Favourite Pictures – The alchemist

BySimon Hawketts 30 April 20141 March 2023

Back to Kentwell Hall for another picture in my series ‘Favourite Pictures’. We came upon this chap in a clearing in the woods showing a sheep’s skeleton to a family! Emma immediately ran up to see what this was all about and we ended up stopping for about 20 minutes listening to him telling us all about how glass is made (Tudor version that is) and why it’s so valuable, why the game of football is banned from Tudor England and how to make gunpowder. Emma particularly liked this part because he needed an assistant and she instantly put her hand up and helped. I have to say that once I saw the first two ingredients go in I knew what was being made and it was quite nerve wracking seeing my 8 year old daughter mixing up explosive!

As the alchemist talked I walked around and took several pictures. This is my favourite of them all, although there is a little too much clipping in the light areas behind his head which I couldn’t remove in Lightroom.