Weekend round up August 25th 2020

 

Last weekend was a particularly good weekend. We are trying to make the summer last as long as possible although the heatwave has gone and the rains have started, we can still get outside when we can.

So with that in mind we drove towards Lewes to see if we could find a field of sunflowers. Someone had posted a glorious photo of them on insta and although we had previously visited Four Winds Farm, they weren’t as tall as we had hoped so we wanted to check it out.

Sadly we caught them too late and only a few of them were still yellow. But now we know where to come next year this field will be incredible! We weren’t sure who owned it, it’s on a public footpath and there were no signs to say ‘don’t pick flowers’ or ‘give your boyfriend a break from taking pictures of you in a flower field’  but it seemed odd to have this many flowers growing for no apparent reason? I might end up regretting posting this in case it is overrun with people next year! 

Mr Poachie and I then stopped off at a nearby pub for a cleansing ale and to discuss my new exciting project! I have started working with Chiddingstone castle to manage their social media. This is an absolute dream of mine; I get free reign of a gorgeous venue to photograph. I can brainstorm possible future events to organise and I get to spend lots of time being visually creative. It is perfect for me and I am so happy that they have let me join the team! 

Mr Poachie is really great when helping me with projects like this as he is super practical whereas I am a dreamer and get over exited and carried away. He helps me organise my thoughts and helps put the wheels in motion. 

I am sure there will be much more Chiddingstone Castle content along the way but back to the weekend.

On Saturday we took Mr Poachie’s teenagers out to Bodiam boating station as we had all wanted to try SUP’s or paddle boarding. We were all talking about going in for a swim, giving each other banter about who might fall in, who wouldn’t be able to stand up etc... none of this mattered as the winds were so incredibly strong it took all our strength to move forward only to be shot backwards, ricocheting from bank to bank. It was very funny but we were forced to admit defeat after 15 minutes as the winds were just too strong. I would definitely go again but pray for a calm day! We have visited a few times previously which I have posted here

Plastic cups for wine is a serious no no but these are 'unprecedented times'. 

When visiting Bodiam boating we would usually eat there as well but I had seen another place nearby that looked really cool, so after having a quick post paddleboard drink at the Lime Wharf cafe we drove over to the Hub at Bodiam. It is a very funky campsite and what lured me there was the promise of cocktails and Mexican food trucks. 

We have done this quite a lot this summer, visited breweries and other venues etc which have had pizza vans and street food trucks. I think it’s great and we have certainly eaten well! 

On Sunday we had a lazy lie in and then packed up some snacks and went on a bike ride. There is a really easy, lovely route nearby that is flat and scenic with plenty of picnic points and it runs next to a river so it ticks a lot of my countryside boxes. I really love being on my bike as it makes me feel young and free but only halfway into our ride Patsy got a flat tyre! After using her own pump and then trying again with another one that two other cyclists kindly let us use, it was no good, she was flat! So we had a very noisy journey home as the back mud guard was rattling so loudly with every bump in the path, but I still had fun all the same. 

Of course no bike ride would be complete without a congratulatory glass of rosé! 

Lockdown has made me realise the mark up price of wine... I like to drink wine, as you may have noticed, and I don't mind paying a little more for it if I know it's delicious. I would happily spend between £10 - £20 on a bottle to drink at home so you can imagine my shock to be charged £14 for a, admittedly large, glass of wine in the pub! I could get one or two bottles for that! 

When we got home we checked on our veggies. The patch is looking good! The French beans are really sprouting and the carrots and coming up fast. The lettuces are taking a little longer but they are coming. We also have tomatoes that are so delicious and lots of fresh basil which I love the smell of.

And that was that! A very lovely weekend of eating, being outdoors and relaxing. I hope you all had a good one!