Story Search Results

Eat, Drink and be Merry! #10

...from the wine and beer cellars, and we had great fun learning to walk on them like they did in the circus!  We also built a treehouse in one of the huge cedar trees which lined the path to the church.  As per usual the three of us would hide up there and watch the visitors walk by on their way to the church, as this was also open to the public, then we would make animal noises or suchlike and throw pine cones into nearby bushes to make them jump!  It was also a good place to hide from our dad! The visitors continued to come on a regular basis and my parents tried to think up different ideas to attract them.  At one end of the terrace, near to the old grass...

Hysterical Productions! #13

...HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:     By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong.  Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead.  But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly bein...

Ventures New #9

...from the wine and beer cellars, and we had great fun learning to walk on them like they did in the circus! We also built a treehouse in one of the huge cedar trees which lined the path to the church. As per usual the three of us would hide up there and watch the visitors walk by on their way to the church, as this was also open to the public, then we would make animal noises or suchlike and throw pine cones into nearby bushes to make them jump! It was also a good place to hide from our dad! The visitors continued to come on a regular basis and my parents tried to think up different ideas to attract them. At one end of the terrace, near to the old grass tennis...

Hysterical Productions #15

...HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS:    By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatte...

My Dad Bought a Mansion #1

...where the wine cellars were along with linen storage cupboards. In the attic a similar number of rooms were bare and empty and had once housed all the female servants. Two spiral staircases joined all the floors together, one at each end of the house. The Library had secret doors!   All the bedrooms for the family were on the first floor and were named after whichever town they faced i.e. Derby, Lichfield, Needwood, etc. It was fascinating stuff! There was also a West Wing and an East Wing to the house; the West Wing had been the nursery rooms for the younger members of the Meynell family and their nursemaids. In one of the corridors we found an old ‘s...

Hysterical Productions #15

...By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by men who bought us dri...