Stella no doubt reminds you of Jonathan Swift’s friend whose real name was Esther Johnson. Whether she was more than an old friend, he first met her when she was eight, or his mistress or wife is unclear. She was for sure born in Richmond in 1681 so it was appropriate that I went to Richmond with another Stella on Tuesday. This Stella is a Jack Russell.
My first dog didn’t belong to me but I pretended she did. Stella belonged to Mr and Mrs McGinn who lived in the lodge at Barmeath.
My grandparents came to live at Barmeath in 1938 as tenants of my grandfather’s elder brother who eccentrically resided in The Hyde Park Hotel. In those days both the front lodges and the back lodge were occupied but by the late 1950s only the McGinns were left. In the 1960s Mr McGinn died and Mrs McGinn moved to a cottage in Grangebellew. Life had been spartan in the lodge. It had electricity but no sanitation and water had to be fetched in pails from a pump the other side of a field. The residents of Grangebellew clubbed together and drilled a well for water which was piped around the village and put in sanitation at about the time she moved so life became a great deal more comfortable.
My preferred lunch stop in Richmond is Gaucho where there are tables under a London plane tree by the river. On Tuesday for the first time I saw this plaque under the tree bearing out my theory that I see something new every time I walk along the towpath.
Gaucho appears to be in some distress…..
Matthew David Smith and Robert James Harding of Deloitte LLP were appointed Joint Administrators of Gaucho Grill Limited, Gioma (UK) Limited and CAU Restaurants Limited (together “the Companies”) on 19 July 2018. The affairs, business and property of the Companies are managed by the Joint Administrators. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Companies and contract without personal liability. The Joint Administrators are authorised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). All licensed Insolvency Practitioners of Deloitte LLP are licensed in the UK.
You are spot on. The Administrators are hoping to sell Gaucho as a going concern, but who knows. The only thing you will notice if you dine there is the paucity of more expensive wines as wine merchants don’t want to be left unpaid.
Inspired by the endearing image of Barmeath (those tartan trousers are absolutely smashing) I have penned a few lines…………..
In the ancient east of Ireland,
Where the salty air you breathe,
Stands an ostentatious castle;
The noble seat of Barmeath.
Untouched by coach loads of tourists,
Saved from hoteliers plans profane,
Those Anglo-Norman Bellews
In their castellated towers remain.
Once a staunchly Catholic family
From Popish ways willfully withdrew.
Yet their Roman past preserved them
From being burnt out in twenty-two.
The current Lord of the Manor
Happily retains the status quo.
He trots out with The Louth a hunting:
A true country gent; tally ho!
His life a devotion to service
Executed with diligent care,
For, early on a Lords Day morning
He departs to conduct Morning Prayer.
Now he preaches a pithy sermon,
(Three minutes on salvation from sin)
Though he hasn’t gone through ordination-
Remaining diocesan ‘whipper in’!
If you wish to meet his acquaintance,
In the library he is sure to be,
Decked out in red corduroy trousers,
Placidly sipping a large G & T.
Of fictional dramas he’s author;
Imagination creatively stirred.
Yet the lines between droll fact and fiction
Often appear decidedly blurred.
Bru potters around in the gardens
Considering where best to plant that tree.
An Irish ‘Capability’ Bellew,
Skilfully assisted by Rosemary.
Lord B is a most rounded fellow,
And Barmeath his number one love.
Perhaps a trifle high minded?
Well – ‘tout d’en haut’: everything from above!