Pink and Blue Clouds and a Castle in Kent

Hello all, I’m back!

I wish I could tell you I went running everyday, cooked beautiful meals and completely redesigned the garden, but it would be untrue, so I had best come clean and admit to being utterly lazy. I didn’t even do much reading, although I did smell lots of flowers. In the midst of all this idleness, Terry and I enjoyed a few nights away staying at Horsham in West Sussex. From there we enjoyed trips to Hever Castle in Kent, a fascinating visit to The Houses of Parliament in London and to Nymans a National Trust property near Haywards Heath. We also spent a few hours in Guildford, a favourite shopping destination of mine. While there, we came across a little corner of Wonderland but unlike Alice, we went up rather than down!  Up to the 5th floor of a department store to be precise where we alighted onto a pink and blue cloud! 

Picture from The Tea Terrace Website; follow this link to find out more. 

I took masses of photographs while we were away, including some of the tearooms which I will share in a later post. Processing them, however, is taking much longer than usual as I attempt to get to grips with Lightroom image-editing software. I’ve used an old version of PhotoImpact for the last eleven years, meaning I’m on something of a steep learning curve. As if that were not enough I’m also attempting to master the settings on my camera. I use a Canon G11 compact set on ‘auto’ but I really must learn to use manual mode and figure out how to adjust exposures, etc.,  If nothing else it should help ward off the dreaded dementia. I don’t say that lightly having watched my dear dad struggle with it for several years prior to his death.

The pictures that follow were all taken at Hever Castle, I hope you enjoy them. 

Terry took the above photograph with my camera and I processed it with my old photo-editing software.

This is the same photographer processed in Lightroom. I think it looks much better, but I’m a complete novice with the software so I know it's far from perfect.  

My poor husband tasked with trying to teach me how to take and process better photographs.

Hever Castle, famous for being the childhood home of Anne Boleyn is situated in the beautiful Kent countryside about 30 miles south-east of London. Sir Thomas Bullen, later known as Boleyn, inherited Hever from his father Sir William Bullen in 1505 and made it into a family home for his wife, Elizabeth Howard, and three children – Mary, Anne and George. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII, executed in 1536 after being Queen for just 1,000 days. It was Henry’s love for Anne, and her insistence that she became his wife rather than remain his mistress that led to the King renouncing Catholicism and creating the Church of England.

If you would like to learn more about the history of Hever Castle or Anne Boleyn, there is a mass of information available on the Internet. Alternatively, you could treat yourself to Hever Castle & Gardens produced by Jigsaw Publishing in 2017. I bought my copy at the castle, but I’m sure you would have no difficulty finding it online.

Can you make out the Tudor dwelling inside the castle walls?

One of two beautifully illuminated prayer books on Display at the castle both belonged to Anne Boleyn. “Remember me when you do pray that hope doth lead from day to day." Anne Boleyn. 

Book of Hours, c 1528.

These personal prayer books were popular in England from the 13th century until the Reformation. They became known as ‘Books of Hours’ from the short services to the Virgin Mary which were read at fixed hours during the day.  

Best buddies but only while my ice cream lasted!

Thanks so much for coming over I hope to catch up with you all in the next week or so.