Just a quick entry today to share the joy that comes from a sunny spring day and to inform our listeners that the Bennett/Hainsworths are entering a 3 day period of radio silence.
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| Standen house and grounds |
The whole of England seemed to be outside today - the roads were packed with convertible roadsters, restaurant patios and parks were full of happy people soaking up the blessed sun after a very long, hard winter. We drove to East Grinstead and toured the National Trust property of Standen, a late Victorian family home that is a monument to the English Arts & Crafts style of design. A beautiful home, but a very livable one (the family had 7 children) without the gratuitous displays of wealth that we've seen in earlier palaces and castles.
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| The staircase at Standen |
After leaving Standen, we made our way to the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, 18th century playground of the gentry and royalty of Georgian England. We strolled along the Pantiles, a pedestrian walkway full of shops, cafes and restaurants. We all shared a ploughman's lunch before heading back to Crawley for a visit with Janet (the cousin who first took Sarah to the Gribble Inn). Later, our gracious hosts, Joan and Peter, spoiled us with a Sunday roast leg of lamb (a joint, as Joan calls it) and all the trimmings. A truly wonderful conclusion to our time in Crawley with the Swifts. We can't thank them enough for all their generosity.
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| The Pantiles in R. T. Wells |
The B/H clan will be off the internet grid for a few days at a cottage in the green, rolling Cotswolds. Next entry will be from London in 3 days time.
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