This Country Business
Max and Vicky Hardcastle, newcomers to the beautiful Yorkshire village of Ramsthwaite, are finallly settled into their tumble-down old farm. But their new rural life doesn't always go to plan, for whether Max is plotting to get the better of rival antiques dealers or 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'.