Click on the above link to see our beautiful newly designed website. Learn about our latest Bishops Frome exhibition at the GreenStage Gallery, (on until October 29th 2017) and see our latest paintings. Enjoy!
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There is definitely a hint of spring in the air at Four Seasons. The snowdrops and aconites are out and looking very pretty; the daffodils are just coming up but not yet in flower. The lawnmower is being serviced ready for action and the birds are singing more and more daily. Guests will enjoy our new garden furniture which is a glorious turquoise blue- a large circular table and four chairs for each apartment. Guests recently stayed from Japan - a return visit- and enjoyed the peace, quiet and tranquility. With the Leylandii trees beyond the orchard substantially reduced in height both apartments now enjoy far reaching southerly views towards the Cotswold hills.
We are just back from our wonderful trip to the New Forest on the south coast - only three hours away- which is an area of outstanding natural beauty and a real gem; we enjoyed fantastic walks with our dog; stumbling across wild ponies in the bracken and heather, a unique, delightful experience. Easy to get to from Four Seasons. I am working on a new series of figurative paintings - Stations of the cross- which will be on show at the cathedral during April 2017. I will also be showing large abstract paintings in the Chapter House at the cathedral during August to coincide with the Three Choirs Festival 22-29th July - and Paul & I will be participating in the annual Worcestershire Open Studios event here at our Four Seasons studios (26-28th August 2017). All welcome. Worcester now has a new Waitrose which opened in June 2016- just half a mile from Four Seasons- where there is a restaurant, cafe, tapas and sushi bars which I am sure our self catering guests will absolutely love. Worcester also now boasts a huge brand new swimming pool which opened in January 2017- fantastic for our guests and also for the residents of the city. On the high street close to the cathedral we also now have a Cote Brasserie which does a delicious two or three course French set menu- with an early evening option for early birds. Three great reasons to stay in Worcester. We hope to welcome you here! As visitors drive down the London Road past St Martin's Church they can now see the new glass west doors which were installed this week. I designed a contemporary depiction of St Martin helping the beggars which has been etched into the glass with the inscription from Matthew, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me". Bishop John of Worcester will bless the new door and lights in a ceremony in early July.
Over the last few years we have had the pleasure of welcoming former old girls from St Mary's Convent School to stay here at Four Seasons, from up north and across the pond. They all enjoyed their time there and drive past the former school reminiscing about the place. You'll be interested to hear it still looks very much the same and, if you have a few million to spare, is currently up for sale with Andrew Grant estate Agents! It had been bought with a view to turning it into a School of Medicine and Dentistry but sadly the deal fell through. Set in gorgeous Italianate gardens it is ripe to be developed into something special and discerning. Our Battenhall neighbourhood is especially quiet and peaceful.
Visitors to Museum of Royal Worcester on Severn Street can now not only see six of my etchings of jugs on permanent display but also my portrait of BBC Antiques Road Show presenter and former curator of the museum Henry Sandon MBE which was unveiled last August. In a few weeks time the local church of St Martin's on the London Road will unveil a new etched glass window I designed depicting St Martin on a horse stopping to help a beggar.This window will allow people walking past to see right into the church. Our guests often visit Worcester cathedral and are surprised to bump into me in the cathedral - I work part time in education welcoming school visitors, and it is always a pleasure to point them in the direction of King John's tomb or the Cloister cafe (where my daughter also sometimes works).
The snowdrops at Four Seasons are always a sight to behold and the first daffodils are just coming up at the front. Aconites, self sowing primroses and hellebore are also out. As the evenings get lighter I was walking around the garden at dusk the other day and the sound of birdsong was really delightful. Last Tuesday was a gorgeous almost spring day - a real blue sky day- and I was able to hang out the washing for the first time this year firm in the knowledge that it would be verynearlyalmost dry by the end of the day. The guests over from Canada (who wrote in our guest book: "Most enjoyable stay. Well equipped and lovely grounds. Thank you.") had left a Canada feet deep in snow so were delighted that the UK weather was mild and sunny. Some days were chilly though so a real mixed bag depending on which way the wind was blowing. I have put up a bird feeder near the guests' entry so hopefully some small feathered visitors will find it and take advantage of this hospitality.
When we moved here 17 years ago there was an old orchard of Bramley and Cox's Orange Pippin apple trees down at the bottom of the garden. A few years ago we added a couple of plum trees and last year we added an apricot tree (which is currently in blossom). Over the last few weeks we have not only added some more fruit trees but also planted some in the front garden. Neighbours along the lane have old apple trees in their front garden so historically the area was once an orchard so we have returned it to how it once was. We now have cherry, pear and more varieties of plum trees at the front. I am just waiting to add a damson tree to arrive then our fruit tree collection will be complete. I have also planted gooseberry, raspberry and blackcurrant bushes to our vegetable plot in order to keep the rhubarb company. Paul & I look forward to nurturing these new fruit trees and sharing some of the produce with our guests in the future.
I see from our guest book that since 2012 we have welcomed guests from the USA, Malaysia, Ireland, Cyprus, Korea, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the Cayman Islands, India, the West Indies,Holland, Canada, Germany, Singapore, the Channel Islands, Slovakia, Japan, Malta, Portugal and Iceland which is a fantastic international mix. In addition to this we have had visitors from all over Great Britain. A small number of guests have visited twice and one set of visitors have stayed with us three times so we must be doing something right! It is a pleasure to welcome new guests and they come to stay for so many reasons often family and friends related. In another next blog entry I will post some of their comments written in our visitors' book. It is good to know that our presence on Visit Worcestershire, Owners' Direct and Holiday Lettings works and reaches people all over the globe.
 Next week we will be uploading new photos of Four Seasons taken during the summer and visitors will see we have a new drive. I never thought I could get enthusiastic about a tarmacadam surface but it is a huge improvement.
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