Norm's delight

Regular readers will know that Norm lives in Augusta - this is him on the right from which you can see he's no slouch when it comes to the ladies.  Didn't know it snowed in Georgia did you!
Don't forget to 'click the pics'.
He writes:
 I am particularly envious because you get to view that beautiful English countryside, literally just outside your back door, at any time you wish, while I must travel across the sea to do so.  How does one become a member of the “Mad Dogs and Englishman” Club??

As our red hot summer continued today, in spite of the weather forecaster weirdos delighting in gloom and threatening us with change and rain, we went off this morning to Little Everdon, a hamlet about 20 minutes south of us.
This is for you Norm; paradise, peace and tranquility where the slowness of rural life was demonstrated by the clock on one of the outbuildings of Everdon Hall. It was not a quarter past eight, neither when we passed the clock on our outward leg nor on the return.
To save the fox perhaps, caught in time?

"Is your clock kept at quarter past eight for a purpose?",
I enquired of a bucolic gentleman with a  gorgeous Northamptonshire accent.
"Needs cleaning, keeps marvellous time; was stopped when the men were here working on the house: the Captain's wife didn't really want it started again."
"The house has been recently altered then?"   
"Yes: about twelve years ago now" !   
 
How do you like that Norm? 12 years ago here is "recent". Even the post box on the wall with its own little approach path adds to the sense of timelessness.   The style of the crest above the letter slot, the letters V R separated by the crown, standing for Victoria Regina, indicates it was probably cast by Smith & Hawkes foundry at Birmingham in 1859.

All the chestnut trees we saw in Little Everdon, except one, were laden with pink as opposed to white blossom; a tribute to the thought of past landowners here.

In their shade, sheep and lambs wondered at our intrusion.





Here's the white one, up the lane.
        




One lane seemingly leads nowhere in particular;




  while others offer prospects of wider views.

And would you think this intrepid lady explorer, who even has the horse and rider behind hesitating for a moment and who sportingly gave permission for her portrait to be included here, would be fazed by anything of the unknown?





Well, not until we arrived here!
We had to get from this gate to the corner of the field behind the May blossom on the right. The bull referred to in the notice was a long way off to our left with his female companions.

Did we risk it?

See the next episode of "Casualty" for the answer.