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Ok welcome back!! You know of all the things we did whilst we were away this was my absolute fave.. It's one place all you vintagey guys will die happy in. I mean nostalgia was spot on. So mum and I gazed, cooed and oooed and to be honest if my 17 year old Autisic kiddo loved it there is no denying it was fab.. There was stuff I had never seen and we could touch it. A lot of the stuff though was behind glass, mainly to protect it from clumsy fingers like me. We were in there hours. Sonny didn't like it he said it was scary. I can understand why, some of the figures spoke and there were street noises and even smells to transport you to that time and place. I must admit I did get weirded out on the china doll collection, mum too, we kinda walked really quickly through that bit..
On the outside of the building it looked really small and pokey, stepping into the museum wasn't much bigger, but once we had paid and gone through that little gate we were all transported in to Victorian England. It was huge and the street was really life size. We browsed all the shops and though I can bearly remember my name half the time, mum was remembering little trinkets that she had seen at her grans house.. AMAZING!!! So let me take you through a little bit of what we experienced.
Here we are at the local town forge. Bill is happily working away. All the tools are authentic from the time. We could smell the fire and hear the clinking sounds of hammering.
Outside the dressmakers little Miss Janey was in her pram choking on the fumes from the forgery, waiting for her mum.
Inside the post office Mrs Clarke is talking to Mr Postfield about the awesome party they had going on last night. And also advising him to get some more lighting in there.
I remember these jars. They still have them in some sweet shops now. I remember some of the tins. My grandaddy used to keep his nuts and bolts in them lol. AWWWW Little Frances is deciding what sweeties to have..
Meanwhile next door in the chemist, Frances's sister Charlotte is buying some new soaps.
Master Charlie sits outside waiting paitently for Miss Charlotte to return so he can escort her along the road. Oh look there! Naughty Master Edward is peering though the window, obviously up to some mischief. I bet he is about to prank the little Miss Frances?
Further along the street Miss Abigail is left outside the general stores.
They sold everything in the general store from fruit to brooms.
Drooling over that loaf of bread and all of the cakes in the window.
Now Charlie is arounf 6ft and that there is a genuine Penny Farthing. That was a smaller one, they can come in different sizes.. I dunno about you but I hate heights so you would not get me on one. Plus I think it would buckle. LOL!! The funny looking man on the right of Charlie was a really interesting guy. He was a nostagia buff. He was the one explaining about the bike.
Those Kids where chaos, I tell you, that poor nurse maid was rushed off her feet. They were everywhere ha ha ha ha ha!!
The bath was real and bubbling and smelt delish.
After a long wonderful day we trooped along to the pub for a sing a long with Mr Thoms. Luckily he didn't notice that nobody knew the words or the tune, we just sang knees up mother brown anyway..
So we ordered 4 pints of the best from Sally the Barmaid. Hamish looked lovingly at Sally, only he decided that the pie in the cabinet looked tastier and ordered one to go with his pint.
We waved this family off, as they were off to devon for the war had begun.
Weirdly, this reminds me of my nan. Even weirder I was remembing a lot of the old decor. Mum had burst by this time with all the things she was remembering. Bless her! x
London had these all over the place. Dug deep into the ground and covered with all the dirt from the hole. I bet though it was warm down there and mighty scary. East London had the worse bombings. Thats where we orignate from. My Nan was born in the sound of the Bow Bells. My Grandad was born in Stepney Green, and my Mum was born in Forest Gate. Obviously they had to move as there was nothing left in london. So they moved into Essex, into the tin houses, which I was also brought up in. You see I remember these. Lots of families still had one even in the 70's. Mainly used as sheds but they were still around.
Mum remembers them really well and she remembers playing in them.
LMAO and still to this day we are not ashamed of our undies hanging on the line..
I hope you enjoyed this post. If you are ever down that way it is a must see. There is so much stuff to see. Definately worth a visit.
Have a great day xxx
