Up at six again, not by choice this time, my eyes simply popped open and wouldn’t close again. Six here is seven at home, so not surprising that I can’t make it to the alarm time set at seven local time. I start on yesterday’s blog and generally keep quiet in bed until seven, which I judge an acceptable time to start a loud shower. The shower cabin is tiny and the temp a bit variable, but I get my hair washed – don’t judge, it’s a big job – and that’s what matters.
Since everybody is up pretty early, we have a leisurely breakfast. A bit basic, because we didn’t go shopping yet and we weren’t allowed to bring dairy and such over the UK border, so it’s bread with choco and Biscoff paste. It looks to be a bit rainy and chilly today, so I choose light walking pants and a double layer of light wool layers.
We had reserved tickets for Highclere castle a few weeks ago, not being sure how busy it might get. This the location where the outside scenes, as well as the fancy interior scenes of Downton Abbey were filmed. Not the service rooms scenes, apparently, these were done in a studio. The castle is on a large estate of neat, rolling lawn with giant trees dotted around, a spectacular view. It is still the home of nobility, but a lot of the large rooms filled with antiques and art are open to visitors. They do play on the link with the popular TV show, by showing large, behind the scenes pictures in the rooms where filming took place. A surprise to me is that the family is also famous for having sponsored excavations in Egypt, including the one that unearthed Tutankhamon’s tomb. The cellars of the castle still have a nice collection of Egyptian items, as well as a reconstruction of the tomb itself.
The confrontation with such display of wealth (the castle, not the Egyptian collection) is always a bit strange for me. Belgium does have nobility still, but they’re mostly people with jobs who can’t afford to maintain their castles. I never know what to think of this British tradition: is it a drain on society, where a few take advantage of the many, or is it valuable addition to economy and society? How is that evolving, in this day of taxes and expensive heating bills? Aside from all these philosophical questions, it’s very impressive to visit the house and estate. We had not seen Downton Abbey initially, but did catch a few episodes in preparation of this trip, and it’s really cool to see all the tricks of lighting and logistics to make such filming possible. This includes characters stepping out of closets and 30 crew people crammed onto a few square meters.
We have a quick lunch on site and then discover the grounds near the castle on foot. We see the Airman’s monument, to the fallen in WW2, then continue to the Secret Garden and via the greenhouses back to the entrance. It continues to drizzle, but a hat and light rain jacket are enough to keep me dry, so I don’t mind.
We have enough time left to visit the nearby Sandham Memorial Chapel, something completely different. This memorial contains a chapel painted with scenes from daily live of the painter during the Salonika campaign in WW1. It’s less about the big nightmares of war than other museums, but the sheer normality of the scenes combined with the intense emotion captured by the painter make it a chilling experience. There’s no artificial light at all in the chapel, the light from the grey day outside makes it even more austere. It’s very moving, important to remember. Camera’s not allowed, sadly, since the National Trust who manages the site does not have the copyright to the artwork itself. We spend a small hour in the small museum and chapel, before setting off again southward, for some much needed grocery shopping.
Always annoying to shop in an unknown store, you see every aisle three times to find what you need. The staff is very helpful though, and we have a relatively simple (as simple as can be when you’re catering for eight) shopping list, so it only takes all of us an hour or so to get everything together in two cars. Check out is exciting, we’re not used to this system where, during self-scan, the theoretical weight of the scanned item is compared to the extra weight when you put it down on the packing station, which is in reality a large scale. We make a few mistakes which block the system and require the cashier to unlock it again, but she’s a good sport about it and so we manage to leave without too much frustration.
Back in the house we divide the work: two cooks and an assistant in the small kitchen, five persons banned to the living room and playing board games. We resort to creative solutions to get everything ready, since we don’t have enough pots and pans to fit all the veg in one go! Never mind, we throw the eggplant, bell pepper and carrot brunoise in a large oven tray, bake the mush and meat separately and then throw everything together into the one big pot, ending up with a delicious veg and minced meat tomato sauce for our spaghetti.
We end the night with a few rounds of the card game Presidenten and, upon discovering the woeful lack of knowledge of classical music in one of the teenagers, a medley of great classical pieces.
Febe writes 