Waddesdon Manor and other Christmas events

On Thursday this past week I attended the St. Peter's Players performance of Treasure Island, a Christmas pantomime. The tradition is for the young male lead to be played by a female and the older female character to be played by a male. The palm tree was almost a character of its own, being moved from one place to another to signify a different part of Treasure Island. 

The audience is asked to cheer, hiss and boo.  The local theatre was the perfect place to experience this tradition for the first time.  I knew several of the actors from various village events.

Such as the monthly music and story telling time at the local pub, which I attended the next evening.  I told them the story of the mysterious spiral staircase in New Mexico.

Saturday I went with a group from church to visit Waddesdon Manor, an extensive estate built in the mid 19th century by the Rothschild's for their weekend entertaining.  

Winter is not the best time to visit the grounds of this house.  they drain the fountains and wrap the statues against damage from the freeze and thaw cycle of the British winter.

We went to the stable area to look at the Christmas market and get a cup of coffee.  These buildings could have easily accommodated a good size community as well as the animals.  It was a about 5 minutes walk from the house.  I wondered how the need for a horse or buggy was communicated.

We then went on a short tour of the wine cellars.  The Rothschild's even now have extensive holdings of wine producing land throughout the world so this is an appropriate display of that part of the family fortune.

Important people like the queen have been here to taste the Rothschild wine. This a display of photos and testimonials. They even have a bottle that was originally ordered by Thomas Jefferson.  The war of 1812 interrupted delivery so one bottle of the order is now on display.  I also enjoyed chairs painted with cherubs.

The wines that are sold in the gift shop are stored in the cellar.  I was with an artist who appreciated the interesting visual effect of the rows of bottoms of wine bottles.

The round room was used for special dinners.  The circle in the middle of the table could be removed and replaced with a container for wine dregs. The sculpture on the table honors the coopers who make wine casks.

We then went on a tour of the house interior.  As is often the case with these historical houses, no photos were allowed.  I did see two very interesting things.  A painting by Giovanni Panini entitled The Ball.  The online photo does not do justice to this piece.  The many individuals depicted in the crowd each have distinguishable facial expressions.  I also enjoyed a more contemporary piece is Porca Miseria by Maurer.  Such a stark piece in the midst of an essentially Victorian setting was quite effective.

After the tour of the house, we enjoyed tea in the kitchen and servant's dining room.  The seasonal decorations were fully evident.

As we walked back to the car, the view of the manor lit for the night was beautiful.

Tuesday afternoon at the office, our team sponsored a soup lunch for the benefit of the Egyptian Bible Society. Our resident French person brought delicious onion soup.  We also had a very good tomato soup, cheese and fresh bread.  I enjoyed helping set up the meeting room to make the meal a festive occasion.