To The Manor Born

We have just returned from a 'relaxing' weekend away! So how come I am absolutely knackered? Let me think, was it the fact that we did not go to bed before midnight three nights in a row, or was it that we danced four hours at time every evening. Or could it be that we were staying in a hotel within a wildlife park that I just had to walk around three times a day, to visit my new found best friends.

We actually stayed in the house where 'To the manor born' was filmed, a fabulous Country house in the depths of Somerset. The weekend was a Sixties weekend, the first evening we were entertained by 'The John lennon experience' which was great fun. Saturday evening was the high point though 'The Backbeat Beatles' were top of the bill and were F.A.B. as we used to say! We jived, bopped and twisted the night away, in fact we were congratulated by many for our 'Twist' we can still twist down to the floor and back up again! Good core stability!

We even got some early evening Ballroom dancing in, although we felt like the cabaret some of the time as we were the only dancers on the floor a lot of the time. It concentrates the mind though and we put on a good show! In fact the entertainment team thanked us for our lovely dancing on the last night. I sometimes think it would be nice for my boss who thinks I am clumsy unco-ordinated and dyspraxic to see me dance as I certainly become elegant poised and graceful on the dance floor, weird but true! Oh except for when the underwear goes astray of course.

The wild life park was just brilliant, we had full access all weekend, in fact our hotel room overlooked it. The animals were all so well kept and happy and some of them very tame. We wandered around early one morning before it was open to the public and two little marmosets that live free in the trees came down to see us, I sat and chatted to them in the same noises as they were making and they came right down and climbed onto our shoulders, they decided my hair was in need of grooming and Barry's jumper was so cosy that they wanted to join him inside it!
The rhia's were gorgeous and also very friendly, they had all been hatched in incubators so were very human friendly. They have a very nosy nature and the most gorgeous eyes with the longest eye lashes imaginable. We fed them the luscious grass on our side of the fence. We met some newly hatched babies in the incubator room who all thought we were their Mum and Dad, so impossibly cute!

The meerkats were enchanting and busy little beings, the downside of visiting before the public was they had just been fed a meal of baby chicks, not the prettiest of sights, but hey, no worse than us sitting down to roast chicken really! I later caused a riot in their pen by giving them a bit of biscuit, they all sat and begged for more and growled at each other if they did not get a bit.

In the park they had a four acre Lemur wood, you walked through and they roamed freely among the trees and pathways. They loved to bask in the sun and were often found sat in a meditation position catching some rays on the paths.

We had to report an injured Wallaby to the office, poor chap had been fighting over a girl, yep! its that time of the year girls, when a young man's fancy and all that. He was bleeding profusely and looked very unhappy. However a keeper was immediatly dispatched to attend to him.
All in all a very lovely weekend, we are going to do it again next year and book 'The Zoo keeper' experience.
Every time I go away I manage to forget something, varying from my vanity case to even my whole suitcase. I did not disapoint myself this time, I was getting ready for bed and suddenly found myself lacking in the nightwear department! Oh well, as I said it's that time of year! Actually I borrowed a very fetching baggy T shirt of Barry's, not quite the effect I was after but never mind.