Just a short blog to establish a date-line. It's past 11pm and we have had a busy day, which I will tell you more about later. It was, as I announced yesterday, National Trust Mansfield's Xmas trip. This year to Belvoir. We had a great time even though it was windy and bitterly cold on top of that hill. But a Piper to greet us and then inside to log-fires took the edge off it. There is some peculiar quality to the heat from an open-fire, particularly log-burning, that central heating can never quite match. These fires were so effective you didn't suffer from the warm-front, cold-back syndrome. And you don't get a magic smell from radiators.It was lovely to see our chums and Jean had, yet again, organised things so well. It was a 51seater coach and we had 50 people and even Jean couldn't be expected to produce her customary hot sunny day in November. We chatted to lots of people and towards the end of the visit, Sue and Gordon joined us at a table in the restaurant, which was nice.
Just a tip! If you receive conflicting invites to a Xmas meal from two Duchesses - Rutland at Belvoir and Devonshire at Chatsworth - go for the Chatsworth one 'cos the turkey is nicer. The Belvoir turkey had that unmistable twang of being sliced and then reheated and the tinned broad-beans that accompanied it were abit bullet-like. And at £10.85 a throw !!
The Art Gallery alone though made the whole visit worthwhile. There is a magnificent portrait of Henry V111 by Holbein. Apparently the RA support the claim and it certainly looked kosher, even though the background was abit same-y. The intricacy of the brushwork shouted 'Holbein' but, strangely enough, it hadn't been loaned to the current Holbein Exhibition. The attendant wasn't sure why, and it didn't look fragile or anything. I shall try to publish my photo of it tomorrow. It needs a little work because, try as I might, I couldn't find a position where the overframe illumination didn't cause glare. There was also a quite beautiful Laura Knight portrait hung right up in the top left hand corner of a wall. Y muchly impressed the attendant by saying "Ooo, there's a Dame Laura Knight".Our visit coincided with the visit of a load of school-kids and our first thought was "Oh dear!" Then we quickly changed our minds when we discovered that they had come to sing Xmas songs from one of the galleries. Looking beautiful in their school uniform of maroon tops, white shirts and grey skirts/trousers, and they sounded incredible. Standing there listening, and warmed by a log-fire with that hot-pine aroma I thought "I shall never think curmudgeonly thoughts ever again."
The journey back was uneventful, with a lovely dramatic sunset and Y's raffle was, yet again, a great success. She had the bright idea of selling the tickets on the outward journey (which enabled us, with Connie's help to fold all the tickets at leisure) and then it was drawn just before we set off to come home. She made a few pence short of £40 which, with Gordon being there, she was able to hand straight over. Y is brilliant at selling raffle-tickets. She once managed in a pub, to sell a £1's worth to a bloke who was nothing at all to do with our party (not on purpose!). When she went over and offered him his money back he declined saying "Well, it's a good cause". People brought some super stuff for future raffles, because the Xmas Social is in the 'offing' and that is very resource-hungry.
We reached home around 5.15pm which gave us plenty of time for a pot of tea, and Y made me a super cheese & lettuce sandwich (a favourite) before I set off for the Camera Club. It was very interesting again. A beginner's competition, judged by Rob Palmer whose comments were very astute. Rob and I have been friends for many years. He took me off-guard slightly by publicly seeking my opinion on one aspect of one of the pictures. He obviously didn't mean to embarrass me but I could almost hear the accumulated thought "Who is this guy?" because, of course, it is only my fourth time back in fifteen years.
Further pictures next Blog...........................
3 comments:
The particular quality of an open fire, as I remember it, is that your front may be burning hot but your back will be icy, or vice versa (icy versa?). But there is a visual comfort that a radiator can never provide(my mother would not ‘countenance’ central heating, on the grounds that radiators spoil the look of the walls – the inverted commas are because of the now infrequent usage).
For some reason, your picture of an open fire brings to mind the man who, when invited to join a course on ‘Tree Recognition’, declined on the grounds that he already knew what a tree looks like.
PS
Are you sure there was not some sort of con going on? In the form of secondary heating I mean. Open fires just do not provide encompassing heat
I am taken by 'unmistable twangs' … a very clear pizzicato is suggested.
I don’t know about tinned broad beans (one of my least favourite veg anyway – acceptable once a year hot, with baked or boiled ham and parsley sauce, and otherwise in a delicious salad with beetroot, which from a non-salad person, ie, a man, is saying something) but frozen ones are invariably superior to fresh which, unless home grown and picked early are almost certainly tough anyway. I would certainly find them objectionable with a roast dinner, whatever their source (no, not parsley).
Following a surfeit of carolling, I await your New Year Resolution to resume the ‘curmudgeonlyness’ which so becomes you. Everyone now, “Bah; Humbug!”
I am pleased that you so enjoyed your cheese and lettuce sandwich (cheese and LETTUCE!, Good God,whatever next? Cheese and pickle, yes; lettuce and salad cream, yes. But cheese and LETTUCE! You couldn’t make it up!) . I hope it enabled you to forget the unmistable turkey twang.
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