Sunday, April 15, 2012

English Spring In My Step












Nothing like a nice phone call from England to remind you of how much you love all things English!
My wonderful in-laws said that I have their permission to show their photos on here.  So, say hello to Joan and Peter!  You can also see Betty, their good friend and neighbor who always places the American flag over the door to greet us upon our arrival.  (She is hopping out of her snazzy red car and Richard took this photo of her on the move!)  She is also the one who places the Union Jacks in the milk bottle! Thank you, Betty!
There are so many photos that we made at the Hydro Hotel that I need to do a separate post on that alone, but I couldn't resist the photo of the  chocolate eclair that our son enjoyed and the big grin of anticipation to go with it!  Joan and Peter celebrated their anniversary while we were there, and I took a good photo of them cutting the cake. (It's hard to take a bad photo of them!

Our handsome son is posing with his grandparents in one of the photos with the lovely ceanothus in the background. The intense blue is just incredible. Do you see how Joan & Peter match the blue in their clothing? They should be models!  Speaking of blue, the bluebell walk was amazing, we usually just miss them blooming, but we finally got to see them. (I have written a post "England At Her Best" if you would like to go back and see more bluebell photos!)  
 
   All of these photos are from Eastbourne in England. (Joan and Peter, I hope you can see from these photos how very good looking you are!  Thanks for calling today, lovely to speak with you both.)  And for your enjoyment, Yo Yo Ma playing Bach.  Hope you enjoy this, Peter!  And for anyone else who wants to listen!   (A man comes on at the end of it talking about something, but since the music has finished, I ignore him.)  Hope everyone has a lovely week ahead!

29 comments:

  1. A bluebell wood! What a lovely couple, and I really like the Beatle's Tee shirt.
    I muted the baseball game I am watching to listen to Yo Yo Ma and his amazing cello. It was worth every second!

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    1. Dear Julie,
      Thank you! Glad you liked the clip from YouTube also.
      The bluebells were just like a dream come true for me.

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  2. The bluebell wood is fantastic; I have heard about several such places in England but never seen it for myself.
    Yes, your in-laws do look very good, and like the kind of people it is most pleasant to spend time with.
    Only this week and the next one for me, and then I'll be on the plane to Yorkshire to see my family again :-)

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    1. Dear Meike,
      The bluebells should be blooming for you! Will you be anywhere near West Yorkshire? There is a bluebell walk at a place called Hardcastle Crags. (I've never been to Yorkshire, I just looked it up!) No matter where you are in Yorkshire, you should still see pretty gardens with bluebells and forget-me-nots!
      You can guess that my in-laws would be nice, look at my Richard!

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    2. We're in North Yorkshire, based in Ripon, but will go to meet the extended family, most of which are in South Yorkshire. One of my aunts says she and my uncle will go hiking with us, and of course they will suggest a nice route for us; no idea where that will be, but I am sure it will be lovely! My mother-in-law's front garden is full of forgetmenots :-)

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  3. Hello Kay:
    What a wonderful 'family album' this post represents with everyone looking so very relaxed and smiling. The bluebell wood, about which others have commented, is absolutely lovely and epitomises so well the English countryside in spring. And Eastbourne, just down the road from us when we are in Brighton. The same pebbles on the beach!

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    1. Dear Jane and Lance,
      The bluebells were everything that I imagined and even more. And hey, I have some photos of Brighton too, I might have to post those, I might even see you walking by in the background!!

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  4. Really like the photos, Kay! The chocolate eclair looks delicious. Thanks for the comment on my post!

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    1. Hey Paul!
      Thanks for YOUR comment. Keep running and singing (at the same time, if you want to!)

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  5. Hello Joan and Peter!
    The picture cutting the cake is lovely, they radiate happiness.

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    1. Dear Tracey,
      Can you tell that I was shaking with laughter when I took the photo? That is why they are a bit out of focus! It was a fun party with great food and drink!

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  6. I've never been to Eastbourne, but the pier reminds me of lots of other British seaside resorts I've visited over the years.

    I have a CD of Yo yo Ma playing that cello piece, by the way!

    Lovely, happy photos.

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    1. Hey Joanne,
      I love the piers in England. I feel sadness for the one that burned in Brighton.
      So glad that you like the music I chose here, I hope that Peter will like it too! (He is the classical expert.)

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  7. You had me at eclair, Kay :) Lovely photos! Nothing like good family and friends to make life that much more wonderful.

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    1. Dear Martha,
      I am happy that Joan & Peter allowed me to show their photos here. And Joan, especially remembered her grandson's joy at that eclair!

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  8. You have a lovely family! The eclair looks enticingly good, and i do love those flowers.

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      It is always so lovely and those bluebells! I have never been to Kew Gardens or the Gardens at Versailles, but I promise you I could not have enjoyed any other garden as much as those bluebells in the wood.

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  9. Lovely photos, love England! Your In-laws look like lovely people,how nice to have English relatives.

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    1. Now, do you see why I call myself, Georgia Girl With An English Heart?

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  10. Like Martha, that eclair pretty much eclipsed everything, hehe!! Your in-laws look like lovely people and how wonderful are those bluebells? Just gorgeous :)

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    1. Dear Jane,
      Thanks, and I'll bet you can guess that my son takes after me, and can be very happy waiting for some good food!
      Did you see my post from last year "England At Her Best"? I think I had a few photos there of the bluebells.

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  11. Let me type my comment as I continue salivating over that eclair photo. Whew! Really lovely photos. I am adding a "bluebell tour" to my bucket list. I love that shade of blue. I wrote about a cello player named Joshua Roman recently ~ he's called "The Classical Rock Star". He's amazing, amazing, amazing. And he's played with Yo-Yo Ma before ~ which is what reminded me. I think you'd love him as much as I do....

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    1. Dear Audrey,
      Yes, I remember it but I might not have left a comment. He is really good! I will have to let my father-in-law know about him. No, wait, I won't have to, if he reads this. (Peter, type that name in a search engine and you can read all about him!)
      Thanks Audrey, you have wonderful taste, my dear, just like me!

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  12. My handsome son was in Eastbourne for a few days last week.

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    1. Hey John!
      You should have told me and I could have let him know the best place to get Fish & Chips, I think we know them all!

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  13. Lovely photos. The bluebells are out so very, very early this year, it's astonishing.

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  14. Dear Jenny,
    Thanks! And is has been the same here. On my birthday last year at Stone Mountain, the diamorpha was in perfect white bloom at end of the lovely red plants, this year...completely bloomed out already. For us, it was the very early hot weather.
    We were SO lucky that we got to see those bluebells as late in May as we did, at their BEST!

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  15. Wonderful photos! The gardens are so lovely and the eclair, what can I say! Thank you for sharing this little bit of England with us!

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    1. Oh, thank you! And I am glad that you enjoyed it too, puts a little spring in my step just to look at these photos!

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