Our England is a garden

Poetry at Easton Farm Park

I like poetry. My children like poetry. Nonsense poems, rhymes, sonnets. We are drawn to them and after today's virtual excursion, Rudyard Kipling's poem certainly came to mind. Of course, to children 1, 2 and 3 Mr. Kipling is famous only for the Jungle Book and perhaps some of his excellent cakes (Translation: English people of my generation saw lots of commericals for a brand of cake called Mr. Kipling - not that we ever bought them because my 'mean' mum insisted on home made!) but in truth the man wrote a mean poem/short story/essay!

This is a long poem so I have picked out our 3 favorite stanzas - sorry Rudyard!

The Glory of the Garden


Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the glory of the garden lies in more than meets the eye.

And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the glory of the garden occupieth all who come.


Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the glory of the garden, that it may not pass away!
And the glory of the garden, it shall never pass away.

Beautiful gardens are everywhere in England - perhaps we are not so much a nation of shopkeepers any more but rather have become a nation of gardeners. Lovely window boxes and hanging baskets everywhere overflow with a profusion of spring flowers, bright green pocket handkerchief gardens in front of houses and of course the gorgeous, manicured, landscaped gardens associated with just about every historical building.

by kind permission of Easton Farm Park

Today we headed to Easton Farm Park, a working farm with its own luscious bright green grass and blooms that caters to family days out. I wish we had places like this in Texas (I haven't found them if they exist so please feel free to tell me if they do!) because we were busy and happy all day long. We petted goats and lambs, saw the gorgeous Suffolk Punch Mares and Highland cattle, trekked down a horse trail, made arts and crafts and even got a chance to see traditional artisans at the blacksmith's forge where they made an array of iron works. Walking by the river we glimpsed herons and kingfishers and smelled the wild garlic and blossom everywhere. What an amazing place. It made me wonder how I could turn my 52-acre ranch into something more productive! When child #3 saw a toy tractor that he could ride on his day was complete and it was with some difficulty that we left the farm. Definitely a place to revisit one day.

Oh - and for you Texans with your love of Longhorn cattle, here is a picture of the Highland cattle at Easton Farm Park. I really love these cows - they have such a friendly fluffy appearance that Longhorns, for all their rugged charm just do not possess! 

After a wee drive home on the left side of the road, we decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing and letting the children watch some excellent BBC children's TV. As for Mum? Asleep in front of the telly within about 30 seconds!  hope they do room service at this hotel 'cos, as we say on this side of the pond, I'm cream crackered! (Cockney rhyming slang for knackered. Translation: tuckered out!) "And so", as the diarist Samuel Pepys so famously said, "to bed".

Beatrix and her hitherto unknown descendent Harry

Well, we are half way through our virtual vacation in Suffolk but we still have so much more to see, eat and experience. This morning's kippers and malted granary loaf was certainly an experience for kiddoes 1, 2 and 3 who were vociferously aghast at the idea of fish for breakfast!!!! Their complaints gave me additional enjoyment to this gustatory treat :)


I am fortified for the day ahead!

We started off the day at Bridge Cottage at Flatford Mill. This cottage is situated in the heart of Dedham Vale and houses an exhibition on John Constable who painted such famous pictures as the Haywaggon in this area. Much as I would have been happy to stay awhile and perhaps do one of their guided walks, it was not to the taste of three young children so we decided on a trip back to Lavenham - by now becoming gloriously familiar, almost homelike and a trip to Curiosity Corner - a specialist shop selling Steiff Teddy bears.

With three new furry friends added to our party we had the difficult choice to make as to how to spend the afternoon. We decided to nip to the corner shop (Translation: very small locally owned grocery store) and buy bread, cheese, pickle, fruit, crisps (Translation: chips) and some orange squash (Untranslatable) in order to have a picnic. No trip to England with hybrid English-American children would be complete without an English parent forcing aforementioned children to endure a cold, windy picnic in the open air, "Just like we had when I was a girl". They've got that T.Shirt now!

During the squabbling and bickering held during a traditional cold English picnic we had to decide between visiting Gainsborough's house in Sudbury and a National Trust property called Melford Hall, an Elizabethan House. Melford Hall had gardens for unrestricted running around and a tea room. It was the favorite hands down!

I am so glad that we bothered to find out about this place. It was brilliant! not only was it actually interesting and quirky and atmospheric but it really gave the kiddoes a feel for a family house that made up a bit of their historical and cultural heritage. Built in the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I was entertained here (the red headed queen with the white face!) and more interestingly for the kiddoes, Beatrix Potter visited here often as her relatives lived here. There is a room called the Beatrix Potter bedroom and all sorts of sketches she made of squirrels and of the old ponds, the inspiration for the Jeremy Fisher stories that Offspring #3 so loves.

Melford Hall by kind permission of The National Trust

Games of Hide and Seek and Tin Can Alley amongst the Beech trees and Yew Hedges, not to mention 'grass angels' in the soft English grass that harbors no stinging fire ants perfected the day. Terrific tea rooms and a satisfying gift shop made this a place that we will long remember. A perfect memory.

On the drive back to our home, The Swan, in Lavenham, a sleepy #2 Offspring was heard to murmur sleepily about the coincidence of Beatrix and Harry Potter both having the same last name. "Perhaps they are related?" she asked.

A Virtually Perfect Day

After a great night's sleep we all awoke virtually famished - if not actually! We grabbed our virtual Swan Breakfast menu and decided what to eat. The kiddoes decided on pancakes and toast - not just plain old white sandwich toast however but home baked toasted apricot and walnut granary bread - heaven! Personally I went for 'The Full Suffolk', local free-range pork sausage, smoked dry cured Suffolk bacon, Lane Farm black pudding, field mushrooms, tomatoes and free range Manor farm eggs. The menu is so delicious that I've already made a mental note of what to eat tomorrow for breakfast!

We have fun-packed day ahead of us! First stop is Colchester Castle. Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain (not Londinium/modern London). There was a huge Temple of the Emperor Claudius here which was attacked and destroyed during the revolt of the Iceni Queen Boudicca. A terrific virtual tour of the castle and Roman remains follows for your delight and edification! I love the fact that there is a lot of hands-on activities here for children 1, 2 and 3 who could choose from trying on togas, handling real Roman artefacts, talking to historical character re-enactors and taking part in pottery or weaving workshops. So cool!

http://www.colchestermuseums.org.uk/castle/castle_vr.html

After a quick sandwich near the castle we headed off to Colchester Zoo to see the new Gelado Baboon baby and the endangered species Dragons of Komodo. Telu, the  Komodo Dragon on display was small but to be fair to him was only 3 years old. When fully grown he could be as long as 3 meters!!!

Today has been a huge success. Lots of kid-centered things to do, so to redress the balance we went shopping for Mummy at J & J Baker Antiques. Always wanted a Welsh dresser....wonder how I'm going to get it back?

Munnings Tea Rooms

To round off a perfect day we went to Munnings Tea Rooms in Lavenham for English afternoon tea. Now, this is not exactly a novelty for my kiddoes because I often bake and make tea but the idea of going 'out' to tea was the novelty factor. Wow - just as well we had done so much walking today! We had a huge pot of tea, scones with clotted cream, tea loaf and Yorkshire Curd Tart! SOOO delicious. The kiddoes drank Elderflower Cordial because they have never tried that before. What a treat! the atmosphere in Munnings reminded me of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books and every other novel tea room I ever read about.

To celebrate the feel good factor of English tea, here's my Mum's recipe for scones - they're deceptively simple but you must eat them on the same day that they are made - they don't keep well!

English Scones
8 oz Self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 oz butter or margarine
2 oz dried fruit (optional)
1tblsp sugar (optional)
1 egg, beaten
3 fl oz milk

1) Sieve the flour and salt in to a bowl and rub in the fat. Add the sugar if using and the fruit and stir well.
2) Add the beaten egg and milk and mix to a soft dough
3) Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 3/4 " thickness. Either cut out with pastry cutters or leave in a large round and indent sections with a knife.
4) In either case place the scones onto a greased baking sheet and bake towards the top of the oven for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees. As oven temperatures vary I would check after 8 minutes!

Are we (virtually) there yet?

"Main Street" Lavenham

It has already been established that I am a magazine junkie - as long as the magazines are about England. As I devour every word of the magazines, I peruse even the advertisements at the back of these publications. This week an advertisement for a beautiful historical Conde Nast hotel in Suffolk caught my eye and gave me the idea for taking a virtual vacation with the kiddoes and y'all of course.The reality of spending a week in England currently seems a tad remote!

So - we're going to spend the week staying at the Swan Hotel in Lavenham, Suffolk and exploring some of the National Trust properties in the area as well as privately owned farms, museums, cathedrals, zoos and of course gorgeous tea rooms. I'm really looking forward to it! To make life easier and cheaper we'll be using our British Heritage Pass - sort of a ticket/passport to places of interest.

Lavenham is one of Britain's best preserved Medieval villages. It was prosperous in the 14th century on account of its thriving cloth trade and is one of those gorgeous villages that had a market square and a guildhall, an almshouse, a warren of winding narrow streets (studded, I trust, with antiques shops and second hand book sellers). The Church of St Peter and St Paul there dates to 1486 and has fabulous stained glass windows.

The Swan hotel is definitely a hotel with a history. Imagine waking up in this room! Built in the 1400s the hotel is made up of three Medieval houses. In 1667 the landlord was called John Girling and in that fantastic English dynastic tradition where families live in one location for generation after generation, there are still Girlings living in Lavenham today.

My American friends will certainly appreciate the American contribution to this inn's history. The hotel's historic bar was haunt not only of the RAF but also of the U.S. 487th bomber squadron during the second world war. Some of the stories from this period are probably better told in the bar there itself!

On our first day here in Lavenham I think we may be pretty jet-lagged so we'll take it easy, settling into the sumptuousness of the Swan and strolling around the village window shopping. We'll probably need a place for lunch so will go and enjoy the home made organic food and real ales (well, not the kiddies!) provided by The Greyhound Pub. Please understand that a pub in the U.K. is not a place from which children are necessarily banned - most have lovely beer gardens (sadly and wistfully, as hubby points out, beer does not grow on trees in these gardens!)and do excellent food. DO not think of an English pub as being anything like an American re-creation of one!

I think after lunch we will return to our home away from home for a nice restorative nap. We'll need to acclimatize asap because tomorrow there's going to be a lot to see. Dig out your walking shoes and a brolley - it looks like it might rain!

Gosh I have enjoyed traveling this way today. I haven't spent a dime yet, children 1, 2 and 3 have been politely cordial about the pictures they've been shown of Lavenham, have learned what the Medieval period was and best of all, no plaintive cries from the back of the car/boat/plane....."Are we nearly there yet?"