Since its inception in 1897, 'Country Life' has acquired a reputation, a pedigree even, which is second to none. It is, I venture to suggest, a National Institution, no less so than the playing fields of Eton upon which, metaphorically, the Battle of Waterloo is said to have been won, the white cliffs of Dover over which, according to Dame Vera Lynn, bluebirds will forever flutter, real ale, about which I know nothing, and, of course, a reliably wet August Bank Holiday Monday.
It will, therefore, come as no surprise to learn that each Wednesday its glossy pages are eagerly anticipated by a readership anxious to participate in a lifestyle which embraces all aspects of life in the shires without, as the saying goes, getting their hands dirty.
But, setting aside any huntin', shootin' and fishin', there is one tradition of 'Country Life' which, upheld for at least a century, is deserving of unreserved recommendation and praise. It is those pages which feature, in an informed and erudite manner, a description of some historical house and garden which, through the generosity of its owners, is opened through the written word and accompanying image, to public gaze and scrutiny.
So it was that a few Wednesdays back, 22nd. September, 2010 to be precise, I fell across an article on Bourton House, that Jacobean gem of the Cotswolds, which until March of this year belonged to my dear friends, M and R. Now, regular readers will know that M and R have received mention in a previous posting, but that in connection with their Albany 'set' in Piccadilly. What has not been said, at least not by me, is how over a period of twenty-five years they brought about the complete restoration of Bourton House and its gardens.
This wonderfully warm Cotswold stone house, dating from 1612, owes its survival to their inspiration and tireless endeavours in which, blending old and new, they created not only a congenial home but a garden which in recent years has acquired a National reputation. A box parterre, surrounding a stone basket said to have been exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851, a tightly clipped Pyracantha clothing a house wall, a trellis arch neatly trimmed with ivy, containers in profusion, double herbaceous borders and an immaculate kitchen garden all contribute variety and style. Little wonder that in 2006 the Historic Houses Association/Christie's awarded Bourton their highest accolade, 'Garden of the Year'.
Just over one year ago, on a lovely early September day, M and R held a party in farewell to Bourton. Pre-luncheon champagne served in the garden allowed a last wander through these superb grounds whilst in a marquee, richly lined inside to resemble the days of the Indian Raj, M served to family and friends the most delicious of cold buffets imaginable.
A treat indeed, the like of which may not be seen again.
P.S. The image shows a corner of Bourton House, Gloucestershire glimpsed from the parterre.
106 comments:
Dear Edith, Thank you for sharing Bourton House with those of us who don't get to enjoy 'Country Life'. It makes me very happy to know that there are still people committed to preserving these houses and keeping them vibrant. Gardens are so inviting and they connect these old homes with the present. I am so glad you have such pleasant memories of your visit there. :)
Might I suggest that your blog is acquiring a reputation, a pedigree even?!
Hooray for the Cotswolds. It's where we live and my house looks very much like the one pictured....errr....ummmm....okay, no, it doesn't but is beautiful to me...
Your friends have done a great job.
Sarahx
Oh Edith, I loved this house and garden and blogged about it last winter - it was an absolute tour de force. Most memorable were the stained glass panels that served as focal point and division from fields beyond, where I seem to remember sheep placidly grazing.It must be very sad for your friends to be leaving.
Sounds and looks divine...
I applaud the efforts of those who refurbish, restore and renovate homes and gardens...I find them to be of noble stock.
M and R must miss their former home.
Do they have a new project in the works?
Dear Ms S, Thank you for your comment. I do so agree that it is pleasing that there are people who are prepared to give the time, energy and money towards preserving a piece of the Nation's heritage. Gardens are often the first victims of neglect so it is particularly good that at Bourton House they have been carefully restored.
Dear Sarah, Thank you for your most kind comment. The Cotswolds are indeed beautiful with so many remarkable houses and gardens.
Dear Cyndy, Thank you for your comment. I am delighted that you have seen Bourton House and enjoyed the gardens. Although M and R were, of course, sad to leave they are still living in the area and are pleased to have passed on the responsibility to the new owners.
Dear Hostess, Thank you for your comment. The house and its gardens are absolutely beautiful with an understated elegance which makes them truly noteworthy.
M and R have bought the wing of a country house nearby where they can enjoy a parkland setting without the responsibility of such a large garden.
It sounds, and from the glimpse shown, looks, like a perfect English garden, I would love to see the kitchen garden (I do have a weakness for old walled kitchen gardens!)
I have, in my 40's, decided I can allow myself to be properly middle aged and read Country Life as all the older ladies in my family have done before me. I love the descriptions of beautiful and historical gardens in particular, (although I could do with out the 'pretty young thing in the market for a husband' photos which seem so outdated - unless I am missing that they are supposed to be dripping in post-modern irony?)
I read the latest issue in a skate-park, keeping an eye on my 7 year old who is really into his scooter at the moment. I think I can confidently say I am the only person ever to have read Country Life in a skate park!!
How beautiful and charming. It must be hard to leave someplace that you have put so much work into and which must hold so many fond memories.I hope others will be able to enjoy this beautiful house and its gardens.
Dear Edith,
I am mistaken. The house is open to the public! Just found out through Google. Lucky me, now I can put it on my to do list after all!
Lieve groet, Madelief
Dear Belinda, Thank you so much for your amusing comment. Yes, I am certain that you can claim to be the sole Country Life reader who has read it in a skate park.Incidentaly, just exactly what is a skate park?
I do so agree with you about the profiles of the young women advertising themselves and their families. Usually, I am relieved to say, the 'girls' are 'spoken for' otherwise it would be really TOO desperate!!
Dear Lona, Thank you for your comment. When they had finally decided to move, I think that the decision was really rather a relief. As one gets older, the responsibilities of a huge house and several acres of grounds become burdens rather than pleasures.
Dear Madelief, Thank you for your comment. Yes, the new owners are opening the gardens to the public in 2011, so you must put this on your itinerary if you make another visit to England. There are a number of other interesting houses, gardens, villages and towns in the area for you to explore too!
Dear Edith
I have a little look on the internet to see if there were some garden photographs and there are some beautiful ones. I certainly would not like to be the gardener having to trim all that buxus hedging. It certainly must be a labour of love being a gardener there. I'm sure you are looking forward to being able to visit the garden again.
What time of year do you think the garden would look its best at?
I must say, EH, your posts are always good for a google. I am slowly but surely getting a proper English education, as likely my ancestors had prior to A.D. 1650. The more I read on "Edith Hope," the more I realize how very un-English we Americans have become. For instance, I immediately grasped Belinda's reference to a skate park, but was clueless as to what your reference to 'Country Life' meant. I now have both visited the Country Life and the Bourton House websites here in one afternoon. Perhaps I will also need to google the 'Cotswalds' as well. Then my English lesson for the week shall be done. Perhaps I should watch more than just Doctor Who on BBC-America in the future.
Anyway, I do envy your access to such splendid gardens, complete with parterres! I absolutely love that giant basket and with such a history! You are so lucky to have such amazing gardening friends, and at least it will remain open to the public now that they have sold it.
Dear Rosie, Thank you so much for your comment. It is indeed a most attractive garden and always was beautifully maintained. Now M and R are no longer there, it is unlikely that I shall visit again. Mid summer I would suggest as the perfect timing for a visit since it has such a blowsy, quintessentially English look at that time of the year.
Dear FG, Thank you so much for your comment. I am so pleased that my postings are 'good for a google' but they do seem to divert you from other, no doubt far more pressing and important, tasks about the house and garden!!
Over the decades I am indeed fortunate to have met and developed friendships with a number of interesting and talented gardeners. And, it is good to know that the gardens at Bourton House will continue to be developed and kept open to the public by the new owners.
Dear Edith, a skate park is where young people, predominantly, males who wear their jeans so low slung that...never mind Edith, I think ignorance is bliss in this case. But all you need to know in answer to your question is: urban youngsters, concrete ramps and skate boards/bikes and the odd little guy on a scooter. Not your usual Country Life reading territory!
My life is nothing if not eclectic! Belinda x
Dear Edith
Do the new owners of Bourton intend to maintain the garden in the same way or is it likely to loose its accolades. I think gardens loose a bit of their soul when they are taken over by someone else, they are such a personal creation.
As ever thank you for a glimpse into what is a very different world to mine
Helen
Dear Belinda, Welcome back and thank you for taking the time and trouble to explain what a Skate Park is. It all sounds rather like Milton Keynes to me, but then, my life is rather protected. I really must get out more!!
Dear Helen, Thank you for your comment. I think that I remember M saying that the new owners are Dutch but I may have got that wrong. But, like you, I do believe that gardens belong to the people who have made them in their lifetimes and, only in exceptional circumstances, do they really live on.
It is sad that your friends had to give up their home, and it is quite the stately house at that!
You have piqued my interest about 'Country Life'. I wonder if on a Wednesday I would find it at one of my magazines shops. Then I would sit with a cup a tea and enjoy this English tradition.
Hi Edith, what a wonderful home and I can just imagine the gardens. There must be a teacher in you somewhere, because you always send me scurrying to find out more about the subject. Now I am off to find out more about Bourton House and its inhabitants!
Eileen
Dear Patty, Thank you so much for your comment. Although I think that leaving Bourton was something of a wrench for M and R, nevertheless it was also, I suspect, tinged with relief at no longer having to take responsibility for such a large house and garden. I am sure that you would enjoy looking at 'Country Life' if for no other reason than to be amused by its very Englishness!
Dear Eileen, Thank you very much for your comment and for your very kind compliment. I think that if you Google Bourton House you should be able to find out more - there are certainly images to be seen of both house and garden. If possible, try to find a picture of the staircase which is truly magnificent and which would, I feel, be of interest to you.
Haha, you had me at pre-luncheon champagne. What a treat!
Dear Edith, your friends are to be commended for their fine and admirable work and their attempt to restore a piece of history. I can only imagine what the gardens must look like. thank you for taking us there.
Dear Liza, Thank you for your comment. Ah yes, the pre luncheon champagne, together with the most delicious canapés, and served by a butler in the garden!
Dear Diana, Thank you for your comment. It was 25 years of hard work but they would be the first to say that it was huge fun too!
hi edith,
oh lucky you, you have the best friends! what a gorgeous home and garden and thank you for sharing it with me today. i'm a tiny bit under the weather so i'm living through you today.
~janet
Dear Janet, Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, M and R are generous hosts and enormous fun. They are great contributors to community life and have left a legacy with their house and garden which will doubtless be enjoyed by generations to come.
This sounds like a lovely garden Edith, I do hope it continues to be available to visit, unlike that other lovely cotswold garden of Rosemary Verey's in Barnsley, which was made into a hotel and is only recently being restored.
Dear Edith, Thank you for introducing us to such a special place. There's something about Jacobean houses which really appeals to me, and those beautifully cut hedges are obviously a labour of love. I believe that "bourtree" is an old name for the elder; it makes me think of the ladies of the house concocting their flowerwater and potions in the cool of a shady stillroom.
Dear Kathy, Thank you for your comment. I understand that the garden is still to be opened to the public in 2011. Whether the spirit of the garden will be maintained is another question, but the head gardener has been retained, so the future could be bright.
Dearest Isobel, Thank you so much for your most interesting comment. I had no idea that 'Bourtree' was a synonym for the Elder.
The history of the house is quite torrid with power, poison and murder all part of its colourful past!
Dear Edith,
Your wonderful title is a great beginning to another fabulous post. How lovely to have been at the champagne farewell and to see the restored house and gardens personally. Hopefully the new gardener will keep the grounds in their present condition.
Dear Jennifer, Thank you for your comment. I have been invited to the house many times but it had never looked better than on the day of the farewell party. The new owners have kept the head gardener so hopefully it is in safe hands. Time will tell!!
Edith,
How saddened M and R must have been to pass this lovely estate on after a quarter century of restoration to house and gardens. Were Bourton House and its companion gardens in great disrepair and neglect when M and R started their work? Or was it more the case of putting the flesh back onto good bone structure?
I truly admire that when they said their farewell to this precious property it was done with style, grace, and elegance. And how fortunate that you have been privy to the lives lived within its clipped hedges and stately wall. And how fortunate for us that we have you to share it. - G
Dear Edith, I have some old issues of Country Life in my small library and I agree the pages dedicated to Home and Garden is what makes the magazine so special. I can fully understand your dear friends being ready to pass on the baton . . . or garden fork I should say. What an amazing place to live in and care for. What a great amount of work!! Congratulations to them for their efforts and accolades. Their farewell bash must have been quite something. Had they lived there long? Lovely post! ;>)
I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for M and R to leave Bourton House. Although, even with our small acreage here I can appreciate how much time, expense and effort is required to maintain even a modest property. Still, to leave behind a home and gardens worthy of 'Country Life' really must have tugged at the heartstrings. It sounds like the farewell luncheon though was quite an event to remember!
A treat, indeed!
The Burton's Garden must be a green paradise to bag the coveted 'Garden of the Yr award'...Whoa! Thx for sharing this pc with us. Inspiring!
Dear Edith, what a fabulous job of restoration! Your friends deserve honor and praise for the work they have done on this idyllic country estate. I am a little envious of your circle of friends, who live in such grand surroundings, though I know much hard work goes on behind the scenes. I hope the new owners will let the public take a peek now and then!
Another charmer, dearest Edith. You do run in the most interesting circles! My friends, though marvelous and characters in their own right, are quite boring in comparison. A grand photo and hint of how stunning the restored Burton House and gardens must be. Curious, are M and R living now? Actually, just scrolled back and see they have chosen a smaller though near garden to tend. Do keep us posted :)
Hi Edith,
I must admit to only having browsed through the covers of Country Life whilst in the doctors waiting room, and sometimes dreamed of the lifestyle within. Thank you for telling us a bit about it's more up to date history. Are the grounds open to the public?
Both this house and the party sound wonderful. I always eagerly waited for Country Life to arrive in my old office so that I could 'window shop' through the property pages!
You have such posh friends Edith :) People who restore rather than destroy should get all your country's knighthoods and damedoms don't you think?
Oh Edith,
Such a wonderful house, a magnificent garden, set in some of England's most glorious countryside. How wonderful to have owned such a house. Did this mean that they have sold it and moved on ? It must have been so difficult to leave.
You must have had such an enjoyable time at the garden party. You are very fortunate to have such friends, Edith. XXXX
Bourton House! One of the lovely gardens in my favorite gardening book - you know, the one by David Hicks! =] Rescued it, indeed! It sounds like they did an astounding amount of work. I've never seen the interiors, though. Ooooooo, I'm curious!
This seems like an appropriate time to mention that I held out for the boxwood topiary (3 balls on a "stem" - about a yard high). I'm so happy! We are getting hard frosts every single night, now. I still have to move the peonies and lavender from the old parsonage. Onward! Mr. and Mrs. P. bring hope and inspiration. We all have to start somewhere.
Love, Katy
I can't even imagine over 25 years of restoring a historical house and garden of that magnitude. The responsibility they must have felt to keep on ongoing restoration. I bet it was wonderful to see and sounds like you had a wonderful time to remember and share. BeAuTiFuL!
Dear Edith Hope,
what an interesting post! And such a beautiful house and garden! I love the Cotswalds very much, where my friend Anne and I made a big garden visiting tour (on our own, but helped by Judy Dare). Those lovely, lovely colours! Thank you.
Dear Edith, Bourton House and its gardens certainly do look delightful and I look forward to visiting them in the future. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of them.
As for real ale :-) I am a recent convert. I think you should try a glass of Exmoor Gold. :-)
Lucky you Edith to have been present at such an auspicious occasion. Your friends must miss their old home and garden. I had heard of Bourton House but never visited ~ maybe one day at the future ~ I am sure that M & R's footprints will still be there.
Dearest G, Thank you so ,much for your comment. When M and R went to Bourton House, the gardens were non-existent and the house was very run down. So, the gardens very much reflect their personalities and style and the house has been restored to its former glory with careful attention to period detail. I feel very privileged to have known them and watched the developments at first hand over the years.
Dearest Carol, Thank you so much for your comment. After 25 years of living there and developing the gardens, they felt that the time had come to pass on the responsibility to younger people. I think that took great courage and, certainly, the farewell party was something to remember for ever!
Dear Clare, Thank you for your comment. I think that you very much get to the heart of the matter in what you write. The investment of oneself in projects of this magnitude is all consuming and one just reaches a point where one is relieved to no longer shoulder the burden of responsibility of it all.
The party was wonderful. About 100 guests in a huge marquee, decorated as if it were in the last days of the Raj!! Great fun.
Dear Willow, Thank you for your comment. Yes, a treat and a wonderful friendship!
Dear Radhika, Thank you for your comment. The HHA/Christie's Garden of the Year award is a very prestigious and coveted prize. The garden at Bourton House fully deserves the accolade.
Dear Deborah, Thank you so much for your comment. Sometimes one can look at houses such as Bourton and wish that it was one's own. The beautiful staircase, the spacious accommodation and the sense of history that pervades every nook and cranny. But, there is always work to be done and just the heating bills alone are a nightmare!
Dearest Joey, Thank you so much for your kind comment. M and R have purchased an apartment which is a substantial part of a mansion in a nearby village. Although they have a small private garden, they also have the benefit of the extensive parkland surrounding the house. The views without the responsibility!
Dear Gary, Thank you for your comment. Yes, Country Life does seem to find its way into doctors' and dentists' waiting rooms. Still, far more interesting in my mind than Hello magazine!
The new owners of Bourton House will open the gardens to the public in 2011, so you could take Amanda there for a jolly!
Dear BB, Thank you so much for your comment. It is good if you can come across CL without having to purchase it each week. The property pages are indeed delicious!
Dear Kerry, Thank you for your comment. M and R are rather special people in that they need never have invested so much of their time and money into something which is part of the Nation's heritage. In addition, they are avid supporters of the Arts and have established trust funds to support young artists.
Dear Jacqueline, Thank you for your comment. You are right. A beautiful house and a remarkable garden. If you have never visited, then I suggest that you do since the new owners will open the garden to the public in 2011.
M and R did find it difficult to leave, and I admire their courage in being able to recognise that a younger generation was required to carry on their work.
Dearest Katy, Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, you would love it all - inside and out! The Box topiary will look wonderful, but make sure that any snow is brushed off so that it does not weigh it down or break any branches.
We are all in our own small ways custodians of the environment so, yes, we should all do what we can to improve what we have responsibility for in order that future generations may enjoy!
Dear Amy, Thank you for your comment. Bourton House and its garden were certainly not projects to be undertaken lightly. But then, M is a woman not to be undertaken lightly either!!
Dear Britta, Thank you for your comment. The Cotswolds do indeed have some wonderful houses and gardens, all set in the most beautiful and quintessentially English countryside.
Dear Chris, Thank you for your comment. I have never yet drunk a glass of beer or ale [ is there a difference?]. Exmoor Gold sounds perfectly suited to the season but I think that I shall still stick to the Cabernet Sauvignon. Old habits die hard!!
Dear Anna, Thank you for your comment. I do hope that you will be able to visit Bourton House next year since I feel sure that you would enjoy it. I should recommend mid summer when in my view the garden is at its peak.
Dear Edith, my Hungarian friend leaves here for Budapest next month to see her family. How'd you come to be living there? Do you speak Hungarian? I really want to go. Zsa Zsa says the pastries are sublime.
It looks and sounds gorgeous. It must have been hard for your friends to leave something they put so much work into. I also wonder if the new owners will keep the garden the same? You sure get to see some amazing gardens up close and personal.
Dear FF, Thank you for your comment. How interesting that you have a Hungarian friend. Yes, I do speak Hungarian although not as well as I should like.It is a very complicated language but I know enough to get by on a daily basis.
The Café Society is stil alive and well in Budapest and the coffee houses are plentiful and universally excellent. My favourite has been in the same family ownership for over 50 years, and yes, their pastries are delicious.
Dear Catherine, Thank you for your comment. I do wonder what will become of the garden since M and R developed it from absolutely nothing. It is so personal that it can never remain the same under new ownership. Still, it is my feeling that gardens belong to the people of the time and after they leave all must change. It has been such fun and such a privilege watching it develop from close quarters.
Dear Edith, Once again you bring back wonderful memories ... stately homes, head gardeners, 'Country Life' magazine. Yes, I was once part of that scene. No, not in the way you are. I was a nanny to three wonderful children of an 'upper-class' family in Warwickshire, in a former life of mine. They bought a beautiful house in a similar state of disrepair and restored it. I can appreciate what your friends did at Bourton House. I hope what they have done to this grand house and garden is never lost. I wish them well in their 'retirement'. Thank you for another great posting. Pamela x
Dear Pamela, Thank you so much for your comment and your kind wishes to M and R.
Yours is a most fascinating story! And, how wonderful to see, from the inside, the repair and restoration of a beautiful house. Yes, I too hope that the new owners build upon what they have inherited since that is what is needed. Constant renewal and rejuvenation - that is what keeps these lovely houses and their estates alive.
Country Life makes me think of my mother-in-law in England. She always has a stack of that type of magazine and I enjoy flipping through them. We both enjoy visiting old homes, especially for the gardens and the tea!
Bourton House looks appealing – what a fabulous setting for a party!
Thanks so much for your supportive comments about my Shakespeare book. I do hope to be able to share it someday.
Dear Sarah, Thank you for your comment. One quickly amasses a pile of Country Life magazines as it is published weekly.At one point I placed small stacks at the edge of each stair on a staircase, believing it to look interesting. When I reached the top stair I realised that recycling had to be the answer!!
I look forward to the release of your novel and hope that it will be available in the UK.
I would love to tour these restored gardens filled with history. Your photo speaks volumes as does your beautiful prose.
Dear Paul, Thank you so much for your kind comment. Alas, I cannot claim the picture as my own as I do not have a camera. But, the history of this remarkable house is indeed captivating.
Dear Edith,
What a beautiful place and what a blessing to have friends who lived there and to enjoy luncheon in their garden. I would love to see the interior pics in Country Life. It is so wonderful that your friends took on such an endeavor and restored it to its original beauty.
Thank you also for your kind comments on my roses.
~ Julie
Dear Edith, you painted so vivid a word picture, I feel like I was at that marvelous party.
Thank you.
dear julie, Thank you for your comment. Yes, the luncheon party was a most memorable occasion on a beautiful September day.
The interior pictures are most intriguing. Can you see them online perhaps?
Dear Sandra, Thank you for your kind comment. I am sure that you would have enjoyed the party too and the garden looked spectacular.
"real ale, of which I know nothing"
So we won't be seeing you on your usual stool at the Dog and Duck tonight, then?
Dear Edith, I have followed your blog for a few weeks after finding it on Metscan's blog..I am not a blogger! so do hope you will not mind me leaving a reply....we have visited the Bourton House gardens many times & often spoken to your friends as my OH is a plantsman.Lovely people & the gardens are a great joy.
My G/mama lived the life of the county set & Country Life always seem to end up in a huge pile in the downstairs lavatories I remember as a child.
I watched the 'Ladies in Pearls' programme last night on the tv!!
Thank you for a walk of memories..especially the 'fish forks' my G/mama was the same!!!
Ida
Dear IG, Thank you for your comment. Are we confusing the Dog and Duck with the Fat Duck? I am to be found in the latter quite often.
Dear Ida, Thank you so much for your comment. I am so pleased that you have found the postings to be of interest.
Bourton House gardens are indeed lovely and it is good to know that they will still be open next year to visitors.
Copies of Country Life do build up at an alarming rate and are terribly heavy. I do try to discipline myself and pass them on to others before they become an embarrassment!
Dear Edith
Bourton House...beautiful and charming indeed! Cotswold is number one on my list of places to visit. I have done so much research on Cotswold and even went on Google earth to explore the area...what an experience! I would love to Google earth Bourton House... how wonderful to see people taking care of the old country homes! Wouldn't mind one of my own... I say! :)
Hi Edith, Thank You for sharing that beautiful home with us. I also luv the garden very nice. Thanks for stopping by for a visit today....Julian
It's one of the best things about traveling in the UK. Settling down in front of a hotel fire with a crisp new copy of Country Life. The quintessential British experience!
dear ingrid, thank you for your coment. Having read your accounts of your travels in France, I am sure that you would enjoy exploring the Cotswolds. So many wonderful houses and gardens to visit, comfortable hotels to stay in and all in the most glorious countryside.
Dear Julian, Thank you for your comment. I am so pleased that you found it all of interest.
Dear Pamela, Thank you for your comment. How very true! Country Life has been part of my life for as long as I can recall so I should really miss it if it were no longer there.
I'm impressed Country Life still exists --for some reason it reminds me of school -- where I used to gaze at the featured pearl-wearer and rather wish she were me
and then of dentists' dim waiting rooms where piles of it sat on dark circular tables.....
Must get to the Cotswolds soon
greetings from Manhattan
Dear Elizabeth, Thank you so much for your comment. It is rather amazing that Country Life still exists, although it has changed its look somewhat. Compared with earlier editions, the articles are far less detailed giving it much more of a 'popular magazine' feel which I find irritating at times. Yes, I am sure that you would find the Cotswolds of great interest.
Dear Edith, firstly I just want to thank you for your warm and encouraging comment at mine, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, and indeed each and every one of your wise and caring comments. I'm feeling better with each day and my sister is visiting tomorrow so I'm looking forward to a big hug.
Now, back to your post! Bourton House sounds wonderful and due in no small part I'm sure to the style and talent of M & R!
It's lovely to take a peek into such beautiful and historical homes via the pages of magazines like Country Life and how fortunate for you to visit in person. Memories of such a lovely day will stay with you I'm sure.
Jeanne
xx
Dear Jeanne, Thank you so much for your comment, and how kind of you to take the trouble to write at what is a very difficult time for you. I am sure that the visit of your sister will be fun and just the tonic you need.
Country Life is, as you say, such a good way to see inside so many interesting houses, although I do find the articles less thorough than they used to be.
Dear Edith,
What a lovely house in a beautiful part of Britain. A must for next time in that area.
Warm regards,
Ingrid
DearIngrid, Thank you for your comment. Yes, the garden will be open in 2011, so do try to visit. I am sure that you will find it of interest.
aloha edith,
i'm sure it must have been a spectacular sendoff, i almost feel like a was an uninvited guest and you opened the gate to let me in on a peek, thanks for sharing this little slice of life in your corner :)
Greetings Noel, Thank you for your comment. It was indeed a very splendid farewell party and the garden was looking at its absolute best.
Nicely evoked. Made me curious of what must the marquee look like to remind of the Raj.
Must have taken dedication bordering on a passion to convert it so.
Dear Anil, Thank you for your comment. The marquee was very large and colourful and decorated with exotic flowers and hanging lanterns. That, for me at least, conjured up the feeling of the essence of India in the days of the Raj.
Your posting, Edith, has me wanting to renew my subscription to Country Life! What a magnificent scene you describe - a buffet served in the company of M and R and friends on a lovely day on the grounds of a HHA/Christie's Garden of the Year! Thank you for sharing another wonderful gem with us...Cassandra ♥
Dear Cassandra, Thank you for your kind comment. How interesting that you used to take in Country Life. I really do not think it is worth a subscription since, arriving every week, it can be too much and is often unread. However, for occasional 'dipping into' it is wonderful.
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