premise: Indeed, in those busy days, our servants ' hall would often witness a gathering of some of the finest professionals in England talking late into the night by the warmth of the fire. Sometimes, naturally, there would be strong disagreements, but more often than not, the atmosphere was dominated by a feeling of mutual respect. Perhaps I will convey a better idea of the tone of those evenings if I say that regular visitors included the likes of Mr Harry Graham valet-butler to Sir James Chambers and Mr John Donalds valet to Mr Sydney Dickenson.