Sally-Part 90. WONDERFUL WALLINGTON HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND ! FOR OLGA ! NOW WITH EXTRA PHOTOS ADDED ON NOVEMBER 15TH AT THE END !

ME ? OR A TELETUBBIE  UNDER A TREE IN THE STUNNING WALLED GARDEN !

You might live on a yacht in St.Tropez or a penthouse overlooking Central Park but you don't have what we have and that's Wallington Hall !

WELL! DO I NEED TO WRITE ANYTHING ? Well actually yes because when I was snorkelling recently in The Red Sea I was amazed to see that when I put my head underwater the sun's rays focused to a point beneath me ! I know it's all to do with refraction or something but it was weird !

From the friendly staff who welcome you in , to the volunteer gardeners and the staff in the restaurant, everyone smiles !

EVEN STINGING NETTLES ARE BEAUTIFUL WITH THE AFTERNOON SUN BEHIND THEM !

And I smiled when our 'Buy nine and get one absolutely free !' tea and coffee voucher got stamped for the very first time in twelve visits !

And no wonder everyone's happy ! All the children have gone back to school and left the place to the old pegs who stumble their way between toilets shouting " What d'you say ? " at each other as they take up residence on the benches and spill their Thermos flasks all over the paths before they even get a cup of tea poured !

And if they do walk around the grounds you can watch them all nicking cuttings and stuffing them quickly inside their 'poacher's coat' pockets !

SHIRLEY ACTUALLY ASKED, " IF THE SUN DIDN'T SHINE HOW WOULD THEY KNOW TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO WHETHER 'DEAL OR NO DEAL' HAD STARTED ?"

I took NOTHING and left only well deserved money in the restaurant till after feasting on a really excellent beef casserole, cake and huge mug of filter coffee...... and quite a large amount of urine,caused by the generous mug the coffee was served in, in the copiously provided toilets ! ( Too much info !--editor )

MY FAVOURITE GREENHOUSE IN THE WHOLE WORLD !

So here are some more stunning photographs taken with my brilliant £69 Pentax digital camera !

APPARENTLY, BRACKET FUNGII ARE DELICIOUS !

SHIRLEY ! SHIRLEY !WHERE AM I ? WHO AM I ? IS THAT YOU UP THERE ? WHERE'S MY BLOOMIN SPECS ? SHIRLEY ! I'M DOWN HERE SHIRLEY ! HAS ANYONE SEEN SHIRLEY ?

AND ARE THERE CRUMPETS STILL FOR TEA ? APPARENTLY RUPERT BROOKE'S WORDS WERE, "AND IS THERE HONEY STILL FOR TEA ? " AT LEAST I HAD READ IT ONCE EVEN IF I COULDN'T QUITE REMEMBER IT PROPERLY ! STILL THOSE WHO PREFER MY INTERPRETATION CAN SAY SO WHEN  THEY COMMENT ON THE BLOG ! I WILL TRY TO ANSWER YOU IN PERSON IF THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY OF YOU TO REPLY TO !

IT'LL BE CHRISTMAS SOON ENOUGH AND YOU'LL BE WONDERING WHY YOU NEVER WENT TO WALLINGTON WHILST IT WAS STILL IN FULL BLOOM !

OH MY GOODNESS !

PERFECT !

AND EVEN MORE PERFECT !

GO ON ! SOMEONE EXPLAIN EVOLUTION TO ME !

And now for some more taken on the 15th of November 2012.

I realise that this is probabaly NOT the sort of writing that the bosses at THE NATIONAL TRUST would choose to use as publicity but they are welcome to reprint the entire Blog for FREE and use it to attract even more people in ! Go on, I dare them !

ARE THERE FAIRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF WALLINGTON HALL'S RIVER WALK ? yOU'LL HAVE TO USE YOUR EYES TO SPOT THIS !

RIDICULOUSLY WONDERFUL ENOUGH FOR ANYONE ! BRACKET FUNGUS ON A STUMP.

THE MEXICAN CIGAR PLANT IN THE GREENHOUSE. I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO GIVE UP SMOKING PICK THESE AND DRAW DEEPLY ON THEM !

I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS THIS VERY IMAGE THAT WAS USED IN JO BRAND'S FANTASTIC SERIES 'GETTING ON' AS THE INAPPROPRIATE CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURE ! BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO WATCH THE SHOW FOR MORE DETAILS !

 A CLOSE-UP OF LICHEN ON AN ANCIENT TREE. THIS IS AN INDICATION OF JUST HOW CLEAN THE AIR IS !

I'VE TAKEN TO WEARING MY NATIONAL TRUST ( SCOTLAND ) CARD AROUND MY NECK ON PERMANENT DISPLAY BECAUSE THERE ARE BLOODY GUARDS EVERYWHERE FOLLOWING YOU AROUND AND CHECKING THAT YOU HAVEN'T SNEEKED IN WITHOUT PAYING !

 AND NOW ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO AND SEE THE GLORIES OF NORTHUMBERLAND FOR YOURSELVES !