On https://derrickjknight.com/2019/06/16/mutual-grooming/ I featured a photograph taken at Oxton in May 1999 which I had e-mailed to Louisa.
Today, while listening to the men’s Cricket World Cup match between England and Australia, I scanned the rest of a batch of prints I had retained from that trip to Oxton taken with Michael and his family on one of their holidays at Lindum House.
Our walk took us along a path through fields of barley.
Emily sped ahead.
An undulating sheep field led to
more open landscape
above which Emily and Oliver took a rest.
We travelled on to Halam where Emily was delighted to find The Borrowers’ House.
This evening Jackie and I dined on succulent pork chops roasted with onions and sage; new potatoes sautéed with leeks and peppers; and crisp broccoli with which the Culinary Queen drank Blue Moon and I drank more of the Squinizano.
How adorable! And such open and beautiful countryside!!
Thanks very much, GP. The villages were in Nottinghamshire
And…. we lost
🙂
I mean, So Sad! 😉
Indeed…
Nice memories. Great pics Derrick
Thanks very much, Gary
Oh, the scenery is beautiful, as are your family photos. I love that little tree house.
Thank you very much, Jodie
Yes!!! The Borrrowers’ house. All my life I have been waiting to see this.
🙂 I am pleased to have answered your wish, Laurie. Many thanks
There’s nothing like the delight of a child in magic! In Siddy’s park there is a little fairy door that mysteriously moves about from fence to tree trunk to hillock. It appears to be firmly fixed in place wherever it is and I sometimes see children with big eyes crouched by it, searching for a way in. As I walk, I look for it too.
Magic, indeed, Pauline. Thanks very much
Oh, wow – That IS magical!
Better looking at such delightful photographs than watching the cricket on this occasion I would imagine.
🙂 Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
I loved this, Derrick! I bet you know what I loved the best….the walk through fields of barley. I’d love to walk that path!
Thanks very much, Jill
Oh, what fun!
Thank you very much, Donna
Nothing quite like the wonder of children when they see something magical and mysterious! I love the facial expressions!
So true, Diane. Many thanks
Aww so beautiful
And the meal sounds delicious
Thanks very much, Cinnamon
You’re very welcome ☺
Lovely, serene photos, Derrick! I especially love the ones of family and sheep walking the hills and fields together! As I looked at them I heard Sting singing “Fields of Gold”. 🙂
I love how you’ve captured the patchwork landscape! Beautiful! 🙂
OH! The Borrowers’ House! So magical and imagination-inspiring! Emily’s reactions say it all! 🙂 (I’ve read all of the novels!) 🙂
HUGS!!! 🙂
PS…”new” potatoes are always better than old moldy ones! HA! 😉 😛
Thanks very much, Carolyn. Your comments are always appreciated. X
You’re welcome! And thank you, Derrick! It’s nice to have my words appreciated. Sorry my comments are often so long. You always share such wonderful things that get my brain a’thinkin’! 🙂
No need to apologise for such welcome efforts
The Borrowers’ house! What, please, is the meaning of the name? Is it a gnomic version of ‘Burrower”? PS. I also enjoyed listening to the England v Australia match.
I’ll bet you enjoyed the cricket, Paol 🙂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrowers
The story has also been filmed.
Thanks very much
It is now 3.55. There is a secondhand bookshop across the road from me and as soon as I read this comment of yours I ran across. He closes at 4. It is a Puffin copy he has given me. I make him a coffee most days and any book that I want that is less than a coffee from a coffee shop I get gratis. I will read it with relish as one does with ham and cheese.
Excellent
Such a peaceful walk! I love it. It seems that you’re more free to walk through a farmer’s fields in England than we are in the United States. My daughter and I took a walk once near Canterbury, and there was a trail through a grain field for walkers. In the United States we seem to feel that it’s private property and we should stay out.
Some farmers do block the paths, but walkers have legal access to these designated routes. Thanks very much, Nicki
Your old family photos are lovely Derrick. ‘Fields of Gold immediately sprang into my mind too. The song will be with me for the rest of the day!
🙂 Thanks very much, Sue
How wonderful is the little door, I have seen the movie 🙂 The fields look so wonderful. Have you been there recently ?
Not been there since that day, Lakshmi. Thanks very much
Oh – yes!!
Thanks very much, Mike
Such lovely photos Derrick, beautiful landscapes and adorable innocent smiles.
Thanks very much, Miriam
“Many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley,
See the children run as the sun goes down among the fields of gold” ?
I remember reading The Borrowers as a child – your images brought back good memories! 🙂
Sorry about the cricket! (Not) 😉
Thanks a lot, Bob. Glad to have revived memories. Had you really been sorry about the cricket that would have been a Daily Funny
🙂 🙂
Barley! There used to be fields of it where I grew up. And there was a sad Irish song with the chorus “the wind that shakes the barley” that my old folks replayed on cassette. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Thanks very much, Jean
Thanks again for the tour Derrick. Such beautiful photos.
Thanks very much, Jerry
I enjoyed the variety of perspectives in this post. It was like being on an adventure!
Thank you very much, JoAnna
As someone who grew up on the Borrowers (Afield, Aloft, Afloat, and in every other incarnation), I was delighted to see that their house is open to the public! Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks very much, Brenda
The Borrowers!! How I delighted in those stories when I was growing up and reading them. In 2012 Tara and I went to see a movie called Arietty, that Tara said was based on The Borrowers. Sure enough, it’s a lovely re-told version of a similar borrowing family, Japanese anime bringing an old beloved classic to life. I would be just as excited to find the door as Emily.
Thanks very much, Crystal. I’m sure you would
I have been touring a lot these days on official missives and have been saving your posts for reading at leisure. Those fields of barley and the rolling fields are classics that touched my heart.
Thanks very much, Uma. I hope your touring was successful
It was. Thanks, Derrick.
I love the photos, especially that little gnome home at the bottom of the tree where Emily is sitting. The fields of barley remind me of a song by Sting, ‘Fields of Gold’.
Thanks very much, Lavinia https://youtu.be/KLVq0IAzh1A
I am listening now. Thanks!
🙂