Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Miscellaneous Musings while on the move
On various of the coach trips with the ever patient Jon, various people kept us amused, entertained or informed. Jennie and I talked about, and showed various bits and pieces in our collections. Mine was mostly lace and collars, but also included the spencer/pelisse bodice of embroidered net that came from Jean Hunnisett. Jennie had some lovely garments and some girdles, as I call them. Nancy talked about the lavender wands she gifted us with and explained how they were made. And we watched a couple of episodes of the wonderful "Cranford", which I think the Lacock ladies in particular enjoyed, although more of Lacock later, if I am to keep this blog in order - it keeps trying to get away from me, with so much seen and done!
Hereford, continued
We arrived at the Hereford Museum to find that Althea was not there, and in spite of several search parties being sent out, they failed to find her. Meanwhile we looked at some really fascinating objects in the small museum, including some silks that caught my eye. There was plenty for the younger members of the group to look at and play with too.
Eventually we discovered that we had been meant to meet Althea "round the corner" in the costume store. (Round the corner turned out to be a bit of a trek as far as I was concerned, and watchers were posted on various corners to make sure that no-one got lost!)
The store has a splendid rolling storage system, and we spent ages looking at items that Althea pulled out from it. Again, some of the colours were quite astonishing, and oohs and aahs echoed through the stacks! Then Althea started pulling out drawers full of bonnets, fans, shoes, and, for me, waistcoats and dresses. One of the waistcoats in particular caught my eye, as I had packed a waistcoat with a very similar pattern at the Museum of London earlier in the year. I arranged to put Althea in touch with Hilary, once we got back to London, and also plan to revisit the collections independently.
Eventually we discovered that we had been meant to meet Althea "round the corner" in the costume store. (Round the corner turned out to be a bit of a trek as far as I was concerned, and watchers were posted on various corners to make sure that no-one got lost!)
The store has a splendid rolling storage system, and we spent ages looking at items that Althea pulled out from it. Again, some of the colours were quite astonishing, and oohs and aahs echoed through the stacks! Then Althea started pulling out drawers full of bonnets, fans, shoes, and, for me, waistcoats and dresses. One of the waistcoats in particular caught my eye, as I had packed a waistcoat with a very similar pattern at the Museum of London earlier in the year. I arranged to put Althea in touch with Hilary, once we got back to London, and also plan to revisit the collections independently.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Berrington Hall and Hereford
The arrangement was that after breakfast our driver would pick us up, having collected the other ladies from their B and B. We had a great breakfast, and lined up in readiness for the coach - which was a bit late as some people didn't perhaps realise the tight schedule we were on - it didn't happen again!
We drove through some lovely countryside, some of it Welsh, to my surprise - I really must have a look at the route that our driver took. We arrived at a narrow gateway, through which Jon, our driver threaded the coach with extreme skill, only to be met by a National Trust employee who said "That's not for coaches!" (There was no sign posting at all.) However, John managed to squeeze to coach up another track and into the coach park, whence we descended into a bitter wind - humph!
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-berringtonhall/
Berrington holds the "Snowshill" collection of costumes, some of which were drawn and patterned by Janet Arnold and Nancy Bradfield. We split into two groups, and while the other group visited the house, our group had first dibs on the wonderful collection of costumes that the curator, Althea Mackenzie, had got out for us. There were stays, dresses, including several patterned muslin "Regency" dresses - such a change - chemisettes by the pile, and for me, a special treat - a couple of quilted garments, one in trapunto , one just quilted. The quilted jacket and skirt that Janet Arnold and Norah Waugh both drew was absolutely fascinating - I came out drooling.
While some ladies visited the house, the other group met Althea, and others of "my" group looked around, I had a long discussion with the lady in the National Trust shop about the small books that Althea had written/complied which are no longer printed, and promised to write to the publishers, which I really must do, if I can find my notes!
It was a grey day, and the wind was bitterly cold, and I later sat outside, shivering. Having told everyone to wear layers because the weather was changeable, three guesses who didn't - aaw, you guessed! We then had lunch, before setting off to Hereford Museum, where we were to meet up again with Althea, who is also curator there.
It was a grey day, and the wind was bitterly cold, and I sat outside, shivering. Having told everyone to wear layers because the weather was changeable, three guesses who didn't - aaw, you guessed!
We drove through some lovely countryside, some of it Welsh, to my surprise - I really must have a look at the route that our driver took. We arrived at a narrow gateway, through which Jon, our driver threaded the coach with extreme skill, only to be met by a National Trust employee who said "That's not for coaches!" (There was no sign posting at all.) However, John managed to squeeze to coach up another track and into the coach park, whence we descended into a bitter wind - humph!
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-berringtonhall/
Berrington holds the "Snowshill" collection of costumes, some of which were drawn and patterned by Janet Arnold and Nancy Bradfield. We split into two groups, and while the other group visited the house, our group had first dibs on the wonderful collection of costumes that the curator, Althea Mackenzie, had got out for us. There were stays, dresses, including several patterned muslin "Regency" dresses - such a change - chemisettes by the pile, and for me, a special treat - a couple of quilted garments, one in trapunto , one just quilted. The quilted jacket and skirt that Janet Arnold and Norah Waugh both drew was absolutely fascinating - I came out drooling.
While some ladies visited the house, the other group met Althea, and others of "my" group looked around, I had a long discussion with the lady in the National Trust shop about the small books that Althea had written/complied which are no longer printed, and promised to write to the publishers, which I really must do, if I can find my notes!
It was a grey day, and the wind was bitterly cold, and I later sat outside, shivering. Having told everyone to wear layers because the weather was changeable, three guesses who didn't - aaw, you guessed! We then had lunch, before setting off to Hereford Museum, where we were to meet up again with Althea, who is also curator there.
It was a grey day, and the wind was bitterly cold, and I sat outside, shivering. Having told everyone to wear layers because the weather was changeable, three guesses who didn't - aaw, you guessed!
B and B in a mansion!
The party had to be split into two, as that was how the accommodation worked, so after we dropped off the Lacock ladies, who were staying in the Old Rectory http://www.information-britain.co.uk/showPlace.cfm?Place_ID=1166 our brilliant driver took us to Rudloe Hall. http://www.rudloehallhotel.co.uk/ It was just amazing - a Victorian Gothic mansion, in a beautiful setting, slightly shabby but oh, so welcoming and friendly. We were shown our rooms - mine was huge, with a very comfortable bed - and eventually met again in the sitting room, where we looked at the wonderful menu. I plumped for a starter and pudding, and realised I had made a good choice when both - venison pate, and summer fruit crumble - were delicious, and very filling! No sewing on the unfinished spencer was completed that night!
The Sensibilty Tour
My first blog of this kind, so forgive me if it's a bit - umm - rough to start with.
In September 2010 I joined the Sensibility Tour at the V and A (Victoria and Albert Museum), with two other ladies who had been staying with me. One lady was already there, and gradually the others joined us, as we waited for the phone call from the organiser, Jennie Chancey, to say that the coach from Heathrow was about to arrive, with the remaining group. We waited, and waited, and eventually the call came, but only to say that two ladies were not to be found.
However, the schedule needed to be kept, pretty much, so we were happy to see the coach finally arrive, and introductions all round were made. The two missing ladies had, cleverly, got themselves to the V and A where we all met up, had lunch and had a potter round the exhibits - as always, I made for the Indian printed cottons of the late 18th century, accompanied by one of Jennie's charming daughters.
Our appointment with the curator was at 2.00 p.m., but no curator - she eventually arrived, and we were told she had been given the wrong time, and did not curate costumes, but furniture!! So I found myself showing off as usual, and telling what I knew about the garments that were laid out for us, a court dress, a late 19th century outfit, and a muslin (English) dress of the early 19th century. We were allowed to take photos, but as always with study days, cannot share them.
The group finally re-assembled, heads were counted, seats were taken and we were off to Bath, or rather our accommodation near Bath. (Finding beds for some of us was another story!) It gave me an opportunity to try and put names to faces, although even now I sometimes have to think really hard before being sure I have it right. I regret that I didn't have a chance to spend more time with some of the young ladies, with whom I only had a quick chat in passing.
In September 2010 I joined the Sensibility Tour at the V and A (Victoria and Albert Museum), with two other ladies who had been staying with me. One lady was already there, and gradually the others joined us, as we waited for the phone call from the organiser, Jennie Chancey, to say that the coach from Heathrow was about to arrive, with the remaining group. We waited, and waited, and eventually the call came, but only to say that two ladies were not to be found.
However, the schedule needed to be kept, pretty much, so we were happy to see the coach finally arrive, and introductions all round were made. The two missing ladies had, cleverly, got themselves to the V and A where we all met up, had lunch and had a potter round the exhibits - as always, I made for the Indian printed cottons of the late 18th century, accompanied by one of Jennie's charming daughters.
Our appointment with the curator was at 2.00 p.m., but no curator - she eventually arrived, and we were told she had been given the wrong time, and did not curate costumes, but furniture!! So I found myself showing off as usual, and telling what I knew about the garments that were laid out for us, a court dress, a late 19th century outfit, and a muslin (English) dress of the early 19th century. We were allowed to take photos, but as always with study days, cannot share them.
The group finally re-assembled, heads were counted, seats were taken and we were off to Bath, or rather our accommodation near Bath. (Finding beds for some of us was another story!) It gave me an opportunity to try and put names to faces, although even now I sometimes have to think really hard before being sure I have it right. I regret that I didn't have a chance to spend more time with some of the young ladies, with whom I only had a quick chat in passing.
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