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Rags to Riches #15

...or to the vicarage. Mum soon became friends with Marjorie, the verger’s wife, and as they had no children of their own they loved to have us over for tea. This was the one time we didn’t misbehave! But even they left after a few years to retire to Weston-super-Mare, although we kept in touch and often went to see them. On one trip there Tony Blackburn, the Radio One DJ, was doing a show and me and a crowd of other girls ran across the road to mob him and get his autograph – it was the highlight of our trip! The bearskin rug enjoyed by our cat!   As the Mediaeval Banquets became ever more popular and successful, life at the Hall became more difficul...

Moving into the Manor #2

...MOVING INTO THE MANOR:          My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months.  We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there!  Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child.  My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donington Park.  During the...

Whodunit in the Library? #26

...ached the vicarage across the road.  The vicar answered my knock and told me that my dad had collapsed on his doorstep earlier that day and was now in the local cottage hospital! So now it had come to this.  I later found out that my dad had gone into the Library to rip up and sabotage the mediaeval banquet costumes and my mum had found him there – an argument had ensued which became violent.  My dad had an awful temper and would sometimes attack my mum during these rows (I once found him in the kitchen with his hands round my mum’s throat) so she had grabbed the nearest thing to her, which was the truncheon, and hit him over the head.  She had then loc...

The tax man cometh! #29

...as at the vicarage after the church services, when we would take the sandwiches apart and put them back together in a different order! We also had the added problem of my parents – my dad had to give me away so he had to be there, but my mum would surely want to see me married too, even if we weren’t really on speaking terms.  Where would we seat them?  How would we keep them apart without a huge argument starting – we really didn’t want this on our wedding day, and so we pondered on it until we could reach a decision. Meanwhile, we carried on with our social life in the local Meynell Arms to keep our spirits up.  During the summer months there were...

Moving Day Arrives #2

...My parents took vacant possession of Hoar Cross Hall in 1970 and the whole process of moving house was done over the summer months. We lived about 20 miles away in an old vicarage with a large garden and lots of outbuildings. This house was about 200 years old and they say Bonnie Prince Charlie marched past it on his way to battle back in the day, for all you history buffs out there! Actually I love history and I think my interest was fuelled by living in these historic houses as a child. My dad used to be a racing driver in the 1950s and before that he did motorcycle racing, often at nearby Donnington Park. During the 1960s he ran his own team, Shardlow Motor R...

Rags to Riches #14

...or to the vicarage. Mum soon became friends with Marjorie, the verger’s wife, and as they had no children of their own they loved to have us over for tea. This was the one time we didn’t misbehave! But even they left after a few years to retire to Weston-super-Mare, although we kept in touch and often went to see them. On one trip there Tony Blackburn, the Radio One DJ, was doing a show and me and a crowd of other girls ran across the road to mob him and get his autograph – it was the highlight of our trip! As the Mediaeval Banquets became ever more popular and successful, life at the Hall became more difficult for my parents. The dream home was becoming...