The Only Way is Pemberley

On Sunday we went to Lyme Park in Cheshire to see 'The Only Way is Pemberley' winter exhibition. Lyme Park was used as the location for Mr Darcy's home Pemberley in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The exhibition was put on to celebrate the bi-centennial of the novel's publication, although it mainly focused on the BBC adaptation. It was rather a thrill for me to see some of the costumes worn during filming as I have long been a fan of the series. I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was about fourteen and I have loved it ever since. The BBC adaptation is so faithful to the book that I couldn't help but love it and it remains one of my favourite television series of all time.

As well as costumes from the series, there were also costumes that you could try on. This was rather a thrill for Emma as she loves nothing more than dressing up. Lily didn't want to put on the whole costume, but she loved wearing the bonnet and cloak and playing with the fan. Mark cut a dash in an officer's costume and Tom just sat patiently and waited for everyone to get it all out of their system. Dressing up is definitely not Tom's thing! After wearing their lovely Regency costumes, the girls spent the rest of the day wearing their coats as cloaks by not using the sleeves and simply doing up one button at the neck. They were probably cold, but they were happy!

In addition to costumes, there were Regency foods to try, although there wasn't much of anything left by the time we were going around. I did pick up a recipe for venison pate though, so if I can just get hold of some venison...

We were lucky with the weather and we enjoyed walking around the garden in the February sunshine and seeing the first snowdrops peaking up out of the ground. Although the trip was mainly for my benefit, we all had a lovely time.

The only picture I managed to get of Tom!

Emma loved dressing up in a (much too big) Regency costume. 

Lily loved the cloak and fan

A dashing officer and his followers

The 12ft fibreglass statue of Mr Darcy emerging from the lake (recalling the famous scene from the BBC series) is something of a peculiarity. It was originally commissioned to celebrate the launch of some TV channel or other and was first seen emerging from the Serpentine in Hyde Park. It is peculiar, to say the least!

Note the 'cloaks'!

Darcy and Elizabeth's wedding costumes from the series

You may recognise this shirt! It is the outfit that Mr Darcy wore in that famous lake scene. Need I say more?

A detail from Elizabeth's wedding dress

The bonnet that Elizabeth wore at her wedding originally matched the dress, but has yellowed with age.

Darcy and Elizabeth's day outfits. I couldn't get a good picture as they were in front of a window and I didn't like to use flash. I always loved that dress and jacket! I much preferred the simpler costumes of the Bennet girls to the more ostentatious dresses worn by Caroline and Louisa. Give me a simple cotton print any day!

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A Visit to Nanna's

Lily and Emma with their much-adored Nanna

We visited Mark's parents yesterday as Mark's Dad is still recovering from his hip operation. He seems to be coming on very well, which is wonderful. Hopefully he will be back on his feet fully and pain free soon. Mark's Mum cooked us a fabulous roast lamb dinner and the Podlings got to have some fun with both of their uncles, who came to visit over the day. The Podlings adore their uncles, who are both brilliant with them. They will spend ages planning out their games in advance! Families are great!
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Star of the Week

 

Emma is her class Star of the Week this week and she couldn't be more thrilled! She has been having trouble settling into school and has been upset and often in tears most mornings going in to school. She seems to have turned a corner this week and has been going into school happily and without her comforter (she still takes a pink muslin around with her wherever we go and had also been taking it to school with her since she started). Her teachers recognised what a big step this is for Emma and awarded her the Star of the Week for "coming into school with a big smile and ready to learn".

 

We get to look after the class teddy for a week and have to take lots of photos and write about his adventures with us in the Star of the Week diary. Emma is over the moon! Walking home from school she turned to me and said excitedly, "This is the best day of my life!". I am so pleased the teachers chose to recognise what a big step Emma has taken this week. She is one of the youngest in her class and starting school has been a huge change for her. She wasn't really ready for school and it has been a hard adjustment for her. I am so pleased that she seems to finally be settling in. It has been breaking my heart leaving her at school each morning!

 

 

Well done on being the Star of the Week Emma.

Mummy and Daddy are so proud of you!

 

 

My gorgeous little Star of the Week. Love her so much!

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Sunshine after the rain

My poor blog is looking rather neglected again, so I thought I'd post some pictures I took on a walk last week. I was feeling rather cooped up, so while the Podlings were at school I went for a walk behind the house to blow the cobwebs away. It had been pouring with rain on the walk to school, but by mid-morning the sun was shining with all its winter might and it seemed a shame to waste it by staying indoors. By the afternoon, it was raining again, so I'm glad I grabbed my walk when I did.

Catkins!

Warming up after the walk with a hot chocolate and a good book. I'm embarking on a reread of the Chronicles of Narnia, starting, of course, with 'The Magician's Nephew'. As C S Lewis himself said, "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally - often far more- worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond." I read and re-read children's literature again and again. I love it!

I love, love, love my Folio Society editions of The Chronicles of Narnia, a birthday gift from Mark a couple of years ago. The man knows me well!

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Grey Matters

23 weeks and 3 days pregnant 

Mark snapped a couple of pictures of me last Saturday before we went around to visit my father-in-law, who has just had his hip replaced. I was hoping for some nice maternity shots, but unfortunately all I can see is how grey my hair has become! The winter light really brings out those highlights!

I inherited a great many wonderful qualities from my mother's side of the family, unfortunately along with the good things I also inherited the premature grey gene! Everyone on my mum's side of the family starts to go grey very young. I found my first grey hair at the age of 19, which isn't as bad as my poor sister who found her first grey hair at about 14!

My hair is naturally very dark, so the grey is very obvious. I started to dye my hair as close to my natural colour as possible a few years ago, but being pregnant I haven't touched it for months. I don't like to mess around with chemicals when my baby's internal organs are forming! Even though dying your hair whilst pregnant is supposed to be completely safe, I don't like to take any chances for the first few months. However, now that I am 24 weeks pregnant, I am far enough along that I feel comfortable colouring my hair again.

If these photos hadn't been encouragement enough, the observations of my seven-year old daughter would have been. I was sitting down when Lily came and stood beside me. She looked at me a moment and then said in surprise, "Your hair is grey! I thought it was meant to be black.". Hopefully it will be a nice shade of dark brown again soon!

Sadly my little grey cells are all in my hair these days!

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A Winter Woodland Walk

A somewhat chilly walk in the woods at Greenway Bank Country Park late on a Saturday afternoon.

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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

20 week ultrasound of Podling Number 4

Mark and I saw in the New Year on a high note following my 20 week scan. Scheduled for New Year's Eve, it was certainly something to look forward to at the end of the year and the knowledge that the baby appears healthy was something wonderful to take into the new year. We got to have a really good look at the baby, who co-operated beautifully for all the measurements. I came out with a huge smile on my face and a lovely scan picture to keep. My newest little treasure!

I'm pretty big for 20 weeks!

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