DAISY LUPIN'S GIANT HALLOWEEN STORY

CIRCLE IS NOW OPEN

THE STORIES ARE BEGINNING TO ARRIVE

TAKE A LOOK

http://daisyshalloweenstorycircle.blogspot.com/

Beneath I have posted my own contribution to the Circle, you can read it here or read it on the other site and read the other tales that are arriving.

Next an apology and a warning, this is a very long story, you may have to read it in chunks, and perhaps you should have some coffe to drink while you read it. In my next posting I will explain how I came to write this story. Hope the you have time to cope with the length, but it took on a will of its own.

Lastly, do you think you will sleep before 1st November?

HOPKINS AND STERNE PRESERVATION


The early morning sun bounced off the stained glass windows of the cathedral Faye loved taking this route through the grounds, regardless of weather, but a sunny morning added an extra zing to her step. The leaves had started to turn and she thought she could smell leaves burning in one of the enclosed gardens backing onto the cathedral. Coming out of the far gateway of the cathedral she walked through her favourite square. This was the long way round to get to her shop but a more beautiful journey than walking through the streets of shops.

The square was full of tall Georgian town houses which she had an ambition to buy when her business grew and she could, at last, leave the small rented terraced cottage on the far side of town. Some of these houses had been in families for years and only old people seemed to live in them now, many needed urgent renovation, but the potential was there and when one came onto the market which was rarely, it were snapped up immediately by young professionals. Now one or two stood out with their clean frontage and sparkling paintwork on doors. There was one empty last week, with a large sign in the front window stating ’Hopkins & Sterne Preservation’ . She noticed that another one now had that sign in the window. How unusual two empty so quickly.

She walked out of the square and into the next street, giving a sigh of satisfaction as she drew near to her shop ’Faye’s Herbals’. This shop was the start of her dream, she adored its smart hunting green paint work and the copper lettering displaying the shop’s name in script. She even had an old fashioned sign board swinging, a painting of a pestle and mortar that a friend had made for her. A small inheritance had allowed her to lease this shop where she sold herbs both medicinal and for cooking, along with herbal bath and beauty products and deeply fragranced candles. Her most cherished part of the shop was the corner by the left front window, which was a small bar with three sets of tables and chairs where she sold herbal teas, drinks and bakes to show people how delicious herbs could be.

The morning proved a busy one, the autumn sunshine seemed to have brought people out to enjoy a stroll in its warmth. The herbal bar in particular was very busy and a pleasing hum of conversation seemed to radiate from that corner. Her assistant Sally was running the bar, and it was Sally that drew her attention to the man who had apparently been sitting there for quite a good portion of the morning, with frequent orderings of herbal tea.

‘He’s a bit of a stunner isn’t he?’ , Sally mentioned to Faye’ in passing.
‘I hadn’t really noticed I been so busy advising and selling herbs, this late sunshine seems to have made everyone realise that we really near to November and it has brought them out to buy their herbs and spices for Christmas baking.’
‘Well he has certainly noticed you, he’s been watching you, in what he seems to think is a discreet way all the time he has been here.’

Faye looked over to the corner but the table was no longer occupied. She thought no more about it and the rest of the day passed swiftly. By six she had locked up her shop and was retracing her path from the morning as she wandered through the square she glanced twice at one of the windows with the ’Hopkins & Sterne Preservation’ sign in, she was sure she could see two pairs of eyes watching her.

The next day, a gusty autumn wind had blown up, one that brought needle sharp rain on it that landed on your face making it tingle. It was a quiet morning in the shop, though lunch time brought local workers in for lunch. She looked up at one point and saw Sally staring determined at her and rolling her eyes. She looked to where Sally’s eyes were aiming and saw a young man sitting with a much older man dressed in a rather strange black suit that had no lapels on the jacket but seemed to button right up to his neck. For some unknown reason a deep shiver passed through her. She busied herself sorting out candles and when she looked up again they had gone.

Just before closing time, just after Sally had left she heard the door bell ping and as she looked up the younger of the two men appeared and approached the counter.

‘Hello I’m John Sterne, my friends call me Jack, I’m new to this area, I hope you can help me I what some advice about some herbs.’
‘Pleased to meet you, I’m Faye Gooding, what is it exactly are you looking for?’
‘You’re not local either are you?’
‘No, my family originated in Essex but we are spread all over now.’

Faye realised that she felt considerably ill at ease talking to this customer, his eyes seem to pierce into the deepest recesses of her mind, in fact, she could almost feel a dull headache starting up. She concluded the transaction as quickly as she could without being impolite, she really felt uneasy with this man. Just before he left the shop, a thought popped into her head and she found herself saying to him.

‘Are you something to do with the signs in the two houses in the square?’
A dry chortle emerged from him as he replied ’Why yes, I am Sterne of Hopkins and Sterne, preservations extraordinaire’
‘Have you started work on the houses then, I would imagine there could be a lot of renovating to do.’
‘Perhaps, I could show you round one of the houses one day on your way home from the shop.’

Then saying goodbye he left the shop as he shut the door a gust of wind swirled in setting the wind chimes tinkling and blowing a pile of leaflets off the tea bar counter. Why was she feeling so uneasy? For some reason she returned home by the streets full of shops, for once delighting in their bright lights reflecting on the wet pavements.

***

She awoke the next day to a grey murky sky, the wind was still up she could hear it down the bedroom chimney. She reached out and stroked a large black cat that was curled up on the outside of the bed beside her.

‘Oh Marigold, it’s a really nasty day, I’m so pleased Sally is looking after the shop today. We can stay in all day by the fire, except I’ll have to pop out to buy in some bags of sweets for the children will be knocking for them tonight, as it’s Halloween.’

Faye went out and bought some sweets and decided to treat herself to a couple of books she had been wanting to read, then she lingered in the bookshop to have a coffee. On her way out she noticed the older of the two men, so it must be Hopkins, speaking urgently into his mobile phone. She didn’t know why, it was not something she usually did but she placed herself where he couldn’t see her and listened to his side of the conversation.

‘It has to be tonight you know we run out of time this year after tonight…..well ask her assistant for her phone number…well charm her, she’s a silly young girl with no decorum, you manage to get the number off her….no not straight there… yes a restaurant first is probably a good idea. If she says no…… well you know what to do. Remember it is the preservation of one more and an important one at that .’

Faye thought the man sounded manic, but again she felt a stirring of unease. This disappeared once she returned home, she tidied around her small cottage cooked herself a delightful early evening meal. She handed round the bowl of sweets to the various children who knocked at the door ‘trick or treating’ then finally settled with marigold on her knee in her comfy chair in front of the fire with her book. The wind whistled in the chimney, the flames roared up the chimney then the rain began to beat at the front windows. Faye felt snug and was being lulled into sleep by the purring of Marigold, the book began to droop from her hand.

There was a pounding on the front door. Faye jumped up startled, the book dropping, Marigold ran towards the door staring avidly at it. Faye moved towards it and opened it, in the dim narrow street all she could see was a very tall figure wrapped in what seemed to be a cloak a hood pulled over its head. Marigold, oblivious to the rain, rubbed herself against the cloak. A pleasing modulated voice said:

‘Please let me in there is not much time left, I mean you no harm, I am here to protect and help you.’

Faye felt compelled to step aside and let the stranger into the cottage, she thought she could distantly hear faint strains of beautiful melodic music far in the distance. The stranger dripped onto the door mat and threw back the hood of his black cloak. Faye was speechless before her stood the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He stood well over six feet tall, probably about six foot four or five, perhaps even six, with piercing blue eyes, a fine almost feminine smooth skin and the most amazing head of luxuriant tawny blonde hair. She gestured towards his cloak, he just shook his head and moved to sit on the couch. Wordlessly, Faye returned to sit in her chair, she noticed Marigold had curled herself at his feet. He leant forward and took Faye’s hand, looking straight at her with his bright unblinking eyes and spoke:

‘Please do not interrupt, just listen to what I have to say then make sure you act on it, tonight, you will know when the time is right. You must not deviate from my instructions only be aware that you and at this moment in time, ONLY, you have the fate of many, many people in your hands. I will not be here to help you but I have every confidence in you and will be watching over you, supporting you with love and courage, but although I have been allowed to be with you tonight I can not take part in any of the action, the Laws do not allow that.’

He continued, speaking to Faye for a long time in his eloquently modulated voice, slowly and carefully, keeping hold of her hand whilst all Faye could do was nod understanding at him. At last he rose from the couch, from inside his cloak he brought out a small velvet pouch which he gave to Faye, along with an odd shaped dull coloured stone which he kissed and placed in her other hand. Then he placed both hands on her shoulders and kissed in turn each of her cheeks, then bent down to stroke Marigold, who was purring loudly, pulled his hood forward and went out through the front door.

Faye sank back into her chair her mind spinning, her heart pounding, she placed the stone on the chain she wore round her neck and let it fall under her jumper, then she pushed the velvet pouch into her skirt pocket. She sat waiting, she could hear the church clock striking eleven The door knob rattled, she rose stiffly and opened the door.

Outside stood the younger of the two men, he said:

‘I tried to phone you earlier’
‘Oh sometimes bad weather conditions means my reception is not good round here’
May I come in, I have brought a friend may he enter as well?’
‘Of, course.'

Faye ushered them both into the tiny front room, Marigold sprung up, arched her back spat and disappeared under the bookcase. The two men seemed to dominate the small room.
The older one stepped forward in his strange black suit shiny with age.

‘Matthew Hopkins of Hopkins and Sterne, I believe you have already met my partner John or Jack as he likes to be known’

Faye just stood there looking dazed but her mind was trying to think ahead.

‘Please let us keep this simple, don’t try to struggle or make this difficult. We do this for the good of your soul. Your soul needs preserving and cleansed from the evil of your body and itself.’

He withdrew a lethal looking metal narrow tube with a long narrow spike on the end. Sterne took the bag he was carrying off his shoulder and out it brought a small iron box.

‘The box is ready to receive the soul, strange the Goodwife does not flinch at iron’ Sterne said, as he unplugged a small round hole the size of the narrow tube from the box.

‘Goodwife Gooding, we are here to claim thy soul from the corruption of the world you live in. It is our lucky night as thine is an old wicked soul, that has lived many lives, we thought we had ridden the world of thy soul, long ago by hanging, but now we know our procedures and powers were not goodly enough to imprison thy soul so we could work on it. Time has taught us goodly lessons in the preservation of souls which we have put to good use thousands and thousands of times over the years. Thine is a special soul, especially as it is many, many years since we came across one of the original thirty two souls. Thou are blessed that we have found thee mistress.

This spike will pierce thy body and suck out thy very soul until every last part of it is compressed into the tube, leaving thy body a dried up husk that will have disintegrated before morning arrives. No trace of thee will ever be found, just another missing person. It always works, no one bothers after a while about missing persons. Every moment of the suction will cause thee a searing pain like nothing thee have ever known, that will be first part of thy repentance for thy sins. Once I have the soul in the tube I will transfer it into the iron box and then we will be on our way, we need to return through the veil before the dawn breaks and it closes.

Start thy prayers Goodwife Gooding.’

As they moved towards her Faye took a deep breath and sprung into action she pulled the pouch of herbs from her pocket and began a short chant in a language she had never heard before tonight. Quickly with trembling hands she drew out a handful of herbs and just as Hopkins approached with Sterne in tandem, Hopkins putting the spike to her skin she managed to throw the handful of herbs over them, chanting all the time.

The effect was instantaneous, the room plunged into darkness, the flames on the candles went out, the fire dyed down, Marigold was yowling. The room started shaking, eerie ice blue lights flashed and diamond white orbs floated around, the temperature plummeted to freezing and unearthly wails and screams shook the air. Hopkins and Sterne were sizzling with heat, the smell of charring skin filled the air, courageously Faye continued the repeated chant and threw the final handful of herbs in their direction. Behind them a fog appeared and in that fog was a rift, through the rift could be seem shapes, amorphous but with appendages stretching out, undefined faces with large O’s for mouths, from which were issuing the unearthly wails and screams that Faye was hearing.

Suddenly there were no more Hopkins and Sterne, nothing left of them but two dry husks of bodies lying on the floor. Hurriedly a large gust of wind came down the chimney and filled the room and the two husks were blown back through the rent in the fog, which then disappeared and the room returned to a dark but peaceful stillness. Faye’s legs gave way under her and she sank into the chair, Marigold sprang out from under the bookcase and jumped on the chair and began to lick her face.

‘Marigold’ Faye murmured, and opened her eyes. The fire had died and the room was chill but a bright beam of sunshine came through the window and lay on the floor. What a strange set of dreams, she began to think, but there on the couch was an old empty velvet pouch and she pulled the chain out from under her jumper and saw that there really was a strange dull stone with a hole through it attached to the chain. Thoughtfully, she picked up the pouch and sniffed it she could smell sage but the other herbal smells were like nothing she had smelt before.

Opening her back kitchen door onto the tiny garden to let Marigold out she saw propped against her door jamb, a beautiful broomstick with carvings on the handle. She picked it up and put her hand round it, she knew now she had picked the right career and the old true way, as she lifted the broomstick to examine it, she heard, happy laughing in the distance.

***

EPILOGUE

For those who like their T’s crossed and I’s dotted the following is the summary of what the Stranger told Faye that night. After the great witch hunts in Essex in puritan times, it is not really know what happened to Matthew Hopkins, and his sidekick Sterne. In fact there are many stories and legends about where Hopkins came from and finally went to. The Stranger told Faye that Hopkins, in fact came through a rent in dimensions and time from another place. A clever man but madman, we on Earth can not imagine the world that Hopkins emerged from, suffice to say that it is a world that not one of us would wish to know to much about. The Essex witches he had hung [they were not burnt at this time in England] were not evil, just country goodwives with helpful ways to heal. Their souls escaped and returned again and again living many different lives, always bound by lives of healing in different ways or lives helping nature. They were really who Hopkins and Sterne sought, but as Hopkins became more enamoured and demented with cruelty, he began to think any old soul could be taken by him and take them he did in their thousands over the centuries.
He discovered that every year between the beginning of September and finishing on the first day of November, the veils between different worlds and dimensions thinned, many strange beings come and go in our world at this time, also sometimes people from our world stumble unknowingly into a different world. The pair of them would seek out places every year where the veil was particularly thin between worlds and take over the part that would shift to let them through. Hopkins perverse sense of humour meant he would happily advertise his existence, thinking that no one could possibly guess their activities, hence the sign ‘Hopkins and Sterne Preservation.’ He was too mad to realise that Sublime beings of a better nature were on his trail and his time was growing short for him. The story tells how he extracted the soul, but it is best that we do not go into what happened to the soul in his dimension. What the Sublime beings needed to fix Hopkins and Sterne [ although he was the lesser of the two evils] was an old soul, a soul of the original thirty two hung women. At last one was found after many centuries in Faye. Faye was a prize for both sides, and it is lucky the Sublime beings got to her first. It had to be an old soul, the only type of soul that could have garnered enough courage to face Hopkins and Sterne. So the evil of Hopkins and Sterne was dissolved, although in the system of things where there is good, there is bad as well, as that is the nature of balance, but it just must be that bad does not take up the majority of the essence of being.

Have some fun
Coming soon in early November
Daisy Lupin’s stream of consciousness game
Pick one of the words or phrases
Let it take you where it will, Go with it,
See where you end up, then post it on your site.
Come on, join in, let’s ramble

Halloween draws ever nearer and I have been busy. I have created a temporary site for the Ghost Story Circle, which will exist for one month before it disappears behind the veil never to be seen again, as in all good stories. If you look at my profile page you should find the other site listed Or try this http://daisyshalloweenstorycircle.blogspot.com/ At the moment it only advertises what is coming soon to the site. I have experimented and found that I can cut and paste from sites and put them on the Halloween site, not sure if illustrations as well as text will do this, but the text works perfectly. I have plenty of images, if needs, be to dot around the site. Each story will be like an individual posting and credited to the site and person it came from. This means that everyone will have their own comments section underneath their story. People can make an individual comment, or scroll down to the 'Explanation posting' which I will put there, to make a general comment about the whole site. As well as this I will put a list of participants on my own site, so everyone knows who is on the other site. Phew, hope that all makes sense, let me know if it does not.

I would say you can start putting up your stories on your own sites anytime now before we all are actually too busy celebrating to write our tales down. Just let me know when you have them posted and I will go into action faster than a motorised broomstick. This is going to be such fun!



I have had two more parcels from Secret Fairies, they are so busy, I am surprised they don't get their wings in a knot. The birds that deliver them are all in a dither with their ruffled wet feathers, as the past two mornings have seen torrential rain. They rap at the door with their beaks, place the parcel on the steps and by the time you have opened the door are whirling around in the sky above being buffeted by the wind and making a terrible cacophony.

Yesterday my secret fairy had been busy in Cyprus and her birds delivered a lovely package of goodies, which although we have never met were me to a T. Autumnal blessed incense, a magical necklace that I suspect my SF made, a notebook with a renoir cover, you know me and notebooks, you can never have enough, some lovely bookplates and some beautiful peace postcards with her artwork on. How blissful, stationery, incense, quirky jewellery many of my favourite things. Much cupcakes and fairydust to you Lady Maya of the Island xx.

Then I had just started writing this posting and there was a knock at the door. A small lumpy brown parcel is lying on my step as the birds fly away quickly to get back home away from the rain and the wind. Now this parcel was from a very secret fairy, but seeing the birds were rooks I do wonder if they had flown up from a rookery in Oxfordshire? I will have to investigate. Unfortunately attached to the front was an envelope containing a lovely postcard that was sodden and slightly torn with the rain, although I am rectifying that. I carefully openend the parcel to find a very old small brown chest about 2.5 x 4.5 inches, that had obviously had an interesting life as it showed wear and tear.

Did I dare open, what could be inside? Slowly I take a peek inside, ohh! it is lined with red tissue paper and a little pink sugar mouse stares up at me, he is lying in a bed of cherry lips and parma violets, oh I had forgotten such blissful sweets existed, with some shiney hearts and a lovely glass button and a couple of vintage marbles. Tied to sprigs of lavender is a tiny scroll which when I open has this message on it a little fairy treasure for dear Daisy Lupin from SOSF in teeny weeny spidery writing. The Secret Fairies are so clever, how do they know that my favourite childhood christmas stocking filler was a sugar mouse, which I use to keep and keep and keep until it was nearly time for the next Christmas. Thank you Secret Fairy, what an unexpected joy.

I have managed to scan Lady Maya of the Island's [as I like to call her] parcel and the other Secret Fairy parcel I received from Tara of the Misty Mountains [ I hope that suits where she lives] but I have also photographs to show eventually. The lovely little chest will have to wait to be photographed but I have scanned 'Pinky Sniffs', as the mouse is now called and a selection of the sweets and the scroll. When I photograph it properly I will have to replace the sweets as they are being nibbled at by Pinky and I as I write.



You can see the lovely things, opposite that I received from my Secret Fairy of the Misty Mountains. The pressed leaves, Halloween cards and stickers, the seeds which I planted in my garden, the note book and hiding underneath a sweet little organza bag with Halloween magnets which are going on my fridge with the rest of my magnets. I found it really exciting to get a Halloween card as no one really bothers sending Halloween cards over here, but I have decided next year I am going to make my own and send them to people dear to me. I will have my very own English style Halloween.

I have been wanting to go out and collect some falling leaves, chestnuts and acorns for Halloween but the weather has been so dreadful this week with the rain and the wind. The wind is blowing the leaves off the tree but they are all getting sodden with rain and just lying on the ground. I hope that it clears up over the weekend and then I can go out collecting as I want to have a Halloween window display and have just got my pumpkin and witch so far. Oh Just remembered I have a small cauldron in the barn that there were bulbs in one year. There that's another decoration.



Just a few more words about Mercury being in full retrograde from tomorrow [28th]. Things that could go wrong or be disturbed by the Divine Powers of the Universe. Computers may behave erratically, emails may go missing for a few hours or a day or two before they arrive, any parcels or cards you may could take a long time or go missing and travel plans could be difficult to achieve easily.

How can we make our way through this troublesome time? Well trying keep a piece of clear quartz on top of your computer to clear the air. Be patient above all things, the Universe allows these things to happen as part of its system of being, for every difficulty at some time in the future you will have a good happening to balance it. For travelling and mail, look out crystals and herbs that will help you achieve these things. Crystals and herbs in your pocket when travelling can help ease the journey and a sprinkling of the right herbs in the parcel or letter will help it on its way. Jasmine and /or Tuberose incense or essential oils will do well to help you with the effects of a retrograde Mercury Just take things carefully and slowly my friends.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE NEW SITE
JUST WAITING FOR STORIES TO FILL IT

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

Have some fun
Coming soon in early November
Daisy Lupin’s stream of consciousness game
Pick one of the words or phrases
Let it take you where it will, Go with it,
See where you end up, then post it on your site.
Come on, join in, let’s ramble

Yesterday I had a lovely day, what I call a 'stolen day', thats a day when you please no one but yourself in what you do and by the end of it you should feel blissfully peacefully and have a smile on your face. It's sort of like a day out of time.

I started by finishing off eight podlings in various stages of making. So that's eight ready to go up on sale, I have got behind with my making schedule due to the comings and goings and sorting out of matters concerning my Mother. Now I must get busy and finish the five Daisy Fae's who are literally hanging around my workroom awaiting completion. I also have numerous other projects to get to grips with.

By lunch times the sun was shining and I decided that today was just the sort of day that would be beneficial to the planting of the seeds the delightful Tara, from Silver Apples of the Moon had sent me, as one of my Secret Fairies. The sun shone on them as I platned them and the moon has begun to wax again, and hopefully will shine on them at night. I always try to plant my precious seeds with the waxing of the moon. I made a lovely sandwich for lunch, started off a hearty winter casserole for dinner, that night, now is just the t ime when soups and casseroles become craved food again, then returned to my artroom.



I finished the final two of the four, 4x4 pages I am doing as a swap. With these collages I sometimes put words in them and sometimes not. Today, these funny little sentences kept coming into my head as I was making these cards. So I went with it, maybe I just have a bizarre sense of humour, but I was giggling away at these two cards as I made them. I think there is some sort of old saying concerning a fool and something about laughing at his own jokes. That must be me. Anyways, I have uploaded both these cards above so see what you think. The one above right is my favourite it is called Somedays Daphne found her wings too heavy to bear and the one on the left is Lavinia stole the show with her unusual hat decoration.


I ended my day with my lovely hearty liver, onion and vegetable casserole, which if done long and slow has the most thick delicious gravy of any casserole, and then sat in my candlelit room with insense, my book and a lovely glass of red wine. Plenty of iron for my body today.

I think we all have to be wary at the moment and tread carefully, there are two reasons for this. The first is the usual reason at this time of year, from September to Samhain/Halloween, the thinning of the veil between worlds, a time when more people are more likely to see or be aware of spirits. Do you know that is how 'trick or treat?' started? I think, correct me if anyone knows different, that an ancient race, the Greeks, I believe, used to put food and drink outside their homes at this time of year to feed wandering spirits so they would not come into the house looking for nourishment. The second reason is that Mercury is in retrograde again, this started at the weekend and ends on the 24th November. That's the last one for this year, the next is in February 2007. So bear all this in mind if things become chaotic and carry some appropriate deflectors, such as crystals and herbs, around with you.



I am writing this on Wednesday morning and have just been interrupted by the mailman, with a packet from USA. Its my ATC fave movie swap from Judi, of the GPS. What an absolute sweetie you are Judi, not only are there my cards but a plethora of unexpected goodies wrapped up in such cute material printed with ladybirds. I have managed to cram them on the scanner as they are flat items so we can have an instant photograph of them and not have to wait for camera film developing. I feel quite overwhelmed with the goodies. Thank you so much. Also have scanned the ATC's which managed to hit the nail on the head as they are all fave movies of mine. TheWizard of Oz from Pam Aries, my all time favourite film, The Lord of the Rings from Katespin, with two of my favourite men pictured on it yummuy, Chocolat, from Lisa, Groggy Froggy, another film with a lovely piece of eye candy in it and The Dead Poets Society from Abbey with a thought provoking quote on it :-

'We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.... What will your verse be?' John Keating



The night of the Giant Story Telling Circle moves ever nearer I hope you all have a good scary story ready.

I want to be too frightened to be in a room alone and to lie in bed listening for strange noises in the house wondering what they are, to hear the wind blowing through the branches of the trees outside and wonder if I can hear a scratching at the window. Truth or fiction, it really doesn't matter which, as long as it gives us the heebie jeebies! That's what a good ghost story should do, so we keep reliving little snippets of it in our mind over the next few days. What's that noise on the stairs?


I have had an idea to let us all enjoy it in a more leisurely fashion. This is what I thought and I would like to know your opinions. I thought I would start a temporary blog called 'Daisy Lupin's Halloween Story Telling Circle', put all the stories together on it and keep it up until the end of November. Then just delete the whole thing. It occured to me that it might be nice if a good few people participate, and I really hope they do, that we could then take our time reading the stories over coffee etc, and they would all be collated in the same place. Yes, they would be on individual blogs but for one month they would be together on the temporary blog. Please let me know if you like the idea, if you are participating and you definitely don't want to be put on this blog just let me know. I just thought it was a really close way we could all share Halloween together.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

Have some fun
Coming soon in early November
Daisy Lupin’s stream of consciousness game
Pick one of the words or phrases
Let it take you where it will, Go with it,
See where you end up, then post it on your site.
Come on, join in, let’s ramble

Sunday Scribblings - Good

My actual Sunday Scribblings Post starts after these first four paragraphs about artwork. I have taken Long Necked Lady, as she has come to be known and done my version of her, in fact I did two, I got so carried away and excited by it all [inner child loves to colour]. This is the first time in over a week, due to my mother's situation that I have sat in my artroom for an extended period of time and found my concentration, in fact, I felt blissfully energised yet relaxed at the same time, when I left the room. This plus my lovely Sunday lie-in and my Sunday treats has prepared me for the coming week.

I have uploaded my favourite Long Necked Lady first, I have called her Daughter of Nature, the reasons for which are obvious in the artwork. The Long Necked Lady I did first, set me off laughing, she just turned out like this I didn't mean her to look like this, she just took off. I call her The Flapper, but really she looks like a demented Sally Bowles and I wouldn't be surprised if she burst into 'Cabaret' any minute.

Alternatively, she reminds me of a character in a story my daughter used to scare herself with about a girl who always wore a red ribbon round her neck, even when she got married and her husband asked her to remove the ribbon she told him, she couldn't and he must not ask why or mention it again. Naturally as in all these tales curiousity got the better of him and one night when she was deep asleep he gently untied the ribbon and as he removed it from her neck her head fell off! That could happen to my Flapper because of her long neck.

When I have finished posting I am going to whizz round the sites of the GPS and see how many have posted Violette's Long Necked Lady. We must do more little projects like this they are such fun to do, plus it is so interesting to see everyone else's take on the idea. Doing this has inspired me, as it has given me the basis of some cards I wanted to make for friends and people dear to me, cards, for birthdays, thank yous and just for sending with little surprise gifts. After messing around with this face I can now see the way forward to making these greetings cards as a combination of drawing and collage.



Now time for my Sunday Scribblings, this week, I missed it last week due to unexpected events, and re reading this week's see I have gone off on a fine old ramble. Hope it makes sense to someone.

Sunday Scribblings - Good

Good is a word I don’t feel very favourable towards, I tend to treat it with distain. It always sounds such a priggish word. Perhaps, its because I have never aspired to being described as a ‘good’ girl, not that I was a naughty girl, I always meant well and did my best most of the time. In my past I have been called a ’wild child’ which I could live with and now people might say ’she’s a bit of an old hippy’ or ’she’s rather individual’. I would rather be called a caring friend than a good friend.

Look up the word ’good’ in dictionary and what is the definition:-
Noun: good - Benefit, Moral excellence or admirableness
Goodness - that which is pleasing, valuable or useful
Adjective: good - desirable or positive qualities eg. ‘good news’

It is possible some of the difficulty I have with the word good is that what springs to mind is the term ‘Goodwife’ or ‘Goody’. Now this is a courtesy title of married women, used much as Mrs, or Missus would be used today. The male term is Goodman. The name Goodwife and Goodman were very popular in Puritan England and New England. I see a Goodwife as a sour faced Puritan who would always be conferring with her cronies, never gossiping, god forbid, mulling over details of the misdemeanours of more light hearted ladies. I have this idea firmly ensconced in my mind that it was through these miserable god fearing women that many prettier younger women or eccentric older woman were put to trial as witches. Move one inch outside the ideal Puritan ethics and the Goodies would pounce on you. Perhaps, I have come across them in a past life but they have given me difficulties with the word good.

The other way good is used that has turned me against it is the term Goody Two shoes. This comes from a moralistic children’s tale which was published in 1765 by John Newbery, an early London publisher of children’s stories. Basically this is about a child that went round whining for a pair of shoes, apparently she only had one. When she was given a pair she was so ecstatic that she went round pointing them out to everyone and saying ‘Two shoes’. Of course, Goody Two Shoes now refers to a smug self-righteous person, that never dares to take a risk in case they get into trouble. I would be insulted to be called one.

It seems there are a lot of horrendous snooty English phrases with ‘good’ in them such as ‘Oh good show old son’, ‘goody gum drops’ or ‘goodness me!’, an exclamation of surprise. Good is also such a lazy word, there are so many other words that you can substitute for it, it’s as lazy a word as nice is.

Therefore, for all the above reasons good is a simpering self-satisfied word.

If that is how I feel about the word ‘good’ I must now look at the opposite and think about the word ‘bad’. Yes, ‘bad’ is a bad word in the lazy sense of not looking for a better word, but there is a sort of growl to this word, as if it would jump up and sink its teeth in you as soon as look at you. There is a sort of temptation in it as in ‘keep away he’s a bad boy’ and most of us have been through a time when we had a mad crush or got involved with a bad boy, regardless of warnings, and probably ended up heartbroken.

I can’t spend too long on some of the hidden delights of bad because my prompt, after all was the word ‘good’. Suffice to say that ‘good’ seems to lie down to be walked all over by ‘bad’. Just remember that by bad I don’t mean ‘wicked’ and ‘bad’ doesn’t seem to have the hypocrisy of the word ‘good’. To say ‘bad dog’ doesn’t mean evil dog, just misguided doing something it shouldn’t be doing, just like the word ‘bad’.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

Have some fun
Coming soon in early November
Daisy Lupin’s stream of consciousness game
Pick one of the words or phrases
Let it take you where it will, Go with it,
See where you end up, then post it on your site.
Come on, join in, let’s ramble

With all my travelling back and forwards this past week, I have had plenty to time to think but not a lot of time on my site. I have had a couple of really serious postings, so I think I would like to have a lighthearted posting today. During this travelling time, I started to put a meme together in my head, so here we have Daisy Lupin's First [sometimes slightly cheeky] Meme. Most of it is a quick trip through the years. I will answer all my questions, dare you? I am not going to tag anyone but let's see how many feel like taking the chance with it. Here goes:-

What was your first childhood pet?
A goldfish called Cleo, she lived for 19 years,yes she was a girl because she once laid eggs.

What was your favourite comic?
Bunty for Girls, an english girls comic, later I also loved Superman comics that my cousin had sent over from America. As a young teenager I adored Petticoat magazine, I thought I was so cool reading it.

What was your favourite childhood book?
The Secret Garden, I think that's what I would choose, though I had so many favourites.

Did you ever have an imaginary friend as a child?
Yes, a boy, he was two years younger than me and called John.



Did you play an instrument as a child?
Yes, I had piano lessons for many years.

What was the first hit single record you bought?
The Young Ones - Cliff Richard [cringe!]

What tune sums up teenage summers?
Yellow Submarine, a silly song but reminds me of my last family summer holiday at Scarborough when I was beginning to think I was too cool to be seen with parents. I must have been 13 or 14.

What was first pop concert you went to?
The Walker Brothers, but amazingly enough Jimi Hendrix was a support act!

Fave teenage TV programme?
Apart from pop music programmes I adored The Monkees as a young teenager

Were you a naughty or a good girl at school?
Well, I was a good girl in my first year at secondary [high] school, but things went downhill from then on. It was a convent school, which I will post about at some time, the rules and regulations were smothering me and I just had to fight against them, so I ended up in some eyes 'naughty' but to me 'individual'.

Miss Popularity, Artsy Pants, weirdo or geek, which of these groups classify you at secondary[high] school?
Very much in the small artsy pants group who were always in trouble for their individualism. See I have always marched to the beat of my own drum.

Girl most likely to [as in year book]?
I would imagine according to the nuns, 'come to a bad end!' but my friends would say 'cary out a crazy idea'.

What colour did you paint your bedroom as a teenager?
Leaf green wall, sunshine yellow paintwork, bright orange curtains. Good day Sunshine room.

Very first paid job ever?
Babysitting, of course

Have you ever been really drunk?
Yes, once in very late teens, flat out on the floor, unable to move, just wanting to sleep there, very very sick, and have never drank Southern Comfort since. [That was what I had been drinking] . The smell of it still makes me shudder.




Did you smoke dope? and if so did you do a Bill Clinton [ smoking but not inhaling]?
Look I was at art college it was the beginnning of the 70's it was all around, of course I did and I inhaled.

A stupid thing you did?
Looking back I get shivers going up and down my spine when I remember how I used to hitch-hike, I have travelled the length and breadth of England with a friend or boyfriend when I was an art student this way. If I thought my daughter had being doing that I would be frantic. How could I have taken such a risk, I could have met the mad axe man!

Left handed or right handed?
Left handed and proud of it.

Should you play a board game with me?
Yes, if we are all friends, no if it is just family, sometimes with family I tend to cheat and cause chaos in board games, but only since the children have grown up, I played correctly with them when they were young.

If you came to visit me what would we do?
Assume it is a lovely sunny day. We would take a ride on a country bus, get off at the stop near the woods and go into them and have a picnic lunch. We would return to the cottage at tea time and have a lovely tea sitting in the garden, then as evening drew on we would open a bottle or two of wine eventually lighting the garden flares, and sit in the warm dark smelling the night fragrance of the flowers and earth talking of how we would sort out the world.





I have also been thinking about those three songs that describe you, that I mentioned a couple of postings ago, which were on Tara's Silver Apples of the Moon, site. I have chosen three that one in title and some lyrics and the other two in lyric I think sum me up at the present time.

1. Still crazy after all these years - Paul Simon
It's mostly the title, I like to think I retain some of my younger self's implusiveness and I know I still have flights of fancy. I see it as a gently comfortable craziness.

2. Ladies of the Canyon - Joni Mitchell
Basically, its the ladies' activities, dress, lifestyle that sum up my aspirations and describe the perfect life. I do enjoy living parts of this lifestyle.

3. Songs from the Woods - Jethro Tull
I don't know how familiar you will be with this. Basically to me it means living in harmony with Nature and using the things both mental and physical that the woods can give to you. I have printed the lyrics below.



Songs from the wood
Let me bring you songs from the wood:
To make you feel much better than you could know.
Dust you down from tip to toe.
Show you how the garden grows.
Hold you steady as you go.
Join the chorus if you can:
It’ll make of you an honest man.
Let me bring you love from the field:
Poppies red and roses filled with summer rain.
To heal the wound and still the pain
That threatens again and again
As you drag down every lovers lane.
Life’s long celebrations here.
Ill toast you all in penny cheer.
Let me bring you all things refined:
Galliards and lute songs served in chilling ale.
Greetings well met fellow, hail!
I am the wind to fill your sail.
I am the cross to take your nail:
A singer of these ageless times.
With kitchen prose and gutter rhymes.
Songs from the wood make you feel much better.
[copyright Ian Anderson/ Jethro Tull]

Update on the Mother front before I go. She is still in the care home, by Friday, yesterday, no one had been to see her or assess her, she is still in pain, but she was a lot more talkative and kept a more or less cheerful conversation up and fully realises she will have to live somewhere different, and we discussed various options. I have got my Mother to understand that now I am just waiting for a social worker to assess and start the red tape machine moving. Have also made it clear I am keeping a tight watch on what is happening.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

Have some fun
Coming soon in early November
Daisy Lupin’s stream of consciousness game
Pick one of the words or phrases
Let it take you where it will, Go with it,
See where you end up, then post it on your site.
Come on, join in, let’s ramble

I returned home on Tuesday evening to see that parceline had tried to deliver a parcel to me, and I have had it redelivered today. It was from my Chocolate Swap Partner, Kim. Both Kim and I have been concerned as neither has received the other's parcel, but today I received hers and it had been on its way many a weary day. I hope mine soon limps towards her home, tired and hungry and needing to be unpacked. It was full of lovely goodies, I have taken photos of everything, finished my film off and sent it to be developed, so for actual photos you will have to wait [you know I can't give up my husband's superduper camera for a digital one], but here's a description of everything for now.

All contained in a stripey chocolate coloured bag were:- a pair of socks with a motif of a cheeky monkey holding a banana, an embellished notebook, a chocolate candle, two beautiful mini pillows bound together with leather thonging from which the most beautiful fragrance wafts. A lovely little windchime, I adore windchimes and they pop up all over my house, this will be the first one in the artroom, a rubber stamp, a tiny roll of ribbon from Joannes, wow people are always talking about joannes and now I have something from there, a box of assorted seeds and nuts covered in chocolate coating, some of the pieces were shaped as eggs and marbled almost too good to eat, but I did and they were delicious, a pretty chain with a stone at the end for my neck, and best of all a lovely pouch with one of Kim's lovely beaded faces, which I have admired on her site, attached. I think I have mentioned everything, but they are all on the photographs. Thank you Kim I loved the parcel, it was worth waiting for.



I was commenting on Terri Tinker's site, I love her rambles, when an idea occured to me. After the Halloween Ghost Story Circle, at the beginning of November, how about this? I will put on my site a random list of words or phrases, you can all pick any one [it doesn't matter if a few pick the same] and in your next posting you all make part of your posting about that word or phrase, a sort of stream of consciousness ramble, let the word or phrase take you where it will, it can be silly serious, short or long, if you like it can even be an illustration. Just don't think seriously about it just go with the flow. Who wants to play?



In an earlier posting I talked about 'One Day in History' which was on Tuesday, 17th October, when you were invited to submit a blog posting for posterity, so in the future people could get an idea of life in 2006. This is the blog I submitted, it happened on Tuesday, but you had until the end of this month to post it. The only grumble I had with submitting it is that the entry could not be over 640 words, which really isn't a lot when like me, motormouth, you have a lot to say.

Tuesday, 17th October, 2006

Up at 7.30, get myself ready for day and have weetabix and a cup of coffee for breakfast. I had thought that today would be quite a mundane day but my mother was taken away from her flat yesterday and sent to a local care home for at least a week’s assessment of her severe arthritis, it has suddenly taken a turn for the worse, especially in her hips so that she can not walk at all at the moment. I live in the country, so first of all I head for my nearby town to buy a few toiletries for my mother, everything happened in such a rush yesterday. I then head towards the care home.

My heart sinks as I walk into it, it smells of stale food, I can see no reception, then I notice an office in the corner. I go to the open door, the lady is on the phone, she sees me and I stand back waiting for her to finish her call. She knows I am there but doesn’t break off her phone call or acknowledge me, not even with a nod of her head, I find that this angers me it is discourteous, as far as I am concerned. Eventually I introduce myself, she doesn’t introduce herself, she says my mother is upstairs and will take me there. We go to my mother’s room where she is sitting in a chair in her dressing gown. I feel very depressed, I know it just a spare assessment room, but it is so bare and institutional. My mother is very tired, still in pain, but pleased to see me. We talk and after a couple of hours I have to leave as there is so much sorting out to do in her life. It is now mid afternoon.



Returning to town these things, in particular, occur to me. The humiliation and indignity of the place. No one wanted to talk to me about my mother and or could tell me what was happening. A carer had come into my mother’s room in the morning stripped her completely naked handed her her flannel and said, you wash your face with that while I wash you. She had no sponge, one of the things forgotten in the rush, the carer brought this dirty yellow sponge in to wash her with. My mother refused to have is used on her. The carer said’ I have washed’ it’, I saw that sponge it was disgusting and unhygienic, I threw it in the wastepaper bin. When her lunch tray was brought in the potatoes and vegetables were cold. Where is the dignity of life in that institution? I felt so depressed when I left, I know one thing, if my mother does need residential care, it will NOT be there, I couldn’t leave her there.

The National Health Service, I think is the most wonderful thing a government ever gave to England. I wonder what those who fought for this service would think of the crumbling edifice we are left with today. Top heavy on the management and administrative side, befuddled by it targets and reams of red tape paperwork and with not enough trained nurses and carers. Nothing happens smoothly. The day before my mother sat in a chair waiting for an ambulance for six and a half hours. Her home carer assessor neglected to tell me, her next of kin, what was happening, relying on a friend of my mother’s to get in touch with me. I do wonder how much more of a shambles this country can get itself into. I mourn for England at this point in time.

I returned home to my peaceful cottage last night, where I sank down in a chair with a plate of sandwiches and a glass of red wine.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning drinking a cup of coffee, feeling low and blue, as I was worrying about my mother, when I heard a thud through the letterbox. I got up and went to investigate in time to hear a delightfully clear tinkling laugh, the flapping of wings and a shimmer of colour as the letterbox closed again. A lovely large maroon envelope decorated with stickers of autumn leaves lay on the mat as glitter dispersed on the carpet around it. A secret fairy had struck. This was so unexpected that a smile started to curve the corners of my mouth. I returned to the kitchen to open it. It was a halloween surprise. A halloween card filled with beautiful pressed autumn leaves, stickers and a lovely postcard. A pumpkin shaped notebook and some cute little magnets with halloween symbols on and best of all, some tiny brown envelopes wrapped together with twine, each with hand written instructions how to plant the lovely herb seeds within, these were from the secret fairy's wonderful garden and picked by her. Such small things that have given me great pleasure. The herb seeds will be planted later this week and they will spend the winter getting to know their English brothers and sisters.

From a dark day suddenly the sun came out shining, both in my mind and in reality. Thank you secret fairy. Can you guess who she is? Clues are silver apples and moon.



We don't really go to town over Halloween here, yes the kids go around for sweets, but most of our decorations are scary masks, dracula teeth, plastic pumpkins etc, the adults don't bother at all except to hover near to young children knocking on doors. I always have a big basket of sweets for trick or treaters, but Halloween is usually over by nine at night. People don't decorate their homes for it over here, although I always carve a pumpkin and I have a broomstick flying, warty witch to hang in my window. I would love to make a big celebration of it, but we have Guy Fawkes [firework night on the 5th November]. Personally, I would prefer to do Halloween and use bonfire and fireworks on Halloween night.

Tara recently had two memes on her website, one which I am not going to do today but sometime in the future because it really needs deep thought. The other I'm posting now. In the first meme you are supposed to choose three songs that describe you, I suppose, as a person, your personality or your interests. This sounds deceptively easy, but once you start racking your brains I think it is quite difficult. I'm going to mull it over a day or two and see what I come up with.

The second meme is much easier and all you have to do is list seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, and they don't have to even have words. You are supposed to tag seven people to do this, but as usual take it and do it if you want to.



My seven tunes -right here, right now.

1. The Old Laughing Woman - Neil Young [a real spooky mystic feel to this one, sparks off stories in my mind]
2. Madam George - Van Morrison [ a multi layered and multi meaning song that entrances me as much now as when I first heard it]
3. The Lark Ascending - R Vaughan Williams [pure unadulterated bliss, the most exquisite bijou summing up of the English countryside you could ever hear, brings to mind Thomas Hardy, Mary Webb and any rural novel you have ever read]
4. Carey - Joni Mitchell [a cajoling song, come on you know you want to go out and who can resist a line like 'you're a mean old daddy but I love you']
5. From a Distance - Nanci Griffiths [ a hymn to hope and it always deeply affects me]
6. Verdi Cries - June Tabor [those lyrics that deep jazz voice, I loved the 10.000Maniacs version until I heard June's recording of it, late night music]
7. All that Jazz - Chicago Sountrack [ a song to sing at the top of your voice when at home alone and really let it rip, get the growl and put your jazz voice on yay!]

Come on who's going to try this. I promise I will get back to the more difficult meme in a day or two.

After a horrendous weekend rushing backward and forewards to my mother's, late this afternoon she has gone for a week to a residental care home to be accessed. She says she is in terrible pain, she can't walk hardly at all now, and she is befuddled by pain killings drugs. I fear that her hip could be crumbling away, and with her other ailments she is not a candidate for hip replacements. At the moment she needs 24/7 care and is too tired and weak to protest, so we will see what happens after a week. I will continue blogging through this, although, I am rushing around sorting all sorts of things out for her, but if it takes me a long time to get round all your sites, please don't abandon me, I'll get back to normal as soon as possible.

I have taken photos of my secret fairy surprise and my new artroom, and will get them developed and posted as soon as I have time for normal things again. By the way has anyone heard anything about this ultra violet beam which is radiating from space onto earth tomorrow, the 17th October and bringing intensity to feelings good and bad and will put one of your chakras out of sync. I googled about it and got a surprising amount of varied information.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle

First of all I want to thank all of you who left such kind comments on my site and emailed me after my last posting. There is nothing like people's understanding of your problem for somehow helping make that problem easier to handle.

Things have got no better really on that front, except that my Mother now finally has realised that she can't go on living where she is. Unfortunately, I feel if she stays this way she will not be able to eventually occupy a bungalow in the sheltered accommodation near me. She will need a ground floor flat where carers live on site to keep an eye on residents and there is someone on hand 24/7. She is not happy giving up the second bedroom she has at the moment but she never uses the second bedroom, it just accumulates rubbish. At least she is accepting changes in her future.

I spent today, finishing off the moving in to my new artroom, by putting down a lovely 6x8 ft rush mat that we had but never used, over the floorboards. I put up a cheerful yellow voile curtain at the window and it looks wonderful to me. There is only one corner of the room that has boxes still to sort, I have put a throw over them until I get round to sorting them in the next few days. Already I feel really at home sitting at the table in there. I will take photographs of it very soon.


I want to publicise 'One Day in History', which is going to happen on 17th October On that day as many people as possible are to write a blog of their day [no longer than 600 words unfortunately] and post it on the website linked below, before November, These blogs are going to be kept for future generations to give an idea of life in 2006. I think that this is a wonderful idea. I saw this first on PG's site and looked it up, they are desperate for it to be publicised. Unfortunately you have to live in Britan to take part. I certainly am, I will publish it on my blog and on theirs. I have taken an extract from their site for the next paragraph and at the end of that I have put the html of their site. Please any British bloggers that read this join in. I know as a History Graduate, how fascinating the Mass Observation Second World War Diaries of the population were, ordinary people keeping diaries about their everyday lives.

'One Day in History'
A MASS BLOG for the national record. The History Matters campaign has designated October 17 a day for the public to make historic. We have chosen 'an ordinary' weekday of no particular significance to ask you to write a one day on-line diary.
We want as many people as possible - tens of thousands of UK residents - to record a 'blog' diary of this one day to be by the British Library and others as a record of our national life.
And we want to urge people to reflect in their diaries how history itself impacted on them - whether it be simply commuting through an historic environment, or how business history influenced their decision-making, or merely that they looked up some old sports statistics or listened to some pop music from the 1960s. It could be anything.
'Ordinary' day
October 17 has been chosen deliberately as 'an ordinary' weekday of no particular significance. We want to record the mundane and ordinary lives of citizens and by doing something contributing valuable to the historic record. Material that could be used by historians and researchers for time to come.
Mass Observation
The idea is inspired by similar experiments by Mass Observation, the social history resource, founded in 1937, and which still exists today - based at the University of Sussex.
How
From the 17 October until 1 November it will be possible to add your 'One Day in History' diary on this website.
To do so you willl have to fill out a simple form. We will ask you to write your diary on the form. This can be from one word up to 650 words (about the size of one page of A4). After you have added your diary we will also ask you to fill in a few key words describing what you have written. This could be words like town names, your name, key facts. This enables the diaries to be more searchable so that you should be able to find your diary easily afterwards.

The archive thereby created will be held by the British Library, Mass Observation, the National Trust and others.

http://www.historymatters.org.uk/output/Page95.asp



I was tagged by Pretty Lady to do the Three Answer Meme, so here goes:-

1.Things that scare me:
Nuclear War
Bigoted Christian Fundamentalists
Mad Axe Men

2. People who make me laugh:
My son [he has a wicked dry sense of humour]
Peter Kay
John Cleese in 'Fawlty Towers' - [yes, I still laugh even after all these years]

3. Things I hate the most:
Red Tape
Politicans who see things in black and white with no shades of grey [example- if you do not agree with us you are a supporter of terrorism]
Nations testing nuclear bombs

4. Things I don't understand:
Tony Blair [Where is he coming from? Is he unhinged, an egotist or both?]
People who never have a flight of fancy but just moan all the time
How we allegedly found the technology to land on the moon but can't cure serious diseases

5. Things I'm doing right now:
Writing this posting obviously
Listening to Neil Young's first album
Sporadic chatter with husband who is making me a coffee in the kitchen

6. Things I want to do before I die:
Live in Ireland for a few months
Travel all around England, staying in hotels visiting small towns, I have liked the look of as I have sped through en route to somewhere else. Sometimes we overlook the beauties of England in our search for exotic lands.
Live in Cornwall for the rest of my life

7. Things I can do:
Communicate with cats
Fly on a broomstick
Tell tales around a fire

8. Ways to describe my personality:
Daydreamer extraordinaire
Changeable [either ferociously organised or completely ditsy]
Some one who will go out of their way to help a friend [but don't cross me I'm Scorpio]

9. Things I can't do:
Swim
Ride a horse
Stand on the top of a high building, mountain or cliff and look over the edge

10. Things I think you should listen to:
A cat's purr
The dawn chorus
The voice of reason on the world's political stage

11. Things you should never listen to:
People who try to put you down
People who say your project will 'never work'
Bigoted and racist talk

12. Things I'd like to learn:
The secrets of the forest
To drive a pony and trap
Excellence with herbs and crystals

13. Favorite foods:
My home made soups
Indian Food
Mexican Food

14. Beverages I drink regularly:
Coffee
Wine [ either red or white]
Pomegrante juice

15. Shows I watched as a kid:
The Woodentops
Robin Hood
Fireball XL5

16. Person’s I'm tagging to do this meme:
Anyone that cares to do it.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupins’
Halloween Ghost Story Posting
Post a ghost story, something strange that happened
To you or a tale you want to tell
On 31st October, or as near to before
As possible.
Let’s have a Giant Story Circle