On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me –
Seven swans a swimming …
Nobody said the seven swans couldn’t include cygnets. Or that they had to be real swans. The silver swan is a nineteenth century automaton at The Bowes Museum, whose story you can read here.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
Such craftsmanship! Have you seen tge Silver Swan in action?
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I have. Be there at 2.00 p.m any day and it will creak into action. Quite fun, but I can’t remember being overwhelmed.
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That Silver Swan is quite a statement piece isn’t it.
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It demands attention, and is in the entrance area.
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I was about to say ‘but there are only six’. Almost forgot the header swan. Beautiful collection, Margaret.
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You know me well, Sandra. I can barely count to ten. But seven I managed.
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Haha… I had the same thought Sandra!
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A lovely selection. I am always in awe of automatons and the skill employed with really quite basic tooling.
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They are fascinating, aren’t they? Even in our sophisticated days of CAD.
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I dabbled in watch repairs in my early 20’s and found it very satisfying!
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You’ll be on Repair Shop next!
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Now, there’s an idea!
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Move over Steve …
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Another excellent collection!
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Thanks Sue. They’re all done now, and lurking in ‘Scheduled’.
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Well done
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Great pictures. I remember seeing the silver swan on a visit to the Bowes Museum. I was looking for the seventh swan, then saw Sandra’s comment!
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We all seem to be numerically challenged here!
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I think cygnets definitely count, and any excuse to share that beautiful silver swan is welcome. I remember my father in law taking me to see it on an outing soon after I started coming to Newcastle with Chris!
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Of course, I should have thought that you would be someone who’d know what I was referring to!
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Seven swans, indeed. You did it! And the cygnets are cute, they certainly count.
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They’re probably swans by now 😉
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I do like swans and have a lot of photos of them including cygnets, white swans and black swans, but no silver swans. I’m thinking I should have chosen my photos more seriously now, but it was all done on a bit of a whim. Next year maybe.
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Oh and a perfect excuse to visit Barnard Castle 😁
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Quite! A lovely journey from here too.
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Very cool swans. I like the not real one 😀 😀
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That one’s very cool indeed!
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What beauties. Love the cygnets. Happy & Healthy New Year Margaret! ⌚🔢🕛🎊
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Oh yes. It was a good year for cygnets round here. They’ve done well
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Swans so graceful and isn’t that silver Swan something special. Happy New Year!
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Indeed a special swan. Happy New Year!
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I’ve become quite obsessed with our local swans since lockdown. Happy new year!
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I’m always a little wary of them (an Incident when I was five) but they are lovely creatures.
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You have a marvelous way of bringing the 12 days of Christmas alive and in the present. Many thanks for a stellar year, Margaret.
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Thanks so much Rebecca. Many ideas to share together in 2023?
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A fascinating story, thanks for the insight.
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You’re welcome!
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