Back issues

Remember I ended my last post by telling you I'd pulled a muscle in my back? There I was, going through the contents of a couple of shelves in my wardrobe, making piles on our bed of what to keep and what not, when all of a sudden a dull ache made itself felt in my lower back. As it was more of a stiffness than an actual pain, I didn't pay it too much attention at first, confident that it would have sorted itself out after a good night's sleep.

Well, what can I say? I tossed and turned all night, as by then the pain had migrated to my left hip which meant I just couldn't get comfortable. Still quite bleary eyed, I dragged myself out of bed on Saturday morning and shuffled downstairs. Thankfully, the pain seemed to be bearable as long as I kept moving around, so I suggested a trip to the charity shop to drop off the bags of donations I'd painstakingly assembled - pun definitely intended - on Friday.

A gusty wind somewhat spoiled the day's highs of 20°C, so that I needed to wear a jacket over my three-quarter sleeved lightweight midi dress. But while my pink denim jacket was a gift from my friend Inneke - it used to belong to her deceased neighbour - the dress with its William Morris-esque print was an old C&A sales bargain, plucked from the shop's rails back in 2018.

Both the chunky flower brooch and carved beaded necklace, which echoed the white flowers in my dress's print, were charity shopped. My gold and silver patterned Western style ankle boots were found in a pop-up second hand shop this time last year.

After plying the gods of the charity shop with our donations, it would have been downright silly not to have a quick trawl through the rails.

I was rewarded for my efforts with this vintage cotton Summer dress, which might have been another remnant from the previous month's retro event. As my back wouldn't have thanked me for trying it on in a cramped fitting room, I took a gamble, which I'm happy to report has paid off as it fits me like a glove.

This floaty neon orange H&M skirt found its way into my basket as well. As I was making my way to the cafeteria where Jos was enjoying a cup of coffee, I almost did a double take when I spotted this spotty oatmeal belt among a jumble of others in a box. Clearly, it had been separated at birth from the skirt it used to belong to. The very same skirt I charity shopped a couple of weeks earlier!

The pain in my back and hip was still very much around on Sunday but, as sitting still for long seemed to make things even worse, the day was spent doing a couple of chores followed by making a start with my biannual wardrobe exchange.

The temperature had dropped to just 12°C which wasn't much improved by the sun doing a disappearing act for most of the day. 

While going through my rail of skirts, my eyes alighted on this black woollen one clustered with off-white and brown daisies. If my memory doesn't fail me, I found it in a vintage per kilo shop a couple of years ago.

The blouse I picked as its companion, with its eye-catching blue, cream and orange Art Deco style pattern, was charity shopped back in January. 

My orange plastic beads were charity shopped as well, while both the stretchy belt with its massive enamelled buckle, and the cat brooch, were retail buys. Together with its red, blue and yellow sisters, it came from the delightfully quirky Katshop. Linkin' cause I love, as Sheila would say!

As another working week dawned, I wasn't exactly looking forward to sitting at my desk for days on end. However, aided by anti-inflammatory gel and the odd painkiller, it turned out not to be too bad at all. In fact, by Wednesday - we were the 9th of April by now - I thought I'd seen the worst of it. I was even game for making outfit photos on Thursday after work.

The days had gone off to a frosty start all week, but plenty of sunny spells ensured that the temperature reached average highs of 15°C by lunch time. To deal with the fluctuating temperatures during the day, I layered up, wearing a cardigan in the morning, but stashing it away in my bag on my way home.

Underneath I was wearing a floral extravaganza of a blouse featuring cobalt blue, pale pink and red. From the former Belgian label Wow To Go, I picked it up from Oxfam in December 2021. Incidentally, the denim midi skirt came from the same Oxfam shop, where I bumped into it in October 2020. My pastel pink beaded necklace was a charity shop find but the raspberry pink belt was once upon a time bought brand new on the high street.

Meanwhile, things were looking up in Dove Cottage's jungle junkyard of a garden. There was Honesty aplently and the Spirea bush was wearing its annual bridal veil of tiny white flowers.

In the passageway, which is sheltered from the elements by our kitchen extension and our neighbour's wall, the first of the magenta flowers of the hardy Geranium macrorrhizum 'Czakor' were putting in an early appearance - it is supposed to flower in late Spring, early Summer only - and there were a plethora of bleeding hearts in our Dicentra spectabilis.

My back issues returned with a vengeance on Friday, the pain now also being felt in the back of my thigh. Refusing to be defeated now that another weekend had arrived, I tried to carry on as normal, starting with playing around with the contents of my wardrobe.

I'd put aside the vintage coffee-themed blouse with its lethal looking dagger collar to be sold at this year's flea market. However, as it was on top of the pile, I made the mistake of trying it on one more time after which I decided it was a keeper after all. 

I can't remember whether I found it at Think Twice or in a charity shop, but it was definitely the latter which provided the pale green cotton circle skirt with its rows of red and black rick-rack at the hem.

The red shoes, belt and beaded necklace were charity shop finds as well, while the purple plastic peacock brooch was picked up at the indoor flea market.

After lunch, I asked Jos to drive me over to the edge of town charity shop for a rummage, telling him that I would make my way back home on foot.

I fell hard for two denim blouses, which are a current weakness. The frilly shouldered one on the left is from the Danish Only label, while the spotty one on the right is from EDC by Esprit. 

While queueing at the till, I unearthed this brand new looking purple floral Oilily purse from a box of miscellaneous stuff. My current purse, which is positively ancient, has been on its last legs for a while, but I wasn't prepared to pay over the odds for a new one. € 1,50, now that's much more like it!

After paying for my purchases, I hobbled home, my back and hip giving me gyp with every step.

We were treated to a gorgeously sunny day, with highs of 24°C, on Saturday.

What's more, I'd had a restful night, and the pain, which now seemed to be mostly in my left leg, was marginally better. 

Wild horses nor any bodily ailments couldn't have kept us inside on such a glorious day, so off to Middelheim we went.

We parked in the large car park near one of the entrances to Middelheim-Laag, the Northern part of the sculpture park, and took the path which meanders along the edge of the park, running between thickets of flowering shrubs.

The thick clusters of crimson blooms of  Japanese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) were a sight to behold and made us halt in our steps!

Hidden among the trees and shrubs are several works of art. Amongst others, we met Large Seated Woman (above, top left and right), created by German sculptor Georg Kolbe (1877–1947) in 1929.

Catching a ray of dappled sun was Girl Looking Down (above, bottom left and right). Dating from 1956-57, she's a creation of the English sculptor Reg Butler (1913-1981). We're always joking that she actually can't see anything but her fairly large bosom.

We briefly paused for outfit photos next to Chilean sculptor Marta Covin's (1907-1995) Tower of Silence (1960-63). I was wearing my beloved denim jacket for the first time this year. The Trevira skirt, which I'd found at Think Twice earlier that week, received its first outing. I wore it with a short-sleeved thin knit green top and the same raspberry pink belt I wore on Thursday.

We wandered at will, until we spotted the flowering cherry blossom tree (Prunus serrulata) in the distance and strolled towards it.

On the top and bottom right in the below collage is a sculpture by the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Called L'age d'Airain (1876-1880), the confident pose of this young man, hand on his head, is striking. The 22-year-old Flemish soldier August Neyt modelled for this sculpture for 18 months. He originally held a spear, an attribute later omitted by the artist. The sculptor gave this work several titles, including The Vanquished, Man of the Forest, and finally “The Bronze Age.”

Although the pain had kept largely at bay during our one-hour or so walk, it became quite excruciating in the evening. Consequently, Sunday was spent doing nothing much at all. Would you believe I didn't even dress up, which is quite unheard of for me. As I'd had more than enough by then, I called my GP on Monday morning and managed to get an appointment for that afternoon. Typically, the pain had gone completely by the time I made it to the surgery. I was nevertheless prescribed a course of physio in case it would re-emerge which, fingers crossed, it hasn't until now.

I'll be back with further April adventures in my next post. See you soon!

April in Bloom

Slowly but surely life at Dove Cottage is going back to how it was before it was taken hostage by Jos's health problems.

My lovely husband is a changed man ever since he got the all clear from the hospital last week! He is walking at a faster pace, standing taller, has an unmistakable glint in his eye and suddenly seems to possess a boundless amount of energy. In fact, nowadays it's me who's limping behind. As worrying has been my mind's default setting for all those months, it's as if I've got relearn being happy and carefree again. 

On the cusp of turning another page of this year's calendar, I've still got to make a start with posting about the month of April, so, without further ado, let's travel back to the very beginning of this month.

I'm skipping April Fool's Day, making straight for Wednesday the 2nd of April. Now that the days are noticeably longer, it's possible to make outfit photos in the passageway after work once more. 

Sunny but a bit windy, which somewhat tempered the day's highs of 18°C, I opted for a skirt and long-sleeved blouse combo. 

My green and white plaid skirt, its fabric a heavyweight polyester jersey, was a vintage find from Think Twice many moons ago. It was joined by a yellow patterned Wow To Go blouse charity shopped in February 2024. The red pleated belt, fused glass ring and beaded necklace were charity shopped as well, while the vintage celluloid brooch featuring a trio of Scottie dogs was a flea market find. 

Wednesdays generally have a cappuccino catch-up with my friend Inez in store. We were both duly impressed by the lovely barista's latte art! 

As the Think Twice sales were once again in full swing, with prices down to € 4 that day, I snapped up this funky green vintage blouse.

The wind had somewhat died down on Thursday, which was a gloriously sunny day with temperatures gently nudging 20°C.

I thought it was time to give my vintage Venetia frock, with its pattern of tiny white dots and garlands of frothy pink flowers, another outing before its yearly sojourn in the antique linen chest.  Picked up from a long gone and sadly missed vintage shop, it has been gracing my wardrobe's rails for the better part of 15 years.

I picked shades of green for my accessories: a minty green for my belt, necklace and opaques, and a shamrock green for my ring and brooch. The fabulous merhorse brooch with its golden mane and tail is ceramic and was a flea market find in January 2020.

In need of some peace and quiet, as well as a Vitamin D top up, I walked towards Den Botaniek, Antwerp's small but perfectly formed botanical garden, during my lunch break. 

It was a delight to see the first of the tulips putting in their annual appearance. The star-shaped and lightly scented pastel pink and yellow Candia tulips (Tulipa saxatilis) were particularly appealing, while the swathes of buttery yellow ones provided additional sunshine.

It's hard to believe that only the garden's retaining wall separates the woodland path on the bottom left from a traffic rich inner city street (above, top left).

Yellow tulips were mingling with a clump of Spring Snowflakes (Leucojum vernum), while my heart made a jump of joy upon spotting a patch of Dog's Tooth Violets (Erythronium, above, top right).

This particular species is called Pagoda, and it's clear to see why, as the nodding, buttery yellow flowers do resemble the tiniest of pagodas. However, silhouetted against the shiny green leaves, they do look rather alien and menacing, don't you think?

The garden's main attraction this time of year, though, is the magnificent Magnolia tree with its snow-white goblet-shaped blooms. The petal strewn lawn was a giveaway that I was just in time before their inevitable decline.

On my way back to the office, I passed one of Antwerp's plethora of Think Twice shops. With prices now down to € 3, I couldn't resist going in for a quick rummage. 

The embroidered Madeira bag was too gorgeous to be left behind and surely there's always room for more belts in one's wardrobe.

Walking through the small and almost empty shopping centre near my office, I hopped into the Green Ice outlet shop, where everything is going at 50% off. I've already got a couple of pieces from this Belgian label in my wardrobe, which have now been joined by this fabulous multi-coloured maxi skirt.

Another sunny day greeted us upon drawing the curtains on Friday the 4th of April. Highs of up to 22°C had been forecasted by those supposedly in the know, but the morning still had a bit of a nip in the air.

As we would be out and about by around 10.30, I dressed in long sleeves once more. 

Remember the  magenta cotton peasant-style blouse with the security tag issue I bought in the January sales? Ever since I managed to get the tag removed, it had been hanging outside my wardrobe, waiting for its first outing.

Its wish finally came true that day! It found its perfect partner in a vintage cotton skirt I charity shopped back in the heady days of September 2020. Remember lockdowns, obligatory face masks and social distancing? It all seems quite unreal five year down the line ...

But I digress! The pink flowers in the skirt's pattern matches the colour of my blouse almost exactly, so pairing them was a no-brainer. 

I thought the blouse called for a brooch worn at its neck. I'm not sure what made me pick out the brown hearted Coventry one - a flea market find in December 2022 - but I loved how it looked, so I added more brown with the faux tortoiseshell necklace, charity shopped at the tail end of 2021. The stretchy belt with its flower-shaped buckle was found on the high street last month.

When my friend Inneke messaged me earlier that week, suggesting a walk in Middelheim sculpture park on Friday, I jumped at the chance. I even managed to convince Jos to join us, as Maurice (Inneke's husband) would be willing to keep him company on the terrace of the museum café if necessary.

In the end, both he and Maurice accompanied us on our walk, after which we enjoyed glasses of non-alcoholic beer on the sun-drenched terrace. It felt so good to be spending time away from Dove Cottage together!

Back at home, I snapped the first of the double tête-à-tête daffs we brought back from the garden centre the other week. That's non-ribbiting frog right there on the bottom right.  He used to make a ribbit sound when you walked past him, but in spite of cleaning him up and changing his batteries, the poor thing has been mute for years. Nevertheless, he once gave Phoebe a fright when out of the blue he started ribitting continuously! 

I'm not sure what Phoebe's successor's reaction to the annoying creature would have been, but here she is, helping with the washing up. After Nancy's comment on my previous post that she was missing Bess, I just had to include her in this one, hadn't I?

I spent part of Friday afternoon going through my wardrobe with a fine comb, filling a bag for the charity shops and putting aside a bunch of items of no-longer loved vintage to be sold at our next flea market. 

And then, unfortunately, I pulled a muscle in my back ... Don't worry, all is well now, but I was in pain for the better part of a week!

To be continued in my next post ...

Happy days are here again

Notorious for her fickleness, the month of April has been reasonably well-behaved this year, the only gripe I've got with her being that her days are whizzing by at a rate of knots. There really is more than just a kernel of truth in the time-worn adage that time seems to go by faster the older one gets!

Obviously, my blog hasn't made it this far yet! In fact, I haven't even finished writing about the final days of March. However, before I set the time machine's Satnav back to last month, I've got some good news which I couldn't possibly wait to share with you!

Last Thursday, the 17th of April, Jos went for a check-up at the hospital and has been given a clean bill of health. The temporary back-up catheter, which was inserted in his abdomen during surgery, was removed, which means that he is now free of any kind of bladder catheter for the first time in six months. What's more, he will only have to go back for a final check-up in October! After over seven months of a life half-lived, it's as if a weight has been lifted off our shoulders so that we are finally able to allow ourselves to make plans for the future again. Happy days indeed!

Now, let's rewind the tape and whizz back to Sunday the 23rd of March. 

The temperature had dropped somewhat from the low twenties we had been treated to on Friday and Saturday, but at 17°C it was still a warmish day. After a morning of catching up on household chores we walked down to the local park. At about 10 minutes from our front door, it was something we thought Jos would be able to manage, which he did.

It was my pink and green patterned dress's first outing. Picked up from Think Twice at 30% off back in January, it had been waiting in the wings for a day like this. 

Having to compete with all the emerging greens in the park, it was a given that green would be the main colour for my accessories. While my stretchy belt with its bamboo buckle was found on the high street, my sage green necklace, which consists of graduated wooden discs, followed me home from the charity shop in Poperinge during our 2019 September holiday. The painted wooden brooch was a flea market find. 

I've added a close-up of the openwork pattern of my cardigan, which is from the former Belgian label Lucy Has A Secret. By way of a charity shop, obviously, as it would have retailed at a price I wouldn't have been willing to pay.

The wood anemones were now out in full force in the park, their deceptively fragile looking star-shaped flowers carpeting the ground as far as the eye could see.

Trying to add its two pennies' worth was this tiny white and yellow daffodil, which might very well have been an escapee from one of the surrounding gardens.

Elsewhere, the vibrant yellow flowers of a Forsythia shrub were supplying sunshine when the real thing had momentarily taken leave of absence. A substitute for the former blue sky was duly catered for with Jos's cardigan. I know it's been a while since his last appearance here on the blog but, if things keep going the way they do, normal service will soon be resumed.

If you're wondering about the notice he's reading (above, top left), it was actually a missing dog poster. Poor thing, I do hope it's been reunited with its human(s) by now.

The temperature dropped to an average of 13°C in the month's final week. Although still more than reasonable for the time of year, it did feel quite a bit colder courtesy of a nippy wind.

It was your usual run of the mill office week, with the customary cappuccino catch-up with Inez on Wednesday a welcome and diverting break. Afterwards, we went for a quick browse of the rails, which is almost a given when one is meeting up in Think Twice's coffee corner.

While Inez bought a pair of shoes, I pounced upon this tiered raspberry pink maxi skirt and matching vintage handbag.

And then it was Friday and the start of another three-day weekend. 

The mercury seemed to be stuck at 13°C but at least there were plenty of sunny spells. That nippy wind was still there, however, so I dug into my stash of jumpers and unearthed this yellow leaf and flower patterned one I found at Oxfam in October 2021. First wearing of the oatmeal polka dot circle skirt charity shopped a couple of weeks ago. And what a joy to wear it was!

Accessories were a charity shopped moss green suede belt, a string of olive beads from a long-gone vintage shop and a painted flower brooch found at Rosie's, a delightful vintage shop in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, in June 2023.

I was itching for a rummage, so after lunch Jos drove me to the edge-of-town charity shop, where I spent a happy hour or so going through its full to bursting shelves and rails.

 Although my reading pile is danger of toppling over, I can never resist scanning the book shelves. It was only when I was photographing them for the blog that I noticed the similarities of their covers. They are different as night and day though, which is a reminder that book can never be judged by its cover. Both have been read in the meantime. I absolutely loved The Crimson Rooms - and am on the lookout for further books by this author - while the Maeve Binchy is her usual easy-going feel-good stuff.

I suspect these two dresses were remnants of the infamous Retro Day event which took place at the charity shops earlier that month. Whatever the case, they are now both gracing my wardrobe.

My final purchase was this delightful mushroom patterned bottle green blouse, which I'm definitely not going to wait until Autumn to wear.

Sunny spells were once again plentiful on Saturday. Wistfully looking out of the backdoor window at our junkyard jungle of a garden, I donned my denim gardening apron and grabbed an old pair of flower patterned wellies I'd found lurking in the basement, a pair of ancient gardening gloves and my trusty secateurs. I spent some time doing a pruning and clearing up session, which at least made some inroads into the massive amount of work to be done out there. 

As a reward for my efforts, we drove to the garden centre after lunch. 

I knew trying to compete for the floral extravaganza worn by the mannequin in the shop's entrance was futile, but I still gave it my best shot. I always think this tie-neck dress with its generous pleated skirt - a charity shop find back in the mists of time - personifies the essence of early Spring, and consequently it's always putting in an appearance here this time of year.

I added a felted daffodil brooch - picked up from Chirk Castle NT shop in June 2023 - for good measure. The yellow-hearted brooch was a holiday souvenir as well, bought in a Welsh charity shop back in June 2017, while the belt was once bought brand new at C&A.

We needed some Springtime blooms to brighten up the area right outside our back door, so that we were no longer obliged to look at the wilted remains of last Summer's pots and and hanging baskets. 

We filled our trolley with a selection of pansies, double flowered daisies, primulas, daffodils and grape hyacinths, which I planted up as soon as we got home. What a difference it makes!

We were delighted to see that a number of bees were checking into the bee hotel we hung from the potting shed in the Spring of 2023. 

The guests in question are red mason bees, a solitary bee that nests in hollow plant stems and in the crumbling mortar of old buildings, amongst other things. After mating, each female builds its own nest. She lines each cell with mud and pollen and lays a single egg in each until the cavity is full. The larvae hatch and develop, pupating in autumn and hibernating over winter. The red mason bee is on the wing from late March, and feeds solely on pollen and nectar. 

At the time of typing, the number of hotel rooms which are occupied have greatly increased, but there are still one or two vacancies!

We changed to Summer time in the night from Saturday to Sunday, so I was feeling a bit off all day on Sunday. 

Mostly cloudy with lots of wind and with the mercury not climbing higher than 12°C, I reached for a coral openwork jumper with a bit of sparkle, which unfortunately my camera wasn't able to fully catch.

My skirt was a Think Twice find last August, while the brooch was yet again a wet Welsh holiday souvenir, found in a Carmarthen antiques shop in 2017. 

Both the necklace and belt were high street buys at one time or another.  If I remember correctly, the necklace came from H&M and predates my blog with at least 10 years. My burgundy ankle boots were a recent charity shop find.

And so we have come to the end of March! I will be regaling you with tales of April from my next post onwards. Hope to see you again then!

The bounty of Spring

The gorgeous weather we were treated to in the run-up to the official start of Spring continued on Thursday the 20th of March, with highs of around 20°C.

As I'd planned another lunch time outing to explore the delights the city of Antwerp has to offer, I'd taken my camera into work again. 

The destination I had in mind would involve another tram ride. However, arriving at the tram stop opposite my office building, it turned out it was running late, which meant I wouldn't be able to make it there and back within my 45 minute lunch break.

 

Time for a plan B, which was walking the length of the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare, which is quite literally around the corner from the office. Not for a spot of shopping, mind you! I was intent on keeping my eyes peeled for the splendour which is to be found well above the generally uninspiring and generic shop fronts.

But let's have a look at what I was wearing first. 

My red skirt, with its blowsy indigo and white flower pattern, is vintage, and was picked up for a song at Think Twice in March 2023. 

Its companion for the day was a funky Western style blouse from the defunct Belgian Who's That Girl label. It was part of a haul from an Outlet shop in the Autumn of 2022.

Brooch: vintage, flea market find.

Belt: fast fashion turned slow by having become a wardrobe staple eons ago.

The midday sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky of the purest azure blue. The canvas of blue offered a striking contrast with the white tower cranes on the building site where the Meir almost seamlessly segues with the Leysstraat with its opulent 19th Century buildings.

The cranes, which look like mighty giants, are marring Sir Anthony van Dyck's view towards the object of his desire. And no, it's not the rather demure lady on the top left!

It is obvious that he only has eyes for the mesmerizing Electra! Gilded, winged and holding aloft a lightning bolt in each hand, she is taking pride of place on top of the neck-shaped gable gracing a monumental department store built in neo-Flemish renaissance style in 1901. 

I can't really blame him as I've got a soft spot for her too! Her creator was the Belgian sculptor Emile Jespers (1862-1918). 

Initially, the shop space was occupied by electricity business Moyson. However, as early as 1910 the property was incorporated into the adjacent Grands Magasins Leonhard Tietz. As Tietz was German, the department store was placed under sequestration after the end of World War I in 1918. In 1920, it was sold by the Belgian state to Les Grands Magasins A l'Innovation, now still going under the name Inno.

Looking at the wealth of eclectic monumental late 19th century architecture which graces both sides of the Leysstraat, it's nothing short of mind-boggling that these were partially threatened with demolition in 1964. Thankfully, in 1971 this unique ensemble of residential and commercial houses was protected  for its architectural value. 

All the photos in the above collage were snapped while I gaped open-mouthed at the variety in construction and decoration, the sumptuous gables in their varying heights, the more austere neoclassical style enlivened by playful neo-Gothic baroque. 

There is, however, an imposter, as the building on the top right is actually on the Meir, and not the Leysstraat. It is the entrance of the famous Stadsfeestzaal, the former City Festival Hall built in 1908. Now an opulent shopping centre, I promise to blog about it some time.

The weather gods amped up the temperature a couple of degrees to a lofty 22°C on Friday the 21st, with the gentlest of breezes carrying the delicate scents of budding Spring in the air.

I was determined not to waste such a beautiful day inside, but again I'm taking you through my outfit first. 

The skirt is another vintage one, wrestled from a shop dummy in our most local charity shop all of six years ago. The King Louie cardigan, which I'm wearing here as a lightweight jumper, was recently found at the same shop. 

My accessories were a mix of new and new-to-me, the butterfly brooch and necklace of wooden disks being the former and the ring and belt being the latter. All have been in my wardrobe forever. The necklace in particular, which was bought from Accessorize when many years ago they had a shop around the corner from my office, has made countless appearances on the blog.

As Jos - or more to the point, his bladder - wasn't up to walking for any length of time, and my friend Inez was babysitting her grandchildren that day, there was nothing for it but to go for a solo walk.

Hof ter Linden, in the neighbouring village of Edegem, being easily reached by bus, presented itself as the obvious choice. Nevertheless, Jos insisted on driving me there. 

Walking up the avenue of lime trees leading up to the estate, I was bracing myself for the current view of the castle ....

... which is now finally under restoration!

Although temporarily disfigured by scaffolding, I couldn't have been happier. Hadn't I been lamenting its increasingly crumbling state (see here and here, for example) for many years? I was aware that work had started back in September, but I hadn't seen it with my own eyes yet. If all goes well, the project is scheduled to be finished by  the end of the Summer of 2026, although knowing how these things go I'm not exactly holding my breath.

As they'd finished clearing the sludge from the clogged-up castle pond and moat, and the often muddy footpaths had been given a facelift, doing a circuit around the pond was on the menu once more.

I strolled at leisure, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and rejoicing in the bounty of Spring. A pair of Egyptian goose and their fluffy offspring, who were taking a breather on the grassy edge of the pond, swiftly took to the water upon my approach. 

The circuit finished, an hitherto unexplored path was tempting me into the woods. Across the moat, which ran to my left, I spotted a boardwalk which I'd hoped to be able to take on my return journey, making my walk circular. 

However, with no opportunity of crossing the moat in sight, I had no choice but to turn right, away from the moat and onto the broad tree-lined avenue you can see on the top left in the below collage. Another right turn at the end of this eventually brought me back to the pond I'd circuited earlier. 

Still, it was worth the diversion as I stumbled upon this magical, otherworldly pond which suddenly appeared like a mirage in the woods.

Birdsong accompanied me back to the castle, although the peace and quiet was soon interrupted by a group of schoolchildren and their teachers who had invaded the grassy field near the castle for an afternoon of games.

While waiting for Jos to pick me up again - he insisted! - I milled around the courtyard in front of the castle. 

Obviously, I couldn't leave without having a chat with those haughty sphinxes and docile lions!