"With Pomp, Power & Glory the world beckons vainly, In chase of such vanities why should I roam?While Peace & Content bless my little thatched cottage,And warm my own hearth with the Treasures of Home."*Beatrix Potter

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Special Day's.

                                       This past week we had a very special day,
                                               our eldest son graduated from
                                                         Lincoln University.

                               Lincoln is a beautiful city with lovely old buildings,
                                           the cathedral is a very special place.
                 This is the area outside the cathedral with it's Georgian Terrace.
                                                                          ~                                         
 
Dene & Ellie walking through the arch
to the cathedral
Up the hill is the oldest part of Lincoln,
it feels like you are stepping back in time.
~
                              

Inside the cathedral waiting for the service to start.
Such beautiful stained glass windows.
~


Dene collecting his Master of Computer Science.


A happy boy.
I can't believe where those years have gone,
it doesn't seem that long ago when he was a little boy.
~


Myself, Dene & Ellie in the castle grounds.
~
                                                                                                   

A proud Dad with Dene.
~


                                                       Afterwards in the castle grounds.
                                       This was a very special day & one we will treasure.
                                                              We are so proud of him.
                                                                                  ~

                                         
                                             Last weekend we went to a 1940's weekend at 
                                                      Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.
                                          Wimpole is a beautiful stately home, farm & estate 
                                               owned & preserved by the National Trust.
                                             We brought a picnic & had a wonderful day.
                                                                                ~
                                      Mary chatting away to a lady wearing a 1940's outfit.
                                           This was inside the flower & vegetable garden.
                                                                                ~
                                           

A beautiful display of pumpkins
& gourds in the Victorian greenhouse.
~


Simple white pumpkins.
~


Kitty admiring the flowers.
She enjoys smelling so many of them,
quite often we will see a head disappearing in to flower beds.
~


They have a large amount of apple trees at Wimpole,
so many of them have been trained 
to fan the old Georgian walls.
~


The flower garden, so many beautiful blooms.
~


Climbing pumpkins.
Such a pretty idea for our garden next year.
~


The twins playing in the orchard.
There were so many different varieties of apples 
& plums.
~


Daisy smelling the beautiful old roses.
~


A beautiful vintage car & caravan.
The owner said he could not find a caravan 
to go with his car so he made this one.
It was so pretty inside.
I could imagine it as a wonderful little house
for the twins in the garden.
~


A traditional Olde English Punch & Judy Show.
These date back to 1640 but this one had a 
2nd world War twist.
Sidney, Mary & Kitty had such fun watching it.
~


The home guard meeting Winston Churchill at the Coach House
& stables building.
~


Home Farm.
This farm is part of the Wimpole Estate,
 it has some wonderful old thatched barns.
Kitty & Mary are dressed up as milk maids 
& are playing in the old dairy which is 200 years old.
~


We were watching a 1940's fashion show,
can you see the couple all dressed up for the day.
~


Mary brushing a donkey, she did enjoy it.
~


The grand front of Wimpole Hall.
The house was used for filming a Colin Firth film called Easy Vertue not so long ago.
~


Such a pretty bureau.
~


They had set the house out with glimpses
of the 1940's.
~


This is the library, there were so many books in here.
This room & the dinning room were used in filming.
~


A beautiful little corner of the study complete
with 40's radio & knitting.
~


They had a beautiful chapel inside
Wimpole Hall.
It was all laid out ready for the Harvest festival.
~


This was the butler's room & one of the last rooms
to view.
We had such a wonderful day & the weather was glorious.
~

 
 I thought some of my beautiful readers would like my
recipe for Tea Bread.
I have made this for 24 years now, it was one of the first
recipes I did as a married lady & so easy.
 
Soak in a bowl overnight
12 oz's of dried fruit ~ raisins & sultana's.
1/2 pint of strong cold tea.
4 oz's of soft dark brown sugar.
Last time I made it I chopped up some dried apple rings,
they worked well.
 
In the morning add one egg & 8 oz's self raising flour.
Mix until combined & place in a greased & floured loaf tin.
Bake for one hour at 170 c
I double this recipe most of the time,
they last for a week in a tin & I also freeze them.
Serve with butter.
~
 
 
We are enjoying our new kitten named George,
he came to live with us on Sunday evening & is adorable.
I will post some photo's of him soon.
 
Fondly Michelle
~


 


24 comments:

  1. Another lovely post Michelle. Congratulations to Dene on his graduation, you must be very proud of him.
    Wimpole Hall looks lovely, I haven't heard of it before.
    Thank you for the Tea Bread recipe, I will be trying it out very soon.
    Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Debbie,
      Yes we are very proud of him, hope you enjoy the tea bread.
      Fondly Michelle

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Michelle, I congratulate you on your son's graduation !!! It 'a very important moment. You are very young and , like me, you have older children. Wonderful Wimpole Hall, both the interior and the garden.
    Thank you so much for giving us your recipe, you're very kind. The sign among my favorites.
    Sorry for any grammatical errors, and have deleted the comment ..but sometimes I have to use google to translate some word and leaves a mess ...
    Have a nice day .
    Mirtilla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Mirtilla,
      We had Dene at 19 & then finished with the twins at 38, so we have had a busy family life & still have.
      So glad you enjoyed Wimpole Hall.
      Fondly Michelle

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  4. Congratulations to Dene on his achievement! You must be so proud, and happy, for raising such a talented son. Cathedrals do make rather splendid venues for graduations, as does ours, and Lincoln is a magnificent city too.
    You are so fortunate to live near so many great places to visit, such as Beamish and Wimpole. I am truly grateful that you share them with us, for I love looking at all the things that are happening.
    Yes, that is the same recipe that I have from my Mum too! It is quite delicious, especially spread with a little butter.
    ~~~waving~~~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. p.s. looking forward to meeting George!

      Delete
    2. Hello Deborah,
      Wimpole was two hours away from us, but well worth the visit, there was so much to see.
      George is so much fun & in to everything.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete
  5. Hi Michelle, congratulations on the graduation of his son, should be very proud of him. The photos are beautiful and are all very handsome. Thank you very much for the recipe tea bread.
    A hug.
    M. Carmen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so glad you enjoyed the photo's & the recipe.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete
  6. What a lovely post. Congratulations to your son. It's quite an achievement! I so enjoyed seeing the pics of your trip to Wimpole Hall...such a beautiful place. Thanks for the tea bread recipe. It sounds delicious. I'll have to try it. Oh, and looking forward to see George too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George is s sweet & such fun too.
      Thank you for your lovely comment.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete
  7. You have so much fun, Michelle..smile.. Such beautiful places to visit.. Congrats to your son.. They grow up so quickly it seems.. Thanks so much for the recipe.. I can't wait to make it..
    I will be away from internet for a few days.. See you soon.. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They grow up to quickly, that makes us make the most of the twins.
      Hope you enjoy the tea bread.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete
  8. Congratulations to your son.
    Thank you for this fun post.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful day for all of you! Your pictures are so good, definitely enjoying your blog. Thank you also for the family recipe. Congratulations to your son! Your twins are so cute, loved their little matching dresses...reminded me of our own little girls long ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your kind words. I made their little dresses, they have so much fun choosing the fabric.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete
  10. Congratulations on Dene's graduation. Doesn't it feel good? We have graduated two from university, and two more will graduate this next spring. I always breathe a little sigh of relief when one of my children reaches that milestone. After next spring, we will be halfway done. Whew! :-)
    You take such great photographs. I so love seeing the pictures from the beautiful places you are visiting. We obviously don't have anything like those lovely old estates like Wimpole Hall down here in Texas. So it is such a treat to see and read about your visits. And how fun the 1940s weekend must have been. I love that era! I just yesterday discovered www.1940sukradio.co.uk, and I have been dancing around the house while I cook and clean. :-)
    Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I listen to that station sometimes when I am baking in the kitchen, the girls love 40's music.
      I am so glad you are enjoying the photo's, we went to another estate as well that I will put in the next post.
      Enjoy your day in Texas.
      Fondly Michelle

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  11. Hello Dearest!
    Another beautiful enjoyable post!! Congratulations to you son! You all must be so proud of him! :-)
    All the images are so lovely and you have a way of transporting us who come to visit to another time! (and your sweet daughters make all the pics even more special)!
    Thanks for sharing!!
    Blessings warmth and love, Linnie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Linnie,
      Thank you for your kind words, I am so glad you enjoyed the post.
      It is our eldest daughter's 21st birthday today, so lots of baking for me.
      Fondly Michelle

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  12. Congratulations on your son's graduation. It's always wonderful to see our children accomplish their dreams. I enjoyed tagging along with your lovely family Wimpole Hall. I will have to try your tea bread recipe. I like that it's simple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like simple recipes too.
      Thank you Cathy for your lovely comment.
      Fondly Michelle

      Delete