As the nights have drawn in and the weather has become less and less appealing, I’ve been making the effort to get out and about in the fresh air whenever possible. Every year I forget how much I struggle in November. But I know daily walks have a big impact on my mental health, so I’ve been prioritising those – I’ve been really enjoying watching the changing of the seasons as I’ve taken my daily stroll round our neighbourhood.
Ben and I have both been getting back into photography recently, and we’ve been making the effort to visit somewhere new with our cameras every weekend. Which leads me neatly onto…
Places I’ve been in November
Smallhythe Place, Kent
Smallhythe Place is a 16th century cottage which was the home of Victorian stage star, Ellen Terry. The house is set up with memorabilia from Ellen’s life and career. With a small cottage, pleasantly un-landscaped gardens and a theatre in the barn, it’s a nice place to spend a couple of hours. The coffee shop is nice, but they don’t offer very much food (probably due to space constraints).
It’s now closed for the winter, and will reopen at the end of February, from Wednesday to Sunday.
For next year, it’s located about 20 minutes to the north of Rye by car, so would be a good add on to a trip to everyone’s favourite smuggling town.
Turner Prize 2023, Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, East Sussex
When the Turner Prize rocks up half an hour from my door, I have to go! After the disappointment of missing my guided tour last month, I was still very keen to go and see some art.
The four shortlisted artists (Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker) have very different artistic styles, which made for a really interesting visit. Barbara Walker and Jesse Darling’s exhibitions were my favourites – they felt very cohesive, and I thought both conveyed strong messages.
The exhibition is on until 14th April, with free admission.
Eastbourne Alive, Eastbourne, East Sussex
While we were in Eastbourne, we took a stroll to see some of the public art which is on display to celebrate the Turner Prize coming to town.
I found the map on the website a little hard to follow, so we didn’t get to see everything, but it was a nice walk, and I’m always happy to be by the sea. The public art is on display for varying periods, so check the website for more info.
Ightham Mote, Kent
We started our Christmas adventures Tudor-style, with a trip to Ightham Mote to enjoy the decorations. I sold it Ben as ‘a place name made up of two words, neither of which is spelled how you would expect’. The manor house is exceedingly picturesque, complete with a moat, and lovely gardens. I’m looking forward to coming here again at different times of year.
Ightham Mote is open daily, and the Christmas decorations will be up until 8th January. There are quite a few festive events taking place, so check out the website for more details.
About 20 minutes from Sevenoaks, this would make a great double-date with Knole.
Batemans, East Sussex
Our next Christmas adventure took us to Batemans for a writer’s Christmas. The Christmas decorations at Batemans have been handcrafted by the volunteers who work there, and they have a literary theme, inspired by former resident Rudyard Kipling. There’s also an exhibition of a recreation of Batemans House from paper at the moment, and it’s stunning.
I’ve been to Batemans twice now, and both times have been in the winter. I’d really like to make the time to visit in different seasons, as I think the garden would be a lot more interesting, and there would be more walks to enjoy. It’s about 15 minutes from home for us, so there’s no excuse!
You could combine a trip to Batemans with a visit to Bodiam Castle which is both 20 minutes and an entire world away.
Reading around the world
These posts take me a long time to put together, so I’m aiming for one per month, but I am slightly ahead of the game on the reading front. Any posts I make in the series will show up here. Here’s my November progress.
- Brazil: This month I added Brazil to the list with The Invisible Life of Eurydice Guzmao by Martha Batalha.
- Colombia: I finished Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez. I was blown away by this unusual book. I’m planning for my post about this to go up next weekend.
- Denmark: I’ve just started We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen. After a slow start, I’ve been drawn into the story. It reminds me of an Icelandic book called Heaven and Hell by Jon Kalman Stefansson, which was another beautifully written book, though one I think I would need to read again to appreciate. On a simplistic level, they’re both written in part in first-person-plural. Anyway, that linkage reminds me of my friend Karl, who made me read Heaven and Hell, and that makes me happy. Also, I managed to persuade my book club to choose this as our latest read, so I’m killing two birds with one stone!
I also read another few books:
- Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon (3 stars from me) – set in Venice
- The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer (3 stars from me) – set in London and Brighton
- Unrequited Infatuations by Stevie Van Zandt – I didn’t finish this one. My mum passed the book on to me, but I only had a vague idea who this was. I eventually decided life was too short to read a very long book about someone I wasn’t interested in.
Student Life
As I write this, I’m still waiting for feedback on my first two assignments, while also trying to start work on the next two. I have enjoyed the work for both of these assignments more – partly due to less of a religious theme.
I’m still happier with my history module on Early Modern Europe, but something clicked in the last couple of weeks in Art History, and I’m now enjoying that a lot more. The units I enjoyed were about female patronage during the renaissance, and El Greco. The female patronage chapter felt like something which I could have covered in my history module, so no surprise there. I think what I liked about the El Greco chapter was the biographical approach – I also enjoyed a chapter on Simone Martini during our Medieval block, so I’m seeing a theme emerge.
I hope I get the feedback soon. Regardless of the mark, and the absolute cringe-fest which is receiving feedback about my work, I’ll have something to benchmark myself against in future assignments, as well as useful information on where I need to improve.
Blog Posts Published in November
- Brazil: A literary trip to mid-century Rio with Euridice Guzmao
- Battle Abbey: A trip through time to 1066
- A mini monster list of Inverness attractions
My Plans for December
December is going to be another month spent close to home. I’ve got two more assignments due, and as always those have to be prioritised. I’d also like to continue this trend of visiting somewhere different every weekend, as that’s been a real pleasure so far. We have a Christmas destination spreadsheet on the go!
What have you been up to this month?