"Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud"

Work on the top pond has started and the pond has been partially drained.  Mick (seen above) is looking elegant in his waders rescuing the Carp that are at the bottom of the pool.  They are being transported to the bottom pool where they should be quite happy.

We ducks are observing proceedings with interest - however have pretty much migrated to the bottom pond for now.

Lots of other stuff going on but with the cold snap the log fire now lit in the lounge and we are seeing less people in the garden as they are sticking to the cosy lounge area.

On the weekend before last we had some lively parties on with a Court Leet Ladies Dinner followed on Saturday evening with a 50th party (which was a 1980's theme - some fantastic costumes, make-up and huge hair!) and then, on Sunday a lovely family Golden Wedding party in the evening, all went really well but the staff did looked pretty tired at the end of the weekend.

On the 14th October there was a charity "make-over" event here too called "A Girls Night In" with supper and a make up demonstration from Esther Marie.  About 60 people all came along and raised some money for Age UK which is one of the Jinney Ring charities of the year.  We could see the demo through the conservatory window - looked pretty good but, generally we ducks prefer the mud and water treatments ourselves!

Finally on 17th Oct we had an Apple Pressing day - this was really interesting with people bring in their windfall apples and having them pressed into apple juice - the smell was quite intoxicating through the gardens, and this was before conversion into cider! (which many of the "pressers" were planning to do).  There is a bit of history with this event. In the early days of the Jinney Ring there was apparently an old working cider press here and this was used for a few years before it broke down and became obsolete. The press is still here, but only as a garden ornament.  Many people still remember the old days, even though it was 20+ years ago, therefore this year it was thought worth bringing in a working press with the help of Oliver Carpenter (dressed in Red) who works with the "Slow Food" organisation in Worcestershire.  This event was such fun that a repeat next year appears to be on the cards.   If you came along do let us have your thoughts for the future.