Audley End Country House visit

Audley End country house visit was something I got to do last Sunday, with my lovely son Matthew and daughter in law Karen. I had seen this house once when I passed on a train and was so surprised that it was only about an hour from where I live.

As we arrived at Audley End I was totally amazed at how beautiful it looked, set in rolling countryside it was just like a movie set.

This is the view as we drove up the drive to the house, can you imagine it being your home! I have a very good imagination and could see ladies in their dresses and gentleman in tall hats, arriving.

Audley was one of the greatest houses of Jacobean England. It was built on the grounds of a Benedictine monastery. When the monastery was suppressed in 1538 by Henry 8th it was converted by Thomas, Lord Audley to a house.
Over the years it was added to and was huge. Over time its size was reduced to make it more manageable. Saying that it is truly a beautiful country house that is a joy to go around. I love history and think these grand houses have so much of interest.
We were lucky to have a very good tour guide who took us through each room and told us the history of the house. Sadly we were not allowed to take photographs inside as the things are so delicate and light sensitive.

The Front Door at Audley End

I think you will agree this is some front door! Not like mine at all! We had to wait here for the tour to start and it was so nice sitting and seeing the wonderful gardens and view.

Above is a picture of myself and Matthew waiting for the tour. I think we look very happy. I think as parents as our children get older spending time with them is often short. They have their own lives and its hard to fit in time like this. That's why I was so happy to have this wonderful day.

Once the tour got started we went into the house and this this the grand hall at the start.

We then went room to room each beautiful in its own right, but very different. Some were very large and grand some more cozy but every one wonderful. I think the tour was around an hour and I was sad to reach the end as it was so nice.

We then had a super lunch with some really naughty cake and then set off to see some of the other buildings.

They had a wonderful kitchen set up as it would have been in the day,  and they even had staff in full costume making cakes.

They also had a laundry were you could see how hard it would have been doing all the house washing. We had to set Karen and kevin to work, so they could burn off all that cake!

However, they then thought I should get working as well, so glad we have modern machines!!

The last place on the list was the stables and gardens. They grow a huge amount of things in the gardens and then they are sold on. I have never seen such a tidy well kept garden. I have never seen such a posh stables!

The horses were very well cared for and loved if the building is anything to go by.

They still have a couple of horses there and you got to pet them . One was the biggest horse I have ever seen! I am 5 feet 1 inch and it was miles above me.

Karen had fun trying on the hats , I think she really looks good in this one..... a Christmas idea !!!!!

It really was a great day and we plan to visit again for their Christmas event. We  had one last walk by the river which had a great bridge and cute ducks

So if you are ever in Essex England go to visit Audley End Country House as it is so worth it. Hope you enjoyed this blog post and all the lovely pictures taken by my son Matthew. We had a fantastic day out and a huge thanks to Matthew and Karen for a membership to the national trust , so we can visit lots more places.

Wedding Day

Wedding day for my daughter Natalie came at last! Those of you how kindly follow this blog will know that over the last year, a vast amount of planning and work has been done.
I myself have done so much it would be hard to write it all down, but on saturday it all came together in the most beautiful wedding day.

I had stressed all week about the weather as we were told it would be wet and windy. So I told Natalie that we can't worry we just have to enjoy whatever it throws at us. So you can imagine my delight when we got up to find sunshine and blue skys. In fact we only had two bits of rain, once while she was getting ready and once during the speeches.

This is a picture of the outside of the church, after my husband climbed up a ladder to decorate in the rain!

The night before we had all the bridesmaid stay over and a house full of that many women is not peaceful lol. We had a rehearsal at the church and then came home to some dinner and I sat and put rags in the flowergirls hair so it would have a nice curl for the morning.

We were all very excited but managed to get off to sleep only to be up bright and early the next morning. The hairdresser Kim came and started on her huge task of 9 girls, while I took at the flowergirl katelins hair. She looked so cute with all her little curls. All she asked me was " can i put my dress on yet" lol.

I think you will agree she looked very sweet in her little outfit. Which was Ivory with little pink flowers her her hair and glitter all over, so cute.
It was such a rush to get them all dressed and more important to get Natalie dressed which made me very hot lol. Then all of a sudden I looked out of my bedroom to see the horse and carriage had arrived. I was so happy it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I have a lovely picture of it which I will share later on.
I was going to ride with the bridesmaid but when the time came there was no space, so very exciting for me
I got to ride in the carriage with Natalie and Kevin. We felt so special when it set off down the town and lots of people were waving to Natalie and smiling. We must have made a good show as it is not something that happens lol

When we arrived at the church I helped Natalie and then took my son Matthews arm to walk down to my seat, the church looked very beautiful. The sun shining through the fab stained glass windows.

All at once it was done and a new Mr. and Mrs Watkins had been made! The sun was still shining as we made our way out to take pictures and enjoy the sun. The first one was the two families of us and Ian and Anne Robs parents, outside the church.

The new Mr and Mrs Watkins

Then it was over to our venue which lucky for us was just along the road. It was a beautiful place called Mangapp Manor in Burnham on crouch. All I can say is the second we arrived they made us feel totally special in every way. The afternoon rushed past with meeting and greeting and pictures and drinks on the lawn. It has the most lovely grounds so gave itself to some super pictures.

Natalie and Rob and the beautiful carriage

The bridal party.

The meal was held in a wonderful marquee which had been decorated in Natalie's colours the tables and added extras were fantastic.

Bunting made by me!

The room set for the meal. The black a star lit roof for the evening!

The meal came next and I can honestly say it was the best meal I have ever had.  The company was Valentine cuisine and it was so great I have been dreaming about it ever since. I will have to write more later and in detail as I think the food is Worthy of its own entry lol

Place cards made by me and printed by my husband.

I should also say Natalie made all her own flowers and also the cake which you can see both in the next shots.

All round the venue it was decorated with little touches like candles in holders which at night they lit all around.

The evening part was a blast with a disco provided by a company called Capital nightlife, which was totally great.
The best thing however, was a surprise! We had a photo booth! It was like one you get at shopping centres to take passport pictures but 4 times the size. You could go in with loads of people and take pictures. They even had a wind machine to add to the fun. It then printed out 8 pictures 4 for you to keep and four to put in an album for Natalie and Rob.  I can't tell you how much fun it was and some very silly pictures were taken.

Natalie standing in her photo booth

Gina, Darren and Karen ..... need I say more

It was a huge success and another element that went to make the day special. At the end of the evening the staff lit all the candles and I think it looked so beautiful

The next day Natalie and Rob got ready to fly off to Morocco . When I get the official pictures I will write another post. Would like to say a huge thanks to all her bridesmaid, ushers and bestman

Sorry for the lack of posts

Sorry for the lack of post on my blog. With Natalie's wedding only a week away as you can imagine its been a stressful time with wanting to make it all right on the day.
I do think we put ourselves under such pressure to give our child the best day of their lives, but its hard at times.
For myself I know I am worn out, I have not felt well for a week or so and my blood pressure is sky high.
I would not change it because I want her to have a nice a day as her brother had last year. Weddings I think bring out the best but sometimes the worst and that's a feeling I think many people would have had. I know my wedding had all kinds of ups and downs before the day!

All I can say if I am going to to my best to give her a nice day and try to enjoy myself even if there will be dear people both here and long gone who will miss it.
So again sorry for the lack of posts and after next week I will attempt to write more often.