Surrey, UK: So a catch-up from our visit to England - from Sunday, a photo of Lady K and Simon posing with us in their garden:
I had purchased tickets to the opening time slot (Sunday, 10:30a) to the National Portrait Gallery exhibit of Paul McCartney's photographs he snapped when The Beatles toured the US in 1963-64. McCartney remembered taking the photographs but could not locate the film until 2020. Wow, are there some doozies! I had completely forgotten about Jane Asher, and there are photos from the Ed Sullivan Show, touring DC, and quite a bit of their visit to Miami. Also, many photos of their mothers, and John Lennon's wife, Cynthia. Very enjoyable.
Then we walked back to our hotel, checked-out and caught a train to Surrey... where Shirley picked us up, drove us back to her gorgeous ancient home, Pear Tree Cottage, and we settled-in to enjoy a few days with Shirley and Martin. I will add here that it was absolutely pouring rain by the time we arrived in Surrey. It was cold and it was windy. Apparently, Shirley and Martin have been enjoying a glorious sunny summer and we brought this change in the weather. (Sounds reasonable, except we no longer live in rainy Oregon.) Except for the first morning in Budapest, this is the only real rain we have had in six weeks. Shirley cooked an amazing dinner and we went to sleep in one of our favorite guest rooms. It's over 440 years old!
Our Monday adventure was to Wisley Garden, showcase of the Royal Horticultural Society. This huge garden is the headquarters of the society and new plant species are developed and researched here. Since it is autumn, there weren't a lot of blooms, but that didn't stop us. Shirley and Martin are members and tour the grounds often, so knew the best routes in order to show us the best vistas. More photos with captions:
(It never rained, and actually was sunny most of the afternoon.)
Some flower were still blooming:
Still Water (2012) by Nic Fiddian-Green
This evening Shirley prepared a delicious vegan curry vegetable stew, and the most amazing Apricot Frangipane Tart from Mary Berry. I am going to try this recipe for myself one day soon.
Until my next update, I remain, your horticultural correspondent.
Pedometer: 14,000 steps.