At the Grand Old House

Morning everyone, the sun is shining (so far) it is very breezy, so the washing is looking as if it will dry nice and quickly on the line.  A common thread of this little blog is the hectic work life I lead.  And last week was very much in the same vein.  I had been very busy preparing to deliver a review and planning day for the project I lead.  Lots of data to analyse and present.  Powerpoint to do.  Group activities to plan.  Important guests accepted the invitation.  You get the picture.  I was really excited and looking forward to it, but also quite nervous too - what if I wasted a whole day of the guest's time?  What if it came across as a bit, well, amateurish?  What if I had a question I couldn't answer?  And where to hold the event? 

 

Those who have followed my ramblings writings for a while will probably have seen some photos of what I call the Grand Old House, which is set in beautiful grounds near to where I live.  It is used to hold teacher training events, conferences etc.  How pleased was I when my boss told me to book a conference room there for the day!!!!

 

The room we used was the one behind the window on the right of this photo of the façade...

Looking out of the window, once I had set everything up with the help of my wonderful assistant, I surveyed the sweeping drive that leads up to the hall...

I jokingly said that I wished I was the Lady of the Manor!!

The hall is a local landmark, only available to be visited on a couple of guided tours per year, or by booking one of the monthly Sunday lunches they hold there.  I could recommend that as each time I go there (and this week was no exception) the food is fabulous and the service meticulous.  The hall is a Victorian building, owned by a local family, until it was requisitioned in the Second World War by the government.  It then became one of several listening posts feeding into Bletchley Park. Much of the old outbuildings, air raid shelters etc are preserved for local school children to visit.  A lovely time of year to be there on a conference is near Christmas time, when there is a huge Christmas tree in the hallway and if any school children are there visiting the teachers usher them to sing carols to us at coffee break.

Thankfully the day went better than I dared have hoped for, everyone fully participated, no unanswerable questions were asked and everyone declared it a thorough success - phew!

So this morning I am taking things a bit steadily, but hopefully out later with my bestest, and both of our DD's to a local event.

Have a lovely Saturday, Helenxx