Wendy and I Have A Day Out

Wendy and I Have A Day Out

The rain stopped lashing down, the thunder ceased to rumble, and the lightning gave up illuminating the night (and day) skies: in simple terms, the weather improved! and by good fortune, that was the day we chose to have a day out - "ein Tagesausflug" - and what a great time we enjoyed!

Still being concerned about social distancing, and not knowing how people would behave in restaurants, we took sandwiches and bottles of water, crisps and a couple of bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, and set off for a 250-mile round trip. 

Wendy loves to drive, so the distance didn't bother her, and it was just lovely to be driving out, bright and early, first to visit people in Gloucestershire, and then take ourselves on a leisurely journey back home.

It was also great to discover people are generally still being very careful to follow guidelines to protect fellow travellers who stop off at service stations; most were wearing masks and keeping their distance, so we felt pretty safe during the whole day.

As we neared Oxford, we reminisced about the great Christmases we had spent at the Four Pillars Hotel in Witney; they were really great times, with Mum in good form, and enjoying all the happy family festivities. We went back for the Christmas break for 4 years, and I certainly appreciated all the hard-working staff, who willingly took the strain of providing a happy time for everyone. 

We decided to make a little detour for a fleeting visit to Ducklington, the village near the Hotel, and see if things we remembered were still there!

Ducklington Village with St Bartholomew's Church

The Wanderer Returns

The Wanderer Returns

I once wrote a poem for Mum, about one of our cats, called "Where Does My Cat Get To?"

She had been worried about him, as he had been out for quite a while, and had not returned home when she expected him: 

Where Does My Cat Get To?

Where does my cat get to

In the middle of the night?

I hear those moggies yowling

And I'm sure he's in a fight!

But in the morning home he comes

With tail and head held high; 

His whiskers are a-gleaming

There's a glint in his green eyes.

Well, I guess he's free to wander

And come and go at will;

But when he weaves around my feet

I know he loves me still!

And when he rolled in the next morning, she was mightily relieved. 

Snowy, however, worried us because he - or she - had never stayed away for such a long time. I don't give up hope easily, and it was wonderful to have faith fulfilled when one night I looked at the cat flap in the back door and realised there was a little nose pressed up against it!

Snowy came over the threshold and was so hungry, he demolished two sachets of cat food in quick succession, followed by a portion of Munchies. 

Where had he been? Truly a case of "If only they could talk...!" what tales Snowy would tell. 

Since then, over the past few days, Snowy has been a regular visitor, but he has definitely lost weight after such a long absence. We are trying to build him up a bit, with lots of tasty treats. After he has had his fill, he still goes off to sit on the trellis over the fish pond, clearly hoping for a goldfish to leap obligingly out of the water, and straight into his paws! 

Although he seems  able to jump up onto the fish pond, we've also noticed he is limping a bit, preferring to keep his front paw off the ground. If it was possible for us to get him to the vet, we would book an appointment for him, but as this lameness has occurred before, and he did recover after some time, so we hope that will also be the case this time.

On some days, he has taken to sitting on one of the conversation chairs, soaking up the sun during the really hot days; when the heat has got too fierce, he takes refuge and sits on the little shelf underneath the conversation table, so he is still able to enjoy the fresh air whilst protected from the worst of the midday sun. 

One afternoon, he was sitting on the chair, and looking for all the world like a film star: I had no idea how long he would stay in that position, and then I had to run upstairs to fetch the camera, but when I got back, Snowy was still there, still posing, and reminiscent of that famous film star's line: "I'm ready for my close-up now, Mr de Mille..."

I took about half a dozen photos of Snowy, starting out quite a long way away, so that I wouldn't frighten or startle him. Gradually, I got closer, inching my way forward, and putting the zoom button into play. I ended up with two pictures that I think show what a beautiful cat Snowy is, and just how calm he was!

Holding Snowy's gaze

And now I am as close as I can dare to be -

Snowy can relax! 

And After The Storms... A Ray Of Hope

And After The Storms... A Ray Of Hope

A day later... at  dusk, there were other cloud formations, quite low in the sky, illuminated by the setting sun behind them. One was captured with the rays of the sun shining outwards, like a heavenly radiance.

After unleashing her magnificent wrath on the earth, Mother Nature can also be very inspiring, and so very beautiful. 

Sunset at home

A Storm Cloud Gathers...

 A Storm Cloud Gathers...

What strange weather we have been having. Extremely hot, especially in the south, and thank heavens we have an air conditioning unit in the bedroom, which means we can at least sleep at night; during the day, it has been quite stifling. 

Added to which, the dreadful news of extreme rainfall in Germany, resulting in terrible floods, showed so clearly the devastation wreaked by nature; there has been much loss of life, homes swept away, and streets turned into rivers. 

We have dear friends in Germany, and happily they are all safe and well, but they have endured some anxious and frightening times. Now the clean-up has begun, but it must be heart-breaking for so many people who have lost everything, and have to start again. 

In America and Canada, too, there has been appalling heat, with people experiencing what has been called a "heat dome," and enduring it as best they can. 

It shows how fragile we humans are, when it comes to surviving extreme temperatures; we're happiest existing in a fairly narrow temperate range!

A couple of days ago, we were warned of thunderstorms and rain, but for most of the day, the sky remained cloudless, until we went outside and looked up: and there was a cloud on high, looking for all the world like something out of the film, Independence Day. Apart from three or four sprinkles of rain, and a few rumbles of thunder, that particular episode passed us by. 

A scene to inspire the makers of Independence Day?

Snowy

Snowy

It's been weeks now, since we last saw Snowy - the cat who started coming round to see us regularly, waiting by the back door, his/her little nose pressed up against the cat flap, expecting (and getting) as many square meals a day as he - or she - wanted. 

We definitely don't like being "cat-less," and since we lost both Blackie and Pushkin, apart from seeing the Ginger Tom in the garden occasionally - whom we know is owned by folks in a house down the road - we have missed having a loving cat around. 

In spite of his feral nature, we hoped that, over time, Snowy might become more tame. After  all, when Mum first became acquainted with Pushkin and Tiddlywinks, they were also semi-feral, but would allow Mum to stroke them - at first, only momentarily, before they would pull away, but later on, a bit more willingly. I remember a time when they were unwell, and we had a home visit from the vet; he diagnosed them both with cat flu, and prescribed medication for them. Pushkin would take her tablet in with her dinner, but for Tiddlywinks I could wrap each pill in a piece of ham (only the best, of course!) and she would take the "ham and pill parcel" from my hand! 

That didn't last, because over yet more time, Tiddlywinks never got any friendlier, but Pushkin did, eventually becoming very much a house pussycat, happy to be loved and cuddled on a lap.  Pushkin was also the one who would throw herself at my feet whilst I settled down to the ironing; that was when I knew she was waiting for me to take my slippers off, and use my toes to tickle her ears. What a strange, unique cat she was! and a very lady-like cat, who could hold her own against Blackie. 

Blackie, of course, was a different personality altogether; very vocal, very demanding, with an "I'M HERE!" personality; he was a cat who could not be ignored. He was the cat who arrived "from nowhere," and although he was very nervous at first, he quickly decided we were definitely his people, and we counted ourselves lucky to be chosen as his family. 

Without Blackie and Pushkin, the house seems empty, and we had been nursing hopes that Snowy might one day decide to stay with us on a more permanent basis. Quite possibly these were forlorn hopes, because Snowy, from the first time he condescended to accept food from us, was in a constant state of nervousness, and ready for immediate flight. He had started to come in over the kitchen threshold, and eat his dinner in the kitchen - always with the door open, of course, allowing him a swift retreat when he felt the need to flee! - but we hoped he would also feel safe with us, and know he could relax eating "just indoors." When he ate his food on the step, he was always looking round anxiously, for any perceived danger. 

There were also occasions when Snowy would be just inside the kitchen, sitting on the mat, and looking out on the patio; in that position I'm sure he felt safe, and that we were guarding his back!  Sometimes he'd sit on one of the patio chairs, or the bench, and soak up some sun, and have a wash, or else be snoozing in the little cat house, also on the patio. He would lie in that, right at the very back, so at first glance you could not see he was there, but then, on a longer look, you could the splash of white on his paws as he was curled up, and think he must be happy and comfortable, dry and warm - and hope he felt safe. 

Sometimes Snowy would come round 3 - or even on occasion 4! - times a day, and very clearly hungry; we would wonder where he had been, as he could get through two or three sachets at a sitting! and then afterwards he might go and sit on the trellis over the fishpond and watch the fish swimming underneath the water. 

Even though we haven't seen him or such a long while now - it's been weeks - we still don't want to abandon hope, and wonder if perhaps he has been locked in somewhere; but we can't help but start to think we may not see him again. We are keeping him in our thoughts. 

Such a very particular cat!

The white flashes of Snowy's fur made us think he had just climbed out of a snowdrift...

Safe, inside the kitchen

So Where Shall We Book Our Next Champagne Tea?

So Where Shall We Book Our Next Champagne Tea?

June 21st marked our first visit for Afternoon Tea at Fortnum and Mason and, after so many years of faithfully taking Tea at the Ritz, we could not help but make comparisons between the two. We have so many memories of the times we went with Mum to the Ritz, and how kind people were, but during our last couple of visits, we noticed things had changed a bit, with staff retiring and leaving; the Ritz Fine Jewellery closed, with a Cigar Emporium opened in its place, and now the Hotel is under new ownership. I know everything changes, but we all feel we would prefer to keep our memories of the Ritz as it used to be, and when it was in its heyday for us. 

Wendy hit the nail on the head, when she commented that she felt the Jubilee Tea Salon had "more heart," and over the next few days, I was inspired to write a couple of poems about our experience; one sonnet is for the Jubilee Tea Salon, and the other for the shop. 

A DIAMOND JUBILEE TEA SALON SONNET

 

It’s a fine and elegant venue: 

The best place in town to take tea

Named after the sixty great years of her reign, 

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

We’d followed the guidelines, and at last there was cheer

To celebrate milestones we’d marked through the year.

The staff were most charming, and all of one mind,

Fulfilling our wishes, so attentive and kind.

 

With the Steinway piano magnificently played,

Adding romance to the ambience tastefully displayed.

And now family and friends can gather once more,

There’s no better place to meet to ensure

The making of memories, with time to renew

The ties of family and friendship, and love that stays true.

 

Alexandra Wilde

June 2021

FORTNUM AND MASON –

THE ESSENCE OF EXCELLENCE

  

Fortnum and Mason is an iconic store

With selections of tea and biscuits galore

From the moment you step through those sturdy oak doors

You’re in a world-famous emporium with delights on each floor

The windows are inspiring - a sight to behold -

Imagination takes flight, and the subjects are bold 

There are perfumes and silks and so very much more

Special gifts to take home to those we adore.

 

Whilst up on the roof, in Eau de Nil hives

The bees buzz industriously, throughout their short lives

For over three hundred years, Fortnums has stood

For quality, choice, and all that is good

The options are boundless, and rare as pure gold,

Inspired by a world where fine goods are sold.

 

Alexandra Wilde

June 2021

 

I've posted the poems to the management at Fortnum and Mason - it will be interesting to have their opinion! - and I hope they approve. 

Now we are looking forward to Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, I'm trusting Erato, the muse of poetry, will inspire me again!

A Champagne Tea At Fortnum and Mason

A Champagne Tea At Fortnum and Mason

It all went off beautifully!

It was particularly good for us, because we were celebrating 3 significant birthdays - this year, Al turned 25 and Bob and I both celebrated our 75th birthdays - not to mention my recovery from the big open-heart operation in February! 

Obviously we were very cautious. Having already cancelled the June jaunt up north, we were following all the guidelines, but in the end we felt we needed not to have worried so much. 

Walking through the oak swing doors into the store, it wasn't crowded, and once we got up to the fourth floor, to the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, the staff were terrific. The way things were arranged made us feel very safe indeed, and it felt wonderful to be “back in the swing” of happy social life again. 

It is a beautiful venue, and I remember back in 2012, seeing photographs of the Queen visiting Fortnum and Mason, dressed so appropriately in Eau de Nil, to open the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. 

The pianist at the keyboard of the Steinway grand piano played “Falling In Love Again” for me, from The Blue Angel, one of the songs I still sing and hope to perform again!

We were all impressed by the way the staff paid such attention to detail; they were so charming and attentive. My special request for (very!) plain white bread and butter and cucumber sandwiches was fulfilled, along with more butter for me (for extra to spread on the sandwiches, and I also like butter on my scones, not cream! - strange person that I am), and we enjoyed ourselves so much. 

Our waitress took some photos for us, so we have a visual record of our visit - I think we all look so happy and relaxed, and it bodes well for the future, and more visits.

After we finished tea, we had time to do some shopping, stocking up with packets of Fortmason Tea - Wendy's favourite - ginger shortbread biscuits, and specialist chocs for Wendy. I had also pre-ordered a couple of mugs for her - both featuring cats, and we collected them as well. 

It really could not have been timed better; we walked back to the underground car park, having used up nearly all the time we had booked for, and drove home. Al then had to get off straight away to return to Portsmouth, but it was wonderful to have had this special family time together. 

Tea in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon

(I still need to replace the lost 4 kg!)