupon for two free cream teas. Not only did the tea, scones and clotted cream taste better due to them not costing us a dime, but we got to have them sitting outside in the sunshine.

To work off a few bites of our cream tea we walked around the gardens, the orchard, the herb garden and to through the forest to the watermill and back.

After a few more stops up the M6, through Glasgow and Stirling, we finally made it to Perth. Thursday evening we drove into the city, took a walk along the Tay River and through the downtown area until we came to a Chinese restaurant, where we ended up having supper.

Friday, 3rd September was the day of Lindsay and Diane's wedding in Pitlochry. Jeff has known Lindsay since his days living in Preston, and then Lindsay was Jeff's boss while he was working in Manching. After we got married, coincidentally, we ended up moving just a few blocks away from Lindsay and Diane, so that's when I got to know them and other friends who attended the wedding.

The wedding was in a chapel at the base of the hill where the reception would be.

The guests were welcomed by a piper playing the bagpipes.
Jeff and Lindsay before the wedding. Lindsay was remarkably calm.
Kissing the bride...

The wedding reception was held at the stunning Atholl Palace Hotel (website). Most of the guests walked up the hill from the chapel. At the top waiters were serving champagne and hors d'oeuvres, while the bride and groom had their pictures taken. It was absolutely perfect weather, so we didn't mind being outside for a couple hours.

Guests walking up the stairs to the reception
The new Mr and Mrs Lindsay Graham (and the piper!)

The reception hall


The cake was made by Lindsay's sister

Lindsay's nephews

The menu for the "Wedding Breakfast" - I have no clue why it's called a breakfast - was typically Scottish, starting off with "The Wee Beastie Purse" - haggis, bacon & thyme baked in filo pastry with Edradour whiskey cream.

The rest of the menu included passion fruit sorbet, tarragon roasted sirloin of roast beef and warm apple, cinnamon and butterscotch pie with coffee.

After dinner, we spent time outside again while the tables were cleared and watched the sun set over the hills.

The real fun began when we went back inside: ceilidh (pronounced kay-lay) dancing. This is traditional Scottish dancing, sort of like line dancing in the States, but without the twang! Lots of calories burned doing this, but loads of fun. Lindsay and Diane are now on their honeymoon in Cancun.

Saturday morning, we woke a bit tired and with sore feet. We picked Gordon up at a train station and headed over to St Andrews, the birthplace of golf and the oldest universities in Scotland.

The ruins of the cathedral

The ruins of the castle that was the scene of several incidents during the Protestant Reformation
On the famous Swilken Bridge on the St Andrews golf course. The scene of all the college men in Chariots of Fire running on the beach was filmed on the beach behind us.

After a light lunch and a bit more walking through the town we decided to head down the coast to a village our friend Kate recommended called Elie. We took a walk on a cliff overlooking the ocean to Lady's Tower. It was quite cold and windy so the walk didn't last too long.

Jeff and Gordon on the way to Lady's Tower

My handsome husband

Back in the car, we headed to the village of Anstruther, known for its award-winning fish and chips (another of Kate's recommendations). She said we'd identify the right place from the queue outside. After waiting for at least 45 minutes (at 4:00 in the afternoon!) we got our tasty meal and ate it in the car... it was too cold on the harbour. It was very good, but I think I've had better at a restaurant in the Lake District a few years ago. Jeff was very impressed by the chips though.

Jeff and Gordon at the back of the queue

Sunday morning we got back in the car for a long 7-hour and over 400 mile drive back to Gloucester. We did, however, stop at Richard and Liz Laird's house near Bolton for a couple hours.

We had such a wonderful week spending time with friends, attending a wedding, and enjoying beautiful weather and scenery.

End of August

The days are getting shorter and fall is fast approaching. I definitely felt a chill in the air yesterday and today. At least it was sunny for most of the day, though.

I took this picture of my husband earlier in the week, not because he doesn't iron often, because he irons more often than I do, but because of what he was watching while ironing. Now, he usually watches sports or MotoGP while ironing, but this time, he chose to watch The Gilmore Girls! What a sight!

Yesterday we drove about 35 minutes northwest of our house to a village called Gorsley for the Gorsley Festival. We had been invited to attend by a friend of ours at our church who is also involved with outreach to the Polish community in Herefordshire, as he is from Polish decent and can speak Polish fluently. The Gorsley festival is held at a church, but is extended into numerous large tents in the church yard. First we went through a labyrinth that our friend was volunteering for, then ate lunch, then waited in line for the main attraction... the flower show. Each of the arrangements represented a verse in the Bible. I mainly took these pictures to show my grandma, though. The place was packed with slow-moving grannies, so we curtailed our time in the "flower show" and left.
Afterward we drove to Newent, a little town that I've been wanting to visit for weeks now, which was on the way home. I had only heard great things about the town and in particular the Christian bookshop there. After a browse through the bookshop, which was a bit too crowded for my comfort, we just took a walk down the street to see what we could see. There were lots of "Old-e World-e" style buildings. Jeff managed to find a sweets shop, so we paid a visit and bought some nice sweeties. My favourite: honey comb, also known as Hokey Pokey. I need to experiment making my own sometime. There's even a recipe for it in my Nigella Express cookbook.

Today in the late afternoon I decided we should take a walk to take advantage of the dazzling sunshine - it had only poured shortly before this. I remembered a few weeks ago having seen a plum tree on the path by the Manor House near our house, so with a plastic carrier bag in hand, we set off in search of edible treasures. With a bit of reach and carefully pulling down branches, we were able to get about a half of carrier bag full of plums. But that wasn't all! We also found blackberries, though most aren't quite ready for picking, pears and apples.
I'm thinking of making an apple-blackberry-plum cobbler or crumble tomorrow evening for dessert. This week has lots in store. David Hepler is coming to stay with us tomorrow and Tuesday evenings and then Wednesday we're off to Scotland for Lindsey and Diane's wedding, which is Friday. We're staying overnight at David and Sharon Palmer's house near Preston on Wednesday night.

Tyntesfield

After many weekends not having done much (at least blog worthy), we visited another National Trust property. Tyntesfield (website) is located southwest of Bristol in North Sumerset, about 45 minutes from our house. This house, or should I say, mansion, was built in the early 1800's and was then bought by a wealthy entrepreneur named William Gibbs. The house and the land have only been owned by the National Trust since 2002, since which time the restoration on the whole house and its contents has taken place. In fact, the last descendant lived in the house until 2001!

Just imagine how massive this house must be under all the scaffolding!

The beginning of the gardens at the front of the house

A picture of the house with in the popular Gothic style of the Victorian era.

The library at the entrance of the house. There are bookshelves all around the room.

Most of the servants' bells

The atrium with a Gothic-style fire place (you can just see the top of it)

In the dry cupboard

The huge pool table in the gentleman's quarters

Taking time to smell a magnolia

Inside the house's chapel

The "fun-guy" we met on the way... it was actually really pretty

One of the many blackberry bushes I picked blackberries from!

Beautiful flowers in the Lady Garden

Lots of veg in the Kitchen Garden... now, if only I could learn how to grow veg at home... quite inspirational, to say the least.

A plum tree growing on the garden wall.

Jeff inside the Orangery, on which restoration has begun this year.

Another view of the house from the large garden

The unveiling of the house will take place in 2012, when we will be sure to make another visit.