Diamonds

I was going to pass on Mono Monday.

But walking from the BnB to J's Mum's, I turned left to take some phone snaps of Highcliffe Castle. And lo and behold, found myself facing these doors covered in large iron diamond studs.

The Castle in not really a castle. It was built in the early 1830's for Charles Stuart, Baron de Rothesay, on part of his ancestral estate that he managed to buy back. He was one of the foremost diplomats of his age, for example helping to engineer Brazil's independence from Portugal.

It is a lovely building. It re-uses much of the carving from the Benedictine Abbey at Jumileges, and the Grand Maison des Andelys, both left ruined after the French Revolution. It had fallen into ruin itself by the 1960's, and came close to demolition with the remaining grounds developed for housing. Well done to Christchurch BC and English Heritage for saving it.

This has been a difficult weekend. We are in uncharted territory at present, lots of uncertainty with J's Mum and what happens next.