Afternoon tea in Cerne Abbas

I had an appointment in Dorset today so on my way back I made a detour via Cerne Abbas, better known as the home of the Cerne giant. When I moved from France to Dorset in 1981, I stayed in Cerne Abbas with my parents and my sister for the first night and the next morning we drove to our new home in Affpuddle.

Cerne Abbas is a pretty place with a mix of architecture including many pretty thatched cottages.

The New Inn  shown on the right is where I spent my first night of the move in 1981

 I had afternoon tea at Abbots, a pretty tea room with a wonderful selection of homemade cakes.

After refreshments, we went in search of the giant...

 It is a giant carved on the hill. The history behind the giant is mixed but the first known written reference of the giant was in 1694.

www.google.co.uk

The views in this area of Dorset are particularly beautiful.
Dorset will always have a special place in my heart

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Sunday at Dairy House Antiques & down to the coast

Yesterday we went to the Dairy House Antiques for the Vintage Textiles & Costume Day.
It was a breezy sunny day, the stalls looked inviting so off I went to have a good look around. It's a fantastic building, with room upon room full of absolutely gorgeous antiques and vintage items. If you haven't been there before, it really is a must!

It was an wonderful opportunity to say hello and catch up with fellow bloggers & to meet ones I had not met before such as Tracey and Ali whom I was so really pleased to have a chat with. I also met Maggie who makes those beautiful bags & cushions which can be found in Niki's shop. It's so lovely to put a face to someone you have heard about or blogged with.


There was a huge turn out and at times it was difficult taking photos of the stall inside & out as so many people shopping and browsing around the stalls.


Niki told me about this beautiful embroidery. I had to see it for myself, the photo doesn't do it justice. It is a stunning piece of work.













Those photos are a very small taster of what was there.

On the top floor Miss P spotted a stall full of jewellery and decorative pretties made using vintage buttons. Miss P was very keen to have a tutorial given by Tamsyn G on how to make a heart.






That is what Miss P's heart looked like when she finished making it! I was so impressed, especially as it was her first one. She handed over to me and said "It's for you Mummy".
Twenty minutes later another little bag was given to me saying these are for you. She had bought the earrings with her pocket money. Miss P added, "Now you really will have to have your ears pieced again so that you can wear them". Something I had intended on doing but have not got around to doing yet. Now I have a good reason to get them done soon!

Here are some of the things I brought back, I could easily have bought a lot more but as we are buying two sofas this month, I had to be more restrained than usual...







After the fair we headed toward the coast, stopping in the Martyr Inn - Toldpuddle (Dorset) for lunch. En route to Weymouth we drove through Affpuddle, Briantspuddle & Bovington to show Miss P where I used to live and the places I used to visit or cycle to. She loved the house I used to live in and said that she would buy it as soon as she could afford it! She declared on the spot that she wanted to live there, in Affpuddle. ;-))

Eventually we arrived in Weymouth, Miss P loves it there as you can tell by the photos.




It was a great day out! I hope you all had a great weekend too.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

A weekend in the DORSET PUDDLES Part 1

Over the half term weekend we went to Dorset for a break. It was a trip down memory lane for me. Most of my childhood was spent living in the South of France. However, when I was 14 years old (early 1980's), we moved to AFFPUDDLE in Dorset. Where? I hear you say. I agree, it is a funny name, the whole area is full of funny names with puddle or piddle being part of the name. The River Piddle runs through Affpuddle. In fact, Affpuddle was once known as Affpiddle.
Affpuddle is a very nice hamlet with lovely houses & thatched cottages.


Affpuddle is situated between Puddletown and Bere regis. (Click on photo to enlarge the map)



For the first six months I REALLY did not like it there at all! Too much of a contrast with living in the South of France (Monte-Carlo & Cannes). Not long after we moved to Affpuddle, I recall going to the little shop in the neighbouring village of Briantspuddle. As I walked out of the shop, two men were sitting on the doorstep. One of them said: 'That's the foreigner' in quite a strong Dorset accent. There was no attempt at being discreet!

I remember thinking how rude!!! I was not impressed and couldn't wait to go back and tell my parents how rude people where here! On other occasions we would be stared at as if we have landed from Mars, no hello, just starring and muttering. Oh how I missed France! I have to say that I did not experience that with any of our immediate neighbours who were all very nice. It seemed to happen when we were out and about.

Thirty years ago things were different then, anyone who was not from Dorset was an outsider or a "Grockle" is the term some locals use/used. Things weren't as cosmopolitan as they are now. Now people travel more and are more used to outsiders. This is fair to say of some other parts of the UK too.

I eventually settled and Affpuddle became one of my favourite places to live! I discovered a different way of life, rural life, the countryside and a slower pace of life. Cycling along the country lanes, something which we where not able to do where we lived previously. Affpuddle still remains a very special place to me, unfortunately we only lived there for 3 years but I have some wonderful memories including an idyllic snowy Christmas.

If I had to choose between living in the South of France or Affpuddle, I would choose Affpuddle. Surprised, shocked & stunned? Especially after what I said about how I felt upon arriving here? I still very much like the South of France and am very lucky to have lived where I did. However, life out there can be quite artificial, Affpuddle is real, down to earth and wholesome.

Fancy having a little tour around this lovely village?











The house I lived in was previously owned by an elderly lady called Joan Brocklebank, the author of "Affpuddle in the County of Dorset". When we moved in, she left a copy of her book for us to have.


An illustration from the book


St Laurence's Church













The Old Vicarage


In the 1990's the Old Vicarage was a B&B. After we left Dorset, my sister and I would stay here from time to time for a weekend break to reminisce and visit friends and old neighbours. Sadly, it is no longer a B&B as the couple who owned it moved. It was such a beautiful house to stay in!



Proudly put up inside the Church


Illustration from the book ( That is one of the views we had from our house)


and so was this view. Another illustration from the book. The foreground shows some of the garden that belongs to the house. I was lucky enough to have that view from one of my bedroom windows.


Walking towards the house which I used to live in on the left


Here is where I used to live. So little has changed from what I could see, apart from the windows which are now PVC. ;-( I prefer the ones we had then, wooden ones with small square panels ( just like the window shown on the very last photo of this post)


Looking back


Lovely name for a cottage


Views from Affpuddle


A cottage for sale! Very tempting...


Turning back and making our way back to the Church where we parked our car.




Had to have another look of course! I so wanted to have a peak at the lovely large garden around the house. Just to know if it was all laid out as before...


This cottage is almost opposite where I lived.


Back to the entrance of the village.



We then headed for BRIANTSPUDDLE where we stayed in a B&B



The next day we woke up to a lot of wind and rain outside. Luckily it cleared up by late morning. This meant a lot of walking and exploring but that's all my next post...

Thank you for letting me ramble on and reminisce about my past! ;-))

A bientôt!

Isabelle x