It's Tuesday and our time with Mal and Pat (and then Davey, Cath & Eddie) in beautiful Cheshire is over. We're travelling by fast speed train to Euston Station in London and I am writing this blog courtesy of Virgin Train WiFi.
This morning has dawned a grey cloudy day and it feels much cooler. We've been accused of taking the good weather away with us, and now everyone is concerned it will be a cold, grey day for the royal wedding on Friday.
Yesterday morning started slowly over a long breakfast and time for playing with Eddie and nursing him through his little sleep naps. It wasn't until after 1.00 that we left the young things to do our last sightseeing in the Cheshire countryside.
Gawsthorn Hall is only a twenty minute drive from Sandbach. It's another Tudor era timber frame country house- originally the home of Mary Fitton's family. Mary was apparently the object of Shakespeare's love and the "Dark Lady" of his sonnets. It hasn't stayed in the Fitton family; it's now owned by Timothy Richards and his family. Mr Richards is a genuine English aristocrat and very eccentric. We met him at the gate and found him exceedingly pompous (but always excessively polite!). We spent AGES discussing why he and his family have opened up their own home, that they live in, to the public, and furthermore, why they choose to do all the hands on work themselves. My best guess is that if one never had to do any paid work or have a career maybe it would be a novelty to man the gatehouse, greet the public, supervise the cars parking and serve scones in the tea house!
Anyway it is a beautiful house and an even more wonderful experience being able to walk through a Tudor residence that people actually are living in today (complete with their Turners and Constables and priceless, precious objects and Tudor era furnishings).
Our favourite hosts and tour guides: Pat and Mal.
We had to say our final goodbyes to Cath, Davey and Eddie last night. I had the lovely experience of sending Eddie to sleep with my soporific singing (and therefore scoring an extra long cuddle) before they set out in the car for the three and a half hour drive back to London. Isn't he a sweetheart and a heartbreaker?
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