Frogspawn and Floor Polish: Upstairs and Downstairs in a National Trust House (Summersdale Travel)

'I've never forgotten the photographer who came in as white as a sheet and said he hadn't realised the fence was electrified. Until he was astride it. Nasty.' Join Mary Mackie and husband Chris as they revisit Felbrigg Hall, the stately home they lived and worked in for several years. Behind the beauty of the gardens, resplendent with apple blossom and wisteria, and beyond the imposing majesty of the seventeenth-century architecture, a constant battle is waged against mould and fungus, over-zealous conservationists, and floors on the brink of collapse...Mary reveals the quirks and quagmires of living in this wonderful Norfolk National Trust house. Acknowledgements......Page 6 Introduction......Page 9 Felbrigg 2001......Page 15 Historic Felbrigg......Page 37 Days of elegance......Page 55 Enter the Trust......Page 70 It’s a fact!......Page 90 The comedy of manners......Page 130 Swan alert......Page 149 Accustomed as I am .........Page 170 Time to move on......Page 188 A never-ending story......Page 208 Join Mary and Chris Mackie as they revisit Felbrigg Hall, the stately home where they lived and worked. Behind the beauty of the gardens and the 17th-century architecture, a constant battle is waged on mould and fungus, over-zealous conservationists and floors on the brink of collapse.