Easter Day and Tudor Faith...

The day started with our traditional Easter Egg hunt in the garden. I placed the tiny foil-wrapped (and a few slightly bigger unwrapped) eggs before the kids were up, and had to stop Goldie, our retriever, from collecting them all back in. She thought that mean of me...

The kids, however, were enthusiastic, and charged around collecting them from the various niches nooks and crannies where I'd hidden them.

They were less enthused when they found at the breakfast table that the egg by each of their places was also rather small. This was Anna's joke: she'd found some small but humourous and relevant eggs (and had larger ones in reserve). It was only when the larger ones were duly produced that Ant (18!) admitted how disappointed she'd been at the sight of the small eggs. After a chocolate-free Lent, that seemed pretty harsh! And she was cross with herself for feeling that way, and desperately trying to put a brave face on it...

After Sung Mass (EF, chant, wonderful) we went to a local National Trust house: Rufford Old Hall with Grandma for a picnic and to look round the Hall and gardens.

Built in 1530, the house includes a magnificent Tudor Hall, with hammerbeam ceiling and much else of interest. The kids love the armour, of course, but also things like the engraving of the five wounds of Christ high in the ancient oak woodwork: the emblem of the Pilgrimage of Grace, organised to resist Henry Vlll's rejection of the Old Faith.

Sang the Regina Caeli at evening family prayers: after weeks of the Ave Regina Caelorum, that's a real sign that Easter has arrived.

Going Tudor

Dominique is studying the Tudors at present, and after half term they are having a Tudor banquet. So today, she has spent a lot of time with Grandma and Ant putting together a most convincing tudor costume. Much of the rest of the day has been spent with Anna, looking for tudor recipes on the internet and baking some (Tudor?) bread. She and Charlie did take an hour or two out in the afternoon to play tennis in the field (not Real [Tudor] Tennis, alas) while Ant, Anna and I took Goldie for a walk in the woods. Bernie was at the pictures with friends (Slumdog Millionaire) which she enjoyed. The bigger girls (inc grandma) are off to see Oklahoma! tonight, so I will have a quiet night in once I've put the little ones to bed.