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Race Day Parties #27

...nd we all got dressed up in our Sunday best, Kev wearing a jacket and me in a large floppy hat and heels – we looked as if we were going to a wedding not a racemeeting!  But dad assured us that we needed to look the part as there was a big party afterwards in a marquee with all the top racing people in attendance – ‘racing royalty’ we called them.  People like Bob Gerrard, who was one of the top racing drivers of the post war era – he and his wife were always very expensively dressed and hosted one of the marquee parties.  There was also a VIP marquee which we managed to sneak into when no-one was looking.  After ordering our drinks at the bar, Kev...

See you in Court #28

...rents had got themselves into.   On the one side was my dad with his solicitor and barrister plus Kev and I for moral support.   On the other side was my mum with her solicitor and barrister and one or two of the banquet staff for moral support.  And so, there we all stood, our two little groups waiting in the corridor outside the court room.  The solicitors were both giving out last minute instructions and conferring with their barristers on this and that.  And then it was time; they called us in and we sat on either side of the room.  Then an incredible thing happened – six people, each carrying a huge pile of paperwork and files, all walked in after...

The tax man cometh! #29

...ent on we got hungry and the chef decided to cook some chips for us all.  He went into the kitchen and saw that the chimney was on fire!  We all ran out of the pub and sure enough, there were flames pouring out of the top.  As the landlord only lived in the village the chef phoned him up and told him about the fire but he wouldn’t believe him!  He thought we were playing a joke on him and slammed the phone down.  Once more the chef rang him and told him that the pub was on fire – he must come straight away, but once again he wouldn’t believe us and hung up.  Meanwhile we rang the fire brigade and then the landlord again, who by now was very angry at...

What the Butler saw!

...when they got home.  I can hear all the giggling even now! The highlight of the year for most girls was an eagerly-awaited dance at the Servants’ Ball at Christmas time – most large houses had one and Hoar Cross Hall was no different.  The Ball was held in the Long Gallery and this was the one time when the family mixed with the servants.  With mulled wine flowing freely and mistletoe hung here about, the young ladies would be very excited to be standing near to a young, good looking footman!  Let’s hope they didn’t get up to too much mischief when the butler wasn’t looking!  Don’t miss next week’s instalment:  Gardeners world at Hoar Cross...

Aristocratic travels # 39

...as Emily got older and less able to travel.  The Ariadne survives to this day and was restored in the 1990s at Hamble on Southampton Water If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, click here and please share with your friends. More photos next week!...

Join Me On A Video Tour Of My Old Home! Hoar Cross Hall

...Hi everyone I've just seen that a few people have been reading this blog from 2018, but discovered that the YouTube video was missing as the link was to the original post that unbelievably somehow got deleted with all those views (47,000)  :(  Anyway, I've just updated the link to the re-uploaded video, so this isn't a new post for this week, but just so it works for anyone reading it now for the first time! -  Don't miss tomorrows blog - The Kitchen Maid's Story! <><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><&g...