Chronicle of a Croydon Boy

On Friday 31 July we shall be driving down to see my youngest daughter Clare and the two grandchildren, Jake and Ellie. It's a long car...

Mellerstain House is the only large country mansion built solely by Robert Adam. His father, William, built the east and west wings in the ...

Whether or not you believe in the paranormal - and I do not - one often experiences strange happenings. Have you ever been certain that you ...

I thought I'd offer just one of my favourite film clips and theme music, just for something completely different, as Monty Python's ...

And the days dwindled down, October, November ... and these precious days were spent in peaceful learning of the history of Mellerstain and ...

Peering into the far darkness of the night waiting for the flashing blue lights and headlamps of the cops car. The immediate surrounds of M...

Slept soundly on our first night in Mellerstain. Strong blustery winds blitzed riotously through the plentiful trees but it actually seemed...

October 1995 and we are off to a new life in the Scottish Borders. Everything’s ready for the journey; the Pickford’s Removals van has just...

Interview over. We left the curator's office in the east wing of Mellerstain and entered the east courtyard. The tea-room was open; we...

Reading my wife's magazine, "The Lady", I saw a small ad for a security-caretaker. Hmm, sounded interesting. Showed it to my ...

In 1987 life was killing me. At times I dreaded the approach of dawn. I was weak. Not physically you understand; more like a car, a good c...

I could spend yonks detailing my Customs and Excise years. Instead I'll compress it into this one posting. OK, OK, don't overdo the...

Soon after the start of my new job the police rang me. Just looking forward to my first cup of tea (well, I am a civil servant now!)when my...

When I left school at the tender age of 14 the "careers" chap asked me what I wanted to do. No idea said I. He pressed me for an...

This "bio-blog" of mine has been rather rushed through. I guess it's all been work, work, work - and that makes Phil a dull bo...

Thoroughly disenchanted with the bookmaking game. Fed up and needing something new. A half-page advert in The Sporting Life caught my imagi...

The letter D was looming large in the UK. For some months everyone was being brainwashed by decimalisation literature, television programmes...

Just before I switched to working in betting shops I worked for Albert Cook & Son. The office was in 801 Wandsworth Road in London. The...

There's an old saying: "Where there's muck there's money". You can also be sure that where there is money there's...

Now licensed betting shops were in full swing and there were jobs aplenty for shop settlers/managers/counterhands. I started work as settle...