Wednesday 27 June 2018

A Tail of Two Kitties


I don't know. I go away for a week and poor Sen kitten pops a massive hernia! Got this via WhatsApp from my housemate the other day. Thankfully, we have a lovely vet who went to collect her. She's due to have a big operation tomorrow, after which we'll know more. I've been warned that, because of where it is and her history of severe asthma, there are likely to be complications. I've got everything crossed - she's in the best hands.

I'll update when we know more.

Speaking of kitties, I've been reunited with my lovely car, Kitty. Merrick took me out for a spin in his car, Freddy. It's very flash. Dual control, because he's a driving instructor, with a rear-view camera for reverse parking, automatic hill start, and if you drive past a parking space, Freddy scans the curb and automatically reverse parks himself - no hands! Merrick says they did two terms at Hogwarts to learn that trick.

It was good to have a proper driving instructor for my first attempt behind the wheel. I hadn't driven in two-and-a-half years.

Thankfully, it went really well. It all came back to me pretty quickly, and today I went out for a spin in Kitty with dad. I'm driving her all the way from Gloucester to Northamptonshire tomorrow. Whilst I'm driving Kitty, I'll be thinking about another kitty several thousand miles away and hoping she pulls through her operation okay.



So, just a quick roundup before I hit the road.

Had an entertaining experience yesterday. Decided to do something I do once in a blue moon - get a manicure. Whilst I was there, I saw an advert for eyebrow threading and thought I'd try it. I don't pluck or anything, so the ends of my brows are a bit untidy. Oh, vanity. 

Never having had this done before, I asked 'will it hurt?'

'Only a little.'

Holy mother of-!!! It really hurts. And this coming from someone who once threw herself in a fire. Oh my goodness, I had tears streaming down my cheeks by the end, and my forehead resembled a big, red McDonald's sign. I had to sneak into Boots next door to get a free dab of sample concealer.

My brows do look really tidy, though.

Went to The Boat as Ashleworth, one of our favourite pubs. Used to be a fanatical real ale pub which had been in the same family for donkeys, but sadly it's changed hands - now doing food and far fewer decent beers. End of an era. Still, nice to sit by the river and sup a dark cherry-chocolate stout.

Hops



Been face-deep in several English breakfasts. Missing the black pudding, but pretty damn good: bacon, egg, sausage, toast, beans and tomatoes.


Almost wept when I saw the price of cat food in Tesco. Cat food costs a feckin' fortune in Rwanda. I don't think anywhere makes it on the continent so everything is imported. A box of wet food costs around £3.50 in the supermarket here, but I pay between £8-12 in Kigali, and the supply often runs out. If only I had a bigger suitcase!


Still, we had a lovely time at Tapas Tuesday down the docks. It was a very different menu to Maia's tapas at CasaKeza, but extremely yummy - lots of halloumi and hummus. The decor was an interesting mixture of war memorabilia and 1920s chic.




My lovely Aunty Jean sent down an incredible selection box from Hotel Chocolate to say welcome back. Truly special. So good, in fact, that we'd eaten them all by the time I thought to take a picture.

Oh, and I forgot to include a picture of my tea and Bakewell slice from the garden at Mintey last time, so here it is.

Sunday 24 June 2018

Minety and Bibury


Warning - this is a very floral post.

Had a lovely, happy day being thoroughly British. The village of Minety in Wiltshire was holding an open garden day to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.


We started off at The Old Vicarage, which had an impressive display of opium poppies.

 
 
 

Then we took a wander across the back field to the church, which you could see from the garden. A short commute for past pastors. 


A child called Lettice?
Oh, those cruel small pox.
Impressive Organ
 

There were so many beautiful houses and gardens to explore, and plenty of tea and cake. Everything was in bloom.


Rhubarb

Artichoke
  
Asparagus
 

 
 
 
Hops from which you make beer.
 



These smelled fabulous.
 





Little and Large
 


And the final house on our tour... This one apparently belongs to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame!


 
 
 
 












We reckon this patch of lawn has been landscaped to look like a record player.




We rounded off the day in a tea shop back through Bibury, supping on a full cream tea with English Breakfast and scones with jam and clotted cream.


 

This is how I like my scones with cream tea (and I pronounce in scon, by the way, rather than scone). However, there's a very heated debate in England:

Cream tea has been served in the UK since the 11th century and arguments surrounding the order of spreading the scone’s traditional toppings have ruminated ever since.

While those in Devon typically spread the clotted cream first followed by jam, the Cornish tradition is to spread jam first followed by cream. - Indipendent

So, I subscribe to the Cornish method. But, just to be fair, I decided to put it to the test and try it both ways round. Even after due consideration, I still prefer jam first.


If you're from Devon, you eat the top side.
If you're from Cornwall, you eat the bottom.





The tea shop was called the William Morris, because the textile designer William Morris once described Bibury as 'the most beautiful village in England'. Probably due to Arlington Row, a row of extremely pretty little cottages that tourists line up to be photographed beside.










If this post still hasn't given you your fill of all thing bucolically British, check out my dad's blog.