Insect checks

Bolster inspection by Lisa, Jo and volunteer (image: Laura Brooks)

Us Brits are obsessed with the weather.  It’s a well-known fact.  Not to mention one of our favourite topics of conversation. 

The Carpet and the Woolly Bears

Pest checking equipment – gloves, tweezers, magnifying glass and plastic bags to stick pests in, at Osterley Park (image: Laura Brooks)

Not quite Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I’ll grant you, but when looking at the Drawing Room carpet, we do sometimes wonder ‘who’s been eating our lovely Georgian carpet?’  Of course, the main culprit is going to be one of these (look away now if the sight of creepy crawly things unnerves you):

‘Rice crispies’ and the Tapestry Room carpet

Two conservation assistant volunteers working on the Tapestry Room carpet in Osterley Park House (image: Kirsty Brown).

We recently said goodbye to our Assistant House Steward, Kirsty, but before she left, she called on a couple of our trusty volunteers to help with a project to remove some ‘rice crispies’ from the carpet in the Tapestry Room, which took place in front of visitors, as another Conservation in Action event.

Conservation in Action at Osterley Weekend

Hajira preparing for Conservation in Action demonstration at Osterley Park House (image: Laura Brooks)

During Osterley Weekend, a few weeks ago, the house team held two demonstrations of Conservation in Action, to highlight some of the work the team do around the house on a regular basis.  If you visited us during this weekend, you may have seen our Assistant House Steward, Kirsty, cleaning fire irons in the Entrance Hall.  Meanwhile, upstairs, in one of our store rooms, the second demonstration caused some trepidation for visitors who were brave enough to venture in.