Clandon House - after the fire - a personal cartharsis?.. then... Polesden Lacey

Today was one of the open days of Clandon House which was gutted by fire on Wednesday 29 April... and strangely it feels just like yesterday when I heard about the fire on local and national news.  Today was the first of a few days when Clandon will be open to visitors before the house is clad in scaffolding.

The day started with grey skies.. and as I stood and looked at the house I felt so sad... all that history, care and loving attention, literally gone up in smoke.  It may sound ridiculous but as I stood there looking at the house there was a lump in my throat.

As I put together this blog post, I am in tears.  Was visiting Clandon today the trigger for a reaction to my Mum's passing three weeks ago tomorrow? Added to this some inconsequential (by comparison) news today I could have done without!! I don't know... but as I type this I am in tears... I've shed some for seconds over the last few weeks... perhaps today is the day everything catches up with me!

I really hope that Clandon can, in true Phoenix style, rise again from the ashes.. all that history in it's fabric and contents... let's keep everything crossed that this is the case.. onwards and upwards as we say!!

A short visit and then, as Polesden Lacey was so close I had an impromptu visit...

Despite the huge field they are in.. the cows all huddled together

 

I was hungry when I arrived.. so indulged in a cream tea... back to normal next week

They were still huddling on my way out!

A strange day but ended in sunshine..

Never take anything for granted - the fire at Clandon Park House

I was alerted to this by a friend of mine Pete (Twitter was very informative), regarding the devasting news of the fire at Clandon Park House... it used to be one of the local NT properties I visited when living in Surrey.  Firstly, and most importantly, no-one was hurt and everyone was safe!!

The BBC website is quite graphic in showing us the devastation that fire can cause.  I've caught myself visiting some NT properties stating.. "I won't visit the house today, I'll go the next time I'm here..... " - I think that's going to change..

The recent Clandon House events illustrate so well... don't put off anything .......  But at least I have some photographic reminders of a great house...

The Military Museum that was housed at Clandon, contained many uniforms but, more distressingly, all the historical records that are irreplaceable have now been lost... all that history.

I hadn't anticipated how much the loss of a great house would affect me but, affect me it has... and I suspects many others will feel the same way.

I just hope the building is structurally safe and that, in time, Clandon House can be resurrected to its former glory.....  I've never been so devastated  - this is such a great tragedy..

There has been much in the news recently to sadden me. - in addition to the foregoing... earthquakes devastating Nepal is not something that is easy to get one's mind around.  It's dreadful and on such a huge scale - the enormous loss of life.

So I'm going to try even harder..... never to take anything for granted.

In closing.... all those involved in the Nepal disaster and those dealing with Clandon House... all deserve medals for stepping up when it is needed..... their bravery and dedication is incredible.. Thank you...........

Clandon House and Hatchlands Park..

We headed off for Surrey today in search of sunshine, gardens, houses and scones... and we found all.

Started at Clandon House & Gardens... the gardens are attractive and varied but not large.  The sun came out as we drove and the rain moved away.

The Dutch Garden

and wandering the grounds..

We had an early lunch of Brocolli and Stilton soup - very nice!! and followed this with a fruit scone. Regrettably the scone didn't come up to our expectations and scored 2 - 2.5 out of 5 ... not sure if they're 'bought in' or not... pity really

And then, onto Hatchlands which was about 2-3 miles down the road.

A snack later and unfortunately the scones fared no better than before.... hey ho.

A very good day out indeed.... and tomorrow... off to foreign parts... :)