Well, this was unexpected

In the midst of the furniture-paintings-knickknacks parade were these purple ice skating costumes worn by Torvill and Dean in their gold-medal winning ice dancing performance at Sarajevo in 1984. (And adding to the incongruity, Ravel's Bolero, the music they had skated to, was playing on a loop.)

This seemed a little strange, to say the least. But I hadn't realized that Newstead isn't a National Trust property; it's actually run by the city of Nottingham. And so basically anyone famous from Nottingham—like Torvill and Dean—might get an exhibit there.

This also explains why there is a bust of D.H Lawrence next to the bust of Byron in the gardens—I spent much of my time in the garden trying to figure out the connection.

Definitely not stodgy

This was one of the Taylor Swift exhibits scattered throughout the museum: the sweater and piano from the video for Cardigan. That album is one of the things that kept me sane during the pandemic, so it was fun to see this, and I especially enjoyed its placement in a room crammed full of paintings by Constable and Reynolds that could be considered a wee bit, yes, stodgy.

Playing dress up

At the Narenjastan Palace, you can rent costumes and pose for pictures among the flowers.