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Ghostbusters! #8

...in an old Gothic mansion on the moors or somewhere remote where you could hear eerie noises all night long – sound familiar? Yes, it was a bit like watching my own life and especially as the lead actor, who was nearly always Peter Cushing, looked exactly like my dad! In fact, so much so that at one New Years’ Eve Ball a man was so convinced that it was Peter Cushing he kept pestering my dad for an autograph; my dad eventually signed the actor’s name just to get rid of him! My dad, the Peter Cushing lookalike!   As the night wore on I got more and more scared by the film and by midnight, when the film had ended, I didn’t dare leave the lounge to g...

Ghostbusters #8

...in an old Gothic mansion on the moors or somewhere remote where you could hear eerie noises all night long – sound familiar?  Yes, it was a bit like watching my own life and especially as the lead actor, who was nearly always Peter Cushing, looked exactly like my dad!  In fact, so much so that at one New Years’ Eve Ball a man was so convinced that it was Peter Cushing he kept pestering my dad for an autograph; my dad eventually signed the actor’s name just to get rid of him!  As the night wore on I got more and more scared by the film and by midnight, when the film had ended, I didn’t dare leave the lounge to go up to bed – imagine climbing those s...

Ghostbusters! #8

...in an old Gothic mansion on the moors or somewhere remote where you could hear eerie noises all night long – sound familiar?  Yes, it was a bit like watching my own life and especially as the lead actor, who was nearly always Peter Cushing, looked exactly like my dad!  In fact, so much so that at one New Years’ Eve Ball a man was so convinced that it was Peter Cushing he kept pestering my dad for an autograph; my dad eventually signed the actor’s name just to get rid of him!  As the night wore on I got more and more scared by the film and by midnight, when the film had ended, I didn’t dare leave the lounge to go up to bed – imagine climbing those s...

The Chapel #68

...Continuing our series on the rooms that were open to the public during the 1970s at Hoar Cross Hall, we find the Garden Hall and Chapel leading off the Long Gallery at the east end of the house.  This private chapel was a later addition to the Hall and was designed by G F Bodley, the Gothic revival architect, and completed in 1897 at a cost of just under £1000.  The walls have a fine linenfold panelling and the ceiling is richly decorated.  Many houses in days gone by had their own private chapel and it seems that before the chapel was built, services had been held in another room of the house.  I would imagine that Emily Meynell wanted a proper consecrated...

Meet the Neighbours - Alton Towers #82

...When you say the name ‘Alton Towers’ most people in the UK will think of the theme park with spectacular rollercoaster rides.  It really has changed beyond all recognition to the days when I used to go there back in the 1970s.  In those days it was a lovely house set in beautiful grounds with a few fairground rides to one side of the car park!  Well, it still is a lovely place to visit but the rides have taken over now so that people only think of it as a theme park with fantastically themed hotels and an enchanted village! However, this estate started life as an Iron Age Fort built on Bunbury Hill. Then later on in the 11th century, Alton Castle was bui...