A weekend in Chawton

By now you must have heard all the stories and seen all the photos from the start of the 'Jane Austen Regency Week' in Hampshire, but Chawton and Alton are such happy places for Janeites that I thought you wouldn't mind seeing them again. 

Chawton is a lovely village in its own right, over and above the Jane Austen associations - especially in the summer, when the picture-perfect cottages are even more eye-catching, with their colourful clusters of climbing roses in full bloom.

But of course it's only one house that draws us all:

Thanks to Sophie Andrews' quick thinking (it's the early bird that gets the cottage ;) ) we had the good fortune of staying just across the road from Jane Austen's home, in a lovely little B & B attached to 'Cassandra's Cup', the tea-room that draws the crowds almost as much as the museum itself.

From the unique accommodation (I wish I'd taken a photo of the back room, by the way, because it looked like it had been converted from a miniature stable) there was only a five-minute drive to Alton, where all the excitement was about to happen.

On Saturday morning there was the Regency Fayre, with so much going on! 
To begin with, there was the opportunity to take part in a book-signing event alongside Leslie L. Diamond, Jeanna Ellsworth, Monica Fairview, Maria Grace, Cassandra Grafton, Dr. Gabrielle Malcolm, Susan Mason-Milks, Jane Odiwe and Abigail Reynolds. Thanks for the warm welcome, ladies! It was great to meet face to face.

Then there was some excitement of a far more boisterous kind: sword-fight displays, the Dandy Chargers and their hobbyhorses, Maypole dancers and, later on, the Regency Ball!

Getting ready for the ball was almost as much fun as the ball itself - for some of us at least. 

Hazel Mills and I tugged and pulled at Sophie's hair (and she didn't complain once!), so that it could be curled and arranged into a style befitting a young lady going to her first ball. 

And it was worth it, because she looked an absolute picture, in a gorgeous creation by Marion May, a.k.a Miss Caroline Bingley :) .

---

The best part about the ball, to me at least, was the fact that it was very inclusive and extremely friendly. You didn't have to be an expert in country-dancing to have a great time, which was a massive bonus, because I was no expert. Luckily the Hampshire Regency Dancers came to join in the fun, dance with the beginners and smoothly direct us onto the proper path when we were at risk of clashing into one another, just like poor Mr. Collins. 

I discovered much later, when I was looking through some photos at home, that I might have danced with the Hampshire Dancers a few years ago, at a Regency event at The Vyne (or perhaps with some people who had since then joined their group). There had been dancing on that occasion too, and chatting with the officers, and a chance to see a firearm display.

I can't imagine that those dashing officers will be present at the Regency Supper on Sunday, so the young ladies might be a little disappointed, but if last year's photos are anything to go by, the supper itself most certainly will not disappoint.

(Photo: 'Jane Austen Regency Week' 2014)

I'm looking forward to see what astounding creations they plan to delight us with this year. And I'll be sure to take as many photos as I can!