Saturday, August 6, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
A National Trust day out
Sorry I've been so scarce in the blog lately. I've been working away on edits to Temporary Mistress and writing A Season Lost, and getting ready for my upcoming trip to England. But before I left I did want to get this post in, so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle when I return.
If you'll recall, I bookended two England layovers around a business trip, and this post is all about the second bookend. By the time I got back to England, I had spent two weeks with much of my schedule all arranged for me, taking corporate vans everywhere we needed to go. I was ready for some freedom, and also not ready for some freedom.
Let me make sense of that! I had been wanting to go to the Bermondsey Square antiques market, so on my only full day in London, I got up in the morning and took the tube over, and ended up making a few little purchases. I had decided to leave the rest of the day open for whatever I was in the mood for, and what I quickly realized was...I had no idea what I was in the mood for. This normally isn't me -- one of the reasons why I love solo travel is that if I decide I want to do something, I just go off and do it, and normally I'm quite decisive.
Turns out I was not yet ready to go back to being my decisive self. I sat down for about 15 minutes by the side of the road in complete waffling indecision, swiping around my Google Map. Finally, I lighted upon the idea that I wanted to go back to the Tower of London. I haven't been there since my very first trip to London ten years ago, so it seemed like it would be fun to go back. I ended up walking over there, took one look at the giant crowds, and decided that jostling with all of those people was not, in fact, what I was feeling like doing (travel tip: I recalled that when I had gone before, we went there first thing in the morning, to get ahead of the crowds).
Suddenly, the second runner-up, going to Osterley Park, was sounding much better, as I was not feeling crowds or being in the city. What sounded really good was what I always think of as a "National Trust day out:" touring an old estate house, having a wander among the grounds and gardens, poking into the gift shop, and having some food at one of their quite good cafes.
I chose Osterley Park because it was open on a Friday, and because I geek out over Robert Adam, but it was not necessarily the most efficient place to get to from the Tower, as it's on the Piccadilly line out near Heathrow. Still, though, I think I got there in less than an hour.
Ahh, what a difference that made. This is one of the really cool things about London: if you are not in the mood for the city, you can easily get out of the city. A relatively short walk from the tube and I was suddenly in pastoral England, right down to the cows and horses on the side of the path.
Osterley Park isn't particularly large for a great house. The grounds aren't the largest or most impressive I've seen. It does have an interesting history with connections to the Child family of Child's Bank and the Earl of Jersey, plus a scandalous elopement (there was a chase, to Gretna Green!); some extremely intriguing Robert Adam rooms; and a cafe set within the old Tudor-era stables. What Osterley Park mostly had going for it, though -- because I fully enjoyed my day there -- was that it was a complete "National Trust day out," just outside of London. Once I decided it was what I needed, it was exactly what I needed.
Some more pictures from my visit below:
If you'll recall, I bookended two England layovers around a business trip, and this post is all about the second bookend. By the time I got back to England, I had spent two weeks with much of my schedule all arranged for me, taking corporate vans everywhere we needed to go. I was ready for some freedom, and also not ready for some freedom.
Let me make sense of that! I had been wanting to go to the Bermondsey Square antiques market, so on my only full day in London, I got up in the morning and took the tube over, and ended up making a few little purchases. I had decided to leave the rest of the day open for whatever I was in the mood for, and what I quickly realized was...I had no idea what I was in the mood for. This normally isn't me -- one of the reasons why I love solo travel is that if I decide I want to do something, I just go off and do it, and normally I'm quite decisive.
Turns out I was not yet ready to go back to being my decisive self. I sat down for about 15 minutes by the side of the road in complete waffling indecision, swiping around my Google Map. Finally, I lighted upon the idea that I wanted to go back to the Tower of London. I haven't been there since my very first trip to London ten years ago, so it seemed like it would be fun to go back. I ended up walking over there, took one look at the giant crowds, and decided that jostling with all of those people was not, in fact, what I was feeling like doing (travel tip: I recalled that when I had gone before, we went there first thing in the morning, to get ahead of the crowds).
Suddenly, the second runner-up, going to Osterley Park, was sounding much better, as I was not feeling crowds or being in the city. What sounded really good was what I always think of as a "National Trust day out:" touring an old estate house, having a wander among the grounds and gardens, poking into the gift shop, and having some food at one of their quite good cafes.
I chose Osterley Park because it was open on a Friday, and because I geek out over Robert Adam, but it was not necessarily the most efficient place to get to from the Tower, as it's on the Piccadilly line out near Heathrow. Still, though, I think I got there in less than an hour.
Osterley Park
Ahh, what a difference that made. This is one of the really cool things about London: if you are not in the mood for the city, you can easily get out of the city. A relatively short walk from the tube and I was suddenly in pastoral England, right down to the cows and horses on the side of the path.
Osterley Park isn't particularly large for a great house. The grounds aren't the largest or most impressive I've seen. It does have an interesting history with connections to the Child family of Child's Bank and the Earl of Jersey, plus a scandalous elopement (there was a chase, to Gretna Green!); some extremely intriguing Robert Adam rooms; and a cafe set within the old Tudor-era stables. What Osterley Park mostly had going for it, though -- because I fully enjoyed my day there -- was that it was a complete "National Trust day out," just outside of London. Once I decided it was what I needed, it was exactly what I needed.
Some more pictures from my visit below:
Entrance hall
Long gallery
Tapestry room
Library
Staircase
Etruscan room
The grounds are still lovely, even if they're not the best ever!
Some of the garden and Orangery
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Temporary Mistress update
For those of you who don't already follow me on FF.net or Archive of Our Own, I'm currently posting Temporary Mistress for what's basically a mass online beta, so feel free to join in the fun!
I'm looking for feedback to make the story better, so please tell me your thoughts if you do go over to read. You're welcome to sign up for accounts there and post comments/reviews, or email me directly at sophieturner1805 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Do be aware that this story decidedly contains portions only for mature audiences. I know in my other work I have "faded to black" pretty early on. That is not at all the case here. It's explicit. As we get closer to my actually publishing it, I'll explain a bit more why I wanted to write a story like that. But for now, here are the links:
Archive of Our Own
Fanfiction.net
Happy reading!
I'm looking for feedback to make the story better, so please tell me your thoughts if you do go over to read. You're welcome to sign up for accounts there and post comments/reviews, or email me directly at sophieturner1805 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Do be aware that this story decidedly contains portions only for mature audiences. I know in my other work I have "faded to black" pretty early on. That is not at all the case here. It's explicit. As we get closer to my actually publishing it, I'll explain a bit more why I wanted to write a story like that. But for now, here are the links:
Archive of Our Own
Fanfiction.net
Happy reading!
Friday, July 8, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Meet the newest Austen Author: me!
I hinted at an announcement two posts ago, and here it is: I am joining Austen Authors!
This means I'll be blogging a bit less here, and more there (my debut post is this Friday, July 8), but I will cross-link any posts here and in my other social media spots, as I do for my guest posts on other blogs currently.
This means I'll be blogging a bit less here, and more there (my debut post is this Friday, July 8), but I will cross-link any posts here and in my other social media spots, as I do for my guest posts on other blogs currently.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
HMS Victory videos
Hello again! It feels like it's been forever even since my brief last post, and as that post indicated, I've been traveling, which has taken quite awhile to recover from (I can't say I'm even still completely recovered). Most of the trip was for work, but I did have opportunity to do long layovers in England on the way out and the way back (!), and so you can expect at least a few posts from that.
First up, since I'd already shown photos of HMS Victory, I thought I would post some updated video. Generally when I'm in Great Britain, I've been trying to go to new places, because there is still so much I want to see. I viewed this trip as a bonus, though, so I decided to spend my first night in England in Portsmouth, because I haven't been back in a few years, and really missed it. This gave me a chance to see the updates that have been made as part of the ship's renovation. Most notable is the more authentic decor in the captain's and admiral's cabins, and the much more Georgian color scheme.
First up, since I'd already shown photos of HMS Victory, I thought I would post some updated video. Generally when I'm in Great Britain, I've been trying to go to new places, because there is still so much I want to see. I viewed this trip as a bonus, though, so I decided to spend my first night in England in Portsmouth, because I haven't been back in a few years, and really missed it. This gave me a chance to see the updates that have been made as part of the ship's renovation. Most notable is the more authentic decor in the captain's and admiral's cabins, and the much more Georgian color scheme.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Traveling
I had meant to post something before I left, but wanted to let everyone know that my current and future radio silence is because I've been traveling for work and have been very busy during my time away. I'll be back soon enough with new posts and some exciting news!
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That Time I Got to Handle Real Regency Garments
Now that I've finished the Tremendous Machines series , I wanted to share some highlights from my last trip to England, and I'm sta...
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So a reference to a character's having 286 pounds a year in the latest chapter of "A Change of Legacies" prompted a very good ... -
I've been meaning to make this post as a follow-up to my post on Regency incomes for the gentry for awhile, and now am finally getting ...
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In the latest chapter of A Change of Legacies , a farmer, Smith, is determined by the characters to now be considered a gentleman farmer,...