A lovely birthday in a beautiful place

I have taken you to Collonges-la-Rouge before, but I hope you don't get tired of it. We have been there several times and never fail to enjoy it all over again through the eyes of the new visitors we invite to experience this magic little village. Collonges is a great place to visit with little children, as cars are not allowed, apart from residents' cars, and they're out at work until late in the day.

Our friends Hilary and Keith gave us a lift there and my niece Laurita arrived with her family soon afterwards. We had arranged to meet at the restaurant where we were going to have lunch before wandering around the village. Hilary took this photo:

The children, Thomas and Nina (six and three years old), were shy at first, but once we started walking in the village and I started showing them some interesting things, such as the ancient communal bread oven, they were hooked. 

Nina asked if I have an oven in my house, bless her...

Collonges is a mystical place, with many tales of witches, fairies and knights in shining armour. The local shops reflect this:

    Creperie of "The Pilgrim and the Witch"

They were fascinated with the very long walk the pilgrims took from Rocamadour to Santiago de Compostela and the hospitality shown by villagers along the route. Collonges, like our own village, was one of the many stops en route to Santiago, and the welcoming shells are still very much in evidence.

Thomas was particularly impressed with the redness of Collonges, built with the beautiful red stones peculiar to the area. The village looks like something out of a fairy tale.

We had a really lovely time and I enjoyed my birthday very much. It was also lovely to come back from such a magic place and enter another one, our very own WTIOC, to be greeted by your warm and loving wishes. Thank you, friends, you know how to make an old girl feel special!

Visiting an old favourite park

We lived in Twickenham for over twenty years and enjoyed the fantastic local parks when the children were young. We continued to visit them often, just because...

I'm going to invite you to visit all of them, starting with the largest and most spectacular: Bushy Park.

Bushy Park is a royal park, rich in history:

Bushy Park extends over about 1,100 acres (445 hectares) of grassland to the north of Hampton Court Palace. Cardinal Wolsey began by enclosing farm land adjacent to the house when he took over Hampton Court and, when Henry VIII acquired the palace in 1529, the old oak fences were replaced by a high brick wall, traces of which can still be seen today. The park was originally of several distinct areas until the present boundaries were completed in 1620. The name “Bushy Park” was first recorded in 1604 and was probably a reference to the many thorn bushes. These were planted to protect the young oak trees which were being grown as timber for ships in the navy.

In Tudor times the parks were important as hunting grounds - Henry VIII stocked them with deer and there were rabbits in abundance. After the royal palace at Richmond was destroyed by fire, Hampton Court became increasingly important as a royal residence and the land we now know as Bushy Park was the adjacent hunting ground. Henry, and later his daughter Elizabeth, both enjoyed riding and hunting here.

There are formal areas, where the gardens are kept very neat, but there are also very rugged areas, where we find an abundance of wildlife. Actually, the wildlife is all over the park!

Jackdaws congregate in a grassed area::

A couple of coots, one nesting, the other going for a walk:

Another nesting bird:

An Egyptian goose:

A couple of ring-necked parakeets:

The famous Bushy Park deer:

I hope you've enjoyed the visit to this very beautiful place.

[Last three photos by Helen Carrington]

Let's visit Tiébélé in Burkina Faso

The whole village of Tiébélé looks like a work of art, in an architectural style called gurunsi. The men build the mud houses and the women paint the geometric shapes and add ornamental etchings with symbolic meanings. Each house is unique and the chief's house has the smallest door, for protection. Feast your eyes on these: