In my previous post I mentioned that everyone enjoyed the basement of Naulaka.  However, a chosen few LOVED the attic of the Kipling home.

The first to discover the joy of the attic was my son in law, Morgan.  I thought he would enjoy the small Kipling museum in the attic, carefully lit in a small room.

Remember, Kipling and Conan Doyle invented SNOW GOLF!

There Kipling’s beloved golf clubs are housed.  Historians claim that Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle invented “Snow Golf” at Naulaka.  Since I’ve never heard of anyone else playing “Snow Golf”, I think that is perhaps a safe claim.

Who doesn’t have one of these in their attic?

Then there are small bit of memorabilia Kipling owned, such as glass ball souvenirs from a visit to Massachusetts. Everyone still buys glass flouts when they visit Cape Cod.  It’s nice  to know some things don’t change.

Ebay sells these… yes I own a few.

But my son in law gave a deep breathe and said just “Oh wow.” and walked right past the small museum space.

The Trust said you could use ANYTHING in the house! It’s true!

Then for the next four hours he played billiards on the table that Rudyard himself played on, possibly with Arthur Conan Doyle. (Side note they did not invent billiards, just “Snow Golf”).

This is a nice table.  I don’t know how it ever got into the attic….it’s there forever now!

The table has been preserved, but I have to admit other than burning it for firewood I don’t see how it could ever LEAVE the attic.  It’s HUGE.  It’s obviously heavy.  It’s also a complete joy for someone that loves billiards.

It is thankfully designed with the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement rather than the Victorian “you will never be able to dust all the little bits” movement.

It has wee cups that pull out to hold your chalk.

I enjoyed hearing the click of balls hitting each other, it resounded throughout the house.

There are other games available.  The little nooks in the attic are wonderful.

So the attic, which is also filled with board games and puzzles of more recent vintage for rainy days, is a typical “Game room”.

No I did not play.  I can, but the importance of this table, and memory of a bit from a Peter Sellers film, had me just enjoy watching people play this time.

(Big thank you to Susan Hurst for allowing me to use some of her photographs).