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Wartime memories of Richard Hearne (Mr. Pastry)
During the war my mother and I lived at Richard Hearne's house in Platt. My mother was a cook and helped with everything else, while lucky me got to run around his beautiful gardens. He even put up a swing in the garden which was full of beautiful flowers, and lots of lavender which attracted hundreds of butterflies. He had an oast house, that had at one time been used for drying hops, which he converted into an appartment for us. It was okay until the bombs came, then it was too dangerous with all the glass above.
Richard was a very kind man, often greeting you in the morning by walking downstairs on his hands with his feet in the air. Sometimes, on my mother's evening off, Richard and his wife would baby-sit me . The sunken rooms in his 14th. century home were full of animal pelts and, while my mother worked, I played with the animals. You couldn't have asked for a nicer place to stay. In the late '40s we moved to Canada but I still had fond memories of staying in Platt. My grandfather had a fruit farm serveral miles up the road and our surname was Martin. I remember when Richard's first daughter was born and on the day of the baptism (I think this was the case), he still didn't have a name for the baby for sure, and all the telegrams kept arriving with congratulations etc. etc. etc. and so the name was decided upon - CETRA. I'm not a hundred percent sure of that story but that is what I remember.
Nice Memories,
Pam Germundson (nee Martin)
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