Story Search Results

Becoming a Rock Chick #17

...open and visitors would wander outside and look at our pets – I imagine an over enthusiastic child had opened the hutch and not shut it properly because they escaped into the house and got into the library, it being the nearest room to the back door. I happened to be coming into the house on this particular day when I heard a woman scream “Rats, rats – on the bookshelves!” I rushed into the Library through the secret door (which made the visitors jump even more) to find them looking at our guinea pigs! How could they think our lovely pets were rats? However, we did get rats in the house but that’s for another blog! The guinea pigs were safely put back...

Christmas High Jinks! #31

...a lot of visitors; however, there was no-one about that day and the children made their way inside. “Gosh it’s so gloomy in here,” said Gavin. “I don’t know why people want to visit this place – there’s nothing to do or see in here.” They wandered down the aisle looking at leaflets on the way. When they got to the altar they noticed two enormous candles at each end of it. “Let’s light the candles,” Gavin shouted. “That will brighten the place up.” With that he climbed up onto the altar, found some matches nearby and quickly lit the two candles. They noticed some other candles around the church and lit them too. Then they saw a smal...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #36

...here were visitors arriving and her statement below shows the implications for the staff of a large country house:- “I don’t know who they were, but they were a lady and gentleman, a valet and lady’s maid, a grown-up daughter, and a very young child. Young enough to have a nanny. That meant three extra in the dining room, two extra in the steward’s room, an extra nanny, and an extra child. All on different sorts of food.” They also, respectively, occupied different sorts of dining area! Members of the family with guests as they would have looked in the 1920s.   Jenny’s day was seventeen hours long as the extra visitors made extra work! Ther...

Royal visitors at Hoar Cross Hall #10

...ell-known visitors over the years, including Queen Mary, her daughter Mary, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of York (later to become King George VI and the Queen Mother). They may have visited during one of their tours of the Midlands and it may have only been for afternoon tea, but we do know that the Meynell family provided hospitality for Mary, the Princess Royal, probably in the 1920s and for whom a special bathroom containing a marble-enclosed bath was installed on the first floor of the house. So maybe the family came for tea whilst dropping off Princess Mary for her visit – at least the servants didn't have to go into a cleaning frenzy for t...

The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41

...here were visitors arriving and her statement below shows the implications for the staff of a large country house:- “I don’t know who they were, but they were a lady and gentleman, a valet and lady’s maid, a grown-up daughter, and a very young child. Young enough to have a nanny. That meant three extra in the dining room, two extra in the steward’s room, an extra nanny, and an extra child. All on different sorts of food.” They also, respectively, occupied different sorts of dining area!Jenny’s day was seventeen hours long as the extra visitors made extra work! There were the vegetables to peel, the fire to keep up, bread sauce to make, gravy, grous...

Christmas High Jinks #72

...a lot of visitors; however, there was no-one about that day and the children made their way inside. The altar in the church   “Gosh it’s so gloomy in here,” said Gavin.  “I don’t know why people want to visit this place – there’s nothing to do or see in here.” They wandered down the aisle looking at leaflets on the way.  When they got to the altar they noticed two enormous candles at each end of it. “Let’s light the candles,” Gavin shouted.  “That will brighten the place up.”  With that he climbed up onto the altar, found some matches nearby and quickly lit the two candles.  They noticed some other candles nearby and li...