It will have been in the spring of 1961 and I was in the final year of Edmund Waller Junior School and it was one of those school excursions.
Now this was pre National Curriculum when if the sun was shining the opportunities for a day out were all that was needed to make it happen.
Of course I am sure even then there would have been a cursory stab at parental consent and then with the signed letters, our bus fare handed over to Miss Reeves we were off on one of those bright crisp mornings which were full of strong sunshine and offered a day of promise.
The one dark shadow was my persistent tendency to feel ill on buses, and more than once Miss Rhodes started across at me and her glance was enough to confirm that she regretted the very day I had walked into her class.
Still the day went well and once again I was lost in the history of old things which in this case was the Geffrye Museum, a place I have only been in once since.
But judging by its web site which offers the story of “how homes have changed in the past 400 years.
The museum’s eleven period rooms span from 1600 to the present day. Each room represents the main living space used by a family and their guests.
How people would have lived in the rooms, alongside the furnishings, lighting and heating, show how homes and home life have changed over time, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style, taste and the wider world.”
Now with half term beckoning I can think of nowhere better to spend a day.
And for those like me who last went a long time ago it will be a lesson in how your youth has become history for along with a 1630 hall, and parlour from 1745 are rooms given over to a living room in 1965 and a loft style apartment from 1998.
And that I think is all I want to say.
Picture; the Hall, 1630 and living room 1965, © Chris Ridley/Geffrye Museum of the Home
* Geffrye Museum, www.geffrye-museum.org.uk
 |
| The Hall, 1630, © Geffrye Museum |
Of course I am sure even then there would have been a cursory stab at parental consent and then with the signed letters, our bus fare handed over to Miss Reeves we were off on one of those bright crisp mornings which were full of strong sunshine and offered a day of promise.
The one dark shadow was my persistent tendency to feel ill on buses, and more than once Miss Rhodes started across at me and her glance was enough to confirm that she regretted the very day I had walked into her class.
Still the day went well and once again I was lost in the history of old things which in this case was the Geffrye Museum, a place I have only been in once since.
 |
| The Living room, 1965, © Geffrye Museum |
The museum’s eleven period rooms span from 1600 to the present day. Each room represents the main living space used by a family and their guests.
How people would have lived in the rooms, alongside the furnishings, lighting and heating, show how homes and home life have changed over time, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style, taste and the wider world.”
Now with half term beckoning I can think of nowhere better to spend a day.
And for those like me who last went a long time ago it will be a lesson in how your youth has become history for along with a 1630 hall, and parlour from 1745 are rooms given over to a living room in 1965 and a loft style apartment from 1998.
And that I think is all I want to say.
Picture; the Hall, 1630 and living room 1965, © Chris Ridley/Geffrye Museum of the Home
* Geffrye Museum, www.geffrye-museum.org.uk
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