A Day out at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

I am back from my travels, and as you can see, I went to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, with our eldest daughter, who proceeded to walk the feet off me in the grounds.    Here you can see the front of the house, with the fabulous gold window surrounds - I presume gold leaf.  The house has belonged to the Earls of Devonshire for generations, and Bess of Hardwick, who was married to Sir William Cavendish, completed the building he had started back in 1552.  Her son Henry Cavendish sold it to his brother William, who became the first Earl of Devonshire.  The Elizabethan house became swallowed up within the Classical style exterior, as you see it today.  The Wikipedia entry provides a great deal more information.

The Emporor fountain is run by gravity, and can shoot 90 feet up into the air.  It was built when there was an anticipated visit by Tsar Nicholas 1 of Russia in 1843, and men worked day and night to complete it in time.  Unfortunately, the Tsar died before the visit took place.

Incredible paintings are everywhere.  This one is at the top of the staircase in what is known as the Painted Room, which has wonderful artwork everywhere by Louis Lageurre, showing scenes from the life of Julius Caesar.

In a nearby corridor are many examples of wonderful semi-precious geodes and rock specimens. This amethyst geode is huge, and even bigger is the huge piece of rock crystal? in the photograph below. You would expect this to have a big "vibe" but I picked up nothing from it.

More interesting pieces of geological specimens.

This room was very richly carved and the display cupboards above floor level, were full of Delft and lovely pieces of china.

Another stunning ceiling.  I could probably have done a post just about ceiling paintings!

Throughout the house are various pieces of modern craftsmanship.  This was a resin bench and the black areas were, if I remember rightly, tar, which I think partly dissolves the resin to form an internal shape. It's by Tom Price and there was an adjacent black block of coal.

Another of those ceilings - sorry it's not very sharp . . .

One of the incredibly imposing doorways.  The door was solid oak and the surround carved marble..

Photos from the State Apartments now, which apparently get more and more impressive the further in you are allowed to go.  These State rooms were designed and furnished in anticipation of a visit by William III, but again, that never transpired.

The marble fireplace in this first State room held wonderful Delft pieces for displaying Tulips, when Tulips were all the rage and could cost a King's Ransom.

Painted and gilded leather wallpaper in another apartment.  I think this was the Second Withdrawing room of the State Apartments - the Music Room.

This room became known as the Music Room after this amazing Trompe l'Oeil painting of a Violin was brought from Devonshire House in London.  This was painted around 1723 by Jan van der Vaart.

Further still into these apartments, and there were some stunning plates displayed, and other ceramics, with a background of intricate tapestries.

George II's wonderful State bed completely spoilt (for me) by the juxtaposition of this piece of contemporary design.by Marc Newson's  Lockheed Lounge, "the most expensive contemporary seat in the world today." Part of the "Make Yourself Comfortable" exhibition at Chatsworth this year.

More semi-precious pieces of agates were made into this amazing solid "stone" bureau.

Ever since the book and the subsequent film, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, is recognized from this portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds.  She was quite a lass in her day.

I am used to seeing tiny chips of malachite made into jewellery or sold as gemstones in shops.  To see this slab of  it  as a table top was amazing.  There were more examples of sclupted malachite below.

A rare photo of me taking a photo of this wee poodle.

Another table made from a selection of semi-precious stones.  My photo doesn't do it justice.

I have taken SO many photos and will have to end for today for fear of losing everything when I press publish!

A bit of light weeding . . .

Yesterday's loaf, which was a Sunflower loaf, half and half wholemeal, with some spelt flour in too.  Scrummy.

This morning I baked a batch of Raspberry Muffins (raspberries from the garden) to take into Carmarthen Antiques Centre as they celebrated two years trading in their new building yesterday.  They were gratefully received!

Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon I got busy in the garden, using the strimmer, and then (wo)manpower to remove the nettles, brambles and waist-high grass which had got everywhere during June, when I couldn't get out there because of the pollen levels.

I didn't take a "before" photo but here is after.  The ancient roserie de l'Hay rose is no longer held in thrall of grass/brambles/nettles . . .  I also edged the top end of the driveway, but you can't see that.

Work in progress here - you can see how overgrown it is in the paddock plot.  The Lemon Balm is about 2 feet high and the weeds (grass) taller still.

Above and below: yet to do . . .  I'll get there in the end.

However, this weekend I am off to Sheffield to stay with our eldest daughter Tam, so it will have to wait until my return . . .

We make a good team

Self-sown Nasturtiums flower happily by the Damson tree.

This was one of my weekend jobs: clearing the 10ft high Snowberries, and the 15 ft high blackberries which had climbed up into the apple tree (early eater) in the last couple of years, when I was too unwell to tackle them.

My husband was also busy whilst I sawed off dead branches, and ripped out long lengths of brambles - which didn't help matters by getting through to the tree canopy and then branching out into a bouquet of branches and fresh growth which defied all attempts at dragging through the apple tree and had to be cut up (with me hanging off the ladder to reach) and pulled through.  A selection of tools was called for - secateurs, a hoe, a long-handled pruner, stout gloves and determination.

He was busy preparing to make a corner repair on the lid of the 1740 coffer . . .  First straighten broken edge.

First he needed to check through his Wood Resources (e.g. a LARGE stable which is the dumping ground for all Useful Bits of Wood) for a piece of suitable age, size and thickness.

Possible candidates - but discarded.

Then the corner of wood needed to have holes and dowels fitted.  The "lollypop" dowelling here came from the old piano we burned the other week.  These were the felt bits which eventually attach to the keys.  The wooden "dowel" they were on was just the right size . . .

The cats are not interested in gardening or furniture repairs . . .  Theo (above) and below is Fluff.

Here is the finished coffer down in my mum's.  This is as far as the improvements go - the brighter brown along the bottom below the panels is old lead paint.  Whilst we could take Nitromors to it, we aren't too bothered at the minute.  Both sides are also lead painted.  My husband quite likes the authenticity of it in its present state, so who am I to argue?

The repair is there (far back left) but unless you are looking for it, it's difficult to spot.  My OH wasn't too happy with it, and said perhaps he should have spent another day making it perfect, but he wasn't feeling 100% so "bodged" it, as it's for us to keep rather than to sell.

With the light of the flash, it is more obvious here as the wood isn't so golden-looking with the light on it, but tbh, without the flash it just seems a tiny bit darker.  He's reasonably happy with it anyway, and since this only cost me £50 at auction, and it's now a useful piece of furniture for storage, no complaints here.

Here is some Hasty Jam.  As you can see it's Hasty because I didn't let it boil long enough and it's a soft set, with Floating Strawberries in it.  That's what you get of being in a rush, but that said, it tastes gorgeous and it's a good colour!  Just not show jam . . . and at least the strawberries weren't wasted. They weren't good enough to eat - hard and not ripe. Two punnets for £1 though, so no complaints.

Here's my copy of Carla Emery's book which I showed to Dawn recently and had her reaching for her Amazon one-click!  I've not looked at it for a while, but already is has seen me cleaning the loo successfully with White Vinegar and Bicarbonate.  So now I can ditch the bleach entirely.  It doesn't do septic tanks any good whatsoever.

I bulk buy my Bicarb. on-line - I think this was an Ebay purchase.  I use the bicarb. and vinegar for cleaning generally but didn't realize it would do what bleach does down the loo as well.

Finally, above and below, two books from a selection on offer at £2.99 each at Aldi at the moment.

Other titles in this Made at Home series include Breadmaking, Vegetables, Curing and Smoking, and Eggs and Poultry.

As you can see, we keep busy.

Inspiration

I had local-to-me bloggers Dawn and Pam visit me yesterday.  We had a lovely morning chatting about all sorts, and how our lives have developed to get us where we are now.

Dawn mentioned being inspired by the books of Elizabeth West - Hovel in the Hills, Kitchen in the Hills and Garden in the Hills.  They were my inspiration too, although I have to say I think their frugality from necessity - they were on the Dole and found, as English incomers in 1960s North Wales found that paid work was very hard to come by - was a little daunting.  To literally have NO spare money at all, only money for absolute essentials isn't easy - and I can speak from experience in our early years here in Wales. The Wests grew all their own vegetables, had a stove for heating, hot water and cooking which would run on the cheapest coal, wood or even turf.  They had a windcharger on the hill which supplied them with electricity and their water supply came from a spring and in summer, showered in the garden!   They were "Eco-friendly" almost before the term ever existed.

Then came along John Seymour with his books on self-sufficiency and added fuel to the fires of inspiration.  I can remember dipping into an illegal overdraft limit to buy his book when I saw it in W H Smith's Above Bar shop in Southampton.  I just COULDN'T leave the shop without it!

I read all the books written by Derek Tangye about their idyllic-seeming lives on a Cornish clifftop smallholding, with a tiny cottage where they still were able to entertain the good and the great who they had met in their London days.  I didn't think growing flowers for the London market was for me, but the books were inspiring in their own way and I loved reading about the donkeys and the cats and the beautiful Cornish scenery and their way of life had great appeal.

Radio 4 used to run a delightful series on a Saturday morning, when A Small Country Living with Jeannine McMullen was aired.  She would travel around the country, interviewing real country people and their connection with country living.  I can remember ducks with the "July sprawls" to this day!  She lived in a delightful smallholding in the Carmarthenshire hills at Llandeusant, looking across to the Black Mountain and wrote about it so beautifully in her books "A Small Country Living", "A Small Country Living Goes On" and "The Wind in the Ash Tree".  All on Amazon at just a penny a pop if you haven't discovered her yet.  Her writing is delightful.  She really made me want to move to Wales - more than Elizabeth West did.

I forgot to mention (so have just popped back to do so) the novels of Lillian Beckwith, which were set on a Hebridean island, where she (an incomer) became a crofter.  Wonderful characters, and a gentle humour, and a life so different from any I could imagine.  I think the first one was "The Hills Is Lonely", and then there were (in no particular order) "A Rope in Case", "The Loud Halo", "The Sea for Breakfast", "Lightly Poached" and "Beautiful Just." Just checked on Amazon, and there are a couple more: "A Breath of Autumn" and "Breuach Blend", neither of which I remember reading.  Ooh, and there are more, "The Spuddy",  "About my Father's Business" and "An Island Apart".  Such comforting reading, and a way of life which probably hasn't changed a great deal in the more remote Scottish islands.  This only came to me because I wrote "beautiful just" in my Facebook comment, and suddenly thought where it came from.

Below: Raubritter in my garden.  Isn't she beautiful?

Of course, anyone who can remember the 1970s will remember The Good Life, which further fuelled my fire, and in 1998 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "River Cottage" converted many more people to growing their own, and lifting the veil off home-butchery and charcuterie, and the wheel still turns.

Over the last 40 years I have collected books about baking, bread making, and preserves, and still have a terrible weakness for new ones along these lines, although I know I probably have all those recipes already in other binding!

I think my real inspiration comes from my maternal grandmother who made all her own cakes, preserves, wines, clothes and had an allotment to grow her own fruit and vegetables.  Go gran!!  I think I am "a chip off the old block" as folk used to say.

What was your inspiration in life?