Greys Court in December
Our December visit found us at Greys Court where on a very cold but beautifully sunny day we enjoyed the Christmas decorations in the house. They ranged from the formal table decorations in the dining room to the whimsical train in the old school room where even the doll’s house had a tree, upstairs there were decorations made by the volunteers from the pages of old dictionaries and a delightful illuminated wooden village in one of the bedrooms.
The kitchen was decorated with crocheted and knitted gingerbread men made by members of the local WI, but the volunteer ‘cook’ had only just arrived so we missed out on the real gingerbread men!
Abstract Art at Reading Museum 12 January
https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/abstract-art
A small group of us visited Reading Museum in January for an exhibition of abstract art from their excellent art collection. This proved to be a thought provoking display of paintings, ceramics and weavings which, as intended, generated a lot of discussion. Artists represented in the exhibition include Terry Frost, John Piper, Steven Buckley, Prunella Clough and Barbara Rae. Downstairs in the Welcome Gallery we were able to see the latest acquisition (a donation) for the collection – a progressive screenprint by Picasso. We also visited the Green Space which explores the natural history of Reading and surrounding area to see the bittern – so that we know what to look for on our walks at Dinton Pastures! We bookended our visit as usual with coffee and lunch in The Pantry.
Treasure Trail in Reading 2 February
Six of us met for coffee in Reading at the Town Hall cafe and then split into two teams to solve the treasure trail. The route took us around the shopping area, also alongside the canal and to Reading Gaol. We learned new facts about Reading along the way – and solved the treasure hunt returning for lunch at the Town Hall Cafe.
Snowdrops at Greys Court 9 February
Five of us visited Greys Court, our local National Trust property near Henley, to see the snowdrops in full bloom. We also enjoyed the colourful crocuses and cyclamen and the highly scented Christmas box. We successfully negotiated the pavement maze – created in 1980 in response to an address by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie.
We also walked through the woods where the bluebell foliage had started to emerge and visited the ancient ice house. Of course no visit would be complete without morning coffee and lunch followed by a browse around the gift shop and second hand ‘book nook’.
Our March visit will be a guided walk from Blackfriars.