Synopsis from book cover:
Bess of Hardwick, born into the most brutal and turbulent period of England’s history, did not have an auspicious start in life. Widowed for the first time at sixteen, she nonetheless outlived four monarchs, married three more times, and died one of the wealthiest and most powerful women the country has ever seen.
The Tudor age was a hazardous time for an ambitious woman: by the time Frances, Bess’s first child, was six, three of her illustrious godparents had been beheaded. Plague regularly wiped out entire families, conspiracies and feuds were rife. But through all this Bess Hardwick bore eight children and built an empire of her own: the great houses of Chatsworth and Hardwick.
Review:
I picked this book up on my visit to Harwick Hall so that I could learn more about Bess who had built both the old and the new halls. I was undecided which book to choose and eventually decided on this one because it seemed to contain more information than the others and it also looked as if it would be an easy style to read. Whilst I was paying for it, the lady behind the counter assured me I had picked the best book and that she had really enjoyed it.
I found the book was well researched, very accessible and easy to read. The book paints an excellent portrait of a woman of great character and determination. Bess started of with very little money being the daughter of a gentleman squire but due to her marriages and diligence as a business woman she accumulated wealth and properties. The book portrays Bess as a warm, affectionate and caring person who often gave gifts to her family.
You get a sense of what it was like to live in the Tudor age with insight into both daily domestic life and the political intrigues of the time. Bess was a lifelong friend of Elizabeth I and you get glimpses into life in the Royal Court. When she was married to the Earl of Shrewsbury he was responsible for the confinement of Mary Queen of Scots who was essentially kept prisoner, initially at Tutbury. This duty was expected to be temporary but the arrangement lasted 15 years and the book explains what it was like to be burdened with this responsibility and the difficulties it caused.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will re-read it in due course.
Tags: Bess of Hardwick, Book, Book Review, History
Following my recent phone call, customer services were true to their word. When I arrived home on Friday there was a card on the mat saying we tried to deliver a package. So I nipped out to the parcel office on Saturday morning to pick up the package, then I drove off to the local farm market to pick up a few bits and pieces. Before I did the shop I had to crack open my parcel, program in all my details and attach the pedometer to my belt. How sad is that!!!
If you look a little closely at the picture I have only a few steps left until I can be proclaimed with a healthy status for the day.
The installation of a new MFD In the office helped to increase the step count. MFD (multi functional device) = printer, scanner, photocopier etc all in one device!
You can send messages backwards and forwards from your PC and the printer, I think it is quite cool but the technophobs have been moaning about it all day long….
Tags: Life, Weight Loss, Weight Watchers
When visiting historical buildings it is always worth remembering to look up so you don’t miss some of the best features which can be found on the ceilings. On this occasion however it was a good job that I remembered to look down when I sat on that bench on the right hand side of the first picture. The beastie in the second picture was making a beeline for my feet!!
Tags: Beetle, Bench, English Heritage, Wenlock Priory
Whatever is any way beautiful has its source of beauty in itself and is complete in itself.
Marcus Aurelius
Tags: Flower, National Trust, Poppy, Snowshill Manor, Weekend away
When I looked out onto the patio a couple of days ago I noticed that the rose I bought earlier in the year had unexpectedly produced some more buds. I thought it had finished flowering for the year some time ago so it was a pleasant surprise and it gave the ideal opportunity for experimenting with my camera. I managed a little bit of Bokeh, which is always a challenge with a compact camera:
In photography, bokeh[pronunciation?] is the blur,[1][2] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,[3][4][5] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.”[6] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting— “good” or “bad” bokeh, respectively.[1] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.
Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.[1] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights, as blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image.
Tags: 100 Reasons to be glad, Bokeh, Cherie's Place, Garden, Patio, Rose, Strawberries & Cream
This is another theme I struggled with. I haven’t got any photos of schools or school days and even my photos of fish aren’t quite right because some of the fish are pointing in the wrong direction. But I shall share this one with you, which is the best I have to hand.
From Wiki:
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling (pronounced /ˈʃoʊlɪŋ/), and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling (pronounced /ˈskuːlɪŋ/).[1] In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely.[1] About one quarter of fishes shoal all their lives, and about one half of fishes shoal for part of their lives.[2]
Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate. It is also likely that fish benefit from shoal membership through increased hydrodynamic efficiency.
Fish use many traits to choose shoalmates. Generally they prefer larger shoals, shoalmates of their own species, shoalmates similar in size and appearance to themselves, healthy fish, and kin (when recognized).
The “oddity effect” posits that any shoal member that stands out in appearance will be preferentially targeted by predators. This may explain why fish prefer to shoal with individuals that resemble themselves. The oddity effect would thus tend to homogenize shoals.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
Tags: Chartwell House, Fish, National Trust, PhotoHunt, Water, Weekend away, Winston Churchill
I am still on the downward trend, I lost 1lb again this week. Now I am back to the weight I was when I decided I needed to lose weight last time (many years ago), so I suppose that is another goal achieved for me.
In other good news, when I got home there was answer machine message from Weight Watchers customer services about my Points Pedometer.
Following the Points Pedometer mix up, I called customer services and they promised to post a brand new pedometer along with a returns envelope for the one sent to me in error. I waited and waited and nothing happened…
A couple of days ago I eventually got time to phone back to see what the score was. I explained the problem, the details were taken and I was told to expect a phone call from the appropriate department, hence the message on the answer phone. There was an apology and a promise that a new one will be despatched to me, so watch this space…
Tags: Life, Points Pedometer, Weight Loss, Weight Watchers
