The members of Bath Minuet pause for a photo.

I hadn’t planned originally to attend this event, but I am glad several ladies talked me into it. Bath Minuet (a group of vintage dance enthusiasts) was scheduled to perform several 17th-18th-century dances at the Pavilion across the Avon, followed by a one-hour English Country dance that anyone could join in. Since I had no plans to dance, I didn’t dress up, but the other ladies put on their ballroom finery, which was gorgeous! We asked the front desk to call us a couple of taxis, as no one wanted to walk the full mile down to the Pavilion. We then sat in the parlor for a while, watching for the cab before finally deciding to go out and sit on the front steps. Time marched on, but no taxis arrived. At five ’til seven, we were sure something dire had happened, so someone went back inside to ask the front desk gal what had become of the cabs. With a horrified look, she said that she’d thought we wanted cabs for 6:45 the following morning! Eek! She promptly called to correct her mistake, but it still took the cabs ten minutes to reach us. We arrived at the Pavilion 20 minutes late, missing the first two dances. Boo hoo! The group was just finishing up “Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot” (A&E “Pride & Prejudice” fans know exactly which dance that is!).

Three ladies from Bath Minuet demonstrate dainty steps.

During the break, I had a lengthy talk with one of the members of Bath Minuet, who dances with his wife. He said he had never danced a single step until joining the group five years ago. His wife saw the group on television and asked him to go with her to one of their meetings. They are now devotees of historical dance and absolutely love to share it with others. The gent hand-made his entire outfit and says he cherishes an original 18th-century waistcoat that he saves for very special occasions. One thing we noticed was the shocking lack of gentlemen — the group was mostly made up of ladies. This seems to be fairly common in the US as well and is such a shame. The gentleman with whom I spoke mentioned how they have tried to get young people hooked on historical dance and how much they love it once they try it. But many are afraid to try. Our group wasn’t! Of course, we had Aylwen with us, who is a historical dance expert and loves to help others join in. And many of our ladies had either tried English country dancing before or were eager to learn, so we had a very willing group! Here are photos from our delightful evening (all taken by yours truly, so pardon the lack of expertise!):

It was wonderful to see all the scrumptious historical costumes during the demonstration!

A nice back view of a gorgeous gown.

Now the real fun begins! Participants line up to learn their steps for the first dance.

Lots of lovely Regency finery...

Katrina (white dress) joins hands with her set.

Another shot of a beautiful 18th-century costume...

Aylwen's gown (right) was made of a lovely embroidered silk in fall colors. You can also see the back of Rebecca's lovely white muslin gown in the center.

That's Catherine in the light blue and the back of Molly in the copper silk.

Catherine and Molly going 'round...

Sarah in her lovely sari silk gown (very popular during the Regency) and Aylwen in the background.

Now you get the back view of Sarah's gown and the front view of Aylwen's.

Isn't Sarah graceful?

I kept trying to capture Cahterine and Molly when they weren't spinning around!

Getting closer...

Ah ha! Caught Catherine this time in her lovely crossover gown with silk ribbon embroidery.

And I finally catch a side view of Molly!

A front view of Rebecca's dress and a back view of Ana. The lighting was so poor on this end of the room that all my shots turned out way too dark.

Katrina and another participant practice the next step.

Sarah and Aylwen again -- I just loved the fabrics under the lights!

I wish I’d managed to get a group shot of everyone. It was really hard to grab pictures of people moving in and out of sets and lines during the hour-long dance. And by the time we all made it outside to head back to the B&B, it was pitch dark. Sorry about that! I hope these at least give you a little glimpse into a lovely evening!

One more post left to go: Our stop in Lacock Village on the way back to Heathrow.

18th-century gown of silk with silver trimmings.

Now, at the outset, I have to apologize for how dark most of these photos are. It’s not Lindsay’s fault at all. The Bath Fashion Museum has a fabulous collection, but, unfortunately, its displays are just about the worst when it comes to overall layout and, most especially, good lighting. You spend most of your time squinting into glass cases that reflect your own image back better than they showcase what’s inside. Yet some displays have lighting so bright that you have problems with overexposure. Suzi has refused on principle to visit the museum for years–LOL! But, all griping aside, the collection is lovely, and I hope in future they improve the layout and design. There’s such amazing potential in the Assembly Rooms for gorgeous display; it’s bound to happen one of these days. In the meantime, here’s a peek at what Lindsay captured.

A selection of ladies' underthings through the centuries. The ornate slips (teddies) are from the 1920s.

These incredibly detailed men's gauntlets are from the 1600s.

Gorgeous 18th-century saque-back gown, surrounded, oddly enough, by wine glasses. Go figure...

Sleeve detail from another 18th-century gown...

This Regency gown is absolutely covered in silvery beads.

Early 1830s gown with sheer sleeves over the trademark wide, puffed sleeves of the Romantic era.

Mourning dress that belonged to Queen Victoria. She was incredibly short-statured.

Ornate bustle gown from the 1880s.

Stunning ballgown from the 1890s.

And a close-up of the luscious bodice!

Wish I could show you more, but the lighting just didn’t give Lindsay enough help. Next time I’ll share pictures from our gorgeous Sunday in Bath!

Without further ado, here are pictures from the promenade for your enjoyment!

Abbe has the most incredible natural grace and beauty. Isn't she photogenic? Love the bonnet!

A bunch of our ladies (and my eldest son) gather for the official world record count at the Assembly Rooms. From left: Lindsay, Abbe, Catherine, Courtney, Molly, Katrina, and Cassie (with Master Chancey in front).

Courtney and Molly stop for a snap...

Another shot of our ladies--so many gorgeous outfits!

And another, this time adding my mother-in-law on the left and Aylwen and Wendy on the right.

Aha! We managed to capture Suzi with Aylwen and Wendy. Isn't her turban smashing? She got stopped for photos all day.

The well-dressed Regency gent on his cell phone...

Looks like they're ready to get moving!

The gent on the left made the outfits for everyone in his family!

All costumed participants gather at the Royal Crescent--409 in all, breaking the world's record for most people in Regency dress in one place at one time!

My wonderful husband and sweet mother-in-law pose for a shot at the Royal Crescent.

Back in Queen's Square, several ladies relax to enjoy the lovely weather. From left: Becca, Ana, Bethany, and Sarah.

My son thoroughly enjoyed his day as a Regency boy, including climbing trees in Queen's Square!

And leaping down!

Cassie, Wendy, Katrina, and Catherine enjoy "Tea with Mr. Darcy" in the Jane Austen Centre's Tea Rooms. Yum!

Karen and Lily have a sunny spot next to the window.

I wish you could see Lily's amazing outfits in person. She and Karen had the most stunning hand-blocked fabrics and created beautiful garments.

All in all, we had a fantastic morning. It was just a perfect day for walking around Bath (which is such a walkable city). Next time I’ll share the photos Lindsay took Saturday afternoon in the Fashion Museum at the Assembly Rooms.

WHOOPS! Here are pictures I took that I forgot to post the first time around!

The S&S Patterns booth in Queen's Square, complete with my demi-mannequin and her outfits!

The bonnet/hat booth next to me. They had some fabulous bonnet forms that we have a hard time finding in the States.

My son, mother-in-law, and husband. Nope, doesn't seem we managed to remember to get a picture with all of us in it! Fiddle-dee-dee!

I had to grab a few shots of Constance's (Suzi's friend, who came with us) fantastic Spencer jacket. It was my favorite out of all I saw.

Full-length view...

Sleeve detail. Yummy!

In the meantime, I’ve got links to blogs and photo albums from several of the other ladies on our tour. They all took a wide variety of wonderful photos, so ENJOY!

Three Things Very Dull Indeed - The Riggenbach ladies’ fun blog (with a great sense of humor!)

In the Garden in a White Dress - Celeste’s lovely spot on the web, where she’s posting pictures she and her daughter took.

Finally, Amanda Beth has posted all of the following fantastic photo albums:

• People, Places, and Things
• Historic Clothing and Reproductions
• Museum and Art Displays
• High Fashion and Shops
• Fun Memories

And please honor Amanda’s request: “You can download any or all of them to print for your own personal use – or for sharing on your blog or Facebook. I just ask that you send me your link so I can see it and/or link back to my blog – http://amandabethonline.blogspot.com . Thanks! ”

I’ll post more links as other ladies share them. It’s so much fun to see what everyone captured for their memory books!

And, not to totally embarrass Molly, but one of my readers asked to see her lovely dress in full, and Amanda gave me permission to share some of the pictures she took. So here is Molly in the costume she wore in Greenwich:

With a little friend who was hanging around the Fan Museum Orangerie...

She got several nicknames on this trip--mostly for her resemblance to actress Amy Adams of "Enchanted." But she also got tagged with "Alice" for her very Wonderland-esque dress!

I absolutely love roses and never thought I could actually grow them in the clay-sand soil mixture we have here. But they seem to love it, as you can see:
And here are some of my tea roses:

So, do any of my friends in England feel I am getting at all close to my coveted “English cottage garden?” I’ve just put in three hydrangea bushes, and I’ll have to photograph those as they get larger — ditto the red rose bushes that are just blooming away at the other end of the garden in front!

Mom, are you surprised? I never imagined myself as a gardener, but I sure am enjoying walking in your footsteps!

My wonderful husband is over in England this week with a group of close friends, touring up through Yorkshire and into Scotland, so he has the camera. When he gets back, I’ll take pictures of the front garden to share — and maybe I’ll share some of his pictures from this latest trip. What a delight!

P.S. – You can see photos taken by one of dh’s friends of their current jaunt through England and Scotland at this link!

Derbyshire Scenery

In and Around Chatsworth

P.S. – Whoops! I got a note from someone who said the Chatsworth photos would not enlarge. I figured out why and fixed the problem. Now you can click to get enlarged photos in that gallery. Thanks for letting me know, Lisa!

Click below to go directly to them:

Inside the JA Centre and Museum of Costume

Inside Warwick Castle

Sunday in Bradford on Avon and Bath

Monday morning in Bath and drive up to Derbyshire through Gloucestershire and Warwickshire

Have fun!

Scenes from our day in London

Inside the V&A Museum (lots of historical costume shots!)

Jane Austen’s House and Hampshire

I hope you enjoy looking at these! I’ll try to get the rest up soon. It is fun to relive the memories!