The Lake at Lowick's House

The lawns slope gently down to the lake where water lilies thrive near the edge. Hidden between the two large shrubs lies a secret bridge to a secret tiny island! There are large carp and pike in the lake which have evaded fishermen so far.

After lunch a few of us were energetic enough to walk all the way around the water's edge. With views like this, what writer would not be inspired to pen a bestseller!

Society of Authors Three Counties meeting

Our summer social meeting was kindly hosted by Marnie and John de Carle in the magnificent setting of Lowicks House in Surrey. The house was originally a hunting lodge for Victorian tea trader and Quaker, Frederick John Horniman, who began trading in 1826 and is credited with the idea of selling tea in packets. At the time, all the tea in the world was traded through London merchants. We authors, however, drank Buck's Fizz with our lunch! The house,approached by a long winding drive through woodland, sits atop a huge lawn that slopes down to a lake containing several small islands. I felt as though I had stepped into an Enid Blyton Famous Five setting! The weather stayed fine and a flock of Canada geese obligingly floated by on the water. Pics of the lake follow in my next blog.

The Af Chapman - Captain's sleeping Quarters

The original cot bed with drawers underneath is still there, opposite a magnificent desk where I wrote some of this blog on my net book. I spent three nights here, spending my days sightseeing in Stockholm. More about this beautiful city in my next blog.

The Af Chapman - inside the Captain's cabin

THE Af CHAPMAN - INSIDE THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN
This second pic shows the reception room where the Captain would have dined with his officers and conducted ship's business. Beyond is his sleeping quarters and the heads, now converted into a smart white-tiled bathroom. My next blog has pics of the Captain's bed where I slept for three nights. He wasn't there at the time!

The Af Chapman, Stockholm, Sweden

THE Af CHAPMAN, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

The af Chapman was built in 1888 in the English town of Whitehaven and was then named Dunboyne. She was the last of this particular type of three masted fully rigged ship to be built. The pic shows the stern where the Captain's cabin is situated.

During her first 25 years service, the Dunboyne was a cargo ship, sailing first under an English flag and then a Norwegian one. In 1915, her last year under sail, she was bought by the Transatlantic Line in Gothenburg, rechristened G D Kennedy and converted into a training ship.

The Swedish Navy became her new owners in 1923. She was renamed Af Chapman and was used to train ship’s boys until 1934. She was then laid up in Karlskona until 1947, when she was bought by the City of Stockholm, and the Swedish Youth Hostels Association (STF) was invited to run the ship as a youth hostel. The hostel, sleeping 136, was opened in 1949. She has recently undergone extensive renovations to provide comfortable accommodation with a bar and restaurant on deck. The deck of the Af Chapman is moored opposite the Royal Palace in old Stockholm and commands stunning views.