November 2019 roundup

November was a very wet month and we continue to think of those who are still enduring the aftermath of the flooding that occurred in many regions of the UK. We enjoyed having family come to visit. We are keeping fairly well and managed to get out-and-about including a visit to our Derbyshire family. In between the rain there was some gardening done, mostly tidying and cleaning and then on other days we rested.

Our son sent some photos that I've made into collages taken of  'The Knife Angel Sculpture' made with permission from the Home Office by the British Ironwork Centre in Shropshire from hundreds of  knives that had been surrendered to the authorities or had been used in a knife crime. The travelling artwork sculpture was on display for a time outside Derby Cathedral and was illuminated at night and brought attention to the public the awful consequences of knife crime that is sadly happening in our society. The campaign 'Surrender a Knife and Save a Life' is an important, ongoing initiative.

Inside the Cathedral touring artwork 'Museum of the Moon' by Luke Jerram was being displayed which was also illuminated in the evenings and a light parade, 'Parade of the Full Moon' took place at this time at the end of September. John Flamsteed, the first Atronomer Royal, (1646-1719) lived in Derby and was the first to map the moon so there was probably an association of ideas when organising the Derby Festé 2019. John Flamsteed's work (below) can be seen in Pickford's House Museum, Derby together with other displays on 18th century optical inventions.

Finally, a photo of me with Benito Argento our Derbyshire family's Spinone puppy who has the sweetest temperament.  (Argento is his pedigree name).

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.