#July 4 church services

[humanpurposes]

Just for a Moment, part i

Tom Bennett has a habit of climbing through her bedroom window whenever he's in trouble // Main Masterlist

Tom Bennett x OFC

Warnings: 18+, mentions of war and death, friends to lovers, angst, fluff, eventual smut

Words: 3800

A/n: Me? Starting another series to avoid updating ongoing fics? No wayyyy. This is going to be a 4 part mini series and their song is When the Sun Hits by Slowdive, just so you know. Also available to read on AO3.

Tom Bennett had always had a talent for getting under people’s skin.

Kitty knew it when they were kids, when they’d run around the streets of Longsight and the alleyways behind Slade Grove. He would rile anyone up, regardless if they were older or bigger than him. He didn’t even do it for a reason, he just liked to get a raise out of people.

He used to tease her too, for all sorts of stupid reasons, because she was a year younger than him, because her mother used to dress her in shirts and shorts that used to belong to her older brothers, because when they’d buy bags of Yorkshire mix from the shop, she would only eat the red ones. Every Sunday after Church, they’d sit in the park or on the front step of the Bennetts’ house, and Tom would pick out every sweet he knew she liked, and keep the rest for himself.

When Tom was eleven he moved to the big school, where Kitty’s brothers all went, Eddie, Art and Stevie. Eddie was a prefect. He used to come home with all sorts of stories of Tom Bennett, ‘from over the road’. Tom talked back to his teachers, disrupted assemblies, picked fights with other kids, every offence Kitty’s mind could imagine. 

It only got worse when his mam died.

Thursday 12th July, 1928

Kitty had never been to a funeral before. She had a new dress and a black overcoat for the occasion. It was cold in the church graveyard, overcast and windy. Mam had held her hand so tightly she wondered if she’d ever get it back. 

The Bennetts stood together, on the other side of the grave. Lois’ hair was braided into a messy plait that stuck out on one side, the ribbon at the end tied into a knot rather than a bow. She was trying to hold her father’s shoulder as he cried, but she couldn’t quite reach. Tom stood a little further away from his father. His hair was messy, his knees scabbed and bruised, his shirt skewed and the buttons done in the wrong places.

Kitty kept her eyes on him, all through the service, the burial and the wake back at number 27. Tom didn’t cry once.

That night, when she should have been asleep, she lay awake in her bed, listening to her brothers whispering and in the next room as they always did. Sometimes she felt sad to be left out of their antics, but tonight she was glad to be on her own, in her little box room at the front of the house.

Until she heard a tapping on the window.

She froze between her sheets. Was it too late for it to have been a bird?

And then it came again, tap, tap, tap.

With a determined little huff, she rose from the bed, smoothed her hands down the front of her nightgown and drew back the curtains.

“Tom?” she whispered.

He grinned when he saw her, perched on the windowsill behind the glass. 

Kitty raised the window and before she could invite him in he was crawling through it.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

Tom shrugged and went to sit on the edge of her bed. He glanced around the room, at the little shelf of books, dolls and small wooden animals, the black overcoat hung on the back of the door and the drawings stuck to the wardrobe. He’d been in the Wheelans’ kitchen before, but he’d never been allowed upstairs.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said, far too loudly for Kitty’s liking.

She pressed a firm finger against his lips. She held her breath, waiting for one of the lads to notice, but they kept on chatting– whatever it was teenage boys chatted about.

“Keep your voice down,” she said.

Tom smiled against her finger and made a cross over his heart.

She sat beside him, swaying her legs while she tried to think of something to say.

Tom reached for a book on her bedside table and flicked through the pages. When he was bored of that, he grabbed her teddy. He tossed it about in his hands and ran his hands over the ancient and matted fur. It had been Eddie’s, back in the day. Every single one of her brothers had owned it before her.

“I don’t like seeing my dad cry,” Tom said.

Kitty frowned. “Why not?”

“I just don’t like it. He’s always been a bit…”

Dad had often mentioned the case of Douglas Bennett. They had fought in the same regiment in 1914. When Micheal Wheelan came back from war, he returned as a self-proclaimed hero. His boys loved to hear his stories and take turns wearing his medals. Douglas Bennett had returned to Manchester a far more troubled kind of man.

“And with mum he–” but he stopped himself with an irritated grunt. “Can I stay here?”

“What?” 

“Not forever, I just… can I sit here, just for a moment?”

Kitty took the teddy from him and placed her hand firmly in his. “That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it?”

From then on, Tom made quite a habit of appearing at the window and hiding in her room whenever he was in trouble.

Saturday 2nd September, 1939

Being up and out before the boys are awake is a strange feeling, it’s the only time the house is so quiet.

It’s just before dawn. The sky is a hazy shade of dark blue but an orange glow is starting to appear over the rooftops. Mr Gregory wants her in the shop early to help with a delivery.

Something draws her eyes from her black leather shoes on the pavement, up to the end of the street. A figure makes his way down Slade Grove. She recognises the sway of his shoulders and the end of a lit cigarette in his mouth.

“Alright, pretty Kitty?” Tom says when they’re in earshot of each other, taking the cigarette between his fingers. “What are you doing up so late?”

“It’s early,” she says. He’s in a jacket and slacks, and he has a dazed sort of look in his eyes. She can guess where he’s been but it doesn’t stop her from asking. “What have you been up to?”

“Don’t give me that look,” he says, taking another drag. He tilts his chin up and exhales the smoke above their heads through pouted lips. “Just been down the pub, nothing scandalous.”

A likely story. She’s seen the police knocking on their front door twice in four weeks.

“How’s your job in the shop going?” he asks.

It was supposed to be temporary, a little money to make ends meet after dad got laid off from the factory. Six months later and she’s still there. 

“Grand,” she says.

“Can you do me mates rates on a packet of Marlboros?”

“Yeah, if you promise to actually buy them.”

He clutches his chest and his face lights up in an ironic expression. “Of course, what sort of man do you take me for?”

The sort who used to sell cigarettes in the schoolyard— God knows how he got his hands on them in the first place. At that age he could talk himself out of anything. That’s what makes Tom Bennett every parent’s worst nightmare, he’s a troublemaker with pretty blue eyes and an infectiously charming smile.

“I should get going,” she says, taking another step until Tom moves in front of her. Her eyes meet with the collar of his jacket and the hollow of his throat. She can smell the musk of the pub on him, the cigarette smoke and the faded scent of his aftershave.

She looks up to his face and his expression has changed, not quite smiling but amused, smug and somewhat severe.

“What?” she says impatiently.

“Nothing,” he says, unphased, “have a good shift.”

The morning drags on at a gruelling pace. Mr Gregory’s getting on a bit now so Kitty has to do a lot of the heavy lifting, piling boxes into the storage room round the back, going through the stock in the shop, filling the shelves, flattening the boxes and bringing them to the bins outside. It feels like hours of work, but when she looks at the clock it’s not even 9. Eight hours until closing. Mr and Mrs Gregory live above the shop, so at least she gets a steady supply of tea, toast and bits of carrot cake.

By the afternoon she feels her eyes start to close. The morning rush is over now and business will dwindle for the rest of the day. She tries to stay awake, fanning herself with her blouse and nibbling on little mouthfuls of cake.

The bell above the door rings. She straightens her spine and smooths down her apron, ready to put on her best customer service voice, only for Tom Bennett to swagger in through the door.

He’s changed his clothes and donned a blue jacket instead of the earthy green she had seen him in earlier.

“Did you get enough sleep?” Kitty asks at the heavy look under his eyes.

He grins it off. “Packet of Marlboros please, Miss Wheelan.”

She fetches them from the cabinet behind the counter and places the packet in front of him. His aftershave smells a little stronger now. “Anything else?”

He drums his fingers against the counter, looking around innocently at the array of chocolate bars and the jars of sweets behind her.

“I’ll have a bag of Yorkshire mix,” he says.

She takes the jar down from the shelf. She can hear him breathing steadily through his nose as she scoops the sweets into a paper bag. When she turns back around he’s watching her.

“Nine pence,” she says, swallowing down a nervous feeling in her throat.

Tom counts through some change from his pocket and drops the coins into her hands, a sixpence and a thruppence. His fingertips brush over her palms and his knuckles are scabbed over. She dreads to think why.

“Nice one,” he says once she puts the payment through the till. “What do you make of this stuff going on in Poland then?” he says, popping a pear drop into his mouth.

She’s only been reading the headlines of the papers when she stocks them in the shop every morning, or hearing snippets from dad’s radio. 

“Since when did you start taking an interest in foreign affairs?” she asks.

He reaches into the bag and pulls out a raspberry. “Been reading the news, haven’t I?” he says, holding it out for her. 

She hesitates for a moment before she takes it. She lets the sugar melt over her tongue. It tastes like summer afternoons after school and weekends in the park, tearing at the grass and watching the boys play football because they’d never let her join in.

“That’s where Harry is, isn’t it?” she says, “Lois must be worried.

Tom tuts and tucks the bag into his pocket. “Posh boys can talk their way out of anything,” he says. “Speaking of, I met Madge’s new man last night.”

“At the pub?”

“Yeah. Right ponce in’t he?”

She purses her lips in irritation. She hates it when he does this, poking fun at others until he feels better about himself. “He’s training to be a barrister.”

“Like I said.”

She shrugs. “I suppose there are worse jobs to have.”

“Is that what you’ll do then? Find some rich boy with a big house and stick up his arse?”

It’s not quite the future she has planned out for herself. Her friend Madge is a secretary in Manchester. There are all sorts of exams she had to pass, but it could be doable. Mam’s always tried to put her off it though. “Parents need their girls,” she says.

“I don't think I’m likely to find any of those in Longsight. Maybe I should ask Lois for advice?” she says, trying not to smile.

“Steady there, Kitty, I didn’t mean to get you all excited,” he says, leaning into the counter. His voice is lower all of a sudden, it sends an odd, jittery feeling though her chest and stomach.

He winks at her before he turns and leaves. The bell rings and the shop is quiet again.

Her feet feel heavy when she walks through the front door. Her bed calls her name but she’s unbearably thirsty. Saturdays are half days and the boys are already home from the factory. Mam’s started on dinner and the others are around the kitchen table. 

Dad waves a blue leaflet at her. “One of Douglas Bennett’s pacifist… things,” he says.

“Do you really think there’ll be a war, dad?” Kitty says, shrugging off her coat.

“If there is, it won’t be long,” he says with a determined nod, “no one wants another war.”

Eddie and Art hum in agreement. The oldest of the four Wheelan siblings, they were born before dad went away to war. Their faces are older and more stern, like they can still remember a time when they didn’t have their father around. They still call Stevie and Kitty “the babies,” which she thinks must make them feel more important.

Stevie’s in good spirits though. “Ran into Lois and Connie on the bus, and Connie personally invited me to their gig tonight!” he says brightly.

“Come off it,” Art grumbles, “she was just being friendly.”

“Kitty!” Stevie sings, waltzing over to her. He takes her coat from her hands and twirls her around the kitchen, to mam’s despair. “Come to the Fiddler’s Bow with me tonight, please.”

“So you can ditch me for Connie once their set’s done?”

“There’ll be other people there,” Stevie says, turning her around to face their brothers, “or ask one of these grumpy bastards to join us.”

“Stephen Wheelan!” their mother chides.

Eddie and Art share a pointed look and shake their heads, already backing away towards the front room.

In the end she decides she’ll just have to brave it. After eating, she changes into a flowy, white blouse and an emerald green skirt, pinning her hair up so it won’t go everywhere as she moves. She hides a tube of lipstick inside her purse. Mam and dad would rather die than let her leave the house with makeup. She only owns a lipstick because Lois Bennett had given her one.

Stevie brushes up well, in a white shirt and freshly shined leather shoes, his hair slicked back with wax. They run into each other on the landing and race downstairs.

Mam gives them the usual instructions. Home by 11 o'clock and not a minute later. One drink each. No smoking. No noise when they get in. 

Stevie’s already pulling a packet of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket when they’re halfway through the front door.

And Kitty’s breath hitches when, for the third time that day, she sees Tom Bennett. He’s hovering in the doorway, putting empty milk bottles out. When he notices them, he smiles. “Off somewhere nice?” he says.

“Fiddler’s Bow,” Stevie calls back, “to see Lois and Connie play.”

“She’s down there already,” Tom says, his eyes flickering to Kitty for only a moment, “left half an hour ago.”

He’s in a white t-shirt now, that’s just a little too tight against his torso.

“Why don’t you join us?” Kitty says without thinking it through. “Stevie’s going for Connie, I’ll need a partner once he ditches me.”

Tom looks down at the pavement. His lips are thin and his hands fidget by his side. “I’ve um… got something else on tonight, ‘m sorry.”

Her heart sinks. Any lighthearted hope she had about enjoying the evening dissolves right in front of her. Right, of course, because why would he actually want to spend more than a few moments with her?

“Movin’ on,” Stevie says, steering Kitty down the road with a brief farewell to Tom. “He’s no good, you know that?” he whispers in her ear. “Eddie says he nicks scrap metal from the yard, sells it to all sorts dodgy fuckers.”

“Yeah, I know,” she breathes. Her chest feels tight and suddenly she feels like she wants to cry.

Stevie has a good time at the gig. Lois and Connie are first in the lineup and once their set is over, Stevie makes a point of cheering the loudest. The four of them spend the rest of the night dancing.

When Stevie and Connie disappear outside for a smoke, Kitty drags Lois to the bar, to catch their breath and down glasses of tonic water. Lois drones on about her Harry issue, but having three older brothers who presume every word they say is profound and worthy of note, Kitty knows where to hum and nod without really listening.

They walk Connie home first before the three of them make their way to Slade Grove. The houses are quiet now, save for a few lights in the windows, creeping through drawn curtains. Two policemen are standing outside number 27.

“Have you seen your brother?” one of them calls to Lois when she reaches the door.

“No,” Lois says, “but if you see him before I do, will you tell him he’s in trouble?”

Kitty meets Stevie’s eyes and he raises his brows.

“Piss off,” she grumbles.

Mam and dad have gone to bed, but Eddie and Art are playing cards in the front room— or they should be. Eddie is standing by the window, peering through the curtains. 

“Who are they after?” Eddie asks.

“Who do you think?” Kitty mutters, but she doesn’t stay to hear another rant about ‘troublesome Tom Bennett’, and slips her shoes off before she makes her way upstairs.

It can’t be said Tom doesn’t make an impression on the people he meets. Mam and dad still have a soft spot for him, though less so since he’s started getting into trouble with the police, and the lads seem to outright despise him.

She’d be lying if she said he didn’t find him irritating, to a certain degree. Maybe it’s because he’s cocky, maybe it’s because he used to be surprisingly sweet, or maybe it’s because nothing seems to phase him, but something about Tom Bennett makes her restless.

She wipes off her lipstick, takes out the pins in her hair and changes into her nightgown. Her eyes feel heavy, but tomorrow is Sunday, which means the shop will be closed and she can have a whole day of ‘freedom’, so long as that includes helping with the laundry and the dinner.

Dad’s snores are evident and the boys are still distracted downstairs, they’ve even put the radio on by the sound of it.

She’s about to turn off the light when she hears three taps on the window.

He knows it’s unlocked. The window slides up and Tom squeezes through it, slipping his boots off so he doesn’t make too much noise when he plants his feet on the floor. He goes straight to the bed, making himself comfortable over the throw with his hands under his head.

“Lois says the police have been round,” he says quietly.

She looks down at her hands, nervously playing with the fabric of her nightgown. “I saw.”

He turns his head to where she stands. The lamp hits his face like sunlight, catching the sharp features of his face, the point of his nose and the curve of his lips. 

She nudges him closer to the wall, making some space for herself beside him. Her body rests against his. He smells like smoke and fresh air.

“What did you do this time?” she asks.

He doesn’t give her an answer. In a way she thinks she’d rather not know.

His arm falls around her and it feels like the most natural thing in the world. Nights with him are often like this, quiet, just two people existing in the same space.

He turns on his side to face her. “Can I stay the night?”

“Tom,” she whispers, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Please, or I’ll have to sleep on a couch in the pub.”

“Are you mad? can you imagine what Eddie’ll do if he sees you walking out my bedroom in the morning?”

“Kitty,” he hums. He brings his hand to her face, gently stroking his thumb over her cheek. His eyes are wide and pleading. “Please.”

It’s in moments like this when she hates Tom the most, when her heart thrums in her chest and she wants nothing more than to lose herself in the feeling of his skin against hers. When their heads are so close together, all she sees are two blue eyes.

Each time she thinks she wants to close the distance between them, something stops her.

Neither of them ever dare to move closer than this.

She reaches to turn off the light and turns back to Tom. Her head falls into his chest and her arm settles around his waist. She falls asleep to the pulse of his heartbeat, the sound of his breath and the warmth of his body.

And by the time the sun shines in through the window, he’s gone.

Sunday 3rd September, 1939

She appears in the kitchen just after 11 o’clock. Her body feels heavy and her eyes are still tired. She shouldn’t have gone back to sleep after she woke up the first time.

Dad’s fiddling with the radio, Art’s pouring tea into six cups, and Eddie and mam are listening to Steive’s retelling of the previous night. He seems incredibly proud of himself, despite the fact the closest he came to kissing Connie was lighting her cigarette.

She helps Art with the tea. They all like it the same way. Strong, with one sugar and a little dash of milk. 

It might almost be a perfect morning, if dad were listening to something more uplifting than the news.

“How about some music?” she says as she hands him his cup, but he doesn’t take it. His eyes are fixed on the radio, and his hands are shaking.

“Dad…”

Art appears over her shoulder and turns up the volume. “Quiet,” he says, and the others fall silent.

A voice speaks through the crackles in the transmission, “consequently, this country is at war with Germany.”

Kitty looks at the faces around her, Eddie and Art glaring furiously, Stevie’s wide eyes and his lips fallen like a child’s, mam and dad’s haunted sorrow.

The transmission ends and she wishes it didn’t, it would save her from the grave silence in the house.

She decides to make herself busy. She washes out an empty milk bottle and goes to leave it by the door.

When she opens the door the two policemen are back, only now they’re walking out of the Bennetts’ house.

Her heart sinks. They have Tom in handcuffs.

His eyes meet hers across the road. He doesn’t make a fuss, or try to protest. He hangs his head as they walk him down the street.

General taglist: @randomdragonfires @jamespotterismydaddy @theoneeyedprince (comment to be added)

Series taglist: (comment to be added)

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Timeline: Part 4 -July 2017

Previously:

2015 - April 2017 | An Update

May 2017 - June 2017

This piece features events, press, and PR from the summer of 2017. You will see competing narratives - the Daily Mail leaking Meghan's dossier drip by drip by drip and Meghan's team counterattacking with engagement rumors.

There are two main stories in the royal sphere during this time that we know Meghan is paying attention to, as these most definitely shape her understanding of what it means to be royal: royals taking glamorous summer vacations and daily coverage of Diana's life, the impact of her death, and her lasting legacy to the world.

Fasten your seatbelts!

(Note - this was initially meant to also include the August 2017 events but Tumblr was having problems saving the post.)

July 1, 2017: The Cambridges, Harry, and the Spencers attend a private memorial service at the Spencers' Althorp estate for Diana. Meghan's relationship history is published and it's revealed she left Cory for Harry.

July 2, 2017: Charles plans to host a 70th birthday party for Camilla and the Express speculates whether Harry will bring Meghan with him. Additionally, the broadcast network that airs Suits in Britain drops the series from its slate and won't show its upcoming seventh season.

July 3, 2017: Kensington Palace announces that the Cambridges will visit Poland and Germany.

July 4, 2017: Kensington Palace confirms that Harry will have a role in the upcoming state visit by King Felipe and Queen Letizia. Meghan teases whether she will attend Wimbledon 2017. Harry's scandals are revisited.

July 5, 2017: Meghan's appearance at the 2016 Create & Cultivate conference resurfaces, as do her comments from The Tig about being biracial.

July 6, 2017: Meghan does another airport pap walk as returns to Toronto after spending 10 days in London with Harry.

July 8, 2017: Meghan leaks that she has tried on wedding dresses with friends and is beginning to think about a wedding at Westminster Abbey. The Daily Mail publishes all about Meghan's first marriage and the divorce. Katie Nicholl publishes several scoops: 1) Meghan keeps clothes at Nottingham Cottage, 2) Meghan is so familiar to KP security and the RPOs that she doesn't need a security pass to enter, 3) Harry wants to be engaged by his birthday, and 4) they want to debut Meghan as his fiancee at Toronto Invictus Games.

July 9, 2017: Harry attends a music festival and is photographed getting close to a blonde woman. At the same time, there is fast-spreading gossip that Camilla disapproves of the relationship. Meghan gets worried: she hints about the engagement to get Harry back in line and tries to assuage concerns about her marital history by explaining that being married to Harry will be different than when she was married to Trevor. Meghan merches a baseball cap.

July 10, 2017: Meghan doesn't like the comparisons to Pippa Middleton anymore (which she began, mind you) and says they look nothing alike. It's announced that Trevor is thinking about writing a book about his relationship with Meghan, sparking another round of rumors that the marriage broke down when Meghan cheated on Trevor with a Suits castmate.

July 11, 2017: It's revealed that Meghan was still dating Cory when she began dating Harry.

July 12, 2017: Meghan attends the Suits party to celebrate taping their 100th episode. Meghan's team puts out a story that she and Harry are so alike because Meghan's uncle is the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, just like Harry's grandmother is the leader of the Church of England. Rita Ora flirts with Harry and Meghan gets mad, saying she doesn't want to marry Harry.

July 13, 2017: The Spanish State Visit begins, with Harry accompanying King Felipe and Queen Letizia to Westminster Abbey and attending the state banquet (where he sits next to Rose Cholmondeley...iykyk). Meghan's "one tear, left eye, go" interview resurfaces and she tries to be a beauty guru again. Suits Season 7 premieres in the U.S.. Meghan practically calls Kate a Stepford Wife.

July 14, 2017: Meghan gets more private protection and increases her security team.

July 16, 2017: A friend of Harry says they're engaged and everyone is looking forward to the after-party more than the wedding. Meghan leaks that Harry will quit the royal family for her and her "don't give it five minutes if you're not going to give it five years" interview resurfaces. Harry wins his IPSO privacy case against The Mail for publishing paparazzi photographs taken in Jamaica.

July 17, 2017: Meghan sets up Chelsy to be Harry's Camilla in their marriage.

July 18, 2017: Meghan tries to be a yoga influencer again. Meghan also brings back her gender equality platform and reminds us about her soap commercial.

July 19, 2017:

Pictures from Meghan's childhood are published, including a photograph saying/showing she won Homecoming Queen in high school (US high school is ages 14 - 18). Speculation begins immediately that Meghan has had cosmetic surgery to minimize her black traits and Markle feeatures, including chemical treatments for her hair.

Meghan hints that Harry will propose on her birthday and that they will elope to marry.

Meghan leaks that she's worth $5 million.

July 20, 2017: Meghan says Harry will propose soon and they have no intentions of eloping.

July 22, 2017: Meghan's ice bucket challenge video resurfaces, causing speculation over how she knows Rory McIlroy and what the nature of their relationship is.

July 24, 2017: Meghan promotes Suits and hints that she wants IVF twins as soon as possible after the wedding. (The IVF twins story is important for two reasons. One, because in the first picture taken of Meghan after the pregnancy is announced, she is carrying two purple binders. We know she likes to virtue signal, so many people believe this is her hinting that they are expecting boy-girl twins. Second, because while she ended up having a boy, the decor and theme for her February baby shower indicated she was expecting a girl.)

July 25, 2017: Prince Albert of Monaco (son of Grace Kelly) gives advice to Meghan and Harry and British Vogue writes about Meghan and her fashion.

July 26, 2017: Meghan claps back against the rumors of plastic surgery by getting medical experts to say she hasn't had any work done.

July 27, 2017: Meghan teases an engagement in the Express, who recaps the relationship to date.

July 28, 2017: Meghan merches Rachel Zane's wardrobe. She's spotted in London, supposedly with Doria (though Doria is never seen). Meghan's insecurity over Harry's past causes problems for him.

July 29, 2017: An open letter is published to William and Kate, urging them not to have a third child. This comes after playful comments by the pair while on tour in Poland and Germany earlier in the month when they were gifted baby items by fans on walkabout.

July 31, 2017:

Christopher Geidt is forced out retires and is replaced by Charles's favorite, Edward Young.

Kate hires Catherine Quinn as her new private secretary.

Meghan is worried a Cambridge baby is going to steal her thunder and leaks that the Cambridges won't have any more children. After Kate's third pregnancy is announced and this article resurfaces, speculation begins over what Meghan knew (because Harry leaked like a sieve to her).

William and Catherine are in Belgium for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Lainey gossips that the recent shakeups in palace household staff has to do with Charles's discomfort with William and Harry operating independently of him. She also confirms for the first time that Charles was angry with the KP love shield because it overshadowed his work in the Middle East.

[scotianostra]

On 26th May 1652 Dunnottar Castle, the last Royalist stronghold in eastern Scotland, surrendered.

In 1651, Oliver Cromwell’s army were held at bay by an aged garrison of seventy men for eight months. The English were attempting to steal the Scottish Crown Jewels, however the jewels were saved, smuggled out to Kinnef Kirk - a village a few miles south of Dunnottar. Here they were hidden at the old Parish Church.

The Regalia of Scotland, consisting of the crown, sword, and sceptre, - after having been made use of on Ist January, 1661, at the Coronation which took place, on that day, at Scone, near Perth, of Charles II. as King of Scotland, - had been deposited for safe keeping in Dunnottar Castle, a stronghold, on the sea coast of Kincardineshire, belonging to the Earl Marischal, - hereditary keeper of those symbols of Royalty, - situated a mile or two South of Stonehaven, now the county town of the Mearns. About the period referred to, the different fortified places in Scotland were in the course of falling, one after another, into the hands of the victorious troops of the English Usurper - Oliver Cromwell. In these circumstances, William Keith, the then Earl Marischal, sought out a fit person to whom might be entrusted the responsible charge of Governor of Dunnottar Castle. George Ogilvie, whose property of Barras was situated some 4 or 5 miles south of Dunnottar, was the person whose reputation recommended him as most fit to hold an office so important ; and accordingly the Laird of Barras, by commission dated at Stirling, 8th July, 1661, was formally nominated Lieutenant, or Governor, of Dunnottar Castle, and assumed the charge so devolved on him.

After the lapse of some time, and as had been anticipated, the troops of the English Commonwealth approached the solitary rock on which stood the fortress containing the emblems of Scotland's Independence. To the repeated summons to surrender made to him, the gallant Ogilvie, on 22nd November, 1651', thus replied to the Commander of Cromwell's forces :-

" Whereas you write that I keep the Castle of Dunnottar for the use of the King's Majesty, which house, as you say, doth belong to the Earl Marischall, you shall know that I have my commission absolutely from his Majesty, and none else; neither will I acknowledge any man's interest here, and intends, by the assistance of God, to maintain the same for his Majesty's service, upon all hazard whatsoever. I hope you have that much gallantry in you as not to wrong my Lord Marischall his lands, seeing he is a prisoner himself, for the present: Whereas you have had success in former times, I attribute it to the wrath of God against us for our sins, and to the unfaithfulness of those men who did maintain the same, - none whereof you shall find here by the Lord's grace to whom I commit myself, and am, Sir, your very humble servant,

(Signed) George OgIlvie)

[thewales-family]

Special post ahead of Prince George of Wales's 10th birthday (3/4) : from 2019 to 2021.

•Prince George's 6th birthday on July 22nd 2019, in St Lucia on The Mustique Island, Carribbean Islands.

•King's Cup Regatta hosted by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on August 8th 2019, in Cowes, England.

•First Christmas Day Church service on December 25th 2019, at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate in King's Lynn, England.

•Official portrait with Queen Elizabeth II, The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge to mark the beginning of a new decade, on January 3rd 2020, at Buckingham Palace in London.

•Support to the doctors, nurses, carers, and others NHS staff during the Coronavirus pandemic on March 26th 2020, at Amner Hall in Norfolk, England.

•7th birthday on July 22nd 2020, at Amner Hall in Norfolk, England.

•Message video with Sir David Attenborough on October 3rd 2020.

•Run Sandringham Half Marathon on June 20th 2021, in King's Lynn, England.

•UEFA Euro 2020 Championship final between Italy and England on July 11th 2021, in London.

•8th birthday on July 22nd 2021, in Norfolk, England.

📷 (1, 5, 6, 7 & 10) : The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/Kensington Palace.

(4) : Ranald Mackechnie/The Royal Family.

[world-of-wales]

─ • ✧ CATHERINE'S YEAR IN REVIEW : JULY ✧ • ─

4 JULY - Catherine attended Day-2 of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at Church Road. She first saw Katie Boulter Vs Daria Saville match on Court 18. Afterwards, she joined Roger Federer to watch Ryan Peniston Vs Andy Murray in the Royal Box on Centre Court. 5 JULY - Catherine and William featured in a series of photographs and short film as they attended a Tea Party to celebrate the NHS's 75th anniversary at St. Thomas Hospital. The Duchess of Rothesay and Prince William attended a Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication to celebrate the Coronation in St. Giles' Cathedral. Afterwards, they witnessed an RAF Fly-past from the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 6 JULY - Catherine and William attended Royal Charity Polo Match at the Guards Polo Club. 14 JULY - Catherine and William along with George, Charlotte and Louis were received by Air Marshal Sir David Walker (Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire) at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Royal Air Force Fairford. Afterwards, Catherine visited the event's Techno Zone. 15 JULY - Catherine attended the Ladies' Final of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at Church Road. 16 JULY - Catherine was accompanied by William, George and Charlotte to the Gentlemen's Final of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

[aimeedaisies]

✨ 15 days of Princess Anne ✨

August is Princess Anne’s birth month and her 73rd birthday is on the 15th so until then we will look at her fascinating life, one photo for every year!

The nineties

1990 Princess Anne, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips meeting members of the Scotland team before kick off at the Five Nations match between Scotland and England at Murrayfield on 17th March 1990.

1991 Princess Anne and Luciano Pavarotti at a horse trial in Modena, Italy on 16th September 1991.

1992 Just one photo wouldn’t do 1992 justice!

1. A very happy, newly divorced Princess Anne, toasting with Champagne a day after her divorce, aboard Pride of Teesside yacht, Southhampton, on 22nd April 1992.

2. Princess Anne and Commander Tim Laurence’s first public appearance as a couple, just a few days after her divorce was finalised from Phillips, dancing at the Caledonian Ball, on 8th May 1992.

3 & 4. Princess Anne and her new husband Commander Tim Laurence at their low-key wedding at Crathie Kirk Church in Balmoral on 12th December 1992.

5. A not so pleased looking Princess Anne on her way into her first engagement (three days) after her wedding to Commander Laurence at Church House to visit the National Association of Victims Support, on 15th December 1992.

6. Princess Anne and her new husband Tim Laurence at St Mary Magdalene Church to attend Christmas morning service on 25th December 1992.

1993 Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence visiting Mongolia, their first royal trip as a married couple in July 1993.

1994 Princess Anne firing the starting pistol to begin the first race after opening the Velodrome National Cycling Centre in Manchester in September 1994 (what a reaction pic lol)

1995 Princess Anne, Tim Laurence, Peter and Zara Phillips at the Jackie Stewart Celebrity Challenge at Gleneagles, Scotland on 1st July 1995.

1996 Princess Anne and Tim Laurence watch Peter Phillips playing in a Scottish Schools rugby match in Bridgend, South Wales on 5th January 1996.

1997 Princess Anne wiping away a tear after the decommissioning ceremony for The Royal Yacht Britannia in Portsmouth on 11th December 1997.

1998 Princess Anne greeting an elderly woman at the ICRC hospital in Lokichokio, Kenya on 29th September 1998.

1999 Princess Anne as Colonel of the Blues And Royals, riding for the first time in the Trooping of the Colour procession on 12th June 1999.

[invisibleraven]

For the Fluff + Angst prompts:

8. "Wake up dammit!" (for Willex pls, if that's okay)

Alex blinked open his bleary eyes and smiled to himself as he noticed Willie slumbering beside him. Not that he thought he would up and leave Alex in the middle of the night, but it was still a relief.

They had snuck out the night before, after another fight with his parents about all the young ladies he should be spending time with instead of playing with the band or watching Willie skate. How maybe the Christian camp that healed people like him might be a good idea for his summer.

Never mind that he was legally an adult and they couldn't force him. Nor that Sunset Curve had a tour booked throughout California come July, ending with their Orpheum showcase.

Either way, he had texted WIllie, slipped out his window and the two of them took off. Finding a club that took their shitty fakes to dance the night away. They didn't even drink, but it was worth it to sneak in so they could dance together without getting the stink eye for being two men.

After that Willie took them to a little outcropping looking over downtown-his secret spot that he went to when his foster dad was getting on his case about giving up the skating to work at his club. Or applying his art skills to more than graffiti and designing boards.

They might have fooled around a little-a thrill even though they were alone for miles, they were still outside. But Alex had loved it, letting himself give himself over to a bit of wild and crazy.

Afterwards they had mapped the stars, and apparently, fell asleep.

Which would be fine if Alex's parents didn't do bed checks at five in the goddamn morning-an hour soon approaching if the lightening of the sky was anything to go by. Also confirmed by his watch as the hands turned closer and closer to the hour. Meaning Alex had to get home and get home now!

He shook WIllie frantically. "Wake up dammit!"

Willie shot up, eyes flitting from side to side, finally settling on Alex and gave him an easy going smile that melted away to concern when he could see the anxiety painting Alex's features. He then took in the oncoming sunrise and swore. "Fuck, we fell asleep."

"Yup, and if I am not in my bed by the time five hits my parents may murder me!" Alex exclaimed, looking about to make sure they had everything. Secure they did, they raced down the hill, jumping on their bikes and pedalling like crazy.

The wind whipped through their hair as they biked through the relatively empty streets, heading towards the Mercer house as the time clicked closer and closer to five.

Alex could barely breathe as his legs pumped overtime. But he wasn't sure how much of that was his anxiety ramping up and how much of it was how hard he was working to make his bike go as fast as humanly possible. He glanced at his watch, hissing as it ticked over to 4:58 as his house came into sight.

He tossed his bike into the shed, climbing his trellis, and looked down to where Willie was watching. "See you later?"

Willie nodded, then waved him onwards, tapping his watch. Alex blew him a kiss-fuck the time.

He rolled into his window, and under his covers just as the door opened. He hoped he wasn't breathing too hard to make his mother suspicious. Though he heard her little harrumph as she stalked over, shutting and locking his window. She never approved of him sleeping with it open, even though he ran hot and she refused to let the AC run.

With that she stalked out again, not bothering to close the door behind her-she never did. She expected Alex up at six, regardless of the day so they could attend the early church service before he got on with his day. He took micro naps during the sermons-having perfected not looking like he was sleeping long ago.

It wasn't until he heard her go down to the kitchen that Alex let himself relax. They had cut it too close this time. Which meant no more midnight sneak outs any time soon. He reached over and popped his Ativan, letting himself bask in the memories of this time, since they would have to last him.

It was just until graduation anyways-they he and Reggie were going to leave their awful families behind and join Luke in living in Bobby's garage. Then they were off on tour, and after that he and Willie would have enough to get some place of their own.

A place they could be themselves, no sneaking out or secrecy involved. A place where they could be finally free.

[study-with-aura]

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

I feel like my posts have been dry lately, specifically my study photos. It's not a bad thing. It merely forces me to get a little more creative with my setup. In my defense, I have been taking these photos later than usual, usually right before I post (I adjust the temperature and use my regular filter 'blossom' so it doesn't look dull). I did buy washi tape, so maybe I can utilize that somehow once it gets here. The ones I got are so cute! I can't wait to show them to all of you!

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I will not be posting again until Sunday, but I will still have my phone to check in on the app. I am really excited for the weekend overnight! I never get to do too much with the youth group because of ballet during the academic year and camps over the summer that run into youth night, so this will be a good thing! I'm really close with the other girls my age in the youth group, and even a few that are a couple of years older. Other than Sundays, we don't really see much of each other.

Oh! And in final news, I have an interview for this really cool leadership project that involves media, event planning, fundraising, and even community service! It's all volunteer and the commitment is only 2-3 times a month on the weekends, so it fits my availability. But it feels like going out for a job! I need two letters of recommendation, had to fill out an application, and now I have an interview. I am really excited, and I really hope I get it! I'm not sure how many people actually apply, but the applicants are very limited in the fact that you have to identify as a girl, be in the last three years of high school, be regularly involved with a church, and you have to meet certain academic requirements outside of grade level whether that be through GPA, extracurricular leadership, sports leadership, or whatever. Plus you have to live within a certain vicinity because it's only available to girls in that community since it's for that community. And they accept around 30 applicants, so the possibility of me being accepted is actually quite high. The interview is next week, and I'm a little nervous, but I'm also looking forward to the experience.

I'm off to get ready for bed. Have a great weekend everyone, and I will see you again on Sunday! 💛💛💛

Tasks Completed:

History 9 - Learned about impressionism in music + learned about Claude Debussy + studied Debussy's Prelude of The Afternoon Faun, Claire de lune, and Voiles

KA GRF Algebra 2 - Completed Unit 4: Lessons 3-5 + Unit 4: Quiz 3

Duolingo - Studied for approximately 30 minutes (Spanish + French + Chinese) + completed daily quests

Piano - 60-minute piano lesson + practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Reading - Read pages 125-162 of The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Chores -  None today

Activities of the Day:

Morning yoga

Swimming

Personal Bible Study (Psalms 25)

Church youth group

Journal/Mindfulness

[b4rk1ng-l0t]

TMC Timeline

I'm not including anything before Mark's birth. Aside from that, lmk if I'm missing anything or somethings wrong.

1974

July 24— Mark is born

?- Thatcher is most likely born this decade

1981

MandelaTech is formed, US Department of unforeseen temporal phenomena too

1982

95% increase in MAD cases

1988

January 18th— Adam is born in Mandela

March 7-- Jonah is born

?— Eve is most likely born

1989

?-- Sarah is born when Mark is 15

1990

Population: 19,867

June 8— Jude and Lynn married

1991

Population: 19,465

1992

Population: 14,763

April 4— Thatcher’s and Ruth’s promotion, Thatcher is in his twenties

April 18- Car passes through Mandela/Yonder border numerous times within 11 days

August 29— Jude and Lynn divorced

August 30— Pictures of window (exhibition)

September 13-15— Mark and Cesar. Mark died on the 15 (Sarah is 3)

September 14— Adam is tested at 4

September 21— Mark's body was discovered

?— Intruder Alert takes place. Alternate(?) Jude calls Ruth and Thatcher. Ruth is killed and Thatcher gets an alternate (N). 

?- Vol 5 takes place over the span of two-ish days. Jude joins the Midwestern Relocation Services to evacuate/start a new life. He talks with Dr. Williamson about his medication, Timoril. Alternate Thatcher swings by to ask about the TV. Jude later declines the vehicle picking him up much to Dr. Williamson's dismay. Jude then hallucinates a preacher-like alternate closing in on him.

1995

Population: 5,024

March— Newspeak issue ("Off duty mandela officers withhold information about alternate invasion")

2004

Population: 2,403

July 3— Post created for Mandela Meerkats vs Brighton Bunnies soccer game on the 21st (old Mandela police site leak)

July 24— Sarah recorded the message on mandelapolice.com

November 12— Post is created about Mandela’s population decrease (old Mandela police site leak)

2005

Population: 2,069

US Department of Temporal Phenomena releases "Know Your Enemy-A guide on alternate types as of 2005"

2006

Population: 1,786

June 11— Sarah advertises BPC

2007

Population: 1,687

July 10— Adam is added to BPC, and it becomes BPS! Adam makes the first entry in his diary

July 14— Adam shows Sarah the first piece of footage

July 15— Adam and Sarah watch the green hand video. Adam makes his next diary entry about this

July 17— Adam finds Jonah online

Population: 1,687

2008

Population: 1,347

June 24— Thatcher accepts Eve into department. (I'm not sure if this part is still canon to the series because it doesnt really line up with Vol 4 and Alex had taken the video down)

August 14— Adam's 3rd diary entry about sleep paralysis

2009

Population: 1,075

Soccer game video and Mymovie.mp4 (no longer canon)

(Winter break) Jan 10-13— Volume 2. Takes them a day to arrive.

Jan 13-- Jonah leaves and offs himself. Adam eventually leaves the house, and walks through snow until he finds the van

Past Jan 13— Sarah and Adam talk about Jonah

Jan 14- Dave's death at Gabriel Church (church Sarah and Mark went to) is reported on Channel 3. His death was around midnight. Nurses talk about him later in the evening.

Jan 15— Adam's 4th diary entry about waking up and hearing his screams from the van. It makes him feel bad

Jan ?- Adam goes all 'Preacher Mode' on Eve. Sarah eventually contacts her asking about him.

Jan 16- Thatcher drives out to Werksha at 1:57 and finds Adam in his home at 2:21. Adam starts screaming (and Thatcher does too from MAD). At 4, he drives him to the station and comforts questions him. Meanwhile, Sarah hacks into the security cameras and watches this go down.

(Last edit: June 25, 2024)

[the-healthy-human-mind]

Evelyne's Military Personnel File

NAME: GARRICK, MARIE EVELYNE

MAIDEN NAME: GRAY

BORN: April 28th, 1998 (27 years old)

BIRTHPLACE: Oslo, Norway

SERVICE NO: 3846535

CALLSIGN: Snake, Echo 4-3

MARITAL STATUS: Married. 2019.

EDUCATION: GCSE

LANGUAGES: (fluent) Norwegian (First language), English, Spanish, German, Finnish, Arabic, Korean.

BRANCH: Special Operations Team (CIA)

RANK: Intel and Negotiations Specialist

TRAINING: Social engineering, situational awareness, self-defense, counterterrorism, CQC, water combat, negotiation, codebreaking.

NOTES: Garrick was detained in 2017 for aggravated assault on an ally soldier. Charges were dropped. Garrick was transferred to SOT per General Shepard.

TRAINING SCORES

PFT: 284

Rifle Qual: 322

CQB: 20.2s

Disciplinary Record: Detained in 2017 for aggravated assault upon an ally soldier. Charges were dropped.

Notes: Garrick is hesitant in long-range shooting, do not send her as a solo sniper.

PAST MEDICAL HISTORY

Height: 5'6 (168cm)

Current Weight: 130lb (58.9kg)

Blood Type: AB+

Extensive physical injuries to posterior.

25+ lacerations. Cause: wooden cane. Was not treated properly, tissue is damaged.

15+ burn wounds. Cause: cigarettes. Was not treated properly, tissue is damaged.

10x stab wounds. 7x to right arm. 2x to abdomen.

1x slash to right cheek.

1x bullet wound to left knee. Resulted in replacement of joint. Slight arthritis determined. To be monitored.

1x cesarean section in July 2021.

Evaluated for concussion. Result: minimal.

Evaluated for insomnia. Result: infrequent. To be monitored.

Evaluated for vision loss. Result: Minimal. Reading glasses are recommended.

Evaluated for hearing loss. Result: Minimal.

FAMILY HISTORY

Father: Marshall Adams Gray. Alive. 62 years old. Sentenced to life in prison w/o parole.

Mother: Alice Kathy Gray. Alive. 50 years old. In mental institute, not deemed fit to be discharged.

Older brother: Andrew Lorenzo Gray. Deceased. 19 years old.

Younger sister: Nellian Alice Gray-Garrick. Alive 16 years old. Attends St Martin-in-the-Fields High School For Girls.

Younger sister: Claire Mallory Gray-Garrick. Alive. 16 years old. Attends St Martin-in-the-Fields High School For Girls.

2 Children. Scarlette Ada Garrick. 2 years old. Leona Clove Garrick. 1 month old.

Genetic testing markers show indicators for uterine cancer, asthma, and diabetes.

SOCIAL HISTORY

Smoking? No

Drinking? Yes, whiskey mainly and only every once in a while on leave.

Physically Active? Yes, attends the gym every morning.

Sexually Active. Yes, tested regularly for STDs, on oral contraceptive. last known period: September 2023.

Mother and father are alive, deceased brother, two alive younger sisters. Has three cats.

Attends online therapy with Dr. McCain every Tuesday and Friday.

Attends church every Sunday morning.

Medication List + Indications

Sertraline – issued for PTSD 8 years ago. Must be regularly taken.

Lexapro – issued for anxiety 8 years ago. Must be regularly taken.

Adderall – issued for ADHD 8 years ago. Must be regularly taken.

Allergies

N/A

Notes

Garrick is to be monitored for PTSD episodes. Known to become combative during.

[swforester]

Historic Lexington MA. It was here that the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place, early in the morning of April 19th, 1775. Seven citizens of Lexington were killed along with 1 person from Woburn.

"Who fell on this field the first victims of the Sword of British Tyranny and Oppression. " Paul Revere rode through town just after midnight on his famous ride to warn everyone that the British were coming. He would later be captured. The British were marching to Concord to search for and destroy any weapons and ammunition they could found. But because the colonists had been warned the British only found 2 cannons which they destroyed. But when they got to Lexington the colonists were waiting for them. They faced each other on the town green, someone fired the first shot and the American Revolution had begun. Later, another battle would take place in Concord.

Concord Hymn

BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Sung at the Completion of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;

   Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

   Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

   We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

   When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

   To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

   The shaft we raise to them and thee."

plate 1: the Minuteman, ready for battle

plates 2,3,4: the battle monument on the green

plates 5&6: the Munroe House, built in 1729, "a witness to the battle"

plate 7: The First Parish Church of Lexington

plates 8,9,10,11: Lexington Burial Ground, established in 1690-the colonists who died during the Battle of lexington are buried here

plates 12&13: historic sketches of the Battle of Lexington

plate 14: a national park service map showing the route that Paul Revere and the British took , through the towns of Lexington and Concord MA on April 19th, 1775

Lexington MA 12/09/23

[black-paraphernalia]

Did Nathaniel Alexander invent the folding chair? Nathaniel Alexander Inventor of a Folding Chair - ThoughtCo On July 7 1911 an African-American man named Nathaniel Alexander of Lynchburg Virginia patented a folding chair. According to his patent Nathaniel Alexander designed his chair to be used in schools churches and other auditoriums. His design included a book rest that was usable for the person sitting in the seat behind and was ideal for church or choir use.​

Fast Facts: Nathaniel Alexander

Known For: African-American patent holder for a folding chair

Born: Unknown

Parents: Unknown

Died: Unknown

Published Works: Patent 997,108, filed March 10, 1911, and granted July 4 the same year

Patent 997108 is the only invention on record for Nathaniel Alexander, but on March 10, 1911, his application was witnessed by two people: James R.L. Diggs and C.A. Lindsay. James R.L. Diggs was a Baptist minister from Baltimore (born in 1865), who was a member of the Niagara Movement, and holder of an MA from Bucknell University and a PhD in Sociology from Illinois Wasleyan in 1906.

in fact, Diggs was the first African-American to hold a Sociology Ph.D. in the United States. The Niagara Movement was a Black civil rights movement led by W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter, who assembled in Niagara Falls, Ontario (American hotels barred Blacks), to discuss Jim Crow laws following the Reconstruction.

 Folding chairs allow the space to be used for other purposes when there is not a class or church service.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

OUR ANCESTORS ARE SAYING " NOW THAT IS A NEW MEANING TO THE SAYING HAVE A SEAT, WE SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT"

LITTLE DID NATHANIEL ALEXANDER REALIZE IN 1911 HIS INVENTION WOULD BE USE AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION THAT WOULD MAKE THE ANCESTORS PROUD.

HOW IRONIC IS THIS

" ANCESTRAL BEAT DOWN" TOOK PLACE AT THE MONTGOMERY DOCKS IN ALABAMA - THE RIVERBOAT IS CALL THE HARRIOTT AND THE DOCK WAS A SLAVE TRADING PORT.

The Harriott was a slave ship back in the 1700s. From 1798 to 1805, it carried thousands of slaves to Barbados and then back to Liverpool. However, it was owned by Barton & Co and also cruised between Liverpool and Africa. It now serves as a relaxing cruise and is one of Montgomery's tourist attractions.

SO ALL THE ANCESTOR ARE STANDING SMILING PROUD

AT BLACK PARAPHERNALIA BLOG WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANY FORM OF VIOLENCE OR PERPETUATE THE BEHAVIOR OF WHAT WAS NOTED. WE HAVE ENDURED AND SUFFERED FOR CENTURIES OF THE WS AND THEM ENTITLE MANNERISM, AGGRESSIONS, BEHAVIORS AND VIOLENT RACISM. THIS IS A NEW ERA IN THIS 21TH CENTURY WE SAY NO MORE - WE ARE SICK AND TIRED, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND WILL NOT TOLERATED ANY SUCH BEHAVIORS, NOT TODAY SATAN. MOREOVER, IT IS OUR BELIEF THAT WE SHOULD AND MUST DEFEND AND PROTECT ONESELF...... LIKE IN THE WORDS OF OUR ANCESTOR MALCOLM X *BP*

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY

ALL VIDEOS ARE UNDER THE FAIR USE ACT AS LISTED ABOVE

BLACK PARAPHERNALIA DISCLAIMER - PLEASE READ

[rabbitcruiser]

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi, the acclaimed Catholic friar, philosopher, mystic, and teacher, is celebrated by the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi every October 4. He founded the men’s Order of Friars Minor and the women’s Order of Saint Clare, among many others. This saint led a colorful and interesting life before devoting his life to God and becoming one of the most renowned Christians of all time. To celebrate him and commemorate his journey to the afterlife, the town of Assisi lights oil lamps for two days. Religious services are held and some children even bring their pets to be blessed on this day.

History of Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

It’s unknown if Francis was born in 1181 or 1182, but historians agree that he was born in Italy to a wealthy cloth merchant — right into the lap of luxury. Though he was baptized Giovanni, when his father returned from France with a penchant for all things French, he began to be called ‘Francesco,’ meaning, ‘Frenchman.’ As a teenager and young adult, Francis lived a carefree, wealthy lifestyle full of feasts and friends, yet he knew there was something missing.

After joining on a military expedition, spending a year as a captive, and dealing with a life-changing illness, Francis began to experience visions directing him towards God and away from the frivolity of mortal life and fun. He joined the poor who were begging at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and, in Italy, God spoke to him, asking him to repair his ruined church in Assisi. He illicitly stole some of his father’s cloth, sold it, and offered to pay for the repairs to the church with the money. The priest refused stolen money, and Francis’ father was livid.

To avoid his father, Francis lived in a cave in San Damiano, eventually renouncing his family and becoming a beggar. He gradually began to care for the poor and sick in Assisi. Soon, his preaching gathered him a following, and he founded the Friar’s Minor. The noblewoman Clare of Assisi heard him speak and was inspired by his message and, with Francis’s help, formed the order of the Poor Ladies, or the Poor Clares.

Francis would go on to travel throughout the globe, in places like Egypt and other locations in the Middle East to preach the gospel. When he returned to Italy, he reorganized the Franciscan orders, which had grown too large for the system in which they had developed. Franciscan missionaries were sent across the globe to spread the word of the gospel.

Near the end of his life, he was praying and fasting on a mountain when an angel appeared and gave him stigmata, or the wounds of Christ on the cross. He was treated in a hospital and was also suffering from trachoma. His last days were spent dictating his spiritual testament and he died on October 3, 1226. Two years later, he was pronounced a saint. The next day, the foundation for the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi was laid, and he was buried in a hidden tomb in the Lower Basilica on May 25, 1230. 

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi timeline

1181/1182 Francis of Assisi is Born

Francis is born to a wealthy cloth merchant in Italy.

1223 Francis Arranges the First Nativity Scene

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with setting up the first live nativity scene in honor of Christmas — much like the nativity scenes you see today!

October 3, 1226 Death of St. Francis of Assisi

After spending the last few years of his life almost completely blind, St. Francis of Assisi dies in 1226 as he recites Psalm 141 or Psalm 142, according to differing sources.

July 16, 1228 St. Francis of Assisi Canonized

Only two years after his death, the Catholic Church (specifically, Pope Gregory IX) recognizes him as a saint — the next day, the Pope lays the foundation for the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

1978 Remains Confirmed and Re-Entombed

After his hidden burial place is first discovered in 1818, a new, neo-classical style crypt is created and, in 1978, his remains are tested and confirmed by the Pope’s commission of scholars and he is put in a glass urn within the old tomb.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi FAQs

Are there other holidays on October 4?

Yes! October 4 is also National Golf Lovers Day, National Taco Day, National Vodka Day, and World Animal Day.

Are there other National holidays about Catholic saints?

Yes! For example, St. Andrew’s Day falls on November 30, and Shout of Dolores Day is on September 15.

Where is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi celebrated?

Globally, by Catholics.

How to Observe the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Attend mass

Care for animals

Learn and teach about his life

As this is a true Catholic holiday to honor an important Catholic figure, going to mass and worshipping is one of the best ways to observe the holiday. The lessons learned in church and worship will honor the memory of St. Francis of Assisi.

Since St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals, there is no better day to care for animals as he taught us to do! Whether this is adopting a stray, donating to a shelter, or giving your own pets some extra caring, animal care is a great way to honor this saint.

Saint Francis of Assisi was one of the most charitable and kind people to have lived. His life had many chapters and his accomplishments spanned over many years. Today, read about his life and achievements, or teach your children so they might become more giving like him.

5 Interesting Facts About St. Francis Of Assissi

He was believed to speak to animals

Just before his death, he received stigmata

He wasn’t an only child

He set up the first nativity scene

He subscribed to actions over words

Once, it’s said, he spoke to birds who then flew into the sky in the shape of a cross.

Stigmata, the wounds of Christ appearing on the hands, feet, and side, appeared on St. Francis of Assisi two years before he died.

St. Francis was one of a family of seven children.

St. Francis is widely credited with setting up the first nativity scene in 1223 to celebrate Christmas.

St. Francis of Assisi instructed followers to “Preach the Gospel at all times and, when necessary, use words” — he thought actions spoke much louder.

Why We Love the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

It reminds us to be charitable

For Catholics, it reinforces religion

It helps animals

It’s easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and begin looking out for number one as opposed to our fellow man. St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most charitable and good religious figures in religious text, reminds us to stay humble and in service of others. In honor of his life today, we can all find a way to give back, especially to animals and the environment, of which he is the patron saint.

If you practice and believe in Catholicism, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi is an affirming holiday that celebrates your beliefs, values, and religious heroes. The holiday is emotionally and spiritually significant to many Catholics worldwide.

It’s on the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi that many pets are blessed in churches, animal care organizations are donated to, and environmental and ecological causes are lifted up. This special holiday for the patron saint of animals and the environment reminds Catholics to say a prayer for the animals and earth, and donate time or money to these causes.

Source

[fivepercentgodsandearths]

From the Family of Queen Aquasia Peace! Thank you all for the love and support everyone has shown our mom and family in this rough time.

Today we’re announcing her memorial service, if you know my mom you know she wanted a celebration of life filled with laughs and jokes.

The Memorial will take place on Roosevelt Island at “The Sanctuary”

on Friday July 26th, 2024

Address: 851 Main St, New York NY 10044

You can get there as early as 4pm and the celebration will end at 9pm

Itinerary:

4:00- guess will be welcomed in

5:30- start of memorial service

6:20- ballon release

7:00- celebration/ music, food and refreshments

9:00 end of celebration

For further details about transportation and parking please click the link:

HOME - The Sanctuary (https://thesanctuaryri.com/)

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was called to pastor the New Park Street Chapel, London, when he was only nineteen. This church became the 6,000 seat Metropolitan Tabernacle, which he pastored until his death at age 58. Through his relatively short but phenomenally productive ministry, Spurgeon pastored, directed a Pastor’s College, oversaw a Bible and tract society, organized Stockwell Orphanage, published the monthly magazine Sword and Trowel, edited a weekly sermon (among the several he preached each week), and wrote a number of books, including his well-known Treasury of David.

Timeline of the Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

1834 (June 19) – Born at Kelvedon, Essex.

1850 (January 6) – Converted at Colchester.

1850 (April 4)- Admitted to Church membership at Newmarket.

1850 (May 3) – Baptized in the River Lark at Isle-ham.

1851 – Becomes Pastor of Waterbeach Baptist Chapel.

1853 – First literary effort, No. I of Water-beach Tracts published.

1853 (December) – Preaches at New Park Street Chapel, London, for the first time.

1854 (April) – Accepts Pastorate of New Park Street Chapel.

1855 (January) – First sermon in the “New Park Street Pulpit” published.

1855 (February) – First preaches at Exeter Hall.

1855 (July) – Mr. T. W. Medhurst becomes C. H. Spurgeon’s first ministerial student.

1856 (January 8) – Marries Miss Susannah Thompson.

1856 (June) – Metropolitan Tabernacle Building Committee formed.

1856 (September 20)- Twin sons Thomas and Charles born.

1856 (October 19) – Surrey Gardens Music Hall Disaster.

1856 (November 23) – Services recommenced at the Music Hall.

1857 – A second student accepted by C. H. Spurgeon and the Pastor’s College practically founded.

1857 (October 7) – Preaches to 23,654 persons at the Crystal Palace on Fast Day.

1859 (August 16) – Foundation Stone of the Metropolitan Tabernacle laid.

1861 (March 18) – Metropolitan Tabernacle opened with a great prayer meeting.

1864 (June 5) – The famous “Baptismal Regeneration” sermon preached.

1866 – Metropolitan Tabernacle Colportage Association founded.

1867 (March 24-April 21) – Sunday services, each attended by 20,000 persons, held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, during the renovation of the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

1867 – Stockwell Orphanage (Boys’ side) founded.

1873 (October 14) – Foundation Stone of the Pastors’ College Building laid.

1875 – Mrs. Spurgeon’s Book Fund inaugurated.

1879 – Girls’ Orphanage founded.

1884 (June 18 and 19) – Jubilee Celebrations and presentation of testimonial (£4,500).

1887 (August) – First “Down-grade” paper published in “The Sword and the Trowel.”

1887 (October) – Withdrawal from the Baptist Union.

1891 (June 7) – Last sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

1891 (October 26) – Goes to Mentone for the last time.

1892 (January 31) – Passes away.

1892 (February 11) – Interred at Norwood Cemetery.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Thursday, June 6, 2024

_june 6_may 24

VENERABLE SYMEON STYLITES THE YOUNGER OF THE WONDERFUL MOUNTAIN (596)

Saint Simeon the Stylite was born in the year 521 in Antioch, Syria of pious parents John and Martha. From her youth Saint Martha (July 4) prepared herself for a life of virginity and longed for monasticism, but her parents insisted that she marry John. After ardent prayer in a church dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner, the future nun was directed in a vision to submit to the will of her parents and enter into marriage.

As a married woman, Saint Martha strove to please God and her husband in everything. She often prayed for a baby and promised to dedicate him to the service of God. Saint John the Forerunner revealed to Martha that she would have a son who would serve God. When the infant was born, he was named Simeon and baptized at two years of age.

When Simeon was six years old, an earthquake occurred in the city of Antioch, in which his father perished. Simeon was in church at the time of the earthquake. Leaving the church, he became lost and spent seven days sheltered by a pious woman. Saint John the Baptist again appeared to Saint Martha, and indicated where to find the lost boy. The saint’s mother found her lost son, and moved to the outskirts of Antioch after the earthquake. Already during his childhood the Lord Jesus Christ appeared several times to Saint Simeon, foretelling his future exploits and the reward for them.

The six-year-old child Simeon went into the wilderness, where he lived in complete isolation. During this time a light-bearing angel guarded and fed him. Finally, he arrived at a monastery, headed by the igumen Abba John, who lived in asceticism upon a pillar. He accepted the boy with love.

After a time, Saint Simeon asked the Elder John to permit him also to struggle upon a pillar. A new pillar was raised by the brethren of the monastery with the blessing of the igumen, near his pillar. Having completed the initiation of the seven-year-old boy into monasticism, Abba John placed him upon this pillar. The young ascetic, strengthened by the Lord, quickly grew spiritually, in his efforts surpassing even his experienced instructor. For his efforts, Saint Simeon received from God the gift of healing.

The fame of the young monk’s deeds began to spread beyond the bounds of the monastery. Monks and laypeople began to come to him from various places, desiring to hear his counsel and receive healing from their infirmities. The humble ascetic continued to pursue asceticism with instructions from his spiritual mentor Abba John.

When he was eleven, Simeon decided to pursue asceticism upon a higher pillar, the top of which was forty feet from the ground. The bishops of Antioch and Seleukia came to the place of the monk’s endeavors, and ordained him as a deacon. Then they permitted him to ascend the new pillar, on which Saint Simeon labored for eight years.

Saint Simeon prayed ardently for the Holy Spirit to descend upon him, and the holy prayer of the ascetic was heard. The Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a blazing light, filling the ascetic with divine wisdom. Along with oral instructions, Saint Simeon wrote letters about repentance, monasticism, about the Incarnation of Christ, and about the future Judgment.

After the death of his Elder, Saint Simeon’s life followed a certain pattern. From the rising of the sun until mid-afternoon he read books and copied Holy Scripture. Then he rose and prayed all night. When the new day began, he rested somewhat, then began his usual Rule of prayer.

Saint Simeon concluded his efforts on the second column, and by God’s dispensation, settled upon the Wonderful Mountain, having become an experienced Elder to the monks in his monastery. The ascent to Wonderful Mountain was marked by a vision of the Lord, standing atop a column. Saint Simeon continued his efforts at this place where he saw the Lord, at first upon a stone, and then upon a pillar.

Future events were revealed to Saint Simeon, and so he foretold the death of Archbishop Ephraim of Antioch, and the illness of Bishop Domnus, which overtook him as punishment for his lack of pity. Finally, Saint Simeon predicted an earthquake for the city of Antioch and urged all the inhabitants to repent of their sins.

Saint Simeon established a monastery on Wonderful Mountain,where the sick people he healed built a church in gratitude for the mercy shown them. The saint prayed for a spring of water for the needs of the monastery, and once during a shortage of grain, the granaries of the monastery were filled with wheat by his prayers.

In the year 560 the holy ascetic was ordained to the priesthood by Dionysius, Bishop of Seleukia. At age seventy-five Saint Simeon was warned by the Lord of his impending end. He summoned the brethren of the monastery, instructed them in a farewell talk, and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in the year 596, having toiled as a stylite for sixty-eight years.

After death, the saint worked miracles just as he had when alive. He healed the blind, the lame and the leprous, saving many from wild beasts, casting out devils and raising the dead.

SAINT VINCENT OF LERINS (ca 450)

Information about the life of Saint Vincent is very scarce. Our primary source for him is the work of Gennadius of Massilia "On Famous Men" (Latin: De viris illustribus), composed about 495 as a continuation of the work of the same title by Saint Jerome of Stridon (June 15).

Vincent was born in the city of Toul, in the northeast of what is now France, and was the brother of Saint Lupus.of Troyes (July 29). After serving in the army (Latin: secularis militia), he entered the monastery of Saint Honoratus (January 16) at Lerins (Lérins), where he was tonsured and ordained to the priesthood.

In 434, under the pseudonym Peregrinus, Saint Vincent wrote his most famous work: "Commentary Against Heretics" (Latin: Commonitorium adversus Hæreticos) which he composed in 434, three years after the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus had condemned the Nestorians. In this book he differentiated between the Church's teachings and the heresies of his time. He is remembered for saying that Christians must follow the true Faith which has been held “everywhere, always, and by all.” He also defended the term “Theotokos” being applied to the Mother of God, in opposition to the teachings of Nestorius which were condemned at the Third Ecumenical Council.

He reposed during the reign of Emperors Theodosios II and Valentinian III, i.e. in the year 450 or earlier. Saint Vincent was much appreciated by his contemporaries. Saint Eucherius of Lyons (November 16) calls him a holy man, conspicuous for his eloquence and knowledge. On the other hand, Saint Vincent humbly describes himself as "the least of all the servants of God, and less than the least of all the Saints, and unworthy to bear the holy name of a Christian."

Saint Vincent fell asleep in the Lord about 445.. His holy relics are preserved at Lerins.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

ACTS 14:20-27

20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25 Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. 27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

JOHN 9:39-10:9

39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

1 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.