Zen....and the way of Aga........

.......my mantra has become "the Aga is my friend"...."the Aga and I are one"....."I am the Aga's friend"....for those of you who don't understand what I am talking about, the Aga is a hulking great cooker that NEVER (summer or winter), gets turned off. It chuggs away warming your kitchen (summer and winter) and then has the potential to leave your potatoes hard, your chicken over cooked and your beans okay!!! HOWEVER, the Aga is my friend etc etc. Yesterday I did a "Bridge Party Luncheon" and it was a bit scary, the guests were Lady this and Lady that. 10 minutes before serving, the potatoes were still just about as hard as when I had put them in the Aga 50 minutes before, the chicken was perfect with the potential to become very quickly overcooked, ditto the beans - into the microwave with the spuds, nuked the heck out of them. Bugger...forgot the bread rolls, they were still in the freezer and needed "at least 2 hours" to thaw, haven't got time for that..into the Aga with a prayer..."the Aga is my friend..the Aga is my........." Thankfully it took the guests an extra 5 minutes to get to the dining room from the drawing room, all giggly from their 'g & t's' on no breakfast!!!! In the end a huge success all round, the master of the house was so pleased he told us "that went well, we'll have more of those..top drawer"....note: posh people drive very understated cars, it seems to be a badge of distinction....more about that another time. "The Aga is my friend....the Aga and I are one..........." Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Barb's Birthday Blog..........

......today is my birthday, so I sat in the poshest chair in the house...whaddya think? ('scuse the work drag!) The other photos show the Bay Room and the Dining Room. Our employer has had an accident and requires 24/7 care which we have arranged between us and another member of the staff who is sleeping over at night. The days are long at the moment and so the birthday has gone on hold until this little crisis has passed. We are in one of the most beautiful places you could imagine. We woke this morning to mist over the fields surrounding the house. While Rod shaved he saw 2 foxes on the front lawn. As I hung out the washing squirrels ran up and down the walnut trees. We feasted on fresh salad vegetables and blackberries and cream for lunch - aside from that everything was okay!!! BUT I am homesick as all hell for friends and family on my birthday. Loved waking up to masses of Emails and best wishes - thank-you - love you and miss you heaps xxxxxxxx

Looking after the estate............

….while our employers have a few days away in Baritz has had it’s moments. We have been really busy doing lots of things that we can’t do while they are here…eg re-organising Mrs N’s wardrobe, the larder, Mr N’s suit collection and riding boots, dragging all the silver out of the vault for the ‘silver cleaner’ who comes fortnightly etc etc. As well as that, we are at the height of the harvest season and so EVERYTHING has to be picked, given away/ stored/preserved or frozen……..and there is squigillions of it. We are feasting at the moment on fresh organic produce. See the cultivated blackberries, plus they are growing everywhere in the hedgerows. Strolling through the paddocks yesterday, we came across the hugest mushrooms we had ever seen, we have been eating the three of them for three nights so far!!!! We know now that “Jack and the Beanstalk” was a true story!
However, it’s not all blackberries and mushrooms. We had a hell of a scare on the first night of ‘sole charge’. When we let her out, Buela, the darling little dog, of the cutest proportions, buggered off into the dark night and wouldn’t come back no matter how we called, whistled, cajoled and tromped through the wet fields and forest in our jamas looking for her, thinking “oh! sh.. what will our employers say, when we tell them we have lost their little dog to which they are so devoted”!!!!!!!!! We know there are big scary badgers and foxes and squirrels out there, which eat little dogs, (well okay, not squirrels, but it could be revenge!) Through out the night she barked and gave everything in the woods hell, we didn’t sleep, ‘cause we were leaping up, trying to lure her back home when ever we heard her. She trotted home the next morning, looking pleased with herself, slightly reprobate and slept it off during the day AND still expects to have a relationship with us…….I don’t think so……..thanks for the Emails, love hearing from you. Lots of love xxxxxxxxx

It's true.....

.......we do live 30 minutes from London! Today was our day off, so we hopped on the train and lo and behold, 30 minutes later we were at Liverpool Street - fantastic!!! Now we were surprised, London on a Sunday was kind of empty, but it was nice wandering around exploring. First off went to the Barbican Centre, amazing arts complex, floors of galleries, theatres, cinemas and even that was really empty -(it's the indoor shot). Onto the Museum of London (all stuff about London from Neolithic times), very interesting as museums always are and a there were a few more people there! One of the cool things about London is the street art and this little piece by George Segal "Rush Hour" (1987) took our fancy, interesting to note that fashionable 'black' has been around for a long time. Speaking of black, ended up at the iconic market "Petticoat Lane", seemed that that's where all the people were!!!! The funny looking building, colloquially known as the 'gerkin' is totally windows - if you look really closely, there is a tiny ant like creature cleaning all those windows, they reckon it will take about 6 weeks - how do they remember where they got up to??? Lots of love xxxxxx

One for the "Eventies".......

……..we visited the very picturesque little town ( what little towns aren’t picturesque?) of Maldon – you may have noticed Maldon salt in the supermarket. Anyway is was a quiet Sunday afternoon, nobody was around, when all of a sudden around the corner came a Police Car, then about 5 police people on foot looking full of business. Crikey we thought, there’s a heist happening here, so popped into the safety of our car to become key witnesses. Lo and behold around the corner came the Salvation Army Brass Band, “ta runta ra’! They proceed to march down the main street of Maldon with a FULL police escort, front and back, plus the guys on foot – the whole thing constituted a full road closure. Reminded me of our Santa Parade……………………

Photos.......

....I've just figured out a way to upload images again....so hopefully we'll be back on track....talk soon xxxxx

A walk in Epping forest......

……..now as some of you know only too well, I’m definitely not a country girl, nor am I that keen on the bush, it’s okay, but …..I’m a city girl! However, there is something about the English forests and countryside that sort of appeals. Perhaps it’s the memories of all the stories from our childhood, or the way the light falls, the soft colour of the leaves…not sure, but it does appeal, it’s very different and goodness knows what hangs out in the BIG holes – badgers we think. We intend to go badger watching one night – that’s another blog! Went for a walk today in the forest and saw a deer, they just wander around and are very timid. Apparently they all belong to the Queen as do the swans. Nice! The thing is, nobody has explained that concept completely to the Eastern Europeans who come to the UK seeking work, so there’s a bit of the odd swan going into a cooking pot and people getting most upset. As for us Kiwi’s, we’ll just stick to the blackberries which are growing madly in all the hedgerows……hope we can get the photos uploaded – anyone got any idea why we’ve suddenly started having probs?????
Love getting your Emails, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We're experiencing ....

a few difficulties getting photos up onto the blog. Bear with us and we'll try to have it sorted as soon as...

Meet Buela.........

       

......pronounced "Bewlar", the cutest little bitza you could imagine. She comes from a circus heritage and so knows how to work an audience! She spins in tight little circles to indicate her enthusiasm for supper (aristo speak for dinner). One of her favourite games when things get a bit slow is called 'buzz the battams'. Rod and she play tiggy on the lawn when he's taking her for her final outing before the house is shut for the night. When she's done what she has to do, she is taken inside, praised and given a little doggy treat (strictly one only). She always clearly indicates that another one would be REALLY APPRECIATED!!!! Last night Rod compromised and gave her one of her ordinary every day little dog biscuits which is part of her 'supper'. She readily accepted it, looked Rod in the eye and spat it out onto the floor. The first time in Rod's experience that he has ever seen a dog spit food out! The photo's are a little walk that she took us on to show us the trout pond (which Rod will be learning to stock). The walk encountered, badger holes, squirrel trees, mole holes and common old garden rabbits. We also saw, Mr and Mrs Pheasant and their family of four chicks. The hunters and shooters of the household were delighted to learn of their existence! That's the last time we ever mention anything we see again! It was only after the walk that it was suggested that we should stay in the short grass to avoid adders and vipers and we weren't to worry about the green snakes, they aren't poisonous....holy sh..! Buela didn't mention that as she lead us through the undergrowth and hay paddocks! Up until that point we thought it was a bit like living in 'Wind in the Willows'.....lots of love xxxxxxxxx We are having trouble at the moment uploading photos - does anyone have any helpful suggestions, we don't know what's changed?????

We are now servants............

 
 
 
 
......bring it on......this is "The Stables", our house, on our next blog we will show you "The Big House"!!! This is our lounge and our private courtyard at the rear, leading to the heated pool which we are using every day, summer has finally come and we are making the most of it. Our day consists of what we used to consider weekend recreation at home! Finding the rhythm has been the trick. This ain't your standard 9-5pm. We do a 40 hour week but the temptation to work longer and even harder is always there because it's easy to forget you are working. Scary for me when I'm cooking for a luncheon party and I know the piece of salmon I'm cooking cost over 40 quid!!! But, not to boast, it came off 'bludy beaudyful!!!!' It's great being a 'can do Kiwi' in England!! Everytime Rod has a space in his day (which happens quite frequently) he disappears in the direction of the rose gardens, secateurs in hand mumbling about dead heading the roses. Some of the other staff are very curious about our 'status', today they were quizzing Rod on his job title - what was it??? "Anything I'm asked to do" was his reply! They are still trying to figure out how that works!!!!! It's fantastic being back online, we've missed the emails and the communication so .....we wish you were here.... there's a bed or two or three...love you lots xxxxxx