Story Search Results

Motor Racing Days #9

...etc from auction houses and we would pack this up and go off for the weekend. Gavin and I would sit on chairs in the back of the van and every time we went round a corner our chairs would tip over to the side and we’d be hanging on for dear life – my mum would sit in the front with Piers on her knee! No seatbelts then or child seats – I dread to think how we would have survived an accident! My dad would always get passes for the Paddock which was the area where all the racing car teams were next to the pits and only a privileged few would have these. At Silverstone there was a place called the Doghouse Club (long gone now) off the Paddock where the driver...

Eat, Drink and be Merry! #10

...at local auctions and occasionally made trips to London for sales at Sothebys or Christies auction houses.  I once went with him and we spotted the actor Rodney Bewes from The Likely Lads TV programme – he pulled up next to Sothebys in his Rolls Royce! My dad’s antique collection continued to grow as he couldn’t resist a bargain and he would often go to a sale to get one thing and come back with something else – much to my mother’s annoyance!  Once he was meant to get more Bentwood chairs for the café and he came back with hundreds of silver spoons as he thought they would be more useful to sell to the visitors!  He loved a bargain as he was very...

Doing up a stately home #4

...s 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 Chapel   The next change to make was to our own rooms so we could move downstairs and have a bigger kitchen. The only space was in the East Wing off the Chapel Corridor – yes, thi...

Ventures New #9

...at local auctions and occasionally made trips to London for sales at Sothebys or Christies auction houses. I once went with him and we spotted the actor Rodney Bewes from The Likely Lads TV programme – he pulled up next to Sothebys in his Rolls Royce! My dad’s antique collection continued to grow as he couldn’t resist a bargain and he would often go to a sale to get one thing and come back with something else – much to my mother’s annoyance! Once he was meant to get more Bentwood chairs for the café and he came back with hundreds of silver spoons as he thought they would be more useful to sell to the visitors! He loved a bargain as he was very ‘ca...

Our mansion gets a facelift #4

...s 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 downstairs and have a bigger kitchen. The only space was in the East Wing off the Chapel Corridor – yes, this house boasted its...

Eat, Drink & Be Merry #11

...at local auctions and occasionally made trips to London for sales at Sothebys or Christies auction houses. I once went with him and we spotted the actor Rodney Bewes from The Likely Lads TV programme – he pulled up next to Sothebys in his Rolls Royce! Barrels in the Beech Walk   My dad’s antique collection continued to grow as he couldn’t resist a bargain and he would often go to a sale to get one thing and come back with something else – much to my mother’s annoyance! Once he was meant to get more Bentwood chairs for the café and he came back with hundreds of silver spoons as he thought they would be more useful to sell to the visitors! He l...