Apart from the weather ...

not much is happening here at Hambleden ... soooo ...

back to the weather!  

We've seen amazing cloud formations bringing that awful rain ...

fortunately with a few bits of ...

blue sky too!

The local heron is taking advantage of the swollen stream behind Still Rockin' to catch an early breakfast ... and talking of swollen water ...

this is a photo of the pontoon opposite our mooring.

The pontoons rise as the river rises, and when the height of the river reaches the water mark that is when the pontoon starts to rise.  

The River Thames started to subside a few days ago and the water fell a few inches below the bottom of the opposite pontoon but has since risen again.  

The above was taken on the 13th November and our pontoon is risen about 15" and was very wobbly to walk on.  

To date (29th November) all but 6 of the 49 reaches on the non-tidal Thames are still in flood (red boards) ... which reminds me of a couple of photos that I took last Monday (and forgot to put on the blog) ...

 this is the tail gate lock landing at Marlow and as you can see ... it's not a floating pontoon.

 And Marlow Lock House wrapped in scaffolding.  We'd been talking to one of the lock keepers a couple of months ago and he was telling us that the EA (Environment Agency) was buying back the lock houses on the Thames from private owners, refurbishing them and reinstalling  a resident lock keeper ... and I wonder if this is what is happening here.

Back at the marina I've hung out the bird feeders.  It took a few days for the birds to discover them and now, once again, the parakeets have taken them over.  It annoys me that the smaller birds and the woodpeckers keep their distance while the parakeets are in the tree but I must admit they are very clever and learn fast.  Like the one above which taught itself to get down the cord holding the apple so that he could eat it!  (Sorry about the quality of these two photographs, they were taken through a window which was wet from the rain as I didn't' want to disturb the birds by going up onto the deck.)

 Wednesday (27th) we woke to a chilly morning ... 

 and some blue in the sky! 

Hambleden Mill in the sunshine ... but it didn't last long ... and the rain came again!

This made me laugh later that morning ... the parakeets have caused the apple to fall and these two Mallards have found and are enjoying it!

So proud!

Working hard to step up the ladder of the TV/film industry our Grandson Adam has his first TV credit ...

on Channel 4's programme Save Well, Spend Better partly funded by Lloyds Bank ...

 of which the first of eight episodes was aired on Monday 18th November.

Well done Adam and good luck with all the upcoming projects you are involved in, we are so proud of you.

A walk through Marlow in flood ...

Walking through Higgsons Park in Marlow towards the swollen River Thames last Monday (18th) ...

and crossing the little bridge under which usually runs a small stream into the main Thames channel ...

but today looks more like a fully fledged river itself!

Looking to our right we can see that the line of canada geese is usually the edge of the river bank where we would moor Still Rockin' and the footpath is completely under water.

Looking to our left from the wooden bridge is Marlow Bridge and the church, the lock and the weir

Walking along the footpath ...

towards All Saints Church ...

George admiring the splendid Victorian War Memorial Window in the north aisle.

Unusual marble and stone pulpit built in 1863

The organ is Victorian and cost £700 to build originally and £140,000 to restore!

The Lady Chapel

Window dedicated to the Wethered family

Stone font with beautiful spired cover

Walking through the churchyard looking down the Thames past the weir towards the white appartment buildings to the left of Marlow Lock

For more information on Marlow Church see HERE

Cyclamen 

Seen over the churchyard wall and wonder if this would have been a church building

Though there was a church in Marlow as early as 1070, the present Church of All Saints is a Victorian creation, built after the spire of the old church collapsed in 1831. The old building was demolished, and a new church constructed of Bath stone, topped by a graceful spire soaring 170 above the town. The combination of spire and bridge form one of the most unforgettable Thames sights.

Parish Offices

We come out of the church grounds onto Ferry Street to see these beautiful buildings opposite.  The one on the right is 'The Old Weir House' and on the left is Marlow Ferry

I couldn't find any clues from the street as to what this building with its fabulous chimneys was or is.  It sits right against the slipway onto the Thames and has a lovely old church-like porch.

The bridge over Marlow Lock's by-wash which leads onto the lock island ...

and the view from that bridge looking upstream with the weir on the left.  How tranquil it looks ... very deceiving!

Afterwards we walked back into town, had very nice lunch at Burghers and caught the bust home ... a good outing!

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Walking to Hambleden ...

Sunday morning (17th) we walked from the marina at Mill End into the village of Hambleden about a mile away ...

but before we set off we went to see if the Thames was still rising ... and it was!  At the weir here there are actually three steps down ... you can see two of them here in my blog post last week but today only the top step is visible.

The original Hambleden Manor (above) was incorporated, in 1725, into the building above which overlooks the cricket ground and called Kenricks for Rev. Scawen Kenrick.

Fine houses line the road on our left from Mill End into the village

St Mary's Church in the distance ahead

and to our right, wonderful views of the Chilterns

Fabulously old kissing gate takes us into Hambleden village

There has been a church on this site since Saxon times although the lichgate through which I'm looking above is 19th century ...

and the building we see today is mostly 13th century Norman

The Lady Chapel with a similar brightly decorated ceiling to that in the one over the alter

Looking back down the Nave towards the bell tower where the oldest bell was cast in 1415, the year of Agincourt, and up at the more simply decorated roof

Leaving St Mary's we follow the church wall ...

The Stag and Huntsman (left) and the Hovis house, seen in As Time Goes By  staring Judy Dench and Michael Williams screened by BBC 1992-2005

The current Hambleden Manor dates from 1603/5 and was build for Emanuell  Scrope 12th Baron of Bolton who later became the Earl of Sunderland.  It was altered and extended in 1830 and later in the 20th century.

The plaque at the side of the gate reads ...

James Thomas Brudenell

Lord Cardigan

Led the Charge of the

Light Brigade

Born here 1797

Returning to the kissing gate to cross the two fields ...

where the sun is trying valiantly to break up the thick clouds ...

as we make our way home for lunch.