Last week, I watched a NT volunteer diligently repairing a pair of Lord Fairhaven's Underpants!
I guess that as they were made to measure, the heels and toes would come in the right place.
So they would fit even better than a pair of Snag Tights! [my go-to choice of hosiery these days]
People have been very kind in their comments about my previous two posts about our day out - so here are just a few more pictures for you.
People have been very kind in their comments about my previous two posts about our day out - so here are just a few more pictures for you.
"Which was your favourite?" I asked Bob. He said Number 23, I said I liked Number 7. On this photo 7 is top right, 23 bottom left. They are very similar in colour aren't they? I'm glad we have agreed on that.
7 is "Barbary D'Amour", and 23 is called "J S Dorothy Rose" It seems they are only available from one supplier. I shall have to take advice from others about the best way to grow dahlias [do I need pot tubers, mini plants, or garden ready? and when?] Just a few more pictures to share
The Windsor Guest Suite - isn't the fabric on the bed, curtains and chair amazing? I like those little buildings! The towels in the bathroom were hand embroidered with entwined Fs [for Fairhaven, I guess]
The Dining Room, adjacent to the kitchens, is the oldest part of the Abbey, with the original mediaeval vaulted ceiling. Quite small really, compared to those in other NT houses- but Lordy liked small intimate dinners at home, with close friends. The table usually set for 6 or 8 diners. Note the Victorian tiled floor. The ancient pillars are Purbeck Marble. Note the deterioration at floor level.
There was an Esse range, plus two regular electric cookers. Note the special feet under that huge table. The cook was Bob's height, and requested it be raised to a comfortable height!
**I still have, and use, some of these!!
That's the end of my review of AA. I hope to go back sometime - maybe in the Snowdrop Season.
I particularly like the magazine rack by the loo. So civilised! My uncle insisted that the space for their new downstairs loo be wide enough to be able to open out The Times, a broadsheet newspaper back then.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced!! When your property only has one loo, the last thing you want is for someone else to spend an hour in there doing the crossword!!
DeleteWhich is why my parents converted a tiny broom cupboard in the compact 2-bed they lived in to a small loo! It was called 'the downstairs loo' in spite of it being a 3rd floor flat!
DeleteThe kitchen and dining room are always my favourite part of any NT property.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to find that our very own little cyclamen carpet had sprung up while we were away on holiday, it’s so pretty.
Lastly, my mum worked for fifty years, on and off, at Lea Mills, the John Smedley factory in Derbyshire where they made high quality wool and cotton knitwear. She worked her way through many of the departments, including machining, hand sewing and mending. One day she came home with a big grin and said she had spent the day mending King Farouk's underpants!
Apparently it was usual for the well heeled, having purchased expensive knitwear and underwear, to send them back to the factory for mending when they developed holes!
Your Mum must have had some great stories
DeleteThat's a lot of mending/shortening!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing more pictures and information about your visit.
👍
DeleteThe kitchen areas of any NT property or stately home are always my favourite buts of the peek around. I remember a lot of the packaging, especially the PG Tips loose tea boxes. I used to be allowed to open them and fish out the collectible picture card that was between the box and the inner wrapper for my Dad. Then I had to check if he already had that one, if he had I was allowed to keep it. 😄
ReplyDeleteI loved the little Tea Cards, and used to scrounge them from friends and neighbours to fill my albums
DeleteIsnt it interesting to see those old names, Vim, Oxo, etc! I think Vim was the only cleaner available when I was a child. What a fascinating visit for you.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention Lifebuoy and Palmolive. I was always concerned about Wrights Coal Tar Shampoo . Neither Coal nor Tar seemed the things which would clean my hair!
DeleteI love dahlias and hope to grow some here next year. Agree that the vintage kitchen paraphanalia (sp?) makes some of us feel old - it's all so familiar 😄
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
But so many of the old gadgets are better than the modern electrical ones. Can openers, lemon squeezers etc
DeleteI had that green Beryl set as my first china. The BBC props department have it and it’s amazing how many times I spot it in their programmes.
ReplyDeleteIt appears in church kitchens and village halls too
DeleteI had to read it again when you said she was holding underwear by the toe! What? Then it came clear. The feet must have worn out quickly, like wool socks.
ReplyDeleteThe heels would get a lot of wear, I suppose
DeleteGood mending is such a satisfying art! JanF
ReplyDeleteVery satisfying!
DeleteI love the vaulted ceiling in the dining room. It always saddens me to read of Henry VII's contempt for the faithful who lived in such abbeys.
ReplyDeleteHe did make some rather awful decisions
DeleteI do love visiting old properties and always make straight for the kitchens and sculleries. And yes, I do recognise a lot of the things in there 😱 Thank you for sharing the lovely photos of your visit 😊
ReplyDeleteRe the loo: For the first time in years we only have one in the bungalow. It can be very inconvenient! I'm trying to work out where we can fit another loo so that guests don't have to queue! Suggestions very welcome 🤔
Angie x
I think the important thing is remembering to leave door ajar if nobody's in the bathroom. That way people know it's vacant. I hate having doorknob rattled when I'm "on the throne"!
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