Dear Coco

To continue with our Kentish and Sussex adventures, Mom and I went into Sissinghurst garden through this tower and spent a very warm afternoon exploring the house and gardens

from the wonderful white garden

to the garden outside the bedroom section of the old house that was filled with colourful flowers to help the Sackville-West/Nicholson family wake up in the mornings. I think we should look into this idea ...

We saw some rather large and posh cats in the garden too, and I thought that you would have liked to chase them. 

A little Sissinghurst "green man" over one of the front doors. England is full of these rather creepy little carvings of men with greenery all around the and coming out of their faces. 

Back at our lovely B&B just next door to Sissinghurst Gardens. 

At breakfast we noticed that their son also played rugby for the Cranbrook Rugby Club which was where Philip played when he was doing his gap year in Kent in 2005.

Our next explore was Batemans - the home of Rudyard Kipling who wrote our favourite book Thy Servant a dog.

Here is Rudyard Kipling with one of his Scotties at the gates of Batemans,

 and another Scot (he called them Aberdeen Terriers) with Kipling - both looking a bit old and scruffy!

Mom and I had a lovely walk around the gardens and down to the mill, thinking of the fairies and magic of Puck of Pooks Hill and we came across the Pet Cemetery - one of the graves well might be that of the Scottie who inspired the stories of Boots and Slippers. 

 Looking back at Batemans house full of thoughts about you and Dougal and wishing you were here to come for some English shookies with us. Mom wishes she could have the spaniels here too.

Mom and I then had lunch in the Batemans House tearoom and sampled some of the garden produce,

 and then walked back to the car through some more of the lovely gardens of Batemans.

  We continued down to Lewes to see Virginia Woolfe's house, Monks House

and found some information about another book all about a spaniel. This is Pinka, the original of Flush, a cocker spaniel in the book about Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel. Interesting too to see it was given to her by Vita of Sissinghurst fame.

So Coco, time for bed now. It was lovely to see you on Skype, looking po-faced and Scottiesh. I hear you are being nice to the Lad, and only snarl and sneeze occasionally now. Missing you all VERY much, 

love from the Food Lady