Touring around England with a girl from Minnesota

Today's excursion took us to the south of England to the home of artist Vanessa Bell in Charleston.  We had a bit of a tough start as it took us three hours to travel what should have been an hour and twenty minute drive.  But we made it and the day was wonderful.

 Lunch at Bill's.  Everyone loves Bill's.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Charleston house of Vanessa Bell, so I included a few pictures from the web of some of our favorite paintings and furniture.

We normally do not engage with the people they locate in a historic house to tell you the history or make sure you don't steal things.  But in the Vanessa Bell house they were all fun people who told scandalous stories.  One of our favorites involved the gay lover of Vanessa Bell's husband, Duncan Grant.  His name was David "Bunny" Garnett.  Read the excerpt below.

Garnett was bisexual, as were several members of the artistic and literary Bloomsbury Group, and he had affairs with Francis Birrell and Duncan Grant. He was present at the birth of Grant's daughter, Angelica (by Vanessa Bell, and accepted by her husband Clive Bell), on 25 December 1918, and wrote to a friend shortly afterwards, "I think of marrying it. When she is 20, I shall be 46 – will it be scandalous?". When Angelica was in her early twenties, they did marry (on 8 May 1942), to the horror of her parents.

He said he was going to marry his former gay lovers baby when the kid was born ... then twenty years later he did!  Very creepy.

I don't know why but I am reminded of the story about Liberace who had a boyfriend go through major plastic surgery so that the boyfriend would like like Liberace.  He wanted his lover to look like himself.  He took "you've got to learn to love yourself" to another level.

After the visit to the Bell house we drove down the street to a little church that had some of the same artists work.

Jennie looking good in the cemetery.  (I can envision the pre-trial hearing where that last sentence is used against me)

Every day should end with a pint outside of an English countryside pub.