King of the Castle part iii

It’s been wonderful staying at the castle this week. The building itself is beautiful, and the surroundings, too, and it has been peaceful and inspiring, and I wouldn’t have missed any of that for the World.

Last night, though, we saw the house in an entirely new, and altogether different, but equally wonderful light. We saw this pretty castle filled with the noise and laughter and playfulness of a bunch of kids.

Part of the reason we came to stay here, in particular, was because it’s close enough to spend a little time with our younger daughter who is at dance college in Leicester. She’s a huge personality and we’ve missed her terribly, so we thought it’d be good to see her if we got the chance. Since the castle comfortably sleeps eight, we also mentioned that she might like to bring some friends with her.

In the end, there were four of them. They came for something to eat, and to sleep over, and they were bright, funny, lovely company. They ate, and they talked, and they filled up the great hall with their presence. After dinner, they even plugged in one of their own i-pod’s, turned up the volume, and ran through some of their dance routines.

Who needs wi-fi or television, or any other form of so-called entertainment when you’ve got four gorgeous young dancers in the house?

We then discovered that, not only did one of the girls have the feminine version of one of the most romantic names in English literature, (albeit she didn’t know it, and, when she texted her mother, she claimed that it was a coincidence), but she also happened to be the grand-daughter of one of the original members of Showaddywaddy! So, I salute you MIss Gabrielle Oakes... I would say you rock, but that’d mean me showing my age, and I already did that by admitting that, not only do I remember Showaddywaddy, but I can sing a medley of their most popular tracks.

While I’m at it I also salute you Ryan and Aileen, and, of course, the dort. It was lovely to have you, and I do hope you’ll all come again the next time we rent the castle, because I’m convinced that this place hasn’t seen the last of us, or us of it. Plans, as they say, are afoot.