I’ve been saying that we should visit Seaton Delaval Hall for ages and I finally got Ma to agree as the 40-ish minute bus ride from Newcastle seemed like a better prospect than the drive from Amble did last year.
I didn’t bring my camera with me for this trip so all photos are from my phone..
The Hall was designed by John Vanbrugh, who designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, and while Seaton Delaval is not quite on that scale, you can see it’s in the same style (though one of the volunteers did point out that Blenheim has a bit more gilt – which scans for the Churchills!).
Unfortunately, Seaton Delaval didn’t last very long as a family home, building finished in 1728, it was destroyed by fire in 1822 and for 40 years had no roof.
It was sold to the National Trust in 2009 and there has been extensive work to stop it falling further into decay but there are no plans to fully restore it.
We got the bus from Newcastle, it took about 45 minutes and it’s well worth a visit.
We had a fabulous couple of days in Newcastle, it is my favourite UK city after London and the only one I’d contemplate living in full time if I didn’t already live in London. (Although I would also consider Dublin and Paris – although they would be difficult to live in given that we’re not in the EU anymore and I’m really conflicted about applying for an Irish passport*)
We went to Tynemouth and Seaton Delaval and the Baltic. I love the Baltic, it’s just the right amount of space to do enough art, I find the Tate and Tate Modern can be a little bit overwhelming (but I also need to go more often and then it would be less overwhelming!) I love self catering holidays but there was something lovely about not cooking at all for three days. Every morning, I got up and walked along the Quayside to Greggs to pick up coffee and bacon rolls for Ma and I to eat while we planned our day. We ate at Riley’s in Tynemouth, Six at the Baltic (thanks to Laura for the rec) and the Real Greek on our first night. It was delightful.
We got back on Thursday afternoon, and I spent the weekend sorting myself out and tending to the plot.
This week, I’m all about home and work because I have this week and Monday and then I’m on leave again, this time to do more boring things, like have a haircut and sort of the cupboard of doom!
Have a good week!
*possibly a post for another time but my while I could work it out and apply for an Irish passport, it feels like I’m taking advantage of an entire nation to get the advantages of an EU passport. I have a complicated enough relationship with my Dad (yes he’s been dead for 20 odd years – what of it?). Aside from anything else, Dad had pretty strong feelings about claiming to be from a country that he didn’t grow up in. He used to say that he was born in the UK, housed in the UK, educated in the UK and didn’t have to deal with any of the Church nonsense that that his cousins in Ireland had to deal with, so no he was British and of Irish descent. I would say that I’m English but I also know that he always said British and not English, (he was the child of immigrants and it’s complicated).
Woman convicted of murdering baby she wanted to adopt. Jesus this is just awful, how can you talk about a baby like this? If a baby is crying and you can’t handle it, you make sure they are safe and you walk away, you don’t smack them.
On Tuesday, we went to Tynemouth. We visited the Priory and then walked to King Edward’s Bay to have lunch at Riley’s Fish Shack.
We didn’t book, but they were happy to set us up with two deckchairs, a table and a windbreak
We shared the anchovies and I had a Seasalt Negroni (Hepple Gin, Martini Rosso, Campari and sea salt), Ma had a gin and tonic (Hepple Gin and Artisan Tonic).
The service was great, friendly but relaxed, I could have sat there all day and I think they would have let me!
I’d ordered the Salt Cod, which was amazing and so much food.
Salt Cod
Ma had the Monkfish tail, which had equally generous portions.
Monkfish
It was a perfect way to spend a couple of hours on the beach, with a beautiful view and excellent food.
This week, I was on a mission. There were a couple of things I felt had to be done;
get all the plants in the living room into the polytunnel and work out how many I have and where they are going;
to get all the summer and winter squash sown and in the polytunnel;
to get all the compost to the plot; and
plant the blackberries into pots.
I got all of it done and watched my plot neighbour’s bees, swarm.
The polytunnel on Sunday
I’m a bit worried about the plants in the poly, given how hot it is in London this week, but I left them in water and I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed.
I’ll hopefully get the tomatoes out on Friday when I’m back!
ChivesCalendulaMore irisesThe first borage flowerMy favourite rosesLavender about to flower
The irises on the plot came up just in time for my grandmother’s birthday.
Iris Lillian Bright was (I’m told) named Iris because they were blooming in her father’s garden when she was born (and she would probably have been born at home). She was by all accounts lovely and I’m sure I would have loved her but she was only a year older than I am now when she died. My grandparents marriage wasn’t a great success, it may have gotten smoother if they’d had more time, it may have got worse. We can’t know, I’ve always thought that not having Iris around probably gave Grandad a chance to shine with his grandchildren. Although, if Iris had lived longer Ma would probably have gone onto A levels and University and I wouldn’t have existed.
I also don’t have a picture of her by herself!
I will always have irises in my garden mostly because they are pretty and also because they are a part of my childhood, Grandad used to bring irises in May, and because they link me to all the people that are a part of who I am even though I never met them!
Today, I’m headed north for a couple of days in my second favourite UK city. We’re headed to Newcastle, to go to the beach at Tynemouth, the Baltic and finally I get to go to Seaton Delaval Hall.
The Baltic
Short but sweet. I’m ready for a break and while I’m only technically away from home for 3 days, I have the week off work, which will give me a day to do things like plant tomatoes out…
Back to the music that you inherit, this one is from Ma. There is a story. She heard it on the radio and then went to the record shop and sang it because she didn’t catch what it was called. Not something I ever had to do because I heard it a lot growing up. And not something anyone would be able to do now!
I am all for civility, of course I am. Here’s the thing though: civil rights have never been won by grovelling at the feet of people who hate you and saying, ‘Please sir, can I have a few more rights?’
A fresh approach: cut food bills by growing your own fruit and veg. Some of this advice is pretty good. I love growing both carrots and potatoes but far more cost effective are things like salad and soft fruit (this is why have I eight blueberry bushes, two blackcurrant bushes, a boysenberry bush, two beds of raspberries, and the reason for adding strawberries last year and small blackberries this year) but if you’re thinking about this, think about space and what you like to eat. I remember at the height of the lockdown, explaining to a lovely couple that while a square meter bed, can provide quite a lot of food it wouldn’t feed them and the lead time for salad is five to six weeks. Also if you have nothing set up, the savings to your food bill have to be set against the cost of set up. Ma and I budget £100 a month for the plot and that’s not just for growing, it also helps with the cost of processing. We make pesto and while it’s marginally cheaper than buying it, I do need to buy the other ingredients and pay for the energy to store it. So it may just be more cost effective to pay for one jar, than having to spend the equivalent cost of 10 or 20 jars in one hit. Having said that, growing, processing, cooking and eventually eating food from your garden, is beneficial for more than just your budget, but if you’re really pushed for cash, it’s probably not a solution.
We’re coming up to halfway through the month and I haven’t planted anything outside.
I’ve got most of the tomatoes into the polytunnel and we’ve sown celeriac, peas, carrots and beetroot outside but aside from tomatoes, I’ve only sown a couple of butternut squash and some basil. I’m not struggling, I’m just determined not to worry too much about it, things will catch up.
This weekend we topped up the Red Duke of York potatoes and I planted the sweet potatoes that arrived last week. I’ve put them in the polytunnel this year to see if they will do better in there, I just put them into the bed that has the salad in it, but the time the sweet potatoes start to grow, the salad and radishes will be done, and if they aren’t then they can all fight it out. That bed also has a rogue potato plant in it, which is obviously one left behind by Joe, so I know it’ll be a Charlotte, we’ll see if being in the ground since 2019, is good for production! We also had a bit of a clear out and started to fill the second bed as it’s time to think about planting that one up, My working plan is melons and a cucumber, I don’t know what’s too much for these beds, so it’ll either be over or under planted, just right is not a state I excel at.
Peony
It’s also path tidying time, I strimmed one side and Ma and I embarked on a tidy/weed of the paths and beds. Next week we’ll work on the more over grown side and probably do it twice.
We pulled up the last of the spring greens so we can start to prep those beds for squash and beans and I moved the arch constructed the week before last to the long beds. Lastly, I had a tantrum-y clear up of the shed.
It’s looking pretty right now, the poppies, cornflowers, irises and knautia are starting to flower. My favourite yellow rose is flowering and my peony has produced one perfect bloom, which is a result because I moved them and wasn’t expecting anything from it this year. The borage, orache, pot marigold, and other assorted annuals are coming up. The perennial cornflowers are blooming too and the freesia bulbs that I planted up a couple of weeks ago are pushing up through the soil.
View from the back
In the food garden we have our first embryo berries (blueberries, blackcurrant and raspberries) and plums, and the strawberries (alpine and ordinary) and boysenberries are in full bloom. I also succumbed to the lure of a special offer and we now have three patio blackberries (cascade) to plant up. Fruit is expensive and it doesn’t need the care that tomatoes do so even though I’ll never be entirely self-sufficient, it’s a very cost effective thing to grow.
Raspberries
The garlic and onions are looking strong and the chives are flowering, although it’ll be a while there are pea, carrot and beetroot seedlings (we are still waiting on the parsnips!), it’s all pretty exciting
My aim is to have all of the summer crops in their final beds by the next bank holiday weekend, which is about three and a half weeks. So this is my worklist from now until then:
Build arches for squash and bean beds
Top up the beds that haven’t had compost yet
Cover potatoes
Plant blackberries in new pots
Sow climbing beans next to the arches (giantes/purple and green french beans)
Sow bush beans in beds (yellow french beans/Jacobs cattle beans)
Sow cucumber bed
Sow melons and cucumber in polytunnel
Sort the boysenberry/strawberry/gooseberry area next to polytunnel
Sow winter squash/summer squash for planting out (if it hasn’t already been done by the time this post goes out)
