Tags
Covid-19, European Movement, Lockdown, Museum of Gardening, Snakes' head fritillary, Star Magnolia, The Newt in Somerset
Firstly, a note for non-England* readers. Since early January we have been in lockdown, which has meant we have had to stay at home other than for: work, where it cannot be done from home; essential shopping; local exercise, by household/’bubble’, or with one person from one other household maximum; and medical appointments. From 8th March: the outdoors meet-ups as described could include sitting down for, say, coffee or a picnic; schools have been back (though are now on holiday); and those in care homes can receive one named visitor.
*For non-UK readers: Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all have their own regulations, but some English live in those countries, so I couldn’t write ‘non-English’.
As of last Monday, 29th March we have been able to meet up outdoors in groups of up to six (or more, as long as this only includes two households) and outdoor sport has been allowed. The definition of ‘local’ has now explicitly been left to discretion. I have had a happily rich week as a result of these small relaxations, (though some of the ‘activities’ would have been permissible earlier, including, obviously, those happening on Zoom.)
Much of last weekend was spent assembling four garden dining chairs, in time for Wednesday. Given that the instructions came entirely with illustrations, and no words, they were not too difficult to understand. The quality of the chairs was good, all the parts were there (with four Allen keys because the lot was of four chairs!), but assembly was very fiddly, and it took me a long time and some sore fingers.
Monday evening I attended a Zoom meeting of the local (Mendip) branch of the European Movement. These have been monthly for some while. Not much campaigning is possible at present, but it is good to be in touch.
It had been lovely weather all day, and a friend, Linda, had told me during an afternoon phone call that she and her husband had just been to The Newt In Somerset, and among other things had much enjoyed the Snakes’ head fritillaries (of which there is one stray in my garden!). On an impulse late that night, I ordered myself a picnic lunch from The Newt for the next day, and, once my organic fruit and veg box had arrived in the morning, I made my way there, not having visited since October.
As I start writing this, it is my intention to write one consolidated blog post for the entire week, but I have so many reasonably decent photos that this may not be possible. Anyway, here are some of those I took at The Newt.




I picked up my pre-ordered lunch from the Cyder Bar, and moved to avoid the crowds around and at the tables nearby. I was pleased to see that there was plenty of empty seating in the Parabola, looking bare at present as its hundreds of apple trees are not yet in blossom.

The vegan spring vegetable pasty was divine. Really. I have never had pastry like it, and the copious filling, of which I could just identify the spinach, was delicious. I can really recommend the apple juice as well, a blend of James Grieve apples and another I can’t remember.

I did not linger, but moved on to an area that was inaccessible the last time I was there, next to the Garden Café.


It overlooks the Kitchen Garden. I wonder what is being developed beyond.


Then I went in search of the Snakes’ head fritillaries, which come in mauve,

white,

and in-between.



I then went a bit mad taking photographs of reflections of trees in various watery areas.




I can’t wait for the Museum of Gardening to be allowed to open. I’m told it’s good for a two-hour visit.

I strolled into the Deer Park, but sadly saw no deer, unlike Linda and her husband the day before, who saw both roe and fallow deer.
I had not been able to venture down this slope previously as it had been shut off as too muddy and dangerous. There is now an easy, sandy, gravelled pathway – I’m sure there’s a technical name for the substance.

Plenty of quirky seating.


Oops, another one.

I felt I deserved an ice cream after all that exercise.

I limited myself to one scoop of the lemon curd flavour, enjoying it on the way back to my car.
And on the way home took care to avoid this leaping horse. I’m sure that wasn’t there before the pandemic…

Hmm, I can see this is going to be a bit long. Part 2 will follow…
Happy Easter!
Thank you for more interest.
I believe the posh name is Magnolia stellata, which you are more likely to find in books. That one looks well cared for and content.
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Everything at The Newt seems healthy and content!
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What a wonderful place to visit and how well you documented your time there, excellent photographs too. I look forward to the next instalment.
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Tomorrow hopefully!
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An excellent visit. That horse looks rather alarming.
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It was indeed alarming on first sight!
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I enjoyed this virtual outing, Musiewild! Good weather, beautiful grounds and flowers.
I get my second Covid vaccination this week. Things are loosening up here a bit, but one still needs to be cautious.
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Glad you get your second vaccine soon, Lavinia. As you probably know, it’s 12 weeks between doses here, so I have another couple of weeks to go for mine. Given the research, I’m not concerned at this.
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What a splendid outing. Glad the picnic lunch was as delicious as it looked. Enjoyed all the pictures.
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Thank you Mary.
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Glad your chair assembly was successful. I really dislike pictorial instructions such as those around airports – obviously to aid foreign visitors, but my own comprehension is limited to words ! Lovely pictures as always. Have you ever tried recreating in paint any of the scenes you’ve captured ? Looking forward to the next instalment………….
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Oh Hazel, you’ve made me laugh out loud! Me? Paint? I scraped O level art on a sense of humour – I’ll explain more when we meet. But I was flattered a few months ago when someone who had seen on Facebook a photo I took of the flooded Levels near here converted it into a painting.
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Dans le yoyo des confinements-déconfinements-reconfinements, nous nous croisons à peu près à égalité en ce moment ! En France, les règles se sont durcies depuis samedi : déplacements pour une activité extérieure limitée à un rayon de 10 km, fermeture des commerces non-essentiels, etc. Et toujours le couvre-feu à 19 h.
Cela fait tellement de bien de se promener en plein air en ce début de printemps, n’est-ce pas ?
Ton pique-nique et ta glace font envie. Ainsi que tous les “bancs” où se poser et se “pauser” ! Merci pour les fritillaires. Je ne connaissais pas la variété blanche.
J’aime beaucoup la photo très graphique de la Parabola (c’est bien là ?) et le cheval, qui me fait penser à “War Horse”.
A bientôt pour la suite !
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What I haven’t heard about in France is whether you are allowed to go into each other’s homes. We absolutely are not, and haven’t been for most of the last year, with certain exceptions and under certain conditions (no more than six people) when prevalence was low. We have had no curfews, but there’s little point in being out in the evening except for exercise if the pubs, restaurants and shops are closed and you can’t visit each other’s homes. What we could do now is spend a happy evening in the garden of a friend – if it’s warm enough, which it certainly isn’t right now!
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On peut se rendre visite avec la limitation recommandée de 6 personnes maxi. Depuis samedi, on nous demande de restreindre ces visites au maximum et les déplacements inter-régionaux sont interdits, sauf exceptions impérieuses. On n’a jamais eu de règles concernant le nombre de foyers.
Quant au couvre-feu, il commence à me gêner pas mal. Bien sûr, restaurants, cinémas, spectacles ne sont pas ouverts, mais j’aime beaucoup me promener au crépuscule. Je préfère les pique-nique du soir aux pique-nique de midi trop ensoleillés ! Je suis coincée pour assister aux couchers de soleil en pleine nature, en bord de mer. Le soleil se couche à présent vers 20h30, je dois donc me contenter du spectacle depuis mon balcon… Heureusement que je l’ai, avec vue sur des arbres.
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pique-niques 😉
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Then there is a huge difference in regulations between our two countries. Here it is emphasised that it it indoors that the virus is spread. Once outdoors, the aerosol disperses quite easily, so there is little risk – as long as social distancing is maintained. Sorry about your evening walks…
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