Haere ra Ingarangi, ka hoki tatou

Farewell England, we will be back

It all got too much for me, the money, the waiting, the uncertainty - even the wretched decision making. But the decision has been made and with a real heavy heart we're sticking with the choice we made.

We left Suffolk yesterday after having been to Ipswich the day before to send some boxes of extra bits and pieces home ahead of us (hopefully). It was a long sad drive full of regret and indecision. We paid one last visit to Framlingham to donate some more clothes and books to the East Anglia Children's Hospice shop and get something to eat from the market. Then off to Shipston we went (the looong way).

We stopped on the motorway to take some photos of the glorious colours that the leaves are turning, and then headed first for Leamington to have afternoon tea with some cousins we just kept missing other times we had stayed there. it was great to meet them and share some of our experiences, tinged with sadness that it had happened so close to the end. Then out for dinner and back to Shipston for the night.

Today, we left our hosts to head south to Heathrow. It has been fun unravelling some family tree mysteries and identifying faces from old photos together. It had been suggested that we go to Harry Potter World on our way, but we decided against it since the tickets had to be bought in advance and were for timed entry...what if we got lost and didn't get there in time ?

So instead, after a quick trip back to Leamington for some shopping (only lip balm it turned out) we headed south through the Cotswolds....and made a detour to Chedworth to see the Roman Villa. That National Trust membership we bought at our visit to Montacute House back in July has been well worth it. Parking is pretty minimal at Chedworth, and a lot of what you see is just remaining walls. But the heritage centre is truly amazing. Walking on metal and wooden platforms suspended above the most amazing mosaic floors. There are a few glimpses of mosaic floors as well in the bath house, but most exciting is the area - now re-hidden under the grass where an incredible find of intact mosaic floor was just discovered in August 2014 - last month.

Then before we turned east to come back to London we went to hunt down a spot that was on our bucket list.

Who knew we were this close to home !

But soon we'll be closer. We're leaving tomorrow, it's time to rebuild...and I am already planning how and when I am going to get back here. We've done so much, but there is still so much left to do and explore, it can't truly actually be the end.

Cotswolds, Gardens, Houses and a bit of detective work

After our whirlwind trip to London, we have been spending a quiet few days in Shipston-on-Stour getting to know 2^nd and 3^rd cousins better.

I had been waiting to hear about a job I had applied for…but as yet, nada. Very frustrating. However, life goes on and so did our week. We didn’t actually do very much at all which was a welcome change. As the Bank Holiday long weekend approached though there were a few trips.

We had a lovely stroll around the gardens at Hidcote and then up to the top of Dover’s Hill to admire the view one afternoon.

On the Sunday of the long weekend we all piled in the car and went off to Blenheim Palace and spent the day with more 2^nd and 3^rd cousins. There is a lot to see there, inside and outside to fill the day. There was also a Classic Car show on in the grounds which was like a magnet for small boys…and not so small boys.

We picnicked on the lawn where generations of the Duke of Marlborough’s family will have wandered, and where Winston Churchill may have played with his brother as a child.

Afterward we headed to Woodstock the small town next to the palace in search of somewhere for dinner. There was a music festival on, so many eateries were not serving food, since so much was on offer in the Square. But we found a charming Italian restaurant which could accommodate all nine of us and had menu options for children and vegetarians too.

Back in the 19^th century there was a workhouse in the Woodstock area which may be the one where some of our family lived after the death of their husband & father in the 1840’s. But that story, is for another day.

Some family tree-ing has been done through the week, too much for some people though. It has to be said that some of us are detectives, and others are sponges who soak up all the information that has been found.

We’re off on another journey now. Two nights in Wolverhampton first (not sure why, I was going to do some researching but it doesn’t seem conducive to that on first impressions) and then off to Suffolk for a couple of weeks – hopefully to hunt down some jobs.

Before we left tho, we went and took photos of the house on the property where Nana was born. We had always assumed it was nearer the church at Old Milverton. But some of the detective work this week proved that theory wrong. It was actually at Blackdown. The coachman’s cottage where they lived (because great granddad was the coachman) doesn’t seem to be there now, but the house is pretty impressive.

 I just need to track down which house, in the same road, was the one where great grandma was in service before her marriage. I think it could have been very close by.