Tag: travel

I’m going to be a Tudor!

I’ve been quiet for some time as I’ve been very busy and doing a lot of planning.

Now it’s all go! In June I’m going to live, work and eat as a Tudor! Seriously!

In August last year I found out about a Tudor mansion, moated no less, that holds events throughout the year that are living history events. A couple of hundred (or more) people volunteer to do this. Amazing or what?

Anyway, this year, midsummer (20/6) onwards I’m going to be one of them. To begin you have to be interviewed and a decision is made re your position. I’m going to be in the wool shed, obviously. Next you need a name, a back story, and then the work REALLY begins.

Lots of pennies later and I have metres of wool fabric, natural and white linen, shoes, hats, basket, knife etc etc..the list is endless. I have to make my outfit.

two shifts..undergarments – looks a bit like a long nights shirt – made of linen

a kirtle – a dress that’s laced up the front (no underwear then) – lined bodice with linen. No sleeves

sleeves- these are pinned on to the partlett when leaving to go outside

a partlett – looks a bit like a sailors collar, black wool with linen lining, sometimes just linen – covers the shoulders and bosom which is unseemly

a coif – linen bonnet/hat to cover the head/hair

stockings/hose – wool, over the knee held up with woven garter

hat – knitted then felted..never leave home without a hat. Alternatively it could be straw

jacket – wool with natural linen lining

Then there’s everything else..shoes, basket, knife, belt, leather pouches to hang on belt, wooden plate, wooden bowl, wooden spoon, mug, pins, knitting needles (essential for me) brass or wood..the list is endless!

However, the planning and making is, and has been, part of the experience. I’m almost ready to go, almost all items finished.

While I’m there I can’t take pictures..no phones and no watches! I’m hoping people do and tag the hall so I can see them.

So, if any of you want to enjoy a fabulous, very full, day out, get some comfortable shoes on and spend the day at Kentwell Hall in Long Medford, Suffolk. You won’t regret it and may learn something as a bonus! I’ll be there from 21 June.

Christmas!..in a van??

I spent Christmas Eve doing a mix of things..lunch was celebrating my granddaughters 1st birthday. Maddison was 1 on the 20th but we met for a meal on Christmas Eve.

Straight afterwards Barrie and I dashed to Wigan to join our eldest daughter Rachel and son in law Phill and two granddaughters, Beth and Dorothy. Jenny, second eldest, and her husband Stephen, and their children..grandchildren Elisa, Hannah and Matthew joined us too.

We ate, played games, exchanged gifts and then went to the local Christingle service at St Anne’s Church in Wigan. What a joy that was! Truly magical, funny, and so very special. Hannah, Matthew and Dorothy even joined in the nativity. It was a lovely start to Christmas.

Christmas day was a mixed bag. Barrie spent his day with two if his girls and their children..I spent mine with four of my five. My four youngest children lost their dad to cancer in August and Christmas was always going to be hard.

The day was as good as it could be and ended with me sleeping in my van outside Jenny’s house! It was fabulous. I was surprisingly warm and cosy. I got some lovely gifts formy van and to document my travels too.
I still have a few things to add to my van…a radio for a start! I need to get the internal sockets checked and also make sure the plumbing is correctly wired! Once those things are completed then I’ll be ready for the road proper.

Great news today…..

My van can come home from the garage!!!

It’s very odd, as I haven’t owned him long, but I’ve really missed Vinnie being outside! I’m hoping to pick him up by the end of the week! Next on the list is to ask a lovely neighbour that I have to check up the inside, connect the gas, show me how the buttons work to. Then I can go out in it finally…well…when I’ve tried to drive it that is lol!

But truly, I’m so very happy. It feels like forever but it will be worth it. All my pretty things are piled on the bed in the van ready to be put away, hooks to be put up, shelves to be added but now useable anyway. The biggest decision, I guess, is where to go first! I’d like to try it out between Christmas and new year. I finish work for Christmas this Thursday 21st December, and I don’t go back until 9th January so I do have an opportunity to give it a good try.

I’m fully armed with lots of blankets, new pillows, a kettle, everything I need to cook and even some food. All I need is milk (for the very essential brew), some fresh food, (at the very least some bread and butter) and, obviously, tea bags!

Clearly I need to consult my list of the people who want me to visit them to allow them to have a nosey inside, and finally I need to pack…wool, needles, patterns, scissors, sewing needles, fleece, wheel, lazy Kate, bobbins, a book, pen and notebook (those who know me well will know this is not an exhaustive list of craft items), and I’ll be ready for the off.

(almost forgot, I’ll need some clean clothes too!)