Off to the palace

Last week saw another visit to Hampton Court Palace, with the draw being their tulip festival. A cool start, but warm and sunny enough in the middle of the day, when it counted.

Quite a queue down Hampton Court Way, which turned out to be down to widening the pavements on the bridge, including rows of those black posts which are a lot stronger than they look, being rooted in concrete. Proof against marauding Transit vans. Probably the same model as those snapped above by Street View at the entrance to Kings Charles Street at the bottom of Whitehall.

More work going on at the station, where we parked. On exit intrigued by a green plastic contraption being used to corral a group of nursery children on an outing. I though herringbone, but neither Bing nor Google could do much with that. Eventually Google turned up walkodiles from the people at reference 3, very likely the suppliers of the contraption in question. Once I had the name, Bing turned up the snap above easily enough. I thought it would be fun if one could string them together to make a good long crocodile, but I failed to work out whether that was possible.

We learned on entry that the security operation was run on the same lines as at the British Museum, with proper staff providing the core service but with agency staff being used to top up. At least the latter did not get to wear the fancy red coats of the former.

The entrance to the private function space, where no doubt one could do well given money and good weather.

First stop at the Tilt Yard café - or perhaps cafeteria - for tea and almond croissant for him, coffee and a corner of the croissant for her. A croissant which contained a good dollop of a sweet tasting goo. Wouldn't want more than one of them at a time, unlike a real croissant, of which I can manage two or three. With the tulips above being snapped on the way in. And looking rather odd in this snap, not like real tulips at all. Better, I am happy to say, in real life.

Sadly, the once splendid north and south herbaceous borders running along the east side of the palace, running more or less from the river to the gate on Hampton Court Road, have been grassed over - perhaps one day to return. The gate might be Kingston Gate, but Bing is not very helpful on this last point.

But there were lots of tulips. Some massed in beds, some displayed as specimens, some of these last in blue and white Dutch pots, in which they looked rather well. Some were past their best, but there were plenty which were not. And some of the specimen tulips had very flashy interiors.

The famous laburnum arch was just coming into flower. Maybe we will remember to go back when it is at full throttle, maybe in mid May. Given that the last sighting appears to have been getting on for a decade ago, noticed at reference 4. There June, say May to allow for early flowering in this rather odd spring. Weatherwise, that is.

While the ancient wisteria next to the Great Vine was in full throttle. Facing east, with our north facing wisteria between extension and garage being some weeks behind. Well in bud, but not yet in flower.

The lower orangery garden, with some of the specimen tulips - and some of the Dutch pots - just about visible. The famous but rather dismal Mantegna being inside, rather than oranges in tubs.

The splendid display in the fountain court.

And including some rather nicely planted tubs.

Not sure whether the columns are stone all the way through, but the stone certainly looks to be a bit more than a bit of cladding. Maybe a rubble core, but hardly a fake. With apologies to the owner of the face on the left.

We were looking for a light lunch, so pie with a dab of lettuce did me very well, even if they gave me a beef pie rather than a chicken pie. Careless, given that I think that they were coded by shape. Also a touch peppery by the time you got to the end, rather in the way of a Cornish pasty.

While the late king did rather well with the cellar for his beer, although he might have been a bit too grand to drink beer in public. Perhaps he stuck to Rhenish. And then, what about the Cardinal, a proud man, probably very conscious of his own importance?

Nicely arched ceiling too.

Out to check up on the wine ship in Bridge Road across the water. Would it still be there? 

A place which has been through several incarnations since we have known it. Vineking on this occasion, which I think was what it was last time, although the lady in charge said that the owner was quite keen on rearrangements and that it had probably changed since we were last there. A visit probably noticed at reference 6. We found two bottles which suited, but probably won't make it to one of their eating and drinking evenings, something that mid-range wine shops of this sort seem to be quite into. A 2015 Spätburgunder from Baden (a red wine), which I now know to be a little to the east of Strasbourg, a type of wine I once bought in Tunbridge Wells, noticed at reference 7, and have not taken since.  Terroirs, as I recall, denied the existence of German red. A 2018 Sirmian from Nals Margreid (a white wine), which came from Alto Adige, a place I have something of a soft spot for in the wine department. Not sure why. Furthermore, it seems to have been struck off the list to be seen at reference 5. Further reports in due course.

I might say that the lady in charge very much knew her business, that is to say selling wine to mature gentlemen. It was a pleasure to be sold.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/04/wellingtonia-75.html. An important extra arising in the course of this visit.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/03/wilderness.html. What looks like the last visit, more than a month previous.

Reference 3: http://www.walkodile.com/.

Reference 4: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2013/06/laburnam.html. 

Reference 5: https://thevineking.com/.

Reference 6: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/09/palace.html. Erik Laan, trading under the Vineking flag.

Reference 7: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-white-that-got-away.html.