Strong Women...

may we

• know them
• be them
• raise them

That's a quote from the great Ada Lovelace- she was daughter of the Poet Lord Byron [a man declared "mad, bad and dangerous to know"] and a brilliant mathematician. Her mother separated from the poet- who was showing signs of insanity - and brought Ada up in Leicestershire. She encouraged her daughter to be strong, and independent, and to study maths and science. I admire strong women - especially those who have fought against the odds to achieve good things.

Yesterday we took the family to the Gressenhall Museum for the day [I'd won free tickets as my prize for the Scarecrow competition] It was brilliant.

As we arrived, Liz was keen to ride the shire horse at the edge of the car park, and then Rosie wanted to do it too. We had brought her to the Workhouse in October, and she remembered the activities we had done [the old fashioned shop, the schoolroom, the crafts - and the statues of the children]

Bob took Jess in the buggy, Jon and Liz went for a look round inside the Workhouse and Rosie took me into the classroom and gave me a lesson in phonics!

Who is on the picture behind you? I asked "Queen Victoria" came the instant reply. 

We walked across to the Learning Centre.The craft activities were all about pictures and portraits [because of the Georgie Menzies portraits] and stitching. Rosie made a self portrait collage, and a picture of a cheetah [by punching holes in a cardboard plate with a plastic needle] The woman sorting out the crafts asked if I would like to stitch something, I was given a piece of hessian, a plastic needle, and some wool. I knew this would not be a carefully planned embroidery like the Postcard Project. What to stitch?

I looked down at my "Votes For Women" teeshirt, and at my determined grand-daughter piercing the card, and opted for Ada's quote.

Then we met up with the family for lunch. "Take a picture Grandad!" she begged, running to the child-sized figure by the entrance. Instantly she held her hand, and thrust her right arm defiantly upwards. Walking hand-in-hand with Bob to the café Rosie called over her shoulder "Bye Sister!" 

Earlier, Liz had tried on the uniform of a Workhouse girl- Rosie wanted to follow suit. So that's what we did after lunch. I am so proud of the strong young women in my family [I'm missing Steph terribly at the moment] Jess is definitely developing a strong personality too, Rosie is a great Big Sister. How fortunate we were to have such a lovely day together.

Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse is not the cheapest day out - but we were there from 10.15 till 3.15, and did the Museum, Adventure Playground and the Farm - it is very good value for money [and the café serves good food, and there are tables inside and out for those who take their own picnics]