The Bellews are of Norman stock. We trace our lineage, without using too much imagination, back to the 13th century. Bertie has a fertile imagination claiming he’s mentioned in Greek documents circa 400 BC.
Just two miles upstream is an architectural gem: Chiswick House. It got a big thumbs up some three years ago in Upstream. Now it’s back on our radar because it is set in 65 acres of gardens.
The City of London is often dubbed The Square Mile and that’s more or less right – it is 1.2 square miles. But the writ of the City of London extends to a further 10,000 acres of public green spaces: Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, etc.
Where do you go to, my lovely readers? You frequent Mount Street when you put up at The Connaught, you saunter along Jermyn Street on the way to the London Library; perhaps you venture down the King’s Road en route to the Chelsea Physic Garden?
Het Loo, het who? Until yesterday I’d never heard of one of the finest palaces in Europe. It was built in the 1680s for William and Mary (rather a waste as they emigrated in 1688), looks like a very grand version of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea and has magnificent gardens.
I had never heard of “crate training” and when I did thought it would be most disagreeable for a puppy to be put in a cage. Robert thought the same so when I changed my mind I had to satisfy him and Bertie. What made me change my mind?
In Belize in 1973 when I was briefly in the army, the Army Air Corps choppered me around in a Sioux helicopter – one with the glass bubble. It was fun but it was an opportunity to observe the landscape.
BBC Parliament is a favourite channel so when Robert was out I thought I’d see if Bertie would enjoy it as much as me. We kicked off with a Bill in the House of Lords introduced by Lord “Big Issue” Bird about poverty.
How long should one work? How long is a piece of string? Some people (including me) slip gratefully into early retirement, others like their jobs so much they never want to retire.