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Wondered of someone had tried their hand a spot of the old Simon Gillespie-style restoration at Belvoir Castle this afternoon...

Floor at Belvoir Castle with wooden floorboards and carpeted space roped off. A lone cotton bud is on the floor.

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They were amazing. Came trotting down the hill every morning and into the pond in front of the cottage, little pom-poms jiggling as they ran 🥰

Slightly blurry pom-pom headed ducks trotting down a hill

Slightly blurry pom-pom headed ducks in a pond

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We stayed in a holiday cottage once that had fabulous pom-pom headed ducks that were released every morning. I felt similarly about them 😁

Duck on water with a pom-pom of feathers on its head.

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Turns out I'm also a big fan of the way he magically creates depth with hardly a visible brush stroke - the space under these trees goes on forever. All-in-all, a good start.

Gainsborough landscape with trees and a pool of water in foreground, sheep, horses (all of which seem a bit unfinished), and two figures.

Detail of landscape with figure and sheep in foreground and dark space under dense trees to the left.

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Big fan of his brushwork on leaves, balance of colour and sense of envelopment. Not keen on the Woodcutter's house.

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We were able to compare them happily to some contemporaries, including some Stubbs and Joshua Reynolds (once the lady found someone else to talk at) and we particularly liked Gainsborough's trunks.

Lion Devouring Stag by George Stubbs. Landscape of rocky outcrops and trees with titular lion devouring titular stag in the foreground.

Gainsborough landscape (in portrait orientation) of trees in incline, with cows, sheep and a couple of figures. No title available.

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Well, despite the inevitable room-guide art-splaining, I started my relationship with Thomas Gainsborough's landscapes today. There are three at Belvoir - two are heading down to Tate next year. Controversially, we weren't as huge a fan of The Woodcutter's Return as their others.

Several landscape paintings in frames on a red wall, double and triple hanging a-plenty. The three at the bottom are Gainsborough.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

We found the beginnings of autumn. And our snack bench.

Selfie of Beth and Howard on a path in the woods.

Sunlight illuminating red berries on evergreen leaves.

An elaborate shelter of wood in autumnal woods.

Legs dangling off a bench next to a pond with hand holding a wrapped Tunnocks teacake.

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Derby-full afternoon with lunch, cathedral and Wright. Fifth time seeing the show, always something new. Current thoughts are still on his inclusion of children - maybe as spectators, maybe narrators, maybe emoters. Still working on it.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's #Nottingham Goose Fair this week. Over 700 years of an event that started as a Michaelmas trade fair and is now 20 acres of rides. 100 yrs ago Arthur Spooner captured the fair during its last years on Market Square - throngs of interwar crowds immortalised. arthistoryetc.co.uk/arthur-spoon...

Arthur Spooner's `The Goose Fair, Nottingham' 1926. Crowds of 1920s Nottingham people at a fairground at dusk. Steam and electricity, balloons rising into the evening sky.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Asda have got more plastic animals...

Shelve island of bananas with large green plastic leaves coming out of the top and three fake parrots.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Arthur Spooner's Goose Fair (the fair's on at the minute so a good opportunity). They were so good 😁 (this one I wrote about here: arthistoryetc.co.uk/arthur-spoon...)

The Goose Fair, Nottingham (1926) by Arthur Spooner. Crowded 1920s fairground scene.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today I took 8 Yr5&6 SEMH boys to do some #ArtHistory at Nottm Castle and they were wonderful 🥰 They went into the gallery clutching their print outs, remembered their research and connoisseurship from last week, asked questions, made suggestions and spent the best part of an hour with one painting.

Pile of green bags with Art History Detectives printed on them, on an information board at the foot of Nottingham Castle, which is visible between the trees at the top of the hill.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm up to this bit in my new course. Meghan's taught me everything I need to know about elevating (at least with Crudités and gift wrapping) so I reckon it'll be a breeze.

Screenshot of OU study guide. Block 1: Section 3
3.2 The iconography of elevation

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today we started our action learning project with Nottingham Contemporary, working with our student council to create a pupil-led visual story for visiting the gallery. Yrs 3-11 (all SEMH) took to it brilliantly. Starting with signs for their own spaces and we'll move to the gallery next 🥰

Pupil drawing things that represent his happy place on card.

Pupil using coloured tape to make a rainbow to represent his happy place on card.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Today's welcoming office gift from SLT. I'm not sure if it's 'skip' or 'charity shop'...

Canvas printed portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II embellished with sticky plastic jewels. Leaning against my office window.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Evening sun dog and fields. Listened to the Waldy and Bendy lockdown Easter interview with David Hockney - might've had a spring theme, but it felt sort of well placed with autumn poking through (even if it is 26°C at the moment).

View across fields with wooden signpost and low sun, with an iridescent sun dog to the right.

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

New bits, old favourite bits and old bits I hadn't properly looked at before #NottinghamCastle

Gallery wall with mid-century modern art in frames on a newly turquoise painted wall.

Detail of pigeons from Arthur Spooner's Market Square.

Oil painted Cornish rocks and coast flora that are so brilliant I had to check they were painted. Bit of glare from glazing I'm afraid. Also, I didn't note who did it. Sorry.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sneaky post-course Castle visit...

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I think they're going with cake making for increased creativity...

Slice of plated cake on top of a print out of the Creative habits of mind pedagogy wheel.

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Look at the cute little bags we've made for the boys to go with their cute little pencils to do art history detecting 🕵️🥰

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Throwback to the couple of years I wrote the horoscopes for the University of Essex student newspaper, The Rabbit. It's where my journalistic career ended.

Newspaper print horoscopes that are absolute nonsense.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I'm going to do a couple of art history lessons with one of our Yr5/6 classes, complete with gallery trip. I ordered special pencils for their packs and now I'm going to have the cutest Art History Detectives 🕵️

Pile of green pencils with Art History Detectives printed in black.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Don't officially start for a couple of weeks, but it's too tempting... #A844 #OU #ArtHistory 🥰

Notebook with handwritten headings. A844
Block 1: Putting standpoints into practice
Section 1: 'Saved for the nation?': heritage, cultural policy and arts funding.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Just put in my EVOLVE form and PO form to take some Yr5/6s to the Castle and be Art History Detectives. We're going start exploring Spooner's Goose Fair next week and then see it 😍

Nottingham Goose Fair by Arthur Spooner (1926). Crowded, atmospheric, evening fairground painted scene.

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Morning rainbow #AllAcrossTheSky We never get them on this side of the house. I'm ridiculously giddy about it all. 🌈

Early morning rainbow over a terrace of houses.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A trip to Portugal? Our hotel this summer was opposite The Fantastic World Of The Portuguese Sardine.

Six storey building on a corner with neon lights saying The Fantastic World Of The Portuguese Sardine in red.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Howard's working all weekend so I've brought him jaffa cakes. I'm sitting in the @carousel-learning.bsky.social lounge 💁‍♀️

Jaffa cakes and the edge of a can of pop on a table.

Box of Carousel posters. A2. Every Question Counts.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Anyone else's spring bulbs started to flower...? 😬

Two crocus flowers in full bloom in flower bed.

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

No time to go in the wider gallery, but did get to see Chris Ofili's Requiem. Totally different context, obvs, but similar impact to the monumental Verrio murals at Burghley House.

Chris Ofili, Requiem. Mural up staircase in right colours remembering the Grenfell Tower fire.

Verrio mural on staircase at Burghley House.

Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Whistler had some lovely curtains. Unfortunately not available in the Tate gift shop.

Detail of curtain on painting Black curtain with white embroidery/print fading out as it goes up the curtain.

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Beth G-G @bethgg.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I've not had time to post much from #rED26, but this is where we're at now.

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Tomorrow I shall be speaking enthusiastically at #rED26 about the process of developing our whole-school teaching and learning principles with the use of formal research, knoweldge of our #SEMH context, and a chunk of professional experince. See you in Room M28, session 2 #EduSky

Half the researchED programme with my session circled.

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M25 pigeons in transit 😀

Blue van on motorway at dusk. White lettering on back days Racing Pigeons in Transit.

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Getting @carousel-learning.bsky.social posters to #rED26 faster than than Royal Mail or Evri 📨

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On our way to #rED26, fueled* by a Tesco meal deal and a Mars bar. We know how todo Friday night 😎 *the car is fueled by unleaded petrol, not a meal deal. That would be unusual.

H&M are promoting their minimalist dining wares to me (something, something, elevate). 'Minimalist' seems to mean those stainless steel bowls all our parents got as wedding presents and were taken to the charity shop 10 years ago.

Small stainless steel bowl on a plate with a blob of cream and two spoons.