Julia's Diary...

Far into the night the stately Combines with their biting blades have been bringing in the harvest, swathed with dust, escorted by gulls with small mammals scurrying for cover, disorientated by the sudden lack of crops. The Harvest Festival in St Mary’s Church in Climping is now past and fields have been ploughed new crops drilled.

September has gone and it really has been the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. The hedgerows are laden with berries and fruits, the mists lie heavily on the fields. We are harvesting apples from our wonderful old Bramley apple tree, which never fails us with its profusion of fruit, many of our guests happily fill bags to take home with them. When we get a short break we peel a few more apples, pop them into the microwave and hey presto another bag of apple pie filling and sauce for the freezer.

Arundel Festival, one of the many highlights of the area, for visitors and locals alike is now over for another year. I spent two glorious afternoons following the Arundel Gallery Trail which is a wonderful opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their work. Visitors have the opportunity to view, not just the artwork, but also the many beautiful homes which are used as venues and some of the paintings were truly inspirational, (I must get those oils out of the back of the cupboard!!)

The splendid Goodwood Revival Meeting, as usual, brought many visitors to West Sussex. Our guests all entered into the spirit of the occasion with their 1950s costumes and looked great as they departed in their Classic cars. I was fortunate enough to go for one day and it really was like going back in time, everyone seemed so happy and joyous which was infectious to all. The vintage clothes and curio market, the slow-food fayre, the Victorian funfair and the gorgeous classic cars. The men looked splendid in their army, naval and airforce uniforms, breeches and tweeds, the women epitomising the glamour of the 1950s. Chris Evans looked like the cat that got the cream with his wife Tash in his new Ferrari 860. The Spitfires were an awesome sight, especially on their fly past.

Raise your spirits with a winter break at Derwent House. Take invigorating walks along the beach, crackling log fires whilst you partake of Jon’s sumptuous breakfasts, preceded by a bowl of steaming porridge oats with a shot of Malt Whisky. Ramble the South Downs and discover a wealth of country Inns. Don’t forget your wellies and waterproofs, and as Wainwright says ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothes’!!

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