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Here comes the Bride (Part 2) #31

...up on the Library sofas, books and drinks long abandoned. It had been a fantastic day, with no fights or arrests.  The next day we started our honeymoon at 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 s...

Temple Newsam and the Meynells

...1900 the Library became a Chapel, the Great Hall was Jacobeanized and the oak staircase installed.  It seems likely that she felt far more 'at home' at Temple Newsam than at Hoar Cross, as the Hall must have held bad memories for her. An ardent lover of art, Emily had acquired a large collection of pictures, especially those of the 17th century.  In accordance with the values of the time, though, she was against anything which was distasteful or erotic.  These paintings would be disposed of or 'cleaned up' by having the picture altered to conceal the offending elements!  How times have changed!   Temple Newsam house near Leeds is now open to the public...

Like father, like sons #20

...ay in the Library when our house was open to the public. My collection of foreign dolls    Because of this background in motor racing, Gavin wanted to start kart racing when he was about 14 and kept pestering my dad to get him a kart.  Dad promised that he would take him to the races but said he didn’t have time to do the preparations and so Gavin had to learn the hard way how to do it!  He made lots of mistakes early on, including the engine nearly falling off in one race, but he got there in the end! As he got better he moved into the seniors when he was 16 and started to win trophies – now he was getting serious!  He raced at a place called C...

The graveyard shift #24

...it in the Library? If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends.  ...

Eat, drink and be merry! #10

...um in the Library c 1974   The cast, family and friends all sat by the fire when everyone had gone home to do a bit of a post mortem on the evening – discussing the pros and cons and how to do things a bit differently for the next banquet which was in a week’s time. We definitely decided to go easy on the beer and wine next time! Some of the cast stayed the night and helped clean up the next day. Although the banquets were good fun on the night they were also a lot of hard work next day as the whole house needed cleaning and the beautiful wooden floors needed polishing. For the next two or three years most of my spare time was spent helping around the h...

Like Father, Like Sons #19

...ay in the Library when our house was open to the public. My European doll collection    Because of this background in motor racing, Gavin wanted to start kart racing when he was about 14 and kept pestering my dad to get him a kart. Dad promised that he would take him to the races but said he didn’t have time to do the preparations and so Gavin had to learn the hard way how to do it! He made lots of mistakes early on, including the engine nearly falling off in one race, but he got there in the end! As he got better he moved into the seniors when he was 16 and started to win trophies – now he was getting serious! He raced at a place called Chasewater...