Saturday 11 July 2015

Winchester...dustbin lids...speeches... and heaven! ;-)




I hereby declare...with this sword... and dustbin lid....!

This is a bit of a standing joke with me and my other half!

Good old King Alfred! 

You can't miss him when you visit Winchester ;-)


Winchester holds a very special place in my heart, for various reasons.

Firstly, I once lived near this lovely city and spent many happy hours

here, mostly during my student vacations.


Secondly, the walk alongside the River Itchen is delightful; in fact I will

go so far as to say that Hampshire rivers are far superior to Devon Rivers!

Tut tut, how disloyal...!

You shouldn't compare; I know t'is not a fair test!

Oh well, tough...they are! 


Spend an afternoon beside The River Itchen or the River Test 

and you're in heaven...well almost!  Not much beats it, anyway! ;-)


I first saw a Kingfisher on the River Itchen....this was a sight to treasure, forever.

I first saw a cuckoo flying across the same river.






Thirdly, I love the walk behind the cathedral, which

takes in the fab Wells bookshop! It's a step back in time...and

I enjoy doing that; it's a perfect escape! 



Fourthly, the city is steeped in history and I love history!






Fifth, my daughter's graduation was held in Winchester Cathedral....

which meant that I had to be there, obviously...

...which meant a weekend in Winchester! That was in 2003!


Sixth, it was on my tenth wedding anniversary, which just so happened to

be the weekend of my daughter's graduation, when Mr Snippets declared

his undying love for me...to be known forever after as his....

 'Winchester Speech'!

I took a photo...but I didn't record the aforementioned speech!

Here he is, preparing for it!!  (With an audience!) LOL!!! ;-)

Doesn't he look so very young?! 







In fact the speech was so memorable...that I've forgotten it!! 

Well...I mean the exact words ;-)

Moving swiftly on...before I get clobbered.










And so, here we are many years later, in Winchester, and imagine the delight

which spread over my face when I discovered that, as this was

 the first Sunday of the month, a vintage market was being held

in the street!!

I honestly didn't know about this event!

I'm in heaven...once again!









Too many treasures...too little time!

Needless to say, one or too things found their way home

but, dammit, we travelled by train so we had to leave far too much behind!

Soon, the clock showed that it was time to go...except that this is the

 clock showing when we arrived...oh well never mind, you get the gist!

;-)





One things for certain! I'll be back!

;-)

Thursday 9 July 2015

Sweet Peas and Delphiniums!




From a very much longer poem entitled

' I stood tiptoe upon a little hill'

John Keats wrote:

'Here are Sweet Peas, on tip toe for a flight:

With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,

And taper fingers catching at all things,

To bind them all about with tiny rings.'









Sadly, Keats couldn't be with me, on Saturday, as I ventured

into the flower tent at Hampton Court Flower Show.

I wonder what he would've thought of the stunning displays?

I bet he would've said,'' Stop, Sal! I need to pen a quick poem!

Give me some words for 'smell!''






Oh, the scent! The aroma! The perfume! 

Pure sweetness is wafting through this room!

Hang on!  Not a room.... a GIANT tent!

You can't beat the Sweet Pea for summer scent!

(Sally 'Keats' Hall ;-) ;-)





Beautiful blooms standing in the hall,

waiting to be admired by all!









A pure delight!

A stunning sight!

Moving on...







I'll never forget the 'wow factor', the 'awe and wonder' and 'standing

 with my mouth agog' when I visited The Chelsea Flower Show for the first

 time in the late 1970s.





Stepping into the flower tent, the sight of the Delphiniums was a joy to behold.






I've treasured that memory for so many years; an experience that

until Saturday, I thought would never be repeated.






And there they were...standing tall, proud and so very BIG!!!


Just two delights from Saturday...more to follow!!

;-)





Tuesday 7 July 2015

The Hampton Court Flower Show...'Pleasure number one'! ;-)





On more than one occasion, at the weekend, I found myself in heaven! ;-) ;-)

On this occasion, it was at The Hampton Court Flower Show....

and in particular the display by Gabriel Ash.




I've owned and enjoyed four greenhouses during my gardening lifetime...

yet none quite as gorgeous as this!

Swooning was certainly the order of the day ...

and this greenhouse was full of vintage gardening bits!
















I'm saving my pennies, in the hope that one day.......!