As a child, "home" could be anywhere in the world; however, the place all of us chose to call "home" was in Epsom, Surrey, roughly two miles from the famous Epsom Racecourse. It was the house we always returned to between our worldly travels. I must admit it was a big house, the basement was the size of a three-bedroom house and stuffed full of every board game and toy imaginable. We had a lovely cinema where we could get snacks and watch movies We also had a games room and a music room. Despite having an impressive lifestyle, my brothers and I were unspoilt. One of our neighbours was the adorable Sir Harry Secombe with his wife, Myra, and their children, who were a bit older than me. We had two Golden Retrievers, and Sir Harry had five Boxer Gogs.
My father was a lifetime teetotaler, but kept a fully equipped bar and would go to town hiring a "barman" for the parties my parents threw. Celebrities and politicians galore.
My bedroom was at the front of the house, so I could never hear any noise from their parties. It was Christmas Eve. My bed was under a high window, I could see the full moon shining in, I couldn't hear the noise from the party, I lay thinking of Sandat close and fell fast asleep. I awoke suddenly, and in my half-asleep state, I felt a hand touch my shoulder gently. I caught a whiff of a magical-smelling perfume. I tried to focus on who was sitting on my bed. She had long black hair with a slight wave at the bottom, just like my mum, but it wasn't mum, it was the most beautiful fairy imaginable. She was wearing a long-sleeved pale blue dress with sparkles on it, she had a shining diamond necklace around her neck and wore a diamond bracelet. Her wings were also pale blue. They looked so delicate. She was holding a wand which looked like it had a real gold handle. But the thing that struck me most was her eyes. I had my stunning, magical fairy bent forward and softly kissed me on the top of my head. Smiling sweetly, she whispered, "Go back to sleep, darling girl. When you wake up, all your dreams will have come true."
They did. They always did. I found out later my wonderful, beautiful Fairy was also called Elizabeth.... Elizabeth Taylor.
I was heartbroken when I found out years later that she was party estranged from her daughters, who were mostly brought up by their fathers. Although neither of my parents touched alcohol and always kept a full bar, I always thought they had quite a few similarities with Taylor/Burton. Four highly talented, gifted individuals who loved each other but were poisonous together. The difference was my father remained with my mother until he died. No one should forsake their future and love life for a false sense of responsibility.
No matter where we went in the world, it was always an adventure and always, always an honour to have the opportunity to live like that.
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