Story Search Results

See you in Court #27

...ished and lots of paper shuffling had happened, the Judge looked at us all and said, “There’s only two people in this courtroom that are going to make anything out of this sorry state – and that’s you (dad’s barrister) and you (mum’s barrister)”.  He pointed at them both as he said it, as if they hadn’t already made a lot of money out of it! “Now go outside and sort it out between you. I’m going for lunch now and I want to see it all sorted when I get back”.  Well, what a shock!  Files and papers were quickly gathered up as we all walked back out into the corridor.  And then it began – the bartering and bargaining between the legal e...

The Tax Man Cometh! #28

...disco and lots of real ales – they were good fun and always went on until the early hours. All the neighbouring land around Hoar Cross was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall estate (Prince Charles’ land) and after one of these barn dances someone set off for home down a dark lane and crashed into a garage next to someone’s house. The car went straight through the wooden doors at the front and hit the back wall. As the car came to a halt the whole garage collapsed on top of it. The owner of the garage came rushing out of the house, having been rudely awoken by the noise, and shouted at the partygoer as he staggered out of the car. “Look what you’ve done!!...

Skools out for Summer! #58

...they had lots of climbing frames and slides. At one of the fetes I was standing next to a crockery smashing stall and a piece of crockery cut my head open causing a huge gash. I ran all the way home screaming and crying with blood pouring down my face – no-one could stop me – and was taken to the nearby hospital to have it stitched up. I still have a huge scar from that cut but luckily no-one can see it! Old Hall - the childrens home is on the right   The private road also joined up to our woods near the driveway and this is the road I walked along every day, up to the main road, to catch the bus to school. It was about half a mile but I hated walki...

Here Comes the Bride (Part 1) #29

...HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 1)     After the court case my dad was given 3 months to move out of Hoar Cross Hall. We had decided to bring our wedding forward so that we could get married in the Church of the Holy Angels in the grounds and then have the reception afterwards in the Hall, which was after all our family home. The wedding preparations were going quite well and as we knew lots of musicians it wasn’t hard to find a local band and a DJ to do the disco. A friend of my dad’s offered to do the catering and the bar was set up with plenty of kegs from the local brewery in Burton on Trent. I had two bridesmaids and we all went to Birmingham one day to c...

Change and the Country House #61

...ay run by lots of staff and using local produce, except that the Hall was being run for just one family!  Despite the vast wealth of some of these landowners many did good works and used their money to create charities to help the poor and uneducated as did Emily Meynell when she created a childrens' home called 'The Home of the Good Shepherd' from nearby Old Hall, her former home before she and her husband built the Hall. The Home of the Good Shepherd at Hoar Cross   So what changed as the 19th century moved on?  The Industrial Revolution caused a lot of change – the growth of industry spawned cities and a new class of people, self-sufficient and ed...

Motor Racing Days #64

...contained lots of free food and drink which is great when you’re a kid – and my dad would always help himself to free bottles of champagne which he said he was keeping for me when I got married!  But that’s another story! When Gavin was older my dad encouraged him to race too and he went on to run his own World Championship Team travelling all over the world.  He also took Piers go-kart racing at nearby Chasewater Park in Cannock – more about that in future blogs!   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please feel free to share with your friends.  Follow me on a personal tour of my childhood home on YouTube.OUT...