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Hysterical Productions #17

HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:           By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at the Hall and they were still going strong.  Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead.  But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly be...

Here comes the Bride (Part 2) #31

...t a local hotel in the next village and when we came downstairs the next morning our best man (who lived nearby) called in to see us and joined us for breakfast!  I think he wanted to check that we’d had no sleep all night as they’d decorated our room with ribbons and bows and about fifty bells of all types which were fastened onto the mattress springs under the bed!  I don’t think anything would have kept us awake after going to bed at 6am! For saying my mum did her utmost to keep us apart, we are still happily married after 38 years!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment:  Moving out If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, clic...

Moving on - the end of an era #33

...MOVING ON - THE END OF AN ERA:          And so I come to the end of my story.  After ten years of living in a stately home,  my parents’ divorce agreement meant that my dad had to be bought out by my mum and he had to leave his dream home forever.  He and Gavin moved out to live in Burton-on-Trent and my mum carried on running Mediaeval Banquets for a few more years.  She and the singer eventually got together much to my dad’s chagrin.  The singer spent a lot more time at the Hall helping my mum run the banquets; however, Piers didn’t really get on with him.  When he was about 14 years old my dad received a phone call from Piers – he had run...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #35

...THE KITCHEN MAID’S STORY:      If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s was the decade to live in!   The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs. Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s.  The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her.  Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music.   However, the £5 bursary she g...

What the Butler saw!

...unlike a hotel nowadays!  Carter also waited on table at all the meals and at night, secured all doors and windows and checked the fires were safe before retiring to bed.  If there was no valet in the house then the butler would also have been responsible for looking after his master’s clothes and hunting gear.  In the absence of a footman, he would also answer the door – sounds like he was a very busy man!  Let’s hope that someone didn’t come calling at lunchtime while he was helping his master get changed into yet another outfit! Another thing large houses always had was a letter bag  - used for receiving and dispatching letters – the butler w...

The Grand Opening #5

...out of a hotel window and walks along a ledge to another room/window to escape the Police or a villain – well this is exactly what we did from our bedroom windows which were well over 25 feet high.  One time Piers got out onto the window sill (unbeknown to us) and visitors were running into the house to tell someone about the ‘small child about to fall out of the window’!    We were always getting up to mischief – check out later blogs for more of our tricks! Don’t miss next week’s instalment:  Huntin’, Shootin’ and Fishin’ If you would like to follow my blog from the beginning click here and please feel free to share with your friends....