Story Search Results

Moving Out #32

<Span class='highlight'>andSpan> so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when my dad had to leave Hoar Cross Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for my mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a b<Span class='highlight'>andSpan> saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had bought a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> there he moved to start afresh. He carried o...

Eat, drink <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> be merry! #10

EAT, DRINK <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> BE MERRY!        We were now in our third year at the Hall <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> our lives were always busy keeping on top of the weeds <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> general upkeep of the house.  My dad expected us children to help as much as possible, which we hated, <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> much of our time was spent trying to hide from him to get out of doing the chores.  But sometimes we didn’t mind <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> we happily pulled an old trolley into the woods every now <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> then to collect wood for the fires <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> sometimes as a family we would spend a day clearing parts of the woods <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> grounds.  My mum had hired a lady from the village to help with the housework <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> we had also taken on a retired chap calle...

Christmas High Jinks! #31

The sounds of La Golondrina floated through the air as Viv sat at the gr<Span class='highlight'>andSpan> piano. How pleased she was that someone had asked them to look after this fine musical instrument for a few months. Having learned to play when she was younger, this gave Viv the opportunity to brush up on her skills as a pianist <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> she was thoroughly enjoying it. The piano was in the Library <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> suited the room perfectly. She could hear her father <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> an antique dealer talking in the Long Gallery as they haggled over the price of a painting that he was selling. Viv gazed out of the window as she played <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> thought back to the Midsummer’s Eve Ball that they’d had a few months ago. I...

Whodunit in the Library? #26

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?       When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> lots of fun if you’re a child.  This rambling old house full of empty rooms <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> secret doors, wild gardens <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was my parents fighting <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> subsequent split, living at each end of the house <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> battling for the house <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who p...

Whodunit in the Library? #25

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY?       When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> lots of fun if you’re a child.  This rambling old house full of empty rooms <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> secret doors, wild gardens <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> woods to explore, was in some ways a dream come true for our family, certainly for my dad.  But as we turned from children to teenagers the isolation <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> lack of public transport was frustrating.  Coupled with this was my parents fighting <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> subsequent split, living at each end of the house <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> battling for the house <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who p...

Ghouls Galore! #85

Going to sleep in a big old house is quite scary when you’re young but going to sleep in a big old house that’s haunted is even more scary!!  As we approach Hallowe'en my mind has gone back to that first winter at Hoar Cross Hall <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> all the scary things that happened - <Span class='highlight'>andSpan> that was without any trick or treaters in those days!  We quickly realised that we weren’t the only inhabitants of the house.  Every time there was a windy night I could hear a window banging in the attic – all night long it kept me awake.  The next day I would go upstairs to the attics to close it but there would be no windows open or even loose.   They were all tightly shut as...