COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS

It's been a pretty hectic week but not as hectic as the next four that are coming up!  However, they are going to be extremely exciting and interesting and I am really looking forward to them.

Tomorrow I am attending another course which will teach me how to video and record and then to edit the material.  The equipment I need arrived last week so it has been rather 'interesting' getting to grips with it but it will be put to good use over the coming weeks.

On Thursday 1 July, the judging of the 'A Designer Dress for a Doddington Wedding' takes place in the Great Hall.  The judges will be myself, Kathy Gaul, a lecturer in Fashion at the University of Lincoln and Caroline Chamberlain http://www.carolinechamberlain.co.uk/, who is a wonderful local dress designer/maker, based at Burton Waters near Lincoln.  Caroline will be showing some of her stunning creations at the exhibition - she was also involved in the making of the Lincolnshire Longwool dress.  We shall be announcing the  winner of the competition on Monday 5 July.

I have had some stunning entries - the majority of them are now at the Hall but I have a few sitting on my dining room table and I just can't resist looking at them every now and then.  I know it is going to be a hard choice for us to decide on the winner.

Friday takes me to Leicestershire to collect a dress belonging to a lady called Kiki Everard.  Now this is quite spooky, as when I was in the Army and based at MOD, I worked alongside her brother-in-law, James.  He was a Captain then but she tells me he is now a Major General!!!  Yesterday, I called to arrange collection of the dress and spoke to James' brother, Nick, .... it was totally weird as it sounded as though I was speaking to James ...... still trying to get over the experience.

Next Tuesday (6 July), I am off to Beamish http://www.beamish.org.uk/ to collect two amazing dresses.  Kate Reader, the Keeper of Social History at the Museum, has been a great help and I can't thank her enough for agreeing to lend these two particular dresses.

The following week, I shall be visiting places like Belvoir Castle http://www.belvoircastle.com/ and Easton Walled Gardens http://www.eastonwalledgardens.co.uk/ to collect the dresses that have been kindly loaned by Her Grace The Duchess of Rutland and Lady Ursula Cholmeley.

I will keep you up-to-speed of my adventures as I travel around the countryside.

Do visit the Blog on Monday 5 July to hear who the lucky winner of the competition is.  It will be extremely hard for me to keep the news secret for four days.