A week in photos

We had frost in the mornings this week.

Everything in the garden was transformed by the light touch of white ice.

Colourful berries continue to stand out here and there.

Walking on my way to the library later on one morning I saw that the gardeners were busy in the park and walled garden as by then the frost had gone. Work was underway to do some clearing, digging and pruning.

I had finished my last read of Susan Hill's The Benefit of Hindsight. Short chapters and not so many pages it was a quick read. Personally, I think because of the ongoing development of characters it would be best to start with the first book in this series.

I'm now reading another favourite author, Salley Vickers.  The hard back book Grandmothers is  attractive with a beautiful painting on the cover and a pretty pattern on the inside end pages.

The Other Room, Vanessa Bell, late 1930s,  © Estate of Vanessa Bell
 courtesy of Henrietta Garnett/Bridgeman Images

I hope to start on some embroidery as I found this small tablecloth in a charity shop for a few pounds - still sealed up as new.  It includes all the embroidery threads and a needle.  I like the fact that it has a transfer print in cross stitch as I cannot see to do small cross stitch packs without a transfer image any more.

Pickford's House Museum, Derbyshire

We've had frosty mornings several times this week whilst today we had a bright sunrise and thankfully it's not raining. 

I'm continuing with our visit to Derby at the weekend when we looked around Pickford's House Museum which is run by Derby Museums Trust and shows the accommodation of a late Georgian professional through models in costume, furnishings and period items.

Joseph Pickford was a well known architect and 41 Friar Gate was his residence.  The ground floor is furnished as it might have been in his time.  Rooms are decorated as they would have been in 1815 whilst the kitchen, scullery and laundry reflect life in the 1830s.  There are two bathrooms, one which is early 1900s, I think, although I didn't have time to look at all the information boards and the other in the style of the 1930s. The cellar is furnished as a 1940s bomb shelter. The property is also home to a collection of model toy theatres and special exhibitions are put on at different times. At the moment a collection of Lady Curzon's haute couture is on display. 

the entrance hall and stairs

 a reception room,  the dining room and the drawing room

the cellar and storage rooms

the scullery and the kitchen

a bedroom

the bathrooms (bottom right - 1930s)

The servants' bedroom is at the top of the house with views down onto Friar Gate.  The cast iron bridge with stone abutments Friar Gate Bridge can be seen on the extreme left (bottom right).  

Grace Elvina Curzon née Trillia Hinds, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston (16 May 1885 - 29) was a United States-born British marchioness, the second wife of George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and former Viceroy of India. The collection of Lady Curzon's clothes created by the famous fashion houses of the 1920s and 1930s show the elegant and glamorous style of dress of the wealthy during this period. 

accessories

 dressing up area - no not me, DiL in hat and red feather boa.......

and to finish........ some of the collection of model toy theatres 

Derby Museums: Japanese Art Exhibition

The first exhibition was about Japanese art and there were two rooms dedicated to it.  One of the rooms displayed a collection of 19th century woodblock prints which had been organised by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, but I preferred the ones in the other room, watercolour paintings and other prints and eclectic displays there that reflected nature that were from the Derby Museum collection.

Here is a glimpse of the exhibition in the room displaying many interesting aspects of Japanese culture.
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Kimono - origin, make and date unknown,

in the Derby collection since 1978

 Ancient Japanese warrior attire

It was an interesting exhibition with much to see and learn about thanks to the Museum's information - so much more than I can share here.  Soon I'll blog about another museum venue which is in a Georgian house.