So Easter is finally over! I say finally as we have received over 4,000 visitors in the past 3 days to the house and grounds. Luckily for me, however, I came away relatively unscathed by the whole experience, having been preoccupied with my project work (more on that later...) I would like to point out that I erroneously wrote in my last post that I was dreading that coming weekend as I mistook it for Easter weekend. (Doh!)
This week has been quite a strange one, and rather different to what I have done with my time here so far. Monday and Tuesday of last week I received my two day Tour Guide training, courtesy of Neil, one of the house stewards. It's always a pleasure working with Neil as he is one of the few staff to have worked in the house when the Illife's were both still alive. He has some amazing, and often comical, stories of what it was like to have known and worked for them. Having worked at Basildon for over 25 years, Neil is without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable people in the house when it comes to the Illifes. I can see myself being Neil in 25 years time, and would be quite content being so.
The training consisted of various group activities; drawing a 'perfect' tour guide and labelling him/her with qualities; carrying out a mock tour of the house; learning about the different types of visitor to National Trust properties and how to cater for them; and so on. It was pretty useful stuff, and I feel I am now ready to give my first official tour of the house. Again, the stories Neil has passed on to myself, Jess and Helen, are so unique and informative that I feel as if I have always known Lord and Lady Illiffe. I hope to be able to pass on these stories and knowledge in my own tours. I'll let you know how my first tour went as soon as it happens.
Spring is very much in full *ahem* spring (excuse the pun) in Basildon Park. The estate is full of bluebells, cowslips, primrose and so on. I took the time on my day off last week to take a walk with Helen around the grounds and through the woodlands. It is the first time I have explored them, and I wasn't disappointed. I encountered a pretty tame pheasant, which I have been told has been nick named Fergus by the house staff. Apparently, he likes to chase cars! I saw this for myself a few days later when a car driving no more than 5miles an hour up the driveway was forced to slam its brakes on as a rather irritated pheasant tried attacking its wheels. It was hilarious. I just hope he doesn't get run over one day. As of a few days ago, we have also noticed that Fergus has other male rivals, I imagine all competing for the female pheasant that has been spotted on site.
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| One of the many Spring blossoms that are around the road leading from my cottage to the big house. The grounds are dotted with them.When I walk to work in the morning it rains blossom petals. When you look down the long straight road, it almost looks as if it's snowing. I can definitely think of worse ways to get to work in the morning! |
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| The number one Pheasant in the park, Fergus! He's become a bit of a celebrity with the visitors. Due to his tame nature, he is easily photographed and loves posing for the camera whilst strutting his stuff. He better not turn his back too long, though, as other male pheasants have recently been spotted on site, so he has competition for the female! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
It seems that as Spring is in mid swing now, the house staff decided to have a much needed Spring clean in some of the rooms of the house not open to the public. We started on Neil's flower room. Helen and I took the best part of two days rearranging, tidying and chucking away what wasn't needed. Although, we did find some pretty interesting things in the process.
It was also the time to retire some of the more tired items in the house in to storage. One of these items was a rug which, according to Neil, had been in the Cloak Room for over 10 years. That's 10 years of muddy feet, boots, hells, kids dragging their feet etc along it, that have all made it look rather tired. It was a great opportunity to teach me how they store away such items.This can either be temporary storage, for example in the case of a filming event such as Downton Abbey, or a more permanent storage for the items such as this particular rug, which are too tired to stay on display, but too valuable to simply dispose of. The process involves layering the surface of the rug with thin tissue paper. The rug is then flipped upside down, with more tissue paper added on this side. We then roll the rug, with the weave on the outside, on to a hollow tube. Finally, we wrap the rug in a wax coated paper to prevent damp, before sealing it all with masking tape, labelling it, and putting it away in storage.
I also took the time over the few days cleaning to replace any light bulbs that had blown out. Some are relatively easy, such as the many table lamps and candelabras. However, some are not so easy, particularly the bulbs illuminating the portraits on the walls, or in the ceiling lanterns and chandeliers. This involves closing off a section to the public and carrying a big ladder out of storage.
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| The Flower Cupboard, tucked away in what would have been servants quarters, was a little cluttered before Helen and I tidied it. This is the finished result of our two days work. All of the fresh flowers throughout the house, as well as the fake floral arrangements, are hand made by Neil and our resident florist. |
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| We did find some pretty cool things whilst clearing the cupboard, such as this 1950's croquet set. I'm not sure it's been used in a long time, but it definitely fits in to the image of the house! |
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| The rug from the cloak room, wrapped in tissue paper and ready to be sealed with the wax coated tissue. This is taken in the Conservation Room, which is a treasure trove of items which are waiting to be restored and ready to be put back on display. It also contains many various bits of plasterwork, spare chairs or furniture etc which are waiting for a day where they may become useful. |
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| As mentioned earlier, some of the portrait light bulbs are quite hard to change. These are two of the Apostles, St Peter and St Matthew, painted by Italian painter Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787). They make up a series of portraits which hang in the Octagon Room, consisting of God the Father, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Matthew, John and Evangelist, Saint Thomas, Saint Andrew and James the Less. Almost all paintings in the house are of a religious nature or of landscapes. This is because Lady Illife, after buying the house in the 50's, said to Lord Illife, "I don't want any pictures of other people's dead ancestors on the walls". |
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| Me finishing the polishing of the floor in the South Pavilion. It needed to be treated with a solution of 50% vinegar, 50% water, firstly. This was to remove the old layer of floor wax. It then needed to be waxed by hand, before being buffed by this machine. This has to be done a few times to get a nice shiny floor. Made me appreciate how hard it can be to keep up standards on presentation, even on something as overlooked as the floor! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, as you can see, it has been a busy week or two! It hasn't been all plain sailing along the way, though. I've had my head in the clouds on a couple of occasions this week, it seems. Most notably (and to much hilarity from the other staff), I managed to lock myself in the Exhibition Room. I have also dropped a pair of keys off the landing on to the floor below (luckily before any of the guests arrived), as well as nearly knocking on the paintings from the Octagon Room on to the floor whilst changing the light bulbs. It's all a steep learning curve, though, and so far I have managed to not break or damage a single thing. But still, better not tempt fate, eh?
I look forward to seeing what the next few weeks will bring! Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to give my first tour of the house between now and writing my next entry.
Until then,
Best wishes,
Craig
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