Whistler's best mate's house.

There are two painters called Whistler, you know. James Whistler painted nocturnes

and symphonies in grey and white and also, famously, his mother

although he called her an arrangement in grey and black. I think she might have burned his tea that night.
The other Whistler was Rex, although his real name was Reginald. He died in the second World War but only after he had managed to have a torrid affair with a Marquess and decorated her house. I'd read about the house and been there once years ago but this year decided to revisit.

The house is Plas Newydd, a National Trust property which is set out to look as if there were a weekend party of the 30's in place. It just looked like something out of Agatha Christie, on the website at least. I don't know what it looks like inside. It's closed on a Thursday. Ho hum.

But it is a beautiful place even so. The gardens are Italianate, which means a lot of terraces and steps here there and everywhere. And everybody knows that steps must be climbed.

There are cannons facing across the Menai, and woods to walk in. Local schools and organisations had decorated red squirrels to celebrate the recovery of their numbers; a lot of these are every colour but red!

Places to sit; an absolute necessity. There is a cafe but we were there at lunch time and finished by mid afternoon. We set off back for an afternoon on the beach.

We didn't see any Whistlers, but we did see a real life Monet.... Waterlilies!