Manky Monkey Motors

Tazet & I live in a cottage on the edge of the Clandon Park estate just outside Guildford, Surrey. Taz is stable manager for the estate owner, Lord Onslow, & looks after his team of carriage driving ponies as well as running a commercial livery yard, (people pay to stable their horses there). She's also something of a personal aide/general dogsbody to the family, doing just about anything & everything that needs sorting around the estate. The cottage goes with her job. She works bloody hard but does get the run of 800 acres of woods & fields. And so do I.  :)
I took a couple of snapshots around the estate this afternoon.

The garden pond's a favourite with the family's dogs, who head straight for it as soon as they're let out of their kennels. There are 3 fishing lakes on the estate.

Young pheasants enjoying the evening sun. They visit the bird feeders in our garden every day -we feed 'em up, then the shooting parties blast 'em out of the sky every Winter.

The big house. Handed over to the National Trust in lieu of death duties when the present Lord Onslow's father died. It was built with money from the slave trade -there's a large statue of a negro slave in the entrance hall to commemorate the fact. The house cost 70,000 quid to build. Although we live on the estate, neither Taz or I have gotten round to doing the guided tour yet.

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looks absolutely beautiful where you stay i can tell you both work hard so you s deserve it and more lucky so and so s  ;D

I'm just a humble Postman. Sold my flat in not so beautiful Basingstoke to move in with Taz. No idea what she sees in me. I still deliver the mail on the grubby streets of Basingstoke, but I get to come home to this.
I don't deserve it, but I do appreciate it. Not showing off, honest. After being a townie all my life, I just love living in the country.

ive lived in the country all my life and i love it even though the goverment built a motorway straight through it your a down to earth guy  i havnt known you long but my mum allways said i had a good judge of character you deserve what you have in life and if you love everything you have you dont need anymore  :) oh by the way can i pitch my tent in front of the big house  ;D

 ;D I don't think they would approve  ;D

I created a website a while ago to advertise the services we provide - http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/templecourtlivery/index.html

ok being a towny whats "Lunging - half hour (worked properly not loose lunging) £8"  ???

Thanks Bobbi  ;D

looks just the right place to come back to and chill out after a 'orrible day at work me older sis and bro in law work for the duke of norfolk. there's summat about just sitting and looking out at what nature is up to. i'm on the edge of windsor great park and its nice to stroll down there and just chill by a lake watching life go by. very relaxing

all this on me doorstep, if i go off towards the long walk you have to go through the gate in the fencing that keeps the deer in. in the opposite direction is smiths lawn where they play polo, and when they do you can listen to the commentary at me flat

I think Taz & her boss have competed in the carriage driving event there.
Haven't been to Windsor for a while. Used to regularly attend late night music gigs at the Old Trout pub there years ago, (I think I've still got the T shirt). Eton's a nice area to wander around & I've been visiting Virginia Water just down the road ever since I were a lad. Nice place to live.

Are you near the Blacknest gate, (I think that's what it's called) Well it's the name of one of the gates. Think the other one we use is Bishops Gate.

can't remember which one is blacknest i'm nearer bishopsgate, saville gardens are quite close

Ah think I know where you are then. There is a pub on the corner of the road thel leads up to the gate but can't remember it's name

if you go down kings lane at the end is the sun inn, when i was younger they use to sell scrumpy in there so use to have half of draught scrumpy in a pint glass with a bottle of guiness. it had that browny sort of scum on the top like you use to see on the river. anyway if you turn left just down the road on yer right is saville gardens. but if you turn right up to the end then turn left you go past the fox and hounds if its still called that remember having some lock ins in the summer there. gordon the landlord was a cockney and he didn't care if you didn't have 2 pennies or you had 20 million you were treated the same. but if you turned right there instead then left you go down past eltons gaff.
did you ever go past the green in englefield green. the pub on the green 'the barley mow' is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a frenchman. he apparently was the last person to die in a legal duel which took place in the field on priest hill. he's buried in the churchyard of st johns in egham.
there some useless info for yer

You learn something new every day. I only know the gate as they are the ones we go through if we compete in the park.