T i m e L a p s e

First of the videos that I took of the Hall being set up/taken down and the King dining has now been edited, you can find it over at the Gallery...just click on the thumbnail to get there:

Sorry for the appalling picture quality, but it was a very gloomy day and the lighting was awful, that and the fact that I'm using a small pocket camera not a video camera all combine to give the effect of Henry dining on the event horizon of a black hole!!
That aside, you should get an idea of what went on...and "get" the "Lenin's tomb" reference. The 31st was really the day that everything came good I suppose. Teething problems with the layout of the Hall were dealt with, visitor management was spot on...great work by the team from Past Pleasures who man the "upstairs" parts of the Palace, absolutely first rate stuff, with just the right levels of solemnity and levity I felt....the State Apartment Warders and Conservation and Collection Care teams were also running like a dream too (not that they weren't before, but by the 31st everyone, including me, had relaxed somewhat and the atmosphere in the Hall seemed to reflect that).

Still more videos to edit, but that may have to wait whilst family stuff takes over for the next few days (hmmm, decorating, can't wait....not!), but when you do see them you'll see that very little changes....we'd got it just about right. That is not to say that it was perfect by any means....but as I've maintained all along if you were to have asked me, this was the beginning on a new road to the way that food and meals within the context of Henry VIII's Court are interpreted. There is still a L O N G way to go to get anything like an accurate presentation, but these tentative baby steps are a start......and much much closer to history than what was done in the past.

Hopefully, the powers that be at work were equally happy with the event as I was, we'll just have to wait for the debrief meeting to find out, but all in all I think we can safely say B-, could do better!

What would I change?........I think that can wait for another post, possibly with the last video, to give me time to think.

TTFN

Xmas Images

Just put a new album into the Gallery with some of the images that I took at Christmas....only 25 I'm afraid, most of what I shot was for internal analysis later on and not, I'm sorry to say, for public consumption....that and they're mostly blurred or out of focus due to the gloomy lighting on the day or my general ineptitude!! For images of the event I can recommend those taken and kindly shared by Terry L over at the forum, much more comprehensive than this small offering....but I digress.

As ever, Dave features large with this image



quite simply, the man gives great photo!!! Point the camera at him and.....assuming you use a fast enough shutter to freeze the movement or he's run out of steam, you'll always get a good image....damn him!!

There are a small handful of the table being set for the dining, not enough as although I was on photo duty, I was also needed to set the table up as well, so images took an unfortunate back seat (though a useful lesson for the future...don't try to do 2 things at once, something will give)

You can also see the "revised" public queuing/route system in operation too...



nattily referred to as the Lenin's Tomb effect by a number of staff...still it worked and that's the main thing.

I'm still working through editing the time lapse footage that I shot of the Hall being set up and the dining being viewed...it's just taking longer than I thought due to the need to protect the innocent/guilty (delete as you feel applicable).

Will update you with the video when it's done, but for now, here is the link to the Gallery >>>>> LINK

Navigate through cookery events > Henry VIII to find the Xmas 2010 album.

TTFN

Fire From The Skies!

Just a quickie as it's rather late!

Was walking back to the digs through Base Court and found one of those hippy sky lantern thingies on the floor. If you use them, please think of the possibilities of where they may land, fortunately the heat source had burnt out, but what if it had landed alight on the Palace?

Hippy types....thing before you light those decorative floatong lanterns....where might they land? Will it be safe?

Here ends the fire safety message....tipsy though it may be ;o)