Farm, cream tea & pooh sticks

---

Saturday 7th June.
Today was the start of my first weekend overseas which meant that Auntie Janet had time off work to spend with me. We met up two of her friends from work Ulrika and Sara, and Maren (the German exchange student staying with Janet) and set off to go visit a Farm Shop & Cafe in Forrest Row. The shop was really close to wear Janet lives, taking only 15 minutes to walk to. As we were walking up to the farm we saw a pen with little piglets suckling their mother. It was so good to see how healthy the pigs all looked and how well cared for they all were. They had space to roam around and mud to roll in. At the farm shop there was a fruit and vegetables stand with produce grown on the farm, a little cafe and a bbq. It was busy because there are lots of young people (European hipsters) who work on the farm and get fed by the bbq and cafe. I ate a sausage roll and salad, and it was the best sausage roll I have ever eaten!! It wasn't filled with mashed up mystery meat like some rolls but real organic meat from the farm and delicious buttery pastry. I also tried a forkful of Auntie Janet's lumberjack cake. I had heard of the lumberjack cake but had never seen one before. It looked dense and christmas cake-esque with coconut but tasted surprisingly light and fluffy, really delicious. Everyone keeps warning me that the English cakes are amazing and to take care otherwise I will put on weight, but then they keep making me try new cakes. It's no wonder I have had to up my exercise here and take up running each day. After our meals we walked back to Janet's house and made a big jug of punch with noilly prat (a French vermouth) and sat outside in the garden soaking up the sun and listening to celtic folk music.

Random Learnings:
1. I tried my first real apricot on the farm. I no longer believe Australian apricots are apricots, they can't compare. These apricots had so much flavour!
2. It gets very muddy here! I can see why everyone wears gumboots (wellingtons).



Sunday 8th June
Today I taught my 2hr masterclass at the Forest Row village hall for the Sussex Youth Dance Company. The students are all at the end of their school year and right in the midst of their exams so it was a shame that not all the students could attend but I had a good turn out of 10 dancers. The students train in modern but had never done anything as free as contemporary before and were really enthusiastic about my class. I tried to free them up and loosen their limbs because all their ballet and modern training had made them all very stiff and controlled. It was nice seeing them all relax and have fun. Teaching these students was a good reminder for me that if I don't get anywhere with my own dancing during this trip then it is ok. I will have broadened my mind, learnt new styles, watched umpteen performances and will have so much more information and passion to bring to my teaching.

Once I finished teaching Janet, Maren and Sara took me out in the care to drive to the Ashdown Forest, where the Winnie The Pooh stories were based. We visited the famous Pooh Bridge and played Pooh Sticks (here are the rules: http://www.pooh-sticks.com/content/rules). I won and was then forced into another round because Janet was a sore looser hehe. The forest was really beautiful and covered in moss, adding to the already very green landscape. Whilst walking I was warned to stay clear of the stinging nettles. I had never seen stinging nettles and instantly felt like a child in a fine china store when the mother says 'Don't touch anything' I just wanted to touch them. So stupidly I brushed my hand against the bush and stung my hand. It felt a bit like a needle prick or small electric shock and quickly a few small welts appeared on the skin. It wasn't painful on such a small area, but if you fell into the bush it would cause a world of pain. To finish the day we went to the Duddleswell Tea rooms for a cream tea. Here I had the best scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. A superb finish to a lovely relaxing weekend.

Random learnings:
1. Avoid touching stinging nettles again.
2. There are snakes in England, the adder. A name I think makes it sound far more scary then our deadly Australian snakes. .......adder...

---