'I was a bit wild, a bit too wild, and I was seriously bankrupt - but I just kept kicking on'

If the word 'dynasty' conjures up visions of kings and pharaohs, moguls and untold riches, then now may be the time to recalibrate your expectations, for this is the story of the Easterbys, now practically Yorkshire royalty and reputedly owners of half the land in the county, but then, well, let's just say it all began rather differently.

"I lived on eggs because I had a few hens running about the place," recalls Michael William Easterby, better known as Mick, as he delves into the memory banks for some of the murkier tales of his 93 years, this one from shortly after he moved into New House Farm in Sheriff Hutton in 1955.

"I had no electric, just candlelight and a gas cylinder to boil a kettle, so I had it timed so that I could make one kettle do for everything. I'd boil it for a cup of tea, I'd put two eggs in there and boil them, have a bit of a wash, and the hens would get the water."