A day in Tetbury

Johnnie and I spent a day with my aunt Ursula and cousin Susannah in Tetbury. To get there we drove along this wonderfully straight Roman road, on each side were these stone walls, made with no concrete or cement, but beautifully pieced together, a bit like a jigsaw - stone after stone all different sizes.

We met in the Market Square - the last time I saw Susannah, she had been fifteen, Johnnie's age now. Over a cup of tea, we shared memories. I remember the birth of Susannah my cousin. I had just returned home from a week away at a camp, one January, and had arrived home and picked a bunch of fresh parsley, which I was eating with much enjoyment, while Mum told me she had just heard news that my cousin Susannah had been born. She then told me off for eating parsley. Mum was staying with Ursula when my Susannah was born. They were painting her kitchen which had been a dark blue to a rich cream and they danced around the kitchen with joy. That is rather a nice memory, as I wished my mother had been around when she was born. Interestingly, when my cousin Susannah had her first daughter, Florence, Ursula was staying with us in Sydney. It was just after Sept 11 and Ursula and Margaret were both in Australia. What I remember most is Ursula's reaction to the name Florence - it took us a while to find out what her name was. But names do grow on you - I rather like it and she looks just like her mother - absolutely gorgeous.

My Susannah is not sure what she will do now she has finished school, but might do Arts at Sydney Uni majoring in languages - eg Italian and French. This is exactly what my cousin did!

Tetbury is another delightful market town, filled with wonderful antique shops, gift shops and trendy cafes. Prince Charles has a property nearby and a wonderful garden which is very popular to visit. Ursula had to book eighteen months in advance, but said it was well worth it - absolutely beautiful. He also has a shop which is a bit like a National Trust shop, filled with beautiful things that also include things that are "green". We enjoyed browsing here.



We then visited this Antique shop that had this amazing table in the front room. It was made in Indonesia and so incredibly ornate. We got chatting with the owner, and she said that the woman renting this room to sell things was an Australian and now seventy. She left Australia to get away from media scrutiny as she came from a well known family. I asked "who". Her name is Harriet Fairfax. Instantly, I understood why she had left. She always felt like the black sheep of the family. I reminisced to when I had been a brownie, at age nine, I had been chosen to meet the "Father of the Year" one Sir Vincent Fairfax. There are a great many Fairfaxes in Sydney.



This is where we had lunch - a wonderful deli, with a cafe upstairs. It was light and airy and the food was absolutely delicious. Johnnie had Toad in the Hole - just to experience something very English.