Waddesdon

About the Day
A great day today. Had the good sense to propose a visit to Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Got timed entry tickets to the house without having to queue or wait, and enjoyed long strolls through the gardens and parkland in plentiful summer sunshine.

In the evening had scoff at the Anchor and afterwards went to the Red Lion at Claverdon, from the gardens of which there are far flung views over Warwickian countryside. Hadn't sat down long when a chap approached the fair and scented lady asking her if she was my missus. For factual accuracy, he enquired if she was Mrs Morrison. On correcting his minor misunderstanding, the knowledgeable gentleman began showering her with praise mixed with numerous superlatives. Turns out Cath had taught his daughter and had so inspired her in English that she had gone on to Birmingham University to read English Literature. A short while later, the daughter herself, came out to speak. It transpired that Yasmin, an ebullient and confident young woman, had learned yesterday that she had graduated with a a 2:1. Her affable father was the owner of the place. Am sensing an early re-visit, perhaps with offers of 'on the house' may be?

About the Blip
This is a detail from one of two twinned canvases collectively entitled 'The Ball and the Concert'. The blip is from the Ball, full title A Ball Given by the duc de Nivernais to Mark the Birth of the Dauphin, painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini in 1751.