Roof up or roof down is always a question on your mind as you set out to a FolkMog meeting. Of course, it’s really easy if it is bucketing down or the sun rides high in a cloudless sky but on the day of the Folkmog picnic at Holkham Hall neither was the case. It was kind of overcast with dampness in the air as we set of from Aldeburgh. We had not gone very far when it actually started to rain but I worked on the principle that if I could keep the speed up to a reasonable level the water would pass overhead. Thus it was and soon the rain stopped anyway. It was about a two and half hour drive to Holkham and in the event a very pleasant drive it was to.
We arrived just after midday and for the first time we were the first to arrive at the Hall so we set about searching for a place to park. We were torn between somewhere where everyone would spot us and somewhere where there was a lot of space. We opted for the first idea and soon others arrived and we could move to the ‘more space’ spot and then move again to the ‘even more space spot’ There were some sixteen Morgans in the end carrying (I guess) thirty two Folk Moggers. Actually David and Heather Kennett came in two cars, one to hold the dogs.
We then sat in glorious sunshine quietly gloating over having decided to come with roof down and talking to friends over a lovely picnic. Well my picnic was lovely anyway. As we sat and talked we realised that there was a lot of activity being carried out by a three chaps on the cricket pitch that we had parked beside and post picnic, at about two thirty, we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and we moved our car for the third time to a safe distance from the boundary. This was a signal for all of us to disperse to do our own thing.
We along with Caroline Page and friend decided to go on a tour of the hall. This turned out to be most interesting with rather more statues in the Greek or Roman style than I had expected. The Hall itself is still under the ownership of the family who built it in the eighteenth century with a large library and some family pictures as well as the expected large landscapes. The last place to be visited in the hall is the old kitchen a huge space with masses of shinny copper cooking vessels. This is not used any longer being much too far from the current living and entertaining quarters to keep food warm. It was a fascinating insight into kitchens in days gone by though.
Upon exiting from the Hall Diana and I decided to go for a ride in the electric launch on the lake. This was dredged from the marshes over a period of about thirty years. The poor soul who commissioned the work never actually saw it completed but it is a mature and interesting habitat for wildlife. It is, of course, much more shallow than would be expected for a lake of this size.
We returned to shore and headed back to the car via a herd of deer and then made our way back home. We found we were the last to leave as well as being the first to arrive. This was a lovely day out and I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone even if they do not have a stack of Morgans to meet up with.