Story Search Results

Hysterical Productions #17

...anqueting hall with a tray of soup, tripped up and spilt the whole lot over the nearest table!  The staff were also eating the food in the kitchen which was meant for the guests and we nearly ran out of cheese and pate – the chef was ranting and raving at them, threatening to walk out if they didn’t stop!  Oh, it really was hysterical! The year finished with our annual New Year’s Eve Ball which was marred slightly by my parents arguing, something which was becoming all too regular during the course of this last year.  Mum had received a plant as a birthday present and my dad was going berserk about it, wanting to know who it was from – she obviously...

Whodunit in the Library? #26

...orrendous hallucinations.  My dad was already visiting a psychiatrist each week and my mum took me to see one too!  Our family really was falling apart at the seams!  However, the feud went on and my dad was still selling items from the house unbeknown to my mum.  He had a beautiful wooden musical box which played pretty tunes when wound up.  My mum had hidden it away in her old bedroom under lock and key so my dad asked up to break into the room so he could get it back.  We managed to unlock the door using a credit card on the Yale lock (sliding the card between the door and the lock would push the lock inwards) and when we got inside we found the musica...

Race Day Parties #27

...RACE DAY PARTIES:      My dad used to be a racing driver so he was often invited to parties and open days at various racing circuits.  He naturally knew lots of racing people and on this particular occasion he was invited to an Open Day at Donington Park.   Tom Wheatcroft, a local entrepreneur, had bought Donington Park in the 1970s as he owned the largest collection of Grand Prix cars in the world at that time.  In 1973 he opened a museum there to house them all and called it the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.  Donington became the favoured home of the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championships but he was really hoping to bring Formula 1...

See you in Court #28

...SEE YOU IN COURT:     The saga of my parents’ split continued as we grew up in our stately home, although their behaviour was anything but stately for most of the time!  Seven years of arguing and fighting were about to come to an end and the solicitors had finally agreed on a  date to go to court.  We carried on helping my dad to run the hall and he still went to his boat in Caernarfon at weekends to get away from the house but we were all getting weary of it now.  We were young adults and wanting to get on with our own lives.  After five years together we were hoping to get married at some point so we were glad that it was finally going to be sorted...

Moving house to a mansion #1

...MOVING HOUSE TO A MANSION:       My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months.  We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there!  Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child.  My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donington Park.  During the...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

...hen inner hallways and corridors so they could go about their duties quickly and quietly.  My dad spent a lot of his time at auction houses buying and selling antiques and so he went back there again to source carpets and kitchen equipment.  He also installed huge electric heaters to keep our new tenants warm.  The West Wing was smaller than the East Wing so was made into a two-bedroomed apartment.  The tenants entered the house through the basement entrance and used the spiral staircases to get to their homes – so they were a bit like the servants of old, neither seen nor heard by us! The next change to make was to our own rooms so we could move downsta...