Garden of Fire!

I stared my new job as Chapel & Collections Officer at Clumber Park on the first of December, just in time for all the festive fun! And just as I started Clumber was hosting a very different types of garden event, the Garden of Fire!

The Walled Kitchen Gardens were temporarily transformed into an enchanted, illuminated garden that felt like you had stepped straight into a fairy tale.

Working with Fuse Fireworks the events team at Clumber Park undertook something daring and different, and being lucky enough to have the opportunity to see the event I think it really paid off!

The Walled Kitchen Gardens, with their gorgeous red brick walls and the largest Glass House in the care of the Trust, are beautiful in their own right. However on this evening they were transformed into another world.

Candles hung in glass jars from trees and on posts, as well as from in plant pots on purpose built metal structures, creating fantastic fiery visions for visitors wandering round the garden.

The first section of the experience felt like walking amongst the stars. The whole experience just made me feel so relaxed and dreamily happy.

There also braziers burning bright, and one are where as you walked past bursts of fire were sent leaping into the sky.

I think my favorite structure was the sphere, although the pretty heart was a close second.

Accompanying visitors round the garden was a soundtrack of beautiful, ethereal music. This really made the experience, bringing it to another level and totally transporting you to this beautiful, other-worldly Garden of Fire.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit something similar do, it was such a unique, lovely experience!

People who inspire me

I have been inspired, by the people who inspire me, to write a post about people who inspire.

Maybe it's just the time of year, new year, new resolutions etc, or the things that are happening in my world at the moment, but I am feeling very inspired, and very resolved; to live better, to do better, to be better.

I haven't made a proper new years resolution for years. I always used to make the same one 'stop biting my nails' but then when I was at university I did, hurrah! And now I can never quite find such a succinct wish for myself for the year.

So this year I am looking to the people who inspire me. I am not just going to keep looking at these people and thinking 'wow, that's brilliant, I wish I could . . .' I am going to do! Or at least give it my best try.

So here is a list of some of the people who inspire me and how.

Angela Clayton.

This woman amazes me, she has crazy sewing talent like no one I know and it fills me with envy. Angela makes a variety of sewn projects, from historically inspired pieces to just beautiful dresses inspired by characters or flora and fauna or just by fabric she finds. 

Every time she creates a new project I am stunned and want to sew something amazing too, so that's what I am going to do. I have written myself a list of projects, some medieval and some not, and I am going to do some sewing!

Follow Angela by her blog or on Youtube.


Sprinkle of Glitter.

Louise is a Youtuber, mum and business woman who I have watched achieve so many great things over the few years I have been subscribed to her channel. Yet rather than feeling alien to me she is still a completely relatable person. When she talks about her worries and crises of confidence I find myself feeling reassured that I am not the only person to think that way, and drawing strength from that.

I watch Louise's blogs and often find myself thinking 'she looks great' and I know she has struggled with her self confidence. That inspires me to make more of an effort to dress they way I actually want to, and not chicken out of wearing something  because I might feel overdressed or a bit silly. She also has fantastic taste and I have found myself taking lots of inspiration from her when dressing my new flat too.

Check out Louise's Youtube channels for her fab tastes, and lots of laughter too!

National Trust Challenge.

Now this is a blog I have been following for a while and they came up with a great idea of listing every built/manned property the National Trust owns and setting out to visit every one, all 257!

I thought I had visited quite a lot until they listed them, and now I know I've got my work cut out! I love visiting National Trust properties so this is a nice goal to set myself, but I don't expect to complete it any time soon! 48 down 209 to go!

Join the challenge here.

Thor Heyerdahl.

I talked about Thor quite a bit in my blog post about Oslo. Not only was Thor intelligent, brave and adventurous, he was sure of himself. So sure that when people told him his theory was going to get him killed he stuck to his beliefs and proved his doubters wrong. He also really cared about the world around him, and when he saw what damage was being done to the oceans he tried to change it.

There are a lot of lessons you could learn from Thor, and not just how to be so cool! I hope to be able to have the confidence in myself he had, especially facing the challenges of the new responsibilities I have in my job. I am also going to go on the adventures I want to, not just dream about them. I have already penciled in the big one for a couple of years time!

Read more about Thor here.

Charlotte.

I have been friends with Charlotte since I was eleven years old, and we have done so much growing up since then. Charlotte has always been a big influence in my life in terms of my religion. It was something that we had in common in high school that most of our other friends didn't understand, and it still bonds us today.

Charlotte has been through more than one person should have to in the last few years, but through it all she still puts others first. She has been amazingly strong, not wallowing in pity as I worry I would in her situation. Despite everything that has happened it has made her more determined to help others, so that's what I am going to do to.

I have started giving regular donations to charities I feel really deserve help, like Cancer Research UK, and I am planning on doing something big charitable events throughout the year, like the Pretty Muddy 5K at Clumber Park in July.

My mum.

My mother is amazing. Not just because she is right about everything (a trait I hope magically appears with motherhood because I'm looking forward to that). Not just because she put up with me as a teenager and we both survived. Not just because she has been through so much and is still the most positive person I know (annoyingly so sometimes). Not just because she always helps me out when I need it, and has the solution to situations that just freak me out completely. Not just because she has supported me and my brother through the most difficult points in our lives.

But because despite all the amazing people in my life, and despite me having moved out six years ago, she is still the first person I want to talk to when I have had a good day/bad day, or something wonderful/awful has happened or I need advice and comfort. She always makes things better when I need her too, and doesn't seem to know how amazing that is and how lost I would be without her.

So my mum has inspired me to try and be amazing for the people in my life, especially for her, because she really deserves it.

You can follow her blog here.

Closed for Cleaning

I have now official been working at Clumber for two months and currently am mostly focusing on getting the Deep Clean of the Chapel finished.

After all the excitement of Christmas and then my trip to Oslo I had a quiet, oh, three days to settle into everyday life at Clumber before the Chapel of St Mary the Virgin was officially closed for the Deep Clean. 

We are now a third of the way through, which having just worked that out makes me feel quite good. It is quite strange leading a deep clean in a new place so soon after starting, but I am really enjoying the experience.

The Chapel is such a beautiful building and I loving getting to see it from all these different angles.

We started the deep clean by packing away all the smaller items in the Chapel so that we can start by cleaning from the top of the building (well as high as we can reach) down.

The smaller bits are wrapped up and stored safely and will be cleaned before they are put back out.

Next we started at the very top of the building, in the Bell Tower, and began working our way down through the tower to the ground. The stairs up to the Bell Tower look like the could belong in a castle, with little windows dotted about as you climb up. 

The stairs spiral one way, breaking for a little corridor with a window overlooking the Nave, and the spiraling the other way up to first part of the Bell Tower.

Then up a ladder through a hole in the floor to where the bell is housed. Here there are windows with no glass in them, so a favorite place birds. This means it is very messy, and since there is no power up there has to be cleaned by hand.

There are some fantastic views across the estate from this point in the Chapel.

After that I did the Organ Loft, which was a tight squeeze for one person and a back pack hoover. This is another area of the Chapel accessed via spiral staircase, a very narrow wooden one this time. The organ surround is beautifully decorated, painted in greens and gold, and you get a fantastic view of the stained glass window on the East side of the Chapel.

A lot of the work in the Nave is done from the top of a scaffold tower, but in the Chancel it has to be done from ladders fitted in around the choir stalls. This is a little awkward but we do the best we can.

The Chancel is full of beautiful carved pieces, Angels, Saints and decoration on the choir stalls. It is one of those areas that is a real pleasure to clean because you get the opportunity to take time and appreciate the beautiful detail of all the figures, and the amazing craftsmanship that has gone into them.

Going up on the scaffold tower in the Nave is fantastic. There are stone walkways either side of the Nave that can only be accessed off the scaffold so I have enjoyed going up on these and looking out over the rest of the Chapel.

Up here are hidden a few little characters, the seven deadly sins. However I think they all look rather cute considering they are the things which can lead to eternal damnation. Just look at this little fella!

Standing on top of the scaffold tower you are still no where near the ceiling of the Chapel. To clean as high as we can we use an industrial vac and three long poles with a brush attachment on the end. It is certainly a workout for your arms!

Once we have hoovered the arches and walls of the Chapel, we work our way down and get to the elaborate ironwork lantern braces hanging in the Nave from the middle level of the tower. These are cleaned with a hogs hair paint brush, dusting them into a hoover.

The rest of the lantern is reached from a ladders, using a softer pony hair paint brush for the brass section, so as not to scratch the gleaming surface.

Spiders seem to love this Chapel and since we are cleaning places only reached once a year it has been very rewarding to get rid of the layers of dust and huge cobwebs hanging everywhere.

I want to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers that have come in to help so far, and thank you to Sleem for documenting the process so thoroughly, and then letting me steal his pictures for my blog!

While we have still got a lot of work to do before we open again on 13th March I am really enjoying myself. As long as I don't get too distracted by all the beauty and hidden details in the Chapel we should have no problem getting ready to re-open.

Snow in Oslo (& boats)

The next day of our Norwegian Holiday was absolutely packed with boats, three museums worth all right by one another.

The first of the three museums we visited was the Kon-Tiki Museum. Now if you want to be filled with a burning sense of wanderlust, this is the museum for you! The Kon-Tiki was a boat built by experimental anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl. He built this boat to prove that it was possible people from the Americas could have travelled to South Polynesia on such a vessel, and he then proceed to sail his boat across the Pacific Ocean!

Thor was so convinced that it was possible he, six other men and a parrot set off on a mission everyone else said would certainly get them killed. They set sail in April 1947 and it took them 101 days but they reached their destination successfully. He also spent a lot of time on Easter Island trying to unravel the many mysteries there, like how the figures 'walked' onto the island.

Not content with one death defying voyage across the ocean Thor built a further three boats for similar voyages, these ones made of reed and based on the sort depicted in Ancient Egypt. During these voyages Thor noticed that the oceans were becoming more and more polluted and began raising awareness of the issue internationally.

This man is the sort of man who makes you want to do more with your life, and the Kon-Tiki Museum, which also talks about his other expeditions, is a very worthy tribute to such a larger than life person. It was amazing to read about his adventures, whilst looking at the actual vessels that he and his crew sailed on.

Next up was the Fram Museum, all about the Polar Ship Fram that went on three polar expeditions. Again the actual ship sits at the center of the museum and you can even go on deck and inside. Each cabin is labelled with the names of the people who have stayed there.

Every so often the Norther Lights are projected around the museum, giving an amazing sense of space and adventure to the museum. There are also lots of fun interactive for children and adults so we enjoyed having a go on those. This museum however didn't so much make me want to jump on a boat and go on an adventure, clearly I only have the explorer instinct when the destination looks a bit warmer!

The third and final ship museum was the Viking Ship Museum. The artifacts in this museum were amazing, and reading about how they survived in the various states they did, and who the people associated with them were was fascinating. There are three ships and their associated finds displayed in the museum. They have been restored to some extent so the Oseberg and the Gokstad appear complete where as the Tune is much less complete.

The museum itself is rather dated and they are planning a massive renovation and re-display, which will give the brilliant collection the surroundings it deserves. For the mean time however the quality of the collections speaks for itself, and nothing beats seeing real viking ships when your visiting Norway!

On Christmas Eve we happened to find ourselves in Oslo Cathedral just as the carol service was starting. Mum claims this was a total coincidence but me and Jake weren't convinced. The service was lovely, they sang mostly familiar carols that we could join in with in English and the choir and congregation sang in Norwegian. It was quite nice to just sit and admire the surroundings while they talked in Norwegian, even thought I couldn't understand it I enjoyed just listening to another language.

The Cathedral has the most amazingly colourful painted ceiling, showing images of biblical stories. Listening to the choir and the music and staring at that beautiful ceiling was a really lovely, relaxing experience.

We also went to the Museum of Decorative Art and Design, which had some beautiful piece of royal clothing on display. They also had chronological displays of furniture and design which were really interesting, even the modern pieces.

Then it finally snowed, and it was so worth the wait. We walked through the palace grounds in the snow and into the town center and it was lovely. I'm actually quite glad it hadn't snowed earlier because it also suddenly became very cold too!

The museum I had really wanted to see was the Resistance Museum which was fascinating. The museum is housed in a tiny building inside the fortress walls, but it is packed with information! Don't let its size fool you and allow a lot of time to visit this museum as it took us a long time to read through the masses of text. While the museum could do with an update the content is totally engrossing.

The text took you through the build up to the Second World War and the entire conflict. On one side of the room was information about the global situation and on the opposite wall what was happening in Norway with those who were resisting occupation. If I hadn't been so interested I would not have made it through all the reading, but I really wanted to know about all the brave men and women that risked everything for what they thought was right.

Our final museum of the trip was The Historical Museum. we could have spent a very long time in this museum. There were several different galleries but my favourite was the one with all the ecclesiastical art. We saw more Stave Church portals, some fantastic medieval icons and even an entire painted church ceiling!

There was also of course a Viking exhibition, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed about the standard of this. The interpretation was minimal and very uninformative, the layout was strange, and there was some totally random textile art in some of the cases that really detracted from the objects in my opinion. Most frustratingly was there was nothing in the gallery to tell me why these swords were curly! Were they just tired and having a nap?

The answer (Google tells me) is that no one really knows, but it is possible they were purposely bent before burial so that they were 'dead' like their owner. This would have the added affect of discouraging grave robbing. There was also an Egyptian Gallery and an interesting but all too brief temporary exhibition on identity, and what the artifacts we leave behind say about ours.

I have to say I was quite sorry to leave Oslo when the time came. It is such a beautiful city full of friendly people and really interesting museums that I could have spent so much time in, just absorbing every fascinating and beautiful detail. I would really recommend visiting to anyone with an interest in history and heritage, or anyone who just wants to spend time in a lovely city!

No snow in Oslo at Xmas

Hello Everyone! This Christmas (2015) my wonderful Mother and Grandmother took me and my little brother Jake to Norway! Mum is a lecturer and likes to spend her holidays time visiting new places, and we thought Norway would be perfect for the festive period. Also most of their museums are open every day but Christmas day.

Now I'll be honest, quite often when I go away somewhere, particularly abroad, I feel very out of my comfort zone and can never quite relax. However I really didn't feel like that in Norway at all, in fact I felt rather at home. I loved it, the people were so nice, Oslo is beautiful, the food was great, the heritage was fantastic! If I ever get fed up of like in England I might just up sticks and head to Norway.

As soon as we got off the train, that we had got on after the plane landed, but shortly before the taxi on the way to the hotel, we were greeted with a brass band in the Train Station. Suddenly I was feeling very Christmassey, despite the fact that Norway was experiencing unseasonably warn weather. It may not have been covered in snow like we had been expecting, but Oslo was beautiful anyway.

The hotel was a little strange, one room, four beds and a kitchenette, but it was just what we needed for the week and we managed not to get into too much trouble.

Our first heritage excursion was to the Folk Museum. Here were examples of buildings from all over Oslo, collected and moved to the museum to preserve the traditions and architectural styles of all different parts of Norway.

My favorite building was Gol Stave Church, dating from around 1200 it is a really impressive building with lots of beautifully intricate carvings.

In another tiny red timber building was a rather unexpected surprise, the whole interior was painted with these beautiful swirly, leafy designs, and images from stories.

As well as the open air museum the Folk Museum had several indoor exhibition spaces, including one filled with examples of traditional Norwegian craft and art. This included very awesome looking sleighs and more beautifully carved stave church door frames.

The next day we slipped and slid our way across a rather icy port to catch a ferry around the islands, and while we were waiting we went in to visit the Nobel Peace Center, named after Alfred Nobel. This museum had some really through provoking and interesting exhibitions, as a museum talking about such a serious and weighty subject should do. My favorite element was the Nobel Field, a darkened room with screens giving information about everyone who had even won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Each screen in the room is about one year's winners, and when you step up to the screens, they come alive. As you stand in front of them the information about who the recipient is and why they won appears on the screen.  The room looks almost enchanting and the relatively simple design reacts to those around it, creating visitor engagement on another level. It really is interactive, intelligent exhibition design done brilliantly!

The boat trip around the islands was very picturesque, although we did decide that the islands might be a lovely places to live but I wouldn't quite sacrifice the convenience of having amenities close by in order to live somewhere so beautiful. Imagine having to get on a boat to pop to the shops when you run out of milk. And what if you had a late night chocolate craving!

Speaking of boats, there will be a lot more boat related activity in my next post, talking about the second part of our Oslo adventures. Stay tuned!