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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Director Mike Figgis Talks Trading Licks with Ronnie Wood

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Before becoming a filmmaker, Leaving Las Vegas director Mike Figgis was a musician and performer in the experimental group called The People Show. Before that, he played trumpet and guitar in the experimental jazz ensemble The People Band, whose first record was produced by Rolling Stone drummer Charlie Watts. He is also the founding patron of an online community of independent filmmakers called Shooting People. You can say Figgis is a People person, which makes him the perfect director to capture Ronnie Wood in the documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me.

One of rock and roll’s most iconic guitarists, Wood is good with people. He plays well with others. He is the Stone who’s never alone. Before he began weaving guitar licks with Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones, Wood helped shape the British rock sound in bands like The Birds and the Creation. He was the bass player to the guitar maestro in The Jeff Beck Group, which featured the distinctive voice of Rod Stewart at the front. They put out two albums, 1968’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola, before splintering just as they were to appear at Woodstock. Wood and Stewart inherited the Small Faces from Steve Marriott and dropped the album First Step in 1970. They realized they were too tall for the diminutive moniker and renamed the band The Faces. They released the albums Long Player and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse in 1971, and Ooh La La (1973), before splitting up in 1975.

Wood guested on albums by David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, the Band, Donovan, B.B. King, and on Stewart’s solo albums. He spent so much time flavoring other performers’ works, he didn’t put out a solo album of his own until 1974 which he aptly titled I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Wood also went solo for 1981’s 1234 and collaborated with Bo Diddley on Live at the Ritz in 1988, Wood’s seventh solo album, I Feel Like Playing (2010), featured guest spots from ex-Faces bandmate Ian McLagan, as well as The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Billy Gibbons, Bobby Womack, and Jim Keltner.

Somebody Up There Likes Me isn’t structured like most music documentaries. It is primarily a conversation, and it veers from much of Wood’s vast output. The hard-partying musician beat lung cancer and candidly blames his excessive indulgences. He saw bandmates, contemporaries and friends, like Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and John Bonham push past the lethal limits of chemical reactions. Wood himself remembers telling Keith Moon to take pills, not bottles of them. Richards remarks in the documentary how the two Rolling Stones guitarists share strong constitutions. Wood began recording with the Rolling Stones when they were halfway through their 1976 album, Black and Blue, and has been steady even up to their recent pandemic live stream.

The documentary also captures Wood’s visual artistry. He was an artist before he was a musician. His drawings were featured on BBC TV’s Sketch Club when he was a child, and he studied at the Ealing Art College. Wood did the cover artwork to Eric Clapton’s 1988 box set Crossroads. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee continues to capture visions like Mick Jagger’s dancing in a Picasso style, as well as the shots in Somebody Up There Likes Me of him capturing the grace of a ballerina on canvas.

Born in northern England, director Mike Figgis was raised on jazz and Jean-Luc Godard movies. The inventor of the “fig rig” knows when to experiment, such as he did in Timecode (2000) and Hotel (2001), how to get drama out of romance, as he did with One Night Stand, starring Wesley Snipes and Nastassja Kinski, and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. He is adept at crime dramas, directing the “Cold Cuts” episode of The Sopranos in 2004 and Internal Affairs, which starred Richard Gere. He also mines deep emotional schisms in films like Mr. North and Leaving Las Vegas (1995) for which he was nominated for Best Directing and Best Screenplay Oscars. Figgis spoke with Den of Geek about cinematic jams and studio sessions with Ronnie Wood.

Den of Geek: Over the course of the film, you produced a song using nothing but your backings and an orchestra of Ronnie Woods. How was he to produce?

Mike Figgis: He was a delight, actually. We did most of the interviews and everything where he was painting, he was in his own space for that. Then the dialog, he’s very very witty and so on. But at the end of the day, the man’s a musician. Quite later on in the process I said, “Let’s go into a studio and do something.” I think the minute we got into a studio it was different. For both of us because I’m a musician too. It’s just a different kind of reality and the language becomes much simpler between musicians and understanding the equipment, the whole vibe.

Originally Mark Ronson was going to do a soundtrack for us which would have been fantastic and then he just got very, very busy because we got late. I presented him with a kind of template of how maybe could make a nice soundtrack, which is basically what we did anyway. So we did it without Mark and Ronnie was very comfortable with that.

He very much left it to me. He added a lot, obviously. He said, “I’d like to do this as well,” and so on. So, we had a pretty full couple of days in studio time. But he was great to produce.

There are a lot of musicians working on this besides you and Ronnie. Rosey Chan did the score for a painting scene.

Rosey’s my wife by the way. She’s a phenomenal concert pianist and composer and musician in her own right. She’s releasing an album now. She’s an amazing pianist, I just needed something to take us into a different zone, so I asked her to compose some piano pieces for that. Then I did some score myself. Just when he’s talking about drugs. I put a little bit of a weird score on that one.

So is this film more of a cinematic jam that you just edited in the mixing room?

Yeah, I think so. I think that’s a good way of putting it, actually.

Ronnie also worked with Bob Dylan, Prince, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin. Did you allow the interviews to determine what parts of his career you were going to include?

I actually wanted to avoid anybody else. I said, “Let’s just make it about him painting and us talking.” I wanted to make it as simple as possible. That didn’t happen because as soon as you sort of uncover one little stone, you kind of say “Oh, well obviously we should interview the Rolling Stones.” Then he started thinking, “Well, Rod’s around, we can use Rod.” When I discovered about Damien Hirst, “Actually that would be an interesting, unexpected one. That would be good, yeah.” So yeah.

It was kind of organic, really. It was all sort of scheduled based in a sense that, “When are you available?” And, “When am I available? When are these people available?” So, getting the Stones was actually the trickiest thing. You had to go to Berlin and get them between gigs when they were watching the World Cup. In between World Cups actually. Very specific.

I know you’re in the People Band which had an album produced by Charlie Watts. So, were you in the same periphery of the Stones as Ronnie Wood back then?

No, the connection with Charlie was very interesting because the People Band was a free music ensemble. I mean really experimental. Really way out. The drummer was this phenomenal percussionist, still is, called Terry Day. Terry Day went to art college with Charlie’s wife and he knew Charlie because they were both drummers, so they got on really, really well. Charlie Watts has always been a huge jazz fan. Through Terry, it was one of those moments where Charlie says, “You know, we can record you. We got a mobile studio. We can either send the mobile to you wherever you’re playing.” I’m talking about in those days, in ’68 or whenever it was, the idea of a mobile multi-track was pretty amazing. “Or you can come to Olympic Studios,” which was where they recorded Beggars Banquet and everything. It was an amazing studio. And, “We’ll just give you the studio and the engineer, and you guys do what you want.” That’s how that came about and it was really lovely.

Over the years, once in a while I would see Charlie and just catch up, talk about drumming, really. And jazz. So it was really nice interviewing for this one again.

When you were asking Rod Stewart about Peter Grant, he sort of cut back and he became the young man that was bullied.

He did, didn’t he? When he said, “I’m protecting my hands and my face.”

The gangster aspect of that mid ’60’s period, especially with Peter Grant, how did that affect the musicians and the working? Do you think it actually in some ways was good for it?

Well, you know that comes about from a very strange coincidence which was sort of touched on in the film. But, quite a few years back, Malcolm McLaren was wanting to produce a film. A feature film about Led Zeppelin and as a result of that, he and I went and interviewed Peter Grant which is where that footage comes from. I did a huge amount of research into Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant at the time, and spoke to and interviewed a lot of the people who were involved with their success. I didn’t interview Johnny Bindon, but he was a key figure. Johnny Bindon was a kind of very violent criminal. In London. Very good looking. He became an actor for a while. Had amazing sexual legends built around him involving royalty and all kinds of things, and was part of a kind of fashionable gangster scene. The craze and all the rest of it. The London gangster scene.

Sort of became fashionable because people went to all their clubs, and hung out with them, and David Bailey photographed them and all that. So there was a kind of a zeitgeist about gangsterism. There’s an incredibly good book written about it called Jumping Jack Flash which came out two years ago. Bindon became one of the agents for Led Zeppelin and famously beat up somebody so badly on one of their tours that was hospitalized. He was a very mean individual.

The whole association with Led Zeppelin was very much gangsterish because of Peter Grant and his associates who had those stories and so on. So that was a kind of one aspect, and also a lot of the management were fairly crooked in London at that time. There’s a bit of a gay mafia and all the rest of it, so part of the folklore of that period of British rock and roll is very gangsterish, and very much part of the story.

Whenever I think about gangsters and British rock I think of the movie Performance. When you’re filming conversations in the moment, are you saying in your head “this is filmic?”

Not consciously, no. I accept it as being part of the fabric, actually. I try to make everything filmic anyway, so I’m always trying to get as far away from any kind of documentary feel. I like things to have a live element to it.

I loved Peter Grant’s Gene Vincent story. In the Beatles Anthology, George Harrison tells a similar one. What did Gene Vincent mean to young British rock and roller’s that everyone’s got a story about them?

Oh, because he was there, he was around. A little bit like the stories about everyone remembers Big Bill Broonzy and everyone remembers Sister Rosetta Thorpe. Main reason for that is they were a part of a very small group of musicians who were allowed to visit the UK during the Musician’s Union ban on touring. We were basically deprived of a lot of American musicians after the war, and the only reason Broonzy got in and Sister Rosetta Thorpe, was folk musicians were allowed in as opposed to, say, Louis Armstrong.

They all came in as folk singers even though they weren’t. I mean Broonzy was a fully-fledged Chicago blues musician and so was Sister Rosetta Thorpe. But everybody knows that. Anybody that was anybody around at that time would know those names. And Gene Vincent has become a kind of UK legend.

Do you see Ronnie as a very varied painter?

I wanted to capture a certain aspect of his art which was the line drawing. When we first started talking, I looked at all his art books. He does huge canvases with a lot of color, featuring the Rolling Stones, et cetera, et cetera. I was less interested in those. Those sell for a lot of money apparently and people really like them.

But when I saw his line drawing, his very quick drawings. Line drawing is very, very important. Sketching is very important in the same way that when you hear a very basic demo from a musician, there’s a certain truth about that. Then you can produce it and over produce it, and you can make it super sophisticated. I was interested in the bit that leads up to the way that he started producing. I wanted to set up situations where I would just see his line drawing. His ability to control lines, that was amazing.

Then physically watching him do that is fascinating. I love filming people playing their musical instruments. There’s a certain truth about that, they get into their thing. And watching him draw I thought was fascinating. His concentration, absolute. Even in the interview with Damian Hirst. He’s so focused on what he’s doing that he doesn’t really pay much attention to Damian Hirst. Sort of answers the question. He doesn’t pick up on any of the jokes. Because he’s really focused on what he’s doing.

Watching his live stuff, Wood is a different person. While he’s playing guitar, you see him and Keith joking around.

I think that has something to do with the eye. Because I think it’s about blues guitar. You can see the finger memory is really, really strong so I mean in that early footage he’s smoking at the same time, right? He’s smoking, joking around, getting to the microphone, late usually, for the backup vocals. And moving around and having a great time. He doesn’t have to look at the guitar to do that. However, if you are drawing something, either you make that contact with your eye, so creating the triangle between the subject, the canvas, and your eye. And you’re quite right. Radically different body language, and that’s interesting. There are two physical sides of him demonstrated on film, which you don’t really have to explain. There it is.

Is Somebody Up There Like Me a flip side to Leaving Las Vegas?

Maybe. You know, people have had a life, have had experience and come through darkness and coming to light and so on. For me, it just becomes 10 times more interesting than people who’ve just had a nice life and behaved well. Look a little puzzled that they’re not sort of 70 or something because it’s all been quite peaceful, you know? So there’s a kind of turbulence there which I think he says quite well when he says, “I see a fork in a road I take it.”

Like he says, “I would do it with my eyes more open now if I did it again.” I kind of admired that. It’s not like me. I’m much more protective. But I also loved the way he talked about the drugs. He talked about, “I would never get to the point of losing control because I always knew.” Because he’s very ambitious. “I always knew where I had to be next and I never wanted to be at the place where I couldn’t control where I wanted to be.” I’m sure there were a few exceptions to that, but in general, that was quite truthful.

You’re known as a very experimental filmmaker and I was wondering how you keep coming up with different ways to look through the camera?

I got sort of bored with 35mm and started going back to 16mm and then when video got more interesting, looking at video. Then as video got smaller and XLR happened, that radically changed the possibilities. Then as the world changes, like with at the beginning of this conversation we talked about the coronavirus effect. And how the Timecode principle, how that then ties in with what is possible in terms of filmmaking, really.

When you were making Timecode, did you know that you were predicting pandemic filmmaking?

No, although looking back I can think where it’d be really useful now.

The Rolling Stones streamed their performance early in the pandemic, is this the future of entertainment and is it an imposition?

I think in a way it is. Obviously at some point we will get coronavirus under some kind of control. But there are dire predictions about what’s coming next in terms of the unleashing of the demons that come through global warming, et cetera, et cetera.

On the one hand, maybe these variations of these conditions will continue well into the future. But I think even if it was just coronavirus, I’m talking about making films with various people right now, it’s almost like unless you actually acknowledge the world as it is today and has been for the last six months, any film that you make is going to have an air of unreality about it because this is quite definitely a global reality now. The way we’re communicating now and so forth.

I’m doing a masterclass in London at the film school next week and I’m going to be talking just about that to young filmmakers. The best ways to go about making films now.

As a jazz musician, what did you make of Jagger’s classification of jazz from back then?

It was pretty accurate, actually. I’d done the blues documentary with Martin Scorsese, the history of the British Blues, Red, White, and Blues. So, I covered that period and I was fascinated by that unique British period anyway, which is why in a way Marty and I got on so well too was because unlike America, the post war British music scene was heavily into traditional jazz and then bebop. Then folk music, and skiffle, and all those things. They all combined. If you talk to anybody, Eric Clapton, anybody, they’ll all make the same references. Big Bill Broonzy and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and then Woody Guthrie, and so kind of everybody was listening to all those influences and people were coming out of traditional jazz and then making quite dynamic decisions about this, that, and the other.

But the Trad boom was, the commercial aspect of the British jazz movement was very commercial, and immediately commercialized. There are some great musicians, but not the hippest genre in the world, so Jagger’s commented quite rightly if you want to be a young, sexy, happening musician, you’re not going to base your style on your grandfather’s taste and the rest of it. It was a kind of nice point of view. I loved it when he said, “I like the MJQ because of the way they looked and the way they played. I’m not sure I was crazy about the music or something like that.”

And I loved that he said, “We can be like that or we can be something different.” I love that moment in the film where you actually suddenly see the Stones kind of go, “Yep.” That’s pretty different from those two choices. That was, you’re creating a new genre there. And I have to say, my respect for the Rolling Stones went very, very high in making this documentary. I always like the Stones. I preferred more basically a blues band and I was listening to a lot more complicated pop musicians and jazz musicians.

I read that you’re doing a K-drama about the #MeToo movement. Would that be in the K-pop industry?

Yeah, I became interested in Korean film of course like most filmmakers. And then on an impulse, two and a half years ago, I bought a ticket to Seoul and I went and stayed there for three or four weeks, and just went around meeting people and just trying to get a handle on their film scene, initially. Then, I kind of got hooked on K-dramas as well and started to meet the actors. That’s turned into a project that’s been in development for about a year now. It’s going really, really well, but coming up with this series of scenarios. Sort of loosely around the #MeToo movement, really but just to do with the Korean social pop entertainment scene. And that’s what that was there.

I didn’t know that the Stones had originally thought about asking Ron Wood to replace Brian Jones. As a musician, you said they stuck to their guns. Do you think that would have been more true had they skipped over Mick Taylor and gone straight to Ronnie Wood?

It was interesting because that period, because obviously Jagger comes from a very much blues background. But by that time he was a megastar and the Stones were very much “Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.” He was making movies, he was hanging out at the clubs, he was the hip guy. So obviously his horizons were expanding and he said that having Mick Taylor in the band really expanded his horizons as a songwriter because the voicings that Mick Taylor used. Mick did incredibly lyrical runs as the guitarist. Not a straight down the line blues player by any stretch of the imagination. A great blues player, but that’s not all he did.

So, I can imagine at that period, it would have been totally understandable if they’d continued to go in a different direction. I think what happened when Mick Taylor walked out, there was a kind of obvious cause of action to go to Ronnie. That probably then put Keith in a more comfortable zone in terms of the two-guitar thing because I would imagine that with Mick Taylor in the band, Keith’s role must have been definitely not so much the two-guitar thing because they are functioning at different levels. Probably in a way, back to a kind of grassroots level by bringing Ronnie back in.

Also, he looks like them. They were like brothers at that point. There’s a kind of a, suddenly a cohesiveness to the band as a band in a different way. Mick had a wider range in terms of songwriting and performance. A different way to go, but I think he was more than happy to go back into the kind of grassroots journey that they’d been on.

It’s very interesting how one musician can radically alter the destiny of the band, the longest lasting band in rock and roll history basically now.

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Ronnie Wood: Somebody Up There Likes Me will be available as a Virtual Cinema release at www.ronniewoodmovie.com starting Sept. 18 running through October. It will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and deluxe hardback book release on October 9.

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familyagrestefanblog · 4 years

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Identity theory to the Black Cat knight in “Feast”- Part 1

There is one detail in “Feast” that has me almost upset because of my own short coming. Not because it’s badly written, out of nowhere or anything, quite the opposite, its brilliant! It’s the detail of the former cat miraculous holder, the knight

You know why this has me almost upset? I had this as serious theory since one evening I rewatched “Darkblade” and researched the historical background given there, since miraculous takes real life history and changes it to fit into their universe. The people and events are more or less accurate (as we know from episodes like “the pharaoh”). But I never completed the research nor did I made my theory into a post.

Well anyway. I guess it’s never to late to present my theory to who this former cat was.

This is Part 1, here I will cover: Who is the black knight? And the entire basis for the theory

Part 2 is about: The flag comparison is “Darkblade” and “Feast”

And part 3: Are the Cat Miraculous holder knight and Darkblade the same people?

Alright guys buckel up, it’s history time and these are gonna get LONG

Part 1 - Who is the Black knight?

I was and am pretty sure this Black cat knight we are being presented here is Edward of Woodstock.

Prince of Wales, born 1330 and known through history as the “Black Prince”. Why he’s called that is not known for sure. One theory is that he’s called the “Black” prince because of the color of his battle amour (which would fit the miraculous painting above) and badge but frankly no one can say with any certainty at all that he ever wore black amour.

Theory two is much more likely in my opinion. Edward was the first born son of Eduard lll, one of the most significant rulers of England in medieval times. And my GOD, Prince Edward was a game changer in the beginning of the hundred years war between Britain and France for the right to wear the French crown. He was one heck of a great (read: BRUTAL) medieval military leader, archiving his very first grand victory for England against the French at the incredibly young age of 16 (an age fitting to the trend in Miraculous giving powers to minors). This victory brought the 16 years old Edward a lifetime of glory as a formidable knight and army leader. Meaning: in my opinion he is most likely called the “Black Prince” because of his brutal and deadly campaigns through France.

Concidering that Miraculous is a French show also taking place in France, I think it’s completely fine depicting him with the Cats miraculous, the power to destroy everything and kill anyone with a single touch. From a French point of view, yeah that’s fine (he wasn’t nicknamed “le terrible Prince/ Homme Noir” (The terrible/gruesome black prince/man) by 1400s France for no reason I may say) I’m completely down with that and think myself that he would be a very fitting Cat who used his miraculous’ power more to its brutal limits (Not every Cat in the past was a pacifist like our present Chat Noir, Adrien, mostly is).

Cuz in general, through his status as Prince, army leader and knight of the order of the garter, an order of charity founded by his father, Edwards life mostly prioritized fighting and waging war. Dude was down with some serious slaughter. Still one has to say that even though he basically was raised and encouraged to become a killing beast, one can’t say he was outright a monster or something.

To keep this shorter, he genuinely showed respect and mercy to fallen and captured royalty. One example for this was after the victorious battle of Crécy (were he was 16) he walked across the battle field and found the fallen king John of Bohemia. King John was blind but always fought alongside his army (very successful if my may add) and when Edward found his corpse he honored him by adopting John’s motto “Ich diene” (“I serve”) and used and honored it for the rest of his life on his badge. Every prince of Wales after him used it too, keeping this legacy alive.

My reason for believing its Edward of Woodstock who the miraculous crew chose as this former Cat miraculous holder in the painting come down to four mayor factors.

1. One of the most famous objects Edward owned that is still available to the public today is this piece of jewelry

Would you look at that it’s his ring. I’m gonna spare you with the details to it because the only thing really of importance is the fact that HE HAD A RING.

But you know what else? Take a guess where this ring is located today

Jup, in the capital city of France, our very own miraculous Paris. In the freaking Louvre.Giving us not only a perfect reallife history, material match with the Cat ring but also a connection back to France, Paris, where the show takes place.

2. Through “Startrain”/the train we have a straight connection to England the show can and definitely will use in the future. At the end of “Startrain” we got this:

Meaning England/London is not only acknowledged in a side sentence in the Miraculous universe, the Miraculous crew already remodelled the city in CGI and believe me, CGI is hard work. They wouldn’t just put all this work into recreating London (yes even for a small shot like this they would have to recreate much more) if they didn’t had bigger plans coming. And that means, England/London is gonna be a future Location, this makes finding out the origins of a former English miraculous holder quite a possibility. It was also said by Thomas Astruc that in the movie to season 5 we will find out more about former holders, so even if the Show doesn’t include many of the actual historical identities, there is still the promising movie which can go more in detail with them. Especially if the movie picks the miraculous history as one of its main themes which imo is actually very likely.

3. The fact that, well, we are still watching a Tv show here. Imagine you were the creator of a Show like Miraculous were characters get magical jewellery to turn into superheroes and now your task is it to choose historical figures you can include into your show as former holders. You most likely wouldn’t use unknown people. That’s the point where you drop at least two or three recognisable names on significance to make the history of your show more interesting. Here you choose the myths, the legends, the people who went down in history as heroes of their countries. Or at very least you choose the figures with interesting names.

Edward of Woodstock may not be a myth or a legend but he sure counts as a national hero of English history and also a well known figure in France and in French history (giving him once again significance in a French show) and lets be real here, “The black Prince” is just too much of an awesome title of a historical person to pass by for story writing purposes like the ones we are looking for right now. Plus with (well) known names your audience already has a connection to go on with and you don’t have to start from scratch.

4. And this is my favourite reason! Lets talk about: The Black Princes connection with Jeanne de Arc. Oh yes guys, I’m going there. I went nuts on the research and I found a very interesting detail.

As most probably know by now, Thomas Astruc himself declared Jeanne de Arc as a former Ladybug. Jeanne de Arc is a French national heroin and martyr so him honoring her as a Ladybug is of no surprise and makes sense.

While Edward of Woodstock and Jeanne de Arc never lived in the same time (she was born in 1412 while he died in 1376) these two historical figures have a downright fascinating connection.

Their game changing roles in the hundred years war between England and France.

As I said before, Edward basically run into France with his army and won battle after battle. If you were to ask me which people influenced and started the beginning of the hundred years war, Edwards name would definitely fall as one of the first even if he was “only” a prince. Through the immense damage and loss France suffered through him, France was quite… down even after the black prince died (of course France like England had ups as well as downs but the whole war was so complex I’ll not explain it here and keep things really simple, I don’t wanna misinform).

In the time around 1412 where the 18 year old (once again just like Edward very young) peasant girl just a normal girl with a normal life Jeanne de arc lived, France was pretty much hold at gun point and at loss of their hope. History says that she, through unknown (miraculous) ways, was able to convince the french King Charles VII to let her join the battle and support him. The battles with her included were widely successful which paved the way for France’s future victory. In 1430 she was captured and was burned at the stake after being declared guilty of several charges. And to quote Nationalgeographic.com here (because I literally couldn’t put this any better)

“Once her ashes had been scattered in the Seine River, Jeanne’s detractors hoped her name would be erased from history, but her name has burned more brightly in the hearts and minds of the French ever since then. The humble farm girl turned the tide for the French in the closing years of the Hundred Years’ War.”

So while the black prince Edward of Woodstock (the cat) brought great destruction and a war to France around 1346 for a hundred years, for his homeland England and father, the king

Jeanne de Arc (the Ladybug) was the one who gave her defeated homeland France back their hope and strength to end and win the war in 1453

Confirming Names and Miraculous for former Holders + Change of title for the Black Prince

Alright last point of the basics.

But now you may ask yourself why the show refers to him as “Black Knight” and not the “Black Prince” if he really were Edward of Woodstock. To this I would say that there two huge factors that come into play here.

1. The show up to this point doesn’t want to out right say actual names or identities, expect for a few. There are a few more paintings and sculptures Alya goes through while pointing out the former miraculous holder in this episode and frankly, the fact that Alya never mentions names (beside Hercules) stuck out kinda odd to me considering that they are in a museum and she should be able to figure out some names from some of them, bringing a bit more of historical knowledge and facts into the show. But Alya and the show focus solely on the hero identities.This I think is happening because giving us the appearance, the typ of Miraculous AND a definite Identity/name would be too much to just throw at the audience without a proper pay off in near future.

I mean imagine if all these Miraculous holders from “Feast” the Grimoire, the little hero montage in the beginning of Origins part 1 or in this shot from “Le Befana”

had been given an official name, identity and the Miraculous type right of the bat. Don’t get me wrong it would have been NEAT no doubt, but BOAH…dude…too much information, TOO MUCH INFORMATION. What am I supposed to DO with these information’s now while the show is still in the “introductory” state and we will be dealing with the former Miraculous holder on a much later point?? Frankly, nothing. So yeah, its good that the show is being vaguer about the former holders while introducing them. That’s the right way to go.

Interestingly enough though, like I mentioned above, Hercules for example is confirmed to us not only by name, but also that he was the LION miraculous holder. He is the very first holder of the past of whom we have EVERYTHING confirmed. But I don’t think hes the only past holder we have gotten the canon name from already. I’m also 100% convinced that Akhenaton (in the English dub Tutankhamun for some reason???Oh no nononononono xD) and Nefertiti from “the Pharaoh” are former Ladybug and Cat miraculous holders too. This is a theory worthy or it’s own post with quite some points to explain so I’ll not digress here. Just know that they fit into the pattern I theorize with the past and current Cat and Ladybug miraculous holders.

Without too much digressing (I know its to late for that but shhhhhhhhhh) if we do take Akhenaton as Cat, Nefertiti as Ladybug and Hercules as Lion then we actually can pin point a difference down why these three holders were already introduced with names and others (like Knight Noir) aren’t.

Hercules for one is a legend and a myth, a figure you definitely connect more with stories than actual history. And while, yes, we acknowledge Nefertiti and Akhenaton/Tutankhamun as historical figures, they are so, SO so far away in the past that once again we don’t really see them as people who have once lived. Theyre more… concepts of people of the past with names. The fact that they are often used and portrayed in pop culture, Tv shows, movies, books ect in various inaccurate portrayals even furthers the “dehumanization”.

While historical figures like Edward of Woodstock or the Three Musketeer Ladybug above for example are not too far away from us today. We can still identify with them, their lifestyle and their environment in some sorts and as I stated above, in why I think Edward is the former Cat, the influence and meaning these people have to their national history is still great, which brings me to the second factor

2. I’m not sure if Miraculous would even be allowed to call the Black Knight the “Black Prince/Prince Noir (in French)” because as best depicted in the point of his connection with Jeanne de Arc, in a french show taking place in France he would and probably SHOULD not be portrayed in a 100% positive light. Considering what he has done to the French in real life, what his canon actions were in past in the ml universe (more to this in Part 3) I think anything but at least problematic anti-hero with good heart deep down would be historically and canonly… inappropriate. And this is where the problem lies.

Because yes, this is a french show taking place in France made by a french creator but they still cant just take an important ENGLISH historical figure pair him with an important FRENCH hero, let them both (like in real life) influence the same gigantic real life war between two real life nations and then just say: “Your legit english national hero is the bad guy and our legit french national heroin is good.” That’s just nothing they can pull.

With Jeanne de Arc yes, because she is and will undoubtedly be portrait in a good and heroic light (reflecting her real-life actions and influence on the hundred years war) but calling Edward of Woodstock out with his name, in circumstances like these while portraying him as the bad guy of the two (which he was, don’t get me wrong) is just.. it’s in bad taste and would probably offend quite some english people. And that is not something they can risk.

So what I think what they are doing here is that they changed his title from “Black Prince” to “Black Knight” because even though history remembers him as Prince, calling him a Knight is frankly anything but wrong. As I mentioned right in the beginning where I introduced Edward to you, he was one of the original Knights of the order of the garter, an order of charity founded by his father, the king. And man, he was one HELL of a Knight. So yeah, if you cant depict Edward of Woodstock as Prince then you are really not wrong off honouring his Knighthood (which the show does, like DAMN). This way, even though he isn’t called Black Prince he’s still recognisable to the people and historians who know him without much cheating considering his title or outright pointing at him and calling him a butthole (still, kudos to the show for basically doing it in “Darkblade” xD)

Puh Alright, the basics are out of th way.

Next is Part 2:The flag comparison is “Darkblade” and “Feast”

and Part 3: Are the Cat Miraculous holder knight and Darkblade the same people?

#Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #ml theory #past miraculous holders #former Chat Noir #ml feast #ml season 3 #ml season 1 #ml Darkblade #Cat miraculous holder in feast #Cat Noir #Chat Noir #guardians of the miraculous #ml spoilers

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moghedien · 4 years

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The Queens as D&D classes but not the ones you’d think:

Instead of working on the threatened Boleyn essay or researching or working on my nanowrimo project I’m doing this because if I’m given an ensemble of people I have to eventually assign them as dnd classes.

Aragon - Sorcerer:

Sorcerers are the jocks of the magical classes in D&D. Most sorcerer types (I think wild magic sorcerers being the only exception) get their magic from their bloodlines. You know what else you get from your bloodlines? Royal titles.

The “Paragon of Royalty” is obviously fixating on her royal lineage there and she should, because its what gave her power to the point where H*nry had to create a new religion just to get their marriage annulled divorce her. Had she been literally anyone else, the pope would have probably gone along with the annulment because popes actually tended to be pretty lenient about that sort of thing when it came to royalty back then. Aragon’s power (ie magic) comes from her bloodlines, so obviously she’d be a sorcerer of some sort since that’s literally the definition of sorcerers.

Boleyn - Wizard:

Anne is a high intellegence, low wisdom Icon.

Wizards are technically the smartest class, but name one wizard who isn’t also a certified dumbass, because bad decisions got nothing to do with intelligence.

I’m 100% convinced that Anne Boleyn is the smartest character in Six and one day I will write the essay explaining this. For now I‘ll say that Anne is the most unreliable narrator in her own story and intentionally so. She’s very careful to make a point of saying a whole lot of nothing about herself. And what she DOES reveal about herself is that she definitely knows how to get what she’s after, but maybe she isn’t seeing all of the consequences beforehand. The definition of high intelligence, low wisdom.

She makes it clear that she’s playing dumb for the show when she lays out the theme of the show using all of the SAT words and then saying “yeah, I read.” She’s the only one who is confirmed to read, and so as far we know she’s the only one who knows how to read (not really but the idea is hilarious to me). That makes her the nerd, which makes her a wizard.

Seymour - Barbarian:

Jane Seymour is a motherfucking tank.

She literally describes herself as unable to be broken, shaken, moved, or torn down. The chorus of her song is about her being able to withstand everything. She. Is. A. Fucking. Tank.

Now, as someone who plays a barbarian, I can tell you, they can be pretty indestructible. They have the highest level of hit dice, which means they’ll on average have the most hit points of any class. Which means on average, its gonna be a whole lot harder to take them down. Some barbarians have resistance to various types of damage which means that they can take more damage without being harmed. And to top it off, barbarians can have pretty high armor classes without wearing any armor. They are naturally harder to damage, to the point where sometimes wearing armor hinders more than it helps. Unlike other tanky classes, their ability to take (or in this case avoid) hits has nothing to do with their armor and they’re just fucking like that.

So yeah, it’s gonna be pretty hard to take down Miss Jane “Stone” Seymour the Barbarian. Sadly they aren’t immune to dying of natural causes.

Oh, and if you’ve seen Seymour just go straight for K Howard’s ponytail (I’m not sure this actually happens any more but it used to) and think she isn’t able to rage (a barbarian ability which is exactly what it sounds like) then you are sorely mistaken.

Cleves - Warlock:

Hey, you know what all warlocks do? Make deals with powerful being to get power. You know what Anna of Cleves did (or had done on her behalf at least)? Got at prenup and ended up with a palace.

Cleves is not just a warlock, she’s one of the few warlocks that got out ahead of their patron. Cleves got to be queen of England for a while, never had to worry about giving H*nry a kid, then got out of it with more freedom than she had before and more wealth than she could ever use in her own. Check her prenup. Girl knows how to make a deal and come out ahead. Also she’s obviously a charisma caster.

Howard - Bard:

K Howard is here and manipulating us all

Could they all technically be bards because they’re all performers? Sure. Howard is the most bardy of them though.

I wrote 8,000 words about how Katherine is manipulating the audience the entire show so I won’t get into that now but she’s the one putting on the most of an act this show. She is working the audience the most and succeeding her performance checks. She also makes it clear that history and music are her two main interests, which also happen to be two ideal interests for a bard. She makes history jokes more than once. Who’s the wife of Henry V? K Howard knows even when she’s supposed to be pretending she doesn’t. What does K Howard want to do when they rewrite their stories at the end? She just wants to be able to tell her abusers to fuck off and to be able to sing until she dies. Everyone else wants some kind of success. Howard just wants to “learn everything” and then sing until she dies. Is it incredibly depressing that she doesn’t pick anything more than that? YES! But it also shows that she just wants those Bard Skillz.

She also managed to have a 7 minute long song about the horrors of sexual abuse and made it an absolute bop and honestly that’s some bard magic.

Parr - Rogue:

Parr. Cathy Parr. That sneaky ass motherfucker.

When you know you can’t win in a head on assault or with a volleys of projectiles, what do you do? You change the rules of the game, sneak around the back and take them all out from behind without them even knowing you were there .

There was no universe in which Catherine “I’m the Survivor” Parr was gonna win in a competition where two of the people she was competing against were beheaded. So Cathy Parr gets them to all ditch the competition and guess who gets to belt out the last solo part? CaThY pArR

Now the show exists in a universe where the Queens are almost definitely putting on an act just to make a point, but the fact still remains that Parr got to be the one to make The Point. She just waited in the background while every else argued and fought and told their horror stories and was like “oops sneak attack of Girl Power” and turned the whole thing around. Her argument for winning the competition doesn’t have strength, isn’t especially charismatic, and no amount of intelligence or wisdom could make anyone believe she had it worse the the ones who literally died because of H*nry. But she does got Dexterity because that girl can streeeeeetch and make sure she at the very least didn’t lose. Also she’s definitely a high int arcane trickster subclass but that’s just obvs you guys.

#six the musical #catherine of aragon #anne boleyn #jane seymour #anna of cleves #katherine howard #catherine parr #dungeons and dungeons

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jezabelofthenorth · 5 years

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Unfortunately feels like another slow years for Tudor content, and book releases especially, so here I’ve added a few books not really on the Tudors but all women in English royalty that I imagine everyone will still be interested in

Elizabeth Widville, Lady Grey: Edward IV's Chief Mistress and the 'Pink Queen', John Ashdown-Hill (31 July 2019)

Elizabeth Widville was an endlessly enigmatic historical figure, who has been obscured by dramatizations and misconceptions. In this fascinating and insightful biography, Dr John Ashdown-Hill brings shines a light on the truth of her life. (for the record i’m not huge on ashdown-hill as i feel he’s a bit of a ricardian so no idea how fair he is on elizabeth but i’ll give it a try)

England’s Other Countrymen: Black Tudor Society (Blackness in Britain), Oneyka Nubia (15 June 2019)

Onyeka Nubia’s original research shows that Tudors from many walks of life regularly interacted with people of African descent, both at home and abroad, revealing a genuine pragmatism towards race and acceptance of difference. Nubia also rejects the influence of the ‘Curse of Ham’ myth on Tudor thinking, persuasively arguing that many of the ideas associated with modern racism are in fact relatively recent developments.

England’s Other Countrymen is a bravura and eloquent forgotten history of diversity and cultural exchange, and casts a new light on our own attitudes towards race.

A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects, John Matusiak (3 June 2019)

This seminal period of British history is a far-off world in which poverty, violence and superstition went hand-in-hand with opulence, religious virtue and a thriving cultural landscape, at once familiar and alien to the modern reader. John Matusiak sets out to shed new light on the lives and times of the Tudors by exploring the objects they left behind. Among them, a silvergilt board badge discarded at Bosworth Field when Henry VII won the English crown; a signet ring that may have belonged to Shakespeare; the infamous Halifax gibbet, on which some 100 people were executed; scientific advancements such as the prosthetic arm and the first flushing toilet; and curiosities including a ladies' sun mask, 'Prince Arthur's hutch' and the Danny jewel, which was believed to be made from the horn of a unicorn. The whole vivid panorama of Tudor life is laid bare in this thought-provoking and frequently myth-shattering narrative, which is firmly founded upon contemporary accounts and the most up-to-date results of modern scholarship.

Plantagenet Queens & Consorts: Family, Duty and Power, Dr Steven J Corvi (1 May 2019)

Plantagenet Queens and Consorts examines the lives and influence of ten figures, comparing their different approaches to the maintenance of political power in what is always described as a man’s world. On the contrary, there is strong evidence to suggest that these women had more political impact than those who came later – with the exception of Elizabeth I – right up to the present day. Beginning with Eleanor of Provence, loyal spouse of Henry III, the author follows the thread of queenship: Philippa of Hainault, Joan of Navarre, Katherine Valois, Elizabeth Woodville, and others, to Henry VII’s Elizabeth of York.

England in the Age of Shakespeare, Jeremy Black (1 August 2019)

From the dangers of travel to the indignities of everyday life in teeming London, Black explores the jokes, political and economic references, and small asides that Shakespeare’s audiences would have recognized. These moments of recognition often reflected the audience’s own experiences of what it was to, as Hamlet says, "grunt and sweat under a weary life." Black’s clear and sweeping approach seeks to reclaim Shakespeare from the ivory tower and make the plays’ histories more accessible to the public for whom the plays were always intended.

Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior, Catherine Hanley (1 March 2019)

Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to the English crown - the first woman ever to hold the position - and an able military general. This new biography explores Matilda's achievements as military and political leader, and sets her life and career in full context. Catherine Hanley provides fresh insight into Matilda's campaign to claim the title of queen, her approach to allied kingdoms and rival rulers, and her role in the succession crisis. Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne, and argues that although she never sat on it herself her reward was to see her son become king. Extraordinarily, her line has continued through every single monarch of England or Britain from that time to the present day.

#book recommendations #books #tudor history #elizabeth woodville #empress matilda #william shakespeare

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owlways-and-forever · 5 years

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Summary: Lily Evans thought her life would be normal. Well, as normal as it can be for a muggle-born witch in England. But when her boyfriend turns out to be the prince of the wizarding world, and tensions begin to rise among factions of wizarding society, Lily must find her way in situations she never anticipated, and try not to lose sight of her identity. Word Count: 2,462 (18,857) Links: ao3 | FFnet | Tumblr: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

A/N: Whoohooo, you guys get an early update this week! I'll be traveling tonight and tomorrow, and I don't want to give you a late update, so early it is! This chapter is sort of a continuation of last week's, and I hope you enjoy it.As always, please leave feedback, I love to hear it all!<3

Lils,

Here’s the thing. From what you said, you have four major objections to being with me in the long run. 1. You’d have to sacrifice a career. 2. You couldn’t be involved in the war. 3. You feel we couldn’t have private lives. 4. You feel that I’m a different person as Prince James. I understand why those are all important points for you, and why you feel you would have to make sacrifices to be with me. But I hope you can see that there are ways around those sacrifices, or at least ways of managing them.

Career

There’s no beating around the push here, you absolutely would have to give up any career you might have in mind. Royalty, at least those in line for the throne, can’t have a job because being the monarch (or monarch-in-training) is the job. So yeah, you couldn’t be a healer. But you wouldn’t be twiddling your thumbs at home all day, you wouldn’t be seen as just a broodmare, and you would be making a difference in the world. I don’t believe that the monarchy is just for show. I believe that we have value. Lily, the money and influence we are fortunate enough to have is ours to use as we please. We can benefit charities, help those who are struggling in this world. Beyond that, we get to meet with other state representatives, and we get a chance at diplomacy. There’s so much we can do with that, Lily. We can change the world.

The War

I don’t know if Dumbledore’s approached you about the Order of the Phoenix yet. I don’t think he’s talked to many people, but I know he’s planning on trying to recruit the graduating students. But he’s been talking to Remus about it for a while (for obvious reasons) and Remus told Sirius, Peter and me. It’s a secret army, Lils. We can totally fight, and no one would ever have to know. Or at least, no one outside the Order. But even if that isn’t appealing, I’m going to talk to my parents about this. Because this war isn’t just politics as usual, it’s bigger than that, and I don’t think we can, in good conscience, remain neutral. I’ve been doing research, and even though it hasn’t happened in the wizarding world, there are times when muggle monarchs took sides in politics, about big issues like this, when the world is burning and we can’t just sit idly by. The Windsor family has even served in the military, sometimes during wars. So there is a precedent in the muggle world, and I think this is a time when we should follow their example. We have to do something - it’s our responsibility to do something.

Privacy

What I propose is this: when we’re not out on royal business, we find a way to live as normal a life as possible. We have Hollow House that we can live in, and treat the Palace as more of an office. With any luck, it’ll be a long time before my parents… well, before we take the throne, and our responsibilities as monarchs kick in in full force. When we’re old and grey and our children are grown, who knows, it might not be as important to us that we keep the two worlds separate. We can raise our children from Hollow House, give them normal lives. And before you say that’s not possible, we’d be recognized as soon as we left the house, remember, there are glamour spells that can help us blend in, as well as spells to make us unmemorable to anyone who sees us. I’m sure I could find a way to apply the spells to the doorway as well, so that it would be charmed to apply them for us anytime we walked out, rather than having to remember all the time. But the point is, there are ways to make it work, so that we can live normal lives, and not have people and the press infringing upon them constantly.

This is undoubtedly the hardest point. I don’t agree with you that I am, or will be, a different person. But I suspect that nothing I say will really change your mind on this matter. You have to feel it, and have faith in me. Trust that I will still make you laugh with stupid jokes. I’ll still wrestle with Sirius and sneak off with the boys to transform on full moons and keep Remus safe. I’ll still do dumb things, and I’ll still love you with my entire being. I’ll always tell you things that I wouldn’t tell anyone else, and love the mornings that I wake up next to you (or intertwined with you). You say I’ll be different, but the only things that will change will be my living arrangements and my daily activities. Nothing about who I am will ever be any different, not with you. You are the person who allows me to be my true self, both a boy and a prince.

Lily, I love you so much, and I want to make this work, and to reassure you that everything will be alright. I am all in when it comes to this. There’s no one else that I want to be with, now or anytime in the future. You’re it. But now it’s time for you to decide whether I am what you want. If you love me, and you want me, I trust that we can find a way to make everything else work for us. But you have to be sure. Take the time you need to think about it, I’m not going anywhere.

Forever yours (if you want me),

James

Lily folded the letter and tucked it into the pocket of her robes. There was too much in it for her to process during the five minutes that were left of her lunch break, she needed time and space and to be alone somewhere. Mostly Lily just needed to think. Which felt absurd to her, because it felt like over the rest of Easter break, she had done nothing but think. Mostly about how much she already missed James. Lily quickly brushed away the tears that were gathering in the corners of her eyes, sniffing as quietly as possible.

Excusing herself, Lily pushed away from the Gryffindor table, needing to be as far from everyone, especially James, as possible. She could feel his eyes on her, not even intentionally, just because he was drawn to her, as she so often was to him. Even now, part of her wanted to throw herself into his arms and let him hold her and soothe all her worries. But she couldn’t do that, not until she knew what she was going to do about them.

She let her feet carry her without thinking about where she was going, and soon found herself in the Potions classroom. Lily walked among the shelves lining the back wall, running her hands over the old volumes sitting there. She pushed open the door of the store cupboard, and took stock of the ingredients that filled it. All the makings of something wonderful and magical, just waiting to be combined just so.

“Miss Evans?”

Lily whipped around, startled by the voice behind her. She had not heart Professor Slughorn come in, but she supposed it meant that lunch was over. She didn’t particularly want to go to Transfiguration - she didn’t much fancy struggling over material she couldn’t quite grasp in front of James of all people. She wished she could stay and brew potions all afternoon, and maybe even brew herself a cure for the headache she was in.

“Is everything quite alright, Miss Evans?” Professor Slughorn asked, taking a seat at his desk and eyeing her with some intensity.

“Yes, Professor,” she answered. “I just have rather a lot on my mind today.”

“Has it something to do with young Mister Potter?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in intrigue.

“Something, yes,” Lily said, unsure of how much to discuss with her professor. She had always been rather close with Professor Slughorn, but even so, she was wary of crossing a line.

“You should know, Miss Evans,” he said delicately, trying to gauge how much she knew, “that all professors at Hogwarts are kept apprised of any alternate… identities… of any of the students.”

“You know?” Lily asked, and Professor Slughorn let out a relieved sigh.

“Yes, my dear, and I can assure you that anything you might wish to discuss on the topic would be utterly confidential,” he replied, waiting patiently to see what she might say.

“It’s just… I’m not sure that his other identity is something that I’m okay with,” Lily said truthfully.

“It is who he is, Miss Evans,” Professor Slughorn answered simply.

“But -”

“Miss Evans, do you know why his parents chose to keep his identity a secret?” he asked her, posing it like a riddle.

“They wanted him to have a normal life,” she said, confident in her response.

“No,” Professor Slughorn tutted, and Lily felt like a dimwitted child. “No, they did it so that he could have the opportunity the find out who he was without others watching, so that when he is in the spotlight, he can do so with full confidence in himself. He won’t waver. The truth is that he will always share a part of his mind, and his heart, with you that he doesn’t share with anyone else. And that, my dear, is true of every true partnership, royal or not.”

“I suppose,” Lily said, thoughtfully, seeing the sense in his words. “But what if that life isn’t what I want? There are real sacrifices that I would have to make…”

“Miss Evans, every relationship requires sacrifices of some kind,” Professor Slughorn replied, his voice somewhat impatient with her. “If you love him, the sacrifice is worthwhile. And think of what you would gain. A platform! A voice to be heard! Think of all the people you could influence, all the people you could help.”

“They’re not allowed to have opinions, sir,” Lily scoffed, rolling her eyes at the bookshelf.

“They’re allowed to have actions,” he replied, giving Lily a meaningful look.

She thought about his words for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons, but it gave her no clarity. Her mind was as muddled as it had been before, and she still had no idea what to do. She felt like she was at war with herself.

“Your heart knows the right answer, Miss Evans,” Professor Slughorn advised her, sneaking a box of crystalized pineapple from his desk and extracting a slice. “Don’t make the mistake of ignoring it.”

With that, Lily assumed that she was dismissed, and she ducked out of the Potions classroom with a quick “Thank you, sir.” As she walked down the corridor, a small slip of parchment sped past her through the air, and she blinked in surprise. Another flitted past, before coming to a stop in front of her, and Lily reached out to take it. She unfolded the parchment and gazed at the writing scrawled across it, smiling to herself.

Miss Evans has been excused from class. Please allow her to spend this period in the library under my authority.

Professor H. Slughorn.

Lily made her way to the library, handing it over to Madam Pince as soon as she stepped through the door. The librarian squinted at Lily and examined the note suspiciously, but eventually nodded her assent, and Lily found a seat in a quiet corner. There were very few other students there, since hardly anyone had a free period right after lunch, and Lily found it was an excellent spot to stew over her feelings.

She couldn’t deny that when she tried to stop listening to her mind whirring, her heart seemed pretty clear about what it wanted, and that was James. If she gave her heart a voice, every rational argument she could make had the same reply - but it’s James. She trusted him implicitly, and she knew in that moment that she would always take a chance on him. Because really, would any of the other stuff matter if he wasn’t by her side?

The clock ticked on and Lily bounded out of her seat, needing to see James, to talk to him, now that her mind was made up. She sped through the halls until she reached the Charms classroom, skidding to a stop outside the door. Lily glanced at her watch - class should be getting out any minute. She took a deep breath and fixed her hair, pulling the end of her ponytail from where it had stuck to her lips.

The door opened and seventh-year students spilled out, looking tired and overwhelmed, and Lily guessed that they had started their last topic for N.E.W.T.s. She tapped her feet, waiting for James to appear, and when he did, she felt her heart stop. Without thinking, Lily launched herself into his arms, pressing her lips hard against his. She felt him smiling into their kiss, an added reassurement that he would always be the same James for her. He pulled away, examining her, trying to read her mind through her eyes.

“So…?” he asked, his voice endearingly hopeful.

“So, you’re stuck with me,” Lily informed him, her grasp on him tightening slightly.

“No more doubts?” he said, still a little hesitant.

“Some doubts,” she confessed, not wanting to keep secrets from him. “But complete faith in you… in us.”

James grinned, happier than Lily had ever seen him, and he kissed her again and again, before Sirius smacked him on the back and told them to get a room. They couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they walked, hand in hand, to their next class. Nothing could keep them apart, not now, not anymore.

#jily #james potter #lily evans #jily au #marauders #royalty au #gen writes #ATtTR

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littleredroseonthevalley · 6 years

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An Opera on Separation - Chapter 16

Prologue | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15 | CH. 16 | Ch. 17 | Ch. 18 |

Summary: With Beau and Kassidy arrested, Nathan and Emily carry on with their lives. A misunderstanding, however, forces them into a precipitate decision.

Rating: T - Content not suitable for children. Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 2465

Notes: So, it’s been a couple of weeks/months ever since I last posted it, and it was because I was rethinking my ending. Since I got to no conclusion, I sent it all to Hell and decided to go on with it as planned.

I hope y’all enjoy it.

Blue Danube

Out of all stupid, crazy and adrenaline-high things she had ever done, this one took the cake.

Hartfeld is a rather large city, yes, being in southern New England and at a comfortable distance between both New York and Boston. But at one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, mostly concentrated around the university, it wasn’t hard to meet an old face running errands.

Which was why she had to raise up the stakes.

She could not risk anybody seeing her with a pregnancy test. It would be the talk of the university in a few hours if such a thing passed. She had no car, and couldn’t very well ask someone to drive three towns over to go to a pharmacy, especially when there was plenty of those at walking distance.

So she went down to the drugstore, put on a bunch of beauty products on a basket and covertly hid a pee stick box on her overcoat, paid for the cosmetics and bailed out of there.

The only thing worse than having your poster girl pregnant out of wedlock is having her shoplifting a drugstore while pregnant out of wedlock. That shit would be on every paper and local TV station in inland Connecticut.

She rushed home, downing bottle after bottle of water. She ran through her apartment door and shut herself in the bathroom.

Both her roommates were out, having classes and projects of their own, which meant she could wait the test out in peace and no risk of being caught with a, God forbid, two-lined pee stick.

Or a soft cheese, sushi and vodka party, which is what she was planning for her evening tonight.

She pees on the stick and leaves it on the bathroom sink waiting for the most agonizing ten minutes of her entire fucking life. What would she do? She is a college girl. A broke one, for that matter. She had no job and a mountain of student debt.

She could not care for a child! She was stupid and irresponsible, as the situation clearly shows. How would she care for an infant at the same time she has to work to keep a roof over their heads?

Jesus Christ, she is so screwed.

Her phone beeped the end of the ten minutes, but she didn’t have the guts to look at it. She stayed there, leaning against the door and contemplating herself on the mirror, the tear-stricken face and the hair sticking out. She should be giving up on her vanity, anyways. If she was really pregnant, the baby would disfigure her entire body.

She finally had the guts to go over to the counter and take the paper that was covering the result away. And it was just like she expected.

Two lines.

Rebecca Davenport was pregnant and alone.

Nathan, as he often did these days, woke up with a smile.

He was young, handsome, rich and intelligent. He had a hot girlfriend who satisfied him in every sense of the word. His parents were off his back, and he had had the pleasure of enacting his come-uppance over Beau Han.

There was absolutely no reason for him to be unhappy. He was flying high as a kite and would not come down any time soon.

Yesternight, he and Emily went to this ethnic Brazilian steakhouse in Danbury, some fifty miles away. The food was good, even if they had the tendency of eating overcooked meat.

After they came back, Emily invited him to stay over for the night and do some… evening activities. Her roommates were out doing their own thing, so they had the place all to themselves.

The thought of sleeping a mild, late-Spring morning was very tempting, but his natural needs were asking for his attention. He disentangled himself very carefully from his redhead bedmate and tiptoed his way to the bathroom.

After his urges were taken care of, he walked over to the sink to brush his teeth. It would be a pleasant surprise for his girlfriend receiving the first kiss in the morning tasting like mint rather than steak-induced mouth grime.

It was then he saw it. The pregnancy test. The positive pregnancy test.

His breath hitched. It could not be Emily’s, could it? He was careful enough to always use protection, and his girlfriend had said she was on the pill.

He could not deal with that on his own. Much to his displeasure, Nathan needed some help. He finds a plastic bag and places the stick on it, careful not to touch the ‘peed-on’ area.

Racing back to the room, the blond quickly put on his clothes. Looking at the sleeping girl nested on the bed, he leans over to kiss her forehead goodbye, but stops himself only short.

If it was the truth, if this is nothing but a scam for his money, then Emily was not as special as he thought she was.

“We’ll pay her off to abort.” It was the pragmatic solution from Nathan Sterling.

The father, not the son. The two of them sat at the senior’s study on their home in New Haven. Soon after his discovery, the youngest blond hopped on his car and drove straight to see his father.

The relationship between Nathan and pretty much all of his family was strained, to say the very least, but they were certainly on his court this time, given the circumstances. The Sterlings had an image to maintain, and an estate to protect. Bastard children wasn’t conductive to neither.

His father was the young man’s first choice. Lois Sterling would not pass on a chance to demean her enfant terrible, and he didn’t quite trust his extended family not to crave a knife to his back like some pitiful interpretation of Richard III.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.” The son argued. “It still can all be an accident. If we corner her, she would react badly and it would be worse.”

“I follow your reasoning, but I don’t think the family’s welfare is your true motivation for coming after me for advice.”

The youngest hold on a snort at the word ‘advice’, preferring asking: “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “Nathan, be honest with me, do you even want to break up with this girl? Even if she has planned all this from the beginning just to trap you into a shotgun wedding?”

“Of course I do!” He defended, on a high tone. “I mean, if she’s not a gold digger, I prefer to maintain the relationship, of course, but if she is, then I don’t think how we can still be together.”

The man chuckles bitterly and paces around the room. “Son, look at me. I’m not particularly handsome. Not now, not ever. I wasn’t the brightest student my day, either, and people find me to be dismissive. But there’s one thing I am, which is rich beyond every measure.

“When I met your mother, I thought she was the prettiest woman I’d ever meet.” The young man looks at his father with disgust in his eye. “Don’t make that face. She’s never been very sweet, but she still is a very pretty woman. Anyways, of course I wanted to woo her, and I managed to do that with basically my affluence alone.

“And money, Nathan, money and lineage never go away. Looks fade, intelligence get boring and sympathy is tiring, but material goods are forever.” He smirks, take a deep breath and continues: “I know me and Lois aren’t the paradigm for a successful marriage. I know your mother married me just so she could finance her stupid researches. I know she would dump me in a heartbeat if she thought she could get away with it. But I am happy. Isn’t that what matters most?

“If you love this woman, marry her. You don’t have to care if she loves you back or if she just cares for your money, the important thing is for you to want her. We’ll tie her with an iron-clad pre-nup and be done with it.”

The patriarch sets a ring box on the desk, straight in front of Nathan.

“I know you haven’t had much joy in life, son. Allow yourself some now.” The man smiles softly.

The young man took the box and pocketed it. The conversation, as disturbing as it was, gave Nathan much to think about.

Emily was standing by the mirror, contemplating her figure on her wedding dress some half an hour from the actual ceremony.

The Sterling manor house in Martha’s Vineyard was handsomely decorated with the fairest white lilies you have ever seen. The guests congregated on the wide lawn, while the pastor waited by a gazebo overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Island. On the menu, Uruguayan steak or Danish trout, tiramisu as dessert.

On the guest list, besides Emily’s closest friends and her diminutive family, the entire Sterling clan, business associates, their A-list neighbours at the island and members of European royalty.

It was a dream wedding, planned around her wildest expectations to an absurd level of detail. Nathan gave her completely creative control and bottomless funds to make it happen. His only demand was a short engagement: he wanted to get married on Labour Day, which was around three months after his proposal.

And, yet, Emily cannot help but feel a deep, heart-wrenching misery slicing her soul.

“Emily, honey.” Queenie calls from the doorway. “We’re ready for you.”

She can’t help but let a few tears slip through her cheeks. “Mom…”

“Oh, my, honey! Why are you crying?” The woman runs to her daughter, a tissue at hand.

“I… I…” She hiccupped. “I can’t get married, mom. I just can’t.”

“What are you saying, Emily?” The matriarch shot the girl a piercing glare. “Is this about that nonsense again?”

“It isn’t nonsense!” She defended, raising her voice. “Just… just ask Nathan to come here. I need to speak to him.”

Queenie sighed and looked warily at her daughter. “Fine, but you’re making a terrible mistake.”

The blonde woman left and the redhead tried to recompose herself, wiping the tears away.

“Emily?” The groom pops his head into the room. “Are you alright? Your mom asked me to come and talk to you.”

She smiled melancholically at him. “Nathan. Come in, please.”

“Fine, but if it’s unlucky, I’m blaming you.” He smirked at his own stupid joke, walked over to his bride and they sat on a sofa. “What is it?”

“You know I really love you, right?” The woman said, throwing a forlorn look at him with her wide eyes.

He smiled sweetly and kissed her hands. “Of course. And I love you, too.”

“There is something I haven’t told you. Something important.” She said, gravely and firm.

That was it. She would finally confess she was pregnant. Nathan waited and pressed her to confess the whole summer, but she never once gave indication that she would cave in. Nevertheless, today was the day.

The man nudged for her to speak, and so she starts: “I don’t think I ever told you about my senior year in high school.”

“No, you didn’t.” He confirmed.

“I was a different person back then. I was brash and rebellious and opinionated. The Queen Bee type, you know.” She laughs, nervously. “I was head cheerleader and I dated the football quarterback, like some stupid cliché on a Saturday morning special.

“On my Senior-year homecoming ball, he and I had sex. It was my first time, and like every stupid teenager, we ended up forgetting all about protection. A few weeks later, I felt sick and you probably can guess what it was.

“It was legal on the state of Rhode Island to make an abortion back then, but my dad was very sick at the time and we couldn’t afford to go to Providence and pay for the procedure. So my mother and I decided to improvise.

“She went to the drugstore and bought me some vermin medicine and I took three tablets.” Tears started slipping through her eyes once more. “It worked. I aborted the foetus. But I wouldn’t stop bleeding, and we raced to the ER.

“I almost died. We claimed it was a natural abortion; the doctor was suspicious but didn’t confront our version. He did, however, say that my uterus was much too hurt.”

“Wait,” Nathan cuts her off. “Are you saying…?”

“I can’t get pregnant, Nathan.” Emily confesses and cries copiously. “I’m so sorry I never told you. I was afraid that you’d leave me over it, but I know how important bloodline is to your family. I noticed you have been hinting at children after we’re married. If you want to call off the wedding, I totally get it.”

The blond smiled placidly, digesting the news. “Emily, do you know what my dad said when I told him we were engaged? He said for me to do what makes me happy and worry about the rest later.

“You make me happy, Emily. So let’s get married today and worry about children and pregnancy and annoying Sterling aunts later.”

The redhead embraced him and kissed him hard, until them both were breathless and had their faces smeared by the lipstick. “I love you so, so much. And I swear I’ll be the best wife on Earth for you.”

About half an hour later, Nathan stood next to his mother on the altar as the string quartet played. First, enters his dad and Queenie, arm-in-arm. Then, the three bridesmaids: Abigail, Kaitlyn and Madison.

Nathan had no groomsmen, as his closest friends, if they can be called as such, were currently serving time for the rape of a dozen girls of all ages. He didn’t feel comfortable asking other acquaintances or relatives, and Emily didn’t want for him to feel obligated to ask any of her friends. A small blessing, as he held little but contempt for a NFL dunderhead, a faux-talented YA writer and Mr. Dean’s List.

Finally, the bride appeared through the flower arch, on the other end of the long aisle. She was beaming like the Sun that shone blessings over them that morning.

There was not a single reasonable observer that thought this wasn’t a happy bride.

Hours later, as the reception dwindled, but yet shortly before the newlyweds departed for their European honeymoon, Nathan was looking for Emily, who had slipped away from the celebrations some time earlier.

Following the indicative of the caterers, he was crossing the kitchens when he finally saw the bouffant white dress standing on the service door. Before he could call her name, though, he saw she was hugging someone.

A very pregnant Rebecca Davenport.

And, then, it all made sense.

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An Opera on Separation - Masterlist

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#an opera on separation #the junior #nathan sterling

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charterhunter529 · 3 years

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Family Sketch

Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG [adapted from the author’s article in New England Ancestors 8:3 (Summer 2007):41–42, 45]

Do you have a thick file or a notebook full of information you’d like to write up for your family? Or even boxes and boxes of it? Maybe your data is in Family Tree Maker or some other program. Or maybe you’re just in the beginning stages of your research. In any case, whether you just want to write about your grandparents or compile a whole book, the basic building block is the family sketch, treating a couple and their children in an organized and interesting way. Word processing, extremely flexible, is a wonderful tool for genealogists. Remember the old days when we had to cut and paste and retype, perhaps introducing new errors as we went along? About twenty years ago, NEHGS sponsored a seminar held at the Museum of Science here in Boston. My only memory of the whole day is Alicia Crane Williams saying, “As soon as you get a little information, put it in Register style. This is part of the research process.” So I went home and on my quaint little Apple IIe began transcribing old family group sheets crammed with information. My descendants might just take them to the dump! What is a family sketch? It’s just a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is the first paragraph that contains the vital information about the parents — all of it. So, if the reader later wants to check back to see just when your great-grandmother married her second husband, it’s easy to find. The middle is whatever you want, usually a biography in chronological order. It could include funny stories or a serious analysis distinguishing between your grandfather and another fellow who bore the same name. At the end is a list of children with their vital data. You may have mentioned each child as he or she joined the family, married, or died, in the biography above, but it’s still important to have a straightforward list of children at the end. Children for whom there is a lot of information may be continued in their own sketches. You can begin with just shreds of information. I started one sketch with my mother’s memories, her grandparents’ names and the recollection that she would sit on her grandfather’s lap and braid his side whiskers — plus the fact that he was a Congregational minister. Then I listed her mother, her aunt, and her uncles, using “Conversation with . . . ” and her name and relationship in footnotes. On the other hand, I have many folders of notes gleaned in the ’70s and ’80s, b.c. (before computers). It’s fun to open one, outline the family structure, and start adding information almost at random as I go through the file. As I work, I can see where I need to bolster a statement with pertinent analysis or where I could undertake more research. Before starting to write, you might read some sections in Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century,[1] especially the pages that diagram the different elements of the parents’ and children’s paragraphs. There isn’t space here to discuss all the fine points, including numbering systems.[2] Many other matters, such as whether to use abbreviations, are really your own personal preference. Generally the fewer the abbreviations, the smoother the reading. Complete sentences, rather than lots of semicolons, also make reading easier. Now you can just start writing. But here’s a suggestion: if you are going to start from scratch (as opposed to creating a “report” from your genealogy database), go to AmericanAncestors.org. Click on the Publication tab, then on theRegister, and then under Side Links, on “Download a Register Style Template for Microsoft Word.” Then “Download the Template!” If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, a document that can function as a template will open. I won’t repeat all that the template says, but it will help you format your sketch, especially those pesky children who appear in hanging paragraphs. This template contains all the “styles” that we use in the Register, everything from title to footnotes. The word “style” here does not refer to Register “style.” It is a word-processing term that refers to the format of each paragraph. When you open Word, you will be in “normal” style, but this paragraph is being written in “body text indent.” The only difference is that the first line is indented. Hanging paragraphs for children are more complicated. These paragraphs line up roman numerals on a “right tab.” There are even styles for quotations and grandchildren. If you’ve already arranged some material and want to use that template, simply copy your work into the blank template. First select your whole document and make sure it’s in normal style. Go to “Format,” then “Style,” and select “normal.” Delete all tabs and spaces you added to format the children. After pasting your work into the new document, save it under the name you want to use. Then review the text and select the “style” for each paragraph by placing your cursor in the paragraph and choosing the style from the Format menu. There should be a little window on your toolbar that lists the styles and offers a quicker route. You can select many paragraphs at once. (A technical detail: if you want to edit the style in any way, say choosing a different font or left-justified text, go to the Format menu, choose “Style,” and click on “Modify.”) In the Register we generally use “normal” style for the first paragraph where the parents’ vital data appear. Then we switch to “body text indent” for the biography. We introduce the children with a “kid’s intro” style and then choose “kids.” When you use that style, hit tab, then the first Roman numeral and a period, then hit tab again. Both tabs will then appear, and you can start typing the child’s name. Small caps are very elegant here. Notice that we include the surname for each child. Then there’s no doubt about the surname and indexing is easier. If you want to list grandchildren, you’ll find the “grandkids” style works a little differently. No tabs needed. Just type the arabic numeral and a period. Then two hard spaces help the names line up nicely [use Control-Shift-Space]. In the Register we use italics for grandchildren’s names. Even the footnotes and footnote references have their own styles. We encourage you to cite your sources for everything. Footnotes are much handier if your readers will really use them, but endnotes may seem less intimidating. The basics of citation format are not difficult. Look at issues of the Register for examples. A current guide is Evidence!,[3] good to have at hand, but the Register often uses simpler formats. The Chicago Manual of Style is also helpful.[4] It saves time to enter the notes correctly the first time. (By the way, the footnote reference number goes after the punctuation.) A further hint about writing style: try reading your work out loud. Are you using empty phrases you would never use when talking? Can you say something more concisely? Are your sentences really sentences? Passive voice — “The ball was hit by the boy,” rather than “The boy hit the ball” — deadens the tone. And proofread, proofread, proofread. You’ll improve your sketch every time.

All the best Family Sketch Images 38+ collected on this page. Feel free to explore, study and enjoy paintings with PaintingValley.com. As I look toward shifting to a different family line in my own research, I think I’m going to take the time to write a bio sketch for the main ancestor I’ve been researching, George Washington Adams (1845-1938) before I say goodby to him for a little while. I think it should be a fun exercise. 93,432 family sketch stock photos, vectors, and illustrations are available royalty-free. See family sketch stock video clips. Family future plan group of sketch family people walking in the garden building a family sketches of future family design interior family sketch color family and money family with money thinking wall.

Finally, for the “icing on the cake,” dress up your sketch with illustrations! Insert photos, autographs, pictures of houses and gravestones, the ship on which your ancestors crossed the ocean, maps — whatever you can find. Your final product should be elegant and attractive, not just to your children but to their grandchildren and beyond.

Sidebar:

A few little tips

Commas and periods go inside a closing quote; semicolons outside.

Footnote reference numbers come after the punctuation.

Titles of published books should be italicized.

Titles of articles and unpublished materials need quotation marks.

Titles of sources such as land, probate, and vital records do not need italics or quotes unless they are published.

Proofread on another day.

Try reading your prose out loud!

Sidebar 2:

Polishing that database reports

In word processing you can discuss all sorts of nuances of dates, places, and identities wherever they seem to fit. Such additions are not so easy when working with a genealogy database. There are quite a few differences between what we consider Register style and the quasi-Register-style report generated by most genealogy programs. If you are using one of these programs, here are some things to consider.

Once you have generated a report, it will carry its own set of word-processing “styles.” You can just accept them, or eliminate all of them by selecting the whole document and putting it in “normal” style as described above, then copying it into a blank Register template. If you do so, eliminate any sex designations for the children first. (You can easily comment on any unusual name in the text or a footnote.)

Family Sketch Clipart Black And White

You should make some other changes as well. First, consider the order of the information. Do the wife’s name and vital data appear after the husband’s notes, with notes on her following? Move information on the wife into the husband’s paragraph and integrate her notes with his. Next, did you document those notes with citations in parentheses? All citations need to be moved into footnotes (or endnotes if you prefer). Multiple footnotes for the same piece of data should be combined into one note, with semicolons between the different sources. You must also consider the format of names, dates, and places. Small caps are good for names, but your report will probably have a mixture of lower and upper case. Capitalizing names of the parents of husband and wife would be distracting. Place names don’t require a county or state after first use in each sketch, but it’s helpful to the reader to add “County” where appropriate. Postal codes are also distracting. In the Register we spell out the names of months and states in the main text and abbreviate them (except those with five letters or less), with periods, in the children’s paragraph

Family Sketch Picture

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1Michael J. Leclerc and Henry B. Hoff, ed., Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century, 2nd ed. (Boston: NEHGS, 2006). 2See Joan Ferris Curran, Madilyn Coen Crane, and John H. Wray, Numbering Your Genealogy: Basic Systems, Complex Families, and International Kin, National Genealogical Society Special Publication No. 64 (Arlington, Va.: National Genealogical Society, 1999). 3Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997). The introductory sections of this book are especially valuable. 4The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2003).

Cartoon Drawing Of A Family

This book publishes, for the first time in full, the two most revealing of Mark Twain’s private writings. Here he turns his mind to the daily life he shared with his wife Livy, their three daughters, a great many servants, and an imposing array of pets. These first-hand accounts display this gifted and loving family in the period of its flourishing. Mark Twain began to write “A Family Sketch” in response to the early death of his eldest daughter, Susy, but the manuscript grew under his hands to become an exuberant account of the entire household. His record of the childrens’ sayings—“Small Foolishnesses”—is next, followed by the related manuscript “At the Farm.” Also included are selections from Livy’s 1885 diary and an authoritative edition of Susy’s biography of her father, written when she was a teenager. Newly edited from the original manuscripts, this anthology is a unique record of a fascinating family.

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jonfarreporter · 3 years

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Dry skin? A royal Drupe can help...

For centuries the walnut has been referred to as a nut. Derived from the Old English word wealhhnutu which loosely translated means “foreign nut” a walnut is really a seed and part of the “drupe” family of fruit trees.

The popularity of walnuts has been increasing as more people embrace a vegan diet. You can buy veggie burgers made with walnuts and walnut milk is in the non-dairy section of the grocery store. Yet walnuts have always been highly regarded even in ancient times.

Referred to by several names among the ancients, like ‘Nux persica, and juglans, etc. “Such taxonomic variations usually indicate a long and involved history” says Egyptologist, Prof. JoAnn Fletcher, PhD of the University of York, England.

While the Romans and Egyptians valued nuts, including the walnut, it was the Persians who cultivated the variety that the Romans and Egyptians enjoyed. “Evidently, says Prof. Fletcher the walnut was not known in Egypt prior to initial contacts with Persia, for there are no records of its existence in Egypt before the Ptolemaic Dynasty”

Traded along the Silk Road, ‘Persian walnuts’ eventually reached England and were given the name we know them by today. The word ‘walnut’ is based upon as mentioned before an Old English word which basically translates to ‘foreign nut.’ This nut or ‘drupe seed’ literally was from far away and for this obvious reason was considered as special, only for royalty.

Fortunately, there are 22 varieties of the walnut. And that means that some are native to the Americas.

When the Spanish arrived in California they quickly recognized the benefits of the Mediterranean-like climate and began cultivation of crops through the Missions, Haciendas and Rancheros.

While walnuts are grown in many places throughout the world, California and the United States is a leading producer of walnuts.

Prized even in ancient times as a food source the delicious and unique flavor of walnuts are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers have noted that walnuts boost the skin's vitamin B-levels, which researchers also say is responsible for improving skin health by combating wrinkles and fine lines.

Finely ground walnut shells can exfoliate. Yet as skin care product specialist Caryl Brandes points out, “the shell can be too aggressive for delicate skin, especially on the face.”

“The walnut shell scrub I make for my product line is a powder so, gentle. But the Walnut shower wash and walnut/mint I made are not for the face, she reiterated. These scrubs/wash have AHA - Alpha Hydroxy Acid, Rosehip Oil, Wheat Protein, Peppermint and Jojoba Seed Oil in them for moisturizing one's skin. But I recommend something else for the face,” she said.

For almost a decade, Brandes with the Caryl B product line has been providing high quality artisan made skin care products that are specifically designed for people with sensitive skin.

Facial serum formulas and gentle exfoliating organic fiber cloths are what Caryl B offers for facial care.

Especially designed and made with natural ingredients Brandes uses only the best.

This is why she refers to her product line as “Gifts that Pamper!” Caryl B skin and personal care products are exceptional, uniquely designed from content to packaging with an understated elegance, that stands out in quality.

The wealth of skin-fortifying elements found in walnuts, include antioxidants and vitamin E. These help in removing dead skin cells, dirt and grime from accumulating on the surface of the skin, thus preventing excess oiliness and clogging of pores.

As summer approaches, and the onset of hot weather can induce stress, Caryl B is offering a discount on her Walnut Shower Wash and Walnut/Mint Exfoliating Scrub for bathing.

To learn more about these Walnut-ingredient specialties, gentle facial serums and other natural products offered visit the Caryl B website.

#carylb #caryl brandes #walnuts #Joann Fletcher #skin care

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harryandmeghan0-blog · 5 years

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Prince Harry and Meghan's royal baby: Everything we know so far - USA TODAY

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/prince-harry-and-meghans-royal-baby-everything-we-know-so-far-usa-today/

Prince Harry and Meghan's royal baby: Everything we know so far - USA TODAY

Kensington Palace confirmed the royal baby news and announced that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is expecting to deliver in the spring of 2019. She and Prince Harry wed in May. USA TODAY

Duchess Meghan of Sussex with Prince Harry greeted crowds during a visit to Birkenhead in northwest England, Jan. 14, 2019.

(Photo: Charlotte Graham/AP)

Royalty is proving fruitful these days: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s news Monday that they expect a baby in the spring means another new cousin will join Queen Elizabeth II’s growing gaggle of great-grandchildren.

Soon, there will be eight little royals to delight the 92-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, 97.

The news was announced by Kensington Palace just as Harry and Meghan were arriving to start their Down Under tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

This baby is going to be historic, says Victoria Arbiter, daughter of a former royal press secretary, who is now CNN’s royals contributor.

“There’s no question he or she is going to be gorgeous and adorable, half-American and of mixed-race heritage, so what a time to be witnesses to the royal family and history,” Arbiter says. “It does reflect on modern society: History is being made with this baby.”

What do we know so far?

When is the baby arriving?

Until January, the due date for the Sussex baby was vague: Sometime in “the spring,” the palace said. On Jan. 14, during a day trip with Harry to Birkenhead near Liverpool in northwest England. Meghan was chatty during a walkabout, greeting scores of fans while cradling her prominent belly.

In conversations with some of them, she let slip that she is six months along and that the baby is due in April and that, like Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge during their pregnancies, they don’t know the baby’s gender.

“We asked her how her pregnancy was going and she said she was six months and she tapped her tummy,” Carla Gandy told People magazine’s reporter on the scene.

In this image from video, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex arrive in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 15, 2018, a day before they start a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.

(Photo: AP)

ITV News reported Meghan talked of her due date with another woman, Eileen Ashurst, who told the outlet Meghan said the newest royal baby is expected in April.

And Angel Midgley told the BBC that Meghan said the couple is waiting until the baby is born to learn if it’s a boy or girl.

Kensington Palace declined to comment on any of this to USA TODAY, but it’s probably safe to mark your calendars.

Who are the baby’s royal cousins?

The baby will be first cousin to Prince George, 5; Princess Charlotte, 3; and baby Prince Louis of Cambridge, almost 9 months, the children of uncle Prince William and Duchess Kate.

Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank in wedding photos taken in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle with some of the queen’s great-grandchildren as bridesmaids and page boys: From left, back row: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Theodora Williams, Isla Phillips, Louis De Givenchy. Front row, Mia Tindall, Savannah Phillips and Maud Windsor.

(Photo: Alex Bramall/Buckingham Palace via AP)

The baby’s four second cousins include Mia Tindall, 4, and Lena Tindall, who was born in June to Harry’s cousin, Zara Phillips Tindall (the queen’s eldest granddaughter), and her husband Mike Tindall.

Also: Savannah Phillips, 7, and Isla Phillips, 6, the daughters of Zara’s brother, Peter Phillips, also Harry’s cousin and the queen’s eldest grandson. Both Zara and Peter are the children of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

And Princess Eugenie of York, 28, the queen’s granddaughter and Harry’s cousin who married Jack Brooksbank on Friday, might be expected to produce royal great-grandchild Number 9 in the near future, too. That baby also would be a second cousin to Harry and Meghan’s baby.

No morning sickness for Meghan?

Duchess Meghan of Sussex visits University of Chichester’s Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to Sussex on Oct. 3, 2018 in Bognor Regis, England.

(Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

She just turned 37, so doctors consider this a “geriatric” pregnancy (when mom is over age 35) with a higher risk for miscarriage and other complications.

“Most geriatric pregnancies end up with a great outcome (healthy mom and baby) as long as there is a close monitoring in the prenatal period and during the pregnancy,” says Zaher Merhi, an ob-gyn doctor and director of research and development in IVF Technologies at New Hope Fertility Center in New York.

Still, it appears Meghan is not suffering from the acute morning sickness syndrome that felled her sister-in-law, Duchess Kate, during the early months of her three pregnancies.

Thus, Meghan was able to endure a long overseas flight to Australia before embarking on a grueling two weeks of traveling to public engagements in the Southern Hemisphere, where high temperatures can be expected.

Like Kate, Meghan is slim and she doesn’t show much of a baby bump in early stages. On Oct. 3, she wore a dark green leather skirt during an engagement; there wasn’t even a hint of a pregnancy.

That didn’t stop Twitter from speculating on what Meghan wore to Eugenie’s wedding: a loose-fitting, navy Givenchy coat, which could have hidden a baby bump.

Will the new baby be called a prince or princess? Something else?

Betting on whether the new little royal will be a boy or girl commenced immediately in Britain, where they bet on anything having to do with royals. More interesting is the question of whether the baby will be officially titled a prince or princess.

The simple answer is it’s up to the queen. It also matters how far the child is to the throne. This baby will be 7th in line, just behind Harry, who is 6th in line, so he or she is unlikely to ever be crowned.

More: Where does the new prince fit in the line for the throne?

In hindsight, we’d really like to know what Harry was telling his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the wedding of his cousin, Princess Eugenie, on Oct. 12.

(Photo: AARON CHOWN, AFP/Getty Images)

The rules on titles and “style” were last established by the queen’s grandfather, King George V, in 1917: They dictate that an HRH and title of prince or princess would be confined to children of the sovereign and the children of sons of the sovereign.

“The grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes,” the rules say.

So Prince George, as eldest son of the elder son of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and thus third in line to the throne, got the prince title. But the queen also bestowed it on Princess Charlotte, 4th in line, and baby Prince Louis, 5th in line.

If the queen decides the first Sussex baby will not be styled prince or princess, the baby, if a boy, would likely take one of Harry’s lesser titles, such as Earl of Dumbarton, that he received from the queen on the morning of his wedding along with royal Duke of Sussex.

Arbiter says the baby’s grandfather, future King Charles III, might want to ensure that all his grandchildren have titles, since they are likely to carry out public duties when they are older and their granddad is on the throne.

“This is a decision not to be taken lightly, which is one reason why there has been no decision announced as yet,” Arbiter says. “I think this is going to be decided by the queen, Prince Charles and Meghan and Harry together.”

Who comes after Harry and Meghan’s baby? See more of the line of succession

The baby will have an unprecedented ancestry for the royal family.

The baby will be one-quarter African-American, thanks to Meghan, whose father is white and whose mother is African-American. There’s never been an acknowledged part-African baby born into the royal family – or even an American baby.

Meghan is believed to be the first royal bride with African-American ancestry to join the family, although some scholars insist that 18th-century King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, had African ancestry many generations back before she was born in 1744 in Germany. And the Windsors all descend from one of their sons.

Nevertheless, it would be a first in the modern era, and would likely boost the family’s popularity with its growing minority populations in the U.K. and in the Commonwealth, where Harry and Meghan will play an important role.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex greet well wishers during their visit to Chichester, England, Oct. 3, 2018.

(Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AP)

MORE: Pregnant celebrities 2019: Who’s due, baby bump pics and gender reveals

Will the baby be a British citizen, an American citizen or both?

The baby will likely be born in London at St. Mary’s Hospital so for sure he or she will be a citizen of the United Kingdom, especially as a member of the British royal family.

But Meghan, as an American awaiting U.K. citizenship, could also pass on her U.S. citizenship to her baby – unless she renounces her citizenship for tax purposes after she receives her U.K. citizenship and before the baby is born.

If not, Meghan could ensure the baby has dual citizenship by applying for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad before the child’s 18th birthday. The State Department recommends parents apply for the CRBA as soon as possible after the child’s birth.

According to American rules, once the child reaches 18, he or she may choose either citizenship or keep both.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting a baby, and many are asking if the baby could have red hair. Buzz60’s Keri Lumm explains the possibility. Buzz60

Will the baby have red hair like Prince Harry’s?

The gene for red hair in humans is recessive, meaning generally you can have red hair only by getting two red-hair genes, one each from your parents. A brown gene combined with a red gene usually produces brown hair, because brown is usually the dominant gene.

British bookies seem to believe that if Harry, seen here with Princess Diana just before his third birthday in 1987, has a daughter, she may be named after her late grandmother. But her name is more likely to be passed down than the Spencer gene for red hair.

(Photo: JOHN REDMAN, AP)

Red hair runs in Harry’s family: The Earls of Spencer, the family of his mother, Princess Diana, had lots of “gingers,” as they call it in Britain. Diana’s father, brother and one of her sisters had or have hair like Harry’s.

It’s possible that somewhere in Meghan’s genetic makeup there might be a gene for red hair from one of her ancestors, but the likelihood of it turning up in Meghan and then combining with Harry’s gene to produce another ginger prince is small.

John H. McDonald, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Delaware, says the basic genetics we learned in high school is either wrong or oversimplified. He says it is possible, for instance, for two brown-haired parents to produce a redhead child – such as himself – because inheritance involves multiple factors besides genes.

“Human traits are more complicated than the simple recessive model we learned,” McDonald says. “I would say it wouldn’t be a shocking surprise (if the royal baby had red hair). My guess is there’s a 5 to 10 percent chance but it makes a big difference if her European ancestors were from, say, Ireland (vs.) Greece.”

What will the baby’s name be?

Again, let’s go to the bookies. BetVictor, a leading European online betting company, put the name Diana as the 6-to-1 favorite if it’s a girl, said spokesman Charlie McCann.

Diana, for Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, is also one of the middle names of Princess Charlotte, Harry’s niece.

“We make Diana our 6/1 favorite with Charles and Elizabeth next best at 12/1,” McCann said. “We have seen a bit of interest in both Alexander and Alexandra since this morning, although it will not be until the New Year before the market (heats) up as speculation intensifies over the name and gender of the baby.”

More: Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry are expecting their first child in the spring

More: ‘Best news ever!’: Twitter reacts to Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy

More: Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry arrive in Australia for official visit, Invictus Games

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dogntreats · 4 years

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New Post has been published on Dog N Treats

New Post has been published on https://dogntreats.com/ultimate-pomeranian-guide-all-you-ever-need-to-know/

Ultimate Pomeranian Guide All You Ever Need To Know

We love our dogs, and dogs can do a wonderful addition to the family. They serve so many different functions in a family unit. Dogs can bring love to a house as well as helping each of us develop characteristics like empathy. Indeed, research does show that the presence of dogs in the house helps to develop empathy in children. But while dogs do help to bring life and warmth to the house, not all dog breeds can be suitable. What will be more important is if the dog suits the family, or if the dog has the uncanny ability to bring smiles and warm the cockles of your heart.

The one dog breed that is absolutely adorable is the Pomeranian. The Pomeranian is also known as the teacup Pomeranian or just by its shorter Pom. Indeed, do you know that Queen Victoria has up to 35 Pomeranians? She must have found them adorable, and it does seem that the dog is pretty popular in the USA too. Let us find out a little more about this dog breed and why is it that people love the Pom so much.

All About Pomeranian Dog Breed That You Will Need To Know

Of course, the Pomeranian can be all cute stuff, but not all cute dogs are good for families with children. This will really be determined based on the dog’s temperament as well as characteristics. Here are some of the noteworthy Pomeranian information that might be interesting or useful to you!

1. Where did the Pomeranian Come From?

It is interesting to note that most of the Pomeranian bloodline is actually originated from the Arctic regions whereby they are being bred as large working dogs. They were originally regarded as a Spitz, and most modern-day Pomeranians are regarded to be the direct descendants of German Spitz. They do retain much of the resemblance too. It acquired the name Pomeranian through association to a place known as the Pomeranian, which is a locality near Poland and Germany. However, not much is known about them until they are being brought into the United Kingdom for the first time. The earliest known written history about the Pom is on 2nd Nov 1764.

Recall earlier that we mentioned Queen Victoria had up to 35 teacup Pomeranians? She wasn’t the first royalty to fall in love with Pom though. Her direct ancestor, Queen Charlotte, was the first as she had brought two Pomeranians into England.

2. How Does The Pomeranian Look Like

The Pomeranian has a rather small head with ears that are usually erect. The Pom is regarded as a small dog breed, and they can be between 7 to 12 inches in height and weigh from 3 to 7 pounds. Pomeranians is well known for having the ruff of fur on the neck.

In terms of their colour, they do come in a wide range of colours. At the earliest, Pomeranians have either a white, brown, or black coat. However, as they transcend down the years, they now come in a wide variety of colour, though the brown or red variants are still the most popular of colours chosen.

3. How Big Do Pomeranians Get

As mentioned earlier, the Teacup Pomeranian can grow up to 7 pounds while reaching 12 inches in height. On average, they will hit about 10 inches in height

4. What Is The Temperament Of A Pomeranian Dog

There are six main attributes to the Pomeranian’s temperament.

Intelligent: The Pom is well known for its high intelligence, hence training the Pom can be a walk in the park.

Extrovert: Unlike other dogs like the Shih Tzu, Teacup Pomeranians absolutely love around humans and dogs, and the Pom is probably one of the most extroverted dogs you can find. They have no qualms socializing with strangers as well as challenging dogs that are much larger than them.

Friendly: Pomeranians are friendly too, hence they do not make the best guard dogs.

Sociable: When you couple in their extrovert nature as well as their friendly outlook, it will be easily understandable that the Pomeranian is a dog that is easy sociable. But you might want to be wary as other dogs might take this wrongly and attack the Teacup Pomeranian.

Playful: Pomeranians are one playful lot. They love to play, especially when around humans or around other dogs. Toss them their favourite dog toy and they can play for hours!

Active: Don’t be fooled by their small stature. The Pom can be active, and they can throw quite a tantrum if they do not get their daily dose of exercise or walks.

5. Training The Pomeranian

As the Pomeranian is a pretty intelligent dog that has a bottomless pit of energy level, you will need lots of patience in order to train it, since Pomeranians can be stubborn too. One main reason why there is a need to train the pom is due to their high energy levels. You certainly do not want the Pom to sink its teeth into the furniture in your house when it wants to expend its energy. Rather, you will want to meaningfully engage your dog so that the energy is well spent.

There are two main focus training areas that you might want to zoom in on if you are intending to have a Pom as a pet.

House Breaking

The idea about housebreaking is to introduce spaces to your Pomeranian so that it knows how to respect places around the house as well as to understand that there are places that are out of bounce to them.

To start off, you will need to demarcate a place in your house that the Pomeranian can play freely in. You can use various objects for this, but we recommend the usage of a puppy fence that you can easily move around. Once the space is designated, place the Teacup Pomeranian in the area and toss in some of their favourite toy and treats. This will keep them engaged for hours while at the same time helping you to exhaust some of the limitless energy that the Pom has. Once in a while, the Pom might try to break out of the fence, and this is when you will need to deliver a firm No to the Pom.

So when do you need to start enlarging the play area? This really depends on the frequency of the Pom trying to edge out of the space. If the Pom does not try to get out of the space often, you can then proceed to increase the play area. Of course, the eventual goal is to enable the Pom to understand that the play area is the only place that they are allowed to play in. Once you are able to remove the puppy gate totally, good! Just remember to be watchful overt the Pom, lest it tries to enter off-limits area when unsupervised.

Potty Training The Pom

If you do not want the dog to defecate all over your house, you will need to potty train it! For starters, the simplest way is to monitor your dog for signs that it is going to poop. Usually, they will sniff the floor in circles before going into a semi-squat position. Once you notice that the signs are up, carry the Teacup Pomeranian to a designated area and let it poop there instead. Of course, once they are done, give the Pom one of the favourite treats. You should try to give healthier treats as most commercially made ones might not be beneficial to their health.

Repeat the process stated above multiple times and your dog will eventually be potty trained. Just make sure that the designated area is not somewhere that is off=limits or inaccessible to the dog.

6. Is There Any Potential Health Issues That The Pomeranian Might Get

As per all dogs, the Pomeranian can be subject to viral attacks such as rabies and distemper. But such diseases are completely preventable. Indeed, there are vaccines that can be taken to prevent such viral or bacterial infection. Here are the other potential health problems that the Pom might get.

Luxatingv Patellas

This might sound a handful, but Luxatingv Patellas can occur quite commonly in Pomeranian. It is the gradual slipping of the knees, and the level of slipping can be classified into 4 grades. Usually, grades 1 and 2 are the most common for Teacup Pomeranian and do not require any surgery to rectify it. But for grades 3 and 4, surgery will be needed to alleviate the pain and improve the quality of life of the Pom. Note that Pomeranian Puppy can develop this condition right from the start, so it will be good to bring the pup for a check when they are young.

Hypothyroidism

This is another health condition that is common amongst the Pomeranian. This not a life-threatening condition, but it will require monitoring from the owner.

Alopecia X

This condition is not unique to the Pomeranian. It is a coat loss problem that is sometimes known as the Black Skin Disease. Alopecia X can occur when during either the puppy stage or the adult age. If the puppy sheds and does not grow back the fur, then it is a sign that the Alopecia X is affecting the Pom. As for adult, one of the tell-tale signs of Alopecia X in them is when you notice that there is a thinning of the hair in their coat.

Collapsing Trachea

For smaller or toy dog breeds like the Pomeranian, it is a life-threatening problem that should not be ignored as it can cause the entire breathing capability of your dog to collapse. If the Pom is making a loud honking sound, or it seems like it is wheezing too badly, you might want to bring the Pom to the vet to seek immediate medical attention.

Idiopathic Epilepsy

Some Pomeranian might be susceptible to seizure attacks due to Idiopathic Epilepsy. This is a type of disease that does have an exact prognosis. It can be due to liver failure or even failure of the other internal organs. If your dog is suffering from Epilepsy or other seizures, it will be imperative for you to bring the dog for a medical checkup at the soonest.

7. Are Pomeranians Good With Kids

As mentioned earlier, Pomeranians are one of the most sociable and fun-loving dogs that you can find. Indeed, they also get along with other dogs. Hence, if you are thinking of getting Pomeranians as family dogs, you will be making one of the best choices ever. But even with that statement, there are still several considerations that you will need to think of before you decide to get a Pomeranian as a pet, especially if your children are still young.

If you have babies: As babies cannot comprehend the need to show care to dogs yet, there is a tendency that they might injure the Pom while trying to play with it. In retaliation, the Pom might snap back at the baby too.

If you have young children: Yes, we all know that the Pom is small, hence they can be very fragile and delicate. So in the event that your children are rough handlers, you will need to educate the child to handle the Pom with care, lest your kid injures the dog. You should never leave young children or babies along with the Pomeranian.

If you have noisy kids: This is not a big problem if the Pom is an adult as they can probably handle the noise. But if you are bringing the Pom home for the first time, you will want to limit the amount of noise that the family makes as excessive noise might scare the dog.

8. Pomeranians As Family Dogs

Pomeranians usually get along really well with other dogs due to their sociable nature, but we will still add a note for caution here as larger dog breeds might accidentally injure the Pomeranian while they are playing. This goes the same when kids play with the Pomeranian as the children will need to be mindful not to injure this delicate little dog breed.

9. Where To Rescue Or Adopt Pomeranians

As Pomeranians are well-loved and is also a pedigree dog, they are not commonly found in shelters or rescue. Occasionally, you might find one or two postings on Facebook or dog forums where owners might be giving up the Pomeranian for adoption due to unforeseen circumstances, so do keep a lookout! But honestly, you shouldn’t be too hopeful of adopting Pomeranian puppies as they are high in demand everywhere else.

10. Does The Pomeranian Require Regular Exercise

Don’t be fooled by the Pomeranian’s small size as their high energy levels do mean that they require a decent amount of exercise to help exhaust its energy levels. We will recommend you to bring your Teacup Pomeranian out at least once a day for its daily walk.

11. Feeding And Caring For The Pomeranian

As the Pomeranian is small in size, you would not need to give them much food in order to feed them. You will, however, need to select a dog food that is specific to smaller dog breed for the Pomeranian. Try not to let the Pomeranian get obese, but this can be highly unlikely since the Pomeranian is active and hence it could probably burn off much of their energy levels.

As the Pomeranian is likely to shed at least twice a year, it will be important that you bring the Pomeranian to a professional once a month so as to keep the double coat clean and tidy. As part of the daily grooming procedure, you should also comb the coat so that you can get rid of mats or tangles.

12. How Long Do Pomeranians Live

For those that are wondering how long do Poms or Pomeranian live, the average lifespan of a Pomeranian is from 12 to 16 years on average. But some Pomeranian can live up to a ripe old age of 21 years. Indeed, the oldest Pomeranian ever recorded lived up to 21 years and 8 months!

Still Considering The Pomeranian? Read On To Find Out The Top 10 Reasons Why The Pomeranian Are The Best Dog Breed For You

Small Dog = Low Maintenance

As covered in an earlier portion, it is pretty easy to upkeep the Pomeranian due to its size. From feeding it to problems that may fall on larger dog breeds, the Pomeranian’s daily requirements are much less demanding than the larger dog breeds

Pomeranian’s Cuteness

Pomeranian is one of the cutest dog ever. One of the most famous Pomeranian is Boo who has since passed on in 2019. At its peak, Boo had 16 million Facebook followers 550,000 Instagram followers.

Need An Instant Tinder Match?

In a recent survey, it does show that if you put a picture of a dog as your profile picture, you are more likely to get a match on dating platforms. To help you bring up the chances, put up your well-groomed Pomeranian as the display picture and you will get more matches than before.

Cutest Guard Dog Ever

The best way to stop perpetrators is by stopping them in their tracks. There are several methods in doing this. For the case of larger dog breeds like the German Shepherd, they stop would-be intruders by growling at them. Their sheer intimidating stance also put these people off. But for the case of the Pomeranian, they can put off the intruders based on their loud barks as well as their cuteness. It will be hilarious though if the intruders stop and pet the Pomeranian, hence providing a good distraction!

You Do Not Need Large Spaces For The Pomeranian

As the Teacup Pomeranian is small in size, you do not need large spaces. Of course, having a yard will be good since it does mean that they have spaces to play in, but in reality that is more a luxury than a requirement.

Training The Pomeranian Is A Breeze

Since the Pomeranian is highly intelligent, training it can be easy since they can absorb information fast. This does mean that there is a lesser occurrence of you pulling out your hair due to frustrations but more time in bonding with your dog.

Couch Potato

While the Pomeranian does require a good amount of exercise daily, the Poms actually do sleep a lot. And since the Pom is highly sociable, it makes them the perfect couch companion. It can be therapeutic for you to watch your favourite show on the television while having the Pomeranian snuggling beside you.

Pomeranians Are Hypoallergenic

Do you know that Pomeranians are Hypoallergenic, even though they shed twice a year? This means that the Pomeranian does not cause an allergic reaction in humans, hence making them perfect for families with young children.

Conclusion

If you have read until this point, congratulations! We have tried to make this Pomeranian guide as extensive as possible so that we drive relevant content to you. Should you want us to include more content here, do drop us a text and we will we include it in our ultimate Pomeranian guide!

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thesydneyfeminists · 5 years

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Women in and of Historical Fiction: A Review of Sharon Kay Penman’s “A King’s Ransom” and “Here be Dragons”

Historical fiction faces a good deal of pushback in multiple different circles. There are those people who insist historical fiction is among the “lesser” genres, not on the same “intellectual level” as literary fiction and the canon classics. There are also those people who claim historical fiction is a defilement of “true” history, that the very categories “historical” and “fiction” are at odds with one another. At the same time, the genre has faced increasing popularity over the last decade. One has only to look at the top trending films and TV shows to realize historical fiction means something to and in the Western imagination. As one blogger reports, reading about the past “shaped my ability to empathize with cultures and people … reading historical fiction has colored my decisions and changed my actions” (https://lithub.com/historical-fiction-is-more-important-than-ever-10-writers-weigh-in/). How people consume history, and what kind of history they consume, can alter their perceptions of their own present.

Image Description: A row of old, ornately-bound book spines in different shades of red, brown and black. Some date from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Source: https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/history/best-historical-fiction-audiobooks

Like the author above, reading historical fiction has considerably changed my life. I grew up reading historical novels about the American Civil War, notably Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” and Jeff Shaara’s “Gods and Generals.” Although my taste in books has changed drastically since then, I still believe historical fiction holds great potential for learning and, even more so, unlearning. However, making historical fiction accessible to everyone is an important next step for the genre. Women authors have been present in the field for decades - Toni Morrison is a modern American classic who writes novels deeply steeped in history. Still, as professor of English literature Diana Wallace writes, “Literature is a very powerful thing … so it’s really important that the literature we make available to students includes books by women as well as men, and equally that different races, classes, nationalities and sexualities are represented” (https://www.southwales.ac.uk/courses/ma-english-by-research/40/what-can-womens-historical-fiction-teach-us/). The shift away from historical fiction written by, about and for white men is a critical part of feminist movements.

Image description: A blurred photo of Sydney harbor, including the top of the opera house and left side of bridge. The quote “History tells us what people do; historical fiction helps us image how they felt” by Guy Vanderhaeghe in a blueish circle over the sky and a banner that reads #HistoricalFictionWeek.

Source: https://www.writing.ie/guest-blogs/historical-fiction-week-on-goodreads/

I began to formulate the basic premise of this article after finishing Sharon Kay Penman’s “A King’s Ransom.” This massive and stunning novel spans the later years of King Richard the Lionheart’s reign, after his return from the Crusades. After a few week’s break, I’ve just completed a second book of Penman’s titled “Here Be Dragons.” This story focuses on King John and the Welsh Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Both books are compelling, and I flew through the 800 or so pages of each. Penman is a skilled author and a painstakingly detailed researcher. The worlds she paints in her novels are somehow both easily accessible to people reading in the 21st century and still attached to their historical origins. They bridge the spatial and emotional distances between the past and present and allow readers to draw connections to their own lived experiences. Although both the books mentioned above revolve around history’s more traditional heroes, Penman’s female characters truly captured my heart.

In her novels, Penman breathes life into a multitude of complex and three-dimensional historical women. “A King’s Ransom” inspired me to learn more about the infamous queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, a monumental woman who quite literally changed the course of English history. “Here be Dragons” instilled in me a love of Princess Joan of Wales, wife to Llewelyn the Great and daughter of King John, who wielded great political power over two warring nations. As Greer Macallister suggests, “The very act of centering a novel on a woman’s story, of giving her the same respect and attention men’s stories have traditionally received, can be feminist. The women of the distant past may only appear in sepia-toned photographs today, but when they lived, they lived in full color” (https://themillions.com/2017/07/how-can-historical-fiction-be-feminist.html). In Penman’s novels, women of the medieval period are painted in brilliant color. She exposes the complicated and often conflicting decisions women were forced to make. In doing so, she asks readers to reflect on the similarities and differences of our own lives.

Image Description: Tomb engraving of Joan, Lady of Wales. Stone carving depicts a woman’s face and palms held up to her chest. The details are blurred with age.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan,_Lady_of_Wales

Image Description: Tomb effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Stone statue depicts a woman lying on her back on a table draped in red cloth, reading a book. She is wearing a crown, white veil and blue dress distressed by age.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine

I won’t pretend Penman’s novels are beyond reproach. The sex scenes between King John (in his 30s) and his child-bride Isabelle (12 at the time of their marriage) were, to me, overdone. I understand the author’s desire to be “historically accurate.” At the same time, I believe there are ways to convey the customs of the time without glorifying them. Penman’s treatment of Isabelle and a few of the other child-brides caused me to squirm at several points, especially her emphasis on Isabelle’s sexual appeal to men three or four times her age. These descriptions bordered on casual acceptance of fetishization of youth, if not now, then in a time when it was considered “standard.” True, readers have access to the thoughts and feelings of these young girls in a way typically blocked from more conventional historical documents. Still, Penman’s description of Isabelle and John’s relationship is bound to make many feminists uncomfortable.

Additionally, Penman’s novels unashamedly center European history. This fact alone is not necessarily a condemnation of Penman’s work. I do think a better understanding of how England formed and functioned in its early years is necessary to dismantle the power structures created by and continued through colonization and imperialism. However, Penman leaves little room in her novels for readers to make connections to the world outside European boundaries. Although the Crusades are mentioned repeatedly in both novels, the people and cultures of what is today known as the Middle East are notoriously absent. Similarly, Penman mentions the horrific treatment of Jewish people by King Richard once in “A King’s Ransom” and obliquely in “Here be Dragons,” but so briefly it barely registers. Such a tight focus on English royalty is severely limited in its ability to push back against power imbalances, even if it is centered around women.

Despite their shortcomings, “A King’s Ransom” and “Here be Dragons” were influential books for me at this moment in my life. They motivated me to think more critically about “English history” and my own heritage, as someone with ancestral ties to both England and Wales. They also reminded me why I chose to make a career out of studying the medieval period and how much work remains to be done on the intersections and margins of history, literature and identities. Finally, as another blogger so eloquently wrote, they prompted me to think about how “historical fiction and feminism can work hand in hand” (https://themillions.com/2017/07/how-can-historical-fiction-be-feminist.html). Penman does not claim the title of “feminist,” as far as I could find. Still, her contribution to historical fiction as a woman writing about other women illuminates the possibilities of the genre in retelling and relearning the parts of history that are so often shielded from common knowledge.

Author’s website: http://www.sharonkaypenman.com/

Editor’s Note: This is a review and not a paid promotion.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sydney Feminists. Our Blogger and Tumblr serve as platforms for a diverse array of women to put forth their ideas and explore topics. To learn more about the philosophy behind TSF’s Blogger/ Tumblr, please read our statement here: https://www.sydneyfeminists.org/a

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f1fteenreason5why-blog · 6 years

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Module 13: Who Was Princess Diana?

• Genre Series Book

• Book Summary Most people know about Princess Diana from the televised “wedding of the century” in England to Prince Charles in 1981. The book goes into detail about Diana’s childhood and her family, and how she always cared for others. As she got older, Diana’s passion for helping people didn’t slow down. She became an assistance kindergarten teacher to keep busy while living in London. Due to Diana’s family status, she never had to work, and this didn’t change when she married the Prince of England. After meeting at a polo match, Prince Charles and Lady Diana began to court and marry, welcoming two boys into the world. Princess Diana had a hard time adjusting to royal life and wanted to be more involved, especially with her boys William and Harry. While most royal mothers had nannies, and sent their kids to boarding school, Princess Diana was always involved and a part of her kids’ lives. The royal marriage began to crumble due to their conflicting schedules and lack of time together. After their divorce in 1996, Diana’s popularity rose through her friendships with, now notable photographers and designers, and celebrities at parties and other charitable functions. Princess Diana became the “Princess of the People” because she captured everyone’s heart using her fame to help people. She was an activist for many causes and worked with the Red Cross and AIDS foundation to help sick people and fund research. Although her death was sudden, her impact on the world will live on through her kids and supporters of her charitable work.

• APA Reference of Book Labrecque, E. (2017). Who was Princess Diana? New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap.

• Impressions Princess Diana was a great person because she didn’t let fame, royalty, or money get in the way of the people and causes she loved. I really enjoyed reading about Princess Diana’s life in the “Who was-” series, because it was a great mixture of her life story, accompanying facts, and sketch illustrations.

• Professional Review A shy twenty-year-old girl stepped out of a horse-drawn coach and into the world spotlight, capturing the imagination of millions as a real life fairytale princess. Although the storybook marriage didn't have a happy ending, Diana learned to use her fame as a way to champion charitable causes near to her heart. She became the People's Princess by humanizing the image of the royal family and showing care and concern for all people, including the homeless, the sick, and others in need.

• APA Reference of Professional Review Goodreads. (2017). Who was Princess Diana?. In Goodreads Book Review. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31159244-who-was-princess-diana

• Library Uses I would recommend this series to a classroom that was doing biographical book report, because it is filled with notable leaders, inventors, scientists, etc. If the library ever had a British display, this book would be a kid-friendly guide to Princess Diana’s life and the impact of one’s charity onto the world.

• Read-a-likes

1. Princess Diana by Joanne Mattern (2006)- Both titles are biographies about Princess Diana and include visual aids to tell her story. 2. Growing up royal by Jane Billinghurst (2000)- Both titles show biographical accounts of real princes and princesses who lived within British nobility. 3. Kate Middleton Duchess of Cambridge by Robin S. Doak (2015)- Both titles are biographies and talk about the lives of notable Princesses, linked by Prince William, from mother to wife.

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travel-diaries-blog · 7 years

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Northumbria & Borders, June 10-25, 2017

During my planning phase, many Fodorites were very helpful and encouraging, as always! So, I’ve provided this trip report to let everyone know how it turned out and hopefully help someone thinking about a similar trip. Be forewarned – it may be lengthy

I’m a solo traveler and like to visit historical sites and gardens. As a Type A person, I like to research trips beforehand and create a daily list of things to do as a guide, so I used various guidebooks and web sites. I stayed in a combination of hotels, B&Bs and stately homes and will describe them below.

SAT, JUNE 10, grey & rainy

Arrived at Edinburgh airport (although I was starting my trip in Newcastle, I would be leaving from EDI so flew in/out using points). Found the tram easily (good signage – about a 5 mins from outside the baggage claim area, beyond the AirLink bus stop). Very simple to use the machine to buy a one-way ticket to St. Andrews Square for £5 (there was a tram person there to offer help if needed). Tram was not full, plenty of space for luggage and once at St. Andrews Square, it was a 5 minute walk to Waverly train station. On the tram, and especially once in the station, I saw a LOT of men in kilts; not the full gear, just kilts with polo shirts, but all different tartans. Couldn’t figure out what was going on until I saw a sign about the platform for the Scotland vs. England World Cup Qualifier game in Glasgow that afternoon (turns out the game was a draw).

Everyone on this site always advises “buy your ticket in advance – same day sales are expensive” but when I researched train times, it clearly stated that tickets can only be used for the specific train they were purchased for and since I wasn’t sure how long Border Control, baggage & transfer to Waverly would take, I didn’t buy a ticket in advance. So, £40 later, I had a same day, single ticket. Sheesh – my own fault; I should have just bought a ticket for a later train and then hung out in the station if necessary (advance tickets were £12). The train itself was nice – plenty of room and a very scenic ride along the coast. 90 minutes later, we arrived at Newcastle’s Central Station. (A comment on “hen parties” – I had read about these and saw several groups of fancily dressed women getting off trains in Newcastle; some had short bridal veils on; others had “Happy XX Birthday” sashes on; all were very happy. All afternoon, early evening and Sunday morning, I ran across these groups moving from pub to pub. Saw similarly well dressed groups of men doing the same

My hotel for five nights was Roomzzz which was literally a 6 minute walk from the station. Roomzzz is an aparthotel, where each room has a full kitchen. I had debated between Roomzzz, Vermont Hotel, Hotel Indigo or the Royal Station Hotel and am very glad I chose Roomzzz. I reserved a Liberty Suite and, after joining their Royalty Club to get an immediate 15% discount, I paid £420 for 5 nights – a great price. I’m usually so tired after a full day of sight-seeing that I don’t go out at night, so having a fridge, microwave, etc and comfortable seating to watch TV was important to me. My suite was on the 3rd floor (elevator or stairs) and was great – separate bedroom w/large TV, living room with sofa & 2 comfy chairs and a dining table w/4 chairs, plus kitchen with dishwasher, oven, cooktop, microwave, fridge and all the pans, plates, cutlery, etc. Both the bedroom & living area had a cathedral ceiling with beams, a window and skylight. Bathroom was modern and clean (as was the entire place). The location was perfect – near the Quayside on the other side of the train bridge. In addition to the train, there was a Metro stop at the RR station, plus various buses stopped there. Within 8 minutes walk to the guildhall, bridges, St. Nicholas Cathedral and Castle. I would definitely recommend Roomzzz. All the reception staff – days and evenings – were extremely helpful and volunteered directions, restaurant recommendations, etc.

It was lunchtime, raining and I was hungry so took the shortcut stone stairs next to Roomzzz and ended up on Sandhill. I walked past The Redhouse and since I had read about in, I wandered in and was their first customer for lunch. Sat in front window booth, ordered a steak pie with pease pudding and chatted with the bartender who was very friendly and interested in what brought an American to Newcastle. He was the first of several people who told me about MTV’s Jordy Show. They likened it to the US show, Jersey Shore, and said that it has raised awareness of Newcastle and a lot of people from Europe now come there, which the hospitality industry likes but no-one else does! The steak pie was very good - the crust was tasty and the chunks of beef were tender. While I was there, the place began to fill up. Interior is ye olde quaint (but legitimately old). I enjoyed my pie and would go back again. Rain alternated between heavy and none, so feeling revived, I left to walk along the Quayside.

Newcastle is a Victorian, industrial age city and I really enjoyed seeing all the famous Tyne bridges; and the way new buildings (like the court) blend with the old buildings. I had read about the Local Heroes walk and looked for the sidewalk plaques honoring these folks – all nominated by citizens, they represent a wide range – athletes, artists, businessmen, etc. Nice idea and a good reason to walk both sides of the river from the Baltic and over the swing bridge. It was neat to walk over the Millennium bridge, but was disappointed that it wouldn’t be opening at a time I’d be able to see. Since admission is free, I popped into the Baltic, more to look at how an old flour factory was converted to a contemporary art museum. I didn’t “get” the art, but enjoyed the greeter’s recommendation of the kittiwake viewing platform. It’s chick time and they’re squawky, messy birds but from this platform you’re at their level and see them sitting on their nests. Saw eggs, chicks of every ages and a lot of birds fluffing feathers before sitting down again.

It was only mid-afternoon, so I took the Quayside Link bus (which are useful to avoid walking up steep hills) to Haymarket and walked over to Grainger Market. It was interesting from a historical, architectural perspective, not as a shopping destination. Lots of butcher, produce, cheese & sweets stalls; plus various sundry shops. Very busy place with people buying – not tourists. When I mentioned to someone that I had gone there, they were shocked and said “but there’s better shopping at the centers”. Guess if you’re a native, it’s not a novelty.

I was getting tired now, so walked down to the RR station since there’s a Sainsbury market there and bought some provisions for my Roomzzz. A pre-made, but very tasty, ham and cheddar on whole grain and a Nutella croissant made me happy.

SUN, JUNE 11, partly sunny

My mission for the day was Tynemouth – the market at the train station and the ruined priory. Since I woke up early-ish, I went to St. Nicholas Cathedral – 5 minutes away. It turns out that I arrived before a special confirmation service which the bishop was leading, so was reluctant to explore too far and intrude. There were a number of church personnel and volunteers there and each of them said hello and chatted for a minute or two. They encouraged me to look around and explained what was going on (bishop and adult confirmees); I enjoyed hearing the choir practicing and looked around a bit on the side aisles, but decided to come back another day when I could be a tourist!

From the Central Station, took the Metro (Daysaver ticket covering 3 zones for £5); per the Roomzzz receptionist’s suggestion, I took the long loop route since it’s mostly above ground and scenic.

The weekend market at Tynemouth Station is large – the full length of both sides of the track but this year (as opposed to last year), I thought there were a lot fewer antique/bric-a-brac stalls and more stalls of new tat or crafty items. Plenty of food stalls. I bought two watercolor sketches from a stall that said “pay what you think is fair” so I gave her £10 for both and she seemed happy. One sketch was a church interior done in shades of red and the other was a woman reading a book on the beach – me!! I saw an author signing books so checked it out – the book was “Rafa’s Way” by Martin Hardy, who was signing. My brother is an athlete and his birthday is approaching, so a perfect gift. A member of the Newcastle United team was there and when he heard my accent, asked where I was from – it turns out that he’s going to Connecticut in two weeks to visit a friend who used to live in my home town. We had quite a chat and got a nice inscription in the book. One side of the market is mostly book stalls, ranging from newish books to antiques. My eye was caught by shelves of Penguin books, so I had a long talk with the stall owner about the different colors of Penguin covers, cover artists and collecting vs. selling. I bought two books from this very nice man.

Time for the priory so headed off to the High Street which was busy but not mobbed. Not a long street, so walked the length to check out the many pubs, cafes, shops for a lunch stop. Decided on The Priory since they had tables available outside. Since it was Sunday, Sunday lunch was on the menu and I had minced beef, veg, dumpling and gravy, plus a Strongbow cider and a Diet Coke (to dilute the cider effects!) Mince was good but the dumpling looked like a huge, hard scone, not soft – it barely soaked up any gravy. But it was a nice way to relax in the sun and watch the world go by.

On my way to the Priory, I stopped in the storefront of the Tynemouth WWI Commemoration Project. Lots of brochures, posters, etc – the project was created to ensure people don’t forget and to recognize the contributions of the people in the Tynemouth area (in terms of manpower). Talked to the volunteer manning the desk for about 30 minutes, who said I was his most exotic visitor ever…he’d had someone from Romania last year, but he figures Connecticut is more unusual. Who knew? I bought a book and spotted a poster about a lecture to be held in Newcastle Tuesday night “When the US Entered the War”.

Finally made it to the Priory. Green, green grass – closely mowed lawn. It’s an English Heritage site and the ticket lady asked me “How old are you madam?” I don’t really care about that kind of stuff, but that question is never asked in the US so I was a bit thrown off. I sort of whispered that I’ll be 60 in August and she explained that people 60 and over get the reduced concessionaire rate, so I saved £1. The Priory ruins surprised me – they were built of sandstone, so over time the wind & sea air have eroded them into sharp edges and odd shapes. Every bit of stone had softened edges and looked droopy – like dribbled sand castles. Enjoyed walking through them and the adjacent graveyard. The Coast Guard built a station there in the ‘80s which was abandoned not long ago; seems crazy to have a perfectly good building sitting empty. WWII gun, magazine & artillery was very interesting. Amazing view of the headlands and choppy sea; spent about 90 minutes in total.

Walked down the long steps to the adjacent beach – by this time, it was about 4:30 but there were a lot of people on the beach. Some brave folks went into the water but most were sitting on the sand. Riley’s Fish Shack, right smack dab on the beach, was doing a bustling business. I got a soda and sat on a log to watch the waves for a while. A couple of guys wearing wet suits went in for a swim but no surfers this late in the day.

It had been a long day, so took the Metro back and stopped at the Herb Garden (located in a railroad bridge archway about 3 mins from the station & 2 mins from Roomzzz). Their pizza was recommended so bought a cheese pie to eat back at Roomzzz.

MON, JUNE 12, sunny & windy

Today was my shopping day. In “things to do” on the VisitNewcastle site, I found the Barbour Factory Outlet Store listed. I have an old quilted Barbour jacket that I’d like to replace but they are very expensive here, so I took the Metro to Bede and the factory store was about 50 yards to the left of the station. It’s huge and the front third is regular retail items, with the rest discounted items. Rack upon rack of men’s & women’s – trousers, shirts, sweaters, jackets, vests, plus hats, socks and a room of footwear. Some racks were “last chance”, others ranged from 30-70% off. I ignored everything except jackets but got overwhelmed quickly so since they had a lot of sales clerks, I asked one to help me which was the smart thing to do. She knew which lines were slim cut, which were shorter, and brought other sizes/items from the back room for me to try. I ended up buying a jacket and 3 hats. I spent 2 hours there; as a note for others, they have restrooms just inside their front door and if you walk to the corner (away from the Metro stop), there’s a small store w/beverages, snacks, etc.

Back in Newcastle, I dropped off my bags and went back to really explore St. Nicholas cathedral. There were so many things to see: Gorgeous stained glass windows, mostly late 19th and 20th century but also 3 modern windows; many war memorials (from India, Boer War, WWI and WWII); regimental colors of the Northumberland Fusiliers with plaques explaining when & where they were used and retired. I made a list of all the places mentioned on the memorials so I can look them up: Karee Siding, Relief of Chitral, Malakand pass, Mauritius, Lucknow, Dilkoosha, St. Julien, Fyzabad, Vlamarting and Hazebrouck. It reminded me of how far the Empire extended and how every village and city sent men to war. The organist was practicing, so enjoyed hearing big music while I pottered around. They have a new café, Dog Leap Café, which opened 6 weeks ago just to the left of the organ. The café itself is a large room with a soaring wooden ceiling, painted in a red & blue design. It’s a comfortable, homey feel and there were some church workers having a lunch meeting and two men in suits also having a meeting, plus stray visitors. Big menu plus daily specials & they’re open from 8-4. I had a roast chicken and stuffing sandwich w/gravy which was tasty. It was a pleasant place to relax. I would recommend that any visitor to Newcastle spend time at the cathedral since it has a long history and is still a vibrant part of Newcastle.

Way back when, I remember Princess Di saying that she bought her knickers at Marks & Sparks, so I always stock up when I’m in the UK. Walked up Grey Street to Northumberland Street, which is a pedestrian street full of stores. Popped into Curry’s to buy a new adapter (very friendly clerk who wanted to know what brought me to Newcastle, where I’d been, where I was going, etc.) Love M&S, I think their clothes are more fashionable than what we see at comparably-priced stores in the US; bought enough knickers to last until my next visit!

TUE, JUNE 13, grey

Today is Durham to see the UNESCO World Heritage site, Durham Cathedral and possibly Crook Hall & Gardens. An extremely easy, 12 minute, £7, train ride, followed by the Cathedral bus (£1 for unlimited rides all day). I had read about the bus but it was a bit tricky finding the stop at the RR station – basically, it’s the same stop for all the buses and is in the circular driveway, just outside the station and near the car park. Bus driver was very helpful and told me which bus to take to Crook Hall after the cathedral.

Cathedral was busy w/tourists but they were quiet and spread out (no photography is allowed inside the church). Took the free 11:00 tour which was very informative. Multiple tours going on at the same time, but even though the guides stop at the same points, they work together to stagger their stops. Interesting to hear about Cuthbert and the flight from Lindisfarne which led to the establishment of the church in Durham. Also, some modern art works plus new stained glass windows. Cloister is serene since most people just pass through it. I ended spending about 3 hours there, including 20 mins in the gift shop. The café off the cloister was quite busy and noisy, so I went to the Café on the Green, just outside the cathedral on the right. Small, run by university students. Had absolutely delicious lentil & bacon soup with a cheddar sandwich. Low key and nice.

Got a different bus and the driver dropped at the pedestrian bridge (Penny Ferry?) across from the Radisson hotel. A few minutes walk past the hotel and I was at Crook Hall. I really enjoyed these gardens – small scale, created and nurtured by the two families who have lived here since 1979. There were about 7 “rooms” which led into each other. The maze was very funny because as I walked past it to the gardens, I kept hearing people in the maze calling to each other and jumping up to try to see where they were. The folks sitting on the benches were amused too. Little silver heads popping up and down…

One of the things I liked best was the scent of the roses. So many varieties – single petals, doubles, striped, lush and blowsy, climbing, bushes, and they all had a scent. Some strong & cloying, others spicy, or delicate or rich and deep. The silver & white garden was petite, but serene – it was a wedding anniversary gift from one husband to his wife. The garden I liked best was the Walled Garden – overflowing with roses, blues, purples, whites, paths wending through the flowers. Great color combinations all intermingled, poppies, lots of flowers I didn’t’ recognize, trellises, archways and benches tucked into corners. All the visitors were spread out, and even the tour bus occupants were busy having cream tea in the garden.

The house was amazing since it has a medieval great hall & minstrel’s gallery; a Jacobean main room; and other Georgian rooms. It’s still a family home and there were comfy chairs and books around, so it wasn’t renovated to a sparkling finish (which I liked). Checked out the kitchen where they were very busy preparing tea but I had never seen an Aga in real life, so they invited me in and showed me around.) It was large, bright and home-cook friendly.

I missed the last bus to the train station, so walked – a bit of a hike and I had to ask a bunch of people but made it there fine! I was going directly to the lecture which was at Northumberland University, so took the Metro to Manors. Was looking at the map to orient myself and a man on his way out turned around to ask me if I needed help and pointed me in the right direction. The uni buildings are very modern (he said they’re supposed to look like a ship) and luckily one of the professors was standing outside, asking people if they were there for the lecture.

With such a specific topic (When the US Entered the War), it was expected that the audience would be a bit small. I counted 24 people but it turns out that this was one of a series of lectures and most the folks had been to all of them. Two current history professors introduced the speaker, who had studied at Cambridge and taught various place but finished up at Newcastle Univ. He was wonderful! A great speaker, and clearly knew all the background and spoke without notes. I would go to any lectures he led. It was a little over an hour, not many questions but I really enjoyed it and learned a bit too.

WED, JUNE 14, grey & warm

I’ve always heard and read about bacon sandwiches (sarnies, butties, etc) but never had one, so stopped in a café near Roomzzz to get one. The lady asked if I wanted any sauce, I asked what kind and she listed a whole raft of them including catsup, A1, & BBQ sauce. I didn’t remember reading about sauces so went plain – just butter & bacon on a soft white roll. Boy, was that good!!! Probably a zillion calories but wow.

I decided to go to Beamish Village today primarily because they recently opened a pit mining village section and several locals raved about it. I usually don’t like open-air museums, since re-creations of ye olde days always seems like Disney. Bus 28 or 28A, which stopped right in front of the cathedral, goes directly to Beamish and only cost £6 roundtrip. It took about an hour and I thought the route –through Gateshead and various country towns – was interesting; lots of new housing developments. At one point, we came around a corner and there was the Angel of the North statue which was smaller and a much more womanly figure than I expected.

Entrance fee is £19. Vintage trams and buses, plus footpaths connect the 4 main areas. The fact that they’re spread out from each other made it feel more genuine. I started by riding the steam train (because when would I ever do that again?) and then explored Pockerly Hall. The train is an 1813 coal fired steam engine that was used to move coal cars in/out of mines. It doesn’t go very fast but is very strong – known as the Steam Elephant. The Hall was bigger than I expected and it was interesting to see the period furnishings, since they were all donated or found. The rooms were fairly big and each had at least one window. There were costumed docents in most rooms to explain or answer questions. Had an interesting chat with another visitor in the stables about carts, which I thought were two-person drays and he practically snorted and said “no, that’s a farm cart. I know because I used to ride in the back of them”. So we talked about him growing up in Richmond with no indoor plumbing and working in the fields. He was probably around 78? Another interesting conversation.

A two minute walk on the forest path led me to the colliery and pit village. Colliery was a bit hard to figure out – very few signs and the guides were doing some kind of repair – but I got the gist. I did the 15 min tour of the old mine drift – pretty cool. Have to wear a helmet and crouch a bit since the entrance was about 4 ft high. At one point, the guide turned off the electric lighting and we just had the light from the miner’s lamp – imagine the dark, damp, coal dust and cramped working conditions. No wonder their life span was short. That tour was worthwhile.

Had lunch (sausage roll & soda) and sat on a bench outside. Got talking to the guy next to me who said that as a young child, he lived in miner’s quarters, with an outhouse in the back. He worked as an aircraft engineer and traveled the world; told me “I went to Thailand and came back with a Thai wife” and patted her hand, next to him…. Now he’s showing her England.

With that info, I explored the Pit Village. These docents were full of information – many of them had a bed in the front room which was for the man who worked in the mines, since the other sleeping option was up a steep ladder to a loft and he had to be injury-free, otherwise they would be evicted. (No falling down the ladder & breaking a bone!) If you couldn’t work, you had 7 days to get back to the mines, or else you were out. Later, in the mid-20th century, mining companies started providing better conditions to keep their employees. On my way back to the entrance & bus stop, I went through 1900’s Village which was bustling with people, maybe because the sweet shop & pub sold goodies.

Overall, I spent 5 hours there which was enough. I think it was well done and each site was free-standing and didn’t feel manufactured or fake. Except for the 1900’s village, none of the sites sold anything (souvenir-wise); even the food locations were limited and the menus were sort of period appropriate (e.g. meat pies & sausage rolls in one spot and fish & chips in another). As a side note, there were lots of well-maintained toilets at each site and benches to sit.

Bus back to Newcastle and since I was doing a 7:00 walking tour, I got a sandwich from Waitrose, took the Quayside bus to the guildhall and sat in the Newcastle Business Improvement District’s “Relaxation Area” right on the water. Watched the world go by on the river, quayside & street. The tour was offered by Newcastle City Guides who are enthusiastic, well-trained volunteers who share a passion for the history, heritage and culture of their city and the cost was only £4 for a 90 minute tour. The tour was “How the Other Half Lived” all about the poor of Newcastle, how they lived, where they worked, what social services were provided, etc. It began at the Guildhall and ended at Manors metro station. We walked down little allies, behind buildings and up hills. I wish they offered more tours since I learn so much from them. Sometimes I get so busy doing things and going places that I forget to just walk down side streets and poke around areas off the main drag. It seems that there a significant number of historic buildings (Grade II) that are empty and have been for a while, with no plans to do anything with them. That’s such a shame – I would think that developers could keep the façade and turn them into apartments or a hotel; although I guess the developers would prefer to tear the whole thing down and build from scratch.

The next day I would be leaving Newcastle to drive north, so a few observations: the people were really, genuinely friendly. Not friendly to sell me something, or friendly because the boss is watching but sincerely interested in why I came to Newcastle, what I was seeing and then talking about themselves. Also, Newcastle has so much to offer – an industrial Victorian city that’s vibrant but has a gritty edge; wonderful old & new buildings; very lively; and the people. I would come back again and spend more time actually exploring the city.

THU, JUNE 15, sunny

Had bought too much at Boots, Barbour & M&S, so had an overstuffed tote bag plus my small wheeled suitcase and schlepped to the Metro which went right to the Newcastle airport and the Hertz desk was at the top of the exit ramp from the Metro. I had done price comparisons and AutoEurope had the best prices; I’ve used them before with no problems, so that decision was easy. Remembering narrow British roads from my prior trip, I reserved a compact car, automatic, unlimited mileage, 10 days for $362. The car was from Hertz and all the paperwork was going smoothly until the clerk said “you are responsible for the full replacement cost of the car which is $28,300, since you didn’t purchase insurance”. I already knew that I had sufficient insurance through my credit card, but that statement – and amount – took me aback; I wavered for about 10 seconds but declined all their insurance and was ready to hit the road (in my brand new white Skoda Rapid hatchback).

Several years ago, I visited homes & gardens in Kent and, with encouragement from annhig and janisj, I rented a car and drove all over. Although I got comfortable after two days, the anxiety the narrow roads and cars parked on either side, never dissipated so I was concerned about driving now. It turns out that there was no need to worry at all – the roads in Northumbria and Borders area were relatively wide and there were barely any other cars on the road!! I loved it, zipping around corners and zinging up & down the hills listening to BBC Classic radio. No white knuckle driving; the roundabouts didn’t flummox nor, nor did the A1. Good signage, lots of places to pull over and sightsee or let faster drivers pass and GPS made it all very easy.

My objective for the day was visiting Cragside, a stately home & garden, near Rothbury. Built by Lord Armstrong in the 1870’s - Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius, the house was a wonder of its age and was lived in by the family until 1970. It was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity and has original furnishings. There are a lot of rooms to see – at least 3 floors; in addition to laminated info cards in each room, there’s a docent in each room who are like encylopedias. The rooms were attractive sizes (not echoing grand halls), with lots of windows overlooking the gardens, bright Oriental rugs, oak paneling, Morris-style wallpaper and upholstered furniture. The overall feel was elegant, but comfy and you could easily move in tomorrow and be quite happy. The kitchen, scullery, butler’s pantry are always interesting – the scullery was in the basement and the scullery maids worked 10 hr days down there, doing nothing but washing dishes. Yeeesh. Butler’s pantry was near the front door so he could see who was arriving; large room (not what I’d call a pantry) with locked cabinets for all the special dishes and big wooden trunks for the silver flatware, plus a lead sink for washing the silver without scratching.

Quite a surprise to see the Turkish baths on the lower level – steam room, sauna, plunge pool (with blue Turkish tiles) and cold shower, plus wood lounge chairs and potted palms. Imagine having the creativity to design this in the late-19th century; he used thick pipes and floor grates to exude heat (or steam) as needed. On the top floor, aside from a picture gallery and room for demo’s of electricity, was the Owl Suite – created for the visit of the Prince/Princess of Wales. Two bedrooms, private toilet, tub in one of the bedrooms, fancy carved headboard & canopy and gorgeous views. Apparently, the royals were impressed; docent said that typically royalty stayed at nearby Alnwick Castle, but the Turkish baths and electricity drew them to Cragside. I spent 2 hours in the house (could have spent more but felt driven to see the gardens, have lunch and drive to the B&B).

The rock garden wasn’t what I expected (a tumble of rocks with little plantings between and among the rocks) – instead, this was boulders descending from the front terrace down to the river with various landscaping (Rhodos, heather, flowers) with stone steps wending through it. Wide and long, I gather it’s one of the largest rock gardens in Europe. At the bottom is the iron footbridge Lord Armstrong built over the stream, which leads to the Pinetum and formal garden.

I had never heard of a Pinetum, but apparently in the Victorian era, an arboretum or Pinetum was regarded as a supreme symbol of wealth and status. The towering firs filtered the sunlight and their needles made a cushy ground (although there is path, I did step off it briefly!) A burn runs through the Pinetum, with a couple of small bridges where you can watch the water gurgle along, there are some mossy stumps and a carved tree trunk. Very quiet and peaceful.

The Formal Garden wasn’t huge but it was nice. I (and a number of other visitors) was fascinated by the robot lawn mower hoovering along it’s grass square, bumping against the curbs and backing up to go off in another random direction. It was hypnotic, like watching waves; seems very random as to where it travels, not straight, parallel lines but diagonals, horizontals, & verticals; didn’t seem to be any logic but I guess that over X period of time, it will cover every inch. We watchers had a chuckle at ourselves…

Bed gardening is a dying art but they have two large beds in their garden which were being created (filled in with plants) so I couldn’t see the end result but the guide book tells me it involves designing a pattern, edging the pattern with very low plants, filling in the design solidly so there are no spaces visible and then trimming the plants to keep them low and therefore maintain the design.

I felt like it had been a long day so was ready to go; took the shuttle to the tea shop for a quick snack; and then drove the Estate Drive. This is a huge loop, one-way, narrow through 40 acres of forest, moor, hillside, lakes, etc. Passed many sign-posted walking paths which would be fun to do. (I gather a lot of people just visit the gardens and lands – it’s dog friendly.) Next stop, Cragend Farm B&B where I was staying two nights.

A general note about my lodging choices: I was looking for either rooms at stately homes, B&Bs or country hotels. I forgot that June weekends would be very busy and a number of places were fully booked. Typically, the way I found the places I stayed (other than the rooms at stately homes) was by using Google maps to identify lodging options in the vicinity I wanted to be in. Then I looked at on-line reviews for a general sense and their own websites. Anyone who knows the area will realize that my route was not very efficient – due to opening days/times of some homes; non-refundable reservations; and no availability, I backtracked and hop-scotched all around. It’s not my normal, logical mode but it worked out fine. Some accommodations I would recommend, others not, but there were no disasters

Cragend Farm’s property adjoins Cragside; it’s a real farm, complete with barn, stables, sheep, cows, chicken and peacocks and a renovated house. Since I was their only guest (they have 2 rooms & a cottage), they upgraded me to the Armstrong Wing. This was a very large room, with two windows, an outside door and a huge private bathroom. Cream carpet and upholstery; flat screen TV; coffee/tea setup; good reading lamps; comfy sofa and chair. Bathroom looked brand new and quite deluxe – separate shower with rainshower head; huge bathtub; chair; stool; toilet; sink and lots of lights. They provided a folder with local information in the room. The owners were very friendly and welcoming and mentioned that they had only been operating as a B&B for 3 months or so. Breakfast was in their kitchen, made to order (no menus to be completed the night before); eaten with the owners who have several friendly, well behaved dogs.

But there were 3 things that turned me off – (1) the room smelled strongly of dogs. It was clean – no dog hairs, carpet vacuumed but as soon as I opened the door, I smelled dogs. And sitting on the sofa was worse – I ended up getting a quilt from the closet and spreading it over the sofa, which was fine. (2)The price was very high - £120 per night; I knew the price when I booked, but this was the first reservation I made and didn’t realize that in comparison to other B&B’s, it was expensive. (3) It’s a fine line for B&B owners in terms of how helpful/intrusive they are and, while these owners were very nice, any conversation turned into 45 minutes which I didn’t need or want. I tried traditional hints, like edging away, shifting my packages from hand to hand, but they just offered me a chair. My room had it’s own entrance which opened onto a patio in process with a fair amount of bricks and assorted rubble – no matter, I used that whenever possible. And cursed the gravel when the noise of my tires alerted the owners that I was home and they opened the front door to welcome me in… So, I won’t stay there again for all 3 reasons; others who don’t mind dogs or have a lot of spare time to chat, might not mind the cost.

Dinner: The room info suggested Anglers Arms, which was only 4 miles away. I turned down the table they offered next to the toilets and requested any other which made them rather snippy, along the lines of “you just tell me what you want”. Ignored him; it was Pie Night so I had a steak & ale pie, half-pint of Magners and lemon-lime cheesecake w/ginger crust. £17. Steak was tasty, crust a bit soggy and the cheesecake was a huge slab which I couldn’t finish but was very good.

FRI, JUNE 16, grey & cool

The night before I passed a sign for Brinkburn Priory so I decided to check it out, and very glad I did. An English Heritage site; car park is at the top of a hill and it’s a nice walk down to the site, along a rushing river. The EH lady asked my age, charged me the concessionaire price and told me that there are no signs, so recommended I purchase a guidebook…which I did (good salesmanship!) The priory itself is an empty church – plain, with a Victorian red tile floor, some stained glass windows and a high, arched, wooden ceiling. It was fine but nothing spectacular.

However, the adjacent Manor House was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s a combination of architectural styles and renovations over the ages and the family moved out in 1953. Due to extensive dry rot, the interior has been gutted down to the stone and only the ground floor and basement can be visited. It was very eerie walking through the empty, echoing rooms; in some, the wooden window shutters are still there; scraps of wallpaper remain on some walls; ceilings are partially demolished but some plasterwork & fancy moldings still exist; original room doors (minus door knobs) are there and can be pushed open or closed. The grand staircase to the second floor has only a piece of plywood nailed across it but you can look up and see two more floors, partially gutted, gaping holes in the plaster; rough edges of wooden lathe. And, even more amazing to me is that weddings are held in the priory and the receptions (at least the drinks part) are held in the house. They don’t put down any carpet or “pretty it up”. Just imagine that – the bride in a beautiful dress; guests all dressed up; in an empty shell of a house. Sounds like a ghost story. Spent 90 minutes and this unexpected detour was very worthwhile.

Off to Rothbury. Somewhere on some web site, I found a self-guided walking tour of Rothbury’s “Heritage Trail” which was a good intro to this bustling market town. All local shops and people going about their day to day lives. Went into an antique shop that was jammed with items – several years ago, I saw a small dish commemorating the commonwealth nations at the time of Elizabeth’s coronation; the shop was closed so I couldn’t buy it but have been looking for something similar. This seemed a likely spot but no commonwealth specific items, so instead I bought a little cup issued for George VI’s coronation with a photo of king, queen & both princesses. I suspect I overpaid but I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s a fun memento of my morning in Rothbury. Had a late lunch at the busy Tomlinson’s Café (they support cyclists, even having an adjacent bunkhouse for riders). Food was OK.

Zipped off to Herterton Gardens, about which Great British Gardens days “The gardens at Herterton House are one of the North's finest.” Herterton House Gardens will come as a delightful surprise to anyone who visits them. Hailed by well-known British garden writer, Robin Lane-Fox, as “one of the most influential English gardens to be created since the end of World War II”, they have been created by a husband and wife team, Frank and Marjorie Lawley, over the last 40 years”. In less than an acre, this couple created four or five distinct gardens. I was very interested to see little-known garden that gets rave reviews and shows the results of just two people. It closed @ 5 and I arrived @ 4; there was no one in the potting shed to collect my £5 admission fee so I tucked it under a trowel. The nursery garden was underwhelming and looked like exactly what is was – a place for plants no one wanted to buy; sparse and a bit sad. But the fancy garden was more like it – parterre, statues and then…. the flower garden which was my favorite. Topiary, winding paths, borders, floofy, foaming flowers in distinct color groupings (a photo display in the gazebo explained that Marjorie Lawley designed the gardens to resemble either oriental rugs or modern art by Klee.) It had that casual, un-manicured look that takes years of planning and maintaining to accomplish. A panorama of heights, widths and colors. I was approached by an elderly gentleman from the house, who introduced himself as Frank Lawley and said that he hadn’t had any visitors all day, so was planning to close the gate but that he was delighted to see me and I should take all the time I wanted. He encouraged me to look at the exhibit in the gazebo to learn about what it looked like when they bought the place, photos of them clearing out barrowfuls of stuff, precise, architectural-like plans of each garden with notes about height, seasons, etc. Very impressive to see the starting point and what they accomplished. He also suggested I see the Physic garden (I’m never struck by these) and the formal garden in the front – lots of topiary created using complementary shades of green & yellow shrubs. He mentioned that he had been about to make tea for his wife, who is poorly, and that if I needed anything, I should knock on the front door. A gracious man who kindly spent time chatting with an unexpected visitor. (He has written a book which I would have bought but he only takes cash and I didn’t have enough.)

Took a scenic drive (they’re all scenic!) back to B&B; detoured to Fontburn Reservoir just to see it. One lane road took me through sheep fields and I stopped to take photos – a little beep of a horn and I realized I was blocking a Royal Mail van, so moved and waved. The reservoir is a big fishing area but was empty at day’s end so I walked around, listening the wind in the trees; waves lapping and birdies.

SAT, JUNE 17, sunny

Today I was driving through Northumberland Park en route to Melrose for the Borders Book Festival. A glorious drive through the park – blue skies, fluffy clouds, sun and panoramas of fields, forests, stone walls and lots of sheep. Stopped several time to look at the cows & sheep and talk to them. Drove through various hamlets – about 8 buildings, right smack dab on the roadside; no shop, no pub. Thinking it could be bleak. Then I came to Elsdon….a gem!

Bigger village, large green, big church; newer houses in addition to the old ones. I circled around behind the church and drove past a little wooden cottage on a slight hill, overlooking the green and church in front and the hills & sheep in the back, with a “To Let” sign (which I took a picture of, the sign that is). Then, spotted a large stone tower and a plaque, so stopped the car and investigated. The tower was Elsdon Tower, which has been renovated & is now a private home; I only walked a few feet in the driveway, but that’s the house for me! Historic, stone, windows glinting in the sun, huge copper beech tree, manicured lawn, globe sculpture, perched on a hill. I had seen a man cutting the grass and he stopped, so I mentioned the house and he said it could be mine for £3.5 million. He owns it, the house next door and the wooden cottage; did all the renovations himself. We talked about the village and that young people leave, but over 50% of residents are “incomers” now – people who didn’t grow up in the village (either retirees or people who work from their homes). Said the village lost their school and pub, so without those, it’s difficult for a village to thrive; but, the pub is re-opening soon. Talked about how no one wants to be a farmer and round up sheep in 4 feet of snow with howling winds. I’m still thinking about that wooden cottage and wondering what it would be like to live there. I may rent a holiday cottage for several weeks to get a feel for real life.

Back on the A68, where it crosses the national border, there’s a parking area and caravan café run by a mother & daughter (mum is 75+). I got a bacon sandwich which was much better than the ones I got in Newcastle (better bread). I kept stopping to take photos so didn’t get to Melrose until just before lunch. What a great drive.

Parked in the car park across from the Abbey and walked to Harmony Gardens, the location of the Borders Book Festival. I had intended to listen to some author lectures, but it was a hot day and even hotter in the tents so I bought a book, wandered the garden (meh) and went to the abbey instead. That was great – what a site and the audio guide (free w/admission) was excellent - gave a thorough historical perspective, in addition to walking you through the ruins and telling you what you’re seeing. Cistercian monastery which was purposely located in a secluded area, far from distractions and marauders. They were great farmers and sheep raisers, so became rich; dissolution of the monasteries, etc. I’ll have to read up on their history. The ruins are well preserved and you can get a sense of its use throughout the ages. Spent about 90 minutes here. Walked around the town center and had lunch at the Dalgatty Tearoom – had a ham sandwich was fine, but the very slow and semi-sullen service would keep me from returning or recommending.

On the road to my next lodging, Tillmouth Park Country House Hotel, in Cornhill-on-Tweed. Somehow got turned around in Kelso and ended up going through the middle of town, instead of around. Loved the hotel – a big old Victorian house with mostly original furnishings (e.g. paneling, lights, rugs, staircase, windows, etc.) Several lounges with comfy sofas & chairs; a bar; billiard room; rod & gun room and formal dining room. This was one of those places that really didn’t fit in geographically with my itinerary, but it was difficult to find a room for a Saturday night in June and the website sold me. I called to discuss room selection and reserved the Tillside room – a gigantic, elegant room overlooking the rear lawn. 3 sets of tall windows; 4 poster bed; Recamier, pair of club chairs, dressing table, armoire, fireplace and chandelier on a dinner/bed/breakfast package (£209).

Had drink in the drawing room, perused the dinner menu and off to the dining room. I was concerned about dressing appropriately so specifically brought a black top and silk scarf, but didn’t need to worry since the other tables (about 8 tables) were casual – no jeans, but no jackets. Starched linen tablecloth and napkin; heavy silver; - reminds of staying at Turnberry and MoretonHempsted when I was child (on paternal golfing trips). Love it. I had venison boboti (S. African minced venison w/curry sauce); trio of lamb (cutlet, chop & filet) w/celeriac mash and lemon tart. Aaaahhhh. All very good and satisfying to my soul.

SUN, JUNE 18, sunny

Today’s mission was Manderston House and gardens but it’s only open two days a week, from 11:30-5, so I went to the seaside town of Eyemouth in the morning. Nice, long, curved beach with dog walkers, families and me. Sat against the seawall for about 45 minutes people & cloud watching. Walked to the marina and saw several seals right at the dock. They snort & snuffle when they come up for air w/spotted bodies rolling under the water.

Amazing scenery on the way to Manderston, in Duns. “Manderston is the supreme country house of Edwardian Scotland; the swan-song of its era. A house on which no expense was spared with opulent staterooms, the only silver-staircase in the world and extensive "downstairs" domestic quarters. It stands in 56 acres of formal gardens, with magnificent stables and stunning marble dairy.” Since the house isn’t open until 1:30, I started with the outbuildings and gardens. Car park is near the stables and tea room. Wow – mahogany stalls w/brass columns and porcelain trough; thick, thick carpet of hay in each stall. Whole tack room with mahogany cabinets.

The Marble Dairy was impressive in concept, but very small so a bit ho-hum. I noticed the head gardener’s house on the way to the dairy – very nice indeed. Noticed a cricket area with some activity as I worked my way through the gardens. Enjoyed the Woodland Garden most: on the other side of the lake, there are paths wending through shrubs, trees & rhododendrons; surprise nooks w/statues; each path leads to another path. Most of the rhodos were past their prime but enough still had blooms to give a sense of what it must be like in prime blooming season! Walls of blooms and not just the lavender colors that we see a lot here – scarlet, pink, apricot, white, cream. I liked all the greens and the surprise of paths & nooks (plus, it was cool in here).

Crossed the bridge to the formal gardens on the terraced area behind the house. As their name indicates, these aren’t the fluffy, shaggy gardens I like, but instead well-proportioned, geometric designs with rose bushes embedded within designs; topiary shrubs; box hedges and gigantic hostas. Croquet & tennis lawns too.

Walked back to the cricket field to see if anything’s going on and there’s a team practicing – I really want to watch, but also want to have enough time to visit the house, so ask a spectator how long they’ll be playing and she said “hours and hours”. So, off to the house.

Spectacular and what is even more amazing is that this is a private home and the family still live here. Bought my ticket and chatted with the admission lady, who passed me along to another guide to lead me to the rest rooms (it’s free flow, so you wander at your own pace; there are laminated info sheets in each room and guides). Turns out that this guide, Ashley, is from Atlanta, Georgia and is always interested in fellow Americans; I asked her how she ended up working at Manderston and she’s married to the head gardener! Said it was a real love story; I was dying to ask more but didn’t. Started going through the first room and noticed an older man wearing goofy Hawaiian shorts, sandals & a bright yellow polo shirt talking to Ashley and thought to myself “who is this yahoo, dressed like this?” Then, it occurred to me that he seemed very relaxed and might be the Lord; listened to his voice and yep, sounded all BBC-ish. He left and Ashley came past and mentioned that he was in fact the current lord. Only 66, but looks older. Eccentric aristocracy. Guide said their money came from trading hemp & herring w/Russia way back; plus, there’s a biscuit connection (bought by Nabisco) and various other sources. His son, Hugo, will inherit the title.

Everyone makes a big deal about the silver staircase, which is impressive, but I was more struck by the grand rooms, which are made human-stature with comfy furniture, worn oriental rugs, books and many family photos. There are a lot of rooms to see – ground floor ballroom, sitting rooms, dining room, library and second floor bedrooms, baths; plus the downstairs. Truly an “Upstairs/Downstairs” sense – white tiled main hall & rooms; 56 bells connected to all the rooms; kitchens; storage rooms; larder; game room; curing room, etc. The housekeeper’s room was large and nicely furnished – Mrs. Bridges never had it so good!

I was starving and thirsty, but still had a cricket game to watch (and new lodging to drive to), so walked back to the team room for a sandwich to bring w/me to the match. As promised, the match was still underway. Many, many years ago I went to Kew on a glorious summer day and stumbled across a cricket match which has lived in my memory as a quintessential English day – all bound up with the Empire, young men in Flanders, good sports and other positives. This had the same impact on me; can’t explain it, may not make sense, but it made me very happy.

I didn’t really follow the game, but liked watching the ballet of running & hopping to throw overhand; fielders converging on the ball; batter running, etc. After 30 minutes or so, they stopped for a tea break (they unpacked food & stuff, set up on a table behind the team benches). Listened to folks chatting w/each other; fathers & sons; one man was passing around sandwiches and tea and offered them to me, I declined w/thanks but he wouldn’t accept my no, so I had cucumber sandwich – crustless, served from a toile porcelain dish. Sigh. Play resumes and I watched for another 30 minutes; the sandwich guy ran past me and asked “everything alright, here?” Finally, left at 5:45. A wonderful, wonderful day full of natural beauty and experiences.

On the road to Traquair House, in Innerleithen, near Peebles. More amazing scenery. One narrow road had “Lambs on Road” signs so I drove very slowly and lo & behold, there sheep right at the roadside and lambs scurrying around them. Took more photos. Am staying at Traquair House for 3 nights – the oldest continuously inhabited home in Scotland. Mary Stuart, among many royals, stayed there; Jacobites; brewery; another stately home where the family lives there and mere mortals can stay too. I reserved the Pink bedroom, overlooking the maze, for 3 nights (about £100 night). I arrived at 7:00 (long after the house was closed to the public) and called the assistant housekeeper, who opened the gates for me. She showed me around and was very patient with my many questions; and brought me a light dinner tray (meats, salad, bread, oat cakes, chutney, cucumbers). The room was spacious; a four poster bed with upholstered canopy; window shutters; several chairs; two large dressers; walk in closet; bookshelves full of interesting titles; TV; and various antique china doodads.

MON, June 19, sunny

Had fancy breakfast in the “Still Room”, with linen cloth, silver, salt cellar, etc. (Just grapefruit, porridge, & toast, but I felt quite fancy).

The house doesn’t open to the public until 11:30, but as a guest, I was able to wander through so spent several hours doing that. (I’m starting to realize where “shabby chic” came from – antique furnishings, but paint dings on moldings, lumpy wallpaper, dusty bathroom pipes. It’s not bad, just different.) The household were always Jacobites and had secret hidey-holes for religious items, in case they were raided. An attic room for the priest with a twisty staircase to the garden in case he had to escape. Mary Stuart stayed here, with baby James & Lord Darnley. Lots to see, so by the time I was done with the house it was 12:30, so saved the grounds for the next day.

Hit the road for Jedburgh, and a few minutes away from Traquair, made a wrong turn and pulled into the Cabursten Coffee Shop to turn around. What a fortuitous stop! Very, very local; low key with homemade baked goods; local author’s books for sale. Bought two sizeable rounds of shortbread for only £1 each. Started eating one in the car – wow, was that good!! Buttery, crumbly but moist, sugary top.

In Jedburgh, went to Monteviot Gardens which didn’t strike a chord with me at all. The blooms were generally past their prime and there wasn’t any background info about the history of the gardens – who, why, or when. They’ve recently created an Imagination Garden with an arch of stones, a statue and paths but a sign explaining the concept would be helpful – it sure didn’t fire my imagination! The Oriental Style Water Garden was a disappointment since the water was covered in algae and other than a bamboo stand, not sure what was oriental about it. Several of the paths in the woodland, connecting the various gardens, were seriously overgrown. It felt unkempt and cursory.

Kept heading south to Jedburgh Abbey, which is right in the middle of this busy town. Another good audio tour (included in admission fee). Very different sense than at Melrose, which felt more serene & spiritual but interesting in comparison.

Headed back to Traquair and a yen for pizza, so went to Franco’s in Peebles. Not terribly welcoming and seemed a bit annoyed that I wanted take out (had to find the separate menu for take away, told me wait in the stairwell, etc.) Got a calzone instead which was only OK.

TUE, June 20, sunny

Before breakfast, I walked around the grounds, following their “Woodland Walks” leaflet which provides a map and great background on eight locations within the walk – very well done. Also points out trees and creatures to see along the way. Nice walk through the woods, past the diverted stream which was a 17th & 18th century “Ladies Bathing Pool” Spent 45 minutes and didn’t finish the walk, so will save for this evening.

En route to Kelso for Floors Castle, I again passed Cabursten Coffee Shop and stopped in for more shortbread. Got to Floors @ 11:30 – admission was the highest so far, £11.50. Compared to the other stately homes, I thought this was an inferior experience. The docents were informative and very chatty, but there aren’t rooms open to the public. Manderston was 3 floors and lots of rooms, whereas this was about 5 rooms and 3 more rooms full of display cases of stuff. Sure glad I didn’t buy the £5 guidebook! Only spent an hour in the house and that included three long conversations with the docents. Stopped into the Courtyard Café at the house for a slice of walnut & coffee, 2 layer cake (£3), which was very dry – possibly stale. Waste of money & calories.

Following a guide’s suggestion, I drove to the car park for their Walled Garden (you need to show your ticket to get in.) Now, that’s a garden! Huge, deep and wide, glorious banks of flowers – good combination of heights, colors and species. Very large garden, with many paths to walk down. Glasshouses didn’t have much in them; Millennium Garden (a parterre featuring two letters M and the owners’ initials) was well done but ho-hum. Spent about 90 minutes in the garden, which was totally worth visiting but wouldn’t bother with the house or café.

Drove four minutes to the town of Kelso and wandered all over the downtown area. Lots of charity shops! And butchers and bakers. Kelso Abbey is the smallest of the three abbeys and not much to see or imagine.

Bought a sandwich at Sainsbury and back to Traquair where I finished the Woodland Walk, along the river, with setting sun views of the Tweed, fields, and forest. I don’t know if those are “sunlit uplands” but that’s what I think of.

WED, June 21, gray

On my way out the door at Tracquair en route to my next stop, I chatted quite a bit with the housekeeper and another lady, then hopped in my car….got to the main road and for some reason, realized that I hadn’t put my suitcase in the car! All that chatting distracted me but thank heavens I thought of it before I was an hour away! Disaster averted, I headed off to Thirlestane Castle in Lauder. (Stopped at Caburston Coffee Shop again for shortbread – warm from the oven, yum, yum!)

Thirlestane Castle - Interesting exterior which reflects multiple centuries of additions & enhancements. The interior, other than the ornate plaster ceilings, was generally Victorian. The info sheets in each room were comprehensive and the stewards in each room were very informative (sometimes a bit too chatty - hard to get away since I didn't want to hurt their feelings). They pointed out key items or tidbits of info and were able to answer all my questions. I particularly enjoyed the nursery rooms on the top floor since those spaces aren't usually included in tours of stately homes.

Had a quick sandwich in their tearoom and off on a long drive to Budle Hall (near Bamburgh). The GPS directed me via the A1 but I wanted a scenic drive so had long but very nice drive on local roads. Stopped in Flodden Field and went into the quaint church but didn’t walk to the memorial overlooking the field since I was focused on getting to Budle Hall. Sailed along roads, high in the hills, spotted a huge cow and pulled over to check it out. Realized he was a bull and in a separate field from the cows, with a wire fence between them. He was in fine form – pawing ground, throwing dirt and bellowing. Another bull in a field across the street bellowed back. Took a lot of pictures – they were BIG! Also drove through a sign-posted “lambs on road” section at a snail’s pace and this time there actually were lambs on the road. They are too stinking cute.

Got to Budle but was a bit confused where the B&B was, so called and it turns out I was about 200 feet away…who knew? Anyway, the house is a large stone home, with sheep fields next to it (I liked watching the sheep graze and huddle and didn’t mind a b-a-a-a-a or two). For some reason, I was a bit atwitter after a long day but the owner, Celia, was welcoming and gracious. She set me up with a pot of tea & banana bread in the living room so I relaxed for an hour before heading out for dinner. I had reserved the Red room, which was not en-suite but the bathroom was across the hall, and since all the other rooms had en-suites, it was my very own private bathroom – just had to walk across the hall to it. (A dressing gown was provided for that purpose.) The room was large, nice window seat overlooking the fields, comfortable bed, good lighting and a TV; and a full bookcase; plus the normal tourist info.

I wanted a low key dinner, so Celia recommended the Castle Inn pub in Bamburgh. Maps are deceptive and I thought Bamburgh was 20 minutes away – hah! It was 3 minutes. I really liked the Castle Inn; it was bustling w/locals but I found a corner table in the bar. Had their special: beef with wine sauce served in a Yorkshire pudding with carrots, peas & mashed. Beef was fork tender and the Yorkshire pudding was eggy and crisp exterior, just like it should be. Had a small glass of cider (half-pint?) and a soda to dilute the effects! This was a great place with a nice vibe; families, singles, buddies, etc.

THU, June 22, gray

Breakfast at Budle Hall was at a shared table in the dining room (submitted menu the night before). Had porridge and toast which was fine. Not much conversation which was also fine. Since the trip so far had been very busy and go-go-go, I needed a lazy day so decided to spend time at the beach & locally.

At Celia’s suggestion, I did the 1 ¼ mile walk along the beach from Budle Hall to Bamburgh Castle (the posted entrance was across the street, to the right about 50 yards). The beach is a wide swath of sand since the tide goes out very far; rippled sand bed with puddles of water; tall dunes; later, it changed to lots of flat black rock that looked volcanic, seaweed clumps on the rocks, tide pools; people walking dogs in both directions; once I passed the Beacon light, saw the castle ahead. More people walking (with & without dogs) now. Very peaceful and relaxing.

At the castle walked up a sandy path to the green in front of the castle; debated going in but decided not to since today was going to be a relaxing, no “shoulds” day. Found “The Pantry” and got a turkey sandwich and soda which I ate on a bench in the park. Lots of people heading to the castle; lots more walking around the town. I was going to take the bus from the village to Budle Hall but I waited 15 minutes and it didn’t arrive, so I called Celia (that morning, before I set off she had offered to pick me up if I didn’t want to wait for the hourly bus). To me, that “taxi” service seemed above & beyond so I appreciated it very much. Back at the hall, I realized that they only accept cash so I had to drive to Seahouses for the closest ATM.

On the way to Seahouses, I stopped in Bamburgh to visit St. Aidan’s church - so impressive. It’s clearly very much in use, but is historic and has a dark wood beamed ceiling, bright stained glass plus various other historic things. Excellent laminated guide to the church on the table of pamphlets. Cemetery is interesting too. And, outside the church gate, along the sidewalk, there’s a display case for village notices & flyers and I spotted a concert that night on Holy Island – pipes and fiddles, so tucked that idea away.

Seahouses is busy and sea-side tacky but the ATM is convenient at the roundabout in the center of town so I got my cash and left town. I wanted to go to the beach, so drove to Beadnell and parked on the roadside near a dune path. Climbed over two stiles, up a steep narrow sandy path down to a really nice beach. Fishermen, dog walkers, kite flyers not to mention waves, birds and clouds. I found a little tussock in the dunes and sat there for over an hour; the sun was out and I could have taken a nap if it was flat. Ah, I really love the sea.

Back to Budle Hall and then off to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) for the concert. I had wanted to go there but when I found out the Castle is closed until April 2018 for restoration, I decided not to go. So, this was fortuitous. The concert was planned in conjunction with the tides and the flyer clearly stated that the causeway would be open (I double checked the tide tables just to be sure…) It’s an odd sensation driving on a narrow road over wet sand and tidal pools. There are 2 weather beaten refuge boxes on stilts in case you’re on foot and get stuck (or have to leave your car to the ocean).

Walked the short distance from the car park to the center of town and located the Village Hall, which was the site of the concert. Just a bit further I saw the Crown & Anchor Inn; no food was served in the garden but I sat at a table in the bar for a bleu cheese burger, ½ pint of cider and soda. Burger was just OK (not much flavor and oddly, couldn’t taste the bleu cheese at all); but it was a pleasant meal. After dinner, walked around the priory and cemetery before the concert.

Concert was fun – a full house of about 70 people (£7 admission). A married couple where the husband played the small pipes (Northumbria’s version which has arm-pumped bellows). She played fiddle, Swedish stringed thing and sang. It was folk music but not dirge-like; one song was a crowd favorite and they sang along. I stayed for a little over an hour and then drove back to Budle Hall.

FRI, June 23, gray

Light breakfast at Budle Hall of cereal. Funny conversation with the other six guests. Someone asked where I was from, so I said Connecticut, in the states. They asked along the lines of “what’s there” and I mentioned Yale University; not much reaction, so I added fall foliage; still not much so I said “we’re one of the original 13 colonies”. Well, that sure got a reaction! Seemed like a wince followed by odd chuckles…like I had said something quite embarrassing. I smiled inside.

Said goodbye to Celia, my hostess at Budle Hall and complimented her on her ability to tread the fine line of being available to guests & welcoming without being a pest. She said it takes a while to develop that sense and that I would be very welcome to return.

My plan for the day was Chillingham Castle but it didn’t open until after lunch, so I decided to go to Alnwick Garden in the morning. I had debated with myself about Alnwick since it sounded rather commercial and “big business” but so many garden books, articles, etc. mentioned Alnwick that I felt delinquent as a tourist if I didn’t go. Bah humbug!! I think it was a rip off starting with the £3 parking charge (no other stately home or garden charged to park!) and the £11 entry fee for the garden only (their “deal” for the gardens & house was £25).

My impression of a very commercial outfit was reinforced as you walk in, past a pond with an owl & pussycat in a boat and motion-activated recording burbling about a princess and a mystery. On the way to the ticket counters, you pass two gigantic, tree-sized books and ads with fairy tale characters. There were some school groups there so it would seem that’s one demographic they’re targeting. I had been intrigued by descriptions of their “contemporary” gardens. The Poison Garden….sheesh. It has a locked gate, admission is by a guide-led group only and some of the plants are encased in wrought iron cages. I admit that the guide had some interesting info & stories about the plants (for example, daffodil bulbs are poisonous so knights carried a daff bulb as their cyanide pill), but she was on a tight schedule of 20 minutes so not a lot of time to ask questions (no lingering allowed – she told people to stay together). I liked the huge beech tree tunnels curving up and along the hillside, next to the fountains. The Formal Gardens were impressive – lots of rooms w/boxwood hedges and flurries of blooms. Large enough that the crowds were dispersed. The Rose Garden was also impressive – as you entered, waves of scent enveloped you. Zillions of species – single petals, doubles, triples; cream, apricot, red, pinks; stripes. Bushes and climbing; trellises.

So, I’ll eat my words somewhat – it is very commercial but if you ignore that, and the cost, then some of the gardens are impressive.

From there, zipped over to Chillingham which I LOVED! As one TA review said, “it’s like all the junk from a family’s attic or cellar” – they felt it wasn’t a proper house but I happily spent 4 hours there. You definitely need to buy the room guide since it contains so many details about items in the rooms, plus commentary by the current Lord Wakefield (who seems like a real character).

What a family – explorers, sportsmen, adventurers, etc. An ancestor settled Adelaide since the govt didn’t want Australia to be known only as a penal colony. The current lord and his uncle climbed Everest. And the stories keep going. The family lived in India and returned after the partition, shipping back households of stuff…including brass elephant armor which is displayed in the armory. Lots of photos of princes and family members scattered around. Their family crest is a bat – it’s on the huge weathervane, embroidered on napkins, carved into fireplaces, etc. Piles of invitations to royal events stacked on windowsills. Stray, dusty piles of parchment documents on another windowsill. Gems upon gems. Every room had so many fascinating things to look at. The room stewards knew about everything and had interesting stories about them. I think I remember something about Mick Jagger and an antique bathtub.

The parterre garden was nice but a mere nothing compared to the house. (He also has a herd of wild cattle that you can only see with a guide since they’re dangerous. I skipped them.) The tea room was spectacular – both the room and the food. It’s the undercroft, with a minstrel’s gallery on one end and a huge fireplace on the other end. Big mullioned windows, various pikes, lances & animal heads on the walls; vaulted ceiling. I had a ham & cheese toastie which was like an American grilled cheese and ham – melted cheese oozing over the crust; I think there was a salad but who knows. I came back on my way out to buy a slice of Madeira cake for the long road trip to Edinburgh.

I would go back to Chillingham again and recommend it to people who appreciate quirky and off-beat places.

Hit the road to the Ibis Budget Edinborough Park hotel where I was staying for two nights. A £long drive but found the hotel fairly easily. It’s in a corporate business park, west of Edinborough proper and close to the airport. The Royal Highland Show was going on at the nearby show grounds (I was going there the next day) and all the hotels in the surrounding area were either fully booked or charging crazy prices, like $250 a night. So, this “cocoon” style Ibis was a bargain at only £125 per night plus it was right across from the Gyle tram station which stopped outside the show ground entrance. There were pro’s and con’s: all hotel staff were very helpful; room was small but had great lighting, ceiling, over bed, next to bed, over desk, over sink, in shower, etc. The shower had super water pressure. TV was good location; wifi worked well. They had a restaurant and I got a tasty chicken pizza to take to my room, so that was very handy. They also sell sandwiches, beverages, snacks which is good because there’s no where around to buy anything.

BUT, the walls are super thin since I heard full conversations from the people in the room next to mine and the bed pillows were the hardest, weirdest pillows I’ve ever encountered. For the second night, I balled up my fleece jacket and used that as my pillow – infinitely superior. I think a lot of people would be shocked if they hadn’t carefully studied the text & photos on Ibis’ site. I knew there was no closet (just a shelf & hooks) and didn’t care; I could see that the bed practically touched the wall so there was no extra room; I saw that the shower door was frosted (several people in the lobby bar complained non-stop about the door and how they would have to leave the room when someone showered). All in all, if the room rate was £70-80 a night, I would have been happy, but for £125 it grated on me.

SAT, June 24, gray

Tram to Royal Highland Show. Grey and very blowy – ended up buying a fleece sweatshirt. I spent 7-8 hours there, mostly looking at sheep and cows. I walked through the farm equipment area, got a bacon sandwich, scooted through the shopping/craft tents and went to the animals. I saw all kinds of sheep and cows; watched sheep being judged by solemn people in white lab coats; visited w/cows in their pens; saw parades of grand champions and champions; looked at Clydesdales and other working horses (so tall); marveled at miniature horses; watched sheep shearing and the competition among the people who fluff & fold the skins (quite intense – who knew?) Wandered past stalls selling all kinds of specialty items – hoof blackeners, bridle stuff and clothing for specific roles. Grabbed a sandwich from M&S and sat on the grass to rest my back & feet.

The main events were finished and so was I. Tram back to Ibis and a sandwich from their snack selection for dinner.

Overall thoughts:

I thought Newcastle was great and will go back again since I feel like there’s still more to see (considering that i spent 2 days elsewhere – Tynemouth and Durham).

Driving was very easy and swooping up and down the hills, with the patchwork of fields, sun & clouds was glorious.

In general, prices at lodgings, restaurants, shops & cafes were reasonable (versus Iceland or Norway, where a trip to the convenience store for sodas & candy bars costs $20+).

I should have done a better job with the itinerary since I backtracked several times. Also, would try not to change lodging so often (just my personal

Northumbrian beaches are amazing.

I will definitely return – am thinking about renting a house near the Cheviot hills in late January/early February since I like cold weather and wind. Or, maybe somewhere nearer the sea. I have to ponder.

Anyway, I know this has been a long, detailed trip report but I get so much help from Fodors’ posters that I wanted to share my experience. Hope it’s of interest to first time travelers or old hands.

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