The days immediatly after The Fat Duck

It is as though all time was measured from the ludicrous,wonderful, singular, theatrical events of our March 1, 2011. 

Well. Not really, but The Fat Duck experience is memorably added to the list of one-off events in our lives.

It is to be expected that after a four hour lunch with 9 matched wines one would not readily contemplate a large evening meal.  The four of us had therefore previously decided to return to the Hand and Flowers for a quiet champagne and a dip in our hot tubs to relax prior to retiring. Jon and Kylie's tub was broke. They came to share ours.

It may not be news to many that Jon, Kylie, Gail and I do not play well together. 

We tend to muck up a bit.

The cheese and wines (8) were really lovely as was the company but the evening did wear us out a little and the next morning was not , how may I say, mutually vibrant. 

I do not need to explain the photos of our Hand and Flowers room and yard activities that follow.

 Well, just a little explain.  The basket was our breakfast delivered at 10 the next morning, the covered hot tub was also next morning and yes, it was private to our room.  Quite posh.

The days that came next saw us touring through Marlow and then on to Henley-on-Thames, cold and grey but dry and pleasant days of recovery.

And then a short drive for an overnight and a french meal of moulles Provencal and cock-au-vin in Henley-on-Thames.

We were heading slowly towards Reading where we were to meet up with our Tokyo-met friend Pauline who works as Estate Manager for the Duke of Wellington's lands down that way.  We shared a fine lunch in the farm shop cafe and were then taken around the grounds in a personal Jag chauffeured tour.  Well the Jag was Pauline's daily drive and she was the chauffeur but never the less it was very very special to have such an opportunity.  These shots are the ones we managed to take between endless catch up chatter.

  

 

The photos show the house and stables, the coffin cart of the Duke of Wellington, imagine it if you can all the solid bronze polished and shining in the sun, there is a shot of diorama of the funeral event at St Paul Cathedral where the cart was displayed until the family requested it be returned thank you very much...  Then various pics of the grounds, the shooting seats for game and ferral cat killing, a plinth under a very famous tree, famous for what remains a mystery to us, Pauline is the Estate Manager not the tour guide, and finally the magnificent bronze horse and dragon in the house grounds.   What a great day.

Without a pause but requiring a tank of petrol en-route (one pound thirty-one pence a litre!) we were heading off to stay with Peter and Ann in Winchcombe.   Lovely couple of days catching up and a nice drive in the Cotswold's countryside to a fine lunch experience of lovely fish and chips followed by some more scenic touring. a pre-diner snifter at the home and off for a fine stew in the local pub.

 

 

 





These pics and a safe and quick 177 mile drive home to Wetherby bring this blog entry to a close and we await the coming weeks with  hearts glad and minds full of expectations for what the Spring of 2011 will bring.