Sussex and Kent - no such thing as bad weather

Onward to my second house sit.  This time for 10 days in West Sussex.  A lovely house with 2

beagles and a cat to look after.  Only one neighbour and views for miles to the south downs.  There were fields aplenty right opposite the house, perfect for walking the dogs.  They wore recall collars and I had a hand held device that sent an audible signal to the collar to call each dog back if it went too far.  And they worked perfectly.  I could stop the dogs in their tracks, even if they were chasing a rabbit. Pretty impressive.   Remote control dogs - that's the way to go.

The fields were knee high in grass, which was very wet in the morning dew, and even wetter on the afternoon walk if there was some rain in the day.  My hiking boots were completely sodden and squelchy after a few days.  Luckily Brenda lives nearby and came to the rescue with gum boots and wet weather trousers, proving there is no such thing as bad weather, you just need the right clothes.

One fine day Felix the cat decided to come for a walk with us  He trotted along after us, over 2 small fields, through the bluebell woods and across 2 large fields, before getting bored.  The owners had said it was OK to leave him there, and sure enough he was home before dark.  He is a well travelled cat.  When the owners lived in the French Alps he used to follow them everywhere there.  Quite a character. 

Brenda stayed with me for a few days and took me to both of her regular dance groups, and I got to lead them in a few of my dances.

I headed off on the train to Eastry in Kent to stay with Lesley Laslett.  The weather suddenly became rather hot.  Only 22 on the thermometer, but it felt like a Perth 30+ because it was so humid.  There were hot weather warnings over the speakers at the railway stations, telling people to carry a bottle of water and not to press the emergency button on the train if they felt unwell, but to seek assistance.  I had to chuckle.

I had a lovely few days with Lesley and her husband Michael.  They took me out and about.  We had a walk around Broadstairs and went past Martin Cheek's house and studio where I had attended a mosaic workshop 11 years ago.  He heard us at the gate and came and invited us in to see his latest mosaics which he was preparing for an exhibition in Wales. Beautiful work.

Out and about with Lesley in Sandwich.  It was hot enough for ice cream and summer clothes!!

Lesley's neighbours raised the Aussie flag for my visit.  I felt very honoured.

On Saturday Lesley had organised a hall and 14 other dancers to come along to a dance day.  I found some gum trees and bottlebrush locally so I was able to make a lovely Aussie centre, trimmed with some tiny koalas I had with me. I led all the dancing and taught them some Australian dances, and got paid for it too.  Dance Days in UK are much more expensive than in Oz, so I got a nice surprise.

Onward by train to Hoddesdon, north of London.  I was booked in to an airbnb.  There was no-one home when I arrived and it all looked a bit Rocky Horror or Addams Family.  But I managed to track down the owner after a few hours and all was well.  It is a huge old rambling house,

Onward to Judy King's circle dance workshop next....

Oxon Hoath, Kent, with Lesley Laslett

I flew from Dublin to Gatwick and went straight to Lesley Laslett's 3 day dance retreat in Kent.  I was still waking up with the music from Friedel and Saskia's workshop playing in my head.  It was a shame I didn't have a few days in between.  But Lesley said this may be her last residential retreat, so I couldn't miss it. (although apparently she has said that before, and then gets talked in to doing another one).

The venue is called Oxon Hoath and is a grand country estate.  Driving through the main gates you get a taste of what is to come.  

The house has been restored by its current owners, and is now used as a retreat and conference centre.                                                 My bedroom on the first floor in this west wing was 7m x 7m with its own en suite.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 The east wing.

The south side of the house.  We danced in the room on the first floor with the bay windows, centre of picture.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

The dance room looked out over the formal garden

This is the library, complete with extremely old books and a grand fireplace.   A lovely place to sit with a cup of tea.                                               We had a full afternoon to ourselves to relax and explore the grounds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The estate had a large walled garden where they grow fruit and vegetables and keep chickens.  They even had espaliered apricots and fig trees.
 I had always thought walled gardens were built to create a micro-climate.  But apparently the main aim was to keep out the peasants.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

A bit of the history of Oxon Hoath.  Originally a clearing in the Wealdon Forest for raising pigs.  When Oxon Hoath achieved the status of a borough and a small manor house was built between 1050 and 1300, the tax cost was one pair of silver spurs per year.

The family of Catherine Howard lived at Oxon Hoath.  Perhaps Catherine should have stayed at home.  Marrying that Henry VIII chap turned out to be a very bad idea.

           

The Emerald Isle with Friedel and Saskia

I flew in to Dublin on 3rd May and travelled on to Roscrea in County Tipperary to dance with Friedel and Saskia.  This was the first of three training sessions with them.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am so looking forward to dancing with them again next year. 

They were not stern and strict as I had been led to believe.   Friedel was gracious and kind and generous, with a good sense of humour, yet gave the impression she would not suffer fools gladly.  She is a lovely dancer. And it was a delight to watch her daughter Saskia dance, especially with some of the livelier dances. Just beautiful.

We started each day with basic ballet exercises, and also spent some time on numerology.  Then we danced for the rest of the day.  So about 6 hours each day were spent in the dance room, which left almost no spare time - but no complaints from me.  I was in heaven.

The circle dance centre for the weekend.

There were dancers from England and Ireland, as well as two women from Canada and a guy from France.    The Irish dancers who had complained that Roscrea was SO far (3 hour drive) from Dublin, were soon silenced.

I also found out that when Friedel & Saskia teach in Germany, they will teach in multiple languages.  So I don't have to speak German to dance with them over there.

Mount St Josephs Abbey at Roscrea. Founded in 1878 and still home to the Cistercian monks.  They get up at 3am and have their first prayers at 4am in the chapel.  They have many more prayers and chanting throughout the day.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

We didn't find out what these ancient stones were, in the of grounds of the abbey.  But they were fenced off, so were something of significance.     They sat atop a grassy mound.

Madonna statues in the grounds

The white building is the guest house at Mount St Josephs's Abbey, and this is the view from the lounge room window.                                                                                                                                 I have never drunk so much tea in my life,  The Irish must be world champion tea drinkers. Huge pots of it were served with every meal, and they like it so strong you could stand your spoon up in it.   I don't think they have heard of herb tea though.  Not a peppermint or lemon and ginger tea bag in sight.                                                                                  

 Waterfalls in the grounds.  And a Celtic cross on one of the graves.

                                                                                                                                                                 The trees are all in full leaf now and the copper beech provide a lovely colour contrast.

I only got to stay in Ireland for a few days as I was off to another circle dance event in England, immediately after this one.  But I hope I can spend more time exploring The Emerald Isle next year.

Dressing and Blessing the Wells and Springs of Malvern

I heard from one of the circle dancers about the annual Dressing of the Wells.  I was in Malvern at just the right time.  There are about 50 wells/springs around Malvern.  Some are old livestock watering troughs, no longer used.  Others are springs that still flow, and people take their water bottles, large and small, and fill them up at the spring.
Individuals and local groups and schools dress the wells at this time each year.  A sort of a fancy dress competition for wells.  I got to see quite a few of them.  The theme this year was Tree of Life.

One of the locals filling up his water container at a well in the centre of town.
The same well all dressed up for the May Day weekend, complete with dragon and phoenix.

 The Druids of Malvern blessed the waters at Hayslad Spring.  An interesting, inclusive ceremony.  We chanted the Awen  (ah oo wen) much like a yogic "OM".  Lovely reverberations.  I think Awen can be roughly translated at 'Flowing Spirit'.







The next day I went to Evendine Spring which was blessed by the local Buddhists.  Another lovely ceremony with some chanting and sprinkling of water.   There were also some Christian blessings at other wells.

close up at Evendine Spring

                                                                                                        More wells and more stunning bluebells just up the road 

Time out in Ross-on-Wye and the Malverns

My overnight stay in Ross-on-Wye was excellent.  The airbnb was run by a delightful, independent young woman.  The accommodation was in an extremely old building, up above a shop in the centre of town.  My host had all sorts of arty bits and pieces around. Really quirky and individual.

Up on the mezzanine floor, in the reading nook, with a glass wall overlooking the lounge below..

 Ross-on-Wye main street.

Banner in St Mary's Church.  The hedgehog is the emblem of the town.  The town looks out over the ancient kingdom of Ergyng.  The a
Anglo-Saxons called it Archenfield (Land of Hedgehogs) although no-one could tell me why.

Still in Ross-on-Wye.  This little garden patio was a tea-shop. Pot of tea and cake went down a treat.

I picked up my hire car in Ross-on-Wye and headed to the Malvern Hills for my house sit in Cradley and the luxuries of a hot bath, central heating and a washing machine.  This is the view from the back of the house, across their pretty garden, to the hills beyond.

Driving on narrow winding country roads has taken a bit of getting used to, and in the small towns there is a lot of manoeuvring to be done.
                                                                                                                                           One of the women I danced with in Wales told me about a fortnightly dance group in Malvern, so I went along there and danced with them.  Also had the opportunity to teach them my dances 'Jerusalem' and 'Greeting The Day'.  Had lunch afterwards and they showed me the local handkerchief tree.  Not fake, this is real growth.

Brenda came up on the train from Sussex and stayed with me for a couple of days.  We had a good time, went out and about a bit, and also worked on a new choreography together.  She has some new music from Pink Martini that she is very taken with.

I liked the art piece at the local railway station, a dress made from old train tickets.

Hanging out with Elgar, who was born in Malvern.  It may be May, but I still haven't got out of my warm clothes yet.