The story so far!

A dry day, cold but no wind, just the thing for having two holes put in our roof! This was the state of play first thing in the morning.

Yes, there is a large oak tree that overhangs our house from a neighbouring garden. And, yes, there are always plenty of leaves to clear. There is a tree preservation order on all the trees around us because we are in a conservation area of former woodland. (But the leaves make great compost.)

The kitchen was ready for action.

But in the early afternoon work stopped. What's this? It was because the main workman had fallen off a ladder. WHAT!!! Off he went to hospital to check whether he's broken any ribs. The cover is on. I hope it will be able to be removed tomorrow so that work can proceed.

Now that one of the windows has been put in place on the ceiling it looks rather small.

We are all scrunched up in a corner of the kitchen. it will be good when it's done! Hey ho.

Let there be light!

We've been in our present house now for two years and next week will see the start of what, we hope, will be our final alteration. The kitchen is awash with light fittings, five different sets of ceiling lights along with under, over and in cupboard lights. But I would like to be able to see what I'm doing in the kitchen without having to flick a switch. The eating and seating areas are fine with good sources of daylight, but the working end is gloomy, impossible to do anything without putting on the lights, certainly not the conditions in which to be yielding my extremely sharp cook's knife!

On the single storey part of the ceiling, seen below, we are going to have a couple of Velux windows fitted. I'm hoping they will throw some natural light into the working part of the room. I'm busy clearing cupboards ready for the workmen to swing into action on Monday morning!

A photo of the creel above the Aga, a great spot for airing the washing.

Happily the weather report for the week to come seems to be mild and dry. Phew, that's a relief! We've been to the beach this week in just that sort of weather, a quiet sea and no breeze, lovely to be out.

Probably because we have had no cold snap there doesn't seem to be so much autumn colour this year. Much of the garden is still quite green. I've planted all my bulbs in pots but kept them in the tiny greenhouse because there are so many squirrels about. I planted a row of peas on the allotment and an old codger (with the most fantastice plot) said, "the mice will love those!"

Just a bit of colour here and there.

On the beach.

We have had a few walks on the beach over the past fortnight in various weathers. At the start of last week the council had been busy scraping the sand away from the promenade. It is a thankless task, constantly needing to be repeated.

On Sunday our elder daughter was home from London and eager to walk by the sea. The weather was wild, the surf booming, the sea coming right up to the promenade, a strong wind whipping spray and foam into the air. It was very exhilerating but we didn't walk far. We were well wrapped up but even so when we returned home scarves, hats and trousers had to be draped over the creel to dry. Monday brought a change of weather, warm and still and it was a pleasure to be out. Many other people obviously felt the same and were out strolling on the front. Children were having a lovely time at the shoreline dodging the waves.

The morning's news had been of a landslip, and, sure enough, as we walked in the direction of town we came to the area where the hillside had slipped, knocking half a dozen beach huts out of line, completely demolishing one of them.

The slip isn't caused by coastal erosion from the sea but due to the excessive rainfall that we have been experiencing this year. There are miles of beach huts all along the coast line with steep scrub land at their back. Quite a concern for the beach hut owners.

Athelhampton garden

When Alfred Cart de Lafontaine bought the manor house in 1891 he commisioned the 26 year old Fancis Inigo Thomas to design the gardens. The property is surrounded on three sides by the River Piddle and using the water supply Thomas created a series of linked gardens with ponds and small fountains. The sound of water is ever present. A stone terrace overlooks the Great Court. It has a pavillion at each end, one for summer, the other winter, as depicted in stone above each doorway.

From the steps of the terrace you can look down and across the Great Court through the gateway into further garden rooms.

The walled rooms and raised terrace required considerable stone. Forty thousand tons of it, quarried in Somerset, was used in their construction. It is a wonderful place to wander as each room leads on to another. There is a kitchen garden of about an acre with a 60 metre long greenhouse. Nothing much is happening there - what I would do with a space like that!

Family waited patiently while I took my photographs!

Return to Athelhampton.

We were promised fair weather for last Saturday and foul for Sunday so took ourselves off on the Saturday to look around Athelhampton Hall, a 15th century manor house near to Dorchester. We have visited the gardens before but never been inside the hall.

We entered through an impressive front and inner door.

There were lovely things to discover.

The dining room is where the author Thomas Hardy and his second wife, Emma, were dining when they received news of the start of the First World War.

A very inviting bedroom upstairs with a beautiful fireplace.

To the right of the fireplace a doorway leads through to this small private chapel.

On the stairs leading to the library there is graffiti cut into the stonework. There is always someone wishing to leave their mark!

This painting is of the Great Court with the yew pyramids that were planted in the 1890's. They have since grown some and look magnificent. Yes, I took a lot of photos in the garden and I'm going to bore you with them!