F.I.P or ‘Fallen In Pond’, was just one of the things I learnt as we explored the National Trust’s Bateman’s House.
A 16th Cetury manor home bought by Rudyard Kipling, the property has been kept as he would have used it during his writing career. The house has been well laid out, with fascinating artifacts, and a well maintained garden.
F.I.P we found out means a visitor who stayed with Rudyard and had fallen in the pond – probably while playing with the model boats, which the author was apparently fond off.
One such F.I.P was apparently Stanley Baldwin who stayed with Kipling on a number of occassions.
From Batemans house we took the slow route home, and found ourselves in Mayfield – an historic village that use to have a 16th century Iron Foundary making canons for Queen Elizabeth 1. We didn’t have time to search for the ruins, but instead found a lovely 16th Century Pub.
In the evening we caught up with my younger brother for an online game of Trivial Pursuit.
