Eternal Refuge

And, for those who don't speak Cornish -

For 25 years I lived in the west of England, in the county of Cornwall. Or, as those who keep a note of the Royal Family, it is also known as the Duchy of Cornwall.  However, those who are Cornish born and bred, they consider it a separate country, after all there are 2 rivers who divide Cornwall from the rest of England, and only a short distance between the 2. And like all Countires, they have a patron saint - St Piran

My day of housework didn't completely get finished, as my lounge didn't get done ... so maybe a task for today!

This afternoon I am going to walk into Exeter though as I want to get my hair cut ... later I am meeting up with Tim and Claire to get something to eat before heading home.

So I shall probably look into finishing off some icons in a moment, but before that -









5. The piano company Steinway & Sons was founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City in 1853. Can you play the piano?
I have had 2 serious attempts to learn, but failed. Although I play clarinet (and have played at a high standard), I find it hard to read more than one note at a time.
Mum & Dad played all their lives ... Dad to a pretty high standard. They had a lovely piano (although not a Steinway). They had a Knight, which were also allowed in Steinway Hall, Germany. Andrew plays, and he now has that instrument in his lounge.






Right, let's see what you are all getting up to!

As I said I went to Cotehele ... it was started in 1458, although built around an earlier chapel, and used as a second home to a local family ... although it was their show-house, and hosted a Royal Visit in 1788. During WWII the primary home was destroyed during bombing, and about the same time the son of the family was killed in action. The house was then the primary home until the early 1950's when it was gifted to The National Trust as death duties.












Dining Room



Chapel






That chair looks so, so, so uncomfortable

King's Bedroom



Queen's Bedroom











Enjoying the sunshine





Christine

As I have already posted, on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday I collected Christine and we went to Antony House which is at Torpoint in Cornwall.

Although it was very overcast from tome to time, we were again very lucky with the weather - so had a lovely day out

Enjoy












The Carew family colours from the English Civil War



18th century painting that shows one of the first images of cricket.













Probably the oldest piece of furniture, that pre-dates this building.





Well hope you enjoyed your wander through the house

The day before my birthday, my great friend Christine, and I, went to Cotehele Stately Home. This has the advantage that the family didn't live ibn it much for a couple of centuries, so is still as it would have been in "days gone bye".  So it is basically a Tudor home, although it still has a working water mill, and quayside, to increase the interests.

We had been about 10 years ago, but at that time only part of the house was open and it was especially to show the ravages of time, tourists, bugs, cleaning, etc of fabrics of places.

( Now we get a chance to see a Tudor House )

Another Bank Holiday .. another Day-Trip.

The weather was good, and it was nice to re-visit a Stately Home that I had been to before (the advantage of being a member of the National Trust).

This trip was to Lanhydrock in Cornwall. Much of the house is Victorian, due to a fire, but some do date back to the 16th century.



( Here is the house )

The house is set in loads of formal gardens ... as well as a lot of parkland, with deer and sheep.  We walked for over 3 hours, chatting ... and taking photos (of which these are a few)

( England's green and pleasant land )

Well as I said I went to Truro last week with my friend Christine .... and as it's a Cathedral City we did visit the Cathedral .... in fact we had lunch there!

The Cathedral is actually oly about 120 years old, and was dedicated in the reign of King George V ... at present there are lots displays by local schools  commemorating the centenary of WWI

( Truro Cathedral )

As I reported here on Friday I went to Cotehle house with Christine on Friday and had the added pleaseure of learning about the damage the years bring.  "We" are lucky that the house was abandoned in the 15th century when a new home was built in Plymouth (later bombed) ... this was we get to see the house, and the original hangings etc.  As the family upgraded, the older furnishings were stored at Cotehele, leaving us with a wonderful legacy today.


( Anyway, as promised here are a few pictures that I took )

Today Christine and I went to Cotehele - a Tudor House near Plymouth.

It is normally closed Fridays, but as it was open today we took the chance to have a look round.

However we found that it is normally cleaning day, so half the house was still blacked out (we were provided with low-light torches) .... and before our visit we were given a talk about the damage to our heritage ... caused by -

It was fascinating.  After our talk we walked round that half of the house where they had a few things on display showing the horrors of the years.  The other half of the house was open, but only under low light and less staff available.  It was an eye-opener, and I think the low light made me look at the hangings etc more.  Some of which are 500 years old, and would have looked truly exceptional when first made.

After lunch and a walk through the grounds, and to the mill, we went back to the house to take photos (without flash, of course).

A great day - photos to follow on Monday.

As I said over the weekend I was going to post about my quick trip. On Friday I went up to Bude as it was last orchestra concert of the year. I went up a day early and stopped at Launceston (pronounced Lorn-stun) on the way there. I had driven round the outside of the town very regularily, but had never stopped.

As I said in my 366 image, the castle, which was started just after the Norman Conquest, looks just like a "proper" fairytale picture.


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