Thursday Was Diana's Day Off,

so first thing after posting Wednesday's post we were out,

 

but first we had to negotiate the temporary traffic lights at the entrance of the park, I should say that as usual I took way too many photographs, so I will only be making one post today, 

first stop, Edenpark Service Centre, not for the car, 

but for the Toby carvery which is opposite, 

and this is what we had come for, 

their unlimited English breakfast, 

all set, time to tuck in,

well I did say it was unlimited!

so seconds it was, 

with more tea as well as toast and jam or marmalade, the bill for the 2 of us was a tad under £18.00, 

a quick pose, 

by the Toby jugs, 

and we were out, 

for a drive just up the road, 

to the Bethlem Royal Hospital,

Diana had seen a piece about it on one of her Internet things, and suggested we visit, as it happens my mother worked here for some time back in the 1960' - 70s and I spent many days in the generating house, the hospital then and still now produces its own electricity, in school holidays I spent many days with Roc the chief engineer looking at the 4 huge steam turbines that powered the generators, and it was great fun using a extended propane blowtorch to light the diesel in the boilers downstairs, 

we parked up, the site is twice the size of Beckenham Place Park where we live, some 200 acres,

 

it was once a huge private estate, so as you might expect there are still many mature trees in the area, like this one,

with this seasons cones developing on its branches, 

we had specifically come to visit the museum and gallery, 

the building surrounded by geraniums, 

well I just had to!

and a couple of Diana,

at the entrance, 

opposite the roundabout, 

covered in marigolds, 

inside we made our way upstairs, 

past two sculptures, 

Diana was already upstairs, 

as I started reading a bit about the statues,

a little about the history of the gates, 

and the two statues, 

upstairs the museum,

in the day, voluntary contributions could be made, 

the legend on the collection box, 

all around exhibits from past and present patients, 

one of the reasons I wanted to visit here was it was for a time the home of the artist who painted my favorite painting, Richard Dadd, (1819-1887) who is recognised as one of the most individual of English painters, the story of his sad life is now quite familiar: he was born in Chatham in Kent, after routine art training at the Royal Academy Schools he entered upon his career as an artist in the circle of painters known as The Clique, in the years 1842-43 he travelled to the Middle East and Greece with Sir Thomas Phillips, on his return from this trip he suffered a bout of insanity in the course of which he murdered his father, (he cut his throat with a cut throat razor), for the rest of his life Dadd was confined in the asylums of Bethlem and Broadmoor, in which latter place he died in 1887, 

as soon as we walked in there was one of his works, a portrait, 

of 'Crazy Jane',

the photograph does not do justice to the fine work that it is,

a pharmacists dream, 

bottles that were in the old pharmacy and laboratory, 

we stopped at a window over looking the grounds, 

at another window a chair with notes about this part of the museum,

the hospital was of course a psychiatric hospital, I managed to get Diana into a real genuine padded cell,

closing the door all I could see was a wild, crazy pair of eyes glaring back at me, 

no wait a second, it was Diana! I wonder if they take bookings?

a clock, the mechanism now long lost, 

has been repurposed as a mini display screen, the footage made in 1962, was for myself a flashback, one of the youngsters there could literally have been me! at the age of 12 and for a few years later I do remember going to various fêtes in the hospital grounds, I was invited by dint of the fact that my mother worked there, amazing!

another selection of memorabilia form the hospital archives and supplies, 

Diana has a look of horror looking at these, 

not the hypodermics themselves,

it was the size of the needles used that she found horrifying, 

and the there he was, a couple of self portraits of Richard Dadd, 

one in colour, 

one in black and white, 

there were some other portraits in the room, but Richard Dadd was my all time favorite artist, as it happens every time we go into or out of our flat we pass one of his works, 

the painting is called Halt in the Desert,

and there it is, 

in the hallway,

to our flat, 

 it has been there since the very late 1980s, when it was 'found' I liked the painting so much on one of my visits to Thailand I took a postcard of it I bought in the British Museum and had a local artist paint it for me, I brought the canvas back to the UK, framed it and put it in the hall where it has been ever since,

above is arguably Richard Dadd's most famous painting, it is considered by many to be Dadd's master piece, The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, in The Tate, as it happens the title lead to a recording by Queen, 

The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, (Remastered 2011),

back to the museum we made our way to the boardroom,

a huge room, 

a quick pose from Diana, 

at one end of the room, Queen Mary President of the institution,

I had to have a pose,

or two, 

or three!

a little about the boardroom,

 and the shields that surround it on three sides, 

I guess in the PC rage age we now live in all of this will be covered in paint thrown by protesters and pulled down,

Diana was amazed by the chandler, 

a last look as we made our way to the gallery, 

this time a exhibition of the work of Charles Lutyens, 

the whole floor, 

displays his work,

Diana sat here for a long time looking at these,

this last one as we left, 

a little about it, 

at the stairs there is a history of the hospital since its earliest days to the present, 

down we went, 

past the roundabout to have a small look at the grounds, 

I would love to visit in the power house and remember old times, but alas it is off limits to the public, 

this is new from my previous visit here, 

a community centre, 

if you are planning a trip here, this is a map of a small part of the grounds, 

we walked past one of the many mature trees, 

and made our way to the walled garden, 

as we walked inside a greenhouse to the right, 

with peach trees,

to the left, 

pears, 

conference I think they are, 

and blackberries I think there are, not quite ripe, 

there were plastic tunnels, 

and netted off, soft fruits, 

but many of the beds were overgrown,

then Diana found these, raspberries, which were ripe for picking!

in some of the beds, 

rhubarb, 

growing not so well,

a few runner beans, 

and lavender, 

here some thistle like flowers, 

looking nice, 

at this section, seedling and cuttings,

as well as a few succulents, this is the area that patients can help out in, as well as the beds in the garden, 

in the distance some corn, 

work being carried out here, 

in one of the tunnels, Diana was looking at peppers being grown,

I then spotted some giant thistles, 

the flowers huge, 

and they were giant!

in one of the tunnels tomatoes, 

but these were, 

black! or were they egg plants? I must read up more, 

we started to make our way back to the car, 

past the mural,

when looking in the greenhouse we passed earlier, Diana found these, Chinese Lantern Plant, (Physalis alkekengi),

there were fruits all over the floor, well it seemed a shame to let them get trodden on! (do not eat unless totally ripe),

into the car and out, 

past the marigold roundabout, in the car, 

we were soon into the park and driving home, the grounds, museum and art gallery are free to the public as is on site parking, what a wonderful way to spend the day, after our evening meal it was feet up for a couple of Antique Road trips before a few from Wycliffe before we were off to bed.