Book description
Max and Vicky Hardcastle, recent newcomers to the beautiful village of
Ramsthwaite, are now quite settled into their tumble-down old farm. But
their rural life doesn't always run smoothly, for whether Max is
plotting to get the better of rival antiques dealers, battling Elspeth
the obstinate goat or restoring the burnished nether-regions of a Greek
statue, every day seems to bring new excitement and intrigue. Meanwhile
fellow villager Canary Mary finds romance, Long John gets a scorching
surprise and local poacher Rabbit Joe devises a wily scheme to make a
few bob on the races. And somehow Max ends up right in the middle of
every incident! Max Hardcastle was born in the old West Riding of
Yorkshire, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. He started
collecting antiques at an early age, hoarding his treasures - including
a five-foot stuffed crocodile - in a disused hen house, known ever after
as the 'junk hut'. After National Service and a brief period working for
an engineering company, Max and his family heard the call of the
Yorkshire Dales, where they bought a cottage, hung out their sign -
Bullpen Antiques - and made a happy living for many years. Max and his
family now live in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, with two dogs, two ponies
and an ever-fluctuating population of hens, ducks and pigeons. His only
regret is that he no longer has contents of his treasured 'junk hut'.
