Castle My Story

This story belongs to Georgia and her daddy Damian.

It's a tiny tale about the things Damian used to do.

Now it's time for him to share his memories,

and take Georgia on a journey of discovery.

Georgia is packing her bag

because Daddy Damian is going to take her on holiday

to visit a very special place.

Where are we going on holiday, Daddy?

We're going to Scotland, Georgia.

-Do you remember I told you that Daddy was born there?

-Yes.

We're going to the place where my family comes from

and we're going to need to take this.

-That's a very big key.

-Well, it's a big key for a big door.

When I was growing up, my family and I were very lucky

to live in a beautiful castle in Scotland.

Wow, are we going back to the castle, Daddy?

It's so exciting up there.

Yes. I'll show you some of the things I used to get up to when I was a boy.

We've got a long way to go so we better get packing.

Shall we put the key in your bag?

And we'll need to take some wellies.

And they talk some more about what it was like to live in a castle.

Then, they went for a walk to find out more.

When I was little, I lived in a castle.

This castle was built more than 300 years ago, out of pink sandstone.

It took ten whole years to build the castle.

When it was finished,

they painted the date on the clock face at the front of the castle.

There was so much space to run around inside and outside

that we always had loads of adventures.

Daddy Damian had lots of fun growing up in the castle.

Look at Damian and his family in these old pictures.

When Damien was a boy, he lived in the castle with his mum and dad

and his two big brothers and sister.

There was so much to do in the castle.

Damien loved cycling his bike around the castle grounds.

There was lots of room for animals at the castle,

and Damien had lots of fun riding his pony.

The family had a dog called Honey.

His most favourite thing of all was to go fishing,

and the castle had a big river which runs right through the garden.

Damien loved fishing in the river.

A castle has many rooms.

Daddy Damian is taking Georgia into one of his favourite rooms.

So, Georgia, this was my bedroom when I was a little boy.

Does anything look strange to you?

Yes. The fireplace.

Was it cold in your bedroom in those days, Daddy?

Ah, well, we didn't always have heaters and radiators

in the olden days in the castle, so when the weather got cold

we'd light a fire in the fireplace to keep the rooms warm.

Where are all your toys, Daddy?

We did have some toys but in the olden days,

we used to make up our own adventures and explore inside the house

and outside so we'd make up our own fun.

I'd rush around the castle pretending to be a pirate or a knight.

-Who do you like to pretend to be sometimes?

-A princess.

-Ah, that's a good choice. And where do princesses live?

-In a castle.

And here we are in a beautiful Scottish castle.

This castle has belonged to Damian

and Georgia's family for a very long time.

Look at this very old painting.

It's one of Daddy Damian's relatives from a very long time ago.

Castles are very big and have lots of space and lots of rooms.

Over the years, lots of friends came to visit the castle

and visit Damian and Georgia's family.

They would have their dinner and sometimes,

they would stay at night and sleep in one of the many bedrooms.

Look at this beautiful bedroom.

This room and this bed is where a Prince stayed

when he was visiting the castle.

Now, Georgia, one of my absolute favourite things

that I used to love doing when I was a little boy in this castle

was to play hide and seek with my sisters and brothers.

-Would you like to have a game?

-Yes, please.

You count to ten and I will go and hide in my favourite hiding place.

Cover your eyes.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Coming to get you, ready or not!

He's not over there.

He's not down there.

No, he's not there.

He's not down there, Georgia.

Daddy, where are you? I can't find you anywhere.

-There he is.

-Here I am!

Now, you see this is a secret passageway, Georgia.

The wall is just an ordinary wall covered with pictures,

and you wouldn't even know that a doorway was there

-unless you pulled on this handle here.

-Why is it here, Daddy?

In the olden days, people would use it for the same reason I did.

They would use it for hiding in.

People might come to the castle who you who wanted to escape from

and you would just duck inside this passageway and wait

until it was safe to come out.

-I think I can hear someone. Shall we hide?

-Yes!

A castle is a fantastic place to play hide and seek,

with its many rooms, corridors and hidden passageways.

And now Daddy Damian is taking Georgia to visit an old friend.

Now, Georgia, behind this door is a very special lady

and she's known me all my life ever since I was a tiny baby.

Her name is Mrs Cook

and she's worked in the castle for as long as I can remember.

-Do you know what she does?

-Mrs Cook is a cook.

-That's right.

-Shall we go and see what she's cooking today?

-Yes, please.

Hello, Damian. Hello, Georgia. Back for your holidays?

Hello, Mrs Cook. Yes, we're here for our holidays.

We can smell something delicious. What are you making?

We're making scones today.

-Can I help mix them, please?

-Yes, certainly.

-Do you want to wash your hands?

-Let's wash our hands, Georgia.

Let's roll up our sleeves.

Look at that sink. That looks really old.

Here we are. Would you like to rub it in?

Damian, maybe you could beat some egg. There we are.

That's really good. Isn't it? Let Daddy put the egg in.

-Shall I tip it all in there?

-Yes, just in there.

Then we add some milk.

Mrs Cook the cook is a very important person in the castle.

As well as the people who came to visit,

lots of people worked in the castle.

Mrs Cook would be busy all day in the kitchen making sure everyone

had something nice and tasty to eat.

-That's nine scones. Is there enough to make it ten?

-Yes.

There we are, Georgia, here's the scones I made earlier.

-Thank you, Mrs Cook.

-Would you like to taste one?

-Yes, please.

Those scones look yummy.

-Thank you very much, Mrs Cook.

-That's all right, Georgia.

After eating all those delicious scones,

Damien and Georgia need some exercise

so they decide to climb lots of stairs

and go to the highest point of the castle.

So, Georgia, we had a big climb to the roof of the castle.

-Look around. You can see for a very long way, can't you?

-Yes.

-Now we're here, we have a very special job to do.

-What's that?

-We need to hoist the castle flag.

-Why do we need to hoist the flag?

In the olden days,

people would hoist the flag to let everyone around know they're at home.

That was in the days before cars and telephones.

Each flag had different things on it for different families.

Shall we have a look at our family flag?

Can you tell me what's on this flag, Georgia?

-A crown, a heart, a star and a crown.

-Very good. Shall we hoist it?

-Will you give me a hand?

-Yes.

On the count of three... One, two, three.

Up we go.

Damien and Georgia raise the flag all the way to the top of the pole.

Everyone will be able to see this flag for miles and miles.

Daddy Damien and Georgia are now going to have some fun.

They are now going to do an experiment with some eggs.

Now, Georgia, do you know, when I was a little boy, my mother,

your grandmother, used to tell me that if you threw an egg

off the castle roof and it would land on the lawn, then it wouldn't break.

-What do you think of that?

-Of course eggs will break, they're fragile!

Well, why don't we try and see if Grandma was right? I have a pen here.

We can write a G for Georgia on your egg,

and a D for Daddy on my egg.

Get ready and you throw first. Pick a point a long way out over there.

Go!

-Very good.

-Did it break?

-We'll find out when we get there.

-Look, Daddy, the eggs didn't break.

-Grandma was right, wasn't she?

-Yes.

-Well, did you enjoy my story, Georgia?

-Yes.

-What was your favourite bit?

-Throwing the eggs off the roof.

-What was your favourite bit about the castle?

-The secret passageway.

Me too. I've had such a fun day but there's one last thing

I would love to do. That's one of my favourite things I used to do.

It was rolling down this bank really, really fast.

-Shall we have a go?

-Yes, please.

-OK.

Lie down facing me.

Ready, steady, go!

It was a dead heat, wasn't it?

What a fun day.

What a fabulous heap of fun.

That was Georgia and Daddy Damian's tiny tale about the things Damian

used to do when he was a little boy, and why he has a huge key.

Daddy Damian has shared his story with Georgia

and now Georgia is starting her own story.

Do you know someone who has a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd