P R E L U D E
I've been away a lot, it feels - first, a lovely trip to Suffolk and Norfolk, for my old office annual reunion in memory of our former colleague, Gavin Brown, who was sadly taken far too young by cancer. We get together every year for "Gavin's day" - a great lunch, a chance to see old friends, and to remember.
Then Charlie and I were up in the Cotswolds for our nephew Toby's wedding to Alexa. A wonderful day. The evening before we stayed with our friends Luke and Duncan at their beautiful little cott, and at sunset we went for a quick walk above Adelstrop - the sunset was golden, the country below glowed.
High above us an almost full moon.
E A S T E R S O N G
It has been a busy three weeks. What a relief to be home, with nothing to do, no-one to see, for Easter. I got home late on Thursday evening. Here was the garden on Good Friday.
That morning, after the service of Litany, it's time to decorate the church for Easter. Not that we were having a service this year - for the first time, perhaps, in living memory - that was going to be held at Abbotsbury. But the church was looking beautiful nonetheless.
Finally, we have approval from the Church Diocese to proceed with the repair works for our stained glass windows. Many readers supported the fundraising campaign three years ago - it has taken for EVER to get approval, but it's finally coming through. I will update everyone when the window works start - with our fantastic builder, Simon Crumbleholme (the best name for a builder in the world) and Dan Humphries, the stained glass restoration expert.
Warm spring sunshine in the garden. Everything sparkled.
There has been plenty of rain still, it goes without saying.
Primroses in the churchyard. A few years ago now we took the decision not to mow the churchyard except of once a year. This is the abundant result - incredible primroses and wildflowers spreading everywhere.
Down by the lake, bluebells.
A couple more photos of Charlie's beautiful font decoration.
On Easter Saturday, our walk was cool and misty....
But the sun soon burned through.
A glorious day.
But we still needed a fire that evening.
Easter Sunday saw Charlie cook an amazing lunch.
New (old) china from an auction that we bought a few months ago - cheaper than you could really imagine. There are hundreds of plates in boxes, but we got a few out for fun.
Charlie's steam pudding. DELICIOUS>
On our walk this morning. Our chickens have taken to going further and further afield, it's quite crazy. Good traffic calming wardens in the village.
Sunlight streaming, white clouds, blue sky, as we tip from cold March, into April. The air is filled with a sense of renewal. May that spread a little wider into our troubled world.
14 comments
Love love love to read your blogs! God bless you Ben and Charlie! You mean so much to me. Thank you for the beauty. ❤️
Your photographs are beautiful. As I sit on a rainy morning, I love your images of the walks and flowers you all grow. cheers
Ben would you mind sharing the paint and shade of your living room walls? Mine is two rooms turned into one long room (just the kitchen and the foyer on this floor – a long narrow house) and after my kitchen reno I will be working on it. During this reno (still going) found a hidden door in the foyer walls that let me totally redo my kitchen design for the better and also have a better flow from foyer – living room/dining room with my grand piano – kitchen. So new walls (closed a door) and the new/old door opening mean paint and trim in the LR so will be painting the whole room. Have always thought a pink for this room – but such a hard color to get a good one (and its a big long room). Seeing yours today – would love to know what color and brand. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth
Easter as it should be :)
Thank you so much for sharing your lives with us!
Tranquillity, travel, flowers, sunlight and the jolt of Spode china. Wonderful. Thank you.
Beautiful – love Charlie’s dandelion button hole – reminiscent of the royal cornflower wearer.
I was waiting for your Easter blog. Charlie’s arrangements in the Church were so beautiful. My Church decorated the entire Church with White potted Lilies and told us all to take one home after our Service. So nice to see your beautiful gardens coming to life and love the fact you aren’t cutting the grass at the Churchyard so often and beautiful flowers are coming. Loved your new/old set of dishes and the lovely yellow candles. The dogs were enjoying themselves on the sofa in the sunshine. And that steamed pudding that Charlie made for you luncheon was so fantastic and the flowers in your home. Yellow daffodils and tulips were beautiful. I follow Luke in the Financial Times when he writes his column and their home is lovely too, as it has been in magazine articles. As I write this from Toronto, Canada, we are having a mix of rain and snow and the winds are so strong and howling; and our weather is going to be like this for the net few days. We were lucky though to have had a beautiful Easter weekend of gorgeous sunny spring weather. Love the colour you painting our living/lounge area, it looks so lovely in the sunshine and then the yellow walls in your dining area. I really have to get back to London and a visit to your shop. Looking forward to your next blog. I am a senior and you make my life cheery with all of the scenery and all the flowers.
My favourite photo among the many is that of Charlie, perfectly dressed, beautifully coiffed, bearing the divine steamed pudding and wearing in his buttonhole a fresh flower and a silver miniature set of garden tools! Thank you for such lovely Easter photos.
Beautiful as always. It was gratifying to see that your dogs have taken ownership of the sofa cushions, just as my two pugs have here! Renewal and peace… amen.
So beautiful in your corner of the world. Always enjoy your photos. Hope you have a wonderful Spring.
That first golden shot – magical. As ever, thank you for sharing your life in photos; wonderful escape, and always appreciated. Our new corgi puppy Matilda May quite jealous of your twos gorgeous mud puddle.
Calming and beautiful as usual.
Ben,
could you please tell me the colour of your outdoor chair in today’s post. I love the colour and we are repainting our outdoor furniture. Would love the same colour.
Always such a treat to see Ben Pentreath – Inspiration in the Inbox.