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About
Literary Lunches
Events
History
- The Pittleworth Murals
The Blog
- Home Life Blog
- My Bookshelf Blog
Gallery
Contact
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Contact

@TheCountryReader

I find it hard to believe that this picture is 13

I find it hard to believe that this picture is 13 years old. I commissioned it from @janet.marsh for my mother’s 70th birthday. The brief was a picture of Pittleworth in the spring (my mother’s favourite time of year) with a side order of birds and beasts, evoking both my mother’s pets (that meant painting Pekingeses: not to be undertaken lightly) and the wildlife of the Test Valley, also to throw in some allusions to the Pittleworth murals: now was that too much to ask? It would seem not.
Janet has long been capturing the Test Valley and its wildlife with a mixture of softness and precision that I find irresistible. I particularly love the way she took aspects of the Tudor murals at Pittleworth and incorporated them into the borders of the watercolour. She made them hers.
I have such fond memories from the creation of this painting: the afternoon that Janet, @alexandra_byrd and I spent flat on the ground in the garden trying to get the pekes to pose for photos (they were not cooperative). Then there was Ajax, the farm bull and quite the nicest of his kind, I remember seeing Janet in the farmyard sketching Ajax and she commented later, ‘I hope he’s alright; I’ve never painted a bull before, irises are more my thing’. Oh he was alright, alright! From bulls to mayflies, the Test valley that was my mother’s home is here. Once when I was a child, I asked her what heaven was like and she said (we were driving through the valley at the time) ‘well I think it’s rather like here: but without the pylons’, looking at this picture. I find that quite possible. Thank you Janet.
#testvalley #englishcountryhouse #englishcountryhouses #springtimeflowers #springtime🌷 #myfamilyandotheranimals #inmemoryof #myhomethismonth #myhomefeel #myhomemylife #myhomeview #myhome🏡 #oldhouselife #creatingart #aprilapril #aprildays #aprilflowers #aprilsnow #oldhousecharms #myoldhouse #600yearsold #myfavouriteview #lovethisplacesomuch #myfavouritepicture #myfavouritepainting #pekineselove #myfavouritethings #lovethisseason #lovethispicture❤️ #Hampshire

My current reads: ‘The books transported her int

My current reads: ‘The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.’
Roald Dahl’s Matilda

I think we really need to remember those words now. While we are in lockdown, books can take us where we need to go, without endangering others. Keep safe everybody xx

#mycurrentread #currentread #currentreading #currentreality #mycurrentview #oldhouselife #lockdownlife #myreadinglife #readinglifestyle #readingislife📚 #readinglife #countryhouse #countryhousestyle #lifeslittleinstructionbook #lifeslittleluxuries #littlethingsmakemehappy #littleluxuries #littleluxuries #frommywindows #frommywindowseat #englishcountryhouse #oldhouselife #oldhousecommunity #selfisolating #selfisolationhelp #selfisolationread #roalddahlmatilda #twilightlove #spqr #thehouseofthesevengables

Well there’s something to be said for not weedin

Well there’s something to be said for not weeding between the paving stones! Now we’re working on the ‘nice long stems so we can put them in water’ routine.
#gardeningday #gardeningwithchildren #gardeningtherapy #gardeningistherapy #childreninthegarden #inmygardentoday #littlegardener #littlegardeners #springinthegarden #springtimevibes #springdays🌸 #marchdays #ramblinggarden #englishcountrygarden #englishcountrystyle #countrylivinguk #countrylivingforever #countrylivingstyle #countrylife🌾 #countrylifestyle1 #familylifestylephotography #familylifetoday #familylife❤️ #youngestdaughter #lifeslittlemoments #lifeslittleluxuries #springflowers🌸 #springflowers🌷 #jojomamanbebe #hampshirelife

I saw this little alcove leading off the drawing r

I saw this little alcove leading off the drawing room at Lanhydrock House in Cornwall. I couldn’t resist writing it into the last chapters of my novel.
#englishcountryhouse #englishcountryhouses #englishcountryhousestyle #alcove #oldhouselife #oldhousestyle #victorianarchitecture #victoriancountryhouse #victorianstylehouse #sourceofinspiration #sourcesofinspiration #writinginspiration #novelinspiration #writingmynovel #myfirstnovel #mywritinglife #countryhouseinteriors #countryhousestyle #countryhouses #nationaltrustsouthwest #lanhydrock #lanhydrockhouse #lanhydrocknt #cornishcountryhouse #nationaltrusthouse #aquietcorner #cornishheritage #favouriteplaces #placestovisituk

So, the day before we had to go into self-isolatio

So, the day before we had to go into self-isolation I had, fortuitously, stocked up on some of the simple bare necessities of life: including a 3 kilogram black bomber cheddar. Suffice to say I am very glad we had it, though not so glad as my offspring. Just over 2 weeks into self-isolation we are just over the half-way mark. So, if one family of 5 people can consume half a giant black bomber in 2.2 weeks, how many weeks will it take ...
The reason for the seal is my 5 year old who thought the picture would look better with ‘baby seal’. I think she may have a point ...
#blackbombercheese #cheesegromit #cheesefiend #strongcheese #strongcheeseisbest #myfavouritethings #myfavouritefood #myfavouritefoods #familyfavourite #familyfavourites #favouritecheese #inmykitchentoday #selfisolationwithkids #selfisolationideas #familylifestylephotography #familylifetoday #familylife❤️ #familyliving #familyliving #shoplocally #hampshirelife #hampshireliving #atmykitchentable #🧀❤️#🧀🧀🧀 #neverworkwithanimalsorchildren #cutesofttoys #childphotographers #flatlaystyling #

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