POTTERY MAN

We have a little pottery man in our garden that I found at the bottom of the compost heap under years and years of rubble and soil.

This is him front on. I believe he must have been made many years ago by one of the four children who lived in our house previous to us. They are all grown-up now with children of their own. I think he was thrown away and has been covered for a very long time.

This is him from the side.  There is something lovely about him.  He has a chubby tummy, big ears, dark bushy eyebrows and very short arms!! Not the best looking of pottery pieces but I kind of like him in a nostalgic way.

He now sits on one of the posts near the raspberry bushes next to the compost bins where he was found.  Here he can see us come and go through the orchard. This is his view....

USING THE BARN AGAIN

The barn was used again at the weekend for another Charity Dog Walk.  Still raising funds for our son Alfie, who is hoping to leave for Nepal in January.  It was a great success, with very happy faces and excited dogs.

The barn was prepared with much sweeping of dust and leaves, table added with natural cotton very large painters dust sheet and some homemade wares provided by us.

With having such a bumper crop of plums and apples this year, we decided to make Victoria Plum Jam and Spicy Apple Chutney.  Jam jars were brought, labels designed, stuck on and lined up ready to be purchased.  (I will write about the makings of these soon).

(above) I love this table that was found in the barn and left by the previous owner.  It's very wobbly and rustic in the best possible way.  I've added some white paint here and there to clean it up a bit.  One day, I hope to find a place for it in the house.

Displayed above the jams and chutneys were bunches of herbs freshly picked from the vegetable garden. These include rosemary, sage, mint and marjoram.  I found an old more or less straight branch from the bonfire pile, added string either end and hung it onto two nails.  

On the opposite wall to where the food was, we hung Alfie's map that comes from his bedroom.  This was in case anybody didn't know where Nepal was!! 

If you would like to give a donation, please go to www.justgiving.com/alfie-flewitt. Thank you very much for your support.

AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED AT THE MANOR HOUSE

The arrival of Autumn has not only brought falling leaves, warmer tones and cooler weather but it's become the end for some of our growing vegetables.  Soon we will be able to pick the pumpkins and squash that were planted back in April. 

(above) a detail of fennel

(above) a detail of sage

 (above) thyme in pots that were left to us by the previous owner ... how lucky was that?

(above) you can just see the climbing runner beans on the support that Richard made from hazel nut tree clippings

(above) apples in the orchard.  We've had the best ever crop this year....something to do with lots of rain and sunshine. We're still picking them daily.  Apple chutney making is happening this week!

(above) fallen leaves from another apple tree in the orchard

CONSERVATORY - BEFORE AND AFTER

Conservatory details  - new glass replaced, wood repaired, new stone floor added and inside & outside repainted.

                                      (after)                                                   (before)

     (after)                                                                                                      (before)

      (after)                                                                                                      (before)

       (after)                                                                                                                              (before)

     (after)                                                                                                         (before)

Conservatory updates

The conservatory has had a new lease of life. It is almost completed apart from the odd little details here and there, like wall lights, door and window furniture, chairs, sofa cover etc etc. The best bit is that we're using it again and that it is now a lovely relaxing room with lots of natural light.

The outside and inside paint is the colour Hardwick White from Farrow & Ball - exterior eggshell and estate eggshell finishes.

We can't find a large enough plant pot for the olive tree, so have had to hide the original plastic terracotta one with two grain sacks......I quite like it though.

This is what it looks like from outside....... not bad for something that I was convinced needed knocking down and building again!!!  

CONSERVATORY

We're working on renovating and updating our conservatory.  Here are some inspirational photos of how we'd like it to look.....

(above) Photos thanks to Alitex

(below) These were taken at Chelsea Flower show.... even a greenhouse can be a source of inspiration.  Love the paint colour.

(below) The shade of paint used on this greenhouse works well with the dark grey of the wall beside it.  Just had a flash of inspiration.....maybe we should over-dye the sofa cover that will be used in our conservatory in a similar grey? 

(above) I like this one by Hampton Conservatories not necessarily for it's shape but again for it's colour.  It has a matt finish.  The box hedge works well too. 

We must update our existing window sills and add wooden ones, then paint them the same colour as the window frames and walls.

UPDATE TO DINING ROOM

We've updated our table in the dining room.  This is it's christening - a weekend breakfast...

We chose a reclaimed teak table from Emily Readett-Bailey.  The teak comes from disused bridges in Java. It's very sturdy and will withstand a hardy family using it daily.  

We'll need to get some new chairs, as the ones we've been using are for the garden along with a couple from the local auction.  I'm thinking - high back with linen covers for the new ones.