Story Search Results

The Grand Opening #5

...e armour, swords and wall hangings – and even a Burmese Palace Chair (see header picture).  Display cabinets bought in sale rooms showed off smaller items. The biggest excitement though was seeing our house advertised on the local TV channel! The Damask Room was turned into Lady Dorothy’s Boudoir complete with an 18th century four poster bed, an original bed complete with canopy and hanging curtains slept in by aristocrats throughout the centuries. I used to love lying on the bed with the curtains closed imagining myself in another era – once I lay down on the bed and fell asleep. When I awoke and climbed out from behind the drapes it was to a roomful of...

Eat, Drink & Be Merry #11

...often buy swords then bury them in the garden for a few months to ‘age’ them so he would get more money for them! He was a bit of an Arthur Daley character (hopefully most people abroad will have heard of the ‘Minder’ TV show and will therefore know what I mean!); he would see the potential in something and go for it, although he hating spending money and we lived very frugally for stately home owners! In fact, he bought a suit of armour for my mum’s birthday present once, saying it was better to spend their money on an investment rather than flowers that would wither and die! I don’t think my mum was very impressed! Another time he bought an ancient...

Rags to Riches #14

...ests with swords and guns from the Boer War and the First World War. My dad found all this stuff fascinating and started collecting it when he about 12 years old. It started a life-long interest in antiques, culminating in him owning the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country during the 1970s. This was why he wanted to buy a large country house so he could open it to the public and put all his antiques on display. Perhaps there was something about his background that inspired him, without him realising. He must have known about the stately home that his mother worked in as a young servant girl and the tragic death of his aristocratic father...

VENTURES NEW #10

...often buy swords then bury them in the garden for a few months to ‘age’ them so he would get more money for them!  He was a bit of an Arthur Daley character (hopefully most people abroad will have heard of the ‘Minder’ TV show and will therefore know what I mean!); he would see the potential in something and go for it, although he hating spending money and we lived very frugally for stately home owners!  In fact, he bought a suit of armour for my mum’s birthday present once, saying it was better to spend their money on an investment rather than flowers that would wither and die!  I don’t think my mum was very impressed!  Another time he bought an...

The Grand Opening #5

...e armour, swords and wall hangings – and even a Burmese Palace Chair.  Display cabinets bought in sale rooms showed off smaller items. The biggest excitement though was seeing our house advertised on the local TV channel! The Damask Room was turned into Lady Dorothy’s Boudoir complete with an 18th century four poster bed, an original bed complete with canopy and hanging curtains slept in by aristocrats throughout the centuries.  I used to love lying on the bed with the curtains closed imagining myself in another era – once I lay down on the bed and fell asleep.  When I awoke and climbed out from behind the drapes it was to a roomful of visitors staring...

Rags to Riches #63

...ests with swords and guns from the Boer War and the First World War.  My dad found all this stuff fascinating and started collecting it when he about 12 years old.  It started a life-long interest in antiques, culminating in him owning the largest private collection of arms and armour in the country during the 1970s.  This was why he wanted to buy a large country house so he could open it to the public and put all his antiques on display.  Perhaps there was something about his background that inspired him, without him realising.  He must have known about the stately home that his mother worked in as a young servant girl and the tragic death of his aristocra...