Friday 3rd October - Holiday at Home; Tuesday, Wednesday

Tuesday 30th September was, for us, mostly travelling back. We had a smooth journey and were home and unpacked by teatime!

Son and daughter stopped off at Stonehenge, which was on the way home and quite close to where we had been staying until our abrupt departure. I'd been to Stonehenge about... let me think... 55 years ago? 60 years ago? Oh me oh my. Back in the days when the stones were unfenced, and possibly unguarded. It could well be that we just walked through a field gate and ambled across the field... no chance of that today!

Daughter told us that it was a good long walk from the entrance to the stones, and then the circuit at a fair distance from the stones. There were hundreds from all over the world walking round, singly, in tour groups, school visits, people marvelling at the sights, others glued to their phones or videoing the whole thing.

Wednesday 1st October 

The day dawned grey and cold! But with a suggestion of sun later in the day. We decided to all meet at a National Trust property called Hatchlands. The main attraction there is the vast Cobbe Collection of historic keyboard instruments including instruments owned by royalty and famous composers. 

Here's a Frescobaldi toccata on a harpsichord of the period

And Chopin's Berceuse played on Chopin's own Pleyel piano

Sadly there were no pianos for the general public to play; I kept my hands firmly in my pockets all the way round. 

'He's probably fed up with hearing endless renditions of chopsticks all day long' daughter remarked. The Cobbes live upstairs, but use the downstairs rooms during the day. Among the antique furniture and huge oil paintings (including a Titian) there was a very modern TV!

They have regular concerts where there are performances on original instruments.; search on YouTube if you want to explore further.

True to the forecast, the sun came out as we were walking back to the car park. The gardens are minimal; a small area of thee original walled vegetable garden is cultivated, d  there is a small gravelled parterre looking decidedly 'end of season'. People come for the house with its art and piano collection, and the walks thither beautiful parkland.

Another time I'm very tempted to book the free all-terrain electric Trampy vehicle so we could see more of the park.

Home again, home again jiggety jig!

Thanks to Lyssa Medana and Ang for putting me on to this poem;

The Battle Of Hastings - by Marriott Edgar

I'll tell of the Battle of Hastings,
As happened in days long gone by,
When Duke William became King of England,
And 'Arold got shot in the eye.

It were this way - one day in October
The Duke, who were always a toff
Having no battles on at the moment,
Had given his lads a day off.

They'd all taken boats to go fishing,
When some chap in t' Conqueror's ear
Said 'Let's go and put breeze up the Saxons;'
Said Bill - 'By gum, that's an idea.'

Then turning around to his soldiers,
He lifted his big Norman voice,
Shouting - 'Hands up who's coming to England.'
That was swank 'cos they hadn't no choice.

They started away about tea-time -
The sea was so calm and so still,
And at quarter to ten the next morning
They arrived at a place called Bexhill.

King 'Arold came up as they landed -
His face full of venom and 'ate -
He said 'lf you've come for Regatta
You've got here just six weeks too late.'

At this William rose, cool but 'aughty,
And said 'Give us none of your cheek;
You'd best have your throne re-upholstered,
I'll be wanting to use it next week.'

When 'Arold heard this 'ere defiance,
With rage he turned purple and blue,
And shouted some rude words in Saxon,
To which William answered - 'And you.'

'Twere a beautiful day for a battle;
The Normans set off with a will,
And when both sides was duly assembled,
They tossed for the top of the hill.

King 'Arold he won the advantage,
On the hill-top he took up his stand,
With his knaves and his cads all around him,
On his 'orse with his 'awk in his 'and.

The Normans had nowt in their favour,
Their chance of a victory seemed small,
For the slope of the field were against them,
And the wind in their faces an' all.

The kick-off were sharp at two-thirty,
And soon as the whistle had went
Both sides started banging each other
'Til the swineherds could hear them in Kent.

The Saxons had best line of forwards,
Well armed both with buckler and sword -
But the Normans had best combination,
And when half-time came neither had scored.

So the Duke called his cohorts together
And said - 'Let's pretend that we're beat,
Once we get Saxons down on the level
We'll cut off their means of retreat.'

So they ran - and the Saxons ran after,
Just exactly as William had planned,
Leaving 'Arold alone on the hill-top
On his 'orse with his 'awk in his 'and.

When the Conqueror saw what had happened,
A bow and an arrow he drew;
He went right up to 'Arold and shot him.
He were off-side, but what could they do?

The Normans turned round in a fury,
And gave back both parry and thrust,
Till the fight were all over bar shouting,
And you couldn't see Saxons for dust.

And after the battle were over
They found 'Arold so stately and grand,
Sitting there with an eye-full of arrow
On his 'orse with his 'awk in his 'and.