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enthusiastic and really care about the properties and the people.
Did you know Coleton Fishacre before you became a volunteer? Oh yes! I have been visiting the garden for over 30 years. We used to live in Gloucestershire but moved to Dartmouth 18 months ago.
What do you most like about the garden? That there is something for every season, it doesn’t matter what time of year you visit. It’s not just tropical flowers; there are amazing borders, hedges, bamboo forests and won- derful trees. I particularly like the rill garden with the natural stream that starts up by the house and travels
all the way down to the sea at the bottom of the garden. It has plenty of perennials which were a favourite of Lady Dorothy.
What is your favourite time of the year? Spring - when it’s all to hope for and there is a freshness in the air.
What happens when it rains? My tour is definitely an all-weather one! You find people are very hardy even in the pouring rain! We get all ages and the odd dog coming along too.
Do you like gardening yourself? Yes I do. I’ve enjoyed cultivating our own garden over the past 18
months. It’s where you’ll find me most Saturdays.
What do you do the rest of the time? I’m a retired Anglican priest and I still conduct a few local services. I also enjoy sailing and we have quite a few house guests.
What is your favourite meal? There is a Riverford recipe I enjoy cooking….and eating! It has chick- en, peas, onions and white wine.
Last film you watched: Phantom Thread, it’s set in the glam- our of post-war London with Daniel Day-Lewis.
Tipple of choice: Whisky – neat.
Gail Richmond COLETON FISHACRE HOUSE, ROOM GUIDE
How many days do you volunteer? I usually do one morning or a whole day each week.
Talk us through your role: I get to work at about 10.15am and go into the volunteer room where we have a cup of coffee and the house manager gives a little briefing letting us know if there are any coach trips planned for example. I then go into the house and toddle off to my first room of the day where I chat to visitors as they pass through. We move rooms every hour.
Do you have a favourite room? The dining room. It’s the only room in the house that has nearly all its original furniture. I like the saloon too, it’s light and bright and I like inviting people to sit on the green
sofas and imagine they have a cock- tail in their hand. We can take them back to the 1920s! We often have music playing in there, such as Noel Coward, and people are allowed to play the piano.
The men sometimes ask me questions about the heating or plumbing – not my area of expertise at all!
What facts do you like telling people? I like the quirky things, for example the tassels on the main light on the ceiling in Lady Dorothy’s room are actually solid. She didn’t like spiders so couldn’t stand the idea of them having material they could hide and nest in! There is also a bat screen
on one of her bedroom windows to stop bats flying in during the night.
Do you get asked any tricky questions? The men sometimes ask me questions about the heating or plumbing – not my area of expertise at all! So I normally point them in the direction of a man to answer their questions!
Do you have to police children in the house? Their parents are generally very good at keeping an eye on them. It is very tempting for them to touch in the dining room as we have fake cakes on the table. I always say, “they wouldn’t do your teeth any good!” We do have a handling room upstairs with clothes and jewellery that they can try on.
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