Montacute and IIlminster

This morning, being Sunday, I decided attend the morning service at St. Thomas a Becket, and return to my 'Anglican roots' for an hour or so. The church was well attended, but I must have been the youngest there! Sad that there doesn't appear to be a younger crop coming on - especially as people have been worshipping there since 1259. I enjoyed the service, the sermon was good but too short. I felt quite disappointed when it came to an end. The people were warm and friendly.



In the afternoon we went East to Montacute House, built by Sir Edward Phelips at the end of the 16th Century. No photos permitted inside but we saw some remarkable paintings and furniture.Many of the paintings were on loan from the National Gallery of Portraits.



On the way home we passed through IIlminster, here is their Minster Church, and 'The Dolphin' right next to it. It was Sunday so no shops open apart from the Co-Op where we stocked up for a couple of days.(This is the town where my brother taught on exchange, a few years ago).



Now, while we are entrusted with minding our host's chooks and garden, last night a nasty digging animal has come into the garden just below the chook house and dug a deep hole and eaten at least one nice parsnip! It's hard enough to grow parsnips in NZ without digging creatures helping themselves. Rabbit? Badger? Squirrel? Something bigger like the Were Rabbit? It also gets in the hen-house and tips over and eats the chicken-feed.