As soon as we left Coningsby, we headed straight for the 2013 Bleakley Family Reunion, which was to be held at Knockerdown in the Peak District from July 26 until August 1.  We had sent about half of our stuff on the shipping container and gotten rid of most of the other stuff - either by selling it, begging other people to take it, or just desperately dropping it off at the dump.  What remained was now in our Toyota Estima, along with eight people.  It was a tight squeeze, but we were blessed and there was some kind of miracle going on where Tim was able to fit a enormous pile of stuff into our not so enormous car.

     Anyway, so, we headed toward the Peak District with a very full car.  The drive was beautiful, and the weather was, once again, beautiful.  We arrived at Knockerdown at the same time as most of the other numerous Bleakley relatives, so the parking lot was full of lots of greetings and hugs and 'how are you's?' and unpacking cars and etc.

     Knockerdown was gorgeous - a wonderful choice for a reunion.  It was a set of cottages built around a central little courtyard, with a little activity center in the middle.  I think it housed about 100 people, which was perfect for the Bleakley extended family.  I know it was quite expensive but I think it was worth every penny.  Peter and Lynn stayed with us in our cottage, and that was nice to get to spend some time with them.

     Friday night was taken up with just unpacking and setting ourselves up in our own cottages.  On Saturday morning, the reunion started in earnest, with a 'Silly Olympics' event.  We were randomly put on different teams and competed in all sorts of events that made us all look, well, silly.  Here's me and Sam competing in the bouncy ball competition, which is surprisingly challenging for the legs (don't remember bouncy balls being that much exercise when I was little):     

 

      Here's Abigail, Imogen and Eleanor with Bleakley cousins, getting ready for the next event of the competition:

 

 

     Two other noteworthy events:  the first one was where you run to a baseball bat, put your forehead on the bat, spin around three times, and then run back to where you started.  A very entertaining exercise for those watching people like me, who get dizzy doing half a turn, let along three!  I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.  Anyway, I did find it impossible to run in a straight line after the turns.  include one where you divide the team on two sides of the field, one person starts running from one side to the other and takes one team member by the hand, then the two of them, holding hands, run back to the other side, and pick up another team member, and then run back with that team member to the other side, etc., until at the end the whole team is running together holding hands.  It actually creates a lot of inertia and a lot of speed - and a lot of fun!  Here is Abigail, Imogen, Sam and Nelly running to pick up another team member, and running back again:

 

 



     After a while it was too much for Verity, who needed a cuddle:

 

 

     That night we had a big family barbeque which Marcello and Heather did.  The next day was Sunday.  We went to church with the Derby ward, which was actually in the same stake as the Boston ward, so we got to see some familiar faces.  In the late afternoon we had a family history fireside, where we learned more about Samuel Davidson, John and Nancy Bleakley, and Joyce Bleakley Anderson.  Peter did most of the presentations, with some input from Auntie Jill, Julie Gardener, and Carla Anderson (Joyce's daughter in law).



     The next day, the big event on the calendar was a visit to Chatsworth house.  You know you are doing something right (or wrong?) when your older children decide not to go into Chatsworth house because they have already seen it so many times.  So Abigail and Imogen we to the farmyard, while I took Samuel, Georgiana and Eleanor into the house.  They did really well - sufficiently interested in things and not too much complaining.  They loved the random collections which the house has, especially the rock crystals ... :

      .... and the many Greek statues.  They wanted me to take a picture of this enormous foot for Abigail, who, for some reason, has a phobia of other people's feet: 
   

     Here they are pouring over a letter written by Elizabeth the first concerning some dispute which involved some of the founders of Chatsworth (that would be the first Chatsworth house, which burnt in a fire in the 17th century).  They were trying desparately to decipher Elizabeth's handwriting - it was so cute:

     Here they are with Hercules's shield:

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  And, lest we forget, our Georgiana shares a name with a very famous Duchess of Devonshire from the 18th century, who lived here in Chatsworth house.  Here is Georgie posing under a portrait of the Duchess:

 
     Like any respectable stately home, Chatsworth has period costumes that the children can try on. Here are Eleanor and Georgiana dressed as servant girls:

     Usually, my favorite part of a stately home is the dining room.  I love food, I love entertaining, I love dinner parties, and when I go into these old dining rooms I love imagining what kind of meals were served here, who came to the dinner parties they had, and what kind of conversations took place here over dinner.  Here are Samuel, Georgie and Eleanor, who I think would make great guests at any dinner party:

     Then, it was off to the spectacular gardens at Chatsworth.  Fountains, landscaping, mazes - it's all here.

 

     After a fabulous day out at Chatsworth, we went back home for the customary Bleakley Family Barn Dance, which was at a local village hall.  Outside the hall, up above the front door, there was a nest with were some very scary looking new little birds, which fascinated the kids all evening.

     
     Anyway, the barn dance was great fun, as always.

     On Wednesday, Dave, Shirley and I went to Kedelston Hall, another stately home in Darbyshire.  I don't remember why I went without Tim or any of the children - or what they were doing instead while I was doing this - but it was definitely a house not to be missed.  I found it especially interesting because this was an 18th-century house built in the neo-classical style, so much of the design of the house was a copy of what we saw in Rome.  For instance, the marble design over the doors:
 

     And they had a circular room which, as far as I could tell, was meant to be a replica of the Pantheon, complete with a carved ceiling with the open circle at the top, and little alcoves all the way around:

     This is the screen that you walk through as you go out of the circular room - completely unnecessary, but adds to the Roman feel of the place:

     Here is the main room, modeled after a Roman temple, including alcoves all the way around the room, with statues of Roman gods and goddesses, and a beautifully ceiling and pillars.

     In the evening we had a chance to drive up to Preston to see the very first British LDS pageant!  Here we are, in our seats, waiting for the pageant to start.


   
     Well, the pageant was one of the highlights of the week, I think!  It told the story of the beginning of the church in Britain, to the time when the British saints were encouraged to leave Britain to come to America and build up the church here.  Actually, it starts out talking about the struggle for religious freedom in Britain, starting with John Wyclif, and going through to the Reformation and beyond - my ancestor, John Lothrop, got a mention!  It showed beautifully how the British responded to the restored gospel, and how faithful the British saints were.  Tim and I both shed a tear during the scene where the British saints decide to leave their homes to come to America.  To those saints, Britain was their home, a beautiful place that they didn't want to leave, but to fulfill the Lord's purposes, they knew they had to go.  It was the same for Tim, watching that scene.  Britain is his home, and he loves it, but to fulfill what the Lord has in store for us, it's time to go elsewhere.