I wanted to find out where did ozzy live in his sabbath years and the house he lived in England,

U.K. This would be the old home he lived in the 70's when he came back from touring. I came here on a pilgrimage to see the old stomping ground and get a feel for the Sabbath's stars former home in his early days.

Once again my metal pilgrimage took me to the comely countryside of Ranton set in Staffordshire, to the old country abode of Ozzy's former farm house, Bullrush Cottage, or Atrocity Cottage as nick named back in the 70's where gunfire and drunken lunacy were at one time rife.

I had to satisfy my curiosity and to get a feel for the place that holds so

many stories in this rural retreat that became Ozzy's playground when he came off tour. Members of led Zeppelin and Van Halen have been here, Randy Rhoads has stayed here, which added me more charm and fascination with regards to the stories of Ozzy riding down the lane on his horse "Turpin" to the pub, or when he and his assistant would be dressed as doctors in medical scrubs, complete with stethoscopes staggered about the lanes high on dope, acid and booze.

Bullrush Cottage is located down the amusingly named Butt lane, as

Ozzy would anounce to visitors "Butt lane, the arsehole of the world". Just up the lane nearby is the Public House the 'Hand and Cleaver' where Ozzy used to drink. In fact, he bought the house on the bonus feature of a pub being in excellent proximity to his country cottage. He would venture up to the Hand and cleaver on his ride-on lawn mower or take his white horse "Turpin" there.

Standing beside the house in the quiet surroundings I had to imagine Ozzy gleefully receiving his cocaine from an unwitting postman after

being flown over by Airmail from America. I took myself back in time to a place when Ozzy would drive his cars and bikes around in these tranquill fields and shatter the silence with a volley of gun fire. Also was the unsavoury scene of ozzy blasting his chickens away which can't be seen today as there is a hedge privately surrounding the home. Photos in the book 'How black was our Sabbath' show it clearly visible in the low shrubbery of the 70's.

One story that sticks with me as i walked about Butt Lane and The Hand and Cleaver was when the Village Vicar got so stoned at Ozzy's home he thought he'd killed him. The village vicar made a house call on his rounds and Ozzy's first wife Thelma let the Vicar in and offered him a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Little did she know that Ozzy, out drinking in the pub at that time had previously baked afghan hash with cake mixture and stashed it away in a tin. After eating, the Vicar took a turn for the worse and passed out in the house whereby a panic ensued.

Ozzy and Thelma dragged the vicar out to his car, drove him home and propped him up by his door. A few days later a very relieved Ozzy found the Vicar in the pub sipping cranberrry juice and commented to Ozzy that he'd been hallucinating for three days!

So, not quite Graceland to many, but to me this hallowed ground and house has good standing for a place in musical heritage, the home to the grand father of Heavy Metal who lived here at the time when Sabbath's creative musical influence was being forged in its best years. Its interesting to note that Ozzy bought the football pitch on the village green for the kids so they have a sports field to play on, and is still well thought of in the area.

God bless Ozzy Osbourne.