Greetings from the Gulag Archipelago

A woman's gotta do, what a woman's gotta do... and I had to go to spend some time in the Gulag archipelago. A strenuous journey, not something that the Husband and the Hooligan could be expected to endure.

I travelled to a waste and barren country....

a country filled with wild and ferocious beasts, beasts that filled you with terror!

Look at this killer pigeon!

And a blood-thirsty dog - I suspect a pitbull!

 

"Just a bird" you say? Let me remind you of Hitchcock's film...

 

The wild Rio the Cat!

 

The houses were all built in the  gloomy and depressingly semimodern fashion, reminiscent of Mussolinis architectural outbursts. One felt sorry for those who had to live in those square, rectilinear buildings, devoid of all atmosphere.

No early morning walks! None at all. Everything was just about sweating in the treadmill, not a single breath of fresh air!

Who is this red-headed woman?

And the food! One wonders how people survive... with only the bare necessities to keep you alive.

Dorset Apple Cake with Clotted Cream - disgusting, isn't it?

 

And horror of horrors; scones with clotted cream and home-made jam

Should you ever visit the schoolhouse tea rooms in Abbotsbury, with its cakes...

...make sure to choose their home-made shortbread. Being a shortbread connoisseur, I can safely assure you that this is THE shortbread to eat

 

But somehow, one did find time for en excursion. Being a severe Jane Austen-fan, it was an absolute necessity to go visit Lyme, where the immortal Louisa Musgrove fell from the steps on the Cobb. Viz. these...

or then again, it may have been from these...

no matter, she did fall! I, however, not having a strong and manly Captain Wentworth to catch me, had better not fall. So I walked just out to the end, and beheld the sorry view of the desolate landscape. And look! Notice the redheaded woman again! Who could she be? A sinister figure indeed!

Lyme Regis was, apart from the headbreaking steps, a colourless place.

One did then have to visit a tropical garden. But alas! Only weeds. And a sad view of a dreary contryside.

No magic at all!

One decided to visit the swannery.

Swans must be elegant creatures with a great air of magic and mystery about them! However, they turned out to be shy and not very willing to be photograped at all:

So, one visited a National Trust-building, Tintinhull House. Oh well, it could have been worse, I suppose... but look at the walls surrounding the garden!

I seem to remember that the Husband promised to build me a wall (or two...) in my garden.

Something like this might be nice... and if he could somehow turn our mansion to look like this, I might nod in approval. I am sure that the Husband would greatly appreciate if I approved of his doings. So he had better build me those walls!

One did, to ones surprise, manage to survive this visit - and then one got home and forced the Husband to look at about 500 pictures of sea and skies. I am sure that he greatly appreciated all of these!

Thank you, Sue, for a wonderful visit! Dorset must surely be one of the most beautiful places in the world!