Bowes Joke

This is the garden of the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle in Teesdale. It was created by John Bowes, who was a very successful businessman with interests in coal, and his wife Josephine who was a French actress and art lover. It’s a lovely story. John and Josephine put many years and a lot of money into creating the museum, because they could, and as a gift to the community.

I was reminded of the Bowes Museum when we received an email from our English friend Martin, telling us that he and his wife had just visited the Bowes and were very surprised to find that we weren’t there in the café to meet them. It’s a joke that needs explaining. In 2019 we were indeed at the Bowes. We knew almost no-one in that part of England, so imagine our surprise when we walked into the café and there were our two friends. We would love to have joined them there again.