Sunday 28 June 2020

Family Get-together

We had a call from our youngest son suggesting that we should meet him, his wife, and one of our lovely granddaughters halfway between each of our homes. Both of our sons live over 100 miles away (160.934kms) and even though a day trip is viable, it can be quite tiring, and more time is spend on the road than in one another's company. The halfway point he chose for us to meet was Waterperry Gardens, just outside Oxford, and it proved to be the perfect choice on yet another very hot day.
In 1932 Beatrix Havergal, Principal of Waterperry, founded a horticultural school for young women. She was a trained horticulture expert who taught the women to become efficient gardeners in both agriculture and horticulture whilst also having a special regard to producing disease free crops. 
Beatrix Havergal - Photo take by Cecil Beaton via wiki
The herbaceous borders are a riot of colour and a feast for the eyes, and I don't think that I have ever seen so many insects, butterflies, or dragonflies all fluttering around together before. 
Allium seed head
This gazebo covered in roses was a lovely place to sit and talk surrounded, as we were, by some heavenly perfume from the roses - I quite fancy a similar little structure in our garden!
The pool at Waterperry resembled a small heliport with dragonflies continually flittering all over it. There was a tiny ladder reaching out of the water to enable the young newts to climb out of the pond once they have reach maturity.
An exquisitely crafted wasps nest and, 
a beautifully crafted foxglove and daisy gate designed and made recently by a young women.
A view of the gate from the other side.
I covert this lovely gate.
There is a small Saxon church within the grounds which we had no time to visit. Apparently it has some wonderful treasures amongst which is glass dating back to 1220. We intend to return again soon as I have now suggested to my eldest son that he and his family meet us there too, and this will happen as soon as his youngest daughter's school has finished for the summer. 
☆☆☆☆☆☆
P.S The only problem I am experiencing with new blogger is the lettering. When I chose the size that I would normally use, it now looks huge on the post, and the next size down looks too small. So I have to revert to legacy blogger at the end of each post in order to change the lettering to a size that I prefer.

53 comments:

  1. Ahh. That was a perfect place to visit first thing on a Sunday morning. I’m very envious and I agree about the gate. Beautiful. I too struggle with the new blogger. I agree about the font. I keep swapping back as I can’t get my post to appear on the reading list otherwise. They say to file issues up there doesn’t seem anywhere to do so! Have a lovely Sunday. B x

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    1. I actually now find 'new blogger' ok, it is just the wretched size of the writing that I think they still need to figure out. You can file an issue by pressing the question mark at the top of the page where you are having an issue - they will not reply or tell you what is wrong, but I presume that they are taking note of what each individual bloggers thinks!!! It will also automatically take a screen shot of the page so that they can see what you are talking about.

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  2. Oh yes, the gate is extraordinary! I would love it too... What a fantastic place to meet your family: gardens and art, such a treasure trove. The photo of Beatrix by Cecil Beaton is lovely too. What a special lady she was. Happy Sunday Rosemary.

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    1. We did visit there a long time ago to see a wonderful arts and crafts fair, but I had forgotten just how lovely it is. It is a great place with a wonderful craft shop selling lovely things for the home and garden, and all made by individual craftspeople. There is a wonderful garden plant nursery, a museum and wonderful parklands to picnic in that are all free. You only have to pay to visit the garden.

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  3. As hot and tiring as it was it looks a beautiful place to visit. That gate is wonderful; there are some very talented ladies out there. So many of our old skills, like black smithing, carpentry and masonry are declining. Hopefully your next meet up with your family will be a slightly cooler day. Our weather has cooled significantly and we have had lots of downpours, which we're glad about, to water the garden and fill the water butts. I love the warm weather, but the heat sometimes makes me feel quite out of sorts. Have a lovely Sunday. Best, Jane x

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    1. We went on Friday and it was supposed to be a cooler day with some rain, but it was very very hot - too hot for me really. We have had very little rain, but today is more 'my kind of weather' as there are some lovely breezes passing through.

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  4. At least we are able to see the kids again in stead on whatsapp. This place looked the perfect place for a family meeting, wonderful garden there!

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    1. It was lovely to see the family and especially my granddaughter. She is at Edinburgh University so a long distance away and we hadn't seen her for sometime.

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  5. Hello Rosemary, All of those wispy, colorful plants together look like an impressionist painting. I would have liked to see that Saxon church.

    Even the old Blogger is odd about type sizes and spacing--they change mysteriously, and what you see on the composing screen is often different from what you get in viewing mode--I often wonder if some of my readers get a radically different font or appearance compared to what I had planned. One thing I started to do is first copy text into a text editor such as Notepad, than copy again into Blogger. This gets rid of some (but not all) of the weird formatting.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - next time we go I will definitely be visiting the little Saxon church.
      I know lots of bloggers have many issues with 'new blogger', but I have no problems with it apart from the one that I mentioned. However, I too have no idea what my posts look on other peoples computers either. Perhaps it is best that I don't know.

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  6. It really does look like a perfect place to meet each other. I think I would be so entranced with the gardens, the blooms, the pollinators and other insects, I would barely have rime for the family get together!

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    1. We were all equally fascinated by the many different creatures and all enjoyed finding them, but together. It was my son that first spotted the tiny newts and the little ladder leading down into the pond. None of us could quite believe the number of butterflies that were around, but they didn't stay still long enough for me to photograph them, maybe I am just to slow off the mark with my camera.

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  7. Σας ευχαριστούμε για το ευγενικό σχόλιο και την επίσκεψή σας.

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  8. I know several young women who have taken up blacksmithing recently.

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  9. Very beautiful place to visit

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  10. The gardens are impressive but it's those gates that really grab my attention. Things seem to be slowly getting better on the new Blogger, though I don't know why they could have sorted out some of the problems before encouraging us to use it.

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    1. It looks as if I am going to have fight everyone off if I want those gates!!!
      Yes, I think that Blogger is still very much under review and far from perfect. You shouldn't have to keep trying different ways around things, which are then often different again next time you use them.

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  11. Magnificent gardens and beautiful images. Thanks for sharing. I especially love the foxglove and daisy gate.

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    1. Everybody seems to love the gates - they really grabbed my eye.

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  12. My daughter also lives very far from me, I live in Lisbon and she lives in Macau, it is really far ... on the other side of the world.
    We only see each other personally once a year and this year, because of the virus, it won't even be possible, thankfully I can see her through Face Time.
    Beautiful garden, the photos are spectacular, I especially loved the last photo with the gate, is so beautiful.
    Have a nice Sunday.

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    1. I feel sad for you that your daughter and grandchildren are so far away, and that there is no knowing when you might see them again.
      Everybody seems to love the gate.

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  13. Beautiful garden with lots of colour.
    Good to see your youngest son and family after such a long time.
    Take care.
    Blogger my text is alright. I have my font and size set in 'Themes', 'Advanced', 'Page Text', it's there that I've set my font and it's size...hope that helps.

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    1. Thank you for your help Margaret, but I am not sure that I can do that. Are you talking about when you do posts on your phone? I only use a computer for my posts.

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  14. What an exquisitely beautiful spot! I understand why you covet that gate!

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    1. I would love it. Next time I visit I shall make a note of the name of the girl who made it - never say never - I would quite like a screen made in a similar fashion.

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  15. Another fabulous historic garden, and your lovely photos! So happy you were able to see some of the family and spend time together in such a gorgeous place.
    I love the little gazebo for roses - any garden would be extra special with one of those.
    The boy on the wall is special - and the pool with another beautiful statue (and don't anyone dare touch it!!!!) is breathtaking.

    I agree with the font sizes available in New Blogger - there is nothing quite right, too large for a body of type, and really too small for those of us who are relying on reading glasses these days!

    Hope you are having a lovely weekend dear Rosemary.

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    1. I hope that Blogger soon get themselves sorted out. The size of the lettering is my only problem, I can read it clearly and hope that it is the same for others when they look too. I know that some bloggers are having more difficult problems in trying to upload their photos and then correctly positioning them etc, but to date I have not had that issue.
      It was lovely to see our son, his wife, and our lovely granddaughter. I haven't seen her for ages as she at Edinburgh University and it is such a long, long, journey away.

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  16. Dearest Rosemary,
    How fortunate you are for being able to see each other in such a 'short' distance.
    Guess it is typically Old World related when people mention the efforts of a long way to travel. In fact it is NOT. Wish we could meet with family at only 160 km distance. For shopping wholesale at Costco we have to drive 240 km one way.
    It sure was a heavenly location where you met!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Dear Mariette - my eldest son and his family spent many years living abroad in both France and Norway and we loved to visit them in both locations, but not very far away compared with you and your family. I am now extremely grateful that they back and now living within reasonable reach. However, I would never consider driving 480km to go to a Costco and back - do they have something there that you cannot get nearer to home?

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    2. Haha, this IS the one for us, also for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market, all close together. Driving 2 hours East you only have Whole Foods Market, driving 2 hours North you only have Trader Joe's and another 2.5 hour you only have Costco. So there is NO other option. That's the USA distances are that vast.
      Glad you have your family within reach dearest Rosemary!

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  17. What a perfect place to spend a family outing on a hot day . So many colors and life...and maybe a little inspiration :-)

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    1. It worked really well for both sides of the family, and it was so lovely to see them again.

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  18. Great that you were able to meet with family and what a wonderful place to meet. I do love that gate. It would look good here.

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    1. I think that I have a fight on my hands for that gate!!!

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  19. I see what you mean abut font size. I just changed mine to the next size up and it is big.

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    1. Yes, the next sized font used to be what I preferred to use but it has now become enormous. I like to use a slightly larger size font as many people find it far easier to read.

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  20. Beautiful place seen at the best time of year for colourful flowers. I've found the letter size OK but can only upload one photo at a time for posts rather than a bunch. Other than that it's fine.

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    1. It was a great place to visit and very few people were around.
      If you use their standard size font, then I don't think that there is a problem. However, I prefer to use a larger font as it is far easier for those with poorer eyesight to read.

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  21. Dear Rosemary - Waterperry Gardens looks perfect place for family gathering. I fell in love with the garden gate at first sight for its fluid desigh with daisies and foxgloves. It must enhance the charm of the garden so much.

    Regarding the Nara deer, they looked to have readapted to no deer crackers, but with the increase of visitors, they easily back-slided to the old habit. It’s not their fault but human’s for the sake of tourism.

    Yoko

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    1. The same lady also did the metal thistles at the beginning of this post - I think that she is a very talented young designer, and especially lovely that she is a girl.
      I was really interested in just how quickly the deer reverted to their old habits, but also interesting that they have now slid back into their old ways - thank you for letting me know.
      I told my husband about the deer, and now I will have to give him an update.
      Take care.

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  22. What a lovely place and so much inspiration :)
    Best wishes for a great summerweek Rosemary...
    Titti

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    1. Lovely to hear from you Titti - hope all is well in your lovely corner of the world.

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  23. I enjoy that you were able to meet your son and his family - and on such a beautiful place!

    I read about Beatrix Havergal - but her lovely garden is still to be visited! I love to have dream-points to visit!
    (Bavaria-family is another dream-point at the moment... 466km - but that is not the problem, in a little less than 3 hours with the "sprinter" ICE I am in Nürnberg, a little pause till the tiny red train arrives and further 20minutes ride). The problem still is the fear of Corona - for the triplets, and that has to be accepted, as they are only 10 months old). I am glad that everybody is in good health.

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    1. Dear Britta - this virus is a very stressful period for everyone, but the real problems is 'just how long will it keep going on for?' If we could see a definite sign of an ending, then everyone could breath a sigh of relief.
      When things eventually improve, which they will, you will love to see the triplets again and maybe even Miss Havergal's garden.
      It was lovely to see our granddaughter, we haven't seen her for ages as she lives in Scotland where she is studying at Edinburgh University.

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  24. Dear Rosemary,
    Your son had a brilliant idea. Why not, meet halfway. Now you can extend that idea for another special spot a little further down the road.
    I mentioned the size of lettering when I first began using the new Blogger. I think that it is very odd that we don't have better choices. I wonder if changing the lettering style will make a difference. Haven't had time to give that a try.

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    1. Dear Gina - I like to use the Verdana font, large size, but I have given some of the other fonts a try and most of them do seem to work better with regards to the large size, so perhaps that is the way to go. I think that I am a bit stuck in a mould when it comes to the choices that I like to use.
      I would like to visit the same spot again mainly because I missed seeing the little Saxon church, but I suspect that it will depend how we all feel at the time.

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  25. Wonderful idea...and yet another beautiful English garden. Not only were you surrounded by beauty but by your loved ones...Perfect.

    I was blindsided by the new blogger format and an still struggling with it!

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    1. Thanks Janey - should you need any help with new blogger, do please let me know and I will try and help.

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  26. Good morning dear Rosemary,
    What a fantastic place to be together with your dear beloved ones.
    Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
    Marijke

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    1. Glad you enjoyed seeing Marijke - and happy weekend to you and yours too.

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