Malachite butterfly

We headed off to Berkeley castle this morning, to visit the butterfly farm. Now that we have Historic Houses Association membership, there seems no end to the places we can visit without having to pay again and again!

I first visited the castle and butterfly farm twelve years ago, with my sister TMLHereandThere, and CleanSteve, though they were known simply as Tanya and Steve back then! I remember being amazed to see all sorts of butterflies that I had only previously seen in photographs or on jigsaw puzzles, flying at liberty around an enormous greenhouse, eating fruit and insects, landing wherever they liked. I've been meaning to go back ever since.

CleanSteve has thoughtfully written about the visit here, so I don't need to say much more, except that it reminded me of a marvellous Victorian-era book for children, The Cuckoo Clock, by Mrs Molesworth, that was read to me as a child. The story is that a little girl called Griselda is sent to stay with some aunts, who are well meaning but dull and elderly, in a town. She is lonely, but makes the acquaintance of a rather cross-patch cuckoo from a cuckoo clock. At night he takes her on board his wings and they fly away on marvellous adventures, one of which is to the Land of the Butterflies. As a child staying with my grandmother, sometimes for lengthy periods while my mother was away working; trying to sort out her marriage; or viewing houses in other counties, this escapist reading was a delight to all my senses!

I read a part of the book to my nephews a decade ago, when they were little boys, and found myself having to explain why overly adult, restricted behaviour was expected even of little children, around a hundred years ago.

"This book was written more than a hundred years ago" I said.
"Was it like that when you were growing up?" came the swift reply.

Now I hope to return to the butterfly house with the now big-boy nephews next week, when they visit again, with their mother and little sister. This time, though, I won't be reading them any bedtime stories!