Anglo-Boer War Display: May 2002 - January 2003 Selected memorabilia on the Anglo Boer War will still be displayed until January 2003 to commemorate this huge event that contribute in making Melrose House such a famous tourist attraction. Victorian Laundry Crafts Exhibition: November 2002 ~ January 2002 An exhibition on Laundry Crafts during Victorian times is currently exhibited to entertain visitors on the laundry technology of the 19th century. This exhibition is on loan from NASCO Museum and includes various irons, a washing tub, dollies, a washing board and soap. Home-made soap from Melrose House is placed in the bath rooms and cloak room for a more living museum atmosphere. The subject of soap-making is also touched on in the exhibition. Bear Workshops Melrose House will be hosting Bear workshops again in 2003. Workshops will be presented by Megan Wallace, a skilled artist in this field. The following Saturdays are scheduled in 2003: 8 February, 8 March, 10 May, 14 June, 12 July, 16 August, 13 September, 4 October and 8 November, from 9:00 - 16:30. The cost of R250 includes the making of a Mohair bear, fully jointed, glass eyes, according to traditional methods, lunch and two tea breaks. It is a collectable and limited edition. The Bear topic for 2003 is a Melrose House Gardener Bear. More details will follow in the next newsletter, or Megan can be contacted at 083 305 5954. CRAFT WORKSHOP - 2003 Carol Tait will host wonderful Craft Workshops in 2003. Her first workshop, ‘Decoupage under Glass’ is scheduled for 15 February 2003. The cost of R 250 includes a full kit containing a glass bowl, paper, brushes, glue, varnish, gold pen for edging and paint, and use of scissors. Lunch and refreshments will be served. A Mosaic workshop will be presented on 15 March 2003. Cost R400. Carol can be contacted for details at tel 012 348 0119. VICTORIAN NEWS Sport Clothes The influence of sport is very noticeable in the Victorian period. All kind of new sports were now coming into favour, and it was impossible to practise them with any comfort in the formal dress of the day. By 1894 many more women were taking part in sporting activities and their clothes had to be adapted accordingly. The 1890’s saw the formation of the Original Lady’s Cricketers’ Club (1890) and the Ladies Golf Union (1893), and the first international hockey match for ladies (1897). One of the most popular sporting activities was bicycling. A favored costume exists of a double-breasted jacket with large leg-of-mutton sleeves. Underneath a lady was wearing a shirt blouse with a stiffened collar and a man’s tie. She also has on wide knickerbockers, coloured stockings made of cotton and a straw hat with stand-up trimmings and a face veil. For a game of tennis, a lady wore a blouse and a short skirt (two inches of the ground!), a cap, a tie and gloves. A bathing costume was made of cotton with insets of embroidery. These outfits may appear very cumbersome to us, and it is difficult imagine participating in sport hampered by so much material. These clothes however were quite revolutionary in their time and were frowned upon by many as quite scandalous. At this time, women were beginning their struggle for emancipation and it is interesting that their desire to be on an equal footing with men is reflected in the clothes that they wore. The wide leg-of-mutton sleeves gave ladies a masculine, rather aggressive appearance rather than emphasizing their femininity. Most men enjoyed the hunting season when they could practise their hunting skills by hunting deer, fox or wild fowl. In 1872 a brown tweed shooting outfit was popular with a jacket buttoned high to the neck, and leather gaiters. The 1890’s as a whole was a period of changing values. For the young there was a new breath of freedom in the air, symbolized both by their sports costumes and by the extravagance of their ordinary dress. It was perfectly plain that the Victorian Age was drawing to its close