In Episode 5, "The Summer Hunt Ball," Richard Devere tricks Audrey fforbes-Hamilton into running the manor's annual Summer Hunt Ball. A pavilion is set up adjacent to the manor, and as Audrey instructs decorators, and members of a local Army troop setting up tables, in struts far out Kevin McCloud. He's billed as The Jamaican Steel Band. Quite why he's been invited to participate in what seems a formal aristocratic affair is unexplained. Perhaps there's a rich tradition of fox hunting in Jamaica. Perhaps English hounds, or their owners, find the sound of a Jamaican steel drum soothing. Either way, Audrey assigns him to a place deep inside the manor, as far away from the pavilion, and therefore the center of the fun, as possible.
Exactly where this pavilion is set up is open to question. On the day of our visit, my wife and I walked from the front to the left of the manor, and circled around it. This was a view from behind.
While the rear patio is larger than it appears in the photo, it does not look large enough to support the pavilion. Instead, the ground steps down to meet the gravel path.
This is the view after we passed the house, prepared to turn right, and walk along the side.
The corner in the above photo resembles the corner of the manor in the still from the TV series. And then there's the garden path. I'm guessing that area in back of the house used to be higher, but landscapers cut down the height sometime in the intervening decades, perhaps to flatten the walking path, and add more drama to the rear patio area. Of course, that's only my guess. Any others?
Oh, and if anyone has any theories on why a British Hunt Ball would want to hire a Jamaican Steel Drum player, I'm all ears.
Unlike, that is, Richard Devere, who can't hear anything on the phone, because of the loud music filling the room courtesy of far out Kevin McCloud.
Dragon Dave
