Autumn in Derbyshire // The National Trust Museum of Childhood //

It was always a childhood daydream of mine to open a hands-on children's history museum... I think museums have the ability to kill a child's interest in the past, but also the capability to light a spark that will create a lifelong love. So it was with me, and so I am eager to pass on that fascination with history to our little people.

The National Trust Museum of Childhood did not disappoint.

From the moment we stepped through the door, the girls were enthralled... an old market cart laden with toys from the past, artefacts to touch and feel and play with... even Jonas watched enthralled by his sister's attempts at the ball and cup game, Dave's yoyo-ing and Kaya's skipping... we could have stayed in that very first room for an hour exploring all the toys, the wigwam tent and the interactive information creatively displayed around the walls... but the rest of the museum beckoned!

And so we entered the "Work" zone, and the children were given a rather eye-opening insight into what childhood looked like in the past...

Ava and Kaya climbed a chimney... clambering into one fireplace, up a pitch black, narrow tunnel before exiting out through another fireplace. Heidi was too afraid to go in.

At four years old, Ava is around the size of the average 6-year-old chimney sweep. It was a wake-up call for all of us, and certainly caused the children to be a little thankful for their protected and comparatively idyllic childhood.

But chimney-sweeps were not the only occupation children found themselves in in Victorian Britain...

Check out my little washerwomen...

The girls scrubbed, and washed, and soaped and ironed and loved every minute of their "domestic service" experience... I'm not so sure they would have loved it after a 14 hour day though!

It was helpful as well that the Museum raised awareness that child labour is still an issue today, and so we were able to talk about the fact that around the world there are still children who are working every day, who don't get to play and run free as our children do. The novelty of "working" was something thrilling for our girls, but I am all too aware that the reality is somewhat different. The Museum tackled these issues in a very simple, helpful and interactive way. We were really impressed.

We wandered on around the museum, but the room that really grabbed the girls attention was the school room...

They loved the details... the strict instructions on the blackboard, the dunce hat, the lift-top desks and the slates. The little ladies wrote away to their hearts' content, while Kaya sat in the corner with her dunce hat on!

The whole museum was a hit... the dressing up box, the story room, alleyways to explore and exhibits everywhere... even on the ceilings! The whole experience culminated in a play area full of old toys to play with, and we spent a good 20 minutes just allowing the children to play with the toys of time gone by - the huge Noah's ark and puppet show were the favourites!

It was just such a fantastic day - all of us enjoyed it... the adults, the tween, the child and the toddler all said it was a highlight of our trip, and even Jonas happily slept around most of it!

So if you're ever in the Derbyshire region, go check out The National Trust Museum of Childhood! It's definitely worth a visit!

This post is not a review... it is all my own thoughts and opinions, I have received no compensation or incentive for writing it.

Autumn in Derbyshire // Sudbury Hall Gardens //

I've always been one to take photos, from the earliest days of wind-on cameras, to film cameras, to hand-held digital and now my DSLR, there is something lovely and addictive about capturing a moment in a picture... Sometimes moments happen so quickly that I think I would have missed them if my camera hadn't caught it still for that split second.

This past week, we were up in beautiful Derbyshire. We took my flower-girl Kaya, who was over from Austria, and incidentally is now far too grown up to be a flower-girl (Sob - where do the years go?!), and headed north to the Midlands. A week break away from the hustle and bustle of Suburban London life.

Autumn has always called us north... perhaps its the reminiscing of starting university that fateful September when my first impression of the Midlands was formed amidst fiery autumnal leaves. As my Aunt commented last week, "Derbyshire is at its best in the autumn"... and I think she's right...

And so, of course, my camera came along with us, wherever we went, and there was once particular afternoon, while exploring the gardens at beautiful Sudbury House, that it seemed to capture moments that otherwise would have escaped us.

I think these are some of my favourite photos ever.

And thanks to Kaya, who is developing her own love of photography, I actually got to be in some of them for once!

So here you have it... Autumn in Derbyshire... fun in the leaves...

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers"

- Anne of Green Gables -

- L.M.Montgomery -

  

The Day She Turned Four...

She had been so excited about this day... as an August born myself, I am all too familiar with the suspense leading up to your birthday... when all your friends have turned of age long before you, and you are left waiting and waiting... the last to turn four! But we got there, and boy was it worth the wait!

This was one little Princess who was literally thrilled with every single one of her presents!

Perhaps the favourite of all was her Princess dress... my Mum and Dad, who had joined us on a surprise visit from England for my 30th (still getting over the lovely shock!) had bought her a Rapunzel dress, and I think its fair to say that she has worn it pretty much every day since!

After a birthday breakfast, we all headed off on a walk along the peninsula. It seems even when you're going raspberry picking on your birthday, a Princess dress is the necessary attire...

And it wasn't just the birthday girl who was enjoying them (although Jonas' main method of enjoyment at the moment remains sleep!!)

Ava gathered raspberry after raspberry in her little green tub. Heidi, on the other hand, prefers the "eat as you go" method of raspberry picking...

Yes! Her little tub was still empty by the end of the walk!

We wandered through my in-laws orchards, talking our time, picking (and eating) as we went, and I breathed in that fresh-fjord air, and thought again how fortunate my children are that this gets to be part of their childhood every summer. This freedom, this beauty... I hope they will never take it for granted...

We paused for some family photos - they'll be appearing for "Me and Mine" on Monday, but here's a little sneak preview of our girly shot!

The orchards are beautiful... and nearly ready... by the end of next month, these apples will be fresh for picking and my parents-in-law will pick a good few tonnes and ship them off to be turned into delicious apple juice!

It was so lovely to have my parents with us... to be able to share this special place with them. The girls loved having both sets of grandparents on hand!

And when we reached the bottom of the orchard. We all just paused and were a little bit awestruck by this view...!

In the afternoon, we were joined by the wider family for coffee and birthday cake... cousins, second cousins, cousins once removed, Uncles, Aunts and Grandparents. It was wonderful to see everyone, and Ava was perfectly happy to be the centre of attention!

She was just so thrilled with her birthday cake... thank you Bestemor!

 

Ava spent the afternoon playing with her cousins and second cousins, and enjoying all her birthday presents... (look at the concentration!)

When she rolled into bed, she wrapped those little arms around my neck and said she'd had a lovely birthday... and when I asked her what had been the best thing, she answered in the typical four-year-old way...

"Getting all my lovely presents!!!"

Snapshot Norway: My Little Cherry Pickers

For generations, Dave's family have farmed fruit on this little peninsula. It is fertile soil, fed by the fjord and perfect for growing every fruit imaginable. These days, it is mostly apples and pears, with a few other fruits thrown in, but back in the day the farms were rich with row upon row of fruit trees and bushes. It's a legacy that the family is proud of...

My in-laws farm apples and pears, but just outside their house are two cherry trees. Each summer, when we come back, they are ripe for picking, and there are two little girls who love nothing more than to stuff their little faces with fresh cherries (leaving their clothes stained bright red... We've learnt from experience! This year we pick and THEN eat!)

It's a little mini picture of what their grandparents spend weeks doing in the early autumn. Picking and gathering in a year's worth of work... Pruning and checking and testing until they are ready!

And let me tell you, there is nothing that tastes so good as a ripe red cherry, picked straight from the tree!

 This little wild and windy cherry picker will vouch for that!

  Yum!

In other news, we've heard that our own apple tree was ripe for picking last weekend, and my lovely parents spent Saturday harvesting our little crop!

Alł ready for autumnal apple baking...

I can't wait!