Golden October Days.

Temple Of Flora, Stourhead.

Sorry I haven’t written anything for a while, but I have been a bit busy with one thing and another. Now that things are a bit quieter, I thought I would give you a quick update on what I have been doing. The first thing to say is that the weather has been wonderful for golden October. We have been very lucky in that respect. Shortly after I wrote my piece about the Patti Smith concert in Bath my best friends arrived from Yorkshire. It was great to see them again after a two-year gap due to Covid. The first night we didn’t do much apart from go to the pub, watch University Challenge, and sit up late talking.

Me At Stourhead.

Westbury Festival coincided with their visit, so on Tuesday we went to a recital in the church by a recorder group. I have enjoyed these lunchtime concerts in the past, but sadly this one was disappointing, and we left after fifteen minutes. My guests are mad keen on the outdoors and go for a walk every day, so after we left the church, we went for a walk as far as the lake by the golf club. On Wednesday I showed them one of the walks that I discovered during lockdown. We went right up the hill near the White Horse, then along the edge of Salisbury Plain and then back down through some amazing woods before emerging at the top end of Westbury. 

John Cooper Clarke, Frome.

On Wednesday evening we took a taxi over to Frome for an evening with John Cooper Clarke the punk poet who is known as the Bard Of Salford. The last time I saw him was when I shook hands with him backstage at Glastonbury 1982. The evening was ok I suppose but felt a bit flat after the genius of Patti Smith a few nights before. He is a brilliant writer and I might buy his new autobiography soon, but I was very familiar with most of the poems he recited, and had heard his jokes before. I also wish sometimes that he didn’t have to recite the poems at the speed of a machine gun.  There was another northern poet on the bill called Mike Garry who my visitors seemed more impressed with and bought a signed copy of his book when he appeared at the merchandise stall during the interval. For me, it seemed a bit strange hearing poems about inner-city urban deprivation in a genteel small West Country town like Frome, but I suppose it is still relevant. 

The Canal, Bradford On Avon.

On Thursday we drove over to Bradford On Avon where we parked and then had a pleasant walk along the canal to the Cross Guns at Avoncliffe where they treated me to lunch. It was very enjoyable eating outdoors by the river. Afterwards we visited my sister Margaret and her partner Wayne who live in B-O-A. The highlight of my visitors stay for me was our trip to Stourhead on Friday. I have lived in this area for 44 years and never visited there before. It is only about twelve miles from Westbury. I was very impressed. Stourhead is a 2,650-acre estate at the source of the River Stour on the border of Wiltshire and Somerset. It includes a Grade I listed 18th-century Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland and has been owned by the National Trust since 1946. 

We went for a long walk around the lake which was artificially created. Following a path around the lake is meant to evoke a journey similar to that of Aeneas's descent into the underworld. In addition to Greek mythology, the layout is evocative of the "genius of the place", a concept expounded by Alexander Pope. Buildings and monuments are erected in remembrance of family and local history. Henry Hoare who lived here was a collector of art; one of his pieces was Claude Lorrain's Aeneas at Delos, which is thought to have inspired the pictorial design of the gardens. Passages telling of Aeneas's journey are quoted in the temples surrounding the lake. The gardens are home to a large collection of trees and shrubs from around the world.

I think we chose a great time of the year to visit because the leaves are now changing colour and the trees look quite magnificent. There are temples, follies, and grottoes around the lake, some containing amazing statues of nymphs, gods and goddesses. Even the sheep on the surrounding hillsides added to the pastoral beauty of the place. It was like receiving a glimpse of heaven. My only regret is that we didn’t have time to look in the house which contains a large library and art collection. That will have to wait for another occasion because I certainly intend to return. 

My visitors set off for home on Saturday morning which was my 70^th birthday. I spent a very pleasant family afternoon at my niece Lee’s house in Edington with my sister, my other niece Katherine, the children, and other family members. Sunday was Kim’s anniversary and I had a quiet day at home. I didn’t go out on Monday or Tuesday either. I might venture out to the pub tomorrow though. I was very sorry to hear today of the death of Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, that is why I shared a video of a Van Morrison song below which features his great playing.

Lake At Stourhead.