Stourhead Revisted ~~ Again

by Ann Lethbridge

Continue around to the end of the lake and yet another surprise awaits. A grotto. A sort of above ground man-made cave set close to the edge of the water.

Within a series of arched tunnels and steps you are greeted by a water nymph. A spring, according to the inscription, flows around her and down into the pool in front of her. Very fanciful and it seems to me very Regency.


I took this picture from within the grotto beneath a stone arch overlooking the lake. Can you see the bridge at the far end. Now you have an idea of how far we have walked. We are only half way around.


Last but not least we have the river god, out last inhabitant of the grotto. He directs up and out of this sort of underwater world to the pantheon beyond.

And that is a visit we will make next time.

Until then. Happy Rambles.

Flora and Fauna of Regency England

by Michele Ann Young

I thought we'd do something a little different with this monthly article, spread our wings a bit, so to speak. Most of the Naturist's Diary addresses the smaller animals, insects and garden flowers. I thought I would talk a little more about the wild fauna, animals and birds too.

In case y0u were wondering. There are no wolves in England during this period. The last wolf is thought to have been killed in 1743.

If there had been any left in the Regency, this is what they would have looked like. This is a grey wolf or canis lupus. There is talk of reintroducing them - whether it will occur will be interesting to see.

There are very few dangerous animals at all in Britain, unless they are ones that escaped from a menagerie.

The Sporting Magazine of 1810 has a story about an escaped tiger from a menagerie in Piccadilly. On September 2nd. the Royal Bengal tiger was being carried to a Bartholomew fair , the horse bolted , the den broke open, the tiger escaped , clawed someone and hid. He was recaptured shortly .

In 1816 a lioness escaped from a traveling menagerie and attacked the Exeter mail coach near Salisbury.

Either one of those incidents would make a great scene in a novel, don't you think?

There are bats, however. Only look how tiny this pipistrelle is. That is a wedding ring on a finger right next to this one. These are the smallest and most common of bats. they hang head down when roosting and can squeeze into the smallest of spaces.

So cute. I know, you are shuddering. Now what an interesting heroine she would be if she liked bats.



One of the larger animals in Britain is of course the deer. this is a fawn.

Interestingly enough by the 1800's the roe deer had been pretty well hunted out of existence in England and could only be found in wooded parts of Scotland. So for the Regency period we must remember, no deer south of the border.

There are lots more animals to talk about, but this is all for today. Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion for October

by Ann Lethbridge
Here we are heading into the winter again. October is a month of frosts and falling leaves.

So what is our Fashionista wearing this month?

These are Paris fashions from The Ladies Magazine for October 1801. Much earlier than the Regency.

The accompanying text is general rather than descriptive of the place, but a couple of paragraphs are of interest.

"Veils constitute the principal part of most head-dresses. For full dress they are left entirely to the taste of the coiffeur, who, with the assistance of chefs, or silver ribbons, forms them into oblong turbans. A great many élégantes use ribons of unpolished silver, in the place of chefs. In half dress the veils are worn down, ô la religieuse. Upon many of the most elegant headdresses we observe an aigrette of hair, fastened with a pin."

"In general, rose is the prevailing colour. The robes of the newest taste are cut ô la Psyche. The ribbons are very narrow striped, and of very lively colours. The cambric bonnets are all the fashion for the morning; they are trimmed with gold, like the Spencers."

Our next picture is from the Ladys Magazine for October 1810

Full Dress: Gown of white sarcenet, enriched round the bottom with a Grecian border in gold; the body and sleeves are of pink satin: the latter are made open in the front, and confined at top and bottom by gold clasps; the stomacher of white satin, hussared across with blue silk cord. The head ornaments are of pearl, with a Chinese rose in front; the hair in full curls round the face, and hanging in ringlets from behind; neck chain and bracelets composed of double rows of pearl; ridicule of pink satin, netted over with blue silk. Shoes and gloves the color of the body.


Walking Dress: A pelisse of white and yellow shot silk, gathered together in the front, and fastened together by a large sapphire broach, buttoned up the front, and trimmed round the bottom with broad white lace. The gown of white India muslin, made high in the neck, with an erect lace collar; ermine for tippet. Head-dress, French lace cap, and white chip hat, with a sprig of myrtle; plain gold ear-rings. Shoes and gloves to correspond with the pelisse. Parasol of blue silk.

I love the term "Hussared" I assume it means it has the look of a hussars lace across the front of a uniform. For the walking dress, it is interesting that the collar is actually part of the gown beneath, rather than the coat. I can imagine the cost of the sapphire broach.

Well that's it for me for fashion for this month. Until next time, Happy Rambles.

News

by Michele Ann Young

If you wondered where we were for the past few days, there were a couple of things going on. This past week end was also the Canadian Thanksgiving. Mmmm Turkey.

We also attended the Emerald City Writers Conference in Seattle. The first picture is of me and Robin Wood. We sat side by side at this Conference in 2007. This time I made sure we had a picture. I signed both The Lady Flees Her Lord and The Rake's Inherited Courtesan.

The conference was also yummy. I got to catch up with some old friends and meet a couple of new ones and I attended some great workshops which I will talk about next.

I also gave a workshop with my American Title Sisters, Gerri Russell, the winner of the contest and Theresa Meyers. Our talk was on making a splash before you sell. How to have a presence when you don't have a book to sell and how that will help you once you are published. We had a great attendance and since several of the attendees came up to thank us at the end, I believe we provided some interesting information. Here I am with Gerri and another writer friend Judith Laik.

Since I only had one day in Seattle (it being Thanksgiving back at home and all) and since I met my agent in the morning, I attended only a few of the other workshops. Those I did attend were excellent.

The Writer Warrior, with Bob Mayer, sent me away feeling energized and armed to take charge of my writing career. The second on editing with Robert Dugoni was packed full of information. I talked to Robert at the booksigning and he is fun and serious. My last session was with Megan Chance. A great workshop full of concrete examples

All of the speakers had lots of information and spoke very fast. They had great hand outs.


Deborah Cooke a member of my home chapter gave very wise and insightful comments on the definitions of success for a writer. Here she is at the signing.







I also managed a couple of brief hellos with Mary Buckham, who was kind enough to give me and a friend a tour of San Diego a couple of years ago. It was so great to see her again, no matter how briefly. Mary will be coming to Toronto in the spring so I hope we have more time to talk then.


There you have it. What I have been up to.

Until next time, Happy Rambles

Stourhead Continued

by Ann Lethbridge

Summer is over. And today is a typical wet and windy fall day. My word it is a long time since I posted on this topic. We still have lots to see.

This part of our walk is all about the garden, so I will be tagging this one Flora and Fauna as well. And just to remind me, This walk was around June 1.

Stourhead Gardens are a mix of natural areas and plantings as you will see.


Here are some lovely foxgloves. We found them growing apparently wild beneath the trees. Not that this might not be a deliberate planting.

In the background of the first picture you can also see one of the rhododendrons, a pretty orange colour.

The gardens are quiet. It is like going back in time. There are no engine noises or other mechanical sounds. Just the wind in the trees and this next creature is very happy about that too.

I don't know about you, but this to me looked like Peter Rabbit of Beatrix Potter fame. Look how close he let me get before he hopped off.

I don't suppose he is the gardener's friend as rabbits tend to do quite a bit of damage. It is odd to see so many bunnies around England. When I was young they had just finished the myxomatosis program which did away with most of the rabbits (very cruelly as it turned out) and they were rarely seen, now they can be found nibbling along the verges of roads, and in meadows and fields every where you look.

Apparently, rabbits are not native to England, which may account for why they seem to over-run the countryside. They were brought in by the Romans and we then exported them to Australia.

What did history teach us?



The next sight to grace our vision on our walk was this wonderful tree. Clearly old. Clearly huge.


Now I am guessing a little here. I believe this is a Cedar of Lebanon. I am quite happy to be corrected.


What ever it is, the dark green needles stood out amongst the paler leaf greens of the other trees.









Our last tree is always a pleasure to see, because of its colouring. Red leaves among all the green.

There are lots of different red trees around the world but there is something quite stunning about the copper beech. And this one is set out in the middle of the lawn and shown off quite beautifully.



Well that is it for me for today. Lots of Stourhead to come.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Flora and Fauna in Regency England - September

by Michele Ann Young

Holy smoke. I have been trying to get to this post for nearly a week. Deadlines are looming, which I love, but they tend to take all my focus. The other thing I did was to sign up for some classes. Well, you know I was worried I might become one dimensional and have nothing to talk about except the Regency and really become "Lost in Austen".

I signed up for some sewing classes and for a web design class. I am going to see if I can use dreamweaver. Who knows, but I have met some very nice people, so that is good.


Tis is a saffron milk-cap. It is an edible mushroom and while not terribly well-known, it is a great delicacy, I'm told.

It grows under pines, and is picked in early autumn. I am taking that to include September.

One would expect to find it in the north of the British Isles, most common in Scotland, though it is found in England.




The wild cherry shown here is native to England and has been identified in Bronze-age diggings. In September, the fruits begin to turn yellow, if the birds have left any on the trees, that is.






Our final September offering relates to an insect and the carnivore who eats them.



You may recognize this insect. I always called it a daddy long legs as a child, but I think that was a misnomer. It is a crane fly. These creatures hatch out in August and September and lay their eggs beneath lawns. The eggs quickly turn into larvae.

The lavae look like fat, short brown worms. Not worth a picture, but you can look them up if you feel so inclined.

And guess who likes the larvae. Well if you have ever had crane fly eggs in your lawn, you probably had a visit from the gentleman below. He loves cranefly lavae. And his rooting around looking for them will mean the end of your beautifully green lawns.



Sad to say, during the Regency, badger baiting and badger drawing were considered sports.

Dogs were pitted against badgers as can be seen in this picture from 1824. The sport had been going on since the middle ages and was another form of gambling, like dog fights and cockfights.

I'm glad it was outlawed in 1835.

Until next time, Happy Rambles

News

by Ann Lethbridge

Once in a while we hijack the blog to bring you news. Today is one of those days.

Imagine my surprise when I went onto the eharlequin website and discovered that tadaaa
The Rake's Inherited Courtesan is listed as sold out. This is pretty exciting since not every book sells out on that website and I had to share the news with you.

Fear not though, dear readers, you can still buy it on all the other sites, if you haven't done so already.

The actual date of issue of my next books is still a bit of a mystery to me, but there will be two in 2010 and as soon as I have information I will post it here. The titles I do know:

Wicked Rake, Defiant Mistress

Captured for the Captain's Pleasure

Watch this space for more news.


Next time we will have our regular feature -- Flora and Fauna after which we will return to our feature on Stourhead.

Until then, Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion for September

by Ann Lethbridge


This is an Evening Gown for September 1818.


Alas I do not have a description from the time, though in an article in the 1818 Belle Assemblee they say:

"Pearls are universally adopted in full dress jewelry."

Around this time waists were dropping, although there is no evidence of that in this particular gown and indeed the Belle Assemblee says:

"Waists continue short as usual" Just shows how wrong the fashionistas could be, then as now.

The new bell to the skirt and the heavy decoration around the hem can clearly be seen.

I thought it interesting that she is wearing a crown.


This next picture is presented because it shows mother and child.



This morning gown is from the 1808 La Belle Assemblee.

And as usual we see the york tan gloves in evidence I beleive. Such an odd mix of colours, pink and blue and yellow. I really like the soft bonnet.

Now here is my question, is it a boy or is it a girl. If you have an opinion, how can you tell?

I love the bench the lady is sitting on, so light and airy. One imagines this as being set in a conservatory.

The dress to me is of a very light muslin and in the classic lines of the early Regency. The lacy edging around the bodice and the wide set sleeves, which unfortunately disappear beneath the shawl are quite lovely.


Well that is all for this September. Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Unleash Your Story

Today, I am handing over my spot to this very worthy cause and hope you will drop by to make your contribution to Cystic Fibrosis. My connection? Well if you look at the comments on today's blog on the Unleash site, (actually you will see Ann Lethbridge commented but I think we all know who she really is) then you will discover why I am interested in this particular effort.

Later in the week we will have September Fashion and then back to Stourhead. Until then Happy Rambles.

Stourhead continued

by Ann Lethbridge

Just popping down to the garden to mow the bridge, dear.

I've no idea if this bridge was always grassed like this but I found it fascinating.

There are all kinds of interesting surprises and views at Stourhead. It really is a feast for the eyes, and if you've a mind to satisfy your appetite then join me on my walk.

It is a long one, with all kinds of winding trails.

Now what is this I wonder? It is the next surprise as we meander around the lake. More about the what it is later, but you must admit it is an intriguing tumble of ruin set amid the trees on the edge of the far side of the lake.

Once more, and completely by happenstance, my framing of the picture is quite elegant. Now I do wish I could paint a picture like that. Look at all those different shades of green. It would make a wonderful jigsaw puzzle too. Let us stroll on a littler further


And what is this we see on the hill yonder, a mausoleum? A temple?

Difficult to tell from here. But cast your eye over the array of colours below. The rhododendrons in full bloom.

Imagine having a view like that in your back yard and wandering around it in your sprigged muslin on the arm of a gentleman dressed in skin-tight pantaloons and a snowy white cravat.

Goodness I think I need to sit down and take a breather. I feel quite warm and my stays are suddenly tighter than they were when I left home.

Let us just sit and admire the view together. I have given you some mysteries to observe, which I promise to unravel later in our walk. But there is much more to see before then.

We will continue our walk next time, Happy Rambles.

More Stourhead

by Michele Ann Young

This was my first view of the gardens at Stourhead.

The reflection of the bridge in the water, the distant folly and the tree branches framing the picture all made the perfect portrait of another time.

I didn't quite believe what I was seeing.

I took several shots of this view, but this is my favorite, even if it does have a bit of fence in the foreground. Although this next one, from a slightly different angle comes pretty close.

Do you think the designer of the garden intended for the bridge to make such a perfect ellipse? My guess is yes.

I will be using this on my website in the header, as soon as I can remember how.

The gardens were designed by Henry Hoare II (remember Hoare's bank) and laid out between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th-century design set around a large lake achieved by damming a small stream. The inspiration behind their creation were the painters Claude Lorrain, Poussin and in particular, Gaspar Dughet who painted Utopian-type views of Italian landscapes.

You certainly can't get more Utopian that the views above, which is why I am going to to post all of my Stourhead pictures over the next few blogs, and I hope you will not be bored, but for me this estate epitomised my internal image of the perfect English country estate in the late 18th and early 19th century and I want to capture it where I can visit it again and again.

At the time of year we visited, early June, one of the draws for the gardens was the display of "azaleas". It was only as we walked around that I realized that azaleas and rhododendrons are of the same family.

The Rhododendron ponticum, called Common Rhododendron were introduced around the lake by Sir Richard Colt Hoare in 1791. Unfortunately these bushes while beautiful, are not native to Britain and have been encroaching on our natural plants at an alarming rate. But since this is not a blog about saving natural plantlife, I will say no more on that topic. Later he added two Rhododendron arboreum.

In this last picture you will see flashes of colour which are some of the rhododendrons in bloom, for we were lucky enough to be there right when most of them were flowering and the colours, everything from white which you see at the edge of this shot to deep red, which you see just beyond the bridge, were ours to enjoy.

This is a very long ramble, and so here we will take a rest and begin our journey around the lake next time. Until then, drink a nice cup of tea and keep cool beneath the trees.

Stourhead ~ Wiltshire

by Ann Lethbridge

The house and park at Stourhead were a wonderful surprise.

Here is the house as seen in 1817. Did you fall in love yet? Could the house be any grander?

Note the blocked windows at the end of the wing. I don't have an explanation for it, or at least not as yet, except that it may have been another of those window tax cost savings.

And there are our Regency folk, walking on the drive with sheep on the lawn. One way to keep the grass under control.

But let us start at the beginning.

Stourhead was originally owed by the ancient Barons Stourton, who had lived there since Saxon times and the property then was called Stourton House. That house was demolished in 1717 after it was purchased by Henry Hoare I. The Hoares were and are bankers. They still own the last of the privately owned banks in England. And our Regency characters, those of the nobility, might well have banked with Hoare's Bank.

Not all of the the Stourtons was wiped off the map, because part of the Stourhead estate contains the village of Stourton.

One walks through the village to get to the house and grounds.

While the village has a love parish church, St Peter's, pictured here, there are only about five or so actual dwellings in the village proper.















It really is enchanting. It feels like a trip back in time.

We were there in the very last days of May and I think you can see how lush and green everything was from this picture and the spray of roses up the side of the house was so typical of so many cottages and houses that we saw on our travels.


Next time we are going to take a ramble in the park itself.

Regency English Countryside.

By Michele Ann Young

Make sure you have sound before viewing this video.

I do hope you can access this video. The reason I am posting it is not such much the view, which is of the Vale of Blackmore, Thomas Hardy country in Dorset, but it is the sounds of the birds. This was taken on June 2, and what you are seeing is simply a view across Marnhull from a field. I have a few more still pictures to add, but listen to those birds. the little yellow dots among the grass are buttercups.

I'm afraid you will have to ignore the wind, and my little grunt. I just can't not talk, even for a few seconds, though I did remember after I started to say something.

This is the first post about Dorset. Lots more to come, but as you can see this is definitely a case of happy rambles

Regency Fashion ~ August

by Ann Lethbridge


Friday turned out to be quite eventful. The postman brought three books to my door. The French versions of The Rake's Inherited Courtesan.

I absolutely love the cover! It is so different to the UK and North American Cover which you see on the right bar, but it is just as nice. In fact, to me it realy is evocative of at least one of the scenes in the book. And I adore the title. All right, so I can't read more than a few words, but this is my first foreign version of a book so I am sure you don't begrudge me a little excitement.

Here is the deal, firstreader from France to comment on the blog, gets one of my three copies.

Now enough of this writerly stuff I hear you say. We want Fashio. And your wish is my command.


This is from pre Regency, but still in our long Regency period and is taken from the Ladies Monthly Museum.

As you can see, it is called undress, but clearly these ladies are out in the garden or perhaps in the park. Not the sunshade, which looks to me if could just as easily serve to keep the rain off, which they must be expecting with all those layers.

First Figure: Village hat of straw or chip, with cap, and flowers in front, underneath the hat; black net cloak with lace trimming; and white cambric muslin robe.

Second Figure: Grecian bonnet of straw or white muslin, with lilac trimming; Jersey jacket with worked or printed border; pale blue gloves and straw coloured shoes.

I like the term village hat, don't you, very evocative of summers in the country. I'm not sure what is Grecian about the other bonnet.?


Our next offering is well into the Regency ~ August 1816.

From La Belle Assemblee

Round, high dress of fine cambric, or jacconet muslin, ornamented at the bottom with four rows of Vandyke trimming of rich embroidery, surmounted by a flounce vandyked at the edge. Full sleeves of muslin, à la Duchesse de Berri, confined by bands of embroidered cambric, and surmounted by imperials wings of clear muslin. Treble ruff of broad lace, and sash of muslin, the ends trimmed with lace of a Vandyke pattern. Bonnet of leghorn ornamented with ears of Indian corn, and turned up slightly in the front. Shoes of lilac kid. The hair in full curls, dressed forward.

Talk about fussy. But so pretty. Delicious and feminine. This is definitely one I can see one of my characters wearing. Note to self. Write a book set in 1816.

Can't wait.

Until next time, Happy Rambles

Ireland in the Regency

by Michele Ann Young
Actually this is not really about Ireland in the Regency. These are holiday snaps.

Our last port of call in Ireland was a small fishing town called Clonakilty and we stayed at the headland known as Inchydoney in West Cork, at the very South of Ireland.

The town itself is an old one and a fishing town. It apparently played a significant in the rebellion in 1798m but our main reason for travelling there, apart from walking on the beach was to see where my husband's great great grandmother was born. She left Clonakilty in 1830 and travelled to Wales, were she met and married and stayed for the rest of our life.

We were very taken with the town, with its picturesque house painted in all different colours,

it is also a centre of music for the region and there is alway one pub or bar or hall on any partular night with a live band.

We spoke to the warden at the local church, which was built in 1880, long after my husband's relative left and discovered that the priest still has the earlier records, so we have a letter in the post.

We saw the last name we were looking for on many of the store fronts and we discovered that it is a very common last name in Clon (locals call it Clon). So who knows, perhaps we may actually be able to find that we still have some relations there.

I will let you know should anything come of our further inquiries.

I was interested to watch the housemartins building their nest in the eave of our hotel. And yes the sky was really that blue.

And the flowers in that seascape are those of the wild blackberry, just in case you were wondering.

These last two items belong in Flora and Fauna, but we enjoyed seeing them so much I decided to post them.

Interestingly enough I had the feeling that spring comes a little later here than it does in England, because while the May was finished when we drove from Heathrow to Cardiff for our flight to Ireland, it was still in full bloom everywhere we went.

This is a picture of a martin on the wing, with the gorgeous countryside below. It is clearer on my computer, but it is still worth including, if only for the scenery.

The other interesting thing was that the sun did not go down until after 10pm, because we were so far west. The evenings were deliciously long and we did not miss a moment.

We will go back to our regular monthly articles next week, but we still have one more wonderful treat from our last trip to Britain. This time from Dorset.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Ireland in the Regency - continued

This is me having dinner at Durty Nelly's which was a pub at our next stop ~ Bunratty Castle.

Actually, the pub is so near you can sit on the wall around the castle and have your beer while you listen to a live band. And the weather continued to be sunny and hot, which everyone was constantly amazed at.

Durty Nelly's was established in 1620 and has an interesting history including the original owner being the creator of poteen. An Irish cure-all.

It is clearly a very old building and I enjoyed looking around. The food was excellent and the service and the people extremely friendly.


My second picture was taken in a tiny room somewhere in the back that I thought looked interesting and old.











On to Bunratty Castle

Once a castle of the O'Briens, Bunratty was acquired by the Studdart Anglo-Irish family in 1720 and they lived there for about a hundred years, so through the Regency.

They eventually moved into a smaller house located in the grounds in around 1804 and gradually the castle fell into decay.

I'm not going to say very much about the castle, since we focus on Regency, not medieval, except to say that it was lived in at the very beginning of our period and has been beautifully "done up".

If you want to get a good feel of a medieval castle, this would be one to take a look at as it has floors and furniture. If I ever write a medieval story, I will find this visit of great help.

And that Jackie Kennedy visited it during a visit to Ireland.

There is also a folk park with farms and houses or ordinary people which would not have changed much through our era.

I did take one picture of a wall, which is very unusual though apparently typical of stone walls in the Moher area of County Clare, and thought I would share it with you.

I thought they looked like old gravestones with the names worn off lined up in a row. But no, it is a regular form of wall for a particular district. I guess this kind of stone was readily available.

Notice how green everything is. And yes, that is a palm tree. Not sure what it is doing there.

The house the family moved into in 1804 is also in the grounds. A classical Georgian dwelling, almost. Because the windows are not quite symmetrical and bits were added.


This was called a Regency walled garden. I have seen nicer ones, but thought you would like to see it. The walls did go all the way around.

So that is it for Bunratty, unless I get huge requests for some of the pictures I took inside the castle and some of the cottages.

More on Ireland to come.

Until next time, Happy Rambles