Michael, it's got to be "Glamis" - (pronounced 'Glarms' for the sake of our
friends in the west) and if selected, it would have considerable credibility
from a Royal perspective.
When I was first married, our next door neighbour, George Durbridge, was a
former chauffeur to the Royal Family and he used to have me in stitches of
laughter about certain antics of well known individuals.
King George V it seems, had a predeliction for chopping wood. It was allegedly
a de-stresser for him and when at Balmoral in the summer, the King would
periodically appear at the converted stables where the Royal Daimlers were
garaged and in a continuous state of being polished.
There would be a roar.
"DURBRIDGE!!!!!!"
"Your Majesty."
"Ah, Durbridge - step over here one moment, please."
So they stepped 'over there.'
"Durbridge, my dearest May (Queen Mary) is proving to be a little vexatious
today. Glamis?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. We are leaving directly?"
"We are, Durbridge. Leaving NOW would be even better."
And so they would drive to Glamis Castle. The King often took the wheel but
never quite got the hang of a pre-selector gearbox. On arrival, he would go
immediately to a tiny room in a distant turret, reserved expressly for his
pleasure, even though it wasn't his Castle. Inside the room was a fresh pile
of rough sawn logs, a chopping block, an axe, a hand chopper and an old chair
to rest in. Often he would spend several hours in there doing nothing more
than chopping wood - and then he would drive back to Balmoral, refreshed and
at peace with the world. After all and as you will know, he ruled quite a lot
of it at the time. And as his reign passed, the story got out about the turret
room at Glamis and gradually, other 'Glamis's appeared - Sandringham,
Holyroodhouse, Windsor, Buckingham Palace - but never Balmoral and in all
these little rooms, there was nothing to be found except a fresh pile of rough
sawn logs, a chopping block, an axe, a hand chopper and an old chair to rest
in.
And whenever anyone wanted to know where the King was - and the answer was
Glamis - those 'in the know' knew where it was and what he was doing - but
no-one else did. Poor old b****r - you almost feel sorry for him.
Michael, the room HAS to be called Glamis.
Jonmac
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