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Suits you sir! #24

...Banquets business was now in my mum’s name as a limited company and she ran them herself, separate from my dad.  My dad still got the rent money from the apartments and the takings from the house when it was open to the public, and of course, buying and selling his antiques.  But his earnings weren’t anywhere near what my mum earned from the banquets and he felt he’d been cheated by her. When we got back home from the solicitors he hatched a plan.  He would swap all the paintings and suits of armour for reproduction versions so he could sell the real ones on and still make money, whilst my mum wouldn’t realise what was happening as she would see tha...

Whodunit in the Library #24

...When we first moved to Hoar Cross Hall, growing up in a stately home seemed an idyllic way to live – and lots of fun if you’re a child. This rambling old house full of empty rooms and secret doors, wild gardens and 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 and lack of public transport was frustrating. Coupled with this was my parents fighting and subsequent split, living at each end of the house and battling for the house and business through their solicitors. The effect this had on me, as the eldest child who perhaps saw more of it than my brothers, w...

Race Day Parties! #25

...uets (the business my parents ran from the Hall) sponsored a racing car there. We both dressed up in our mediaeval costumes and became ‘Grid Girls’ for the day which was also a lot of fun when you’re only 16 and the world’s media is focused on the race track that you’re standing on!   Don’t miss next week’s instalment: 'See you in Court'   If you would like to follow my story from the beginning, please click here and feel free to share with your friends.   Please subscribe to my youtube channel and follow me around my childhood home, bringing my blogs to life on my 'Tour of the House'.   Click here for this!  ...

Moving Day Arrives #2

...the local business rates (Council Tax) inspector came to see us. My dad was non too keen on paying out huge sums of tax on a place that wasn’t earning any money yet so he got us three kids to dress in our oldest clothes and stand around in the house next to the buckets of water when the rates inspector came for his visit. We had house plans for each floor of the house and he gave the man the plans before proceeding to show him round. Before they left on their grand tour my dad showed him the buckets and explained about the leaking roof – we three children stood there in our rags looking like something from Oliver Twist, trying to make the man feel sorry for...

Motor Racing Days #9

...big money business. My dad didn’t have a rich family to support him or financial backers and probably did it all on a shoestring knowing him! He told me that he would always ‘take it easy’ and wasn’t too bothered about winning; drivers always got their ‘start’ money and he was satisfied with that. Accidents meant expensive repairs! My dad as a despatch rider - WW2 in Africa   During the 1960s he raced Lotus Elites and I have never forgotten the time, aged just 5 years old, when he took me for a spin around Mallory Park. I remember it all very clearly, even now. He strapped me into the car, watched by the mechanics in the pits. My poor mother...

Suits you Sir! #22

...Banquets business was now in my mum’s name as a limited company and she ran them herself, separate from my dad. My dad still got the rent money from the apartments and the takings from the house when it was open to the public, and of course, buying and selling his antiques. But his earnings weren’t anywhere near what my mum earned from the banquets and he felt he’d been cheated by her. Dad wearing a suit of armour    When we got back home from the solicitors he hatched a plan. He would swap all the paintings and suits of armour for reproduction versions so he could sell the real ones on and still make money, whilst my mum wouldn’t realise what...