Tag Archives: Aspley Guise

The year that was

Everywhere I look the last 12 months are being reviewed – news, sports, politics – the best of, the worst of – clearly this is the time of year for reflection. Never being one to miss a trend, here’s our year in review.

It started in a cold UK and ended in a warm and sunny New Zealand. Along the way there has been travel, adventure, triumphs and sadness. Going back through the photo album, a few images leapt out.

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On the move

The last week has seen the team from Aspley Guise pack up and move to Bromham. That’s a distance of about 30 kilometres but the move involved serious logistics and planning as well as a decent dollop of muscle over the weekend just past.

Adding interest to the move was the impending “big freeze” that was due to hit the UK on Saturday. Thankfully it held off until the move was finished – just. The lads were enjoying a couple of beers just as the first snow started to drift down.

Next morning our new neighbourhood was under 3 inches of snow – what a lovely welcome to Bromham.

Out and about in the village
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Out and about in the village

There are a number of notable buildings in and around Aspley Guise. One worth mentioning is “The Rookery”. Although it is now a private home, during World War 2 this secluded Victorian mansion was the home of Australian Dennis Delmer. He was involved in “black ops” which included broadcasting radio propaganda and programmes to Germany which, among other things, suggested that Hitler had Jewish ancestry.

In fact there was much covert activity in and around Aspley Guise during the war with Bletchley Park, the home of the World War 2 Enigma code crackers, only a few minutes down the road.

Another notable house in the area is Aspley House. This is a splendid property set in grounds near the entrance to the village. It was built around 1650 and remains the largest house in the village.

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way …

Today I wandered through Aspley Guise to the village church – St Boltolph’s. There has been a church on this site since 1223 with the current church tower built sometime between 1400 and 1650. For a small village church it is an impressive structure and, as with most English country churches, it has a graveyard around it with headstones dating back almost as far as the church.

As the light was fading (at 3pm) I wandered between the headstones taking photographs. I found myself thinking of that great piece of 18th century English literature – Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.

“The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.”

I fear my “escape from the madding crowd” may have been interpreted by passing locals as a little strange given some of the unusual looks I received.

A surprise in our back yard
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A surprise in our back yard

This morning Jean was doing her hair in our bedroom when she let out a loud cry. Those of you who know Jean know that “doing her hair” is no simple exercise and a cry in the middle can signal a dreaded bad hair day.

I rushed into the room expecting the worse to find her pointing out the window at a small deer grazing peacefully in the garden. I grabbed my camera but, as is often the case, only captured the deer about to leave the garden and head for the neighbours.

Apparently the deer is a Muntjac, a breed imported into the UK in the early part of last century and originally domiciled at the Woburn Estate deer park (just up the road from our place). But as with the best laid plans, the deer escaped into the wild and since then have spread throughout lower England – including our back yard.

Our place – Aspley Guise

Today the sun came out. The all-pervading greyness of the last week vanished and the world suddenly became a warmer, friendlier place. Well, friendlier anyway.

I grabbed my trusty Nikon and made the short walk to Aspley Guise.

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English Country Garden Stuff

The weather we have been having in England has been amazing. Warm sunny days, real shorts and T-shirts weather – ideal for a play in the garden.

To that end, Jean was trying to get Poppie to run around and play but Poppie clearly had other ideas.