The smallest things...

...can sometimes cause the most disruption.

Take one small pebble.  Not even that, more like a medium sized piece of grit. 

It would have been a grand afternoon tour. Taking in the sights of Kedleston Hall, Wirksworth, Ashbourne, Crich, Butterley Station and back to "the ancestral home".  Considering we had a small child to amuse, the plan was ambitious.  Two miles into the journey and over the first cattle grid.  Fine. Except for the continuing noise.  It sounded as though we were taking the grid with us.  Nothing obviously dangling from the chassis but an aweful noise from one of the wheels.  Oh dear! Good job we are in the AA.  There was no option we had to wait to be rescued.

In fact, we could have paid a huge sum of money to go in a child friendly amusement park, but having our picnic in a field full of sheep (poo) for 90 minutes and then watching the car being jacked up and the wheel being removed and the tiniest piece of grit removed from the brake disk, then being able to have a good look inside the van with exciting things in, proved to be a source of great fun for the youngest member of the party.  Well worth the annual fee! And the weather was fine.

Eventually, we were on our way.  Kedleston is a really grand house.

with beautiful surroundings

and happy butterflies

The house was closed for the day.  Never mind, I thought, I know, I have a book at home about Kedleston.  I really do have a book which goes into great detail about Robert Adam's design for the house and the history of the family ( Curzon? Scarsdale? ). I know, because for years it was kept in a really silly place, but I had a bit of a tidy a few months ago.  I put the book somewhere more sensible and I cannot find it.

However, I did find something that I did not know I had!

This little leaflet must have belonged to my Grandma.  I expect that she sent it over from Canada. 

How nice to remember a time when all was well in the world as long as the bleach in the bathroom had a cover on it to make it look like a poodle and the spare toilet roll had a little pink top hat covering it.

I am afraid that I will not be able to resist it.  I will just HAVE to make a top hat for the spare toilet roll. Watch this space.