European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 22, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 20 the stars and stripes Friday september 22, 1978 $$1 House built mouse by Gregory Jensen United press International Oan Ledger lives in a piece of cheese. It s the most Peculiar stately Home in England and the smallest. Some people who come in Here just can t be Lieve it Ledger said on a recent two customer tour of the House in Hastings. In her House two customers is a crowd. Her midget cottage competing for visitors with the greatest abbeys and mansions in the land looks exactly like its name the piece of cheese. It s a tiny Triangle painted Rich yellow outside whose Walls come together at angles sharper than the letter v. Both the upstairs and the downstairs room there Are Only two Are lopsided Day triangular. The piece of cheese Points the knife Edge of its wedge toward All Saint s Street not far from the sea in the South coast town. A narrow sidewalk and flight of Steps Sepa rate it from the Garden of the next door restaurant. Since it entered the stately Homes business in 1963, some 31,000 people have tiptoed through it trying not to Knock things Over with their elbows. So far this year More than 1,800 have paid 10 Pence 20 cents for Ledger s personally guide Tours. She tells them that her Odd Little Home resulted not surprisingly from a bet a probably Drunken Wager More than 100 years ago. There were two Brothers named Starr who built the Row of workmen s cottages you see running up the Hill said Ledger a retired civil servant who looks much younger than her 60 years. When they finished they had this awkward Triangle of land left Over. Someone bet them you can just imag Ine the scene in a pub can t you that they could t build a House on that Triangle. That was in 1871, and the bet was 5 pounds now about $9.50 the Brothers won the bet. But the building they put Upas so Peculiar no one would live in it. Instead a coffin maker worked upstairs this is the door he used to swing the coffins out Ledger said leaning Over her bed and the downstairs room was just big enough for a watch repairer. Various other people owned it Ledger said. There was a Cobbler Here once. Then 25 years ago an artist bought it and put in a Kitchen and bathroom. As you can see they re both in the  she swept her Arm almost a Wall to Wall gesture toward the Sharp end of the Triangle where she is currently remodelling her Kitchen. The piece of cheese measures 32 by 16 by 24 feet. As semble those lengths and you la see the angles Are so " wife  t. Fax a iia or the most Peculiar stately Home in England at Hastings is also the smallest. Thuv piece of cheese is a tiny Triangle of a cottage and is painted in a Rich yellow. Acute that there in t a Square Comer in the place. It makes fitting in the furniture a bit of a problem Ledger said. Moving in was horrible. Nothing fit so we just dumped it All in the Middle. I woke up that first night thinking the place was overrun with rats. Actually it was just seagulls dropping clamshells on the roof. Come into my Garden she said suddenly though Garden was hard to imagine. She opened a Corner door and stepped onto a Balcony also triangular with barely room to turn around. It was Bright with hanging honeysuckle and climbing Flowers. I have great plans for my Garden Ledger said. It s a real Sun trap Here. Come and see my View of the  upstairs a window 18 inches Square tucked into an Angle looked Over Hastings 15th-Century roofs to a minute Patch of the Gray English Channel. Ledger bought the piece of cheese from author Diann Stoddart though not without trepidation. I had this big House full of things she said. The of buildings alone were far bigger than this  when Friend told her it was for Sale and told her the dime Sions i just laughed. I said there was no Way i co squeeze myself  but curiosity brought her to Hastings for a look moments after i walked in the door i found myself putting Down a  Ledger is a sculptor and Potter and somehow has squeezed an electric Kiln on her Kitchen counter. In the Winter it heats the whole place she said. Slowly Between guiding Tours through both her room and making Ceramic pieces of cheese and tiny mice four her customers Ledger is re doing the cottage with the p kind of space saving ingenuity associated with campers. That s a necessity in a stately Home where there in room to swing a cat she has two Jim and Grundy. This place is perfect for me she said. It s an idea space for one person. I just love  i d give anything if my husband watched foot Ball. There s something so american about sitting up there in the stands saturday after saturday watching 22 Burly men pitted against one another in brute animal strength to see who can get that Ball Over the goal. Of i know what you re thinking. You re remembering All those Rotten things i used to say about my husband when he watched football. About How All of our children talk like Howard Cossell. How we moved once and he did t even notice. How i used to Wear nightgowns made out of Astro turf to get his attention. How he d seen More bowls than the latrine officer at it. Dix. How we used to decorate him for Christmas and he never even moved. I was kidding. Why there s no healthier sport for a Man in this world than a football game. His saturdays used to be like a ritual. Fill the thermos Sling the Blanket Over at wits end by Erm Bombeck his Arm the binoculars Over his neck and hit for the stadium. No weather was too inclement. No season too scoreless. No bed or disease that could restrain him come saturday. And How i used to tease. The time i hired the Goodyear Blimp to inform him i delivered a son. And he called me at half time and what about Mother s Day when i put his Mother in a band uniform and he waved and thought it was his dental hygienist those were the Good old Days. Last saturday he got up at the crack of noon filled his thermos Slung his Blanket Over his Arm and his binoculars Over his neck and we hit for the stadium. His excitement was an Extension of his old self. Is that a tight end he yelled. \ y it looks like a split end to me i said  you look at that line he said shaking his head 8 in disbelief. That is some kind of  v i think it s  that s because you Don t know anything about the i game. Of of Backfield in motion i Tell you that Center i has to be the kicker of the  the the Pom Pom girls 50 girls at that moment left the1 lil Field taking their Spaghetti legs their concave stomachs and their inflatable made in Japan chests with them. D ./iff1 8 get something to drink said my husband while the game is being played so Well make it Back in no time for half time when the girls come Back i d give anything if my husband watched football Ragain. Y c 1978 Field enterprises inc