Open Day at the Hare Krishna Manor

On Sunday we went to the family open day at the Hare Krishna temple, Bhaktivedanta Manor outside Watford. This is where we went last year for the wonderful event of letting the cows out after winter - see previous post Cow Fundamentalists to find out a bit more about the manor.

As soon as we arrived we had a tour of the grounds and manor with Deera (not sure if that's the correct spelling) who was a really lovely lady and so generous with the things she shared. I'm always fascinated to find out about other faiths and cultures and it turned out Deera is the same so we had some really good discussions.

One of the monks has obviously got very green thumbs as the flowers around the manor are stunning - so many beautiful displays in pots and hanging baskets.

One of the gardens is designed around medicinal plants and has been designed and looked after for years by one lady. It was a really pretty space. There was a man in the garden playing the Harmonium and singing - lovely.

There is  woodland walk which has lots of quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita which is the Hare Krishna scripture and was first written down about 5000 years ago. There are monks and nuns at the manor - the monks wear orange robes and the nuns are in white.

The manor is a beautiful old Tudor building which was gifted to the Hare Krishna by George Harrison - the inside is stunning. The picture below of the ox and cart was taken from the balcony of one of the bedrooms.

Our next adventure was an ox cart ride down to the farm so that we could say hello to the cows. Did I mention that the open day was free - it's a really great family event for people to come together and learn more about each other.

In the midst of the open day there was a wedding going on in the grounds with some really stunning Hindu outfits - below the bride and groom are posing for their wedding photos.

We then went and bought lunch from the onsite bakery - all vegetarian of course. There was a free lunch provided as part of the day but we thought we'd try some of the yummy looking things in the bakery instead. Whilst we were eating this family of ducks came to visit.

After lunch we visited the George Harrison garden which is a really peaceful space in the grounds. The garden features lots of plants that George loved and quotes from his songs.

I forgot to mention that Jamie, Ken's youngest son, was with us - let's just say he tolerated the experience. As you can see he's a little bit taller than his dad.

So that was our visit to the manor - if you ever get the chance to go to one of their open days then do, it's a great experience.

Until next time be good, stay safe, and do something new this week.

Pamela and Ken
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P.S: Final picture is of a beautiful fountain in the garden.

Flowers, headstones, and a spot of knitting

Last Sunday we discovered there was a flower festival in the 12th century church in Sarratt so headed off for a look. We thought it would just be a few flower arrangements in the church but when we arrived we discovered there was stalls and a barbecue set up in the graveyard - as Ken said, I was in my element.

The picture above shows the view from where we sat to eat our scrummy homemade cake - as you can see there are lots of oldy worldy buildings. The church is lovely and the current building was built in 1190 - that's a very, very, very long time ago!

The theme of the flower festival was it's a wonderful world - here's piccies of some of the displays.

Flowers in lots of different shoes

The front porch of the church decorated beautifully

These flowers represented the Araura Borealis

I loved the above display themed around books and reading - they even included a kindle. My favourite quote in the display was the one below - oh so true.

Flower puppy dog - slightly dodgy looking teeth

Beautiful display incorporating the pulpit

A trumpet made out of flowers completes the wonderful world theme

Flowers in the font

Recreation in flowers of the famous wartime kissing picture

I really liked this display using breakfast crockery and an eggshell - so pretty

Now I couldn't do this post without a few shots of the lovely old headstones - it's very much a graveyard that is still in use interspersed with the old.

Sarratt is a lovely little village with lots of pretty houses - the one below had a cute little Dragon on the end of the roof and the next two are a bit like a tub of Neapolitan ice cream.

On our way home we called into Rickmansworth Aquadrome for lunch at the Cafe in the Park - it was packed with families but as usual the quiet room had lots of space. In the quiet room there was a box of knitted squares and others in progress with a note asking if patrons would help by doing a few rows - the squares are going to be put together into a rug and then raffled to raise funds for Mencap. I was very pleased to see a purple square needing rows so happily added a few - it seemed quite fitting as just that morning I had been talking to my gorgeous niece Emily about knitting.

This is the 100th blog post I've written - how perfect that there were headstones in it and it featured a day out that didn't cost very much. Remember it's the little things that really count in life.

Until next time, stay safe, be good, and keep smiling.

Pamela and Ken
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Historic Rochester

We recently went to Rochester in Kent for the afternoon, travelling around the dreaded M25 to get there. It should have taken us just over an hour but ended up taking nearly two hours due to congestion at the Dartford Crossing - there is a toll at the crossing of £2 per car.

We learnt a very interesting thing during the day - Kentish people can't understand Scottish people! We were looking for a castle and Ken decided to ask some locals for directions with quite amusing (for me) results. The first person was a lady on a fruit and veg stall - my beloved asked where the castle was and she replied with the price of her peaches. Ken then stopped a man walking up the street and again asked where the castle was - the man replied, 'the cancer place?'. It was quite a fascinating phenomenon - as we're off to Kent again in July we'll have to see if it happens again.

When we stopped we thought we were already in Rochester but we were actually just short of it in Strood - still found a lovely church (no graveyard) and a rather interesting statue - Ken thinks it's something to do with shipbuilding.

A very short drive later we were in Rochester - full of ancient buildings and old English quaintness. I loved this weatherboard house with its pretty window boxes.

We walked through the alleyway below - I think these two buildings are having a chat so have to lean towards each other to hear better.

A few more shots from the main street including a waymarker for one of the national cycle routes - we have pictures of a few of these from around the UK.

Rochester cathedral dates from 604 AD - that totally blows my mind to think that the beginnings of this amazing place are 1410 years old!! The current building has bits that are over 900 years old and there are lots of different architectural styles due to various attacks over the years.

As you walk around the cathedral there is a real sense of the history in every nook and cranny - I love touching the stones and imagining the people who have gone before. I also love how within such an ancient spiritual space they have incorporated modern art and sculpture - here are just a few.

This is the Holy Water Stoup made out of spun copper

This beautiful depiction of Mary and Jesus is carved out of Yew

Textile art by Jacqui Parkinson which is touring UK cathedrals

Outside in the cloister are the remains of the priory - very pretty garden with yet more sculptures.

Sunny selfie

Within the cathedral there is so much to look at and I hope these photos give you a sense of what a special place it is. Our only disappointment of the day was that the crypt was closed for repairs.

Beautiful pattern on one of the doors

The high alter which shows gothic architecture

Incredibly beautiful carved doorway

These beautiful panels commemorate people who lost their lives in the war
in Afghanistan in the late 1800's - how sad that nothing has changed

The organ produced an amazing sound - we were lucky enough to catch the end of
a service so got to hear it in all it's glory

These are known as the pilgrim steps where medieval pilgrims would walk
- as you can see the stone steps under the boards are very worn by hundreds
of years of pilgrimage. I got down and put my hands on the stone steps
to absorb the history from them

This modern depiction of baptism was completed in 2004

This chappy was my favourite of the day - I think he's a combination
of the grim reaper and father time

When we were outside admiring the carvings my beloved commented that it looked like there were bats carved on the cathedral - no Ken I think you'll find that they are angels.

It was a lovely place to visit and even though there isn't a picture we did stop in the Cathedral tea rooms for sustenance, and yes we did find the castle.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and take care of you and yours.

Pamela and Ken
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