Hideous

Backblipped.
There is a tale behind this picture, which I will proceed to tell: gather round children!
OK I'll knock it off with the Jackanory nonsense (he says, showing his age).
My late aunt, who died in 2004, had a long career in the civil service, including a stint in the then Ministry of Works, during which she handled the file for Penrhyn Castle while it was being transferred to the National Trust. However, she'd never actually visited it until the mid-70s when she came with our family while we were on holiday. For those who don't know, Penrhyn isn't a real castle at all: it's a 19th century fake castle built by a slate and sugar magnate with more money than sense, or taste. I overheard another visitor calling it a "dreadful Victorian monstrosity", and I agree wholeheartedly. It's awful: dark, cluttered, and anything that can be made of slate is, and anything that isn't looks like it's been made to resemble slate. As well as being tasteless it brings out the socialist in me as the whole thing was built on the backs of slaves in the sugar plantations and near-slaves in the slate quarries. Anyway, returning to said aunt, the place lived down to her expectations. While we were going round it, my sister and I had gone ahead a room or so, and we were in the room in the photo, the main feature being this bed: made of slate, what else? And built for Queen Victoria, I think. Some poor benighted lady was waxing lyrical to her husband about how beautiful it was (must have been on the gin), when in comes my aunt who (not being one to hold back on her opinions) immediately exclaimed "Good God, it's hideous!" at high volume, much to the discomfiture of the aforementioned lady, and the entertainment of my sister and I...
So, looking for somewhere to shelter from the rain today, I made a visit with a mission to blip a photo of this particularly hideous relic, and mission accomplished, I think. The helpful man even opened the blind a little more to get more light in, and it was still like the black hole of Calcutta. There is an irony, in that the below-stairs area, kitchens etc are actually quite pleasant, with big windows and painted in light colours, positively airy. Though probably not much better to work in than the plantations and quarries, even so.