Oxfordshire: A morning in Thame

We spent the morning in the lovely village of Thame browsing through the Farm Market and also through some of the small shops in town.

Tuesday is market day in Thame and the on-street parking was all taken by the time we arrived. It looked like everyone from miles around was heading there. There are several parking lots around town so don't worry about where to park. The Farm Market is a combination Flea Market and Produce Market. We started out by buying some jars of jam from one of the ladies. It was all delicious looking and some odd combinations of fruit that you can't find at home. We especially love gooseberry and also rhubarb mixed with just about any other fruit.

I bought myself a container of fresh raspberries to have for lunch and had to wait for the local ladies as they bought their produce for the week. The usual flea market things were for sale, tools, cheap luggage (which we later wish we had bought) and some very strange things like pigs ears dried I assume as a chewy for your dog???

In a wonderful little alley-way called Swan Walk where we found a small jewelry shop. Joe bought a watch and I have to admit I give in to temptation and bought a peridot ring with 10-carat gold which ended up costing only $74. The owners were very friendly and they sized the ring within 10 minutes for free.

Thame is a very pretty little town and I'm sure that it is very like many others in the area. I also bought a Lilliput in another cute little shop we found. It is a very relaxing and fun way to get to meet some locals and to just watch them go about their usual business.

Berkshire: A visit to Basildon Park

When the Lord and Lady Iliffe bought Basildon in 1952 it was what you would call a fixer-upper. It had not been occupied except by troops in the 2 World Wars since 1910. It began its life in the 1770's. It is a Paladian House built of Bath stone, designed by John Carr for Sir Francis Sykes. He was from Yorkshire and had made his money in the East India Company.

We began our visit with lunch in their restaurant. Leek, ham and potato pie and vegetable soup followed by cake. I tried the lemonade again, another mistake but the cake with coffee frosting and walnuts was delicious.

Basildon has very much the look of a family home. The Library looks well worn with floral couch covers and red walls. There is a table full of family pictures. I particularly liked the mirror over the fireplace and I took a picture of it. It is gilt in a fan design with gilt swags.

Off the other side of the Entrance Hall is a room with Graham Sutherland's sketches of the tapestry at Coventry Cathedral, in this room also are the chair that Lord and Lady Iliffe sat on at the coronation.

The walls in the Entrance Way and the Grand Staircase look like Wedgewood Jasperware with a medallion and a griffin.

The dining room has a table set for 14 with pale green walls and jasperware panels. It also has a lovely ceiling with gilt and plaster. The original fireplace in this room went to the Waldorf in London.

Not much is original to the house but there is some Chinese porcelain that is original. It took 2 years to make the familial rose with crest. It had been sold but Lady Iliffe and the National Trust together bought it back.

The Octagon Room has 7 of Batoni's Apostles. It has 2 large mirrors that make the room look even larger than it is. The Green Drawing Room has 2 very interesting Imari bowls and 2 etchings of Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV.

We also visited several bedrooms including Lady Iliffe's which has a canopy that hangs from the ceiling making a bed alcove.

The Chintz Room was closed the day we were there because of a lack of volunteers.

The house has an interesting National Trust Gift Shop. I bought my grandson a piece of Fools Gold which he loved.

Basildon Park
Rt A239
Oxfordshire, England

Oxfordshire: The charms of Buscot House

Buscot House is a Neoclassical house designed by Edward Townsend in the 1780's.  Two porphyry scagliola pillars date from that period. The rest of the interior design dates mostly from the time of the second Baron Faringdon. The House came into the Faringdon family in 1889. In 1962 the House passed to the National Trust.

The Dutch Room is of particular note. It has gorgeous green wallpaper and a plaster ceiling and frieze in the Adams style. The room includes a beautiful Rembrandt of a young blond man and a Van Dyke. There is also a Rubens of Marchesa Veronica Spinola Doria. The furniture in the room is a combination of Sheridan and Chippendale, the mantle is early 19th century with marble carved with fans and urns. A Sheridan satinwood fire screen finishes off the fireplace and in that beautiful ceiling, they have introduced recessed lighting without spoiling the look.

The dining room is magnificent with red wallpaper and a mahogany table and leather-covered chairs. There is Imari and Ch'ien Lung porcelain and also some 18th-century Chinese import bearing the arms of Stephen Sullivan, an ancestor of Lord Faringdon. The chimneypiece has a central plaque of Diana which was bought from a demolished London mansion. The leather dining chairs are from Clumber Park, the former seat of the Duke of Newcastle demolished in 1938.

One nice thing about Buscot is that even though they don't have a headphone tour they provide you with wooden tablets to read in each room.

The saloon is all gold, with a hint of pink in the furniture. It is a perfect backdrop for the Legend of Briar Rose Panels that cover the wall. It is really quite extraordinary, the ceiling has a fan design in the corners and a medallion in the center.

The drawing room has a very pretty case with miniatures, boxes, a watch and a bracelet. A collection of majolica adorns a table in the center of the room. A very pretty 18th-century longcase clock with floral marquetry in the hall adds a charming effect.

The Normanton room is mostly made up of paintings by living artists. Three windows look out toward the fountain; it is a light airy room with a carpet with a vine pattern. A spooky 18th-century state bed and an Italian or French Chausible are on display. A room of contrasts.

This is an interesting house with a good variety of items to view. Check opening times before you visit as they are limited. Closed on Monday and Tuesday.