A Waddesdon Winter Wonderland

What a treat to have a magical day out with lots of lovely blippers - at lunch in the Wigwam Café we numbered 15, but sadly had to say au revoir to Igor, Anniemay, BlackTulip, JJ, JohnRH and W during the afternoon after we had marvelled at the enormous gingerbread house version of Waddesdon Manor (pictured in Extras).  The remaining 9 of us toured the house decorated in all its Christmassy splendour.  The theme this year is Magical Materials, and I've tried to include some of the different textures and materials used in my Extras.  Nicoiseannie and I both thought the final room containing a Christmas tree made of exquisite cascading white paper flowers was the most spectacular.  My main image shows some more paper flowers arranged on a side table just outside that room.  Everybody loved the afternoon tea, and there wasn't a crumb left after the swarm of blippers had descended on it.  Warmed by our feast, we ventured outside to experience the final part of our day.  I didn't feel the Son et Lumiere show illuminating the Manor was quite as dynamic as last year's, but it did still look gorgeous lit up in all the different colours.  My outdoor photos are not the best, as I lacked a tripod to hold the camera steady enough for pin-sharp exposure, but they give a flavour of the atmosphere.  My favourite from the grounds is of a huge wintry tree bathed in an eerie white light.

A fantastic day, in great company - thank you so much to Kathy and Rose for organising it with enough time for us to secure entry to the house and reserve our afternoon teas before they became fully booked.  Looking forward to our next blipmeet at the Tate Modern in January!