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Monday 20 September 2021

KITCHENS & CASTLES ..........




The other weekend, we went to stay with our daughter and family who live in the beautiful 17th century town of Stamford.
 I'm not showing you any of Stamford in this post as we went to other places this time but will show you another time !

First of all we visited .....




..... DeVol kitchens showroom !!!!!  Now, you might think this quite boring but, firstly, DeVol kitchens are my favourite kitchens, secondly, they are housed in Cotes Mill in beautiful countryside with a lake, peacocks and wildlife and last but not least, they sell my kind of shabby antiques, so well worth a trip considering it is close to where our daughter lives !








AS you can see, its not just a kitchen showroom !



They have beautiful kitchens which start at around £40,000 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, its a good place to get ideas.We are thinking of knocking our kitchen into the conservatory BUT, where on earth do you find a good builder? We have been let down by so many trades so, if any of you out there who live in Hertfordshire and know of a good builder, PLEASE let me know !!!! 



Amongst a couple of other things 😁 I bought this portrait there ...... I rather like him.



The next day, we visited Belvoir Castle. Its history dates back to the 11th century and is the ancestral home of the Duke of Rutland where the family have lived in an unbroken line for almost a thousand years.



Crowning a hill, the castles turrets and towers rise over the Vale of Belvoir like an illustration in a romantic fairytale. Four castles have stood on this spot since 1067 ..... Belvoir means ' beautiful view ' in French and is today pronounced ' beaver '. 







This is Le Salon ...... I'm afraid I forgot to read about it as we were running after our granddaughter looking for teddy bears as they had a bear hunt !....and I can't find any info about it but, it was so opulent and worthy of Versailles .....




This is me with broken elbow in the castles smaller version of The Hall of Mirrors .....



Beautiful views and .....






..... beautiful gardens.  


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What I ate on my weekend away .....
 


On Saturday, I had sea bass risotto in a lovely pub, which was delicious .....



..... &, on Sunday, we ate in The Engine Yard at Belvoir Castle. Now, my choices in restaurants usually gravitate to grilled or oven cooked fish or any seafood really as it is my favourite but, on this particular day, I had a real fancy for good old fish and chips and it was amazing !!! When you haven't had something for a long while it tastes all the better. Crispy batter is bloody lovely !!! 

Apologies for such a long post  ..... I could have split it in two I guess. Do you think people like long posts ? I always think that people prefer shorter ones. What do you reckon !.





XXXX


Jackie

22 comments:

  1. No, no, no - definitely don't mind long posts when they are as great as this one dear Jackie.
    I LOVE deVol kitchens too, always stunning paint colors - could never afford one though, they must be twice as expensive over here, lol! Their showroom is beautiful and having antiques for sale is awesome. Nice portrait, and the visit to Belvoir Castle must have been awesome. Love your 'castle peeping outfit' you always look so amazing.
    The food would be my choice too - non-meat eater for over 40 yrs. but always up for a great piece of fresh fish - and of course crispy battered fish and chips!
    Hope your injured bits are all healing by now.
    Hugs - Mary
    P.S. Sad here - we should be leaving for UK tomorrow but have had to cancel again due to too many negatives regarding international travel and COVID! I feel like I'll never get home - but we have re-booked for next Spring, fingers will be crossed for a looooong time!

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    1. Hi Mary and thanks for the lovely comment. I always think that people start getting fidgety if posts are too long !!!!! There are some lovely places to visit around Stamford and DeVol and Belvoir Castle were no exception . So sorry to hear you had to cancel your trip here again. I just read that the U.S are opening for fully vaccinated travellers from the U.K from November so things should be fine in the Spring ( vice-versa ! ) … U.K in the Spring is lovely as you know, so something to look forward to. XXXX

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  2. I enjoyed your post, certainly not too long at all. Love the photos too, such beautiful scenes ... especially the fish!

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    1. Haha !!! ….. we love a bit of good food don’t we JayCee. XXXX

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  3. It is never too long …when I read your post …I love reading you….what a beautiful castle I like all your beautiful pictures…and mmmmmm love your food choices…love from me Ria πŸ’•πŸ€πŸ’•πŸ€πŸ’•πŸ€

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    1. Lovely to hear from you Ria abd I hope you are well and happy. The castle was beautiful abd the food delicious. πŸŒΏπŸ°πŸ’• XXXX

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  4. Gorgeous post, Jackie, and not long at all!! What a wonderful weekend of family activities. The delicious kitchen showroom has dreamy views, too; what a location for a business!

    Your pics of Belvoir Castle are stunning ... that Chinoiserie wallpaper, the windows, the turrets, and a teddy bear hunt! Something for everyone!

    I must say, pub food has come a long way; and you are evidently on the mend if you can get in and out of zippers :) xx

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    1. Haha Pip….. yes, I can now dress myself !!!!!
      We had a lovely time with our daughter and family ….. so much to see and enjoy. XXXX

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  5. Beautiful post and never to long. The DeVol showroom must have provided lots of inspiration for kitchen design. The decor and views are amazing. Belvoir Castle is very, very beautiful inside and outside. Your meals look fantastic as well. The weekend with family and your grandchildren must have been delightful. It is good to see you are feeling well and able to travel again.

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    1. Thanks so much Susan …. elbow is getting better but it’s a very slow process …. not the end of the world in the great scheme of things though. We had a lovely weekend and the weather was wonderful. XXXX

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  6. You finish on a wonderful note. My wife talks endlessly about the first restaurant we will visit when we return to Brighton. Fish-n-Chips on the pier at the Victoria. Some of the very best Fish-n-Chips around. Lovely photos.

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    1. Haha …. I knew the food would appeal to you Cro !!! Wait until you bite into that wonderful crispy batter ….. you will both be in food heaven. XXXX

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    2. I hope you share the moment with us πŸ˜‚ XXXX

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  7. LOVED IT NOT TOO LONG!
    I HAVE MET DUCHESS OF BELVOIR AT ANTIQUE SHOW HERE!
    I HAVE THAT BUST TOO IN MY KITCHEN!

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    1. There were many recent family photographs in the castle …… it wouldn’t have surprised me to have seen you in one of them !!!!!! You have met so many interesting people Elizabeth πŸ₯° XXXX

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  8. Dear Jackie, thank you for all these beautiful photos (yours definitely included, you look wonderful!)
    The kitchen look adorable - I love that style (but would never spend 40.000 on a kitchen..)
    And the castle: a dream, and living there as family for 1000 years - enviable.
    My mouth waters to see those lovely dishes - so lovely good English fish&chips (best I ever had were in Beamish, where they had an old fish&chips machine and made them with lard!). XXX

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    1. Hi Britta ….. always lovely to get a comment from you ( and everyone else !!! )
      We had a lovely weekend with our daughter and the fish and chips were delicious !!!!! Making them with lard is the proper way to do it ! XXXX

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  9. I love each/all of your posts . . .
    Short or Long .. .
    Loved this one, and if I ever visit London, England again .. .
    Will you be my tour guide . . .

    I find kitchen showrooms . . . dreamy!

    How is that elbow, arm . . . dear Jacqueline . . .

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    1. Hi Lynne and thanks for asking about my elbow ….. healing very slowly but surely ! Getting the feeling back in my fingers now , scar is healing nicely …. Think it might be a few more months before the bending action of the elbow gets back to normal ….. it’s a long old process I’m afraid but, I just replanted two roses so it’s not holding me back too much ! Hope you and yours are well …. You would LOVE DeVol kitchens ! XXXX

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