Dinga Donger's Farmhouse

Trip Start May 12, 2005
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Trip End May 14, 2006


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Monday, December 19, 2005

Welcomed very warmly by Alison (aka Dinga Donger), Johnny, Laura, Tom, Brandy & Toffee (pooches) and the chooks! Dinga Donger and Sarah go way back so it was really fun to catch up. On the first night we enjoyed a feast of "coq au van" (?spelling) topped off with minced pies that were whipped up right before our eyes....and cheese and fruit... and wine and beer..... Mark had never seen an Aga (gas fired Swedish stove which heats the house as well) and was very impressed.

Spent two fun filled nights with yummy dinners in Johnny and DDīs fantastic farmhouse. Markīs first time in England and he could notīt have had a better introduction to quaint English rural settings.Went to Oxford (Martinīs old stomping ground), got the tour of the colleges and more importantly a couple of pubs (the Whitehorse, where we had some fantastic pub grub). Martin also showed us "after hours" entrance into Exeter (over the back wall!!!) as well as the stunning chapel, gardens and grounds of his former college afro chook
afro chook
 . Went to the covered market, chockers full of game (headless venison!, pheasants, gammon, etc.).. really different to asian markets. Clare had a long overdue haircut at Toni and Guy and missed the exciting royal sighting of Princess Anne driving a bentliegh.

On our last morning we hopped over the road (a pretty small one) to visit Sulaman the Great and his harem of chickens. A great variety of very entertaining birds, sporting mowhawks, afroīs, flareīs, speckles, spots and even a few freshly laid eggs. We the hopped in the car and drove to the nearby hills to look upon the famous whitehorse, an ancient outline of a whitehorse in the grass. It was with a touch of sadness that we goodbye to the chickens and sundry family members and continued on our English odyssey.

Pat and Jacquelin

A lovely quick lunchtime visit to some of Sarahīs family, Pat and Jaquelin put on a fantastic spread. Beautiful house filled with exquisite art in Pangbourne. Catherine and Nicholas also joined us for lunch and we all had a great discourse on travel, art and many other subjects. Pat gave Clare and Sarah some galleries to check out on their upcoming excursion to Amsterdam. Time to keep moving as we needed to get to Penny (Sarahīs sister) and Tomīs place in Sissinghurst.
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