These are a few of our favourite things

I've had an enjoyable few days sharing my corner of East Anglia with Terry Golson who was on a brief visit to England from her home just outside Boston, USA. In two and a half days we visited Ickworth Hall, Wyken Vineyard and the Leaping Hare Restaurant and Country Store, Clare village and the Antiques Centre, Saffron Walden, The Star at Lidgate, Cambridge and Baldock and treated Terry to a proper sit down luncheon and cream tea (you can read more about that here).

Here are some of the highlights . . .

Lunch at the Leaping Hare Restaurant, with the light filtering through a screen of fig leaves outside the windows . . .


The food was very special too – and as bloggers do, we had to take photos (we almost forgot, we were so eager to taste it!) my dessert was the trellis of rhubarb poached in cinnamon syrup served with a hazelnut meringue which had been secretly filled with vanilla cream from underneath – genius!


Admiring the clever colour themes in the gardens at Wyken Hall . . .



and spotting hares – peeping out of the windows . . .


and in the pargetting . . .


We met some gorgeous birds with beautiful feathers!


There was time for Elevenses in Cafe Clare, with toasted tea cakes and crumpets with jam . . .


It was eye-opening to look at familiar places with Terry, she loved the textures and patterns in the vernacular building styles – she's given me lots of ideas!


I'm now back to the old routine – an illustration deadline, the village magazine to publish, the Pick'n'Mix Makers Market in Holt on Saturday 11th June to prepare for and new prints to work on. Oh, and I'm still having to water the garden as we haven't had any proper rain yet (just a brief shower of drizzle).

While we were out about and about doing fun things, Terry received texts from her husband breaking the sad news that her hens were not well, the news got even worse – Lulu, her favourite hen had died. It was so difficult for her to be so far away and not to be able to help her husband cope with the hens and the young chicks in the horrible rain and cold.

Terry has returned home now and I'm sure you'll all join me in sending her and her husband Steve good wishes and hope that their hens pull through and that the sun comes out for all of them in more ways than one!

Celia
x