Funny Signs I've seen in Great Britain

These signs need no explanation except to say they have all made me smile.

No waiting?

Polite Notice ... so British.

Ok, this one was in a gift shop but it still made me laugh.

I didn't know what a naked light was.  I had to ask.  It's an open flame.

Just what I needed as we neared the end of a long walk.

Dead Slow? ... as in stop?

Who's priorities are they talking about?

 Just drop him off at this pub .

 On a window near the Story Museum in Oxford.

 So reasonable.

 At first I thought this said "Ready Taken"  as in the road already taken. Then I though it meant to have a token ready for a toll booth.  Instead, Ready Token is a hamlet in Gloucestershire

 How does one potter?

A sign seen in Kent.  Thanks for the warning.

...and may I add for Hedgehogs sake too!

No idea!

Downton Abbey film shoot in the pouring rain

It was a great day for ducks but not such a great day for filming.  Despite the pouring rain, the filming went on in Bampton today. Here is some video and photos. 

Link to more video of watching the filming in the pouring rain:(I haven't figured out how to post more than one video on a blog yet)

http://youtu.be/fjLA6Od8egQ
http://youtu.be/rYpPdrGYilE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bot7_nrm6qU&feature=youtu.be

 Tom Branson, played by Allen Leech

Daisy Lewis, played by Sarah Bunting

Spoiler alert!  Looks like things are heating up between Tom and Daisy!

Downton Abbey Returns to Bampton for Season Five

Bampton, Oxfordshire (20 minutes from Oxford) has turned into the village of Downton again.   The cast and crew of Downton Abbey are back this week filming village scenes for Season 5   

We were not allowed to take pictures or film during takes, only in between takes and while rehearsing.  Sorry there isn't much to see in this footage. There was a tall wall in the way. In this scene Lord Merton is walking hesitantly to the front door of Mrs. Crawley's home and knocking. Mrs. Crawley is in the garden and comes around from the side of the house.  They exchange greetings and then enter the house. 

Lady Mary with Lord Grantham...

 ...aka Michelle Dockery and Hugh Boneville.  I love Mary's hat!

 Mrs. Patmore, her lovely hat, and an unknown character

  Lesley Nicol plays Mrs. Patmore

 Mrs. Patmore and extras walking through the square

Thomas Barrow arrives on the set...

 ...also known as  Rob James-Collier

 Setting up a scene where Lady Mary and Lord Grantham are walking through the square and encounter  Thomas Barrow.  There is an exchange of words and they looked puzzled after Thomas leaves them.

 My favorite character: Isis, Lord Grantham's dog.  Isis followed his master everywhere on set because actor Hugh Bonneville kept treats in his coat pocket!

 Look what is on the director's chair

 Most of the extras in the village scenes are Bampton residents.  I was told that one of the criteria to be selected as an extra was that you had to have natural colored hair.  If you had dyed hair, you would not be considered. 

 Lord Merton, Lady Mary's Godfather and possibly Mrs. Crawley's love interest (aka Douglas Reith)

Three lucky young girls got to miss school and be extras on the set. What fun!

To see a paparazzi's photos from today's shoot: 

 http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/downton-abbey-films-season-5-gallery-1.1767616

  

Clearly we left too soon and missed Dame Maggie Smith

Bluebell Woods around Oxford

They are back… Bluebell season has begun!

For the next month or so, various woodlands throughout the U.K light up with a brilliant sapphire blue carpet which is simply magical to see, especially on a sunny day.  I wish I could convey how beautiful bluebell woods are.  In my view, bluebell woods should be U.K. National Treasures. 

Park Woods, Nuffield Place 

Around Oxford, there are several great places to see the bluebells. Grab your wellies or good walking shoes and visit one of these National Treasures near you. 

(Radley Woods behind our home in Kennington)

 Best places to see bluebells around Oxford:

Harcourt Arboretum:  6 miles south of Oxford   

http://www.harcourt-arboretum.ox.ac.uk/

Bagley Woods: Kennington, 2 miles south of Oxford

http://www.walkjogrun.net/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=633FF403-040F-74EC-3CE591D0265E3AC2

Shotover Park:  3 miles east of Oxford center

https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory_record/907/shotover_country_park

Magdalen College: City center

http://www.jaani.net/image/4694

Sydlings Copse: 3.5 miles northeast of Oxford

http://www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/Sydlings-Copse

Wytham Great Woods:  4 miles northwest of Oxford

http://www.arkive.org/eco-regions/wytham-woods/image-H88

Besselsleigh Common Wood: near Wootton, about 5 miles southwest of Oxford

http://visitwoods.org.uk/en/visit-woods/Pages/large-wood-map.aspx?wood=24887&site=Besselsleigh-Common-Wood&from=Oxford#.U1Z2j-ZdWMA

Blenheim Palace grounds: 10 miles northwest of Oxford
https://www.blenheimpalace.com/

Foxholes: 4 miles north of Burford

http://www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/Foxholes

Bradbury Hill: Near Faringdon and owned by the National Trust, is said to be one of the best bluebell woods in the country.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/buscot-coleshill-estates/

Great Coxwell wood at Colehill

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1355784017629/

Nuffield Place Woods near Nettlebed

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nuffield-place/

Stoke Wood: (north of Bicester, near J10 of the M40) has lovely bluebells and orchids in the spring. There is a path from the car park suitable for young children or those with limited mobility, or lots of little paths to explore for the more adventurous.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood-information/stoke-wood/

The best time to spot bluebells is the middle of April to the middle of May. They usually bloom in the south first, slowly spreading north towards Scotland as spring progresses.

 Most bluebells are found in ancient woodland where the rich habitat supports a whole host of species. 

Ancient woodland inlcludes woods from the 17th century and some may even be remnants of the original wildwood that covered Britain after the last Ice Age.  

 Have I missed any?  Do you have a favorite bluebell woods nearby? Please let me know.

Interesting facts about bluebells:

• Nearly 50% of the world’s bluebells can be found in the UK.
• There are some in western Germany but none in Scandinavian
• In folklore the bluebell is considered to be the flower of the house goblin.
• Anyone who wears a bluebell is compelled to tell the truth
• The bluebell is a symbol of constancy and is probably the origin of the '….something blue…' that a bride should wear on her wedding day.
• The bluebell is being studied for its medicinal qualities because it contains things called water-soluble alkaloids that could be useful in developing drugs to fight cancer.
•  In the Bronze Age, people used bluebell glue to attach feathers to their arrows
• The Victorians used the starch from crushed bluebells to stiffen the ruffs of their collars and sleeves.
• Legend also says that a field of bluebells is intricately woven with fairy enchantments.
• Bees can 'steal' nectar from bluebells by biting a hole in the bottom of the bell, reaching the nectar without pollinating the flower.
• According to folklore, hearing a bluebell ring is a sign of impending death!
• Bluebell sap was used to bind pages to the spines of books

For more information about Bluebell Woods:

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/bluebells 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/uk/bluebell-woods.html#cr

http://visitwoods.org.uk/en/visit-woods/things-to-do/nature/Pages/bluebell-images.aspx#.U1aDcuZdWMA

A Country Walk from Swinbrook

 About 20 minutes west from Oxford is the tiny village of Swinbrook, nestled among the western Cotswolds hills. From Swinbrook there are dozens of "Footpaths" that lead through the fields and woods of the Windrush Valley,  inviting everyone to take a country walk. 

 One of the many things I love about living in the U.K. is that there is public access to walk just about anywhere.  Today we followed a "Footpath" trail through some fields and then along the Windrush river.

 While we were definitely in farm country, the farm houses looked more like where the gentry would live. Some of the homes where stunning!

 So were the farms.

Walking is very much a part of life here.  There is still an attitude that there is no need to take the car if you can get there by walking, bike, or bus.

Besides, one can see so much more by walking than by car ...

...like all kinds of farm animals

...and baby lambs that are just a few hours old

 Geese

 Birds (Pied Wagtail)

 And of course, pubs! This is the Swan Inn in Swinbrook.  It is owned by Dame Deborah Vivien Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and the last sister of the Mitford Sisters. 

 Although they are not that well known in America, if you ask an English person of a certain age about the Mitford Sisters, he or she will know exactly who you are talking about.  The Mitford sisters were six beautiful and talented aristocratic young women who were raised near Swinbrook and who came of age in the interwar period (imagine Downton Abbey time period). These women lived, for the most part, amazing (though not admirable in all cases) lives: 

Nancy, the oldest, became a best selling novelist; Pamela lived a country life after marriage; Diana, the society beauty, who left her husband for the fascist Oswald Mosley and who befriended Hitler; Unity, who became obsessed with Hitler and met him 140 times during a short period before WWII; Jessica, the rebel, who eloped at 18, became a communist, moved to the U.S. and became a best selling author on such topics as the funeral home industry; and Deborah, the youngest, who made the most brilliant marriage, to the future Duke of Devonshire.  Debo was the last remaining sister and her estate owns the Swan Inn in Swinbrook.  She died on September 24, 1914 and is buried at her beautiful family estate Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. 

Click here for her obituary:  

 Four of the six sisters are buried in the Swinbrook's St. Mary's Church graveyard. 

 Inside the church are unusual monuments to the Fettiplace family – six effigies in two triple tiers ‘like passengers on an old-fashioned steamer’. There is also a plaque to Tom Mitford, the only son who was killed in WWII. 

On the way home we delighted in the "fields of gold"  -- Rapeseed fields in full bloom. 

For more information about the Mitford sisters:

http://www.theswanswinbrook.co.uk/the-mitfords/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/climate/ei_sisters.html
http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/marvelous-mitford-sisters.html