“And we all went up to Somerset”………

……..we sang as we drove to visit a friend last Sunday. South/West England is very beautiful and when the sun shines it’s stunning. Totally out of context we thought we’d share this ‘snow’ photo with you. It indicates the secret life of the hedgerows – Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit, Brer Deer and assorted birds. The snow has disappeared and the spring flowers are starting to ‘spring’…seasons come and go quite quickly here.
We went and visited a friend in Somerset and her two boys, who now think it is very cool to ‘talk like Kiwis’ and according to her are practicing saying “i’ for ‘e’…..we don’t know what she is talking about – the Queen and us talk the same!!!!
As we drove through very typical, very traditional English country side we suddenly came upon a ‘bling thing’….part of a meditation centre. It looked quite strange in that setting and raised a few questions for us.
We have introduced you to our very tiny village, which is not shown on a lot of maps, so when we saw a sign saying “New Zealand ½ mile” we couldn’t resist turning off to visit.
We drove down an ever narrowing country lane and finally our Satnav said “You have reached your destination”………really…???????? We were in the middle of nowhere………….!
We don’t think it was a particularly clever p--- take! Much love xxxxxx

Our tiny village………

…….it was a beautiful day for a walk, so yesterday we went exploring. We have had snow for over a week now and it has been very beautiful but hard for the tradesmen who have a deadline of finishing this place by May – we are talking EVERYTHING formal gardens, pool, tennis court, security systems etc. Anyway, now the snow is gradually melting and sloppy mud is replacing it…..not half as pretty.
Our village is very tiny and our back wall runs nearly the full length of the main road.
There aren’t any shops or anything, just houses and a bus stop BUT we do have a rather nice 300 year old pub and so a gate is being installed in our wall to be opened with a swipe card. When the systems are complete, we will be able to operate all the gates from our kitchen, our bedroom as well as the main house and see who is there from the camera systems. All very “state of the art”. The garden designers are now walking around placing sculptures and statues and we can’t wait to see the finished result.
Our last job was like living in Cornwall Park. This job is like an upgrade to the Domain’s formal gardens and Wintergarden, with the Cornwall Park elements periphery.
The Cotswolds are very beautiful. It is an organic beauty, all the walls, buildings and structures, being built out of local stone, by local artisans reflect the colour of the earth as do the winter trees and hedgerows, the result being soft and harmonious with an authentic picture book quality. Well, it’s Saturday and so time to step into the picture book and soak up some local culture. There is a dance in the local village hall tonight…….what does one wear to a local village dance???????? Wish you were here…xxxxxx

We STILL have snow…….

…….it’s been nearly a week now and we still get a little thrill of excitement every time we look out the window and see that it is “white”. We haven’t had much time to get out and amongst it. Our employers have been in residence for the last 4 days. The Manor is in the last months of a 2 year complete refurbishment of all buildings and gardens. The house has been totally gutted inside and rebuilt with all mod cons, but still retains centuries old integrity. Likewise the gardens are being completely redesigned but will still look as if they have always been here. We will now have a heated swimming pool and a brand new tennis court. It is the most glorious place to live and work. Once all the trades people have finished we will virtually have the place to ourselves for most of the year, except for gardeners etc. This will be our employer’s summer holiday home and any other time they can snatch a few days in their busy international schedule.
They are the most interesting, incredibly ‘real’ people to be with and we love them being here. It is full on and we end up exhausted, but they are warm,caring and fun to be with. Their guests and visitors are the same. We had a luncheon party yesterday, and although staff, we are spoken to and treated like people rather than servants and it is truly refreshing and most unusual in this role I can tell you! I was talking with a lady who had a lot of silver things like dog whistles around her neck – I asked her about them and she told me they lived in such a large house she had a different whistle for each of her family and when she wanted them she just “blew” and they came running!!!!!!
Our employers always travel with staff and once we get established we will probably have to travel with them to other destinations. This time they brought only one of their staff with them. You learn a lot about who you are working for when you spend time with someone who has worked for them for many years. We are astonished that we have been lucky enough to get this gig, not only is it like working in an art museum but we also work for people who care for and truly value their staff. Do come and visit, but don’t come when our employers are in residence as we wont even see you……we run from morning till night……but happily………xxxxxxxx