It seems ages since yesterday and the only consistent factor has been the rain. Don't know about other parts of the country but our reservoirs must be full to overflowing.An early start to our National Trust outing and in spite of the weather everyone was determined to enjoy it and everyone did. We had a couply of hours in Stamford first. A beautiful Georgian Town with much unspoilt architecture. And that which is modern blends in extremely well. Lincolnshire lime-stone is widely used and it conveys a gentle elegant feel to the place which has been inhabited for ever apparently.
The we moved on to Burghley House, the ancestral home of the Cecil family and they still live there. Wonderful Art collection and Grinling Gibbons wood carving over the doors and so much of interest. The stuff about Lord Burghley's Olympic Gold Medal with original vests etc., on display merited a corridor of its own. And quite right too. Nigel Havers played him in Chariots of Fire.
The house has been used for so many period dramas, Pride and Prejudice etc., and many of the costumes were on display. The house was also used in Dan Browne's Da Vinci Code. It seems it is the largest and best preserved Elizabethan House in the country. Well worth a visit.
What is all this to do with Picture 1 you may ask. Well - apart from the other attractions there was a Modern Sculpture Garden which for Y and me was a honey-pot. I could have spent the whole day there and sod the rain. This delightful objet trouvé welcomes one to part of the walk and he/she is modesty personified but determined that you shall enjoy the other exhibits.
Picture 2 is a light-installation in the wood. I know this sort of Art doesn't appeal to everyone but this is good. The neons light and extinguish randomly and the effect is compelling. It is by Nathanial Rackrow and James Brown and is described as 'mixed media'.Unfortunately no nearby bench for tired elderly legs or I would have sat and absorbed it till the coach left.
It was so nice having a day out with our NT chums and no-one held Jean personally reponsible for the weather. The rain wasn't actually continuous. It just seems that way. At lunchtime we ate in the Orangery Restaurant. The practice in stately houses of converting the Orangery into an eating place makes a lot of sense. Usually a good shape for it and always loads of light from those enormously high windows. And the meal was as good as the place. We both decided on the grilled sea-bass with gnocchi and mixed veg. with a vierge sauce. I've no idea, yet, what a 'vierge' sauce is - but I shall google it. Whatever it is it was delicious. Much more pleasant than tartare etc., etc. And when I've discovered what it is, I shall make some. Probably Jill and her fellow sophisticates are already familiar with it - but we weren't.
The trip back was painless and we arrived home around 7.15pm, even though you would have thought it was 9.30pm by the lack of light around. More pictures will follow. I've just looked in the folder and would you believe? 35 pictures again. I haven't really got a hang up on 36frame rolls of film. It just seems as if I've been programmed.
Perhaps a little sun tomorrow. Sleep tight.
2 comments:
Yes, we’ve had some rain.
But as April was the driest ever we needed it. All the plant trays are flooded. It has turned a bit warmer though.
You mention Lincolnshire limestone. I only discovered a couple of days ago that Mansfield stone (as used in the Houses of Parliament and our front garden paving, for instance) is neither limestone nor sandstone but a sort of hybrid.
Isn’t that interesting?
Is it a horse? is it a pig? is it a duck? Whatever, he/she looks good-natured, sorrowful, and in need of company. I like him/her.
Not so sure about the light sculpture though. From the picture it looks like part of the set for TV Quiz Programme (all nailed up unwrot timber frames faced with plastic and light fittings very like this but more garish). And it doesn’t appear neon to me – more industrial fluorescent. I accept that it may look much better live.
Without research I would guess that ‘vierge’ is green but I am not sure I can justify that opinion! I too shall look it up. Just one point; freshly made tartare is very different from that in the jars and plastic packets.
As for your being ‘36 pic programmed’, it hadn’t occurred to me before but there may be something of the alien about you – a sort of Philip K Dick effect perhaps.
You don’t have green blood do you? And a need to return to the mothership every fortnight for a transfusion? That would explain a lot.
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Anon 1 - I love the sculpture in Picture 1 and my first impression was that it looked like a horse standing on it's hind legs. As Bungus says it does look rather sorrowful. The light-installation is very ugly, it looks like maybe filming for Doctor Who was taking place! Certainly not very subtle or in keeping with it's surroundings.
Vierge sauce is, as I'm sure you've found out by now, very easy to make and goes beautifully with fish. There seem to be many variations on the recipe but I use chopped tomatoes, chopped spring onions, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and torn basil leaves. Mix all these together and season with salt and pepper. You can use other herbs, leave out the vinegar, use shallots rather than spring onions, coriander, it's all a matter of individual taste.
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