Rather surprised by the large number of cars in the car park in the middle of this rather cold and dull winter morning. I suppose a mixture of people: there to walk their dogs. drawn to the house, decorated for Christmas, to the shop, newly stocked with Christmas goods (some of which are illustrated left) or to one of the cafeterias.
We were not allowed around the house by ourselves as there were not enough trusties available to guard all the rooms, but we were able to take a tour, mainly consisting of a talk. I thought the lady doing it did rather well, although I suspected the hand of the talkative, recently retired gent. on the desk in the words. The subject was a Christmas house party at Polesden - the stuff of many an Agatha mystery - but the words seemed a bit grand and learned for the lady, who looked and sounded as if she might have been a teacher before she turned up here. We learned, for example, that the house was more up to date than Downton Abbey, with electric bells having replaced bell pulls and with many of the guests bedrooms sporting en-suites, the height of luxury at the time, between the two wars. And the Glasgow brewer who made all the money to pay for it all was more in evidence than I would have expected. Is there no end to the fascination of middling people such as our ourselves for the goings on of our betters?
During our subsequent stint in the shop, apart from wondering whether it was stocked by the coach house people noticed at reference 1, I was pleased to see that they carried gift wrapped apple juice from the Chegworth Valley people noticed at reference 2. It's a small world in the gifts business.
The closing fish shop was noticed at reference 3 et seq.
PS: only just realised that the cottage we stay in in Ashburton is, appropriately, called the coach house.
Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/gifts.html.
Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/power-play.html.
Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/titbits.html.
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