NEWS & REVIEWS
The first outing for our little group was at the East Anglian Living History Fayre, a Black Knight Historical production held at the very impressive Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, Suffolk. The site is huge, covering 75 acres and we were on display near the Blacksmiths, Falconry and Steam Engine sheds. There was plenty of space to erect our travelling 'Shebang' with even enough room to peg out some washing Polly had rinsed out in the horse trough! All the hard work paid off and we were very proud of the result.
We attracted a quite a lot of attention and praise from both visitors, museum staff and fellow historians, one even saying that he thought our display was 'unique' and 'outstanding'. The 'crown & anchor' table proved a popular part of our display, as did the warnings about Cholera. Polly was asked the significance of the washing, but even the most destitute or homeless people in our times still wash their underclothes, so although the question did seem odd, it was answered with humour and diplomacy. The prison underwear caused a lot of merriment and led to a lot of interest regarding prisons and transportation. Polly was kept busy talking about lobsters, pounce and living conditions in a rookery. Despite the hot weather, poor Eliza kept wrapped up because of the infection she caught in the workhouse just before she was evicted for being idle. She was bullied for a few years and as a result is quite shy and doesnt say much.
We had a constant sprinkling of visitors to keep us occupied without being overwhelmed. This was slightly disappointing, but thousands of visitors do not take up a lot of room when divided by 75 acres. BBC Radio Suffolk were in attendance and the roving reporter interviewed us after which he left scratching (that's what he said on the air anyway!)
So for our first public engagement we were pleased with the attention we received and very proud of our efforts. The Living History Fayre will take place next year and 'Voices from Victorian London' will again be there talking about the past... in a manner of speaking!
See you in the past!