Gardens, houses, the beach and Evensong

A wonderful weekend, the last days of summer and warmer than most of our real summer days!

It was a weekend with lots of activities, happenings and all sorts of events all over the country. "Open Monument Day" was a national event. It takes place once a year in September, when monuments such as historic buildings and churches, are open to the public. This time the emphasis was on gardens around historic buildings: country houses, castles and private houses. It also was national pipe organ day, among other things. Anyway, the weather was absolutely glorious, a last chance to wear that summer dress! I had plans to go to Breda, but as so often in the weekends, there were no trains going to or from Breda due to...? It wasn't quite clear. So I decided to walk to two very nice and old houses, one could be called a "mansion", just some 7 minutes from where I live, which had opened their gardens to the public. 

I had often admired the front of the biggest house from the road, and from some paths through the woods at the back, but the gardens are well hidden from view. They are really wonderful, partly in the English landscape style, partly more formal. It is called the French style, but in fact to me it resembled many English gardens, like Hidcote Manor Gardens which I visited again last month. 

They both have garden rooms, separated by tall and very neatly pruned hedges. This garden also had a very nice swimming pool, surrounded by floral borders and with very inviting seating areas. I was allowed to take pictures, but not allowed to publish them. So I will only show those which are in fact public as one can see as much from the road. Or pictures of flowers which doesn't reveal much of the gardens.

The owners sold coffee and other drinks, as well as homemade cupcakes, the money going to a charity. They gave lots of interesting information about the house and the gardens and the history of the former estate which was much larger, including the woods at the back and the next house I went to, just a short walk away. The small one had been completely modernised inside, but the outside was as it used to be and to me very attractive indeed. Apparently it was bought by the son of one of the women I used to play golf with years ago. That is to say, she played, I had lessons and never really played!  She was on duty as a guide and we were very surprised to see each after so many years. She gave me a personal tour of the house!

The weather was absolutely perfect for a leisurely walk to the houses and back through the wild wood, which once belonged to the estate, later to the mental hospital, but now is open to the public. It has some interesting plants, and a bridge dating back to another era, when this was still private property.

One of four "dragons" on the railing of a bridge in the woods. 

In the afternoon I went to the beach with a niece and her two children and some friends. It was ideal: not too hot, not too cold, not even very busy, clean and clear water, no jellyfish to spoil the fun and a very high water temperature – at least for the North Sea.  A perfect Day.

It is amazing how many people were about on bikes, cycling for the sheer pleasure of it. Now that electric bikes have become very popular, many elderly people ride bikes again. In a country which knows what the word wind means, they do come in handy! There are more bikes than people in Holland! Including babies, we have some 17 million inhabitants.

On Sunday morning I just enjoyed the garden. In the afternoon I went to Haarlem to sing Evensong in the BAVO, the main church in the Market Square. This is what we sang:

Introit: Praise the Lord, ye servants – John Blow 
Preces and responses: Gabriel Jackson
Psalm: 146 
Canticles: Noble in B minor
Anthem: Vox Christi – Philip Wilby 
A Prayer of King Henry VI - H.Ley

It was a beautiful service, and in spite of the very warm weather the church was relatively full. The town itself was still bustling with people, as here too Open Monument Day had attracted lots of visitors who were now relaxing and enjoying food and drinks on the many sidewalk cafe's around the church and in the market square.

The singing was wonderful, and afterwards we relaxed in the market square facing the back of the choir, with well-deserved drinks! Aren't those robes hot!

 The famous Muller organ

Choir stalls with one of the misericords, not used by our choir since we sang in the nave.

The following link is to the recording of the complete service of evensong. It takes quite a few minutes before anything happens and the service begins!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4DaoFNIqbgMaUhsR2JDNG1OUzg

It was a wonderful and perfect Sunday, even though my voice was still rather hoarse because of the dreadful cold and bronchial infection I suffered from this past week, and the effect of the antibiotics. But at least I sang in the choir and did not have to sit in the congregation, biting my heart out that I couldn't join in.

The weekend was as warm and summery as the last weekend I spent in England after our singing week in St. Albans. A perfect day.