Visiting the Vyne

Yesterday the family and I went to visit The Vyne, or as I like to call it Chute Manor. Once I was there I wondered why it had taken so long to make the trip to see it. Not only is it only an hour or so from where I live but it quite beautiful. Generations of Chute members adorned the walls in which we were surprised to find family resemblances. Randy happily pointed out ones that he thought looked like various brothers and even dad was traced in the face of some of the distinguished gentlemen. It was humbling to walk the halls where so many Chutes had walked before and I couldn't help feeling very connected to my family both distantly related and much more closely related. Another thing that made we wonder at why I had waited so long to visit was the practical celebrity I felt while there. They wanted you to sign a book that in this case dated back to 1994 where every Chute who had toured the place had written their names and where they are from. It was kind of amazing to flip through the pages and see just how many had been there over the years. Employees wanted to shake your hands and talk to you about the whole line but in particular the most recent occupant who only died in 1953, and some of the older volunteers actually had known him. As beautiful as the house itself was I have to admit that it was the grounds that made me sad that it was no longer in the Chute Family. They informed us though that the roof required repairs and they were currently raising funds to do them, they anticipate it will cost 2.3 million pounds to complete the work. Nearly double that to get an estimate in Canadian dollars and I decided I was more than happy to not be responsible for that! Still I imagine I'll find lots of reasons to tour the ancestral property.