This week on Monday, Room six and I had another unique experience that most of us haven’t experienced before. Our chosen time to go to the stone cottage was at ten o’clock, and luckily for us, we just had to cross a road. After walking through our school and over the road, we walked around the stone cottage anti clockwise. The reason why we were walking around is because Room 2, was still there. While we were walking around, we looked at all the flowers and trees in the garden. There is also a berry tree which I don’t really know its name but I remember picking berries from it, and they tasted sour and sweet.
After Room 2 finished their visit, Terry and Patrick introduced themselves and they welcomed us to the stone cottage and to explore stuff. We also had to first walk in 2 files because the house was small, but lucky me, I was small enough to nearly reach the front.The first room we walked into is the parlour. We first explored the pictures around and the items around us like the music sheet with the flute. There was also a sign that told us to not touch items, there was also another person that we didn’t really notice because she was sitting so still but her name is Josephine. I wasn’t really sure why she was there, but maybe she was a guest or helps out too.
After exploring the parlour, we went to the bedroom and looked at the items that Terry explained. Terry said people like Phoebe Dunn and John Harrison had lived there. There was also a big bowl which I wondered what it was for until Terry taught us that it is called a potty. It was used in the olden days as a toilet and then they would put it in a hole in the ground and then clean it with water. There was also a kind of teapot but Terry explained that it was called a moustache cup with a strip of porcelain across the top. The strip of porcelain was to cover their moustaches from getting wet and men in the olden days liked moustaches a lot.
There was also a shaving bowl with a brush in. Room 6 and I were actually pretty confused, but then Terry explained that they would mix soap and water, then they would use the brush and scrub the patches of hair with the mixed soap with water. Then they would use a sharp razor to shave their faces. After that,Terry explains a tall but thin jug that is used to drink water at night. The women had to get water. Terry also explains how the women in the olden days used long clothes and how they would work from dawn till dusk
After Terry explained all of the items in the Bedroom, Terry and Patrick told us to go to the Kitchen since we hadn’t explore there yet. After walking there in 2 files, Terry explained how the women would grow and collect vegetables like Corn, Potatoes, Kumeras and their greens. They would also have a cow for milk. Terry would also explain ( I forgot to explain ) that men love drinking beer and tea. Terry explained how they would iron their clothes using a thick metal with a handle, they would always have two. One is heated by the fire while the other one was being used to iron the clothes.
Terry also explained how they would sew by using a pedal crank to make the sewing machine work. After that, Patrick explained that the children would use a pair of stilts to play with. I forgot to also mention that every house would have a coal burner which burns for a long time to keep themselves warm. After all of that, I had an experience I never had before. Before leaving, we said thank you and Room 6 and I took a photo at the stone cottage. We had many things to learn, especially how the stone cottage was at the Mac Donald’s and then it moved to Panmure in the 1970’s.
