Storytelling.

This week we hosted a party for the BBC at which there were 20 plus children running all over the house. Every few minutes we would get a snippet of wisdom on how many mirrors there were, or on the steps into Mrs Blacks bed, then a servants bell would ring and they would run off. The names given to the rooms are loosely based on the first owners of the house, the Black family, and taken from the servants bells, which all work. A nod is due here to Dennis Severs house in Spitalfields.

Hannah is back and between working on the drawings for the barn we have redistributing some of our weirder acquisitions, this monolith will be part of a treasure hunt and many other things are collecting in a huge pile for a possible treehouse, we also have a number of boats and will shortly have a movie projector for the squash court.

With the snow starting here are the latest photos

The latest.

Following on from the piece in the Guardian we have been listed by BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine as one of the loveliest places for a winter holiday. Unfortunately I cant link to it because its a magazine piece so you have to go out and buy it.

We hosted our first photo shoot, Gisela and Emma adding a touch a fur clad New York glamour to the Inshriach forest, one of their pics is shown above.

While thinking about fur coats we revisited the highland wildlife park for the first time in 15 years. Its no sprawling Longleat but its manageable and lovely with its suitably massive upland animals, yaks, bison, wolves, siberian tigers, snowy owls. I would like to keep the mini red pandas and furry alpine foxes.



We had a big party in the house on Friday, 55 people, catered by us. The brownies, fruitcake and stew will keep us going for weeks. The next foreseable time this will happen is a wedding coming up in September.

Post BBC we have a farmyard full of amazing props. Those of you already planning on coming for the buildathon in the spring have something to work with and any other friends who fancy a sabbatical from bad news and a few months living in the woods will be very welcome.