Herstmonceux Castle - ENGLAND

Herstmonceux Castle par Ricky Webster Via Flickr : Herstmonceux is a 15th century moated castle with 300 acres of woodlands and gardens in Hailsham, East Sussex.

Happy Halloween 👻🎃

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Outside Herstmonceux Castle

Herstmonceux Castle by John Chessell Buckler

European Hornet (Vespa crabro) by John Lauper

The first of my three planned summer dresses: New Look K6390 view C with some modifications.

I don’t usually use Big Four patterns for anything other than outerwear as they have such a massive amount of ease it makes fitting a nightmare (I always choose which size to cut based on the finished garment measurements, which these patterns don’t always have, and when they do never in as much detail as indie patterns) but I’d had this one hanging around for about three years after getting it free with a magazine and as I liked the style I thought I’d give it a go. The fabric I bought way back in February, I think, because I like the toile de jouy print. It was billed as lawn but is heavier than that, more like a broadcloth. It’s not pattern-matched because I don’t have the spare cash for that much extra fabric, and also I really don’t have the patience. Life’s too short!

The bodice is meant to be lined but I decided to draft a facing instead and I’m glad I did as a lining would have made altering the fit as I went along even more of a pig than it turned out to be. The fabric is on the heavier side but because of the colour pretty see-through, so I underlined the pieces. With hindsight I would choose a slightly darker cotton than I ended up with as the ivory shade is almost white and the main fabric has a more yellowy tint.

I made a quick bodice toile and went with the size 14; when I came to make it for real I did need to leave myself a bit more ease at the midriff and waist and would size up there if I make it again for wiggle room. I would also not interface the midriff pieces as they didn’t give like the rest during wear and while it wasn’t uncomfortable it was a bit like wearing a corset round my middle.

Once it was (so I thought) finished, and having tried it on a couple of times, I realised I wasn’t entirely happy with the look, especially as I’d had to move the straps about an inch inwards from where they should have sat to make them stay put on my extremely narrow shoulders. It occurred to me that the reason I’ve never really liked the other sundresses I’ve made was because of the thick straps which aren’t flattering on me, and so I unpicked the facing and understitching for the second time and decided to make spaghetti straps using my new loop turner. That took much longer than expected as the original straps had been interfaced so the fabric was too thick to turn and so I had to try other material that was vaguely the right colour. I ended up using scraps from the lining which don’t match but look OK. (It also took me an hour to get the loop turner to work properly - grr!) The straps are adjustable with bra sliders, which is great; now I don’t have to worry about them falling down. 😀

I wore the dress out on Friday (pictures taken by my sister):

J. M. W. Turner, Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, 1813. Watercolour over pencil

'Herstmonceux Castle'. Samuel A. Rayner. 1806–1879.

I planned on doing this sooner, but better late than never so! I’ve been inspired by @aoifereal’s New Year’s resolution to listen to a new album every week, and I saw them doing reviews of the albums they’ve listened to. I was also inspired, so I’m gonna give it a go too 🌟

I’ll start with my favourite album I listened to from the start of January, which was Albion by Harp, and then try and do one weekly from now on. I know basically nobody is gonna see this but I think it’s good for my own memory if nothing else!

This album is the solo project of Tim Smith from Midlake, a band I’ve really liked since I was a kid. Midlake split up fairly recently, and this album (as far as I know) was recorded post-breakup.

The album has an extremely cohesive prog-esque sound, and runs together very well. I was really fond of the heavily chorused, mostly clean guitars that recur in essentially every song, and I thought it was a really nice stylistic choice to have them be so present throughout. I’ve always loved Tim’s super close, interweaving harmony lines in Midlake’s work, and they’re still very obvious here - it seems like this is part of his own musical signature, and I really enjoy it. Listening to this album actually inspired me to try writing more vocal harmonies in a similar way.

Favourite moments in the album were Silver Wings’ gorgeous guitar line at the end of the chorus, the spacey ambiance of Cathedral Country Drive, and how beautifully Herstmonceux closes out the album with a reference to the first song and another guitar line that feels like it was designed to make me personally very happy.

8/10

Herstmonceux Castle - ENGLAND

Harp - "Herstmonceux"

by Fenchurch again on Flickr.Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built Tudor castle near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England.

Herstmonceux Castle Estate.

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I know foreigners sometimes have a hard time understanding Britain and I think this one might be one of those cases;

the UK has a Satellite Laser Ranging facility

that is to say a facility built around firing a laser at satellites and measuring the time of flight to get the range to them. this is very important for precise orbit determination. It's a extremely high-tech bit of kit, requires international coordination to use so as to avoid frying anybody's satellite if you point it in the wrong direction etc. and well it's in the grounds of a castle. a 15th century castle. Herstmonceux castle, if you think that name is out of place i must remind you of the Norman invasion.

in 1957 the royal observatory was moved into grounds just outside it, for a period of two decades before being effectively dispanded and ceremonially moved back to Greenwich in the 70s, with the largest telescope (the Issac Newton Telescope) moved to La Palma where it stays to this day still operating.

The former site is now a science park, the domes housing a range of scopes including the Hewitt Camera, a great big chunk of metal that was used for tracking rocket tests as part of the Blue Streak program. it's sat there unused for a long time but to my view is a really cool looking thing.

But while the observatory is no longer used for science, NERC setup shop in the castle grounds. It's one of the most British scientific establishments I've visited, holding on by some finger tips while surrounded by the legacy of something more.

A small telescope in the grounds of a castle, stones throw of what was once a full observatory.

(the visible laser in the video is iirc a guide rather than the ranging laser given its divergence. but you'd need to ask somebody more knowledgeable to be sure)