Visit to Great Bookham

Yesterday afternoon with our good friends, Tony and Pauline, we visited Poleston Lacey, a National Trust country house located in Great Bookham, Surrey and were fascinated by the story of Margaret Grenville.  After our visit we carried on to Clive and Rosie's house, nearby, for dinner.

This Regency house was extensively remodelled in 1906 by Maggie, who was a well-known Edwardian hostess.  Her collection of fine paintings, furniture, porcelain and silver is displayed in the reception rooms and galleries, as it was at the time of her celebrated house parties.  The house grounds are spectacular covering 1,400acres, including a beautiful walled rose garden, lawns, ancient woodland and landscape walks.  We must return to do the grounds because the temp. was in the 30s and it was just too hot to stroll around.

The future George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent part of their honeymoon here in 1923, and were not the only Royals to experience Margaret's lavish and spectacular house parties. The house is opulent as well as welcoming and it is understandable why nobility escaped to the house with its amazing views over the downs.

Inside the house there's a beautiful golden room with a lovely grand piano, which a member of the public was playing.  The dining room was laid with a note about each guest at each place.   Mrs. Greville loved her guests and their gossip.  She entertained King Edward VII and Winston Churchill.  In the Central Hall there is a priceless collection of Majolica ceramics.

Margaret said "I would rather be a Beeress than a Peeress".  Grenville and her husband, Ronald, bought the house in 1906 and although he died in 1908, she continued to run the house until her death in 1942.  She wanted a house that would be fit for kings and maharajas so she commissioned the architects of the Ritz, Mewes and Davis, to design it to be the epitome of the latest in luxury and comfort, and, as such, was equipped with all the latest innovations such as en suite bathrooms and central heating.

 It was interesting to discover that her father, William McEwan was a brewer (you can purchase McEwans beer in the Cowshed) and a self made millionaire and she was in fact illegitimate.  Reading between the lines, I believe her mother was already married to another and her father eventually married her mother when he was 58.    On his death, he bequeathed everything to his daughter and she in turn, having had no children, left everything to the National Trust.  What a treasure it is and well worth a visit.

Mrs. Greville was a woman to be reckoned with.  This was a woman who knew what she liked and how things should be done.

This is how the curators of Polesden Lacey would like us to know her:-

Mrs. Greville rose from obscure origins to attain political influence, great wealth and the friendship of royalty.  An inveterate traveller and relentless celebrity-hunter, she could be both discreetly charitable and personally waspish. She was one of the most influential hostesses in Europe for nearly four decades.  She often aroused strong and contradictory reactions.  The diariest, Chips Channon wrote that there was 'no-one on earth so skilfully malicious as old Maggie'.  But when she died, the Queen Mother wrote 'I shall miss her very much'.

One of the stories told to us in the dining room was:-

The drunken butler.....  Glorious as the setting was, Mrs. Greville's staff would occasionally let her down.  On one occasion, it was apparent that the butler was intoxicated.  She wrote a surreptitious note saying, 'You are drunk; leave the room at once', summoned the butler and placed it on his salver.  He bowed courteously, advanced to the guest of honour, Sir Austen Chamberlain, and presented the note to him.  The eminent politician spent the rest of the meal in mystified silence.  When she explained the misunderstanding, he replied that it was the first time he had ever been silenced by a drunken butler.

A grand entrance...  Every evening at 6 p.m. the footman would lay out drinks on the 17th century refectory table, while the gramophone would play the latest hits by Noel Coward.  When she was sure that all her guests were gathered attentively below, Mrs. Greville would descend the staircase slowly, pausing at the landing for maximum impact before completing her entrée among her visitors.

After our visit we continued on to Clive and Rosie's where, just like Mrs. Greville, attention to detail ensured we had a wonderful evening.  The food arrived piping hot, while the champagne was chilled,
just as served at Poleston Lacey, a welcome novelty compared with many country house dinners.

I think I would have loved to have stayed for the weekend at Mrs. Greville's place!!  Gorgeous house, wonderful food and a whole lot of fun.

Housewarming.

It finally happened:

Caz and Mike found their dream hope.  The furnitures moved in and the boxes are unpacked so let's celebrate.

Caz and Mike invited family, new neighbours and friends over to make the house a home with a canapes and cocktail housewarming party.

The house certainly heated up.  It was such a beautiful day with temperatures in the 30s.

Caroline got the party started with maximum fun and minimum fuss.

Having just returned from Majorca she added a shot of Spanish style with Hugo cocktails.
A beautifully fresh and summery tipple.  Delightfully refreshing with fresh mint, elderflower, Proscecco (although in Spain they use Cava) and sparkling water!  (Gently rub the mint leaves together to draw out the flavour, then place in the glass.  You can either remove the leaves from the stem or keep them on.   Then add elderflower syrup in sparkling water (Waitrose sell), Prosecco and a slice of lime and serve on ice).  The whole thing just makes you feel so cool and chic.

She also added a shot of style with satay canapes.  So easy - spoon a little ready make satay sauce into a shot glass and add a ready made chicken satay and serve cold.  Delicious.  They also went well with the spicy prawns and mango.  And the children loved the cut up Watermelon.

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And, of course, no party is complete without a cake.

Many thanks to Jo for bringing this delicious cake as a housewarming gift.

The Sweet Sorrel Bakery

Vanilla sponge, white chocolate ganache and raspberry filling.  Swiss meringue buttercream frosting with raspberries and white chocolate shavings.  It was so good and there was none left over.

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It tasted as good as it looked!

Congratulations on your new home!!  Wishing you all the very best settling in and making it your own.

Sun, sun, sun

Listen.  You can almost hear that last school bell clanging, sending its jubilant reverberations into the air.

Once children are at school, family holidays and uninterrupted time together become more important than ever and we had an amazing time in the Spanish sun.  I was particularly proud of my
grandchildren in the pool. The last time we were here Jamie refused to jump in and disliked trying to swim.  But he's now leaping into my arms in the water, kicking and using his arms to propel himself through the water with a little help from the others.

All things considered, Majorca is probably the greatest holiday destination on the planet:-  Here's why:- the pound may have taken a hit against the euro of late, but Spain remains cheap for self catering.  The wine, Rioja Reserva is only 4.50, cava 1.95 and beer .50 euros.  And the huge outdoor table has breathtaking sea views and is just the spot for long dinners.  As the evening progresses we move towards the terrace's covered area that is great for late night chitchats and drinks.

We also watched the spectacular 'blood moon' from here. It lasted for 103 minutes and during the eclipse, the moon passed through Earth's darkest shadow, known as umbra, causing it to take on a red sheen, giving rise to the 'blood moon' name, which we watched with our naked eye.  Unlike a solar eclipse, where the moon crosses the path of the Sun, it was perfectly safe to look at directly and the sky was gin clear.  And the bright star below is Mars,  We were also able to see Saturn, Venus and Jupiter.

The pool was vital.  If the children are happy so is everyone else - and young children don't care a hoot for monuments, history or Palma.  All they need is food and constant attention.  They don't want to go out.

But Port Andratx, high in the charts with A-listers the world over, has become a magnet for the rich and famous and us.  First of all we stopped for a cocktail on Romeos roof terrace.  Bit of a climb but worth it for the views of the marina.  This is a real hidden gem.  It is so peaceful with the most beautiful views of the port and low comfy chairs.

The harbour front is lined with restaurants, and thanks to menus being on display outside, it was easy to browse what was on offer before deciding which one suited our needs with the children.  We enjoyed fresh fish and shellfish caught in the nearby waters.

One lunchtime we also visited Villa Italia which enjoys a privileged elevated position at the quieter end of Port d'Andratx.  The restaurant offers a set-price lunchtime menu at 29 euros, which includes a glass of wine, water, bread, olives and three courses of your choice.  The food was perfect, as was the service and ambiance; relaxed but very professional.  Excellent.

We all felt like millionaires for a week.