Back from York

We returned yesterday(Friday) from a week away at Kelfield just South of York. We had a super time including a costume exhibition at Barley Hall in York.The above photo shows the family enthusing over Mr Darcy and Elizabeth's costumes from the definitive BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice.Zoe and Anna returned two days later to take notes, pictures and make drawings of the costumes to aid their work-they have elected to design and make a costume each ( part of Higher and Advanced Higher respectively) in the coming school year...

Barley hall is a 15th century townhouse which was discovered behind a later facade and restored. The camera ran out of power so it is not a very good photo and contains a tour party in it. Nevertheless it shows the restoration of part of the hall including the tiled flooring and high status dais...

We all enjoyed the Hall and gardens at Beningborough Hall. Despite rain we had a good look inside and out. The National Trust have a lovely cafe there too which provided shelter, when needed, adorned externally with vines. The Hall is filled with many portraits of 18th century figures on loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Whilst in York I looked for a wee wargames shop ( The Tin Drum?) that used to be in Gillygate but is alas there no more. It always had the feel of the Toy Tub in Edinburgh where the hobby began for me. However I did track down Barbican Books on Fossgate where I got many,many second hand books years ago. I managed to pick up some Osprey titles pertaining to Medieval Scandinavia and the Baltic.

The main reading of the hols was Sidebottom's "King of Kings" which is a fantastic historical novel and I have begun the next volume "Lion of the Sun" since I got home yesterday.Later in the holiday I picked up a concise yet very informative Shire publication on 17th and 18th century pleasure gardens- I guess the most famous of which are the Vauxhall ones in London. More holiday info later..

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