Moyles Court

The wind lessened today, so we made a start on recovery.

There is nothing to be done about windburn such as this on the red Japanese maple, but

we did carry out an extensive hard prune in the Rose Garden where Mamma Mia and Absolutely fabulous prevail.

Bees were confined to their hives yesterday and made up for lost time today. Here they may be seen in Absolutely Fabulous, in bidens, in Laura Ford, in pelargoniums and in erigeron.

Another heavy storm is forecast in two days time, so we saw no point in much more tidying this afternoon and went for a drive instead.

We turned off Salisbury Road into

Ivy Lane, at the end of which lies Ibsley, and

‘Moyles Court School [which] is an independent day and boarding school for pupils from 3 – 16 years old.[5] Moyles Court was the former manor house of Rockford, and later for Ellingham as well. The 17th century manor house was once the home of Dame Alice Lisle, the last lady to be publicly beheaded in England following a judicial trial.[6] In 1940 the building was requisitioned by the RAF, who stationed the headquarters for the Ibsley Airfield there for six years.[7]‘ (Wikipedia) This was the base for both RAF and USAAF.

This afternoon the verges outside the school were lined with reconditioned army vehicles, enthusiasts of reenactment, and members of https://www.mvt.org.uk – Military Vehicle Trust.

There are good number of WW2 airfields and military sites in the New Forest. A member of the convoy explained that they were touring these locations. In the process they attracted photographers and visitors, including children, who were most intrigued.

Another attraction was the regular ice cream van. Take a boy to the forest and he will come home with a stick.

During the holiday season the forded stream always encourages a gathering, members of whom will often rig up a makeshift swing.

This evening we dined on baked gammon; boiled new potatoes and crunchy carrots; piquant cauliflower cheese; and tender cabbage, with which Jackie drank Becks and I drank more of the Saint-Chinian.

71 comments

  1. A walk anywhere with a child usually results in something coming home in hand or pockets …… and, I confess even an older person may be found to be carrying a stick or a shell or a rock …..

  2. According to his logbook, now with my brother, my grandfather was based at Beaulieu aerodrome as it then was in WW1 when he was in the RFC. I think he flew planes from their to France. Ad bot of his grandsons learnt to ride their motorbikes at the self same aerodrome… sorry, your posts do trigger memories!

  3. Your garden still looks beautiful, and the bees don’t seem bothered by any wind burn. That school has quite a history.

    In your part of the world, there are no more restrictions on distance or mask requirements? Funny about the boy and the stick–I do suspect he often comes home with items in his pockets. ?

    1. Thanks very much, Merril. Social distancing still applies everywhere and masks have to be worn in shops etc., but not out in the open. Many people ignore both. That’s a proper boy 🙂

  4. I too wondered a bit about the social distancing. It seems a very hit and miss business which is not very encouraging. I hope that the next storm does no more damage than the last one. It looks as though you might have more wind than us from the forecast.

  5. If you’ve got a stick and an ice cream…what more do you need?!?! 😉 😀

    Looks like a beautiful day! I really enjoy seeing the jeeps! AND seeing the flowers abuzz with bees! 🙂 AND seeing that swing…what fun! 🙂 (I have never been able to pass up a swing without swinging a bit.)

    The history of that school is interesting!
    HUGS and hope your day is going sunnily and swimmingly!!! 🙂

  6. It sounds like you’ve had some heavy winds. I’m glad you squeezed in a bit of garden time before the next onslaught. I love your bee photos, Derrick. In fact, bees in flowers are always among my favorites. I find them fascinating.

  7. Your roses are still so pretty and obviously attracting the bees. I too was interested to see people congregating and without masks. Quite different to our experience here in Florida. ?

  8. The Mama Mia is still in its prime. Thanks to the lockdown induced by the gusts, bees have become busy like, well, bees in the aftermath. The convoy of olive coloured jeeps is fascinating. I am planning to read more about those enthusiasts. People seem to have taken over the woods what with the ice cream vendor sneaking in their van among the revellers. That is a very smart boy, judged by the appropriateness of the stick he has gleaned from the woods.

  9. Your Absolutely Fabulous is absolutely fabulous, Derrick. I like the reflection photo as well, and I had to ask Mr Google for the reason the lady was beheaded. Interesting bit of history.

  10. Congratulations, Derrick ! You have invented a sentence I would have give my eye teeth to have thought up……

    “Take a boy to the forest and he will come home with a stick.”

    I bet there’s loads of Buddhists who have attained enlightenment with sentiments far less profound than that one.

    Only joking by the way, and in actual fact I am just jealous…..it even scans properly!

  11. It is always fun to come across something out of the ordinary when following a familiar road. The wearing of masks is in public remains mandatory in South Africa – we have all become so used to doing so that it is no longer a hassle.

  12. I enjoyed reading today’s blog 🙂 Your garden is as beautiful as ever. What a great photo opportunity for you with all those jeeps just round the corner. Love the children playing in the water.

  13. How interesting for you to see the RAF.

    My family report that they haven’t seen anyone without a mask inside the shops and mostly people have kept their distance Though we have heard of it happening in other areas. They’ve also seen plenty of people in restaurants wearing them en route to the tables.

    Last week following a booked telephone appointment with my GP a Face to Face appointment was booked for later in the day. I was told to wait outside because no one was allowed to sit in the waiting room. Four of us waited outside all social distancing and wearing masks I waited ten minutes.

    Previously, On the telephone, I answered the pre-appointment Covid questions before I was allowed to visit the surgery.

    My doctor came to the door to collect me, I used hand gel and had my temperature taken. My doctor wore gloves, a mask and a plastic apron.

    For someone who’s stayed home for a few months apart from an audiology visit, I found the whole thing very interesting.

    The ice cream van was interesting, I could see some keeping a distance and wondered if others were perhaps in the same family.

      1. I imagine that when relaxed it’s easy to forget about the distancing rule but not wearing a mask to protect others is deliberate and is unforgivable.

  14. the roses are so pretty! it looks like wearing masks and social distancing in public is a thing of the past in your part of the world. 🙂 🙂

  15. I’ve been offline for a while and have missed keeping up with blogs. When I saw the “cleanup” titles, I had to come see what’s been happening (particularly as we are awaiting two hurricanes predicted to hit Louisiana this week.) I’m glad the damage was minimal–your garden is so lovely.

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