Easter Sunday

Chaps!! I hope you have had a smashing, chocolate infused Easter Sunday? You have? Marvellous!!! As you know, the family have come up to visit me for the weekend- yesterday was taken up shopping in town (country bumpkins loose in a city, we go slightly nuts!) and a posh dinner in Prezzo.
Today started with a bang! Quite literally as it happens- The Mother bought Dad a champagne bottle that was more like a party popper for his big birthday last weekend but they hadn't opened it (saving it for our weekend together!!). We had presents, chocolate nests and a fun time decorating the Easter tree with the contents of the champagne popper.

(I got a little alphabet stamp set from The Mother! How cute is that?)

When we had cleared up after ourselves and managed to pile into the car we were off to Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. The weather was gloomy and very windy so we didn't stay outside for long, although I wandered off at one point to make friends with the sheep. It is very pretty inside, the most amazing Roman inspired rooms!!

(Not sure what the above statue is for, anyone else know?)

There were so many fluffy little lambs! I think I even saw one that had literally been born minutes before, still gunky and dozy. They were having great fun leaping around everywhere and chasing each other, the Mums looked quite worn out.

Look at their little legs go!!

Afterwards we went along to Calke Abbey. Absolutely fascinating!!! The family dramatically declined in the money department and couldn't afford to live in all of the rooms, gradually reducing the amount of rooms they lived in and filling the rest with junk, old furniture and a crazy amount of taxidermy animals. When the National Trust bought it, the house was gradually being destroyed by damp, mould and bug infestations and the rooms were falling apart. Instead of rebuilding it and transforming it back to it's former glory, the NT decided to stop the deterioration but not hide it, so when you walk around, it is dingy with peeling wallpaper, cracked ceilings and walls and rooms full of chairs!! It is quite incredible, totally different to every other NT place I have been to (and believe me, I have been to a few!). I don't have any photos of this place other than the deer ones below, and I really recommend that if you are up this way then you should definitely go! The only words to use are 'faded glory', simply beautiful- in a shabby chic sort of way.