Giffords Circus

Every year we pay a visit to Giffords Circus and every year we love it. Yesterday's visit was no exception.

As usual, the performance was funny, thrilling and hugely entertaining. This year's theme was the 250th anniversary of the birth of the circus, and there was an even stronger focus than usual on 'traditional' circus acts, exemplified by the bigger-that-usual comic turn by Tweedy the clown.

We were delighted to see Nancy Trotter Landry back as the compere. She is very, very funny and can sing wonderfully. Not to mention those hugely expressive eyes!

The live band was excellent, the 1930s-style consumes beautiful, and the acrobatic acts were particularly impressive this year.

An excellent evening out -- highly recommended!

West Wycombe

I haven't written anything on my blog for a long time, due to a severe lack of time coupled with various family emergencies, so I'm going to try and make up for that somewhat this weekend.

So, first up, we had a lovely day out a couple of weekends ago vising West Wycombe.

We started off at National Trust property West Wycombe Park. This is a gracious Palladian mansion set in beautiful landscaped gardens. The house doesn't have that many rooms open to the public, but those that are open are well worth a look -- plenty of frescoed ceilings, interesting paintings, etc. The grounds are very pleasant to stroll around with a lake, pretty bridge, and several strategically-placed eye-catchers. It puts you in mind of Tom Stoppard's fascinating play, Arcadia.

After visiting the house, we walked from the NT car park into the village of West Wycombe, looking for some tea. We happened upon a really lovely place -- The Apple Orchard. This place combines a cafe with a very extensive gift shop selling all sorts of lovely stuff from jewellery and scarves to artisan furniture and high-end beds. The cafe has a beautiful enclosed garden at the back where you can sit and enjoy your meal at one of the wrought iron tables. The staff are incredibly welcoming and accommodating and the food delicious. I would highly recommend this place!

Busy weekend

We had a packed -- and fun -- weekend last week.

First off, my husband returned home from a business trip to the US. Even after all these years together, it's still lovely when he comes home! We celebrated his return (and attempted to stave off his jet lag) by eating lunch out at Abingdon's newest cafe --  Annie's at the Boathouse. We enjoyed brie and cranberry sandwiches and coffee and walnut cake. It will be particularly pleasant here in the summer, when you can sit out at a table overlooking the Thames.

In the evening, we marked the 5th of November by attending the firework display at the Baldons. We attended this event a couple of years ago and enjoyed it both times -- we particularly like the huge bonfire, which is quite unusual at public events these days, and a really good addition to the fireworks.

On Sunday, we visited Abingdon's annual craft fair. This takes place in the Medieval abbey buildings and is a great opportunity to find unusual Christmas presents in a beautiful setting. Later on, we went to see "Murder on the Orient Express" at Cineworld in Didcot. I've been looking forward to this film coming out and we all thought it was very entertaining -- dramatic with good cinematography. We know the story well, so weren't surprised by the ending -- but you can't have everything!

Half term in Shropshire

We spent a very happy half-term weekend in Shropshire. Some of our friends had been to the area a few years back and recommended it for a short break, so we decided to follow their advice.

We stayed in a cottage (a converted mill) -- in the hamlet of Vennington, about 30 minutes from Shrewsbury. It was lovely -- lots of wooden beams and floors, white walls and a wood burning stove, just perfect for cosy nights in.

As for sightseeing, we visited Ironbridge -- to admire the iron bridge, of course. It is quite hard to imagine that this now picturesque, steep valley was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution -- but it was.

There are several museums to visit in and around Ironbridge, but being on a short break, we visited just one -- Blists Hill. This is a living museum, which recreates a small Victorian town, complete with mine and working steam railway. The 'residents' (staff who are dressed in the clothing of the day) are very knowledgeable and eager to answer any questions that you might have. We really enjoyed our visit here, finding the museum both informative and entertaining. This is a really good way to engage young people with history.

We also visited Shrewsbury, which is a lovely medieval market town. We spent a long time wandering round the abbey, which is beautiful, and enjoyed lunch in one of the cafes on the market square.

Finally, we managed to fit in two National Trust properties -- one on the way there and one on the way back. Attingham Park is a Palladian mansion -- we particularly enjoyed the extensive and very interesting 'below stairs' area here. Wightwick Manor is a Victorian manor house, built and furnished in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement.

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Shropshire and, if you are looking for a short break somewhere in the Midlands, would certainly recommend it.

Grey's Court -- and autumn

We had a lovely afternoon out on Sunday.

We decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and visit Grey's Court, a National Trust property near Henley-on-Thames. We have been here many times before and it really is beautiful -- the Tudor house is set in charming grounds with lots to see and do. Particular highlights are the kitchen garden (full of fruit and vegetables, which are used in the on-site cafe), the 125-year-old wisteria, and the house's kitchen (spacious, homely and surprisingly modern).

After wandering round the house and grounds, we popped into the cafe. It had been very busy, but we managed to pick up some Victoria sponge cake and brownies, which we enjoyed with a cup of tea. We finished up with the ubiquitous trip to the National Trust shop -- filled with tempting things, which we managed to resist buying.

When we got home, we had a candlelit supper, which got us talking about how much we love this time of year -- cosy evenings, the autumn sunshine, pumpkin hunts, Advent treats, the run up to Christmas... The list goes on and on!

Picnic at Waddesdon

We managed to dodge the showers on Sunday to visit Waddesdon Manor. We took a bit of a gamble with the weather and packed a picnic, which we love to do but don't do often enough. In fact, the sun shone for us and we were able to sit on our tartan blanket and enjoy our lunch on the lawns in front of the manor.

Next up was the woodland playground. Our kids are well and truly teenagers now, but they still love to have a go on the huge slide and the zip wire! My husband and I did a quick tour of the house, which is very impressive, while the kids (who have visited the house before and feel that once is enough, unlike us) relaxed on the grass and fiddled with their mobile phones.

We then popped into the shop for a nose around. This is always interesting --  lots of lovely things, but not much that you'd actually want to buy. I was amused to see that the book I'm currently reading -- The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild -- was for sale there. It's always useful if you have a family business in which you can sell your wares!

Finally, we enjoyed (very overpriced, but delicious) brownies, cupcakes and drinks in the cafe.

All-in-all a very pleasant afternoon.

Birthday celebration

We had a lovely celebration at the weekend for my husband's birthday.

Firstly, we visited Broughton Castle -- a sixteenth-century moated manor house near Banbury. This is a beautiful place to explore. The castle itself is very interesting to wander round and the staff are welcoming and helpful. The gardens, which run down to the river and are full of cottage garden flowers, are lovely too. Broughton is privately owned, which seems to result in an unusually relaxed experience. Visitor numbers are small compared to the many National Trust properties that we have visited and there are some nice touches, such as guests being able to borrow picnic blankets to sprawl on the lawns. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip here.

Later on in the evening, we had dinner at our favourite Thai restaurant in Abingdon -- the Zabb Thai. The food, as ever, was beautifully cooked and tasty, and the service was superb. We love this place!

The Miser and Mexican food

We had a good bank holiday Saturday last week.

We travelled to London, parking as usual at North Ealing station (our favourite station!) and catching the tube into the centre. Our kids wanted to do some clothes shopping, so we spent a not-terribly-thrilling morning waiting outside the changing rooms in New Look and Forever 21 on Oxford Street.

The main event of the day was a matinee performance of "The Miser" at the Garrick Theatre, starring Lee Mack and Griff Rhys Jones. I had been given the tickets for this show for my birthday, back in February, and so was really looking forward to going. We thoroughly enjoyed the show -- it was farcical, but very amusing and great fun. The kids also really enjoyed it.

We finished up with an early supper at our favourite London Mexican restaurant -- Cantina Laredo. As usual, the food was tasty and the service very good. We were also early enough to take advantage of their pre-theatre menu, which is quite reasonably priced.

It was then back to North Ealing by train and onward home and to bed.

NGS in Headington

We had a lovely afternoon today visiting the gardens that were open in Old Headington for the National Garden Scheme.

Old Headington is a beautiful part of Oxford that used to be a village in its own right. It is full of very attractive stone-built houses and quiet, winding streets, and it is particularly appealing since it is just a stone's throw from the hugely busy and congested new Headington.

We saw several gardens -- some large and some small, but all very pretty. The NGS is a really great way of getting ideas for improving your own garden through looking at all the things that others have done.

We had tea at Ruskin College, which was very pleasant -- brownies, scones and cookies at just £1 a piece! We finished off by popping into St Andrew's Church in Old Headington, which has an interesting history and is very beautiful.

A Cotswolds day out: Banbury, Farnborough Hall and Farnborough village

Yesterday, we had a good day out.

We started off by driving to the market town of Banbury and doing a bit of shopping there. We then stopped off at Cafe Veneto to get some lunch. I wouldn't particularly recommend this place. The staff were friendly enough, but the service was very slow and our paninis, when they finally arrived, were tiny -- half the size of those offered by other cafes and one-and-a-half times the price. We left rather disappointed and somewhat hungry.

We then drove on to Farnborough Hall, which was the main purpose of our day out. This is a National Trust property which is rarely open to the public, as it still has a tenant in situ. The house is very beautiful -- eighteenth century, with stunning plaster-work ceilings and many interesting pieces of furniture. Only three ground floor rooms plus the staircase are open to visitors, but we felt that they were well worth the trip. The (very friendly) tenant was manning the front desk and encouraged our youngest daughter to play the piano in the library, which was lovely. We also enjoyed wandering in the grounds and poking out noses into the various Palladian structures there -- hunting lodge, game store, etc. The views from both the house and grounds are spectacular.

We then made our way to Farnborough village and enjoyed delicious homemade cakes and tea in the village hall. We also visited the church, which was very pretty and peaceful, and spent some time admiring the Cotswold stone cottages in the village.

All-in-all, a very enjoyable day out.

Eltham Palace

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated  my birthday with a day trip to Eltham Palace, which is near Greenwich.The last time we visited was when our oldest daughter was a tiny baby, so more than fourteen years ago...

We found Eltham as interesting now as then. It was a royal palace for centuries, dating back to the time of Edward II, and Henry VIII spent much of his childhood there. Only the great hall of the original medieval palace remains, but this has been incorporated into the modern mansion, and it is really stunning.

The modern house that stands now was built in the 1930s. It is a beautiful mansion, with an enormous, wood panelled entrance hall. It is really interesting to see a stately home from this contemporary period when what you are used to visiting is ancient houses from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Even the kids were impressed -- they really enjoyed seeing something newer and different.

The gardens surrounding the mansion are also beautiful and we spent an enjoyable half hour strolling through them. We finished off with lunch in the newly-built visitor centre, which was very good. There is also an outdoor adventure playground, which will be of interest to families with young children.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our day out at Eltham Palace, and I would certainly recommend a visit.

An Inspector Calls

We visited London at the weekend. Our main reason for doing so was that we had tickets for An Inspector Calls at the Playhouse. Our eldest is studying this play for GCSE, so we thought this would be a good excuse for a trip to the theatre -- one of our favourite things.

The play, of course, is superb -- and its message is so relevant in today's climate of nationalism and individualism. The performance was excellent too. This is a revival of the National Theatre's 1992 production using the original 1992 set, the centre of which is a house which closes up and opens out, a metaphor for the family's ignorance of, and lack of care for, the lives of those far less fortunate than themselves. As the family is forced by the inspector to pay attention to its fellow citizens, the house opens up to the elements, eventually collapsing as the family's self-satisfied world is torn apart.

Before the theatre, we had lunch at Zizzi in Bow Street, which was a good experience -- tasty food and very friendly staff.

And we made use of our favourite tube station, North Ealing, on our way into and out of London. We love this station -- it has a fast, direct line into the centre, is very well managed, and has lovely, clean loos. What more could you ask for?!

London weekend

We followed our usual annual tradition last weekend of visiting London to do a bit of Christmas shopping and to look at the lights. We wondered whether we might give this outing a miss this year, but the children were insistent...

We had a productive but very long and tiring day. It is astonishing how many people there are walking up and down Oxford Street at this time of year -- it's almost impossible to move, unless you employ the rather crafty tactic of heading down side streets and trekking along back streets, which we did.

Other things that I found surprising were:

• The length of the queues for the ladies' loos in John Lewis. We waited the best part of fifteen minutes to reach the front.
• The crowds of young women who seemed desperate to shop in Pink for underwear. My daughters love it, but I really can't see the attraction -- the clothing is definitely not my style.
• The fact that North Ealing tube station could be completely closed for the whole day due to a shortage of trains on the Piccadilly Line. I mean, is that an appropriate way to manage the capital's public transport system?!

On the plus side:

• We found a lovely cafe close to Oxford Street for lunch.The Everbean appeared to be independent, was tastefully decorated, had very friendly staff, and served unusual and delicious food (avocado on toast for us!).
• We enjoyed looking at the lights in Covent Garden, despite the huge crowds.
• We wound up at an ASK for supper. It was predictable, but pleasant, and we were able to pay using our Tesco vouchers (always a bonus!).

Half term fun

It was half term last week and we had some great family fun. Here are some of the things that we got up to:

• We visited Waddesdon Manor and really enjoyed wandering around the grounds in the autumn sunshine, playing on the adventure playground (the kids!) and having tea in the courtyard restaurant.
• We followed our time-honoured tradition of visiting Waterperry Gardens and doing the pumpkin hunt. The kids are really far too old for this now, but we've done it for years and they don't seem to want to let the tradition drop just yet -- plus it's a great excuse for a yummy treat in the tearoom!
• We went to see The Pantaloons' latest play -- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde -- at the Cornerstone Theatre in Didcot. It was rather different from previous plays that we have seen by this company -- much less comic, which isn't surprising given the subject matter -- but still very good.
• Some of us went to see the latest Marvel creation -- Dr Strange. We really enjoyed the film. It wasn't quite all action -- there was a passing reference to some 'deeper' issues (for example, how do you cope if you lose the ability to do the one thing that gives your life meaning), which made it a bit more interesting, plus the cinematography was enthralling (views of Nepal and Hong Hong) and the special effects impressive. Tilda Swinton was also great!
• We popped into Oxford and wandered around Christ Church Meadow, which was very beautiful. We followed this with a browse through the books and a coffee at Blackwell's.
• We made our Christmas pudding and mincemeat. This is another time-honoured tradition -- a job that we have done during October with the kids since they were tiny. Now they are old enough that they can do the making themselves without any assistance from us! We use recipes that have been in the family for several generations and it's a great way to kick off the festive season.
• The kids carved a pumpkin -- we always have a lighted pumpkin on the dining table at Halloween.

It's been quite a busy half term. Now it's time to go back to school and relax!

Life without kids

Every summer, our kids spend a few days staying with their grandparents. They always have a great time and, although we miss them hugely, it's a good opportunity for us to be a couple and do lots of nice things by ourselves.

Here's what we got up to last week:

• We popped down to the riverside Nag's Head pub in Abingdon and sat in the lovely evening sunshine enjoying a glass of wine and a pizza.
• We visited our local Thai restaurant, the Zabb Thai, and had a delicious (as always) dinner. We love this restaurant: the food's great, the owner is so friendly, and the restaurant is small and intimate.
• We went to the cinema to see the latest Woody Allen film, Cafe Society.

All of this was great, but probably the best thing of all was what we did together with the kids when we picked them up. We we went to see Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe. We really enjoyed the play -- it was imaginative and well acted and the setting was stunning.

And, of course, it was wonderful to see the kids again!

Chedworth Roman Villa

We had a good day out today at Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cheltenham.

Chedworth was a large and high-end Roman country house, with underfloor heating and on-site bathhouses, and is now owned by the National Trust. There is little left standing and as a visitor you are reliant on the plaques telling you what each room was. However, you can see well-preserved mosaics and the remains of the hypocaust. There is also a small museum displaying a variety of domestic artefacts.

The villa is set in beautiful countryside and manned by friendly and knowledgeable staff. There is a pleasant cafe on site, selling the usual National Trust fare, and a small gift shop.

We very much enjoyed our visit to Chedworth, not least because it made a change from the grand stately homes that are more generally the province of the National Trust.

Fun-filled summer weekend

It was sunny this weekend just gone, and my family and I made the most of it.

On Saturday, we drove out to the Cotswolds -- to little-frequented Eastleach Turville, to be precise -- and enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful walk following the River Leach. We took a picnic with us and ate it sitting in the middle of a meadow. It was wonderful -- the warmth, the landscape, the company of my lovely family...

We came home via the heavily touristed, but still very pleasant, Cotwolds town of Burford. We had tea at landmark cafe Huffkins. What did we have? Their famous lardy cake, of course. Delicious! We also picked up some plants for our garden from a little nursery that operates out of the owner's front garden in the back streets of Burford.

On Sunday, we went for a late afternoon swim at the Abingdon open air pool, which was again lovely. Not too busy, dappled sunshine, pleasantly warm water. And we wound up with a post-swim drink at Abingdon's waterside pub, the Nag's Head. Their riverside garden is a great place to enjoy a drink in the sun.

Pretty good for one weekend, I think!

Abingdon outdoor pool

My family and I have really enjoyed using the Abingdon outdoor pool over the past couple of weeks -- even in the rain, as today!

We always tried to use the pool each summer, but the increased water temperature this year has made such a difference. It feels warm when getting in, even when the weather is cold and overcast. We plan to use the facility much more this summer, as a result.

I was also delighted to read that the council has announced that, at the end of the season, it is going to replace the (rather dilapidated) old pool with a brand-new pool -- they realised that it would be far more cost-effective to do a complete replacement rather than continually repairing the existing structure. So the pool should be even better in 2017!

On a side note -- I bought the kids ice creams at the pool's refreshment kiosk. They chose Cornetto Soft, which they love -- so well done to the pool for stocking that particular brand. I also noticed that Funny Feet lollies were on the ice cream list. I remember these well from my 1970s childhood, but thought they'd been discontinued years ago, so that was an interesting surprise.

All in all, I'd highly recommend a visit to the Abingdon outdoor pool. It's in a beautiful location, is warm and sells ice creams. What more could you want?

Trampolining and barges

We had an interesting Sunday out this weekend.

It was our youngest's birthday weekend and she had decided that she would like to go en famille to AirHop, a trampoline park in Guildford. We therefore pre-booked an afternoon session on the trampolines and went to AirHop via Guildford centre for lunch. I've never been to Guildford before, but it's an interesting mix. It is full, predictably, of expensive shops (this is the heart of stockbroker belt, after all) and has some lovely old parts with beautiful houses and picturesque churches, but much of the centre is 1950s concrete at its worst, which is a shame.

AirHop itself proved a real hit. It was spacious and had lots of trampoline-based activities, which the kids loved. I was impressed by how it was run -- by a whole team of what looked liked sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds. They were really doing their jobs properly -- supervising the bouncers very well and keeping the place ultra clean. It was also pretty good value at £23 for two, including non-slip socks.

After AirHop, we stopped off at the National Trust's Dapdune Wharf, where we were able to learn about the barge traffic that used to pass along the River Wey from Guildford to London. Visitors can board one of the old barges, which is very interesting, as well as browsing small exhibitions on barge life and navigating the River Wey. The location is very pretty and there's a small cafe on site serving sandwiches and cakes.

All in all, a very enjoyable birthday weekend.

Milton Manor: a lovely stately home in Oxfordshire

We had an interesting trip out over the bank holiday weekend. We went to visit Milton Manor, which is a small stately home, situated in Milton village, not far from where we live.

The house is privately owned and is only open for 30 days a year. We have visited once before—probably around eleven years ago now—but it was when the children were very young and so we didn't actually go into the house, but just enjoyed the grounds. We have been keen to visit the inside of the house for a while now and so were pleased to see that it was open on a day that we were free.

The guided tour was given by (who we took to be) the lady of the house. There were very few visitors (maybe ten of us in total), so it was all rather lovely and intimate. You were free to ask questions and positively invited to sit on the chairs. As our hostess said: ‘Well, they are made for sitting on!’

The house is very beautiful, if rather dilapidated (peeling exterior paintwork, silverfish in the wallpaper, a broken pane of glass in one of the windows, etc.). It was built in the eighteenth century by Inigo Jones, and the Gothic library and the private chapel are particularly impressive.

There are things to see and do in the grounds too. You can pet the ponies and the llama, cross the stream on the rope bridge, visit the tree house and walk in the surrounding woods. When we visited there were pony rides for children and teas for sale in the stables.

We had a lovely time, and it was good to see a small(ish) private home open to the public and run in such a relaxed and friendly way.