28 Sept., Sunday: Outing to Trentham Garden

This property which originally belonged to the Duke of Sutherland, went derelict and was then rescued by a private development organization that has opened an extensive collection of shops, including an enormous "garden center" to generate support for the renovation of the Italian gardens. I wanted to buy these planters shaped like hedgehogs,

but settled for replacing one of my bone china tea cups at the Aynesley shop. The house is still not yet renovated, but the gardens are really nice.

There is a big lake with a gravel path all the way around.

There are wire sculptures of "fairies" to be found hiding in the woods

as well as other art, like this willow structured bird.

I particularly loved this statue of a fairy with the down from a dandelion blowing away. The quote underneath says, "Wishes Do Come True."

There was a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa, a replica of one by Cellini, at the end of the garden,

some beautiful dahlias and tons of still blooming begonias. Here is a "group photo" of Hal, Margaret, Peter, Tilly and Ted.

I got a picture of Margaret tidying the garden this morning.

It has been an unbelievably sunny, gorgeous day, today, so we are all sitting around on the patio this evening.

27 Sept., Saturday: Blists Hill and Ironbridge

As promised, here is a picture of Tilly (left) and Ted (right), staring over the patio wall in Peter and Margaret's back garden (thanks for the picture, Peter!).

We had a very busy day today. Drove to the museum dedicated to the birth of the Industrial Revolution, called Blists Hill. Very compelling wall-high and fully surrounding video exhibits when you walk in that gives you an up close view of mining coal, smelting the iron, etc. Then you walk out into a recreation of a Victorian town that was absolutely brilliant. Here is a picture of Hal with Peter and Margaret as we were just starting out.

There were volunteers everywhere, in costume, like this man making a rag rug,

 this woman in the "squatter's cottage"--which was about 300 years old-- who is crocheting/ knitting,

and maybe, best of all, the school master who was striding through the town chastising wayward visitors. He said to Hal in a stern voice, "Take your hands out of your pockets young man and stand up straight." Hal said his mom used to say the same thing :-)

They had amazingly fitted out shops like the pharmacy,

the bakery, etc. Here is a woman taking bread from the oven;

the "carpenter, wheelright, and undertaker" was giving a brief tutorial on the fine points of grave robbing.

The draper's shop advertised Singer sewing machines and had all kinds of fancy hats.

There were so many entertaining signs, I just had to take pictures.

Hal made friends with a huge horse pulling a large cart through the streets of town.

Of course the town grew up around the coal mines and the furnaces.

We watched the wheel pull up the cage going down into the mine shaft.

There was a functioning steam engine.

Overall, it was really well done.
Afterwards we drove to a tile museum--so many pretty things I wanted to buy! Then wandered up the road to a crafts mart where, among other things, women were making lace--which looks unbelievably complicated with so many bobbins, but Margaret gave it a try.

Then off to the first cast iron bridge, in the town of Ironbridge, which was built in 1779 over the River Severn, the longest river in Britain.

We were joined by Petere and Margaret's friends Anne and Dave for dinner at a wonderful Thai restaurant in Stone. By the time we got to bed about midnight, we were pooped!