Thursday 3 April 2008

Especially For Me Matie Toadie.....Or Anyone That Gives A Dam...

Ok....... I have this friend called Toadie, Toadie and his family live left of the staples in America and I love this little family to death....well, one thing ya have to know about Toadie is his LOVE of all things English, I swear he must of been British in a former life..... so this post I give to you Toadie..... just a little snippet of my world.....

Exactly 3 miles from where I live is a little village called Southwick (pronounced 'Suvik' with my accent lol)





Here is the little village church....

Its a beautiful but a strange and rare little village..... Southick is nestled in the middle of hundreds of acres of farmland and woods, collectively called 'The Southwick Estate' and get this.... the whole shabang is owned by one person...including all the land.... yep thats right every single house is owned by one person, he lives somewhere in London but he owns the whole dam village.... he inherited it about 10 years ago from his elderly aunt...... everything in the village is owned by this one man.... even the 2 pubs the church the village shop and every single cottage in the village and the little cottages scattered in the woods.... like the 250 year old game keepers cottage in the middle of the woods where me matie lives.....



The Red Lion Pub....which serve the most delicous meals...



The Golden Lion Pub........ aint it strange that BOTH pubs are 'lions' lol

So no one that lives in any of the houses actually owns them, they are all rented from the Estate..... and most, not all, but most of the people that live in the houses actually work in some way for the Estate...... in the olden days they would of ALL worked in some way for the estate and up at the big house.....

Now, dont that just sound well old fashioned lol..... my friend that lives in the game keepers cottage in the middle of the woods, well her husband is actually the game keeper lol but she is a teacher outside the village.... if their house they rent went up for sale it would cost easily in the region of £500,000 (million $) - but everyone that lives in one of the cottages pay just a minimal rent.... VERY VERY tiny rents......

Also anyone that lives in the houses and cottages never get thrown out as they grow old, they are allowed to live in the cottages rent free from when they are to old to work...... and when they die they are allowed to pass on their rent books to a member of their family only IF the estate does not have someone else that works for them needing the cottage....

Anyways...... my matie Wendy who is one of me bestest maties, well her sister lives in one of the cottages cos her hubby is Estate Manager... her house is to DIE for lol...........



My maties sister's house is the one this end of the village green, its beautiful inside and out....

Nestled behind a high flint wall tucked behind the church is actually a Naval Base, its been there since WWII.... let me explain..... the main Manor house in Southwick was taken over during WWII as a base for all the high class war men to congregate and plan the war.... Churchill spent a lot of time there as did that doodle bloke Eisenhower... plotting and planning the war.... the D-Day landings were all planned in the White Southwick house...and there are tunnels underneath connecting them to bunkers and to one of the Forts ontop of Portsdown hill....which is about a mile away.... and the grounds to the house were built on as a naval base, where my lads use to go to Naval Cadets..... the Estate is fighting now to reclaim its land.... and I do think that HMS DRYAD as its called might be at long last moving out.....cos it rightfully belonged to the Southwick Estate and the Ministry SHOULD GIVE IT BACK....

The White house still holds all the War Stuff exactly how it was back in the early 40s like a little musuem......

So people that drive though the little village of Southwick will notice that EVERY door to EVERY cottage, house, pub ALL are painted in the same colour.... maroon :) its their trade mark lol....... even the game keepers house in the woods and my other maties (whose kid I use to childmind) who live in a HUGE beautiful farm house with acres and acres of land just on the edge of Creech wood and that 200 year old house even has its doors painted maroon :)..... its hard to really capture the image of this village on a blob.....



See the door :)

Its a proper English village as I can imagine Toadie has in his head, unlike the one I live in which is very much built up now, even though we still have some amazing houses in this one, but in Southwick they are ALL about 200 years old or older.... every single one.....



This tiny row of cottages during the summer has old buckets full of cut flowers for sale from their gardens and its where I buy my flowers in the summer months...

I probably drive though the village at least once a week, at least, and I drive out there through the woods during the summer months and buy me rhubarb off the little old man that lives in one of the corner houses, and beetroots off the woman opposite the pub and me runner beans off someone else..... I LOVE buying fresh veggies off of little tables set out the front of houses.... just love it....



I call this just The Rhubarb house... cos thats where I buy me Rhubarb from for me crumble....

Also in the spring they have a duck race on the river, where 200 yellow numbered ducks are released at the top end of the river at a start line and they make their way down river/stream to field behind one of the farms to a finish line.... ya buy a numbered ticket and if your duck comes in first ya win a prize lol.... and then the ducks are all netted up and carried back up stream and it all starts again....the whole village turns out for this age old tradition, only in the olden days the ducks were hand wittled wooden ducks....

I know a few of ya loved the post last year with the picture of the thatched barn...and that what made me think about this post...

I took all these photos meself sometime last year..... people came out to ask what I was doing lol and one man was actually rude to me..... :) oh well..... In the end when someone came over to ask what I was doing, I just told them I worked for the BBC and the village residents had been chosen for the best kept village and everyone those house was photographed was going to receive a £300 cheque ($600) for being photographed for the documentary programme lol...... :) one lady got so excited I almost had to bitch slap her and throw her to the floor to restrain her lol...... now I have visions in me head of her sitting in her house planning a holiday with the money..... I know, I know I was mean BUT these villagers were like in that film 'The Hills Have Eyes' probably all interbred, deformed and scary..... you HAD TO BE THERE lol - they didnt think to question that I had 5 nippers in me car sucking on ice-lollies cos it was well hot and that me car had no BBC stickers on it and that I only had a little digital camera LMFAO....

Southwick Estate is also where I drive out and go pick and cut down our crimbo tree, I have been doing it for years..... and oh my, last years cutting was just the funniest ever.... but thats maybe for another time....



This house is the first house ya come to when driving from where I live through the back Southwick lane... note the maroon door :)..

Anyone that knows me KNOWS how I LOVE white picket fences...... one day aye ....sigh.. see how easily pleased I am lol



The little village green which is opposite the village shop...



The village shop.....



The village shop is joined in a little terrace of houses, but look how lovely they are joined, NOT all flat fronted and the same...... note the post box embedded in the wall of the house next to the village shop....



This is the last little house in the village which is next to the little river by the bridge and he often has courgettes out the front for sale and bags of tomatoes...

Ok the rest, if ya aint bored by now is just a FEW of the many photos of some of the other cottages I took in Southwick village back last year....

So, especially for Toadie, but for anyone that is interested in my world ..... I give you just a tiny glimspe of Southwick Village.... sit back an enjoy...



If you look carefully you can just make out someone in the doorway lol.... he was to shy to be in the photo.... either that or scared of the sunlight lol





A different view of me matie Wendys sisters house...





This is one of me most favourite houses in the village, its about 300 years old or so Im told by the present occupiers lol - its actually wooden, and its like them doodle houses...



Just look at this gorgeous house...













Ok, thats probably enough lol even though I have many many more........ if you have got down this far then ya need a chuftie badge lol

I had to take the last few photos in a hurry cos I sensed the villagers were getting restless with me and thought the gathering on the village green with pickforks and hayforks and sythes and hunched backs and dribbling mouths and chants of 'stranger stranger' might have been for my benefit.... dam bloody interbred freaks......

So, just a little glimpse into my corner of the world...... someday I would LOVE to share some of these places with that someone special..... or special doodle maties.... someday aye.... sigh...

More then enough boring Twaddle of a Thursday morning, especially when I have much to suss and sort out.......

x

49 comments:

buffalodick said...

Wow! Very interesting, and beautiful! Nice slice of a different life than ours over here...

Melody Ann Ross said...

My uncle Toad is going to LOVE this! I love it too. Thanks for the share!

<3 Melody Ann (The Second) ;)

Annie Wan said...

i'd love to visit southwick too one day. you make it sound such a fascinating place.

Casdok said...

Looks delightful!

Pam said...

that one photo doesn't look like a doodle house to me LOL is that a thatched roof? i love the photos!

the house i had w my x had a maroon door...we probably could have fit right in LOL the house i'm in now has a white picket fence (but it's made out of some kind of plastic) lmao

Akelamalu said...

Oh Southwick looks lurrrrverly marmie! I've never been but if I'm ever over that way I'll be sure to see it for myself! :)

JBelle said...

:) Looks exactly like Cornwall to me!

... said...

'STRANGER STRANGER!' HA! I can just see them all, baggy country clothes and silly hats "oy! I'll give you tha strap I will!"

I love this Marmy. LOVE IT!

I can imagine that there could, judging by the very first sign at top, be a subtle insult about male genitalia there among local women.

"That bloke's got a bit of a 'southwick,' if you know what I mean."

Oh man....I'd SOOO love to visit Southwick, or World's End, or your very own Denmead, Mel. I'd love to sit in and chuckle during the town council meetings as they discuss 'that crazy woman at Pump Cottage' and how much she should pay in reparation for the premature death of a garden gnome, etc.. etc.. ...and whether this year's harvest festival should be on such and such a date, or at such and such a location, or whether they should discuss this all at the next town council meeting, depending on the phase of the moon and the current tidal maximum.

Ah...yeah. I'd love it. Sitting in the Red Lion pub, on a Sunday morning, enjoying a proper British fry-up, or maybe just a bacon butty down at the Golden Lion.

Mel, you've fed my English/Anglophile addiction once again...you're such an enabler! HA!

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Unknown said...

Wow! I love this history post. That place is beautiful and has great history. The owners sound like great people if they let those people stay there rent free when they get old. I know in Hawaii, the people who working on the sugar can plantations got rent free homes even when they retired, and their kids got it for $1 a month. Of course, they aren't nice houses, but hey, they are basically free!

I LOVE the part about "I wanted to bitch slap her and wrestle her to the groun!" I bet ALL those people are waiting for their checks cause you know they all told everyone in that village, and when you go back for rubarb, you better dress in disguise! LOL

Ciao Bino said...

I am very curious about those thatched roofs:

Does the roof barber come round occasionally to give them a little touch-up? Does he have a giant comb to get the tangles out? What about split ends?

If you were to keep your laying hens up there, would one of their legs be shorter than the other? (Because of the pitch, you know.)

And are you allowed to smoke up there?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Jen said...

My favorite is the rhubarb house. It looks like the perfect place to spend a summer reading and exploring and eating fresh veggies. Thanks so much for sharing a little piece of your world. Makes me want to travel!

Anonymous said...

I love your pictures, Marmite - thatched roofs are so romantic and fairytale-like. The Rhubarb House is my favorite. Great story! I howled at you being a BBC commentator with little ones in your car. It's a very gullible village. :)

Cedar Street Kid said...

How charming!That is my dream type place.How nice-not just a bunch of glass and concrete,but each place has it's own design and warmth.
Thanks for shaing.

Carol said...

I love these photos!

And your narration.

I'm a desert rat, but a part of me wants to live in a cottage with a thatched roof in an old, cute village like this.

It would just need to be very warm and sunny.

Which, I guess, would ruin the whole thing...

Maggie May said...

Wow, I feel I have really travelled round Southwick with you! Lovely photos! Maybe I will lwarn to put in photos one day!

Lisa said...

Fabulous, glorious... and all those other "ous" words! I feel like I've been there with you. Ooh! I think i have English pouring out of my ears and am going to start talking funny, I mean proper!

Ciao Bino said...

Another question: (I know, I'm full of 'em, or full of something, anyway.)

If you did keep your hens on the thatched roofs, would their eggs be flat on one side so as not to roll down and away, or would they be those special square ones? Although I hear that they are very painful for the poor chickens to lay :( .

katy said...

I would love to live there, it is a proper English Village, and they only pay a nonimal rent too, wonderful, thanks for taking us on the village tour

Betty said...

When I was in England a few years ago, we stayed in a self-catering cottage in the Cotswolds - Bourton-on-the-Hill - and fell in love with all the villages we saw. I want to live in Southwick.

ChrisB said...

That is a beautiful village. How nice to see at least one village in England remaining unspoilt. Where I grew up the Berkeley Estate owned a lot of the property and many of the houses were tied to the job. A lot have now been sold off and in fact my brother bought a cottage that originally was an estate house.

Robin said...

I love this post and the thatched houses. Your little part of the world fascinates me....Thanks!

(and thanks for stopping by my place!)

Unknown said...

This is a magnificent tour! I’ve purchased and own books similar to this post that are not put together nearly as well as what you’ve done.

More, please?

green libertarian said...

Oh
My
God.

Laughing my ass off.

"In the end when someone came over to ask what I was doing, I just told them I worked for the BBC and the village residents had been chosen for the best kept village and everyone those house was photographed was going to receive a £300 cheque ($600) for being photographed for the documentary programme lol...... :) one lady got so excited I almost had to bitch slap her and throw her to the floor to restrain her lol...... now I have visions in me head of her sitting in her house planning a holiday with the money..... I know, I know I was mean BUT these villagers were like in that film 'The Hills Have Eyes' probably all interbred, deformed and scary..... you HAD TO BE THERE lol - they didnt think to question that I had 5 nippers in me car sucking on ice-lollies cos it was well hot and that me car had no BBC stickers on it and that I only had a little digital camera LMFAO...."

Damn woman, you're good.

Great pics, what a beautiful place.

Inbreds and all.

ThomG said...

Great post! From the opening sentence,Toadie and his family live left of the staples in America, through, one lady got so excited I almost had to bitch slap her and throw her to the floor to restrain her lol.. and those glorious photos of that village, you had me all the way. Thanks.

Christy Woolum said...

You are a good ambassador for your country. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to jump on a ship and come visit! Beautiful photography.

Word Tosser said...

I am truly speechless. the pictures are beautiful.. your talking us thru it all was priceless.. and too funny..
Now I have an idea of what it was like for my great grandparents... Thank you so much for putting this to gether for Toadie and the rest of us... Great job!!!
well, so much for being speechless..lol

~:*:*:Sparrow:*:*:~ said...

OMG.

I would do just about anything to live there. *sigh* beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to take all the pictures Marmy!!!!

green libertarian said...

Oh, and forgot, the house I used to own, we had the door painted maroon, before we even moved in.

MarmiteToasty said...

FIRST OF ALL IM GOBSMACKED BY THE RESPONSE TO ME LITTLE POST .... bloody hell, now I have to answer... I so didnt think there would be but a handful of comments....gawds sake..

~((Buffalo))~ what? ya mean you dont have grass on ya roofs lol and live in pixie houses in the shire ;)...xxxxx

~((cast)))~ I hope he does :) glad you liked it... from Melody Anne the first LMFAO....xxxxx

~((mei del))~ I suppose over here we just take these little snippets of golden England for granted, my lads have always called Southwick the Postman Pat Village cos they think it resembles the kids telly programme....xxxxx

~((casdok))~ It truely is a beautiful place....xxxxx

~((((ciara anyones for a leg over up the thatch)))))~ :) I MEANT it was wooden like doodle houses... gawds sake...

LMRSSO@your white picket NON wooden fence.... well funny...xxxxxxx

~((((ake)))~ It is so luvverly, not nuffin to do there but look at the houses or sit in the pub though lol....xxxxxx

~((((JBelle))))~ nah not really, a tad like some parts of Devon though lol.... do you know that Cornwall is me most loved place in England and if I stay in this country I just know that is where I will end up when Im old, if I get to old....xxxxxxxxx

~(((((((((((Toadie)))))))))~ ya liked it then :: - Ive had these photos for yonks now, just waiting for a time to use them..... hehehehe that road sign means that there is a SHARP blind bend as ya come into the village NOT anything to do with willies lmfao... I'll never be able to look at that sign now without smiling lol

Oneday I'll get you and your family over and we will do all the wonderful places that are around here and even Stonehenge and castles and forts, we have sea forts out in the solent and one is a resturant and ya have to get there by boat, and pubs and more pubs lol..... glad you enjoyed YOUR special post...xxxxxxxx

~(((bina)))~ I have a friend that lived in a tied cottage out at Woodmancote, and she had the option to buy it dirt cheap, its on the edge of a huge pond and needed doing up, so she struggled to get a mortgage but bought it she did and the one other cottage next door that was put up for sale on the open market went for half a million quid... so my maties house which is payed under a 100 grand for is worth mega dosh... but she wouldnt sell it for the world, its her home....

Well, some people do so need a bitch slap sometimes and I really have to restrain meself lol....xxxxx


~((ciao bina))~ me rich sister use to own a thatched house, it was actually 3 that had been knocked into one in 1790... it was the most mazing house EVER.... thatches last about 25 years or so, and just occasionally ya need a little repair... we have many around the village I live in to... even though this village is built up in parts...

And yep if ya keep ya chickens in ya thatch they get one short leg just like Haggis's that roam the mountains in Scotland, they have 2 short front legs and have to come down the mountains backwards ;)....

Ya DAFT BLOODY COW lol...xxxxx

~(((jen)))~ the Rhubarb house as I named it is just so beautiful, but it is hard to choose a favourite there are just so many, and many photos I didnt even put up lol.... I so wanna travel to :)...xxxxx

~(((jeanniespokane)))~ yep romantic and special and beautiful and quaint :) and yep some people are so gullible, I have a knack at keeping a dead straight face though lol.....xxxxx

~(((cedar)))~ aint it a refreshing sight to see.... there is not one modern new build in the entire village.. not one.... :) it certainly is a dream place.... xxxxx

~((carol))~ welcome you... well even though they are sooooo old they still mostly (not all) have central heating and mod cons inside but have NOT had their guts ripped out whilst being done up...xxxxx

~((maggie may))~ Somethings I just have a passion for where I live lol.... it took me a while to suss and sort out photos on blobs... ya just have to play around a bit...xxxxx

~((lisa))~ your beginning to sound wellabit proper lmfao.... xxxxx

OK OFF FOR THE SCHOOL RUN....




~(((

MarmiteToasty said...

THATS GOT RID OF THOSE LITTLE BLEEDERS LOL....AND SPRITE IS NOW SLEEPING ON THE BEANBAG.....so....

~((ciao bina))~ well everyone knows that when ya keep ya short legged chickens on ya thatch, their eggs roll down the roof and into the gutter, then along the gutter and down the drainpipe, where sits a little old wizened old lady with an egg box, into which she puts the eggs and then flogs them on gingham covered tables out the front of her cottage...... geeez dont ya know nuffin lol.... (thinking we have a right proper daft cow on our hands here lol).... xxxxx

~(((katy))~ ya can only live there is ya have a draggy leg and a weeping hump and a wonkie eye.... I have already put me name on the list for a cottage LOL....xxxxxxx

~(((betty)))~ welcome you :) - the Cotswolds are just beautiful... ya should of visited down south and not up north when ya came over :).... and ya cant live in Southwick cos they dont do foreigners lol and they class me as foreign and Im only from the next village lol.... do ya know over here, ya have to of lived in a village for over 20 years before you are classed as local or 'one of them' LOL....xxxxx

~((Crispy))~ it truely is a treasure and one which we around here take for granted....xxxxx

~((robin))~ wanna swap countries lol.... and how could I not come over to your blob after you scrolled back and read EVER one of me 100 or so posts lol....xxxxx

~(((((Saintly))))~ goodness, I just type twaddling rubbish, I aint eloquent or correct or anything.... but fanks for the lovely complement :).....

I also so didnt expect but a handful of comments on this post lol.... so it was a bit of a shock this morning when I logged on....

I will this spring and summer venture around my county and write about other places :) just didnt think anyone would really be interested lol.......xxxxxxxx

~(((((((green))))))~ my MrGreen??? is it really YOU?..... oh how Twaddle has MISSED you and your comments, thats if its you of course and if its not then welcome and you have big shoes to fill if you aint my MrGreen lol....

Dont know about 'good' I can only type whats in he head and heart.... thats all I can do.... :) - aint the cottages just luvverly.....xxxxxxxxxxxx for you if your my MrGreen.... xxx if ya not lmfao...

~((((thomg))))~ hey welcome you :).... so ya go all the way do ya LMFAO..... glad ya liked me Twaddle....xxxxx

~((((InlandEmpireGirl)))~ do you know they have invented aeroplanes now for faster travel lol.... well I do love bits and pieces of where I live, we just never truely appreciate the things we have close at hand....xxxxxxx

~((((Cis))))~ YOU speechless NO NEVER lmfao..... I think to those that aint use to seeing these little houses scattered around in their everyday lives, they must seem 'different' and 'special' where to us that live around them everyday they are just 'homes' LOL.... xxxxxxxx

~(((((((pixie)))))))~ I can just see you sitting in one of the cottages.... 'The Pixie Cottage' :).... I only just got out alive taking those photos, the natives were getting restless lol....xxxxxx

~((((green))))~ thats a sign ya know...... I see that as a sign of good wonderful things to come for you :)......xxxxxxxxxxx

Dumdad said...

Thanks for the tour of Suvik - what a lovely place; makes me a bit homesick. Especially the pubs.

Must be a bit annoying sometimes:

"I waited for you in the Lion but you never showed!"

"Yes, I did!"

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm glad you are gobsmacked by all of this. Shows people in another country love to read about you and your life. I always said, if I had to live in any other country it would be yours, I love it there. I have been there a few times and stayed in small villages such as this, so I know a little of what you speak. Thanks for sharing. The Stickman

Go Figure said...

So...when do I get my chuftie badge?

Kati said...

OMG What a beautifully charming little village!!!! I WANNA LIVE THERE!!!! *whine* Seriously, LOVE the pictures, Toasty!!! Thank you for sharing with ALL of us. Those thatched-roof-cottages are beautiful. I've always wanted to live in something like that. *sigh* Dreaming of England, now, thanks much! *wink*

Toriz said...

Not too many of the old villages like that left, is there? Shame really, 'cause people were a bit more willing to help each other out when things still worked like that village seems to.

Mmm... Rhubarb crumble!!!

Ciao Bino said...

Yes, Marmie, you are right, as usual, I am a bit of a daft cow. And in my time, I've been called enough farm animals or parts thereof to fill a proper barn, I suppose, so I'm used to it!

Anonymous said...

Marmite: I haven't heard anything about your stick, has it arrived yet? It's been a couple of weeks and since I haven't heard from Mr. Green, I hope it finds its way there eventually. The Stickman

MarmiteToasty said...

~(((dumdad)))~ yeah there aint nuffin like getting ya bloody lions mixed up ;) ..... and I must admit around here we are spoilt for beautiful old country pubs.... I have a 200 year old pub just 100 metres from me front door down the lane....

I might go on a photo pub crawl around me village and outlying villages and snap some photos for ya :)...xxxxx

~((((((Stickman)))))))~ I honestly was gobsmacked... thought it would just be Toadie commenting lol... I can see you staying in a little cottage, how come HOBBIT springs to mind lol.....xxxxxxx

~((((((((((Starr)))))))))~ I bring one over when I eventually get to 'left of the staples' :)....xxxxxxx

~(((((kati))))))~ we do around these here parts sort of just take the thatch houses for granted.... and dont we all sometimes just wish we lived somewhere else, I of late have wishes it daily LMFAO....xxxxx

~((((toriZ))))~ There are wonderful little villages scattered around here that still have that 'bond' when I moved here before the new estate was tagged onto the edge of this village which doubled the populatation here.... well before then.... this place was a very very close knit place, there are still pockets of it though... ya know, like with me and me twat neighbours lol.... I DONT THINK SO... if he asked to borrow a cup of sugar I would give him salt LMFAO.....xxxxxx

~((((ciao bina))))~ ok, lets get this straight.... when someone calls someone a 'daft cow' or a 'silly cow' it is A TERM OF ENDEARMENT... ya daft cow lol..... it was NOT an insult.... its what ya called ya daft maties.... hope you didnt take it any other way......

I remember the first time when I was in the states a few years ago, me doodle matie done something funny and I turned round and called her 'a bloody silly daft cow' she thought I was being mean, until I explained it was a compliment LOL.....xxxxx

~(((((((((Stickman))))))))~ nope :( - when it does I will let you and MrGreen know straight away :)..... if it arrives soon it could not of arrived at a better time in me life..... I'll explain later...... you will be the first to know when Brian or the Parcel Van comes bearing 'sticks' :)......xxxxxxxx

laughingwolf said...

a great post, thx mt....

Ciao Bino said...

No offense taken! I guess I should have added a little sideways smiley thingiemabob to impart an air of high hilarity (no, not high that way).

I am a bit of a goof, it's true, as I have proven over at the Huckleberry House occasionally.

Toriz said...

Oh, I know there are still a fair few little places like that (for the most part, this area is like it, you just get the odd twat or two, lol) but it's not as common as it once was, and people are more likely to tell you to sod off than they are to hand you a cup of sugar if you need some nowadays. There are still a fair few who'd give their right arm to help a neighbour in need, I was just meaning that it used to be that all but maybe one or two in an area wouldn't hesitate to help out someone in need, and now it's more like only a handful will actually do anything helpful. If you know what I'm trying to say.

Charles Gramlich said...

Beautiful houses. Especialy the Rhubarb house. Love that roof. Interesting about the folks who live in the houses and work for the estate. It sounds like a remnant feudal system. I'm glad to hear they get to stay in the places when they are retired.

WithinWithout said...

An amazing post from an amazing woman...thanks you...wonder if you're a maroon too...

PinkAcorn said...

Love those thatched roofs, cool. Thanks for the tour, It's nice to see how the other half lives and why some of us choose what we choose to live in...

MarmiteToasty said...

~((((Wolfie)))))~ :) fanks...xxxxx

~(((ciao bino)))~ ok, just didnt want ya to think by calling ya a daft cow that was nasty lol cos it werent :)... and Ive been know to rumble up a storm over on Dingleberries to lol....xxxxx

~((((toriZ)))))~ :) well ya still get pockets of good will around the place, and even though me and me twat neighbour just DISLIKE each other imensely..... if he ever needed a hand or a caring word or the shirt off me back, I would still give it to him.... the tosser that he is LMFAO....xxxxx

~((((charles))))~ welcome :) - yeah its quaint and rare and very special.... many of the inhabitents though have wonkie eyes and walk dragging their legs and mumble incoherent words :) JOKING lol....xxxxx

~(((shake it all about))))~ nah I aint an amazing woman... Im just Mel.... I so didnt think anyone would find this post of interest except Toadie lol.... I aint a maroon but I sure love macaroons LOL....xxxxxxx

~(((pinkacorn))))~ glad ya enjoyed the place.... some dont always choose to live in what they have, me, well, even though I love me little house, I now its time to leave it behind and find something else in life..... and thats not only my house but my whole life..... things they are a changing ;).....xxxxx

Anonymous said...

Interbred freaks? Had me rolling with that one. I thought only in America what with our Hutterites, Amish colonies and Cajuns were there still people interbreeding.

...well and of course the royalty in other countries...(not that I am pointing a finger at your lovely Queen)...and perhaps our Appalachian Hillbillies and our rootin' tootin' cowboy president would fit in that village.
I guess they are everywhere. (lol)

Thank you for the fantastic tour of the past couple of centuries. I so love looking at all of the quaint cottages and reading your stories about them. Almost like being there with you.

They remind me of the cottages and villages from one of my favored programs..."The Midsomer Mysteries" featuring John Nettles as Det. Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby. I so love that program and old John too. I love all the British mysteries that I have read or seen. My farorites are a toss up between Miss. Marple played by Geraldine McEwan and Hercule Poirot played by David Suchet. My favorite Sunday afternoons are watching them.

You will not believe this but my outer doors are maroon and my window shutters are too. Maybe in a past life I lived in Southwick.

...People around here thought I was crazy when I had the doors painted maroon but then again they thought I was crazy when I planted Hostas and Iris around the tree trunks. Now many of them are planting them too. What?...they think maybe dirt or rocks look better then flowers and plants?

Anyhow, you do give me pause to be jealous of your neck of the woods. All I see out my windows are rows of tin houses. Not even one old stone marvel with thatched roofs or a white picket fence.

Our northern part of the state is noted for having stucco houses that are pink. GAWDY!!!

I love the rhubarb house...it looks like what I would imagine a "Hansel and Grettle" house would look like...all tiny and cozy and thatched. And I so love rhubarb pie, custard, sauce and jam that I would be there with you every week.
For the flowers and other veggies too.

And listen you silly goose...no bitch slapping little old ladies. loma...just picturing it. You bring me joy with your stories. Oh and your wonderful photos too.

Thanks for sharing buddy.
xxxJolie

Pamela said...

You should be a tour director !~
I'm ready to sign up.

MarmiteToasty said...

~((((jolie))))~ I LOVE reading your stories :) jebus girl, we if ever got together we would be laffing all day - love you....xxxxxx

~(((pamela))))~ that will be $20 please LOL....xxxxx

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