Warning: Picture heavy post!!!!!!!

The Saturday morning dawned cool and rainy. I have always wanted to visit the Charles Dickens museum so we booked in for the first tour of the day at 10.00am.

Mr & Mrs Charles Dickens front door!

We started in the basement which is where the main kitchen, the pantry and washroom were. There is another basement beneath it for storage which we didn’t get to go in. The rooms are all set up in the period of when the Dickens and their children lived there.

The back parlour of the kitchen where the servants would eat. The laundry which we today call the utility room!!!   The Dining Room where the Dickens entertained, mostly other writers of the age. Picture of Mr Pickwick from Pickwick Papers. China ware. The room next to the Dining Room was the sitting room where Mrs Dickens spent a lot of her time when her husband was away on lecture tours.

We then moved up the staircase again to the next floor where the Drawing Room is where the Dickens entertained their friends. Off this room was Mr Dickens Library with his desk which he wrote at most mornings.

Up the staircase to the Drawing Room where the Dickens entertained their friends. The family piano

The fireplace and chairs in the Drawing Room. The Doorway into Mr Dickens’ Library where he wrote at his desk most mornings.

The Library was quite small but had quite a few books and he would have been considered to have a well stocked library in those days as books were very expensive still.  The above picture is his desk where he wrote a lot of his books.

You move up the stair case again to the main bedrooms.

Dickens’ Dressing Room which was tiny and next door to their room.

There were further bedrooms on this floor and then you make your way up the final stair case to the attic rooms which were for the nursey and children’s rooms and the servants bedrooms.

The above pictrures from top to bottom: The Dickens family. The second picture; Dickens on the right with other writers of the day and finally Dickens with the family dog, Turk, who was a terror of the neighbourhood! Probably had some Airedale in him!!!!!

In one of the attic rooms was a display of unusual things from Dickens life including the bars of the Debtor’s prison that Dickens father was placed in when he could not pay his debts. This became a driving force for Dickens to make money and support his family when he began writing. The windows are actually from the original family home where Dickens was born.

Before Dickens became a famous writer he used to travel around giving lectures and this was the desk he took around with him to lecture from. He very much adopted the new innovations of the day, particulary photography and would have pictures taken and made up into calling cards to promote his lectures and eventually his books. In fact I am sure if he was born today he would have his own website/Twitter feed and would be embracing all forms of self promotion which he did in his time.

We really enjoyed the visit and have wanted to go for a while. My favourite book of Dickens is, of course, A Christmas Carol but I have read all of them.

We had some lunch and then went to the British Library, next door to St. Pancreas Railway Station and Kings Cross Railway Station, home of Platform 9 3/4!!!! At the British Library we saw the Book Treasures but unfortunately could not take pictures in there. It was very quiet but at least we got to see everything.

DH and I then went for a little retail therapy and to buy a few Christmas presents. We went to Fortnum & Mason, The Queen’s Grocers!!!! It was all dressed for Christmas!

We got back to the hotel about 4.30pm and had a cup of tea before getting ready to go out to the Restaurant for the evening. We had booked a table at 14 Hills, which is on the 14th floor of a new mixed use building of offices, shops, apartments and the restaurant. It was a lovely place and the food was great.

The entrance to the restaurant. Whilst waiting for the lift the ceiling above us was moving with pictures! The table and the view! There were trees and plants everywhere! DH and I both had the same starter, mushrooms on toast. He then had sea bass, mashed potatoes and leaks and I had chicken Kiev with seasonal vegetables. The view from the 14th Floor!

We had a lovely day but were tired by the end of it. Most of the day we had also been dodging the rain which was a shame. We got back to the hotel about 9.30pm as again everywhere was closing by 10.00pm It was very quiet everywhere especially with no theatres open as well!

Sorry for the delay in posting the other pictures from our trip, but it has been a very manic week, whenever is it not? However it has culminated in my standing down as the Covid Officer for the swimming club! I won’t go into all the details but a parent was not happy with decisions made by the club about the self isolation of the swimmers in the lane where a swimmer had tested positive for Covid and basically said I was wrong. However after the last three months of a lot of work and time spent doing this instead of other things I wanted to do, I felt it was time to pass it on! Hopefully and eventually it will mean I can get back to doing my quilting and a million other things I have put off!!!! Tomorrow I will show you the last of our pictures of the weekend.

Today is DH’s Birthday as well and we are having a family meal at home as we now live in an area which is classed as Tier 3 so no going out etc except for work/school/shopping. Mind you I prefer being at home anyway!!!

I hope you are having a thrilling Thursday.  I will show you more pictures of the past weekend tomorrow.

Hugs & Love, Susie xx