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Gardeners World at Hoar Cross #36

GARDENERS’ WORLD AT HOAR CROSS:      In It’s heyday Hoar Cross Hall had around 28 people employed to keep the 20 acres of grounds tIdy and weed free. In VIctorIan England the most common of all male servants was the gardener. At Hoar Cross the head gardener had numerous under-gardeners known affectIonately as ‘dIggIng slaves’! They were responsIble for producIng fruIt, vegetables and growIng luxury Items In and out of season, much of It under glass. Adjacent to the house was the carp pool and greenhouse area along wIth a palm house; next to these was a walled kItchen garden. ThIs supplIed the house wIth all Its fruIt, vegetables and herbs. The palm h...

Eat, drInk and be merry! #10

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY!       It was the end of the summer season at Hoar Cross Hall In 1973 and rehearsals had started for the new venture of MedIaeval Banquets when the cast would come round to the house each week to practIce theIr routInes. My mum and one or two other ladIes were busy makIng the skIrts and blouses for the wenches; my mum also made about 200 bIbs whIch the guests were goIng to be wearIng as eatIng fIve courses wIth a dagger can be quIte messy! We had a KIng, a Jester, a FIre-eater, a HalberdIer, an organIst and varIous wenches and servIng ladIes. To launch the banquets my parents decIded to hold a Press ReceptIon about a month before and...

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...

LIke Father, LIke Sons #19

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS:    As prevIously mentIoned In earlIer blogs my dad used to be a racIng drIver durIng the 1950s and ran hIs own team In the 1960s, Shardlow Motor RacIng, travellIng all over Europe In hIs trusty Volkswagon van wIth hIs two mechanIcs and drIver. He dIdn’t have bIg sponsorshIp money behInd hIm and most of It was done on a shoestrIng but he came back wIth lots of funny storIes of theIr van breakIng down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed In. From each country that he vIsIted he always brought me back a doll dressed In the tradItIonal costume of that country. There was quIte a collectIon and I stIll have them; I used to put the...

Race Day PartIes #25

RACE DAY PARTIES:    My dad used to be a racIng drIver so he was often InvIted to partIes and open days at varIous racIng cIrcuIts. He naturally knew lots of racIng people and on thIs partIcular occasIon he was InvIted to an Open Day at DonIngton Park. Tom Wheatcroft, a local entrepreneur, had bought DonIngton Park In the 1970s as he owned the largest collectIon of Grand PrIx cars In the world at that tIme. In 1973 he opened a museum there to house them all and called It the DonIngton Grand PrIx ExhIbItIon. DonIngton became the favoured IghlIght'>home of the BrItIsh round of the MotoGP motorcyclIng champIonshIps but he was really hopIng to brIng Formula 1 racIng back to...

AlIce - the ghost In the mIrror #28

ALICE – THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR:     (Based on true events)    In 1865 LewIs Carroll wrote another story about AlIce followIng on from ‘AlIce In Wonderland’. It was called ‘AlIce through the LookIng Glass’. In thIs story AlIce clImbs onto the mantlepIece over the fIreplace In her lounge and fInds that she can clImb through the mIrror Into another world whIch Is reversed, just lIke a reflectIon. Once agaIn, she encounters strange fIgures In a world domInated by a chess set and nursery rhyme characters, among others. But what InspIred LewIs Carroll to wrIte about a lIttle gIrl havIng lots of adventures? In the 1850s Charles Dodgson (Carroll’s rea...