Story Search Results

Ghosts of Christmas Past #88

...hey spent Christmas Day as, not only was it a nice room, but it had a large fireplace which meant a roaring log fire to keep them warm.  Viv forgot about the attic tenants as she helped trim the tree and listened to her mother telling her about the new tenants that were moving into the west wing apartment.  “I hope they don’t hear all those weird noises that we hear,” said Viv.  “They might leave!” Her mother laughed and told her that ghosts usually disappeared once a house was being lived in again. Viv sincerely hoped so! A week later, despite her vows about going to the attics, Viv was sitting in the den typing her story.  Her brother Gavin ha...

Becoming a Rock Chick #17

...My schoolDays were coming to an end now and I absolutely couldn’t wait to leave. The school itself was an old Victorian grammar school in Uttoxeter which still had wooden desks with inkwells in them! Even the teachers wore their mortar boards and gowns just like the ones at Eton and Harrow – or the Beano! However, in the last two years there I had made a few good friends and we would go into town every lunch time to meet up with a group of guys that worked at the local J. C. Bamford firm. They were all into motor bikes and one of the first films I watched was ‘Easy Rider’. They also went to a lot of concerts to see live music, something which was totally...

Becoming a rock chick #16

...BECOMING A ROCK CHICK:     My schoolDays were coming to an end now and I absolutely couldn’t wait to leave. The school itself was an old Victorian grammar school in Uttoxeter which still had wooden desks with inkwells in them! Even the teachers wore their mortar boards and gowns just like the ones at Eton and Harrow – or the Beano! However, in the last two years there I had made a few good friends and we would go into town every lunch time to meet up with a group of guys that worked at the local J. C. Bamford firm. They were all into motor bikes and one of the first films I watched was ‘Easy Rider’. They also went to a lot of concerts to see live musi...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #20

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty.  They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their Day to Day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a Day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those Days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:       This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s, when the Hall became empty.  They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their Day to Day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one.  They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a Day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight.  No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those Days!  By the end of the 19th century there were nearly...

Hoar Cross Hall - Life below stairs #39

...HOAR CROSS HALL – LIFE BELOW STAIRS:    This week I’ve done a history blog about the servants who lived at the Hall from the 1870s to the 1950s when the Hall became empty. They were an essential part of keeping a big house running but were often not appreciated by the aristocracy as they went about their Day to Day duties. The life of a servant in Victorian times was a hard one. They had to rise at 5am to clean and light all the fires and dust and polish the floors, then do a Day’s work, often not getting to bed much before midnight. No wonder they didn’t live to a great age in those Days! By the end of the 19th century there were nearly one and a hal...