2 years and 47 days since the start of the 1st lock down in March 2020
This morning first thing I went to Waterstones in Kingston to count cards - Colin waited in the car in the car park by the bridge so that we could set off for a day out immediately afterwards. I had been thinking of a visit to Greys Court near Henley for some time as I had been there when I was little and it is a National Trust property so we could use our cards!
The sat nave seemed to take us the pretty route but we eventually arrived and had topiary in the overflow car park in a field. It was a beautiful day and quite warm in the sunshine when sheltered. We enjoyed lunch in the old cowshed and deplored both house and gardens. The gardens were stunning with a lovely wisteria walk and walled gardens. It was difficult to choose a single photo so this is a montage of some of the sites.
Afterwards we drove to Henley and enjoyed an ice cream by the river whilst watching the mayflies hatch on the wall of the bridge. Rather marring the end of the day, I received an email with a quote for my camera from Sendeans - £870 for the lens repair and camera service. I could nt believe it - kindreds more than I had expected. There is no way I am going to pay that so I need to have a think again and look for some other places to undertake the repair.
A bit of ‘excitement’ on our return… I was just upstairs in the back bedroom when I noticed that there was a lot of black smoke in Watts Lane and shortly after I heard someone shouting for help. I ran down the stairs shouting to Coin to open the back door and we discovered that John the window cleaner had caught a can of petrol alight which was boring fairly fiercely in the lane. Colin got our hose going and another neighbour was already hosing to keep the flames down. Eventually someone found some soil which they dumped on the can to smother the fire. Unfortunately John (who had been trying to get his BBQ gong) had set light to a can of petrol and it had ignited the vapours which blew back and badly burned his legs. His wife had to rush him off to hospital, it looked quite nasty.
