A WI day trip........what could possibly go wrong?

Today was an early start 9very early!!) - in fact we left home at 7:30am to drive into Lincoln to Doddington Hall.  I was a volunteer driver and picked up my chatty three passengers.  The hall was built in late Elizabethan times but has remained rather forgotten unto around 2005 when the current family took over and started to really develop the site.  Today we were having a private tour - but there was also the bauble barn, the coffee shop, the interiors shop,the café and the farm shop to wander around and peruse.









The house had been decorate with the theme of "Fairy Tales" in mind and the large hall was decorated to reflect Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,









whilst the drawing room was decorated as Hansel and Gretel.  Both of these rooms were still in every day use by the family when their relatives come to stay - such as at Christmas.






As we walked up the stairs we were astonished to see this 2 storey depiction of Jack and the beanstalk - with the large boot of the giant emerging at the top - along with the golden goose.  People had really put some thought into the décor!

We even had a dragon paying us a visit!













Upstairs, one bedroom was decorated as "Princess and the Pea",












whilst the second one was "Sleeping Beauty"

and the third one, under the covers of an Egyptian tent, was Aladdin (couldn't you just see the potential for some applique / quilt here?).

But the last room took our breath away - the long room was decorated as The Ice Palace and Jean took the opportunity to dress up as the Ice Queen.







It was a lovely morning, followed by a light lunch and some shopping.  Knowing the weird tastes of my nephew I couldn't leave this on the shelf now could I?

This afternoon we then drove to the new recycling plant in order to be informed and have a tour.  This is the point where it all went wrong.  One wrong turning and we ended up in a VERY run down Biffa yard with the remains of a car in the roundabout with greenery growing around it!  Fortunately, one phone call later, made a hasty exit and found the real place.  It was an excellent talk and tour and we have come away much more knowledgeable about where our waste goes!