Independent on Saturday

Lord of his very own backyard castle

‘I’M NOT MAD’

Meet Lord Gregarious, a 76-year-old Dutchman who has single-handedly built a five-storey Roman-style castle in his back garden, complete with knights, damsels, and a shimmering dragon fashioned from recycled metal.

The towers of the Olt Stoutenburght Castle (Old Naughty Citadel) rise un- expectedly from the flat fields around the tiny village of Blesdijke in the northern Dutch countryside.

The pensioner, real name Gerry Halman, has spent 34

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