Meet up with Mary, Wakehurst Gardens, and the Potential to Send Mr Him to Mars

Dear reader,  once again Mary the Pouting Pensioner and her charming husband were brave enough to meet Mr Him, although they did request a Walk of Foundness rather than Lostness,  when given the choice.  I can't imagine why!

  Mr Him could not escape our town by train this weekend.  In both directions the trains were stopped due to rail works.  Convenient that . I swear it had nothing to do with me.  Mr Him was undaunted.  He was going to join us on our adventure.  The day dawned bright and  he bundled me into a car and drove us to meet Mary and David.  I had  mentioned the trains scenario and we'd agreed to meet locally to me. It happened that this particular locally was on their agenda anyway.  Wakehurst Gardens.  I've written on previous adventures with friends in this wonderland, before here. 

Firstly the Seedbank which houses many a specimen in the event of apocalypse or perhaps seeding Mars.  I think I may send Mr Him with the seeds when they embark on that journey, seeing as the departure point would be so local.  It would be a shame to miss such an opportunity.

In the seedbank we browsed the specimens and pictures of seeds. Very pretty pictures. 

This is a peanut flower. I've never really thought about peanuts flowering. 

Next stop a valley of Redwood trees

and on to the flowering Magnolias. 

Pretty valleys

Mary taking a photo

alien plants

meandering brooks.

After a successful Walk of Foundness Mr Him took us on a Drive of Lostness. We had booked a table at a well thought of gastropub. However we didn't know where it was.  Off we went in convoy, Mr Him driving leading vehicle,  heading to the village of Ardingly to a pub of a whereabouts unknown  when all of a sudden Mr Him was Found before he became Lost.  He spied the pub on route and we did a convoy about turn in the entrance to the showground.

Here, dear reader I can now bring you investigative journalism not just from myself,  not just Mr Him but by a reader too, if you read Mary's blog. link here when she's published.

I don't know about you but it's fairly normal for me nowadays to take pics of my food,  drinks,

the decor and surrounds.  I get up and wander for picture taking.  However it's not that noticeable.  Just me perhaps wandering to the bar or the restroom and finding things along the way to photograph.  When two of you are bloggers and without consultation simultaneously stand up and go wandering around the pub taking pictures maybe it's a bit noticeable.  So dear reader don't visit a pub with a blogger. 

My wanderings took me to take photos of this wall, papered in newspaper,

This display of gardening implements

This wall of male gardener pin ups in the ladies restroom.  Yes the men did have Charlie  (Dimmock - Google her).

My food was perfect if you weren't wearing braces. I gave my braces a work out on pork followed by a meditative swooning on chocolate mousse. 

Mr Him's was  perfect if he'd wanted an undercooked burger.  He requested it to be recooked, which was done with apologies. 

We had a lovely day and darn good laugh.  Action shot of laughter coming up.

On my boring blog are the clothes pics here if that sort of thing interests you.  I did dress to tease Mary I have to say.

The Jumpers

Dear reader, don't tell the fashionstas that read my style blog,  but I'm a bit of a cheapskate.  This cheapskatedness led me on an adventure on Saturday.  An adventure many fashionsta would be jealous of.

 

You see I have heard ravings,  absolute gushings and crushings over woollen jumpers.  Not any old woollen jumper though.  No. 'WoolOvers' woollen jumpers to be exact.  These jumpers are priced around  £60 £80 £100.  They are mail order. Generally.  They have one location in the UK which is office and warehouse in one.  It's near my home.  It behove me to investigate for my readers.

On Saturday I set my Sat Nav to 'seek WoolOvers'.   At first it misunderstood and sent me to Covers. .a fencing outlet.  Still I persevered. 

Next stop WoolOvers.  

There's the trailer ready to be loaded with your next lot of jumpers, dear fashionsta. 

There's the factory shop.  With a sale.

There's me 'in there'.

There's my haul. Several jumpers for £5 to £10 each.  

There's a pink loose fit jumper I bought miss 22. Silk and cotton mix.  £10.

They are listed on the invoice as samples.  Do I mind?  No.

Sir John Soanes Museum and Thames Walk, and Pubs

A day out for seven quickly whittled down to three.  The attrition rate increased as soon as the seven realised Mr Him was one of the 7. Excuses like having to fix a drainage pipe that miraculously just fell off (the trouble our friends go to to attrite),

 having to suddenly grocery shop for sudden unexpected guests, not to mention sudden surprise birthday parties.  Anyway the three,  Mr Him,  I and a 'friend brave ' took ourselves to a little known London gem or four.

The first gem was the Sir John Soanes museum near Holborn in Lincoln Inn Fields here  A treasure trove of a house, literally.  From the outside you wouldn't know it contained the likes of sarcophagus of  Seti 1 and 8 original Hogarths,  let alone a Turner.  Strict no photo policy but compensated by it being free to visit. I can only describe this like experiencing   the library in The Librarians but rabbit warren style, if you can imagine such a thing. 

Mr Him has write his impressions of this treasure maze below.

Tucked away in a tranquil oasis a couple of hundred metres from the very busy Kingsway in central London, was a four storey Georgian townhouse. Inside awaited a rabbit's warren of floors, rooms and corridors,,  designed and decorated by Sir John Soanes, celebrated architect. Artifacts from Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Babylonian cultures nestled cheek by jowel with Renaissance pieces and contemporary artworks (for his time). Funerary masks and pieces of sculpted stone overlooked one of the prize pieces of the collection, the sarcophagus of no lesser an individual that Seti 1! An awesome piece of masonry carved lovingly from a single piece of alabaster, almost luminous in the deliberate gloom of the cellar. In the upper rooms, whole walls were movable, in order to best display artwork collected by the insatiable Sir John. I was in utter disbelief when a wall was moved to reveal all of the 8 original series of Hogarth's "The Rake's Progress"! There was also at least one Turner, and some Cannelettos!! I left the museum pleased that I'd allowed Anna to persuade me into attending. I feel well and truly "cultureficated"....!!! 

Back to Anna

We then went to investigate a Wetherspoons called The Shakespeare.  

a  mural in the ladies restroom, spot the hand dryer 

We didn't see dogs.  Mr Him had a colourful beer as he had blackcurrant cordial added to a weissbeer. I suppose he thought if my wine was pink then his beer should be.

Next stop Bodeans for pulled pork and New York Cheesecake  (yes we can get it in the UK.  This one was similar to the Rockerfeller Centre one.  Not quite as creamy as a deli cheesecake),  and an Alabama Slammer or two.

The  men had banana splits

We needed a walk and Mr Him took us on a Thames Path walk to London Bridge vicinity.

machinery of days gone by along the Thames

Tower Bridge in the distance

I filmed the sound of the Thames lapping along and the night views for you here 

Custom House

lit up London Bridge and Shard

Borough Market empty at night

days of yore depicted in Borough Market near the bins

Under London Bridge train line

cheese shop closing for the day

Then onto a pub or inn called The Anchor.  Inside we found another warren.  This time rooms containing bars and seating.

a model of the Globe Theatre inside the Anchor inn

 It was an unusually warm night and we sat out on the roof garden to drink and look at the views of London.

I videoed some music and revellery going on below us for you here music by the Thames

Then a walk to the station admiring the moon over the Shard.

 and a discovery of what remains of Winchester Palace.

I like how they have planted in the ruins.  An attractive display