Grey stones and Grey Skies

Sherryn and Tim, good friends from Oz, came and stayed for the weekend and we took the opportunity to show them some of Old England (in the rain). They also gave us the chance to test out our new car (actually older than the previous one but much much nicer). It 's a Vauxhall Omega (Aussie translation: Holden, something like a Berlina). Comes complete with seat warmers for those cold English mornings that we haven't really experienced yet! On Saturday after a late start we drove to Netley Abbey. It's the most complete Cistercian Abbey in Southern England and was built around 1239. It's also where we went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream performed several weeks ago.

We spent a good hour at the abbey experimenting with our new camera, a Canon EOS 400D. We can hardly put it down, although we have a LOT to learn. Perhaps there'll be a course we can do somewhere. We're hoping Jono will teach us some tips when he comes over to France in just 4 weeks!
This photo took a lot of work on Tim's behalf. He had to set the timer on the camera and then run 100 metres or so in 10 seconds whilst the camera counted down. We tried it 5 times with 2 different cameras before this photo happened.

On Sunday afternoon in the rain we visited Arundel Castle. The Keep is the oldest part of the castle (built starting 1067). It's full of all sorts of amazing funriture and decorations (a lion's pelt). The chapel was especially beautifully carved.
The current Duke and Earl of Norfolk live in one wing of the castle. It must be pretty chilly most of the time here. The stone walls are so thick I can't imagine what their heating bill would be like!

I promise I didn't write it!! But obviously a few other Jane's have added their score to the list (check out the lines below the name).