Story Search Results

Things that go bump in the night #3

...like at a party. They couldn’t work out if it was birds nesting under the eaves so they slept in another room down the corridor to see if they still heard it – and sure enough, they did! What was going on? Had we disturbed some lost souls forever wandering in the attics? The haunted attic corridor   One night my mum was woken up by the sight of a little girl ‘floating’ over the bed. She said the girl was wearing a long nightdress and mop cap and seemed to be stretching her arms out to my mum as if she was asking for help. She floated all around the bed scaring my mum half to death. Frantically she tried to wake my dad while the ghoulish girl reac...

Eat, drink and be merry! #10

...e quite a party, even though it started at 9.30 in the morning; as the day wore on the organist played a few of the songs we would be doing at the banquets, and everyone started dancing and singing along – it was 4pm by the time we finished! And so arrived the day of the first banquet. All the furniture and costumes from the Chinese Room and Ballroom had been removed and put into storage elsewhere in the house. A local carpenter had made long tables and benches to seat about 200 guests in the Ballroom, which was now known as the Banqueting Hall. We had employed caterers to do the food and the Chinese Room was used as a food preparation area next to the kitche...

Becoming a rock chick #16

...BECOMING A ROCK CHICK:     My schooldays were coming to an end now and I absolutely couldn’t wait to leave. The school itself was an old Victorian grammar school in Uttoxeter which still had wooden desks with inkwells in them! Even the teachers wore their mortar boards and gowns just like the ones at Eton and Harrow – or the Beano! However, in the last two years there I had made a few good friends and we would go into town every lunch time to meet up with a group of guys that worked at the local J. C. Bamford firm. They were all into motor bikes and one of the first films I watched was ‘Easy Rider’. They also went to a lot of concerts to see live musi...

Here Comes the Bride (Part 1) #32

...ith their party there.     When I came home and went up to bed, I passed the door leading to the apartments and could hear a lot of noise. I went into the East Wing and listened at the door; it sounded like they were having a lot more fun than me so in I went! The place was full of men watching the strippers and when I walked in all dressed up they thought another one had arrived until they realised it was me! Kev started to say to me that I shouldn’t be there – it was a stag do and only men were allowed. Even though he said it in jest, one uninvited guest who didn’t know us started to shout back at Kev and told him to stop treating me like that. He...

See you in Court #31

...iends and party in the apartments out of sight and sound of my parents. One morning we came home at 8am after being out all night and met my dad on the stairs as we were going to bed. He looked surprised and said “You’re up early today aren’t you?” to which we just nodded and carried on to our bedrooms! We consoled ourselves by spending a lot of time in the Meynell Arms, the local pub in the village. When we walked in of an evening, everyone was keen to know the latest updates on the divorce and we would spend half an hour telling them all the news – it was like a real life soap opera! On Tuesday nights a bunch of the local businessmen would all meet...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #37

...shooting party to their Laughton estate, she asked Jenny to go with them to do the cooking. Jenny recalled how thrilled she was to ride alongside the chauffeur in the family Rolls-Royce. As ducks were early risers Jenny had to start cooking at around 3am to get breakfast ready for 4am before shooting began. Colonel Meynell appeared pleased with her efforts and she was rewarded with £1 on her 21st birthday – a lot of money in those days! The duck shoot at Laughton - 1930s   On her return to the Hall she found that a new temporary cook had started. For the next four months her days were dominated by nagging and persecution, aided and abetted by the bu...