Thank You All!

Becky, Dean, Mike and myself would like to thank you for the lovely Birthday messages that you left for Nathan.

I am going to print it off sometime during the next couple of days so that it can be placed in a book for him  for when he is older.

If any of you missed the posting and still want to add a little message then please do so under the previous posting - Happy Birthday Nathan - so that your name will be included when it is printed off.

He had a lovely day. I will be posting a few pics tomorrow.  Thank you all again.  You are the best.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!!!

                      

                

 

 

For our wonderful little Grandson who is one year old today. You have brought so much joy into our world.  Every moment spent with you is precious, every moment spent with you lightens our lives. May the good Lord bless you today and for all the years of your life. Happy Birthday from your loving Nanjay and Grandy!!!

 

          

 

Many thanks to Angel for making the beautiful "Nathan" graphic.

About Shadwell

A Court in Shadwell

Some time ago I told how my maternal Grandfather was born in Shadwell in the East End of London. Shadwell was one of the poorest parts. It was made up of many nationalities - English, Chinese, Lascar, Irish, Jewish, German etc. etc. It was by the docks and life would have been full of sights and smells of  tar, spices, beer, sugar, sweat, the great unwashed ~ very tough indeed.

I decided to write some more about it. The name in Anglo Saxon was Schadewelle and means a shallow well or spring. There has been habitation there since Roman times and maybe long before. Nearby is Wapping named for Waeppa's people and maybe the well is where they went to get their water. There were actually two springs famous for their fine water. One used to issue from what is now the churchyard wall and the other was in Sun Tavern Fields.

In Tudor times there was a scattering of small cottages set back from the river with a line of wharves along the waters edge. By the time of Oliver Cromwell the place has changed completely. It had become densely populated and something of a "new town". People flocked in to work on the river and in the expanding navy. One historian said Shadwell was "one of the great nurseries of navigation and breeders of seamen in England, without which England would not be England".

By 1650 there were over seven hundred buildings. Close to the river were the town houses, small three-storey dwellings with one room on each floor. The rest of the buildings were only two storey. Most were timber-framed a few were brick. Shadwell was a place of work and a self-contained town. It even had its own water supply by 1680. The properties consisted of warehouses, sheds, rope-yards, anchorsmiths,  timber yards, breweries and blacksmiths. By 1681 there was a market building, some fifty-five shops, some of which were workshops. There were also forty-four alehouses in what was a comparatively small area and here are some of the names:-

The Queen's Head Tavern, The Brewer's Arms, The Noah's Ark, The Whalebone, The Swan With Two Necks, The Three Mariners, The Frying Pan, The Trumpeter On Horseback, The Gate, The Gilded Helmet, The Boatswain, The Five Bells, The Lighter, TheTwo Sawyers and The Anchor.

Somewhere up to 4000 people were squeezed in the area around St. Paul's Church. There were watermen, boat builders, lightermen, shipsmakers  carpenters, riggers, ropemakers, sugar makers, sackmakers, tailors  - all of them poor. My own great-grandfather was a ship's carpenter.

Several families might share the same property. Children were without shoes to their feet and were working from when they were just toddlers especially in the occupations carried out at home like sack making and tailoring. Infant mortality was extremely high. Thousands of children did not live to see their fifth birthday.

Sack making in a Shadwell home

There was a childrens' hospital at Shadwell where one of my Grandfather's sisters died at the age of eight. Outbreaks of cholera were common and the air hung thick with fumes from the sugar factories. Even adults could  often not be expected to live much longer than their middle forties, they were old before their time.

Waiting for admission to the Childrens' Hospital, Shadwell.

There were rowdy fights and often the women were as bad as the men. Alcohol was very cheap and people used it to drown their miseries. Shadwell was also noted for its opium dens and Charles Dickens visited them to get material for his books. The first charity school was founded in 1712  and, apart from the church, there were three chapels, Presbyterian, Calvinist and Wesleyan. Wesley preached in Shadwell on several occasions. There was also a strong Quaker influence in the area.

Captain Cook lived at Upper Shadwell when he was a young married man and his eldest child was baptized in the church.

In 1720 the Randolph family of Shadwell produced a baby daughter. She was christened Jane. Her father was Isham Randolph who was a seaman and a colonial agent from Virginia. When Jane was still a child the family moved permanently to America and settled in Virginia. The family had a farm there which they named "Shadwell" after their London roots. Jane grew to womanhood, married and had eight children. She was then widowed at the age of thirty-seven and she hadto struggle hard to raise her family and keep things going. She must have been a strong woman, she succeeded and one of her sons, Thomas Jefferson, became president of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this little bit of East End history.

 

The Ghost Wears Brown

Nothing much to report on the home front, Sunday was very quiet, a day for doing nothing in particular. Whilst Mike was out with Nathan on Saturday, they went into our small local supermarket and bumped into a close relative (close in the blood sense but not in other ways)   He peered into Nathan's stroller to say hello and Nathan promptly screamed the place down.  Takes after me that boy.  Everytime I see this relative, I want to scream the place down as well!

You left me in no doubts.  You want ghost stories!!!  I was amazed at how many of you asked me to continue in your comments so what better way to start a Monday morning.

This is Raynham Hall in Norfolk built in 1619:

For centuries this beautiful house has been haunted by the ghost of a woman dressed in brown. She is known as the Brown Lady of Raynham. She has been seen by a King and shot at by a well known author.

Nobody knows for sure who this spectre is but it is believed that it is the spirit of Lady Dorothy Walpole.  Dorothy was the sister of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister.

Dorothy's father was also called Robert and he was also a member of Parliament. He became guardian to a young Viscount, Charles Townshend when the boy was around thirteen years of age.  Charles and Dorothy grew up together and they fell in love.  However, they were forbidden to marry.  Dorothy's father was afraid that people would think that they were after the Townshend family money. All pleas failed. Dorothy's father would not be moved.

Charles left the Hall and later on he married the daughter of a baron.  Dorothy was distraught.  She left the Hall  and went to London and then on to Paris where she engaged in an endless whirl of parties before setting up home with a French Lord (a scandal in those times when a woman lived with a man without being married to him) and became the talkof society.

In 1711 news reached her that Charles Townshend's wife had died and she hurried home to Raynham where, at last, the lovers were reunited. One year later they were married.  For a while it would seem that nothing could mar their happiness but then Charles began hearing rumours of her past life which she had somehow managed to hide from him.  In a terrible temper he confined her to her rooms and ordered the servants to let no-one in to see her and not to let her out!

Dorothy remained in her rooms for ten years before dying at the age of 40. The official cause of death was given as smallpox but local rumour said she had been pushed from behind at the top of the hall's great staircase and died from her injuries.  These rumours grew stronger when servants from the hall revealed that her ghost was soon seen wandering the corridors.

In 1786, The Prince Regent, who was later to become King George IV was a guest at the hall.  He was awoken one night to find a woman wearing brown standing beside his bed.  Her face was ashen and she seemed distraught. The Prince fled and stormed through the house arousing everyone and trying to find out who she was and why she had awoken him.  No explanation could be given and the Prince refused to say one moment longer.

The family were very worried at having upset the royal personage and ordered that the servants undertake a nightly watch to see if anything occured.  A couple of nights later , some servants sighted the lady.  One of the men moved into her path to challenge her but she walked straight through him.  He said it was like an icy cloud passing through him.

At Christmas of 1835 the merrymaking at Raynham was cut short after several guests decided to leave early after seeing her. Colonel Loftus, brother of the then Lady Townshend bumped into her on several consecutive nights.  He said she was a stately woman dressed in a rich brown brocade dress and cap.  Her face, he said, was clearly recognisable from her portrait but instead of eyes she had black hollows.

The fame of the ghost spread and Captain Marryat wanted to see her. He did not believe, he scoffed at the very idea, but if she did exist, he wanted proof.  Captain Marryat was the author of "Mr. Midshipman Easy" and "Children Of The New Forest". On his first night he and two friends spotted her walking towards them down a corridor. They darted into a side room but the lady stopped directly opposite them and gave them a wicked grin. Marryat had brought his revolver with him and had it in his hand.  He fired a shot at the shape but it went straight through the still-smiling figure and smashed into the wooden door behind. Captain Marryat left the hall totally convinced.

The haunting continued.  Then in 1936 two professional photographers arrived at Raynham to take pictures of the house on the orders of Lady Townshend.  In September of that year they were setting up their cameras to take a shot of the grand staircase when one of them saw what seemed to be a cloud of mist or vapour which was taking human shape.  The other photographer could see nothing but acting on the instructions of his partner he immediately exposed the photographic plate.  When the picture was developed, the misty outline of a woman in a white gown and veil could be seen halfway down the stairs.

The plate was subjected to many tests to see if it was a fake but nothing could be found to suggest it had been tampered with in any way.  No explanation has ever been found for the picture.  Why should the lady have been wearing white?  It is suggested that Lady Dorothy had appeared wearing her wedding gown and veil exactly as she would have done all those many years earlier, on what was the happiest day of her life.

Is this her ghost?  Judge for yourself because here is the very picture:-

 

On a totally different subject.  Ladies, if you want to see some really hunky and handsome men then visit Suzy. She is doing a "top ten". She can be found at

An Average Life (and other stories)

Great Discovery Made!!!!!!!

Breaking news.........................

They have found Popeye's Mum!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Welcome Mark

Mark, has joined us here in J-Land. Well, not strictly true. Mark does beautiful artwork and already has a journal for that but now has decided to share his daily life with us. He suffers with a good deal of pain ( I am sure he will not mind me telling you that). I know he would be pleased to hear from you.

So, all your wonderful people, go and give him a great big welcome.  He can be found at

http://journals.aol.com/mtrib2/MarksDailyJournal

His artwork journal can be found at

landscape artwork

 

Saturday Snippets

Late posting today as we looked after Nathan.  Impossible to be on the computer whilst he is here.  It was a joy to have him as always.  No matter how often we see him he always seems to have grown so much the next time.

The weather has been miserable all day.  Not the much needed rain, just grey and overcast.  Luckily the flowers did not take too much of a battering.  Our hanging baskets are starting to do well now:

I am debating whether to put any more ghost stories on.  I know quite a few of you say how much you like them and I have many more.  However I do notice that whenever I post one, the comments drop so maybe there are many people who do not like them.  To continue or not to continue, that's the rub.  I shall have to think some more about it. Maybe even take a vote on it. We shall see.

I am still annoyed at the fact that from August 1st, here in the UK, we will have to pay for the helpline. I consider I pay more than enough now.  I wrote with a complaint, all I got back was an email saying they did not understand the nature of my query and instructing me how to use the helpline!  If it were not for journals I would seriously consider taking my business elsewhere.

Well, there is not much else to write about today. I have so many alerts to catch up on now, I shall do them and then have a quiet evening after a busy but rewarding day.

Take care all

 

Rain!!!!!!

Yippee, rain, torrential rain.  A whole half hour of it

and

Well, I hate storms, they always give me a headache and this one was no exception and they terrify the dogs as well.  It rained so hard we could not see across the street, an enormous wind blew up out of nowhere and hail stones hurtled down.

True the sun is out again now and not a cloud in the sky, true it is only a little bit cooler but it is a start.  No watering the garden - Hurrah!!!!!  The birds are singing so loudly and I think it is with joy because they must have struggled in the intense heat.

Everything smells so fresh!  Praise the Lord - rain!!!

This is my second posting today, but I was so happy to see the rain, I just had to put this on. But please check out the previous entry. I put a lot of research and effort into it.

 

Thanks aol.  I think we already pay enough in subcriptions without now having to pay to ring the helpline (UK).. I have voiced my complaint to the email address at the bottom of the notification letter. I hope you will all do the same when you receive yours. I have suggested that if they are going to charge for their helpline then they should lower their monthly subscriptions.  They cannot have it all ways.

 

The Haunting Of UB-65

He stood on the deck, arms folded, wearing an officer’s overcoat. The sea was rough in the English Channel and he was drenched with spray. His name was Lieutenant Richter. The crew member was amazed to see anyone standing there in those rough seas and puzzled. How did the officer get out on deck when all the hatches were securely battened down? The officer turned and gazed at the crew member. Yes, it was certainly Lieutenant Richter. There was just one problem.

Lieutenant Richter was dead. He had been dead for over a month and was buried in the naval cemetery at Wilhelmshaven!

Richter had been the second officer of UB65 and he was killed in an explosion aboard the ship. The frightened crewman yelled out “it’s the ghost”. The captain came running and he too saw the dead officer before the figure just melted away into nothingness.

It would seem that UB65 was doomed from the very start. She was part of a fleet of U-Boats built in 1916. Her crew would be made up of three officers and 31 seamen. She got the reputation of being a jinxed  ship very early on. Only a week into her construction a heavy girder fell from its chains and crashed down killing one worker instantly and crushing another so badly he died within an hour. Before she was even launched there was another accident, this time in the engine room. Three men were overcome by fumes and died before they could be saved.

A seaman was washed overboard and drowned on her trial run. Undergoing diving tests, she sank to the bottom and it was many hours before she could be brought to the surface. By that time the air was so thick with poisonous fumes that the crew staggered out more dead than alive.

Then Lieutenant Richter met his death. They were taking aboard torpedoes when a warhead exploded and he was killed and seven others badly injured. The Lieutenant was buried with full military honours and the U-Boat was taken into dry dock for repair.

Some weeks later, she was ready for service. Before they put to sea a horrified crew member rushed into the captain’s cabin, white and shaking “Herr Ober-Leutnant, the dead officer is on board!” The captain thought that the man was drunk but the seaman insisted that not only he but another crew member had seen Richter walk up the gangplank. The Captain immediately went to find the other witness who was crouching against the conning tower and could hardly speak. He confirmed that he had seen Richter come aboard, walk towards the bows and stand there with arms folded for a few minutes before melting away.

The captain had to maintain morale. He put the whole thing down to a practical joke played by other members of the crew. The men were not convinced. By now everyone knew that the ship was haunted. Nobody wanted to serve on her, men asked to be transferred. Things got so bad that a high-ranking naval officer was sent to investigate. At first he believed none of it, called it utter nonsense., but after hearing all the evidence he was so impressed that he admitted he could understand requests by nearly every member of the crew to transfer to another vessel. Officially, the transfers were never granted, but one by one men were switched.

For a while UB65 was withdrawn from service. Keeping it very quiet, the naval authorities had a Lutheran pastor quietly taken aboard to carry out an exorcism.

Back to sea she went and for the next two tours of duty everything remained quiet. Then a new captain was appointed and the spirit of Richter reappeared.

In May of 1918 the UB65 was patrolling the English Channel and the coast of Spain. Richter was seen several times. A petty officer swore he saw an unfamiliar office walk into the torpedo room and never come out. When he went in to find out who it was  - there was nobody there. There were further sightings and after one, the torpedo gunner went insane. He screamed that the ghost would not leave him alone. He threw himself overboard and his body was never recovered.

Eventually the end came. On the tenth of July 1918 an American submarine was cruising off the south coast of Ireland. The commander, Lieutenant Forster, noticed something in the water. Moving slowly closer to examine it was he realized it was a German sub. It was the UB65, she was listing heavily and seemed to have been badly damaged. Forster immediately suspected a trap, that the U-Boat was acting as a “lure”. He decided the best thing to do was to sink it immediately. However, before his crew even had the time to line up a shot, the UB65 blew apart. Metal fragments flew everywhere, she rose on her bows and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. There were no survivors.

The cause of the explosion that finally killed the UB65 was never established. Some said she had been in a collision with another sub. Main opinion thought that there had been an explosion in the torpedo room. If a torpedo had exploded whilst being loaded into the tube, it would have detonated all the others.

However, there was one last mystery that could never be solved. Whilst his men were lining up the shot intended to sink the U-Boat, Lieutenant Forster kept his sights trained on her. He was adamant that he saw someone on deck before the ship exploded, some wearing an officer’s overcoat, someone in the bows with arms folded.

Richter obviously did not want to leave his ship. Was he really an omen of death or just an officer wanting to fulfil his unfinished duty? He certainly accompanied his fellow crew members into the great unknown. No bodies of the crew were ever found.

 

Blame the Hot Weather!!!

A seventy five year old woman went on a blind date with an eighty year old man.

When she returned to her daughter's house later that night, she seemed upset.

"What happened, Mother" the daughter asked.

"I had to slap his face three times!"

"You mean he got fresh?"

"No, she answered, "I thought he was dead!!!!

 

Thanks to my friend Nell for sending me this one. Roll on cooler weather, I might regain my sanity.

                                                                                                           

Phew!

I hope that this heatwave ends tonight as predicted. Not with the storms, I do not care for them much, I just want some cooler air.  We are not even able to have our windows open today as our neighbours are having the whole of their front garden crazy paved. The builder is using a petrol driven cutter to size the pieces and petrol fumes are filling our property not to mention great clouds of choking dust.  The last thing we needed in this heat.

I must thank you all for your suggestions for songs that Nathan could be singing.  You made me smile.  I think though that Sara has to be the person who has come out tops as she included a site in her comment.

Pavarotti Loves Elephants. By Joel Veitch, rathergood.com

Totally mad,  but funny.  Thanks Sara for the laugh.

Him indoors had to go for a business appointment yesterday and on the way back he stopped in at the Priory.  I have written about this place before and put on pictures of the gardens in the winter.  Mike thought that the walled garden would look lovely at this time of year.  It does, but not as good as in previous years due to the lack of rain.  The ground is so dry, the grass is going brown and the plants are struggling.  I have chosen some shots to put on here

I might just have to go and lie in a cool bath for a couple of hours, why can't summers be like they used to - pleasant and sunny but not boiling hot!

I shall leave you with a bit of humour.

A van carrying a load of the male sexual potency enhancement drug Viagra has been reported stolen. Police are looking for hardened criminals.

 

Another Joke

I could not resist this one!


A woman was at home happily jumping on her bed and squealing with delight. Her husband watches her for a while and asks, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look? What's the matter with you?"

The woman continues to bounce on the bed and says, "I don't care. I just came from having a mammogram and the doctor says I have the breasts of an 18 year-old."

The husband said, "What did he say about your 46 year old ass?"

"Your name never came up," she replied.

 

Joke For A Scorching Day

and they say the temperature is rising!!

Must be having a strange effect on me because here I am with yet another entry.  Not often I do three in a day.  Heat must be making me a bit silly.

The Sultan of Brunei was getting a bit cheesed off as he had 6 children, all girls, and therefore had no son and heir.

Imagine his joy when one of his wives presented him with a son. 

Just before his son's sixth birthday, the Sultan took him to one side and said, "Son, I am very proud of you. Anything you want, I shall get for you."

His son replied, "Daddy, I would like an aeroplane."

Not wanting to do anything by halves, his father bought him British Airways.

Just before his son's seventh birthday, the Sultan took him to one side. "Son, you are my pride and joy. Anything you want, I shall get for you."

His son replied, "Daddy, I would like a boat." Not wanting to do anything by halves, his father bought him P&O Ferries.

Just before his son's eighth birthday, the Sultan took him to one side. "Son, you bring so much happiness into my life. Anything you want, I shall get for you."

His son replied, "Daddy, I would like something to watch films on." Not wanting to do anything by halves, his father bought him MGM Studios and their cinemas, where he watched all his favourite Western Movies.

Just before his son's ninth birthday, the Sultan took him to one side. "Son, you are an inspiration to us all. Anything you want, I shall get for you."

His son, who had caught the 'Western' movie bug, replied, "Daddy,I would like a cowboy outfit."

Not wanting to do anything by halves, his father went and bought him Microsoft!

 

 

 

A Star In The Making?

Is it possible to melt more than once??  It continues to sizzle here in the South East.

Have we found a new talent?  Here is Nathan (taken yesterday).  I shall have to stop playing "The Three Tenors" when he is here!

A miniature Pavarotti (he was actually "singing" when this shot was taken)

Was it "Nessum Dorma"?  Was it "Granada"?  On the other hand, perhaps it was "We Are The Champions" or maybe even "Delilah"!!! 

Any suggestions?

 

Comments

Thanks, my friends, for all your comments on my last entry.

I must tell you though, that I am not the least bit worried by the comment I received.  I am old enough and wise enough not to let things like that bother me. I think it very sad when life makes people so bitter that they lose their sense of humour.

My view is that if people do not like my journal, then do not read it.  The choice is theirs. People do not have to read, watch or listen to things that annoy them, upset them or they find offensive.

So, please do not think I am worried.  I knew that the majority of people would take it as it was intended.

However, it costs nothing to be polite which is why I did the posting to explain to those that needed it explained that it was a "joke"

Enough said.

Oh Dear!

It seems from a comment under the previous entry that I have upset somebody.  Maybe the person is a new reader as I have not received a comment from this name before.

I can assure all male readers that this picture was posted as nothing more than a little bit of fun, something to raise a smile for the ladies.  After all, us girls ( and our mothers)have been the butt of male comics for years, there are thousands of blonde woman jokes on the internet and also jokes about Essex girls.  Us ladies take it all in good part.

I appreciate that people do go through painful and unhappy circumstances and that not everyone shares the same sense of humour, but you cannot please all the people all the time.

I am sorry if anyone was offended by this picture.  I have tried to email the person concerned to apologise as he obviously found it distasteful but my mail to that particular address is blocked.

Maybe he will read this and understand that it was not intended as an insult to any male, only a little bit of black humour.

 

Ladies, Would You Like One?

Girls, do you ever get days when you would love one of these?

Of course I never do (liar liar, pants on fire!)

 

The Man In The Barrel

My Mother met this man. She told me that she was concerned at his hanging around the railway station and talking to young girls. She said that once she actually went and spoke to him and asked him what he was doing, a man of the cloth behaving like that. He told her that it was his personal mission to help girls in trouble and she had to accept that. I have no reason to doubt her story. So, I knew his story many many years ago when I was young and having come across a reference to him just a few days ago , I thought it might make an interesting journal entry.

I read recently that his family are trying to have his named cleared all these years later. It is not for me to say whether he was guilty or innocent. I can only tell you that a court of law found him guilty and the strange happenings that occurred thereafter.

He was the rector of Stiffkey (pronounced Stookey) in Norfolk. His name was Harold D. The news broke in 1932 that he was to be brought to trial on charges relating to his moral conduct. He made many trips to London and particularly to Soho to help girls who had fallen into prostitution. The church authorities became concerned because he was not only visiting London but he was also bringing many girls back to the Rectory and even holding “pyjama” parties with them or so it is said. One girl levelled an accusation of attempted rape against him. He admitted himself that he liked girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty.  He declared his innocence. His congregation supported him. The trial made headlines across the world. Harold said he took girls to Paris and even to America. The most damning piece of evidence was a photograph of him supposedly undressing a girl. He had the court in uproar when he said he had never heard the word “buttock” and did not know what it meant!

Harold D. had been an actor before he went into the church. He was now in his sixties and had served his Parish for around twenty-six years.

He was found guilty, disgraced and unfrocked. He had to find a way to pay for his defence. He decided to have himself exhibited in a barrel on Blackpool beach. A notice said he was “fasting” to death in protest at what the church had done. There was a window in the side of the barrel where he could converse with the paying onlookers. It also had a cushioned seat, electric light and a chimney so that he could continue to smoke his cigars. Sometimes he proclaimed his innocence, sometimes he would urge people to hurry up and see the one and only ex-vicar of Stiffkey, the one that even the Archbishop of Canterbury could not muzzle. Apparently, his eldest son thought him quite mad.

As the act was billed as a “fast to death”, the Blackpool authorities had him arrested on a charge of attempting suicide by starvation. In court, he was found not guilty, having admitted he had no intention of starving to death and that he was not responsible for the show owner’s advertisements. He received the sum of £382 in damages from Blackpool Corporation. However, the public lost interest in seeing him in the barrel after that and he had to find another way to make money. Having been an actor, he was not short on ideas. On one occasion he was exhibited alongside a dead whale. On another he was “roasted” in a glass oven whilst a mechanical demon prodded his behind with a pitchfork. Another time he was shown in a refrigerated chamber.

It is strange that he chose to perform with animals because he had a morbid fear of them, a real phobia. Once, when he was in the barrel, a fellow performer thought he would play a joke and he dropped a live mouse into it. Harold D. went frantic, almost hysterical and hammered on the side to be taken out.

So maybe working with animals was an act of great courage on his part or maybe he would just do anything to keep in the headlines and make money. It is not for me to say.

His new act began with him standing outside a lion cage where he would address the crowds for ten minutes or so on the infamous legal judgment that had brought him so low in life. He would end with a few jokes and then climb into the cage where he would act as a lion “tamer” for around three minutes.

On the night of 28th July 1937, things went disastrously wrong. The lions were very sleepy. Harold D. began to flick his whip at them. The lioness took no notice but the lion got up and began pacing around. Harold flicked his whip harder and told the lion to “get on with it”. The lion did, he pounced and bowled the ex-vicar over. The crowd fled in horror. A sixteen year old lion tamer called Irene got into the cage and tried to drag the lion off but it was useless. The only pole long enough to go through the bars was hidden underneath the cage. The young girl showed extreme bravery. She first jammed a wooden handle into the lion’s mouth but it broke, she then grabbed an iron bar and hit the beast over the head with it until the lion dropped the horribly injured man.

Harold was rushed to hospital with a hideous gash in his throat. His neck was broken. He died two days later. In typical “show must go on” fashion the proprietor of the show advertised for people to come and see the lion that mauled the infamous vicar of Stiffkey to death.

He certainly had a colourful life. What made him do the things he did after being unfrocked. Why did he not appeal? Was it the born actor in him, was it the desire for fame, was he a little deranged? Alas, we shall never know. This comic/tragic figure is now consigned to history.

For the sake of living relatives I have refrained from putting on this man's picture.  If anyone wants to learn more about him, let me know as I have found a site I can send you.

Three Men And A Pool

           HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Wishing all Dads and Grandads a very happy day wherever you are. Hope you enjoy it and get spoiled.

Well, I feel like a slowly melting candle!  Mike has had a nice Father's Day so far.  He is now equipped with enough clothes to last him until this time next year.

We have spent most of the weekend with Becky, Dean and Nathan.  They have now left to go and visit and have a BBQ with Dean's Dad, Mum and Sisters.

This is how my wonderful family have been spending the time.  Firstly, three men and a pool:-

Where was I, I  hear you ask.  Well, I was taking the photographs and by the time I had stood outside in the heat long enough to get these shots (and many more), I could not stand it any longer and had to come back indoors where I stayed in a cool room until the family came back indoors.  Then I spent quite a time playing with Nathan. After "swimming", being on his swing, pushing his truck and crawling all over the place, he was one tired little boy when he left.

Before I have to face watering the garden this evening (storms are forecast but you cannot always rely on them and you can never have too much water), I am going to take myself off to my cool room again.  I have a giant book of ghost stories that I am going to start reading.

Then Ishall be slaving over a hot cooker making Fajitas for our evening meal.  At least I have got out of the preparation.  Dean used to be a chef so whilst he was here he thinly sliced all the chicken, peppers and onions for me - and all without being asked -  what an angel that boy is.  Still got to stand there frying it all though. Pass me a wet towel somebody!