1,111 + 1,277 miles – or 1,788 + 2,055 km – a long and winding road...

Yay!
Back from a glorious road trip down Scotland and England, and across France into almost the heartland of Switzerland, using motorways, A-roads, B-roads and two different international ferries, from Dover to Calais, and from Cherbourg to Portsmouth.
Caught up with family, friends, business contacts, celebrated old and young lives, grieved with an old friend for the loss of a son in his early twenties, felt proud of my Mum for having braved and recovering well from a year of major surgery including a new knee joint.
Last but not least, rejoiced in the sounds, smells and colours of spring and early summer.
The palette was bright yellow, yellow-orange, bright red, pale purple, pale blue, bright blue, every hue of green under the sun, every hue of grey in the sky, every shade of white, cream and pale pink on shrubs and trees that one can imagine. And every now and then there was a splash of bright, almost screaming pink – azaleas and rhododendrons and fresh-leaved blood beech.
Glorious.
Glad to be home, a bit tired, and needing to catch up.
Hoping to post some photos here, soon, or on flickr. Sadly, I'll never be able to bring you the scent of a field of rapeseed in full bloom, or that of pale lilac...
Still, watch this space if you will...
Hugs

A visit to Cliveden House and Gardens

I recently had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Cliveden House, which is very near the home of one of my longest-standing English friends.
What particularly intrigued me was a tree that looked a bit like a sycamore but had berries that resembled raspberries. Here's a full view of this fascinating specimen of what I know know to be an ancient (over 150 years old!) Mulberry tree.

According to John Bignell, Visitor Services Manager at Cliveden, the Cliveden people "usually harvest the fruit and use it in desserts in the autumn in the Orangery."

Here's a close-up of the fruit that look – and taste – a lot like raspberries.

A great shame I missed the Mulberry dessert season this time round.