WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

Thank you to my wonderful Andrew, for 26 fantastic years!  It's been such a fun adventure......here's to the next!

xxx

A NEW FAVOURITE PLACE...

'Frankie's Farmshop'

Good morning!

I do hope you are all well, this sunny Wednesday morning?  I haven't been as conscientious with the blog as I would have liked these last few days....I don't really know where the time goes?  We had a lovely bank holiday weekend.  Saturday brought torrential, almost monsoon like rain which was actually a huge relief for the garden, and for me, as my evening watering can often take a couple of hours!  The rest of the long weekend, the sun shone, and particularly on Monday when we enjoyed a wonderful barbecue party with good friends at their lovely home over in Sussex.

Today I would love to share with you a new favourite discovery of mine.....'Frankie's Farmshop and Nurseries' in nearby Staplehurst, Kent.

This long established nursery has been growing and supplying plants for London markets and nurseries throughout the southeast for many years, but only last year opened their stunning farmshop and cafe......housed in a beautiful oak framed building.  The open kitchen allows the customers to see the chefs hard at work, producing wonderful lunches and teas using fresh top quality local produce, and the cafe is a lovely place to sit and enjoy this before taking a stroll around the fantastically stocked farmshop and nursery.

 The other Friday afternoon, I enjoyed afternoon tea there with my daughter Georgie, after I had picked her up from the station as she was home visiting us for the weekend.  Tea and cake and a stock up with delicious things from the shop was the perfect start to the weekend.....

The greenhouses are packed with thousands of healthy plants....and at Christmas time they are the largest supplier of Poinsettias in the South East.

I couldn't resist a tray of beautiful white mini cyclamen....

 These I have potted up in an urn in my kitchen...

And filled a wooden 'trug' with the rest....

Cyclamen are always symbolic to me, of the first hints of Autumn.....

A slight 'nip' in the air and the days drawing in earlier.  Although I always love and welcome the changes in the seasons, I am also determined to enjoy and make the most of these last few weeks of summer. 

I am spending as much time as possible outside at the moment.....a necessity, as the kitchen garden is overflowing!  Harvesting, pickling, bottling, chutneys, jam and jellies are the activity of the moment. I do admit though that the novelty of this favourite of activities is slightly wearing thin now!  However, come the Autumn, I am sure I shall be able to admire my larder with a slight smug pride that it's all there to enjoy over the Winter, and nothing went to waste!

I look forward to sharing one or two of my favourite preserving recipes with you later in the week....

Have a lovely day!

Sophia xx

THE PERFECT RETREAT...

About a mile west of Hastings, along a hidden stretch of seafront...lies a beautiful, quiet length of beach, lined with colourful beach huts.  

Two of these special little retreats belong to my mother. One she has owned for a number of years, beautifully kitted out with kitchen, dining area, and benches that can be opened out to form beds for an afternoon snooze......perfectly relaxing, with the sea a matter of metres away, lapping against the shingle shore.  The other next door, a recent purchase which proved irresistible not to own when it came up for sale, as these gorgeous little huts come on to the market so rarely.  This now means no immediate neighbours to that side, and the perfect store for deck chairs, cushions and bicycles.

Unique amongst the other colourful huts.....it is clear that this is a 'Swedish' owned one!

Yesterday was a perfect day at the beach.

Warm, gentle breeze, blue skies, calm waters......

Hardly a soul around.......

A special afternoon with my lovely mother and a dear friend of hers.....delicious lunch followed by 'feet up' and girl chat!  A decadent treat in the middle of the week!

 The clean unspoilt beach, dotted with wild sea kale.....

...home to these colourful huts, no larger than a single garage...

...iconic to the great British seaside, and a joy and privilege to own.  A simple pleasure, to get away from it all.

A special and very relaxing place that is so hard to leave at the end of the day!

*****

Hope you are having a lovely week....

Sophia xx 

'RED SKY AT NIGHT......

............SHEPHERD'S DELIGHT'

Last night while having our supper in the kitchen, we were treated to this spectacular sunset.

A dramatic show of every hue of

pink, orange and red....

Like a beautiful changing painting....a stunning 'work of art' to end the day.

True to the saying 'Red sky at night, shepherd's delight'.....we woke to light streaming in through the house, and the surrounding landscape lit up in the fresh morning sunshine.

View from my bedroom window to the south, overlooking the ripening corn field

across the lane....

....towards the west and the fields and woods beyond...

.....to the pond

...and our small orchard beyond.

Have a lovely day,

Sophia xx