There’s an organization in England called The National Trust which owns lots of houses…lots of land…lots and lots of stuff! They own more stuff than any one person could see in a lifetime without one’s eyes drying up, falling out and ending in one of their collections of stuff. Sensing their hoard might be missing a trick (ie missing opportunities to make money) they’ve put online a collection of photographs of some their stuff (and offer the option to purchase large detailed photos for personal perusal). If, like me, you enjoy trawling through endless photos of antiques (because you never know what might inspire a romance novel or end up on the must have wish list) this website is for you! Some of the souls choosing items to be photographed for the collection appear to be either blind or mad (is there anyone out there in the known universe who lives to trawl through numerous photos of pewter dishes that all look alike?), but that’s part of the charm. Typing “pewter” into the search box (you have to click on the search button – pushing the enter key does nothing) on the second page I discovered a pewter bedpan from 1820… [Read more…] about Come into my parlour said the spider…
Cabinet No 1…
Last month I persuaded my Goblin to take me to this antique market west of Lincoln. It’s an ex military base where the old RAF buildings have been taken over by various individual businesses many of which sell antiques. I’d decided that I needed (yes, needed) to treat myself to something Georgian…preferably something that had been manufactured before and then survived the Regency period.
Being an overly optimistic soul I had visions of finding an ugly ceramic figurine or clock that no one else wanted. I gave myself a budget (that could be given stretch marks if I saw something that called my name and promised I’d die without it). The Goblin only lasted the first building and then went back to the car for a nap. I carried on, determined to find treasure. After three buildings I’d seen about three things I liked (in the first building), but none of them made me feel anything. I looked at the objects. They stared back. They were lovely, but they weren’t for me…particularly after I gave myself a mental slap and asked myself if I really wanted to spend 80 English pounds for a cup and saucer that for all I knew was worthless. I kept looking. I was feeling exhausted when I entered the fourth building called Astra Antiques Centre. As I stepped inside and saw all the glass cabinets my spirits rose. Behind all that glass had to be at least one thing for me.
Just inside the door, I was peering into the nearest case when I overheard the young man behind the counter tell three apparent customers (who were also young men) that all the best stuff was in cabinet No. 1 which was located at the top of the stairs. I made a mental note to find that cabinet and have a look because it doesn’t cost anything to look at the best stuff and dream. Long before I made it to the stairs I’d seen several Georgian cups and saucers I liked at only 20 – 40 English pounds which compared to 80 seemed like a steal. I didn’t really spend too much time looking downstairs, I was drawn up the stairs by the nagging mystery of cabinet No 1. [Read more…] about Cabinet No 1…
Book Review: The Night Side of Nature…
I don’t know if it’s a Vitamin deficiency, a lack of decent sleep or a morbid fascination for the weird and bizarre, but out of the blue I can be struck by an insane craving for real ghost stories. The craving demands stories I’ve never heard before; preferably weird ones that make me shiver and feel glad to live in my boring unhaunted house. (How do I know it’s unhaunted? That! is another story.) This last year I had the ghost story craving hit hard and I ended up having to buy (and borrow from the library) quite a few books before it was satiated. In my quest for stories I accidentally discovered ghost story treasure. The title, ‘The Night Side of Nature’ doesn’t sound like treasure. It makes one think of worms gasping for air on drenched sidewalks glistening in the moonlight. Treasure comes in all shapes and sizes! The author, Catherine Crowe, was not only a woman, she was the first person to attempt to scientific study (and then publish a book) on ghostly phenomenon. There had been earlier books on ghosts, but as she notes they were all written by men who’d already made up their mind that there was no such thing as ghosts. She felt such a well documented phenomenon found in every culture and every age deserved closer inspection.
Born in 1800, Crowe was an educated English woman fluent in German and German philosophy. A very logical person, she had an open curious mind. Published in 1848, this book is much more than a collection of 18th and 19th century ghost stories. Because Crowe is retelling stories that have been recounted as taking place in ordinary life the reader gets a detailed glimpse into the past one rarely finds in biographies or personal letters. As a social history this book is solid gold. As story-fodder (stuff that feeds the story factory in any writer’s brain) it is platinum. As a collection of ghost stories it is an Aladdin’s Cave! I loved this book and highly recommend it. The author’s introduction and the first chapter or two are rather thick going, but once she starts sharing ghost stories I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend it. I can’t believe I’d never come across it before I bought it though maybe I wasn’t ready for it… To give you a sample of what I mean I have to share my favorite ghost story from the book…
From page 232 using Crowe’s spelling and punctuation: [Read more…] about Book Review: The Night Side of Nature…
Tatershall Castle…
It didn’t seem likely that we’d see much sun, but the Goblin had the day off, so Tuesday we took our cameras off to Tatershall Castle (about fifteen miles east of Lincoln). It’s more of a moated tower. It was built at the end of the 15th century and was apparently one of the early large residents built in brick. When visiting most National Trust properties you get a sticker to prove to the volunteers stationed around the property that you’ve paid. I, being paranoid, kept asking the lady at the desk… “Are you sure we don’t need stickers?”…three seconds later…”Are you sure we don’t need stickers?”…ten seconds later etc… How was I to know there would be NO volunteers? No one to stop me from taking five hundred photos! The lady looked at me like she hoped I’d fall down the stairs which wouldn’t be hard. Tatershall has one serious winding staircase (the wedge type that rap around the central pole thingy) from the second floor all the way to the roof. [Read more…] about Tatershall Castle…
My visitor…
This morning the power cut out as the Goblin was heading out the door. I didn’t check my computer till after he’d left the house…and of course, because I was planning to work on chapter 47, the computer claimed no knowledge of me or my files. Being a computer-incompetent I had to wait for the Goblin to come home to get the computer to cough up my settings, files etc. It was rather annoying, but as I was feeling really rather fatigued (in a good way) from yesterday I went back to bed. When I finally got up (rather late) I dressed and went outside to sit in the sunshine on the deck. It’s my favorite part of living here. It’s a suntrap and there’s only neighbors on the left so if I put my back to the fence I can pretend we live in the blissful rolling countryside (when there’s no children on their way to or from school and the neighbor isn’t out working on his new garden fence). This afternoon it was quiet and warm. I hadn’t been sitting there long when into the garden came a cat; a teenage cat that’s come to visit several times before. [Read more…] about My visitor…
A living work of art…
I went for a walk in the evening sunshine with my camera. I didn’t think I’d find any pictures. The sun was setting and after an emotional yet positive day my thoughts were turned inward. I intended to have a short gentle walk down the paved road into the countryside as usual, but when I got to the first footpath sign I stopped and admired the young rape seed plants starting to sprout and the rock hard path shaped by endless dog walkers cutting through the field. For the first time in months I decided to walk down into the field. My camera was in my hand, but I didn’t think I’d use it. I knew the path and couldn’t think of anything of interest. Down the hill and over the foot bridge into the next field I noticed the sun, still fairly high, over an overgrown bush and took several unexciting pictures before heading past a boring looking tree and around the corner. Being out of shape, I stopped to catch my breath. Looking back over the way I’d come I saw a pleasant view with the two fields juxtaposed with three trees at various distances all the colours infused with the soft yellow light.
I was about to move on to finish my walk when I suddenly thought I’d try to take a closer shot of the nearest tree because from this side with the sunlight on it the boring tree looked sort of interesting. I’d never walked up that way before. I’d never thought to take a closer look at this tree. Once I was a few feet away I could finally see…at some point it had been struck by lighting or suffered horrific winds. The trunk had been split open. [Read more…] about A living work of art…