Last weekend, we took a jolly jaunt to another National
Trust property, for yet another Christmas celebration. I love this time of year!
The property we visited was Felbrigg Hall, a stunning 17th
Century country house set in rural North Norfolk. It was a first time visit for us, and we were
not disappointed.
Upon arrival, we were all issued with identity cards before
making our way to the front of the house, where members of the Home Guard, part
of the Civil Defenders re-enactment group,were on parade.
We stood and watched for a while as they did their drill and
marched on the gravelled drive, and when we could stand the bitterly cold north
wind no longer, made our way to the front of the house and sought shelter in
the warmth of the main hall.
The hall was set out beautifully, with a large Christmas
tree, decorated with homemade decorations, with a chance to stop awhile and play
pin the moustache on Hitler or watch a couple dancing to songs of the era.
The table in the dining hall was laid beautifully, awaiting
the arrival of important guests, perhaps, and there was a quaint little display
of toys of the era, and stockings were hung by the fire, already filled by the
man in red.
Away from the main body of the house, and into what was the
servants quarters I believe, there was yet another beautifully decorated tree,
alongside a table, all laid up for the evacuees Christmas party. There were some cleverly made felt Christmas
tree decorations which I plan to replicate next year!
My favourite part of the house was the Make Do and Mend
display. There were some beautiful
pieces of period clothing on display, including a wonderful CC41 shirt which
had been carefully embroidered so it could be used as a woman’s blouse. Someone was making felt corsages which, to
the eagle eyed among you, may look more than a little familiar ;o) Someone had been working on an intricate Fair
Isle woolly, while another lady was making a Father Christmas suit made of
crepe paper.
The staff and volunteers at Felbrigg, along with the members
of the Civil Defenders re-enactment group, the group my parents are part of,
really went above and beyond to create a truly memorable experience. The devil, as they say, is in the detail, and
everyone at Felbrigg Hall had certainly put in the time, and effort, to make it
a thoroughly enjoyable experience. We’re
already hoping that the hall will be open again for Christmas next year!
What a fine bunch! |
Since the weekend, things have been madly busy here. Mr Y turned a year older on Monday, but a visit from OFSTED meant, with the exception of a totally divine chocolate fudge cake, no celebrations - thank goodness the school term ends tomorrow.
Following the birthday theme, my youngest little Miss M turned 6 on the 17th. Both Sunday and Monday evening were spent moulding icing into minions!
Mr Y and I were meant to be on a date night this evening, a rare visit to the local cinema to see the colourised version of It's A Wonderful Life, but he has succumbed to man flu and so plans have changed a little and I am, instead, snuggled up on the couch with a DVD and my knitting instead - oh, and some popcorn!
Not long 'till the big day now, you know. I think we are just about there. A few finishing touches to a couple of homemade gifts and some baking to do, but then we're just about done, thank goodness! I hope your plans are all coming together nicely xx
Aww, those minions! My Birthday's next month, fancy making some more? It's lovely to see the effort they've put in with decorating the house, those little planes under the tree are wonderful :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks a fab day out, just up my street! I love your cake :) xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous christmas table :) Plenty of inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteAnd that cake? AMAZING!!
What amazing cake decorating skills you have. No wonder she was thrilled. I can't believe I missed news of Felbrigg as that looks wonderful, we were stomping around the woods at Blickling and could have done both. Hope they do it again as I love it there, it's a family home and feels loved.
ReplyDelete