Halloween

Beautiful cat in shop window in New York

~ Happy Halloween ~ 

Polly x

A Good Read

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

The story starts at Heathrow airport when Ted Severson heads for the bar after hearing his flight is delayed. There he meets the magnetic Lily and after a few too many martinis he confides his darkest thoughts. He tells Lily about his wife’s infidelity, how they were a mismatch from the start - he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché. But most of all he confides how he wishes her dead. In a heartbeat Lily offers to help him carry out his wish.
Lily isn’t your stereotype blonde beauty, she was born with a different kind of morality. She doesn’t believe in letting people get away with things like infidelity or lying. She doesn’t believe in turning the other cheek or forgiveness. Her father is a reasonably famous author, and her mother an academic. Their household was a free-for-all of revolving parties with artists, writers, friends, and lovers of both parents coming and going throughout her childhood.
She was mostly left to her own devices, and when the odious Chet took an interest in the thirteen year old with the flaming red hair and the long thin legs, he annoyed her, really annoyed her, she knew what was on his mind. She told Ted ”I’d been waiting for two things since killing Chet. Waiting to get caught and waiting to feel bad. Neither happened, and I knew that neither would. Truthfully" she said, "I don’t think murder is necessarily as bad as people make it out to be. Everyone dies. What difference does it make if a few bad apples get pushed along a little sooner than God intended? and your wife, for example, seems like the kind worth killing." 

We are brought up to believe that killing someone is the worst thing we could ever do, but is it? If a person is destroying lives, leaving a wake of devastation and overwhelming grief that can never be healed is it really the worst thing we can do for society to remove that person? I can think of a few cases where I would be capable of pulling the trigger. 

It's well written and has some excellent twist and turns, and plots I didn’t see coming. It sagged a bit in the middle and there are almost entire chapters given over to car journeys which were surplus to the plot, but the end is sweet.

~Happy Reading ~

Polly x

Apsley House

'Number 1 London', the grandest address in the capital. This beautiful Georgian building  was the home of the first Duke of Wellington, and the interior has changed little since then.
Located on the edge of the city with the Royal Park at the back and just outside the toll gates at Knightsbridge with “fine views over to the Surrey and Kent hills”, as Thomas Shepard’s popular guide ‘London in the Nineteenth Century’ noted, it enjoyed one of the finest settings in London. Sadly now it competes with non-stop traffic around Hyde Park corner.

Apsley House was built in the 1770's for Henry Bathurst, 1st Baron Apsley. In 1807 the house was purchased by Marquess Wellesley, elder brother to Arthur Wellesley, but in 1817 financial difficulties forced the Marquess to sell Apsley to his more famous sibling the Duke of Wellington (Waterloo and Napoleon). Wellington engaged the architect Benjamin Dean Wyatt to restore and enlarge the house. Wyatt wrote to the Duke saying: “I have carefully examined it throughout. It certainly is an excellent house, and in very good repair. It is as substantial and as well built as any house need be, and it is splendid without containing any superfluous room.” Despite Wyatt’s report being very favourable, Wellington decided that the house was in need of expansion and refurbishment, he carried out restorations to create a residence worthy of housing his growing art collection - and also serve as a London base for his political ambitions. Successive generations of the Dukes of Wellington lived at Apsley until the house was finally gifted to the nation in 1947. Today, English Heritage maintains the house.

The ground floor houses the grand state rooms, and a broad staircase leads to the first floor. The current Duke's own relatively simply quarters are on the third floor.
Once again photography was not allowed, but once again I sneaked a few. I'm getting quite good at this now!!.....

The Staircase
Napoleon as Mars the Peacekeeper Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
Commissioned by Napoleon in 1802 this colossal statue of the Emperor was sculpted by Canova in Rome. Completed in 1806 the statue did not arrive in Paris until 1811. It was unveiled at the Musée de Napoleon (now the Louvre), however Napoleon didn't like it, he declared it was ‘too athletic’. It was packed away and eventually brought to England as a gift to the Duke. This was the only place in the house big enough for the statue. The wine cellar underneath had to be strengthened to support its 3-ton weight! 

On the walls in the Striped Drawing Room room are portraits of officers who fought alongside the Duke at Waterloo. Above the fireplace is a famous portrait of Wellington by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and on the opposite wall hangs a dramatic oil painting called ‘The Battle of Waterloo’ painted by Sir William Allen

Postcard of the Drawing Room

There are nearly 3,000 fine paintings, exquisite furnishings, sculptures and works of art in silver and porcelain, gifts from emperors, tsars, and kings to Britain's greatest military hero. The art collection is one of the finest in London with paintings by Velazquez and Rubens

The paintings in the Piccadilly Drawing Room include the ‘Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch’ by Sir David Wilkie. The people in the painting have just received the dispatch from the Duke about his victory at the Battle of Waterloo. The Duke wrote it the day after the battle. Two soldiers carried the letter by a fast horse-drawn carriage to the coast, then by boat to Kent, then horse and carriage to London.

The Portico Drawing Room contains some lovely objects, two portraits of Napoleon and one of his wife, Josephine, some of Wellington’s belongings including a telescope and some hair from the mane of his horse Copenhagen.

Postcard of the Waterloo Gallery

The Waterloo Gallery, described as "one of the great interiors of Britain", is huge, it's the width of the house and is where the Duke held his annual Waterloo banquets, seating up to 85 guests at a long table. There is a large painting in an adjoining room that gives an idea of what the banquets might have been like. The gallery was designed in an opulent gilded Louis XIV style, with seven mirrored window shutters inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles". The mirrors were hidden behind the walls during the day and slid across at night. The windows provided natural light during the day and the mirrors reflected light from the chandeliers and torchieres at night, keeping the Waterloo Gallery and its valuable paintings well lit at any time of the day.

On the walls of the dining room hang portraits of six kings and emperors of Europe at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. They are all standing in a way that makes them look powerful and wearing their best outfits/accessories. Each ruler is holding an object and has a scene behind him, which tells us something about who he is and what he has achieved.

The Museum Room groans with a stunning collection of presents and trophies given to the Duke after his triumph at the Battle of Waterloo. Such was the relief of the whole of Europe to be rid of the tyranny of France he was showered with  gifts from all over the world,  Prussian and Saxon dinner services, field marshals’ batons and an Egyptian dinner service. The room is dominated by a Portuguese Centrepiece, part of a 1,000 piece dinner service gifted to Wellington in 1816 from the Portuguese nation in honour of the Duke’s victory over the French in Portugal during the Peninsular Wars. It took 150 men four years to produce and arrived in London in 1817 in 55 crates. The room was dark so I didn't try to sneak a photo!

The cellar houses an exhibition of military memorabilia, including Napoleon's death mask and medals awarded to Wellington by grateful heads of state across Europe. 

Apsley House faces Wellington Arch, a triumphal gateway intended as a ceremonial gate to the city of London. It was once topped by a controversial statue of Wellington on his horse Copenhagen, which was thought to be ugly and disproportionate to the arch. The government demanded that it should be taken down, but Wellington declared that he would regard the removal of the figure as a clear mark of royal disfavour, and would feel obliged to resign all his public posts, including that of commander-in-chief. Because of the duke’s immense prestige the Queen and government backed down.

In 1880 the incoming Liberal government adopted a scheme to make a new road, cutting the corner between Piccadilly and Grosvenor Place, which involved moving the Arch to a new site a short distance to the south-east, facing down Constitution Hill. The President and Academics of the Royal Academy urged the government to take the opportunity to remove the statue.

In 1891 the sculptor Adrian Jones, a former army veterinary captain who specialised in animal figures, exhibited a magnificent plaster group at the Royal Academy entitled ‘Triumph’, of a quadriga (a four-horse chariot). The Prince of Wales suggested that it would make a suitable adornment for the rebuilt Wellington Arch.

Initially no funds were available, but eventually a banker, Sir Herbert Stern, made an anonymous donation of about £20,000, and from 1908 Jones set to work on a full-size plaster version of his quadriga in his Chelsea studio, with Edward VII taking a personal interest. The final bronze version was erected on top of the arch in January 1912.

The southern pier of the arch was used as a park-keeper’s residence and the northern pier as a police station. In 1886 a telegraph line was laid to the police station, indicating that the rebuilding was complete. The park-keeper’s residence closed in 1937, while the police station, said to be the smallest in London, survived until the late 1950s.

~ Be well ~

Polly x

The Isle of Wight

After my short break in Yorkshire my friend M and I went to the the Isle of Wight. It was a first for both of us, and as well as a holiday it was also an occasion to catch up with friends we hadn't seen for a long time. I hadn't seen my friend for about 9 years, but M hadn't seen her friend for 30 years!! They did recognise each other though!

We found a good deal online with Crusader holidays staying at Warners Bembridge hotel.

The RNLI station is nearby

A trip around the island was included but it was disappointing. All the lovely places we could have visited and instead we were taken to the Wight Pearl shop, which M and I had no interest in whatsoever, followed by a visit to Alum Bay hoping that the chair lift down to the needles would be operational, but due to horrendous gales it was closed. 

I couldn't zoom in any closer. I thought my phone would be blown away!

Other attractions include the sand shop where you can make a coloured sand souvenir, a 4D cinema, Alum Bay glass, a sweet manufactory where you can watch sweet makers make sweets, a great Jurassic adventure golf course, cafes, a host of carousels, and an emporium selling tourist rubbish stuff, I bought a rather nice fridge magnet with a RNLI boat moving along the water. Being close to the end of the season a lot of places were closed. I think it would have been much better if the weather had been sunny and calm, and high season.

We had just over an hour to wander around Ventnor which was quite nice

 The pretty Cascade Gardens

We both had lovely days with our respective friends. It was so good to see my friend A again. She lives a stones throw from the beach. We took her dog for a walk along the footpath to a beach side pub for fish'n'chips which we enjoyed sitting outside in the lovely warm sunshine.

The following day M and I visited Osborne House, what a glorious place.

"It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot" said Queen Victoria of Osborne House,

her palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight. 

And I have to agree with her, it is lovely, the whole package - the house, location

with it's proximity to a private secluded beach, the grounds and stunning views.

At the time of our visit the 200th anniversary of Victoria's and Albert's birthdays were being celebrated, they were both born in 1819 and tried, where possible to spend their birthdays as Osborne House. The first birthday Victoria celebrated at Osborne was her 29th, on 24 May 1848. She was woken by the band of the Royal Marines playing under her window, and after dressing went to look at her birthday gifts with Albert and their six children. The gifts were all laid out on a ‘birthday table’. The queen recorded the events of the day in her journal, noting that ‘The Children ran about, playing most happily, whilst we were at breakfast’. After breakfast the children performed music and recited poetry they had written themselves in the drawing room. Whatever the weather the family then went for a walk in the grounds, often to the Swiss Cottage. In the afternoon they went into the grounds for a drive, and often a group photograph was taken on the terrace. The day was rounded off with a celebratory dinner, followed by further entertainment in which the children usually took part. Queen Victoria’s Journal on the 24 May 1848 recorded ‘I received many lovely things … such a quantity from dearest Albert’. They were devoted to each other and their children.

Boar at the entrance to the Household Wing

Courtesy of befunky.com

Left: Reproductions of the dish on top of the table are presented
to the winner of the ladies singles championships at Wimbledon.
Centre: I think the statue is the Nike of Samothrace
Right: One of many beautiful ornate standard lamps

Beautiful rooms

and furnishings

Cute tiny chairs were adorable. Each of the royal children had their own chair.

The nursery

Toys

Prince Albert's writing room

Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea.
Presented by Prince Albert to Queen Victoria in 1847
Many of the gifts the royal couple exchanged remain at Osborne as part of the collection.

Queen Victoria's dressing room 

her writing room

and her bedroom.

When her beloved Prince Albert died in December 1861, at the very young age of 42, Queen Victoria was plunged into the depths of deep depression and wore the mourning black for the rest of her life. 

In January 1901 it was on a couch-bed here that she died with her family around her. 

The room became a family shrine, and Edward VII placed decorative gates outside to maintain privacy. Edward inherited the various estates and residences,

he made the decision to sell Osborne House to the government.

The lavish Durbar Room, named after an anglicised version of the Hindi word meaning court, was built for state functions. It was decorated by Bhai Ram Singh, and has a carpet from Agra.

A short walk from Osborne House is the beach

Queen Victoria's bathing hut

Swiss Cottage, an Alpine-styled chalet created for Queen Victoria and Price Albert’s nine children. It was their own little world where the children could play and learn. The inspiration behind the Cottage is believed to have been taken from the Swiss Cottage near Schloss Rosenau, where Prince Albert grew up. He was keen to educate his children in the stern practicalities of life as soon as possible. His daughters were to learn cooking and his boys carpentry.

The grounds contained individual vegetable plots enclosed by fences, each one marked by the name of each child. They would tend their allotment for several hours a day, helped by a professional gardener.

Each child had their own little wheelbarrow.

They usually grew fruit, veg and flowers. Prince Albert would buy their produce from them, paying market prices, enabling the children to earn some pocket money. They spent their pocket money on gifts for each other and also gave to local charities. Fruit and veg were also given to poor people living nearby.

Inside the Swiss Cottage, three of the ground floor rooms are dedicated to exhibition space but were once lived in by the housekeeper, Louisa Warne ‘Warnie’ and her husband Thomas the under gardener. There was a pantry with a simple fireplace and sink, where Prince Alfred, in particular, helped to look after the stove and mend cutlery.

The princesses were taught to bake cakes and cook dishes, by Louisa in the old-fashioned chafing oven, using family recipes or those suggested by Mrs Warne. The Queen and Prince Albert were often invited to tea to sample their baking.

Very pretty St Mildred's church used by Victoria when she was in residence.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini tour of the Isle of Wight, and a bit of charming history.

~ Be well ~ 

Polly x

Newby Hall

This might be a long post - I think I might get carried away posting photographs of the many gorgeous dolls houses at Newby Hall!
Newby Hall is the permanent home to one of the finest collections of dollshouses and miniatures in the world, created by collectors Caroline Hamilton and Jane Fiddick. For well over 40 years friends Caroline and Jane have shared a passion for dollshouses. With nearly 70 houses of all shapes, sizes, styles and ages this is also one of the most important private collections on display anywhere in the world. The attention to detail in each tiny room, arranged in clever and amusing scenes and peopled by delightful characters is truly wonderful.
All the exhibits are behind glass screens which meant a lot of reflection, so I have scanned or photographed the pictures from the beautiful book I bought. Photos, no matter how good, can truly reflect the delight from seeing the exhibits in real life.

Best House is a beautiful Georgian house that Jane and her husband built together.
It took time to materialise, so to have something to play with in the meantime Jane bought
a small wall-hung kit house. When this Georgian house was finally finished it was called
'Best House' simply to distinguish it from the other one.

Exquisite miniatures
From top left
Baby clothes: Bobbin lacemaking cushion
Wild flowers: Glass decanter & glasses (my favourite)
Sewing and manicure nécessaire: Knitted mouse

Mrs Aspi Distra

When she first saw this house Caroline wrote "There was nothing original to respect" However when she saw a "rather clumsy looking doll dressed in bright purple" she immediately felt she was right for the house. Mrs Aspi Distra likes purple, in her dress, shawl, tea cosy, cushion and her knitting. She collects flying ducks, and royalty souvenir china, and she has a little dog. She spends a lot of her time checking up on her neighbours from behind her curtains.

Mrs Aspi Distra is a formidable character, hence the slight trepidation shown in the vicar's stance!

The Tall Wooden House

has a lift which is totally open and operated by a mechanism in the bedroom.

You can see the lift in the left hand corners of each of the rooms.
Caroline enjoyed sending someone hurtling down the lift into the kitchen!

Another feature that appealed to Caroline is the shiny brass hook on the front.

Library In A Book 

How cute is this

The Pink Gothick Gatehouse was inspired by years of reading World of Interiors magazines. 

 it's my favourite

I love the yellow drawing room

The conservatory is in the converted coach gate

This sumptuous bedroom has silk walls and a tented ceiling.

The fine flower painting hanging over the chest of drawers conceals the mechanism

for the automated bird which sings and flaps its wings when operated. 

From top left

Ribbon back chair: Landseer's Dignity and Impudence

Elegant Lady: Country Woman on rocking chair

Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Originally Jane was going to create a Mackintosh room but her husband persuaded her
that a house would better show his architecture as well as his distinctive designs for furniture.

San Franciso Painted Lady
another of my favourites.

It's a very pretty house made from a kit. Caroline says "it was rather a shock dealing with a zillion press-out, inaccurate, hairy-edged, splintery bits". Inspiration came from the "painted lady" houses of San Francisco with their beautifully decorative Victorian exteriors and fantastic complex and colourful interiors.  

Millennium Dome

This is a bachelor pad in a London Docklands loft. Nick Loadsamoney is a banker.
He has a designer kitchen but prefers take-away pizzas and a can of lager!

Mrs Smith & Mrs Jones

Almshouses were traditionally built by the Lord of the Manor or the local parish, to house the poor or retired estate workers. This model was sold as as one interior but when Caroline saw the two front doors she felt it should be divided again. Mrs Jones on the right has 'the electric' whilst Mrs Smith is still living with oil lamps. Mrs Jones is a bit more well off, she has a smart new range and a nice dresser. Mrs Smith only has a curtain wardrobe and takes in sewing to make ends meet. 

More gorgeous miniatures

Egg cups in stand with spoon: Fairy under dome

Wall clock: Charlie Chaplin's film camera

 Tudor House

I'm a huge fan of the Tudor times and hope to have a Tudor house one day.

Payne's Pharmacy & Floozy's Bedroom

Caroline made a joke about a pharmacy with pills for pain being named after Cynthia Payne, the notorious Madam, and the lodger upstairs being Floozy the showgirl with a heart of gold but bad taste in furry carpets and mirrored ceilings. Floozy is actually a hardworking night club dancer and the fact that she has champagne and two glasses at the ready is strictly her own business.

Mimi & Musetta named after the heroines of Puccini's La Bohéme, but far more virtuous and industrious than their namesakes, these two have set up an over-the-top pink and pretty hat shop with haberdashery and dressmaking upstairs.

Steptoe & Son

These two do look just like old man Steptoe and his long suffering son Harold

Earl's Court
There's a lot going on in this house occupied by arty types.
On the ground floor Caroline is obsessed with making dollshouses
in what was once the smart front room.

The fortune teller occupies the first floor in her Egyptian themed room.
The genie has escaped from the bottle.

 The second floor is occupied by a photographer in a Chinese themed room

An artist occupies the attic.


And a potter is in the conservatory


The Bluebell Bakery

From top left

Set of six Matroshka Russian dolls inside each other

Diamond brooch with working pin, in a silver box

Imari bowl: Lute 

The Mobile Home

Caroline found this in a shop in Twickenham which occasionally had some dollshouse items.

The Mouse House
How clever is this lovely little diorama.

The house is made from full scale skirting boards with a wooden house behind. The room is full of everyday items we have in our homes - cotton reels, screws, paper clips, fridge magnets, matches, pasta shapes, buttons, a tooth brush. Miss Mouse is a great collector of bits and pieces that she converts for her own use. I love the idea of a tiny mouse running around the house after the family have gone to bed collecting all manner of things.  I really want to make one of these!

And finally Versailles, The One That Got Away!

This is absolutely beautiful

It is the house that Caroline took with her when she moved to her retirement flat.

She couldn't live without a dollshouse and this one holds very personal memories for her.

I thought this would be a long post, there are many more houses in the book,

it was difficult knowing when to stop!

As well as all the gorgeous dolls houses Newby also houses Gyles Brandreth's delightful collection of teddy bears. The Bears have been lovingly collected over the years by Gyles and his wife Michele. Unfortunately the lighting was poor.

Teddy Bear parlour & Teddy Bear picnic

Teddy Bear Royals & Teddy Bear nursery

Teddy Bear wedding & The Hermann Dressed bears 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the houses or just looking at them and the teddy bears.

~ Be well ~ 

Polly x