The likenesses of Mr & Mrs Gladstone had hung on the wall of my grandfather’s farm house for as long as I could remember
They were actually plates with photographic images of the great man and his wife and dated from the late years of the nineteenth century
Although they had aged well there was a dark stain on William’s plate which was supposed to have been the result of an incendiary bomb that set fire to some adjoining farm buildings in 1940 during a raid
I never believed this tale and knew that the staining had been caused by the toxic smoke that came from my grandfather’s pipe
He often used to sit in his chair directly under the portrait of William smoking quite heavily
The cottage is now a restaurant and a sympathetic extension has been added to the building near where the stables used to stand
On the wall opposite the fireplace where the Welsh Dresser used to be is a solitary ribbon plate
This shows the lovely Queen Alexandra in later life
Its pale blue ribbons have faded somewhat but the likeness of Edward’s dear wife is still quite clear