Polo at Cowdray

Here's a few shots from our recent visit to Midhurst (actually it was the same day we went to Petworth House). We wanted to catch a spot of polo because we knew it was played here at Cowdray Park, from the last time we dropped by, last summer.

Well, the tournament was in full swing by the time we got close, and we watched a few chukkas from the rear (ie. free) stand behind the cars parked around the field. We were very excited to discover that Australia's top player, Jack "Ruki" Baillieu, was in action in the match we watched. However, the real star of the show without a doubt was the commentator - didn't catch his name, but try and imagine a 'half-tanked' Henry Blofeld (if you know him - the English cricket commentator) and you'll get the idea.


Here's Lucy at Cowdray - we took a shot from this same spot last summer


Cowdray through the trees


Here's the polo... it's £10 to drive your car right up to side of the field (not bad for the sport of kings), but we walked round the back and ended up standing in the plebs area.


Ruki Baillieu is the "white daisy" in the blue cap (we think).



The camerawork is not great, but have a listen to the commentary - champion stuff.

Frosty the Snowman

Whilst we're doing this video thing... here's one we shot the day it was snowing. You might recall we made a snowman who ended up losing his carrot nose! Take a look to find out why....

Ham House

Video time again! For Nana's second adventure, we tried a spot of shopping at Kingston-on-Thames (a favourite retail spot for the Keezee girls) followed by a visit to nearby Ham House - you guessed it - another National Trust property. Our trusty camera was still getting over the battery-ing it took at Hatchlands, so we took the video instead.

Aside from the time it takes to copy, edit and upload videos, they seem to look OK, so we might try it again soon - keep your eye out for more. In the meantime, please enjoy the majesty that is, Ham House...... the house of Ham!

Petworth House

Its amazing how much better everything looks when the sun's out. The weekend before last was sunny and warm, so we made the most of it and got out and about. These photos are from a nice old place call Petworth House, which is a National Trust property in Sussex.

We only ended up seeing the house itself from a distance, as our trusty GPS navigator (which we call Jane or Ken, depending upon the voice) guided us straight past the front gates and around to the back of the property. Perhaps that was a good thing, because there was plenty of parking round the back and we wandered through the gate without seeing a turnstile - you usually have to pay at these places. Not too worry - we felt like a walk, and it was a lovely stroll around the lake.






That's Petworth House you can see in the background in the above shots - quite a nice place by the looks - plenty of room for the whole family.







Thumbs up for Lucy's latest trick.






No need for any other witty comments. The pictures speak for themselves we think.

Bluebells

Nana is visiting (hooray!) and for her first adventure we decided to visit Hatchlands Park - another pretty National Trust property not far from us. We thought Hatchlands a good choice for Nana's first outing because it's close by and a nice place to get out and walk off the jetlag. It also gave her a good opportunity do a bit more 'bonding' with Caiti, who was persisting in calling her "Tracey" for the first couple of days.

Directions in case you're interested:

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May is a good time to visit Hatchlands because the grounds include a couple of small woods, which are packed with bluebells. The bluebells start appearing in early May and don't last for long, but what a sight they are when they're out. We saw a few bluies at Kew Gardens when we first arrived this time last year, but didn't realise that they were so extensive across the country. We've even got a few in the backyard taking over from where the daffodils left off.

We're starting to sound like keen gardners aren't we?? .... Jo's new favourite show is now Gardener's World - Friday nights on BBC2 - it's a sort of British Burke's Backyard, but more full-on.



This is Hatchlands!


The lady of the house


More ladies


Right then, here's the bluebells.... nice, aren't they?


More bluebells..


...and some more...


...and yet more bluebells with various family members in shot...


...the idea here is to prove we were really there, and not just sitting at home watching repeats of Gardener's World...


...that should just about do it then...


OK kids, good job. We can go home and watch the telly now!

Carter's Steam Fair

Here's some pics from the day Carter's Steam Fair came to town!!!! Well, it didn't come to the town of West Byfleet exactly, but it did come to Cobham, which is a town, and is not very far away.

According to Carter's own advertising, it's a very exciting thing for the Steam Fair to come to town. It's like being back in the 1930's, but without all of the problems that would normally bring.... financial depression, global uncertainty, dodgy safety practices..... actually, it's just like being back in the 1930's.



Some good old fashioned British fun


We thought that this looked like a nice gentle ride for the kids....


...maybe we should have looked a bit more closely before we came to that conclusion. Caiti not happy.


Ah! Ye Old Fashioned Swings (with Tower in the background) that's better for the kids...


Caiti (and b.f. Shea) liked this one


The House of Mirrors


Another kid-friendly ride


Watch where you're going missy


Lucy thought the dodgems looked like good fun....


.... and she & Dad enjoyed it at first (we'll skip the photo from later in the ride, when the local hoons terrorised the rest of the punters).


And here's us wondering why the kids were still jumping on their beds at 10pm that night.