Whenever I travel about on holiday, I like to look at old buildings – this stems from family holidays.  Each was meticulously planned to take in at least one cathedral, or important church, a couple of heritage properties and the odd museum or gallery.  It was always good to see the different room settings, perhaps be able to visit the kitchens to see how the medieval servants managed to conjur up those incredible, but extravagent meals day after day !  Some churches, like the heritage houses, have much more modern settings – quite often as a result of war damage where there has had to be a massive rebuild programme.  It has always seemed better to modernise the new section – it is impossible to replace medieval craftsmanship so better to make a modern, spacious and less complicated statement.  It is a wonderful thing that our little country has so many historic buildings to wander around.  Life would be unbelievably dull for me if I couldn’t pick and choose which property was going to be revealing it’s fantastic kitchen design or how this owner or that decided to furnish and decorate the place during their tenure.  They had their own craftsmen on hand – those skills have been passed down through generations and we can have absolutely anything made or built – we only need money.  Status doesn’t come in to it any more!