Visit to Hardwick Hall - Part 2

Hello there Everyone:
Again, it's Isobel posting this week's blog - Cy Bear is doing his guardian duties sitting on my pillow in the flat, while I continue to stay with Clare, Alan and GrandsonE.  This arrangement has been on going for some time, and although I've done some sewing (replacement Baby Bunnies), I've found it difficult to get stuck in - with notions and fabric often in the "other place", when I do get around to it in the evening.  Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon - but in the meantime, the ColdhamCuddlies have been very fortunate in being highlighted in a huge number of Treasuries - thanks to the wonderful supportive actions of several Team Mates on my Etsy Teams in the past week.  That's also meant less time for making Cuddlies!
However, at the end of last week's unexpected topic, I did say I had further pictures of our visit to Hardwick Hall to show you - so without more ado, here they come!

This is the west facing view of Hardwick Hall (pretend you've come along the side of the south side and turned in to this side of the house - from the left of the picture).  The family group is in the foreground.  You can see the balustrade along the roof continues, and each wing of the house has the E and S indicating it's the residence of "Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury"!  The windows are also well to the fore.

If one was inside and looking out of the southern face of Hardwick Hall, this avenue of Yew Hedges would be what you see - looking towards the stables and other Estate out-buildings I showed in my last week's post.

There is a huge pond just in front of the west-facing side of the Hall, and the afternoon we were there, just one drake could be found swimming in the immense structure.  The whole pond can be seen in the first picture - just to the right of the family group!

If you were looking out of Hall, on the west side, this is the view you would get - looking over the Estate for as far as the eye can see.  Being Springtime, the Estate sheep were grazing and the day we were there, we could see lots of baby lambs - although, because of the very blustery wind, they weren't doing their usual skipping about.

We walked across the grass to the gap between the yew hedge, to see how the sheep were being kept away from the Hall gardens, by means of a big ditch - otherwise known as a "Ha-Ha".  You can see from the previous photo, the ditch is not visible from inside the Hall. Having arrived early on in the afternoon, we had, had to wait to enter the Hall itself.  So, as the weather wasn't improving, and the front door opening time was imminent, the party moved back to the front entrance and moved out of the bitter cold wind - into the Banqueting Hall, which runs from the front entrance through almost the whole length of the house.

The Banqueting Hall seems to be a dark place, but in fact it is not.  I'd hazard a guess that on a bright, sunny day, the light would flood in and the embroidery and paintings would show off to a much better effect.  However, my snapshots do give you an idea of the height and splendour of the inside of Hardwick Hall.  (This is just the ground floor!)

Here is a better view of the Coat of Arms of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and throughout the inner rooms on the Ground Floor of the Hall visitors can see examples of the exquisite embroidery commissions by Bess of  Hardwick during the 1570's.  One commemorating some of the "Legend of Good Women" by Chaucer - which as a well-educated lady of the time, Bess of Hardwick would have known well. -  is shown below of  Penelope, Lucretia and Cleopatra. 

Photography is allowed inside Hardwick Hall, but flash lights are not.  So, although I did use a flash to take these inside pictures, they are not as clear as they might be had a light been allowed.  Given that all these hangings were made from medieval church vestments and sewn mostly by Bess of Hardwick's household servants, they are in amazing condition.  Professional embroiderers would have been responsible for the designs.  In all, according to a 1601 inventory, there are "fyve peeces of hangings of Cloth of golde velvett and other like stuffe imbrodered with pictures of the vertues.....every piece being twelve foote deep".    Here's another example - 

and yet another - which I think could be part of the collection celebrating the Noble Women of Chaucers tale.

Even to the untrained eye, and allowing for no flash lights, there is real difference in quality of these hangings, and given that they've been hanging since the 1570's, these embroideries are currently being conserved at the National Trust Textile Conservation Studio, the work having been started in 2012.  Each hanging have different types and levels of damage, so will vary in times taken for the conservation work to be carried out. Certain stages do remain the same however. For those who currently enjoy embroidery or other stitching crafts, according to the leaflet describing the work - 
(a) The condition of the hanging is assessed - and conservation needs decided. (b) Pictures are then taken- because everything a conservator does should be reversible, and they provide a record of the work done on each hanging. (c) The front is then cleaned - making the fabric colour and threads more visible.  Previous repairs will kept unless they threaten the hanging's overall stability. (d) Very fragile areas will be covered with protective netting.
As I said in my last week's post, the trip to Hardwick Hall was halted because I had found myself unable to walk much more.  We'd only done the Ground Floor of the Hall, and there are two more floors to explore another time. 
But before I close this blog about Hardwick Hall, before the weather closed in and made outside exploration uncomfortable, I did manage to take one more picture - confirming that Spring is not too far away - with daffodils showing between some of the trees in the Hardwick Hall gardens.

So - here's to the next time:  goodness knows what I'll be posting about then, but I do hope you've enjoyed sharing this visit to one of the picturesque Stately Homes in our local vicinity.  We're blessed with many of them. Your Friend, Isobel

Another Change of Topic - Visiting a Local UK Stately Home

Hello Everyone!

First of all, my apologies for missing last week's blog, but time simply flew by, and as there was little more to post about, I decided to let the occasion pass!

This week, however, I'm delighted to tell you that the White and Yellow Plush Baby Rabbits  mentioned in our last post who were en route to Florida - got to their intended destination in time for Easter.

MrsDM, the Buyer, who intended the Yellow one for her Sister - to remind them both of their childhood in England, sent this message - which I picked up on Easter Saturday.

"The little bunnies arrived today, just in time for Easter tomorrow. I took my sister her yellow bunny and she just broke into a huge smile and started cuddling it. I adore my little one as well. Thanks so much, they are a so very cute."

The more Cuddlies I make, the more I am convinced that although I make Toys for EVERYONE, most of them seem to end up with folks who like to be reminded of childhood days, rather than those who are actually experiencing them now!!  Not a problem, but.........!!

In my title, I allude to the fact that you are going to be told about one of the local visitor attractions - of which there are fortunately quite a few in the local vicinity - Hardwick Hall - a National Trust property which is located 7-9 miles from where I live in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. There are several ways to approach Hardwick Hall (HH from now on), which is actually over the country border in Derbyshire (which is only a couple of miles away from Kirkby) and that accounts for the mileage variation!!

Built by Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (which she became as the result of one of her four marriages), parts of the site have been in existence since the 1500's.  Bess is mostly described as being "formidable", and when you consider she lived at the same time as Queen Elizabeth I, and was the second richest person in the land at that time, you get some idea of the lady's stature!  Her grand daughter, Arbella, was niece of Mary, Queen of Scots (having married Mary's nephew Charles Stuart) and a serious contender to succeed the childless Queen Elizabeth.  However, that possibility was scuppered by the fact that Charles Stuart died, and Arbella was imprisoned by Elizabeth in the Tower of London, so the crown passed to Mary's son, James I (VI of Scotland) - and the rest, as the saying goes - is History!!

Bess was intent on making a statement of her status - hence the creation of Hardwick Hall, which is now part of the National Trust - having been acquired for their portfolio in place of death duties from the Estate of the Duke of Devonshire.  (Hardwick Hall, became part of the Devonshire's Estate as the result of an earlier Duke of Devonshire's marriage, and is not very far from Chatsworth - where the current Duke of Devonshire still lives.)  HH is built on the top of a ridge which over looks the M1 motorway - connecting London and Scotland - and despite the Old Hall (original, but burned before being replaced by the current structure) being in ruins, both structures can still be visited.  

A view of the Old Hall, with visitors in the foreground.

Our visit was on a grey, Spring day with gusty winds, which were enough to nearly blow us away at times, so the buildings and garden don't show themselves well.  However, I hope the photographs which follow will give folks an idea of the grandeur of the site, and may be entice overseas readers to visit when they come to the UK.  (As most of you are aware, I am sure, there is a lot more to the United Kingdom than just London - although one can spend a lot of time there, and not see EVERYTHING worth seeing in that City too).

The view from the Hall Grounds at the entrance Visitors take to view the Grounds and Hall.

Stableyard and Estate Buildings - now used for displaying tourist attractions.

Rear of the Stable - now used as Visitor Restaurant.  Too cold for outside lingering when we visited.

Entrance to Hardwick Hall on its South-facing side.

Just to prove the family were all there!  Grandad was taking the picture!

On the right of the above photo, you'll see the branch end of a magnificent fir tree, which has obviously been in situ for decades, if not centuries.  Alas, the combination of heavy snow and gale force winds suffered over Christmas a couple of years' ago, resulted in the trunk being shattered at the top of the tree. 

To leave it was against every tenet of the "dreaded" Health & Safety regime,  It required the services of the "biggest crane available in the UK, and two days' labour" - to quote one of the staff directing visitors along)  to remove it safely and get it over the wall!

The coat of arms of the Earl of Shrewsbury are depicted in the centre of the balustrade running along the top of the South Side of the Hall, and atop each front wing of the building there are the letters ES- Elizabeth Shrewsbury - just to make sure everyone knew to whom the building belonged!  Also, take note of the number of windows  - at a time when there was a window tax in effect!  Bess, who "married well", despite being widowed thrice, did not care - and was happy for all to know it! 

Thanks to an accident the week before last, in which the family dog got spooked and I ended up falling in the road collecting some interesting bruises (most of which could not be exhibited and so get sympathy) the visit to the house and gardens had to be curtailed.  However, I took sufficient photographs on this occasion for at least another post here - and as this one has gone on for some time, I'll post the rest of the visit illustrations next week.  (There are two more floors for me to explore - the next time(s) I go, whether it be with family or my fellow residents.  After all, 7-9 miles is no distance even for those of us in the UK -  but next door for many of you Folk!)

Good to be back.  Will try to post more regularly in future, as time and events allow.  Belated Happy Easter wishes to all of you - my lovely Friendly Followers.

Your Friend - Isobel

Baby Bunnies en route to Florida - in search of some sunshine.

Hello everyone - Cy Bear returning to the Blog for a session again.

Isobel is taking a rest from Hedgehogs for a bit (although I shall probably refer to some of the things she has been working on "behind the scenes" as it were).  However, she's been poorly over the past few weeks, and a couple of weeks ago was diagnosed with pleurisy.  Last week, "the Muse" as she likes to call her ability to create these posts - both on behalf of  herself  and me - was a bit low, which is why there was no bulletin from us.

This week, though, she's picked up somewhat, been able to finish some of  the Yellow and White Baby Easter Bunnies she'd been sewing as replacements to our bunch of  Baby Bunnies (of many colours) and actually parcel up two who have recently found Forever Homes in Jacksonville, Florida.

So, this is a photograph of the two White Plush Baby Bunnies we had in stock when MsDM contacted Isobel early in February.  When shown the photograph, she chose the one on the right, but

then asked if she could have one of the Yellow and White Plush Baby Bunnies too.  Apparently, these Baby Bunnies reminded her of the childhood in England, when she had a White Baby Bunny and her sister had a Yellow one.  

As all the Yellow Bunnies we had were already on display at "The Artful Buttoner",in Kirkby-in-Ashfield - where we live now,  and because Isobel is currently staying up the road with her Grandson and his family, she collected the fabrics to make some more, and this is the result so far:

A second all yellow one is currently being worked on, but as MsDM asked for a Yellow and White Chested Bunny - with either a Yellow or Green ribbon (with or without check or dots) - Isobel chose the Baby Bunny on the right of the above picture (as it looks most similar to the chosen White one) and proceeded to find what suitable ribbon she had in her stash.  

Most of the ribbons now in stock are too big - because of some new offerings Isobel is working on - but she was able to find some suitable self-colour yellow ribbon, which she promptly sewed on to the Baby Bunny bound for Florida.

The two travellers are now safely, individually wrapped in chemical free tissue paper, ready for their journey to Jacksonville - scheduled to start on 14th March.  They've then both been wrapped together in bubble wrap and slipped into a polythene airmail envelope.  All that remains to be done is for the Customs label to be filled in, and the journey paid for - and both Baby Bunnies will be on their way to their Forever Homes.

The Hedgehog story is in limbo at present, until Isobel is back home and able to organise herself once again.  In the meantime though, there have been two Petitions to Parliament which could well have a bearing on the future of the UK Hedgehog population.  Both have been signed by Isobel - on behalf of herself and us Coldham Cuddlies.  One seeks to save a special Wildlife Police Unit from being closed down for lack of funds, and has been successful in persuading the current UK Government to find sufficient funds to allow the Unit to operate until 2020.

The second petition is still on going and aims to get Protection for the UK Hedgehog population in an effort to halt their decline.  It has been proposed by Oliver Colville, MP - who is the Member of Parliament behind the move to get the Hedgehog made the Official UK Animal.

The exact wording of the petition is as follows:-

Give the hedgehog better legal protection in order to reverse its decline.

The petition of the residents of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland declares that the British hedgehog population has declined by up to a third over the last 10 years.The petitioners therefore urge the House of Commons to endorse the practical supporting measures of 'Hedgehog Street' and ensure the hedgehog is given better legal protection including adding it to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act by the Government and in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

So far, the petition has attracted 25,238 signatures.  The procedure in the UK for petitions is that all with more than 10,000 signatures have to receive an official response from Government, and 29 days are allowed for that to happen.  It has been proposed by Oliver Colville, MP - who is the Member of Parliament behind the move to get the Hedgehog made the Official UK Animal. 

The countdown for the Government response  is still in progress. 

 In case you are interested,  you can learn more about "Hedgehog Street" and the work being carried out by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society by clicking on this link  http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/.  The Press Office there were most helpful and encouraging to Isobel when she started the Coldham Cuddlies Hedgehog fund raising efforts, and we'd like to help them too, where we can.

So that's all from me for this week:  do hope everyone is well and it's been good to be back "chatting" with you again.

Your Friend:  Cy Bear.

PS:  If there are some strange "squares" and things on this blog when published, it's because of the technical difficulties experienced in "copying and pasting" the petition text from the Government site to this blog.  One day, maybe, Isobel will get the hang of it and be able to present these things without strange things happening in the process!

The Tiggywinkles Story - Part 2

Hello Everyone, once again - from my temporary base away from my flat.

Allow me to introduce one of the residents at Tiggywinkles on the day daughter Philippa and I were visiting St Tiggywinkles Hedgehog Hospital in December 2015.  How come the "St .Tiggywinkles" I hear folks mutter!  Well apparently, in the early days of the Hospital, some journalists decided that as many human hospitals in the UK (in the  Greater London Area for example, we have a St. George's, a St Helier, and St Mary's), it was felt to be only right that a Hospital for Hedgehogs, performing such good work for wildlife in general and the Hedgehogs in particular, deserved to be similarly designated! Thus it came to be.... and continues to be.

 An unimpressed Hedgehog, who had been rudely awakened so that it could be displayed to us visiting humans - on a cold, very blustery December morning:  when it had been warmly tucked up in a wooden house stuffed with dry straw.  The staff member performing the introduction was unsure if it was one called "Lavender" or another one:  it didn't stay around long enough for the introductions to be completed - once replaced on the ground!

Last week, I wrote about my visit to this centrepiece of the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Trust located at Haddenham, in the Vale of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire based not too far from - and within easy reach of  - London.  (Rail and road communications are good and once Haddenham Station is reached by train, there are taxis available to take one to the site.)  Philippa's home is just 30 minutes drive, so although it was cold, and very windy, that day, it was not difficult for us to access by car.

This is the extensive play area available for visitors' use in the Gardens surrounding the Visitor Centre.

The building on the right is the newly opened Red Kite Centre about which I wrote briefly last week.  The Wildlife Hospital is pretty central to the area designated by the Government when the Red Kite was officially reintroduced to the UK in the 1990's, after having been extinct for many decades.  From the initial introductions, Red Kites have now become a familiar sight when one drives into London along the M40 Motorway and it's great fun watching the smaller birds testing their flying abilities and coasting along on the thermals - especially during windy conditions.  In the picture you can see the specially built aviaries for these beautiful bird patients (in the background between the fencing and the back of the Centre, which also houses a Coffee Shop for visitors to use).

Next door to the Red Kite Centre, along the designated Visitors path way, and opposite the Pond

(another view of the Pond can be seen in last week's bulletin, by the way), is a series of aviaries reserved for avian patients who arrive for treatment, where they can recover (or live, as in the case of the two ravens we saw during our visit) from their injuries.  There were two in situ when Philippa and I visited, but only one who was not camera shy!

Further along the trail around the Tiggywinkle's Gardens, we came across this notice - and since we have several Foxes present in the Coldham Cuddlies Family of Toys (a visit to this section of our Shop illustrates this - https://www.etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES?section_id=7940400&ref=shopsection_leftnav_3)  - I thought I'd include the following Fox-related shots I managed to take during our visit.

Just behind this notice, you can see the roof of a wooden shelter, which we subsequently learned is where the Foxes come to get their daily rations.  It's located in a fairly large area, dedicated to the Fox Patients who are either permanent residents at Tiggywinkles, or are currently waiting to be returned to the wild.

The rear of a male fox, who had eyed our arrival with deep suspicion for some time, but eventually decided to go about his daily business.

There are several buildings around a fairly substantial ground area where we assumed other Foxes were at rest or sheltering from the nasty conditions at the time.

A general view of the Fox Den, with buildings in what appeared to be an area reserved for injured Deer in the background on the left of the photograph. 

 I've still some more photographs I took during my Christmastime visit in 2015 - which will be located throughout elsewhere in this blog. However, visitors to my Toy Shop on Etsy.com, and those of you who follow the Coldham Cuddlies  on Facebook and elsewhere, will also be aware, we are also supporting another Hedgehog Hospital in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom.   I intend to write something about West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue next week, and am hoping to be able to use some photographs provided by the Proprietor of the establishment too.

As our journey around the Gardens at Tiggywinkles drew to a close, it was obvious that not all of the residents at Tiggywinkles can be described as "wild" or "patients":  a view we came to when we saw this very healthy lop-eared Rabbit, who was sharing a space with several Hedgehog houses (with hibernating residents inside,presumably).

Rabbit's Hutch can be seen in the background of this particular pen, together with a substantial pipe - for shelter during the day and play, one would assume.

I'll end this episode of the Tiggywinkles Story and the Coldham Cuddlies connection here.

In the interim, although away from home, I am still managing to keep abreast of Shop related administration and such like.  Finally, I managed this week to re-tag and re-label all the 87 currently listed Cuddlies available for sale (that's taken some doing, I can tell you!).  Really find it quite a task, especially as I'm still not really sure what I am doing (or even supposed to do!!).  To correct the latter deficiency, I'm this week starting a 4 week course offered by one of the Teams I've recently joined -

https://www.etsy.com/teams/13191/a-need-to-succeed.   - and hope, by the end of the course, to have a better idea of what is supposed to be going on.  Partnered by Team Captain, https://www.etsy.com/people/cynhumphrey who is kindly taking me under her wing, by the end of the course, I hope to have a better idea of how to proceed!  After recently celebrating 5 years on Etsy, it's time I really got down to it and worked at increasing sales of the Cuddlies, methinks!

When I'm not working on the SEO Course, I shall be continuing with my Baby Rabbit replacement programme.  Four new Yellow and White Baby Rabbits - https://www.etsy.com/listing/249743397  are about to be renewed and I'm set to do four more Pink and White versions next (https://www.etsy.com/listing/166947912).  One is already promised to a little Girl, who was adopted at the same time as my young Grandson.  Like my youngster - she is about to conclude the long-winded adoption process early in April.  The day that their names are changed by deed poll to become part of their new family - the Celebration Day - has been set for dates, one after the other,  in the first week of April. As the two youngster live close to each other, we're hoping to keep up the friendships already begun.

See you next week.  Hope everyone has a good one!

Isobel



(Thanks are expressed to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Trust for permission to use these photographs to illustrate this post - and the subsequent follow-ups.)