To the Manor Born

Sakina was vacationing in England with her family. The culture-thirsty Americans wanted to experience a traditional English tea so their British relatives drove them to a manor turned hotel in Sussex.  Sakina read from the brochure.  The stunning family estate from the 1600s boasted a fascinating history. It had its own church, had been a military training ground, a place for the poor to receive a free lunch and had even been turned into a convent in later years.

There was an entire bullet point devoted to the fact that A.A. Milne had also grown up in this area. This merited a self directed tour by the Ahmed family. After gasping at the breath-taking views of the rolling countryside, Sakina was not surprised that such creativity had originated there.  They all peered down into the stream where the game Pooh Sticks had been invented. Water swished under the tiny rickety bridge and rabbits darted all around.

(From merchandise  for sale at the Pooh Corner bookstore)

Of course! Sakina thought to herself surveying the wooded forest.  It was obviously the perfect place for the real life Christopher Robin to have meandered and to have imagined a world where bears, piglets, a hyperacive tiger and a manic depressive donkey had endless adventures.

Back at the estate, the Ahmeds were thrilled to discover that the chicken sandwiches they were to consume for lunch were certified halal and that there was a tiny sitting room where they could offer their evening prayers.

Sakina wondered what kinds of landed gentry or even royalty had walked through the hallways, the library and the drawing rooms. The Ahmeds stumbled upon a secret garden with a fountain that Frances Hodgson Burnett herself could have used as a backdrop for a televised version of her book. Sakina pondered upon the scores of noblemen's children who might have hidden or played there. One drawing room contained shelves upon shelves of austere leather bound books. A grand piano sat in the corner while deer stared down, stone faced, from cream colored walls.

Omar unfolded a large dinner napkin to use as a prayer mat. Meanwhile, Faisal was busy downloading a family photo to his instagram account with the hashtag #HangingoutatBrowntonAbbey.