Snapshot of Old Hall, Little Plumstead, Norfolk England – August 1989. Praktica MTL5 with a Pentacon 1.8/50mm lens. Scan from Kodak Gold paper at 300dpi.
I was rummaging through my night stand and found this old photograph. I thought it was gone but I must have hidden it too well a long time ago. It’s probably the best picture I ever took in England. This is a moment of utter happiness visualised, after that I never experienced anything like it.
When I got lost in Cambridge I wandered around and lost in the silent streets I found a place of perfect peace and hearing that angelic voices in a chapel where the organ played sweet music and the smell of incense made a tear escape in pure devotion I just sat in awe and only after minutes I decided to take that one photograph to bring home so I could cherish that serene moment for the rest of my life.
The Old Hall in Little Plumstead burnt down on 14 August 2016 and was consequently demolished, they believed it was arson. This story is to remember Old Hall as it was in “the good old days” when I lived there with my friends. I will never forget the good times we had.
The Grey LadyOld Hall of Little Plumstead has no ghost and it isn’t haunted. At least not on the inside. Well, there is The Grey Lady of course but she is roaming the grounds outside Old Hall: “Near the stables and the duck pond she can be found, crying.” as the story goes.
The history of The Grey Lady was once told to me by a dear friend, Liz, who got it from her mother Susan who, probably, has heard it from her mother as well as it must have originated from sometime during the first half of the 20th century. Well, aren’t most ghost stories?
I would really have loved to go back to those moments at the kitchen table again if I could. Have a Newky Brown Ale and a chat with a good friend. Tube lights and 80’s music. And then head over to the Social Club, watching Gordon and Nancy argue and listen to a band.
And I would really have liked to sit there once more, order garlic bread and a pint of Smiths, have a pack of crisps, ready salted or with vinegar, tears from the smoke, talking all night long with a friend in my room in Old Hall, and then go back to work.
Man with dog, Norwich 2011
… but it is still magical
The Old Grand Dame will be returning downstairs claiming her rightful space in the living room today. Good, wholesome, old-fashioned, trustworthy British made quality. Not just a record player but a work of art.
My two oldest children are having their exams this and next week. The stress is almost visible in the room as they review their next exam over and over again. I remember taking my exams, I remember the tension and stress, the irritation and excitement.
In a week it will all be over for them and then they will have to wait for the outcome, that one important phone call. And I know how they feel, I took my exams three times. Three most important phone calls. Three times? Yes, three times, I will explain it to you.
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