Unimpressed by the Architect's efforts, Dad decided to design and build his own house in 1963. Half wood and 'upside down' - but with a unique sense of design and a pzazz uncommon at that time in rural Essex. But he was an atomic physicist, not a builder Never mind, "Let's see what happens " So we did; the house emerged in its finery from the brambles and the old beer bottle tip. We left suburban Southend and moved to a little village without "proper" drainage. Grandma Lily was horrified This is the story of that house, the man who created it and the family who lived in it until, more than four decades down the line, things changed forever and it was time to say goodbye.