Going to the seaside reminded me of this watercolour I created when I wanted some blue on a wall at home.
The room that needed blue had been redecorated, with fresh paint on the walls, and I was really happy with the colour but some instinct was telling me that to finish the room off a blue painting was required. I decided to make the painting look like the sea all the while keeping the feel loose and abstract.

Unfortunately the picture disappeared in the last house move! Luckily I had taken a photograph of it which will help when it comes to painting it again.

I wonder if you have felt the need for a certain colour in a room and then gone searching for it - I hope you found what you were looking for.

The sun was shining and the sea was calling but where to go.
I'd always wanted to see Dungeness, so off we went.



It was very windy and quite extraordinary. Edward Hopper's paintings came to mind as there was an odd stillness, despite the wind, coupled with a sort of uneasy silence and a hint of tension.




"The Zombie Apocolypse" L said - clearly it wasn't what she was expecting by a trip to the beach!


Amongst the rotting timber, corroding metal and shingle some plants were thriving.

EDF's two nuclear power stations - one closed, the other with a renewed license.



Fishermen live in the hamlet and there is an RSPB bird reserve. The birds were hunkered down, facing into the wind. What must Dungeness be like in a gale?

The British weather had been kind; the sunshine had kept us warm and the light had been amazing for photography. However the warmth of home, snuggling on the sofa with a hot drink, beckoned. It was time to get in out of the wind.

Bramble jelly batch number three just potted up. Batch number one was so good we went back to pick more blackberries, much to Monty's delight! The jelly making had taken over!

September. Where did August go?!

Did you go away... by car, by plane, by boat? Stay in a hotel, a villa, a lodge, a tent, a hut, a cabin, a caravan or motorhome... the options and choices are endless these days.

We opted for a staycation this August. If England is going to have a summer surely it would be in August. And very relaxing it has been: reading, being creative, visiting places, cooking, gardening ... just doing what we felt like when the mood took us. How people say they get bored is beyond me; the month has flown by and I could really do with another.

But for all who have been away and are back...

What's not to love about Scotney Castle? Stories of Elizabethan smugglers, murders and priest holes combined with the oh so romantic charm of an old moated ruin at the bottom of a beautiful garden. I discovered that 'Yanks' with Richard Gere was filmed there and Margaret Thatcher rented a flat from the mid 70s, using it as a bolt hole from Westminster. Leaving the city for the English countryside as so many have done and continue to do.
The history I picked up was that in 1137 the estate was owned by Lambert de Scoteni - maybe this is where the name Scotney originates from. Later around 1378 to 1380 Roger Ashburnham is said to have built the old castle - how did the estate come into his possession I wonder? Back then it was usual to build a rectangular fortified house with round towers in each corner but it doesn't seem that this was all built; did the coffers run dry! Then the Darrell family lived at Scotney Castle for over 300 years, when smuggling was a source of income for many in the region despite everything the authorities tried to do over the years to combat it. A lot of wool seems to have exchanged hands illegally!

Today a south tower stands alongside an additional Elizabethan style wing, built in 1580, and a rebuilt three-story section, in the Inigo Jones style added in 1630. Just in this one 'ruin' there is so much architectural history. Building, altering, extending and the constantly changing needs of occupants have all contributed to creating an amazing landscape. I wonder if they had to ask for planning permission!

I don't know how long the white Wisteria has been growing over the ruin but it smelt amazing. The smell was carried on the wind making you aware of its presence before actually seeing it. For anyone who would like one in their garden it is apparently a Wisteria floribunda 'Alba'.
The garden around the ruin, the moat filled with water lilies and the Bewl River flowing peacefully by, all make for a stunning fairy tale setting.
A walk back up the hill, past azaleas and rhododendrons, and there is the 'new' castle, designed by Anthony Salvin in the Revival style and built from 1835 to 1843. The estate had been bought by the Hussey family in 1778 and Edward had the new house built using sandstone quarried from the slope below. Then he created the garden in the hole! Aptly named the Quarry Garden. Makes me think of The Eden Project, also built in a quarried hole. The rhododendron flowers were coming to an end when we visited but they must be stunning at their peak and I can see why the garden is so famous.
The Hussey family made Scotney their family home until 1970 when Christopher Hussey left it to the National Trust. Betty Hussey continued to live there until her death in 2006. I just love the drinks trolley with Dubonnet (amongst other things) by the sofa - it's as if she has just stepped out of the room.

All in all a fabulous visit despite the English weather - we had the whole gamut: sun, wind, cloud and rain. A lot of rain, luckily on the drive home!

One Friday the weather forecast was sunny weather so we decided to head out and explore a National Trust Property with a garden. Winding through the English country lanes we arrived in the village of Smallhythe, parked beside the church then followed a path through the churchyard into the garden of Smallhythe Place.

Once called Port House but since the river and sea receded there is no more shipbuilding... and the sea is nowhere to be seen! That was during the early life of the house in the 15th and 16th century. A more recent owner was Ellen Terry, a Victorian actress, who left a variety of stage items and artefacts from her theatrical life which are on display plus some beautifully restored stage costumes.

A half-timbered house, the floor of the first floor is very interesting in the library - the floor boards rise to a peak in the middle of the room! Noticeable above the front door on the outside.

At the back of the house are barns where plays were held in Ellen's day and they continue to this day.

Swirls of trained branches of a climbing rose on the side will be beautiful in summer when the buds are in bloom.

The thatched roof on the barn was inches thick.

Daffodils were still in bloom in the garden and in the field next to the house an old tree was in full blossom - possibly a damson tree (if it isn't please let us know as it was beautiful).

The light was fabulous and the colours gorgeous - Spring in all it's glory.