Cabin in the Woods

     I am here, at last. After months of waiting and lots of excitement, I am finally settled in to my new home here at Basildon Park for the next 3 months.

     I arrived last Sunday during Mothering Sunday, which is one of the busiest days of the year for the house. This year was no different, and over 800 visitors arrived to tour the house and grounds whilst I was unpacking my things in to my new home.

Ivy Cottage - My home for the duration of my stay.

     My new home is very rural. Situated on the edge of the estate, Ivy Cottage is unique. It is the last remaining structure of it's kind on the estate, which would have had many of these dotted around during it's use in both world wars and would have been used to house the American RAF and at one point, POW's. It is a simple, yet idyllic setting. During the day I have so far spotted a pheasant, a deer,  agrouse and many smaller birds. During the night I have even been greeted by a badger. On my first evening here, I spent it alone, as Jess wasn't to arrive until the next day. I took this time to explore the grounds some more, and what a great evening it was!

Basildon House can be seen in the distance,through the lush field of daffodils. It made a Welshman like me feel right at home!

     Jess arrived the next day, and we spent most of it getting to know each other and unpacking our things before getting an early night in preparation our first day of work.

     In my old job, I would wake up dreading work whilst dragging myself reluctantly out of bed to shower and dress before taking the bus to start at 9am. On this particular morning, however, I was awake and full of energy. Instead of the dull bus journey I was used to before, I now have time to enjoy the walk in to work  down through the woods, approaching the house as I do so. It really is stunning and I can't see myself ever getting sick of it greeting me as it does each morning.

     We mainly spent the first day being introduced to everyone that will be assisting and teaching us during our stay. However, before any of that could happen, we had to help prepare the house for it's opening to the public at 11am. We played a minor role in this, more as observers than participators. It was more for us to take in how things are done each day. We spent the rest of the day being given a guided tour of the house and gardens, before going back to the house to help prepare to close it ready for the next days work. This basically involved the same tasks as the morning opening, just in reverse.

     Yesterday, we were greeted by Emma, our instructor, and instead of of just observing the morning house opening routine, we actually helped out. It is relatively simple process. It mainly involves carrying out the daily, weekly, or monthly cleaning duties. This can be anything from hoovering and polishing, to more intricate and delicate jobs such as dusting off the gilded items using small horse hair brushes. The afternoon was taken up by us cleaning the silver in the grand Dining Room.

"A subdued tint pervaded every part of the chamber: the ceiling was painted in grey tinted frescoes of a classical and festive character, and the side table, which stood in a recess supported by four columns, was adorned with choice Etruscan vases." -  The Dining Room, as described by Disraeli's Henrietta Temple (1837)

     As the park is recently open 363 days a year, it has to now carry out much of its conservation work in sight of the general public. This is a great way of educating visitors about the work that the National Trust carries out in its continuous restoration and conservation of the property. It has been named "Conservation in Action", and whilst cleaning the silver, we were placed behind the visitor barriers and within plain sight, to allow them to see the work that we were carrying out and to give them the opportunity to ask us any questions that they had about the work that we were doing.

A photo that was taken by me of Jess whilst we were both carrying out our "Conservation in Action" on the silver cutlery on display in the Dining Room.

     We spent the rest of the day doing this, before helping to prepare the rooms ready to be closed for the evening and the next days visitors.

     I have been lucky enough to have today and tomorrow off to have time to explore the grounds in more depth and am meeting up with Helen, another intern, to explore the gardens and parkland tomorrow morning, before going back to work in the weekend.

     I am looking forward to see what the weekend has to bring, as it is generally the busiest time of the week for the house, and what jobs and activities I will be carrying out during that time.

     I am still piecing together a broader history of the house as I learn things through tour guides, staff and past interns during my time here, and I hope to know enough to write a bit more about that for you all within the next few days.

     I hope you have enjoyed learning about my time here so far, as much as I have in being here. If you would like to know anything more, please feel free to contact me.

Until then,

Best wishes,

Craig