Life Observed

Here we are in Stockbridge, near Andover. A small, ancient and perfectly formed little market town. It is home to many a Gallery and sports shop, plus several pubs and hotels. It used to be plagued by the main A30 traffic passing through but that is now carried on the A303, so the pace of life has slowed somewhat. I suspect you need to be well heeled to buy a house amongst the fly fishing community... However if you do pop in, try to visit Houghton Lodge nearby. A very pleasing prospect.. Spotted: This excellent bear, almost 5 feet tall, stands guard outside a fishing tackle shop...

Let us go to Houghton Lodge , hard by Stockbridge in Hampshire.  Houghton Lodge is " An 18 th Century  Grade ΙΙ* listed  Gothic Cottage Orné, idyllically set above the tranquil waters of the River Test."  We were visiting Stockbridge and decided to have a look at this place on a pleasant afternoon.  As we wandered around the beautiful grounds and garden we came across people in costume, looking for all the world like a Jane Austen novel come to life. It turns out to be a company of historical dance enthusiasts out for a stylish summer picnic.    In what is one of my great Missed Opportunities, I didn't have the brass neck to gather some of them together for a posed picture. There were all the right elements. The Empire line dresses, men in scarlet uniforms just back from some foreign campaign, and the odd bounder. Surely this fellow is The Warden from Trollope's Barchester Towers... Oh well. I sti...