English customs

We went to a small village called Chelsworth in Suffolk with Richard's brother Ray & sister in law Mary here is a photo of a typical house thatched & painted "Suffolk pink".
There was an open garden day & various other things happening, including some Morris dancers.
I was fascinated with this strange custom. It looked like great fun. The blackened facess are supposedly more about disguise than parody but some people these days use another colour, (given the negative connotations for some of Blackface). You can view the video here.
The name is thought to have come from "Moorish" dancing. The King of Morocco being paid for dancing with a troupe in 1688. You can find out more here at Wikipedia.

The gardens that we visited were just perfect; much more fun to visit than to have to maintain, I'm sure. English roses are a thing of wonder.
We had afternoon tea and watched a group of very English children (one called Daisy) play beside a fountain.











Strange Dr Seuss like trees, wild Tiger & water lillies too.