Woke at 6.00 with it bucketing with rain and again at 8.00 with it blowing a hooley. Spent the next half hour wrestling the plastic cover of the cheapo (£15 from the Factory Shop) greenhouse / cloche back onto the frame.
Then took off for Stourhead (local National Trust property) where they have a reasonably good shop as Mrs O wanted presents for niece and nephew. Found the parking charge had gone up from £3 last year to £4, and then it swallowed a £1 coin without registering it so I finished up paying £5.
Told Mrs O I was not going to eat breakfast in the adjacent café; they could stuff it! Still we found two good presents, one reduced from £35 to £7 which mollified me a bit, but nevertheless, had to be forcibly restrained by Mrs O from filling out a series of customer complaints cards. Was amused to see a cashier in the shop arguing with an Italian couple (no speekee Ingleesi) who thought they'd been rooked over the change for their purchases. Sympathies entirely with the visitors. I won't be going back there again if I can help it, National Trust are a bit too keen on the money-raising ......So we went to the canteen in the local brush factory for a brunch.
This was a revelation! HillBrush are a local firm who have built a brand new factory on the outskirts of Mere, where they produce all sorts of, well, err, brushes - by appointment to the Queen.
Excellent visitor centre, displays and videos of automated robots stuffing bristles into broomheads, and a Full English for Ossie, Eggs Florentine for Mrs O for under £20.Whistled round Waitrose then home to find the plastic greenhouse had relocated to the far side of the garden, smashing a large plant pot in the processs ....
but you did get a few bargains and breakfast now you have to buy a new plant pot 
