Cheltenham housesitting week 3

 

Jackie and her mum at the model village, Bourton on the Water

After the busyness of last weekend, Tuesday was a relaxing day, which was good, except for having to go out to get a puncture repaired, in one of the four new tyres we had put on all of eight days previously! Sadly so was Wednesday, as the weather was so pants we’d cancelled our walk with Denise and Paul. Talk about one extreme to the other, last Wednesday was roasting for the gardener, this week she nearly got webbed feet. Our big ‘excitement’ for the day was losing Mr. Pickles, we both hunted high and low after the vacuum scared him off, could we find him? No, we even went out looking in the rain. He eventually sauntered down the stairs from who knows where not knowing what all the fuss was about!

Outside the model of Small Talk Tea Room...

Thursday mum arrived for a few days. She hadn’t enjoyed the journey, we really are up some very small lanes, but was very pleased to see us, and the lovely house and garden. What to do with her? Friday a trip to Bourton-on-the-water to see the model village. We are glad we arrived and left early, it was very busy, and we beat the rain. The model village was interesting, not like the one I remember as a kid in Devon, as this one was a larger scale and a replication of the actual village of Bourton. We had to pop back in to have our picture taken where we’d had our coffee and cake!

And outside the real Small Talk Tea Rooms (afternoon tea of a pot of tea with scones, clotted cream and jam - heaven!)

The model village in the model village including the model village!

Saturday we went to Edlesborough to see Jonathan and Lucy, Charles and Caroline. The original plan had been to meet in the middle somewhere round Oxford, but the weather forecast wasn’t up to a picnic so we went to them. This worked well for Charles, who having originally got three A’s in his A levels was then upgraded to two A* and an A and is off to Sheffield to study Politics and International relations. We are very proud. Off to Morrison’s to equip him with his kitchen supplies - knives, pans, crockery etc. It was lovely to see them, end of last year was the last time! We had two little adventures before we set off, Brian was led down the stairs by little Nellie cat, she kept stopping and turning round to check he was following, all the way to a mouse on the rug! Not the first mouse we’ve had on the rug, in fact there was another one today, so perhaps it was just the first one she’d brought in, as a gift, for us! 

4 little swallow chick in their nest....

I popped down to the kennels to try and take some pictures with the proper camera, as opposed to my phone of the swallows in their nest. Just as well I did as they were out of the nest, but still in the room. The second set of swallows I’ve seen fledge this year, fabulous!

Sunday we went back up to Cleeve Common to the masts for a bit of exercise before coming back for roast chicken with all the trimmings. Today the decision was made by mum to return home, the weather hasn’t been too bad, but is set to be wet and windy tomorrow! We went to Belas Knap, while the potatoes were baking in the Aga, a Neolithic burial chamber. Relatively interesting and not a long walk. Except that most of the walk seemed to be up to mum! She was a little unimpressed, but it did make the baked potatoes and cold chicken all the more enjoyable. She’s now back at home and we are making the most of it before the weather changes again. It would appear so is Mr. P, he’s just been miaowing outside with another mouse....

Here's three just emerged from their nest getting ready to fly away

Walking over Cleeve Common with Pauline, Jackies mum. 

Two horse riders appear over the horizon

Great view of Cheltenham racecourse, even though a band of rain was approaching behind

Walking up to Belas Knap. It was a steep hill - I lied and told Pauline it was a flat walk!

Jackie peering inside one of the openings to the burial chamber

Looking out from inside

Standing stones inside a chamber

The walk uphill was worth it. Nice views of Cotswold countryside. That's the town of Winchcombe down there 

Here's something you don't see everyday in the Cotswolds. We stopped the car on the way through the village of Brockhampton as Jackie had spotted elephants in a barn. Not real ones though, they look like they are made of wood. No idea why they are there

Finish with a nice photo of pussy cats. Nellie on the left, Mr. Pickles on the right