It`s amazing what you can do with an old battered (VERY COMFY) settee and some garden furniture but with a couple of throws, a few bits of foam and some jazzy fabric the Pixen has made herself a lovely cosy room. She`s done a brilliant job.Her two flatmates Ruby and Chuck will love it there.
This is Ruby...
This is Chuck...
Once we`d finished wrestling with the curtain pole(one more hook needed on the end!) and we`d tied ourselves in knots fitting the washing machine(you need to be a contortionist!) we had time for some culture ...
so we visited the BOWES MUSEUM,the highlight being the Silver Swan.
It is a magnificent building in the historic town of Barnard Castle...as Pixen`s taxi driver said to her when he de-toured past it "I bet you didn`t expect to see THAT in the North East!"
It was the dream of John and Josephine Bowes who both loved the Arts.When poor health limited the chances of them conceiving a child,they developed the idea of creating a world class museum in John`s ancestral home of Teesdale for the benefit of the local people and set about collecting treasures from all over the world.
The diverse collection spans three floors of the magnificent building and contains items too numerous to list. Whether it is paintings by Canaletto or Goya, porcelain produced at Sèvres, or marquetry attributed to André-Charles Boulle it can all be found at The Bowes Museum, which has received Designated status from the government in recognition of the outstanding collection.
However it is the 230 year-old Silver Swan that is the best-loved object in the museum. The Silver Swan is an English silver automaton, a unique attraction that was bought by the Bowes in 1872. The life size model is still in working order and is operated at the museum on a daily basis.
How The Silver Swan Works
The swan is life-size and is controlled by three separate clockwork mechanisms. The Silver Swan rests on a stream made of twisted glass rods interspersed with silver fish. When the mechanism is wound up, the glass rods rotate, the music begins, and the Swan twists its head to the left and right and appears to preen its back. It then appears to sight a fish in the water below and bends down to catch it, which it then swallows as the music stops and it resumes its upright position.
We also thoroughly enjoyed the TOY TALES exhibition which featured 60 years of BBC TV children`s programmes. There were puppets and models from all our favourites including Andy Pandy, Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine, Muffin the Mule, Pinky and Perky,Sooty and Sweep and Paddington (Where was SUPERTED!!!!!!! and TEXAS PETE!!!! ?) Absolutely brilliant!
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