29 September 2026

 After a morning visit to Moreton-in-Marsh, we drove to the nearby Batsford Arboretum for a long walk -

Passing Batsford House here, the Victorian mansion owned by the grandfather of the Mitford sisters (they are everywhere in this region) -

Here in search of Redwoods -

The wee boy is in his element in nature, and serenely but interestedly took it all in. I've no doubt that he will very soon know the names of dozens of trees and plants from his father, who points them all out to him now -

I collected some beautiful leaves from the ground -

then decided to leave them as an offering to the Buddha, in lieu of coins which many people had left in his open hand - 

Tonight we had a treat (birthday gift from B) of a chef who came to the house to cook dinner for us in the dining room -

Very delicious it was - the lamb from a farm 6 miles away, he told us, slow-cooked to perfection, perfectly pink -