History uncovered: Antique and Craft Fairs

Today I thought I would talk about a long-enduring love of mine: Antique and Craft Fairs.

With the economy in the state it’s in, these fairs have become so much more popular in the past few years, and have shed the previous ‘only for pensioners’ image they used to hold. My flat is now completely full of ‘tat’ that I’ve picked up simply because it has a history and a story to it!

For all you history lovers it is really worth visiting an antique fair or two (Portobello road is worth a look if you want to start somewhere). Here you can find something that has a story, is really cheap, and will look lovely. It is a fine art though, as there is usually a lot of junk to sort through!

As an example, here are two kinds of ‘fairs’ I visited the other day:

The first was called a “Living Crafts Fair” at the beautiful stately home of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. This one isn’t really an ‘antiques’ fair as such, but it is a chance for local crafts people to show their work, and many of these people have been doing their crafts for generations.

So, here is a demonstration of what Living Crafts from Hertfordshire has to offer:

A lucky horse!

As you can see, many people take the chance to catch up on making their pieces!

And... jam everywhere!

Outside there's even more to see:

The second fair we went to was super-local. In a church-hall local. Why would I go to something like that? Because it can be a gold mine for history:

It’s not all amazing though….

What even is that?!

My tips for Antique Fairs:

-       Always barter. The little stickers on them are usually just a guide price, and they will often do you a better one – you just have to ask!

-       If you’re going to take photos, particularly at a craft fair, always ask permission first (don’t worry, I did).

-       Take cash. I’ve made that mistake so many times!

-       Make sure you think about where the item will go in your house. It’s so tempting to buy a china plate for £2 because you got excited, but when you go home you realise won’t fit in with anything you own.

-       Take your time. Just because a stall looks cluttered doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking at. Often the most amazing finds are underneath so much!

Finally, some lovely shops to have a look at:

http://www.ladybirdandleaf.com - beautiful jewellery that is really unique.

http://www.whitewashsoaps.co.uk - handmade soaps and creams that are really reasonably priced for a change!

https://www.facebook.com/thekatcollectionporcelain - cute porcelain for dog and cat lovers.

http://firecreation.co.uk - Game of Thrones fans, this is for you.

These are just some cheeky non-history ones to enjoy, but there is lots more to explore :)

Review: Turkish Baths, Harrogate

The other day I was staying in a Yorkshire village near to where I grew up…Harrogate. It’s a Victorian spa town that is renowned for its water, and believe me you can taste it from the taps! The water was so famous for its supposed healing properties that the Tsarina of Russia and Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Alexandra stayed here before her wedding in the hopes that the water would heal the pains in her legs.

With this ‘Spa’ atmosphere in mind, I wanted to do a post on an extraordinary day out I had at the Turkish Baths in Harrogate. Now I presume that you have the same ideas that I did before I had visited. Perfumed, steam, hopefully tanned, muscled male attendants?

Sadly not, but let me explain what is there instead, and why it is worth a visit…

Turkish Baths were immensely popular in the Victorian age, as they were slightly more exotic than the public baths that we see in the Georgian/Jane Austen age. Turkish Baths were largely hydrotherapy centres; places to convalesce and heal by using treatments involving high levels of sulphur. Typically they included a sauna, steam room and some kind of ‘hot room’. I’ll explain below how the Harrogate ones work, but it has largely kept its old mechanisms and it was how the Victorian ones worked too.

The Harrogate Turkish Baths were opened in 1897, and are the only Baths that are ‘historically complete’ (their words, not mine) and in full working order. Beginning with the First World War up to 1969 there was a steady decline in the kind of customers who would traditionally use these Baths. As a result, the Baths were shut in 1969. However, in 2002 the Baths were entirely refurbished, complete with the colourful tiles and decorations that would have existed at the time.

On to the review. Obviously, with people walking around in swimsuits, I wasn’t allowed to take photos, so I have nabbed these from the website (link at the bottom).

There are both ‘mixed’ sessions and female only sessions, and you have to book in advance. The timetable is on the website, and it’s worth keeping an eye out on the time as the price varies depending on the peak times and days. We went on a Saturday evening, which was £29.50 for the 6pm-8.30pm slot.

When you first go in, you are given towels and directed to the changing rooms. These are wonderful, as they are still the old wooden cubicles that were likely to have been there at the time.

It all feels very luxurious, with the dark mahogany and red drawback curtains!

After changing, we went into the next room, with lockers to the side (bring a £1 coin folks) and with sunloungers either side. Here one of the attendants explained to us how to use the Baths properly. I have to say I was disappointed he didn’t look Turkish as he was blonde, but I shan’t judge:

So, here is my go at explaining how the system works. It is quite different but a really invigorating experience!

- Shower. There are showers in two rooms (although it is mostly open-plan). It’s best to shower before you start, and shower each time you use the plunge pool to get rid of the chlorine. I just rinsed but I’m sure you could have a full-on wash if you wanted!

- Steam Room. This was quite a small room with a blue-tinge. At the start of the session everyone ended up in here as we weren’t brave enough to go somewhere else first. There were only about 30 though so it wasn’t too crowded. You are meant to stay in here for about 5-7 minutes, breathing in deeply etc.

- Yes. It’s the plunge pool. An icy pool of death, it seems to loom in the background and masquerades as a full-size swimming pool. It’s tempting to jump in after getting very hot in the steam room, but you need to take it slow for this one. Once you’ve managed to get in, it should cool you down and then you can move on!

4.     - The “Tepidarium”. This room is the first of three ‘hot rooms’, where you sit and bask in the heat. At 45 degrees, this room is lovely. It’s spacious and has a drinking water stand in the corner for some more of that spa water. After 10 minutes it’s back into the plunge pool.

-- The "Calidarium". This is the second hot room, which is reached through some curtains at the end of the tepidarium. It's 55 degrees in here, so after about 7 minutes you're done. The only thing I will say is that in this room the floor gets very hot, so it's worth taking flip flops or hopping!

- The "Laconium". This is the hottest room and is up a few steps from the intermediate room. At 75 degrees it's bloody hot. But nice at the same time?

After trying all of these you can stay as long as you want. I kept going back for more as they were so relaxing. You can also get treatments done elsewhere in the overall building, from basic beauty treatments to massages, it's all there! I didn't get to try one of these but I would love to go back. Instead, you can relax in the cafe bit at the start:

Verdict: These Turkish baths are so special. It's not just a spa/sauna, it's a real history experience as the decorations make it feel exotic yet Victorian at the same time. It's also just simply invigorating and a nice way to relax. I would personally recommend going on an evening, but there are lots of time slots available. Seriously, try this place if you're up in the north! (Although wear a swimsuit, not Victorian clothing. We don't want people thinking you're weird.)

All of the pictures are from the website/Pinterest: http://www.turkishbathsharrogate.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx5.

Historical non-fiction: Meet your new best friend for history

Now we all love a bit of historical fiction; it’s fun, helps us to escape and just makes you feel a bit jealous of the people who lived in that time period. But historical non-fiction? I feel like it’s had a bit of bad press for a while. For most fiction lovers, the transition is a little too much, as the non-fiction versions can seem incredibly boring, detailed and nowhere near as exciting.

The reality is that non-fiction gives us the truth. No bodice-ripping Tudors (although I’m sure there was plenty of it), no squeaky-clean Roman streets and no marriages-that-turn-into-love-stories plot lines. Non-fiction is a person’s interpretation of the actual EVIDENCE in front of them. Most of the time, this actually churns out a far more exciting version of the events we’re used to than historical fiction does.

So I’m here to fly the flag for non-fiction, and challenge the historical fiction interpretations that are sometimes very wrong!

I did originally write a rant about what was right and wrong in some particular books, but that’s not helpful. So instead, here are some wonderful non-fiction books that are just as hard to put down as historical fiction. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

A Very British Murder by Lucy Worsley:

A fascinating book that deals with the grisly murders of the Victorian age and how they gave birth to the detective fiction genre, the police force and public fascination. Lucy Worsley is someone I rant about a lot, but she is a gifted writer and really revels in the excitement surrounding the murders.

Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir

Anything by this woman is a revelation. She isn’t an academic historian, but has been making waves with her books and Elizabeth of York is one of the newest. Alison Weir is always clear in what she thinks, and this book examines Elizabeth of York’s relationship with her uncle Richard III and her eventual husband, Henry VII. Worth a try!

The Mystery of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria's Rebellious Daughter by Lucinda Hawksley:

Another amazing non-fiction read (with some pictures!) about Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter. Princess Louise was a talented sculptress whose feisty personality caused her to rebel against her suffocating mother. This book explores her personality but I was most interested in her childhood; it was horrifying to see how Queen Victoria behaved!

Four Sisters:The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses by Helen Rappaport:

 Those of you who follow me on Twitter would have seen me rant about these two books, as I have a real love of Romanov history. I can’t begin to explain how wonderfully written Four Sisters is. It examines the upbringing and characters of each of the four Romanov princesses. The final days of the whole family is examined in detail in her second book Ekaterinburg, where I ended up crying at the description of how the family were shot. Incredibly moving, but one of the most perfect examples of why non-fiction should be considered worth it.

Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser:

If you have a kindle, use it for this one. It’s like a brick and is the perfect tool for wacking wayward siblings who disturb your reading time. But it is also the most detailed account of Marie Antoinette’s life you will ever find! I loved the descriptions of her expenses, as well as her upbringing in Austria and how she adjusted to the stuffy French court.

Boy Soldiers of the Great War by Richard van Emden:

Last one! There were many underage boys who joined the army during World War One, and often the officials encouraged them. This book is a heartbreaking but brilliant account of these men, the atmosphere they grew up in and what they faced when they arrived in the trenches.

So history lovers, let me know! Have you been convinced of the merits of non-fiction?

Florence Nightingale Museum

As part of my current placement, I had to attend a meeting at the Florence Nightingale Museum. It's not at all easy to find, as it's almost underneath St Thomas' Hospital (opposite Big Ben and across the river).

I really wanted to do a blog post on this, as it's one of those small Museums that manages a small collection well, and should definately be visited!

After entering in at the reception (£7.80 per adult ticket), you are allowed to go through to the main room, which we were told is divided into 3 "circles". It's confusing when you first walk in to say the least:

Why are there hedges everywhere?! But once you look at the panels embedded within the fake topiary, you realise it is the exhibition's way of dividing Florence Nightingale's life up:

The first section is the fake hedge bit, designed to represent her upbringing (which was surprisingly wealthy). We are told through a series of panels that the young Florence Nightingale was expected to fulfil the roles of a traditional Victorian woman, and she was taught to sow and look after a household:

Ultimately, her faith led her to what she felt was her calling: nursing. Much to the horror of her parents (it was seen as a lower class career) she trained in London and was qualified when the Crimean War broke out in October 1853. Florence had become a highly respected hospital superintendent, and when reports came back to England about the horrible conditions the wounded were facing, she went out along with 38 other nurses she had trained, to the Crimea in 1854. It is at this point that the Museum changes to the next "zone":

The tiles themselves look slightly Ottoman-like, and inside them are holes where you can look through and see black and white images of either the war or the pests around it. Round the corner of the "circle" it is made up of bandages with the panels embedded in them:

It's certainly a very unique way of laying out the part of Florence's life where she fulfilled her calling, and the display cases with her notes on nursing or items from the war are all through this as well:

There were two things that struck me during this part of the exhibition. The first was that it is really not clear what order to read the panels in as they aren't numbered. I found myself reading about Florence becoming the lady with the lamp, and then the very next panel was on her first arriving in the Crimea! Very confusing. It did however make it clear that it was due to Florence's management of the hospitals and her care of wounded soldiers that made her so famous.

The second thing was that the exhibit is largely aimed at children. There were lots of interactive parts, such as a digital ledger or this rather snazzy quiz, which I failed multiple times:

The holes in the side of each section were also low down, so were sadly too low for most adults. Although the more graphic ones had warnings on them, while I was there a group of children in yellow jackets were running around, and I heard a squeal from next to me: "Look! A skeleton! A skeleton through this hole!". It's fair to say these warnings won't deter everyone then...

When the children were finally subdued by a woman dressed as Florence Nightingale, I reached the final section that was made to look like a library to symbolise her life after the Crimean War. In the middle was a rather interesting sculpture made out of pages of her notes on nursing and shaped like a bed:

So nearly sat on it!

Lovely Guardian image (far better than anything I could take!)

Here there are more cases filled with versions of her notes on nursing, and her outfits from both the Crimea and during the later period of her fame:

To the side was a little room with an additional exhibition on nursing in World War One, which I sadly didn't get a photo of. But later on in the year there is going to be an exhibition on Edith Cavell (please google her, she is so important!). As for the final part of the Museum, there was also some rather odd cultural versions of her featured:

Hmm...

The Verdict:

The Florence Nightingale Museum is a perfect example of a little Museum that uses a small collection brilliantly. Despite being confusing at times, I did learn far more than I expected to and had a much stronger appreciation of nursing during the whole of the Crimean War. I would definitely recommend visiting this fascinating Museum during this important year for remembering those who served in War!

http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk