Trip to England - Part 10

Our day started out a viewing of 2 hot air balloons from our window!

Since we seem to be low on photos of Mom... This is in our lovely B&B waiting for our delicious breakfast!

Our first stop for the day was a tour of the Jane Austen Centre. We were waiting on the doorstep when they opened (much to their surprise! :-) ) and they let us tour the exhibits before they were officially open, due to our time constraint (we needed to make it to the Abbey for church at 11). I was not expecting much, since I already know a good bit about Jane and life in the early 1800s, but even I learned things from the exhibit!

Adorable children's clothing!

A very informative chart showing what different incomes supplied and meant socially. (I really hope this picture will be clickable, I don't know why some refuse to!)

Love this chemisette!

After the exhibit, we went upstairs for a short talk on the Austen family and Jane's visits to Bath. Since it was so early, there were only 2 other women in the talk besides the 2 of us. After her talk, our speaker asked if we had any questions. One of the women was an author who came to Bath so she could research her book. She wondered what drew people to the Jane Austen Festival and the speaker offered her opinion. The speaker also mentioned (with a tone of incredulity) that "there are even some people who have been preparing for their trip here for 6 months and have come from as far away as Illinois!!!"! LOL! I kid you not! Mom and I burst out laughing and explained that we must have been the people she was talking about, as that description was us to a "T"! Just when you begin to think that you're not the biggest weirdo out there, too....

After looking through the gift shop (well, and buying things too! you can't expect us to just look without making a purchase, can you?!?), we headed to Bath Abbey. The service was nice, although the theology was not in line with ours (imagine that!) and the Matins were not as good as Westminster's... Oh dear, I think I'm turning into a cathedral snob!

The front of Bath Abbey is well known for its unusual front depicting Jacob's ladder. Personally, I thought it looked kind of odd, so we didn't take a picture of it... ;-)

The Agnews also happened to be at Bath Abbey, and while we were talking, we found out that they were in Westminster Abbey for the same exact service we were! Weird! After planning to meet for tea later, we went back up to the Crescent to tour No. 1 Royal Crescent, a restored Georgian townhouse. They have 4 rooms on display (not counting the kitchen and lovely stairway!), each filled with antique furniture, paintings, and everyday items (books, hairbrushes, etc.). It was very nice, but unfortunately we didn't get any pictures except this one of the staircase:

You can just glimpse a corner of the sedan chair stored under the stairs.

For tea, Mom and I had been planning to go to the Pump Room, since it is such a lovely place and there's something about taking tea in a historical room (and where one of our favorite movies was filmed!) with live classical music that appealed to us. :-) Providentially, the Agnews had the same plans, since tea at the Pump Room comes dear!

L to R: me, Katy, Amber, Mrs. Agnew, Rob, and Jaclyn

We had a very delightful tea, with such wonderful company! We were very blessed to find such kindred spirits and can't wait to see them again in March! :-)

Of course, no trip to the Pump Room would be complete without "taking the waters"! As much as everyone complains about the horrid taste, it honestly wasn't that bad! In fact, it tasted about like our water here at home... When we told Dad that, he decided it was time to call a water expert.

Yes, there is an ugly sign in the middle of the picture.....

That's better!

The Pump Room - the atmosphere was lovely!

The entrance to the Roman Baths

Not too shabby!

The main bath and best surviving one. Yes, the water is green; that's caused by algae growth due to sunlight. In Roman times, there was a roof on the entire building, so they didn't have that problem.

The one thing I was most surprised by at the Roman Baths was the fact that in roman times, there was a huge complex of baths, not just this one. It was just like you read about in books about roman times. For some reason, I thought that since this was out in the middle of nowhere (as opposed to Rome), they would only have made a "mini-bath". Not so! There was even a temple on the site. Due to the records and artifacts found, it looks like Bath was a popular place and drew many visitors, even in the AD 60s! When we started on our tour, I thought the only thing to do would be to walk around the main bath and taste the water. Reality: walking under the Pump Room looking at amazingly well-preserved sculptures, tile floors, part of the temple site, and the remains of the "frigidarium", hot bath, and several other baths! The tour was very informative and interesting, well worth the time and money; I would recommend it to everyone going to Bath! The amount of roman history in a city that looks no older than 500 years was mind-boggling!

This is to show how close the Baths are to the Abbey. I was amazed at the little distance that separated them! Not surprisingly then, there is evidence that the Abbey was built on top of some of the buildings in the roman bath complex.

Roman mosaics

The head piece for a pediment on one of the buildings

A very neat display showing where the spring comes up and how the Romans channeled the water through the complex and into aqueducts.

This is where the spring comes up, the water bubbles on the surface are caused from gases trapped in the water. Yuck! Glad I didn't know that before I drank it!! The water line halfway up the walls shows where the water level was in medieval times. The monks would bring invalids to the baths for healing. In the Roman and Georgian times, the water was the same level it is now.

Just in case you forgot what I look like....

Outside the Pump Room. Lovely, isn't it?

Persuasion fans will also recognize this! :-)

This picture was really for the Pump Room sign, but I just noticed that there is another hot air balloon in it! The weather was delightful!

In the above picture, you can also see Aurora and some other costumed ladies coming out of the Pump Room. We all gathered for a group picture, but as we were taking our pictures we were suddenly surrounded by TONS of tourists wanting to get our picture, too. That was fine, except that there were so many of them! After a minute or two of constant pictures from our adoring mob, I decided that we needed a picture of them. So, I ran off to the side to snap a few pictures of all of them (well, and get out of the pictures, too... ;-) ).

This wasn't even close to half of them!

In this picture, you can see what happened to me next. Yes, that woman is taking a picture of me taking a picture of her...! Soon, I had tourists flocking over to take pictures with me. So much for getting out of the pictures....

Back in the main group, it was very common for one tourist to have his picture taken with the whole group. The only problem came in when another tourist tried to get in the picture too; tourist #1 would then resort to scolding and angrily motioning for #2 to leave!! LOL!

After 10 minutes, (I'm serious; this was the worst I have EVER seen!) we were finally able to extricate ourselves and all enjoyed a good long laugh. :-)

Next up: Lacock Village (the last post!)

Trip to England - Part 9

Ahh!! Where does the time go?!? I'm so sorry that I've kept my faithful readers waiting! Rest assured, I'm still alive, AND I plan to finish up these posts by the end of the week. :-)

Saturday morning we woke up to a beautifully sunny day- perfect for the Promenade that starts off the Jane Austen festivities! Bath is a city with a history going back to at least 43 AD, when the Romans built baths around the natural hot springs. In Georgian times, it became a popular spa resort, as many came to "take the waters" to cure their ailments. Because of its immense popularity at that time, many buildings were built then that still survive today, making it feel very much like a walk back into time. Jane Austen also lived in Bath from 1801-1806, and set two of her books there.

After a delicious breakfast, we explored the city a bit. Our B&B was on Brock St., in between the Royal Crescent and the Circus.

Aerial view of the area, our B&B marked is marked with the arrow.

The Royal Crescent, it was built in 1774 by John Wood the Younger and is comprised of 30 houses.

Brock St. Very fashionable lodgings, indeed! ;-)

Two sides of the Circus (no, there are no animals here!), finished in 1768; designed by John Wood the Elder and finished by JW the Younger.

When we arrived at the Pump Room entrance to wait for the beginning of the Promenade, we met up with a few ladies from our group and soon found some online friends from the sewing forum that we're all on. Joanna and her husband Scott are from England, but Aurora traveled from Sweden for the JA festival. Oh to be so close! :-)

Me and Aurora

Elizabeth, me, Scott, and Joanna. Hmmm, after seeing all the men dressed up at the festival, I really think Dad needs a regency outfit now... ;-)

Starting off with the Pump Room behind us

Up one of Bath's many charming streets

As we and 400 other costumed people started off on our walk through Bath's streets, I was taken aback by the amount of people who came just to watch us all! The streets were LINED in people taking pictures, videos, and people from the news interviewing the promenaders!! If it weren't for the absence of a red carpet, I would have though we were all famous movie stars by the amount of attention we all drew! Despite this, we found that (excepting Saturday morning and afternoon) most of the residents of Bath had no idea there was even a Jane Austen Festival going on! On our way to the hotel the first night, we ran into a woman who had lived in Bath for 25 years and had only noticed that "something went on every year"! At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, we were shopping in Bath and had a woman come up to us to ask "why we were dressed like that". When we explained, she said, "Oh, is that what was on TV this afternoon?"! Well, if I lived in Bath, you can be sure that I would appreciate all the history in the city! :-)

Gathering in the Assembly Rooms

The gorgeous ceiling!

Our first destination on the Promenade was the Assembly Rooms where we were gathering to be counted for our attempt to break the world record of "Most People in Regency Costume at One Time". Who knew there even was a record to break!! ;-) At any rate, at 409 participants, we had almost twice as many as the previous record! After that, we all walked to the Crescent to get a picture taken of everyone. But not just any old picture, a gigapan picture. Which is pretty much many small pictures put together (look closely and see if you can spot the giveaway! also keep your eyes open for the phantom head and the girl with 4 arms!!). In reality the whole thing meant that if you were in the center (which we were), then the sun will be directly in your eyes (which it was), which will blind you and make it difficult to smile directly at the camera if you didn't bring a parasol (which none of us did). Of course, if you were silly enough to not know exactly what was going on, (we didn't. Actually, on second thought, I really don't think many people did!) you would be smiling into the sun until your eyes watered while the camera took pictures of the first people in line! (we also did this...) Consequently, this will mean that they are NO WHERE close to getting your picture (which they weren't). And, if you're wearing a long-sleeved coat (which 3 of us were), you'll get very hot in the sun while you're waiting your turn. If you're not wearing a coat, you'll worry about getting sunburnt (which the rest of us did). In the end, you will most likely decide after waiting for well over half an hour that this is no longer worth the time you have to spend in Bath (which we did decide). Of course, leaving will mean that you don't make it in the picture, but there are more important things than fame. Bottled water being one of them. :-) I am slightly disappointed that it didn't work out (for us, anyway), but after looking at the picture, I think I can safely say that the picture of me would most likely have been less than flattering. One way of saving my pride, I guess!!

In Queen's Square, there were a few booths set up with historical clothing/reenactment wares for sale, along with shady places to sit. :-) Our tour group had plans to go to the Fashion Museum (housed under the Assembly Rooms) in the afternoon, so after resting awhile, we joined up with our group again. The Fashion Museum was nice, but very disappointing if you are hoping for a Historical Fashion Museum! Over half of the garments on display were from the 1970s on (yuck!), so it was rather lacking in the inspirational department.... The sad thing is that they have a HUGE collection, but they apparently think that we're all most interested in the more modern junk! Um, no! I'm also sorry to report that I only took REALLY BAD pictures there.... The lighting in many of the exhibits was really bad and they were all so blurry that they weren't worth posting... :-( I was unable to upload Lindsay's pictures, but Jennie had some in her post. While I was walking through the Museum, I noticed a family that looked slightly familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. And anyway, I was in England... It's not like it was very likely that I would happen to run into someone I knew! A bit later, the family came up to me and asked, "Do you happen to go to Liberty Day?"!! Imagine my surprise, Liberty Day is an annual event that one of our sister churches puts on 3 hours away from us! So that's how I recognized them! The daughters also dress historically for Liberty Day and I have always admired their dresses. :-) The Agnew's also live in IL, and were traveling in England and France for 6 weeks. They just happened to be in Bath at the Fashion Museum at the exact same time as us! Truly Providential!!

We had received vouchers for tea at the Jane Austen Centre as part of our tour, so we decided to go there next. There was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it! We very fortunately got a seat by a window, so as we enjoyed our afternoon tea, we were able to look out on Bath's lovely streets! Hmm, I think Dad and Gretel need to go too! With us to show them around, of course..... ;-)

Enjoying "Tea with Mr. Darcy" in the Jane Austen Centre. I think the Mr. Darcy at our table must have been invisible...

Our fare, tea sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and cake. Even though the tea room was full (it is their busiest day, after all!), the ambiance was still nice and we had a delightful and restful time together. Definitely some fond memories.... :-)

We had arranged with Scott, Joanna, and Aurora to meet for supper, so in the mean time, we wandered a bit through the historic streets and went down to see Pulteney Bridge.

Pulteney Bridge, which is lined with quaint shops on either side.

View from the bridge of the River Avon

And a picture of the outside!

Enjoying another delightful dinner at Sally Lunn's, this time with newfound friends! Thank you for the great time! We really enjoyed getting to know you all! :-)

Harvest!

With rain in the forecast for the next few days, Tuesday, October 13 turned out to be a good day to harvest corn. The field behind our house was the first one Farmer Wagenbach planted last spring and the first one he's harvested this fall. A test of the moisture content of the most moist ears revealed that although the corn would require drying at the elevator, it met Farmer Wagenbach's goal for beginning harvest.

Like many other harvest days when the weather is less than ideal, Farmer Wagenbach's operation was a race against the clock. Because so much grain requires artificial drying this year, the grain elevator was not accepting loads after 4:30 PM. Like many other farmers, Farmer Wagenbach tried to get one more load into the elevator before the deadline so he could fill his trucks again before he called it a night. I guess the silver lining in this scenario is that there aren't many farmers out in the fields until late at night.

The golden stream that farmers wait for all summer. Hopefully the weather will present enough opportunities to continue harvesting, and this year's crop won't be a disappointment. Thanks for visiting!

Corn in the backyard 2009, weeks 20 & 21

October 4

October 4

October 11

Even though the weather continues to be wet and cool, the cornstalks continue to dry out, and we trust the kernels keep drying too. There hasn't been a lot of harvesting in our area, which is a good indication of how slowly the crops are drying out this year. Stay tuned...!

Trip to England - Part 8

Friday morning, our group gathered in the hotel lobby to wait for our private coach to Bath, by way of Chawton (J. Austen's house), Winchester Cathedral (where she is buried), and Stonehenge. Due to heavy traffic, we waited for an hour until the coach made it. It was so nice to be out of London! London was very pleasant, but by the last couple of days, I was longing for some nice cornfields. There were no cornfields on the way to Chawton, but there were rolling pastures dotted with sheep and trees and fenced in by stone walls. Also acceptable! ;-)

We pulled up at Jane's house and all watched a short movie about her before wandering around the lovely gardens, the house, and the gift shop. While we were in London, we went in many very good gift shops, but nothing ever jumped out at me. Different story here! I think I can safely say that I was their target audience... ;-D

Arriving at Jane's house!

Notice how low the doorway is!

This cottage was given to the Austen women (Jane, her mother, and her sister Cassandra) after Mr. Austen's death by Jane's elder brother Edward who had an estate nearby. Edward had been adopted by childless relatives and inherited a fortune of £20,000!! That's twice Mr. Darcy's immense fortune, and he was the "richest man in Derbyshire"!!

Around the back of the house

The kitchen

Pianoforte made by Muzio Clementi! :-)

And pictures of my dress for those interested... It's made from a hand block-printed Indian muslin from heritagetrading. The hat was made by Mom using a Timely Tresses pattern.

The top edge of the "bib front" is gathered with strings pulled through casings and Mom made the dorset buttons for me! True love! :-)

I used Jennie Chancey's Elegant Lady's Closet pattern for the back and sleeves, but made up the front using "Patterns of Fashion" and "Costume in Detail" for help.

After enjoying ourselves in Chawton, we hopped back on the coach and made our way to Winchester. We split up for lunch (Mom and I had our leftover cheese and bread in a very charming and peaceful park) and then met up at the Cathedral. Ironically, even though we went mainly to see Jane Austen's grave, we didn't get a picture of it! Oh well, next time... ;-)

Statue of Alfred the Great

Charming Winchester!

The cathedral yard

Winchester Cathedral

The beautiful Nave!

Some of the needlework cushions in the quire. They each had different designs.

Mom's favorite: acorns :-)

12th and 13th century paintings! They also had medieval floor tiles still intact that you could walk on!

Ceiling in the North Transept

Near Jane Austen's grave. A kind English gentleman inquired why we were dressed up, and when we told him, he wanted to take our picture. By the time we were finally done with the picture, the whole experience reminded me of the book "If You give a Mouse a Cookie".

If You Wear Regency Clothing to Historical Sites

If you wear regency clothing to historical sites, a gentleman will come up and talk to you.

And when he talks to you, he'll find out that you're dressed up because you're at Jane Austen's grave.

And when he finds that out, he'll think you need a picture of yourself.

When he gets the camera, he'll take a picture.

But when he looks at the picture, he'll realize he needs to zoom in.

And when he's taken another picture, he'll decide the flash needs to be off.

When he's found the flash button and taken a picture, he'll see that it's too blurry.

So he'll take another picture.

When he is finally satisfied, he'll start talking about Jane Austen.

While he is talking, Matt will come up and say that we need to leave.

In the bus, you'll get to whittle the pictures down to this one.

The End

On our way back to the coach, we were stop by 2 backpackers who were befuddled as to our appearance. When we explained, they asked us where we were from. After our answer, they asked if everyone dressed like us in our town (LOL!!). After our negative answer, their faces became even more perplexed and you could tell as they were walking away that they thought we were the wackiest people EVER! :-)

Due to our late start in the morning, we were only able to drive past Stonehenge, but I think we got a very decent picture, notwithstanding! In order to go "close" to the stones, there is an entry fee, so we really wouldn't have gained much by getting out anyway...

I do have to say that this is NOT what it looked like in real life. There were TONS of tourists all over, but somehow we managed to get this great picture!

During the rest of our trip to Bath, Matt entertained us all with a few rounds of "BBC Trivia" as we all competed to see who could get the most correct answers to become "Queen of the BBC". :-) When we made it to Bath, Mom and I lugged our bags to our Bed & Breakfast (we had made reservations before we knew the rest of the group was staying somewhere else, but we decided to keep ours, anyway). The only catch was that our B&B was uphill. The entire way. If you'll remember, we were wearing regency clothing! So, I guess the upside to that experience was that we have now proved that it IS possible to lug 30-40 lb. suitcases half a mile uphill in regency dresses! Oh, and then our room was up two full flights of stairs! We went straight to Sally Lunn's after getting our bags in the room as it was already 7:00.

Sally Lunn's is a restaurant that claims the title of "Bath's Oldest House" since it was built in 1482. Roman and Medieval foundations have also been found in the cellars! It's age is readily apparent, the rooms all feature quaintly crooked doorways, floors, and window casings. (Why is it that crooked doorways are so cute in 500 year old buildings?!?) While enjoying our candlelit dinner, the couple next to us struck up a conversation with us (we've noticed that wearing historical clothing makes people much more apt to start talking to you, for whatever reason...) and we soon found out that we had common interests as they were also Christians and ended up having a delightful evening!

In Sally Lunn's. And yes, Mom is overheated. And yes, I had her permission to post this picture. ;-)

Next up: Bath and the Jane Austen Festival!