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Motor Racing Days #9

MOTOR RaCING DaYS:            although an class='highlight'>Myan> blogs are about living at Hoar Cross Hall, I would just like to give a bit of background about an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>dadan>’s racing career in the years leading up to moving to the Hall as this will set the scene for later instalments of an class='highlight'>Myan> story. as mentioned in an class='highlight'>Myan> first blog an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>dadan> used to be a racing driver but he actually started off racing motor cycles in the 1930s.   Because of this he became a despatch rider during the Second World War and spent a lot of time in North africa.  after the war he started racing at nearby Donington Park and he raced there up to the beginning of the 1950s.  after that he moved onto cars and dr...

Panto Pranks! #23

PaNTO PRaNKS!       During the 1970s Hoar Cross Hall was used from time to time for local community activities and one such event was the production in 1978 of a traditional pantomime, ‘Midnight and a Journey back to Happiness’.   It was written by local people, Robert Leighton from Yoxall and the Hon. alexandra Meynell, daughter-in-law of Mrs Jean Meynell whom we had purchased the Hall from.  The words and music were written by local songwriter, David Matthews, who had written songs for quite a few pop artists during the 1960s, his most famous being Matt Munro’s ‘We’re gonna change the world’.  So off to a good start there! For those of you...

Moving Out #32

and so the day arrived a month or so after our wedding when an class='highlight'>Myan> an class='highlight'>dadan> had to leave Hoar Cross Hall. Ten years after moving in he was now moving out, leaving his dream home for an class='highlight'>Myan> mum to live in alone. Gavin moved with him and Piers was away at school most of the time. It was a mammoth task as he had so much stuff to move, especially from the basement. He had some heavy machinery too that he’d brought with him from his alabaster days, including a band saw which we used to saw up logs for the huge fireplaces in the main rooms. He had an class='highlight'>boughtan> a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent which had some outbuildings for a workshop and there he moved to start afresh. He carried o...

Panto Pranks! #22

PaNTO PRaNKS!      During the 1970s Hoar Cross Hall was used from time to time for local community activities and one such event was the production in 1978 of a traditional pantomime, ‘Midnight and a Journey back to Happiness’.   It was written by local people, Robert Leighton from Yoxall and the Hon. alexandra Meynell, daughter-in-law of Mrs Jean Meynell whom we had purchased the Hall from.  The words and music were written by local songwriter, David Matthews, who had written songs for quite a few pop artists during the 1960s, his most famous being Matt Munro’s ‘We’re gonna change the world’.  So off to a good start there! For those of you w...

Panto Pranks #21

PaNTO PRaNKS!     During the 1970s Hoar Cross Hall was used from time to time for local community activities and one such event was the production in 1978 of a traditional pantomime, ‘Midnight and a Journey back to Happiness’. It was written by local people, Robert Leighton from Yoxall and the Hon. alexandra Meynell, daughter-in-law of Mrs Jean Meynell whom we had purchased the Hall from. The words and music were written by local songwriter, David Matthews, who had written songs for quite a few pop artists during the 1960s, his most famous being Matt Munro’s ‘We’re gonna change the world’. So off to a good start there! For those of you who don’...

Lest we forget #86

During the two World Wars the Meynell family of Hoar Cross Hall served their country alongside many others from all walks of life.  after each war there was huge social upheaval, especially for women, who had been doing what was traditionally 'men's work' during the war and weren't prepared to go back to domestic roles.  at the time of the First World War Frederick Meynell and Lady Mary Meynell were living at the Hall with their five children.  Their four sons all served in the war and their daughter Margaret served in the Red Cross as a volunteer. Their eldest son Francis was a Major but was wounded in action in 1917 with severe wounds to his back. He was m...