I am almost over my not-so-lovely English cold, and mostly sorted out on my time zones, so I guess it’s about time I gave you a taste of my wonderful springtime visit to southern England.

I spent five days visiting with my daughter and son-in-law, wandering along the narrow streets of their village, riding through hair-raisingly narrow lanes,

petting the velvety noses of Heather’s horses, taking time to smell the flowers and enjoy the soft spring air.  As I go through my photos and relive those days, I will try to give you a taste of my visit.

On my first full day there, Heather treated me to a visit of a stately Victorian house – this one Hughenden Manor, which was the residence of Benjamin Disraeli when he was Prime Minister. It is not a huge place, but was most interesting to see.

The library – the books are shelved in alphabetic order by title….. but they only go to “T”!  Did he bannish any book beginning with U, V, W, X, Y, or Z?  Or were they hidden away somewhere else?  I wonder.

The gardens are quite amazing as well, and there is also a walled kitchen garden with many different types of fruit.

In 1941, at the height of the Second World War, the Manor was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and became home to a top secret mapping unit, quickly becoming the hub for civilian artists, architects and draftsmen, who were taken there blindfolded so they would not be able to disclose the site of the operation.  Starting with  old German road maps, they produced target maps used in bombing raids over Europe.

We went from the manor to the church, made in the classic Chiltern way of pieces of flint.

I would like to know how old this tree is… it is a giant.

Disraeli has been dubbed “The most unlikely Victorian Prime Minister”, having risen from obscurity in London to become not only Prime Minister, but a celebrated author of novels.  I will leave you with a bit of his wit – displayed on two window shades in the study…

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