Canons, Motor Oil and Soho Queens

Well it’s turned out to be a lovely Easter weekend – the weather was no where near as predicated or as expected for a UK bank holiday.

We made the most of it on Saturday and took a drive up to Northamptonshire – a part of the UK neither of us have been to before.

Our first stop was Canons Ashby House and thanks to our new combination of TomTom Cradle + iPhone + Navigon, we got there very easily and efficiently (in fact I would say the Navigon is leaps and bounds better than our old TomTom).

Canons Ashby was first built by the Dryden family during the Elizabethan period, using stone from the Augustinian priory which previously occupied the site. The private church is all that remains of the priory and it does look odd as you really feel there is a huge part of the church which is missing. Of course we have Henry VIII to thank for this as it was ransacked during the dissolution of the monasteries.

After exploring the wonderful house we had a wonderful home made lunch before asking a volunteer what else she could recommend in the area. She kindly suggested Upton House so we made the 30 mile drive across to Warwickshire.

I don’t think we could have had such a big contrast in houses if we tried.

Uniquely among country houses owned by the National Trust it was acquired almost entirely for its art collection, and it is presented more as an art gallery than a private home. The collection was assembled by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, who owed his fortune to the fact that his father Marcus Samuel was the founder of the oil company Shell Transport & Trading. The collection includes paintings, porcelains and tapestry that you would normally find in a museum.

I was particularly taken with a Rembrandt hanging above the main stair case and a Venitian scene by Canaletto in the gallery.

Upton really was a 1920’s playground and this is captured wonderfully by the National Trust w ho make you feel very welcome here and invite you to take in the spirit of that time (but not in a corny reenactment way – we leave that for English Heritage!).

As you can see from the photo above, Richard took full advantage of the “Nook” – I must admit it was lovely to be able to sit back in front of the open fire and listen to the 1920’s tunes playing on the valve radio.

Yesterday we went into London where we met up with friends in Soho for drinks and then onto Cafe Emm for Sunday lunch. None of us were expecting much from the lunch but it was lovely.

I couldn’t believe how quiet it was in town yesterday. Of course most of the large shops were shut due to some bizarre law that the Catholics managed to get passed that means any shop over a certain size cannot open on Easter Sunday. This didn’t stop people trying though as smaller boutiques were open and there were plenty of people window shopping.

Apart from buying a birthday card in DV8 I don’t think we actually did any other shopping so the law works.

Yesterday was lots of fun and as always it’s great to catch up with good friends (even if they were checking out the “talent” in the Duke of Wellington!).
”
I did use Foursquare quite extensively yesterday so it you want to stalk me now you have an opportunity! (That’s my way of saying I am still not sure of the use of Foursquare but feel free to follow me if you want).

So the sun shone again and we left London bathed in spring sun and long shadows were falling across the ground. I guess it was the inspiration for me to take this shot of Richard. Just a simple snap on the train but I think it captured the mood perfectly:
So today is Easter Monday and this long weekend will soon be over. We’re not planning much today – I think we’ve achieved quite a bit this weekend and it’ll be nice to have a rest prior to heading back to work tomorrow.