#now i live down the road from a BP that is that kind where like. its a little shittier yknow lol which i love

[tomster1274]

I can't keep this in longer anymore. I made ANOTHA mandela au, that's like a thousand now. Anygoo.

SO SO SO.

WHat if. Whatt if. What if the Gabriel and alternate happenings weren't actually real?

You see. In this AU, neither of them exist, only the actual biblical figure of the angel Gabriel and not the Satan version lol. Instead, it's regular murders being covered by lies and delusions.

We are focusing on about FOUR events that are loosely connected together, not really, but shhh.

The FIRST is the murder of Mark Heathcliff. Him and Cesar Torres got into a fight where Mark proclaimed he was no longer Cesar's friend, and Cesar got so heartbroken over it, he went to Mark's house and stabbed him to death, but unfortunately, he persuaded himself he didn't murder Mark, it was An Intruder of some kind. And he's kept up the story so well, he believes that's what truly happened, most likely because of his heartbreak and the stress of murdering another person, even though evidence shows he killed Mark, and he was sent to a mental hospital for his obvious delusions in thinking he didn't kill Mark and that it was a home intruder.

The second was a mother, Lynn Murray, who was undergoing stress from her recent divorce with her husband Jude, and couldn't handle the crying of her baby Adam and so strangled him with a pillow and buried him in her backyard, where she then took plenty of pills and called the police, claiming her baby was taken by a man she saw on the TV. Her dead baby was easily found buried by dogs, and the cause of death was easily found, though she also stuck to her story of a man on TV taking her baby most likely from delusions from the overdose of pills. She also was sent to a mental hospital where she unfortunately killed herself from falling off a high place to seemingly join her missing infant from notes she wrote.

The third is O'Brian, who was heavily a man of God and a priest, and started to hear voices telling him they were from the angel Gabriel, and told him to do things like harass his friend Dave into trying to cone to church, before it finally told him to force Dave to come to the church so Brian could blind him for his sins against God, which he did convince Dave to come when it was all closed up and stabbed him in the eyes, killing him from blood loss. The body was found days later when church resumed just sitting on one of the bench, and O'Brian told police what he did but said that it was because Gabriel told him to and how could he say no? He was sent to prison.

Lastly, there's the case of Jonah Marshall and his friend Adam Mullay. Adam and Jonah were best friends, and were in a club of their own they called "BPS", where they went out to usually abandoned places to see if they could catch ghosts. One day, they got into an argument where Jonah mentioned Adam's dead mother and effectively angered Adam enough to crash the car and kill Jonah but not himself miraculously, and he called for 911. He made up the story that they saw something inhuman on the road and he accidentally crashed them, which unfortunately the public had to believe because even if the inhuman part is kinda silly, the whole seeing something on the road and crashing was believable. He's the only one not in any kind of prison or etc.

What connects two of these cases is Cesar described this intruder and police publicly showed the sketch before finding the evidence Cesar killed Mark, which the mother took inspiration from the sketch when describing the man. The other two aren't exactly related to any of the others though.

What's the kicker about them though is the cases got popular in Mandela County, sparking panic about men on TVs or home intruders who don't look exactly human, but eventually the panic died down and these stories become somewhat of living myths, even if some people believe still thete WAS that home intruder or etc.

[tealfruit]

I love you bodegas I love you corner stores I love you shitty gas stations in the middle of nowhere I love you truck stops I love you gas stations on the corner downtown that sell bongs for some reason I love you weird local convenience stores

[fluorescentpipedream]

Updated a few of my characters’ pictures last night when I was having an ADHD moment while playing WoW. 

So...

Daryl “Mason” Knox - This version of Daryl is part of our Zombie storyline (the premise of which I barely remember) and currently in the mountains above Colorado. He is a survivalist already, tanner, taxidermist and wicked good shot and when the virus began circulating, he packed up his pickup truck and headed as far into the mountains as he could. He had been in Tennessee for a little while but left there when the area started to fall as well, moving around a lot for a while before settling high in the mountains where it’s coldest, realizing the undead have a hard time moving through the snow and it seems to make their bodies more brittle. He stumbles upon Ryki and Kristy’s group (shortly after they get Mikael back from the roaming motorcycle gang (see Widower/Simon). Daryl was under the assumption that most of his family had died when the virus first took hold and started using his middle name, Mason, instead of his last name. 

Daryl Knox - Daryl is the survivalist of the Knox men, the youngest but the one who has his fingers the most in the various family businesses and also the one who discovers that a good portion of the Knox family land that backs the Blue Ridge Mountain range actually belonged to the Cherokee tribe and gives it back to them, only asking if they can continue to use the land as the hunting area he currently has it set up as. Daryl and his brothers also took a portion of the money made from the Knox Lodge (a small series of cabins built closest to the Chattahoochee National Park people can rent and go fishing and hunting for deer, quail and even armadillos) and give it back to the slave families that their great great grandfather had working for them. Daryl is quieter than the rest of his brothers, sticking to living away from nearly everyone and only coming down from the mountains when he is dropping off supplies at the Knox Family General Store in Jasper, Georgia where the family is primarily from. The general store is very rustic looking, with the old fashioned candy jars behind the counter and a small restaurant in the back where the family sells their homemade pies. (They also sell locally made and sourced jellies and jams, as well as jerky and unique gifts. Think trading post for the interior) A skilled taxidermist, Daryl has a special he runs through the Lodge that if you shoot it, he’ll stuff it (for a fee of course). 

Schyler Lewis - A former Scorpion and currently a Slayer in Los Angeles, Schyler is quiet but loving and loyal. He’s also one hell of a shot with pretty much anything, though he prefers knives over everything. He has a deep respect for RJ Jamison, as well as the former leader, BP and keeps a protective/big brother kind of watch on Queenie. He and Simon are pretty good friends, he often tries to keep an eye on the older man to keep him from going crazy.

Trevor Phillips (nothing changed, just both versions of him are going to use the same picture)

Simon Knox - Simon is the middle Knox brother, only a few years older than Daryl though he’s not particularly close to most of his family anymore. He and Jericho had once been vying for the same girl’s attention, but when he was sent to prison for a bar fight/blackout he missed the chance to be with her, even though he does very much still love her. When Simon was released from prison, Jericho gave him the chance to come home and get back on his feet again (the courts and mental health professionals released him on account of him having absolutely no memory of the bar fight other than some kid pushing him too hard and spitting on him. His anger flared up and he didn’t remember anything that had happened after that point. It wasn’t until an officer hit him on the back of the head did he come around again) and while he’s there, he and Maggie ended up in bed together after he told her what had happened. He had a ring and had been going out with a few friends the night before coming to see her. He is actually Ryder’s father, and Jericho does know. Following Ryder’s first outburst and slamming his head into the wall, tearing a stuffed animal and general unprovoked rage, Jericho had come to bed with a few scratches on his arms and gently kissed Maggie’s forehead, not coming right out and saying anything about the possibility but just telling her that whatever thing that’s weighing on her heart right now, it’s okay and he forgives her.  (Ryder has similar violent outbursts like his father, though recognizing it as was what going on with Simon, Jericho instead got his son therapy to deal with the outbursts as well as getting him involved in boxing.)

Following Ryder’s birth (and Simon getting to hold his son), Simon leaves and joins the Outlaw motorcycle gang though moves around a lot after that, winding up “settling” with Haven for a while before finally establishing a place with the Scorpions. He made quick friends with Schyler, despite a several year age gap, and when the Scorpions were assimilated into the Slayers in LA, he stayed on with them. He is prone to blackouts and violent outbursts and unfortunately does not possess much in the way of empathy toward nearly anyone. He does very much like children, and wouldn’t mind finally getting to have a family of his own. He is pansexual and it doesn’t seem to matter to him who he’s with, as long as they’re over a certain age. He’s not overly thrilled with the relationship RJ has with Jamie but she’s safe and not in any danger so he doesn’t say much about it either way. He and Floki of the Vikings have rolled around a few times, but generally speaking he is still very much in love with Maggie. Part of the reason he stays away from his family is because of how Jericho has been treating his “dying” wife. (Jericho is having an affair with a younger nurse/friend of his daughter Lorelei, while his wife is presumed to be dying from stage 4 cancer. She does make a rather miraculous recovery though, leaving him and going out to the man who has always loved her) 

Simon has some seriously reckless traits and has actually had to be sedated by members of his own gang because his anger will flare up and he goes berserk. He has NO control over his actions whenever he blacks out either. Following BP and his wife’s untimely death, Simon is taken by the Slayers along with several others and thrown into the Pit, basically an abandoned warehouse near the docks that has been hollowed out and made into a fight arena. Because of his anger issues there’s a few that believe he could have been pushed to a breaking point and lashed out, though BP never pushed his buttons and he has no desire to take the gang over. When Rollo and a handful of the Vikings reveal themselves as the masterminds (and hired by Marcone to do the deed), Simon is the one who takes an axe off of Floki’s hip, throwing it into the back of Rollo’s head before kneeling down in front of Queenie and telling her he’s always been loyal to BP and subsequently, to her.

Widower (Simon Knox) - This version of Simon is for our zombie alt world and currently in Tennessee with the Savior gang run by a Negan type. In this world, Simon was able to remarry Maggie and the two of them were living quiet happily, considering starting their family when her cancer makes a return and is incredible aggressive. As the virus starts to spread through Atlanta and they begin seeing how it eats away at the host’s body only to reanimate them, Maggie begs Simon to shoot her so she doesn’t have to suffer through her cancer and the possibility of getting the virus. At first he refuses to do it but after the hospitals shut down due to too many people contracting the virus, he takes her up to one his brother’s hunting cabins and shoots her, burying her in the backyard. He had attempted to shoot himself as well but the gun jammed and he ended up throwing it into the river instead. After Atlanta falls and the zombie virus appears to be spreading through the small towns, taking the Knox family out as far as he can tell. He and Daryl were traveling together for a little while but were separated and Simon lost track of his little brother. Assuming that his family is dead (since there’s no trace of any of them and the communications network was the first thing to go down) he gets on the back of his motorcycle and leaves. He first meets Morgan (Negan) and his group, Haven, when they stumble upon one another trying to refuel and get supplies. Simon is unhinged and no longer even trying to hide his homicidal side, since no one is there to hold him back any longer he’s completely off his rocker. He initially told Morgan and the rest to call him Widower, as he didn’t even want to link himself to the man he used to be. If the virus is ever contained, he isn’t sure there’s going to be much of a world left for him. 

Widower, Morgan and I think there’s an NPC version of Schyler with them as well find 5 yr old Mikael after the little boy panicked and ran from his aunt and uncle’s convoy during one of the zombie attacks. Morgan grabbed the boy as he was crying by the back of his jacket and puts him onto his motorcycle leading Kristy and Ryki and their group to give chase to get him back. Morgan had a son once and may have done this in order to protect him, not initially seeing the small group of survivors on the road. Widower takes over kind of protecting the little boy when their group stops at an old warehouse they use as a base. 

Morgan Caldwell - I haven’t actually decided if I’m going to make Morgan but he is Sam Caldwell’s older brother and Martin & Lynn’s uncle. He is the leader of the Haven motorcycle gang which moves around a lot and Simon was part of for a while. He is incredibly disappointed in how his little brother acts and very much wants to meet his estranged niece and nephew. 

Morgan “Negan” Caldwell - The zombie-verse version of Morgan, I know little about the man other than Widower is his right hand man and fiercely loyal to him. He genuinely seems to be concerned for Mikael and after meeting Kristy and finding out she’s pregnant while going through the virus, he may offer their services to them, as protection (or he may try to keep Kristy with him and his group masking using the air of wanting to protect her until she gives birth) There’s a lot of ways this guy can go. He isn’t particularly trustworthy, and has said one thing only to do the direct opposite of that less than a few minutes later. 

Kevin Reynolds - the oldest Reynolds brother and also the only one that’s biological to the Reynolds family. Kevin was 10 when Matt was adopted and 12 when Vartan came to live with them as well. The family typically fosters children, and seeks to give them a better life than the one they had. Kevin is currently in his later 40s, and lives in Chicago where he owns an old-fashioned record store (with actual records on the upstairs level) called Empire Records, or just The Empire by his teen/20-something staff. Kevin is gay and actually just lost his husband Jimmy to AIDS. Jimmy was the drummer for his brothers’ band Silex, and actually younger than Kevin was as well. He is currently having issues with depression following the loss of the only love in his life (up til now, obviously), though he actually has clinical depression as well. He and Matt absolutely cannot stand one another, mostly due to Matt’s homophobia, though Kevin has always been out so he’s not sure exactly where that stems from. He and Vartan are close, despite the 12 year age gap. Empire Records is a somewhat failing business, though is eventually brought under the wing of Revolver Records for its vintage, throwback to the late 80s/90s music scene and often becomes the site of the Revolver bands’ signings, which boosts their sales quite a bit too. 

Ryder Knox is getting a new picture, I just need to figure out who he actually looks like, taking his dad into a bit more consideration right now. The Knox men also all have a very distinct smile, so gotta find someone that fits. I’m stuck between these two: 

Ryder is 22 years old and lives in an apartment on his own which he pays for by an OnlyFans account. With close to 1000 subscribers, he makes money selling pictures of anything from his feet to being shirtless (sometimes in his underwear) on parts of the Knox farmland. Very gay but not very out about it. 

@musesnotebook​

[spellboundtours]

Before I assumed ownership of Spellbound Tours I traveled with two different carnival freak shows. Out of time as it may seem, yes, a handful of them still exist playing out in various locations across the United States. Even right here in Massachusetts on occasion our own Topsfield Fair, just a short drive from Salem, plays host to such shows. Not that long ago they displayed the world famous Bat Boy, and the alleged World’s Smallest Woman. One of the shows I worked with was comprised mostly of variety performers, magicians, sword swallowers, that kind of thing performance artist, as well as the occasional human oddity or freak. The other one was largely a museum. It had wax figures of famous freaks, and preserved specimens of strange people and animals. Some of it, like the BP Oil Spill Mermaid and the cyclops baby were hilariously fake. But some of the attractions were all too real.

This story concerns one of the real attractions. It was a human skeleton. One hundred percent, undeniably real. Salem Witch Tour So real that in some towns we needed special permits to show it. So real that some places would not let us display it because it was “disrespectful to the dead”. It was a real human skeleton, or most of one. The advertising material referred to it as The Evil Dwarf.

In front of our circus tent there were large, colorful banners advertising the wonders contained within. The Evil Dwarf banner had a caricature of a little person with a mischievous grin flashing a cartoon Snow White. Upon entering the tent, if the visitor made it past the live displays of freak animals like the Six Legged Sheep, and the various dead, stuffed, and faked attractions they came upon a coffin. A small coffin.

The coffin was about three and a half feet long. It was looked ancient. The lid was clear glass and inside could be seen portions of a skeleton. There was a delicate looking skull, ribs, scapula, a pelvis, a humerus and a half, a bunch of vertebra, and femur crammed up randomly with the other bones. The jumbled remains were undeniably old, and the grim aged skull was missing a couple of important teeth. Without a doubt this was the real thing. Even the most jaded costumers would gaze at it with awe. This mess of bones had been alive once.

There was a handprinted sign propped up next to the casket. In garish colored letters written in florid circus font was a story about the skeleton. It was The Evil Dwarf. A Wild West outlaw who happened to be a little person. “He robbed banks, trains, and looked up ladies’ skirts!”. The sign described how the bad little guy was finally gunned down outside of Tombstone, Arizona and because no one would pay for his burial he was put on display as a cautionary tale of what happens when you fight the law. The story was clearly carnival ballyhoo, but no one could deny that the gnarled old bones were one hundred percent real, old, dead, and entirely human.

My friend Jim owned the show and the bones. I asked him about their true origin one day. He said that he had bought the bones in the early nineteen nineties. His freak show was set up in a carnival playing a Native American reservation in New Mexico when a man approached Jim and told him he had something weird for sale. No one can turn down an offer like that! Jim went to the man’s home and was shown the the bones that became his Evil Dwarf. They were sealed up just as he later displayed them, except the top of the box was solid rather than glass. He was told they had been dug up by accident while a field was being cleared on the property, they had not been buried very deep. Jim purchased the remains for a price that was surprisingly low for human bones, and the owner was glad to see them go. According to Jim the man seemed relieved when the little coffin was hauled away.

Jim replaced the top of the coffin with a clear panel and hired renowned circus artists Jim Hand and Bobby Rawls to make signs and banners advertising his “Evil Dwarf”. He concocted the legend about the rotten little bandit and sold tickets. People lined up to see the skeleton. No one ever complained. Despite the outlandish story no one could dispute the bones were the real deal. He was making money hand over fist.

At the end of the season Jim went home to Florida. He proudly showed his girlfriend the new star attraction. She was not a fan. The Evil Dwarf made her profoundly uncomfortable. They laughed about it. She was used to Jim bringing strange things home.

Then the nightmares started. As long as the old bones were in the house she could not sleep peacefully. She started seeing visions she claimed were The Evil Dwarf when it was alive. She claimed that in life the bones had not been a dwarf at all, but a young woman. In her dreams she saw violent scenes of abuse where the girl’s father hurt her and ultimately killed her. She was killed by being beaten about the head with a flat rock from the field. After death he dismembered the body, shoved it in a box and dumped it in a ditch on his land. Years later it was discovered and finally sold to Jim. These nightmares troubled her to the point she refused to stay in the house as long as the box of bones was there.

Jim put it into storage and life went on. The next spring when he took the show on the road again The Evil Dwarf came with him, it was still a strong attraction. People loved it. One day he noticed that there were two college age women who had been in the tent far longer than most people ever stayed. They were fixated on the old bones. They were looking too closely at the contents of the coffin for comfort. This was not good. When people poked around too long it could sometimes mean trouble. Curious as to their motives Jim approached the women and casually as possible asked, “you ladies like The Evil Dwarf?”

They women told him that they were indeed fascinated by the skeleton, but there was no way it was the bones of a little person. As it turns out the ladies were medical students and they knew their way around a skeleton. Judging from the pathology they had determined that the bones were not from a male dwarf at all, but were the remains of a teenaged girl! This was not good news, it was starting to sound like Jim’s girlfriend’s dreams might have been true. “Any idea what happened to her?” inquired Jim. “From what it looks like here”, the student indicated a couple of damaged spots on the skull, “she received a lot of trauma to the head. Someone smashed her up pretty badly. Any of these blows”, again she pointed to the injured spots on the skull, “could have done her in. From the condition of the bones, she was not embalmed right like we do today, it looks like she was just left to decay.” Jim thanked the girls for the information, let them take pictures of the skeleton, and sent them on their way. They left happy having enjoyed sharing their knowledge of bones and showing up the carnival man.

Jim was glad to know the truth about the skeleton, but now he was uneasy. He no longer would load up and pack the box himself, delegating it to the other workers. Sometimes I would catch him just gazing into the casket. The Evil Dwarf banner got flown less and less. It was not so fun anymore, now that it was known who she really might have been. Some years after I left the show I believe she was given a decent burial and put to rest.

Many people who claim mediumistic ability will use bones of the dead as a way to channel the spirits. Sometimes they say the bones help open the doors to the spirit world and working with the bones is a good way to get in touch with the other side. Skulls are particularly popular for this purpose. In the case of the so called Evil Dwarf it seemed though that she was less interested in helping the living than just getting her story known at last. We have several skulls in the Spellbound Collection and thankfully none of them have been troublesome like the poor girl in the coffin.

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1831 Sunday 9 October

7 40/.. 10 1/2

Incurred a cross last night and another this morning thinking of π [Mariana] lay three quarters hour this morning about -

Very fine morning - Fahrenheit 63°. now at 7 50/.. - down at 8 1/2 - breakfast - out at 9 1/2 for an hour - walked along the town and the marine parade - the marine hotel evidently the one to go to and not very far from the quay - go by daylight, and then easy to get comfortably settled - some very nice little gothic places far better than cottages along the marine parade - 1 or 2 gable-ended houses with gothic 2 stories of windows 4 lights each - 2 projecting in front and one on each side   

[Anne’s drawing of the gothic windows]

- that might do very well for the gable ends at Shibden then walked thro' the town to where we landed last night from East Cowes - the Medina (medeena) or Newport river, the wooded hills and towns creeping along the margin of each, very pretty - Cowes too, is the yatch station - I should prefer it to Ryde?

On going back to the Inn, the driver came to be paid - he asked 6/. a day - had Mr. Webb, the master of the house up - he said a man should have 5/6 a day for that their masters paid them nothing but a boy like that (like the one who drove me) should have 4/. so gave him after that rate -

Off in the Malmesbury Steamer from Cowes at 10 3/4 - very pretty look back upon the town (West Cowes) see little of East Cowes and hardly any of the river - leave it hid behind West Cowes - just get a peep of the top of East Cowes (Mr. Nash) he there because the flag flying, and of the top, soon after, of Norris Castle where the duchess of Kent's flag was flying - At 11 1/4 pass the little thick low round Calshot Castle (like Hurst Castle) and enter the Southampton river - the little thin tall Castle Tower we saw before was Eaglehurst - small boat from the Thames landed at 12 5/.. -

Back at the Crown Inn (very civil people but very b.g. 2nd. rate, tavern-kind of house) - at 12 10/.. - carriage packed - read this morning's globe, every column in mourning for the throwing out of the reform bill by a majority of 41 lords - all the bps. [bishops] against but Norwich and Chichester - Lord Wynford spoke much and well against the bill -

Off from Southampton commonly here shortened to Southton at 1 3/4 - fine looking town - in 7 or 8 mins. [minutes] at Northam bridge 1st. and 2nd (a handsome wooden 5 arch-bridge and then at a very short distance a bridge (wood?) of one arch) both over the lake-like river Itchen which is here very beautifully skirted with wood and gentlemens seats, and altogether a beautiful scene with shipping and Southampton to the left behind us -

At 2 10/.. on Netley common, a heathery moor, bounded (right) by fine wood thro' which beautiful peeps of the Southampton river - poor land in all directions about Southampton, even along the beautiful banks of its river - land here almost as poor (but not so white sandy) as from Poole to Swanage - all the land along the coast from Southampton to Weymouth poor even if no farther, which I have not seen - at 2 1/2 fine view of Calshot castle and across the channel - Cowes and just see Ryde - and then in a minute or 2 get into enclosed land again - at 2 38/.. Bursledon bridge (wood) over wide lake that goes to Botley 2 miles left and to the Southampton river right - very picturesque good village scattered round its margin, chiefly whitish straw-thatched ivy-covered houses -

At 2 50/.. Titchfield common and from here and afterwards fine views of the Isle of Wight - could distinguish the watch tower on St. Catherine's hill - at 3 1/4 pass thro' one end of Titchfield apparently neat little town - Fareham at 3 42/.. one long neat, good street - change horses at Harris's far end of the town, having passed the better looking Inn, a large white hart - just below the Inn cross bridge over lake-like water with neat houses round its edge and wood and vessels - very pretty as at Bursledon - then rise little hill and fine view of the water and shipping and of Gosport or Portsmouth or both -

At 4 turned down the pretty little neat village of Porchester to the castle and there at 4 5/.. - walked about in the castle yard and could find nobody till I went out and got a man to take me to the concierge of the castle who was busy shewing about some people - the parish church is in the castle yard - the Saxon arch of the great west door is strikingly beautiful - the north side of the church and roof too very much covered over with ivy - went to the top of the great Keep Tower 103 feet high and 7 stories - in this and the smaller square Tower 8000 French prisoners were lodged during the last war over whom 300 soldiers mounted guard every day - the part where queen Elizabeth lived quite ruined - the great square Keep Tower said to be Roman Saxon and norman architecture - not easy to me to distinguish the 3 periods - Low water on the sea would have washed the south wall of the Porchester castle court - just out of the village of Porchester, the road lies along the low narrow gravelly beach a large surface beyond it being all green as the water makes it and close, left, is Portsea down (or Portsdown?) -

The Keep Tower at Portchester Castle [Image Source]

At 5 1/2 turn left thro' the neat good little village of Cosham down to Portsmouth - do not see any stayable Inn in Cosham - enter Portsmouth at 6 5/.. under two deep arched gateways, a regularly fortified (double walled with boulevard and trees innermost) town, the only one I ever saw in England; nor was I even that such an one existed -

Alighted at the George hotel at 6 10/.. - at last a good first rate Inn again - what a comfort - handsome 3 windowed sitting room, so ordered a dinner soup-potatos and broccoli, and boiled bread pudding and 2 bottles soda water - all good - dinner from 7 25/.. to 8 - before and after wrote out the whole of this of today, and inked over and settled accounts till now 9 10/.. -

Found letter this morning at the Crown Southampton post office date 7th. instant 2 1/2 satisfactory pp. [pages] from Miss H- [Hobart] Richmond park - both she and Lady S- [Stuart] were 'Terribly annoyed at what we thought the overthrow or throw over'....all quite comfortable again - Miss H- [Hobart] thinking it a great triumph that her wishes should be stronger than Lady S- de R-'s [Stuart de Rothesay's] arguments - says Lady Alicia (Gordon) will not stay more than 3 nights and if I wait till the 13th. may be sure of my bed again at the Lodge - very fine day - Fahrenheit 64°. now at 9 1/4 p.m.

[Margin] Saw Chichester cathedral from Porchester castle

[Margin notes] x L  

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/14/0131 - SH:7/ML/E/14/0132

[fortheheavenssake]

💟💟 PG MM Anon(II) 💟💟 Interpretation Collection - 9

58. July 9

MM ANON …… HMTQ The long wait ………… BLM Trumps ………… no taxes………… boarding Charlotte 🥳🥳🥳……Boarding George 😱😱😱😱………… open the Jim…………… Brazil el Presidente……… Amber Amber,red……………IOC allow protest? ………… school 😷 masks. ……………cricket lovely cricket ………don’t cruise ………………glee, not today …………… tic-toc down. ……… red crane down.

Thank you😊❤️❤️❤️❤️

Entertainment purposes

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️😊😊😊😊😊THANK YOU MM ANON😊😊😊😊😊😊✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️🌈🌈🌈🌈

July 9/2020

RIDDLE#58

HMTQ The long wait …………

The road going up to Windsor Castle is called The Long Walk. Because of Covid, her Majesty the Queen , will no longer at this point be going to Buckingham Palace. Hence the reason for yesterday’s riddle clue that 250 BP staff are being made redundant. So she has spent all this time at Windsor Castle and is looking forward to going to Balmoral. As far as I’ve heard, that has not been cancelled. I’ve checked again today and I can’t see anywhere where it’s been cancelled. It will be a long wait for her to see what happens , what is the outcome of this Covid as to whether she can ever go back to Buckingham palace and ever resume any sort of duties that she’s been doing for her whole life! I ache for her, it must hurt her to the core because that’s what she’s committed to and it’s so it’s so upsetting.

I also think this is Prince Harry and having him return to the fold after these years of manipulations and machinations and lies and every other adjective that I don’t want to continue to keep saying about that woman Madam. Soon Harry will be reunited with his family if he has already not been. Again l repeat for the 10th time, 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂, I’m sticking with what I have said, I do believe something happened at Canada House and the next day at Harbottle and Lewis. And the quote from Allegedly ANON last night about how things would happen and then the public would be told later. I think that fits exactly with what what what I believe happened. I think the divorce or I’m hoping annulment has happened. I really am hoping annulment but we’ll wait until the time is right to tell us.

BLM Trumps …………

I heard that they were going to do this last week and they’ve done it now. On the street in front of of President Trump’s huge building that he owns or I think he owns it in New York City in huge letters painted in like neon yellow paint, I think it would flash in the dark it’s so bright, Black Lives Matter has been painted along the whole block. I don’t know how the defacement of public property is allowed. I understand that Americans have free-speech under the first amendment, I believe it is, but you can’t yell fire in a crowded theatre and I don’t know how are you can deface public property. Maybe somebody can explain that to me in the comments because I don’t understand it, but I’m not American so I don’t understand that part but please explain it to me.

no taxes…………

I find this very confusing because what I’m reading is that the UK public will have to have a tax increase next year at £35,000,000,000 pounds and it will take years or decades to pay off the £2 trillion debt that this whole COVID19has cost.

The cats are flying to change and it will not be no taxes as a value added tax or the VAT.

Taken from The Sun website

”VAT is being slashed for businesses in the tourism and hospitality industries but what’s happening and what does it mean for households?

What is VAT and what’s it changing to?

VAT (value added tax) will be cut from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries, chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed in his mini-Budget this week.

VAT is a tax paid by businesses to HMRC on the items or services they sell.

It’s typically passed on to consumers in the price they pay for these goods and services.

When will the VAT cut take force?

The tax cut will take force next Wednesday (July 15) and will remain in place until January 12, 2021.

What will the VAT cut apply to?

Booze is excluded from the VAT cut, but it will apply to food and non-alcoholic drinks from restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and other similar premises across the UK.

It will also apply to accommodation and on admission to attractions.”

boarding Charlotte 🥳🥳🥳……Boarding George 😱😱😱😱…………

OK so we have boarding Charlotte three happy faces with the hats and those blowy things that unfurl Prince George’s birthday is in July 22 he is going to be seven years old can you believe that wow! And then we have B boarding G George with for horrified faces. Well we know it’s not because George is afraid of flying because he absolutely loves it I’ll do all the children. I think this is the first one is it a reference to Charlotte and celebrating George’s birthday the second one I think is a reference to George going to boarding school which has been talked about for a while now and I brought that up in the riddle again yesterday. And I think the four horrified faces of George going off to boarding school would be William and Catherine and Charlotte and Louis that’s what I think this is .

We have been given clues that the Cambridge family is taking a vacation and it would be nice to take it and celebrate George’s birthday don’t you think? Ok so in capital letters we have CBG. In between everything we have three dots with a space three dots with the space and we know it was with MM ANON everything means something.With the talking software you guys can follow along with how my mind works I’m trying to solve these riddles.

I wonder if it’s going to be some sort of adventure vacation because they are all very adventurous Ha I was I don’t know if I should take from this other than vacation CBG.?Costa Rica?I don’t know but I have an idea you could to go to Costa Rica and see the sloth sanctuary I would highly recommend that highly highly highly recommend that!

Thing I know for sure is there’s no way they would go on vacation if things are not settled with Harry that I do know for sure!

open the Jim……………

MM ANON Very much enjoys using the Star Trek reference of Jim that line from Star Trek is Spock but not as we knew him. So in the UK outdoor pools can open July 11 and on July 25 indoor pools and gyms and the like can open then. So yes they will be gyms and they will be open but not as we knew them before. They will be of course social distancing hand sanitizing smaller classes all of the usual bells and whistle’s that go along with the our new normal. I think people will just be glad to get back to their workouts and get out of the house and connecting with people even though they’re 6 feet away or 2 m or one meat or whatever the social distance will be at that time it’ll just be good for everybody physically and emotionally.

Brazil el Presidente………

President Bolsonaro, as I said yesterday was at a press conference and he was wearing mask and he proceeded to tell the reporter that he had tested positive for COVID-19 which when he took off his mask continue to talk but then walked backwards. It was very bizarre. This is about the fifth clue about Brazil and now the president of Brazil also the song Brazil has been used a couple of times in the last week or so. I made a note this morning and I don’t know if anybody else had a chance to read it but I was thinking last night and then have you guys ever read the book the boys from Brazil or seen the 🎥 The Boys From Brazil? The book is written by I are 11 and that’s it it’s a story of how the Nazis some of them the higher-ups and the scientist escape to Brazil and they proceeded to breed a master race of young male clones I think it’s just male been a while since I’ve seen that movie. We do know it’s a no well proven fact but after the second world war ended many high-ranking Nazis snuck out of Germany and took refuge in Brazil. In fact there’s a large population of German people still living in Brazil. The Simon Wiesenthal society has for decades made it their mandate to bring to justice or not you were criminals and many of them have been found in that area rather that country. Now I don’t know if this is related to what the clues are about but I look at what’s happening in the world in the rise of fascism and who the backers are and the circles that Madam floated in literally luscious yachting it’s all about your really dangerous people with a lot of power. So I am just raising this is a question. Is there anything there that might be related to the war criminals or the anything like that and I’m just throwing it out there.

Amber Amber,red……………

Oh this court trial her whatever case between amber Heard and Johnny Depp is just absolutely horrific it’s just all-around horrific. yesterday we heard about what his lunches were she took a picture of his lunch which was a huge cup of whiskey and cigarettes and four lines of cocaine and I forget what else was there and today in court we have them in a rage fight or Johnny Depp hurled a bottle of red wine at her.. Oh sometimes I wish the celebrity stuff that would just be kept out of the papers because this just is nothing but a sideshow of the sadness and with pathetic lives with people who have more money than you and I in than all of everybody on Tumblr put together will ever have and how it’s just wasted. But more than that though, how young beautiful people who are so talented just absolutely waste their lives and how abusive people are. I just find it so sad.

IOC allow protest? …………

The international Olympic committee has been battling with this issue. They have been trying to decide whether or not they will allow or penalize athletes for any demonstration of taking a knee or raising a fist or anything like that. The whole point of the Olympics is to unite the world in the form of athletics it’s kind of a diplomatic effort if you will like. Do you want to kind of be like “Switzerland” but they were a neutral in these kind of political issues. They are there for the sport and for the sake of the sport in and healthy competition not for political opinions and protests. So last I heard and have read they haven’t made a permanent decision about that yet. I know it’s been on the docket for quite some time and they’ll have to make a decision one way or the other. And I think either either way they go in making decisions I will be very upset people on both sides.

school 😷 masks. ……………

Various places are making various plans for back to school in September. The general consensus is the children need to get back to school even out of school for five months and many are falling behind. There are also many children who who miss nutrition if they’re not at school and as we have read and heard about there’s been an increase in addiction increase in domestic violence and that sort of thing and just the change of routine and structure am just been very detrimental to everybody but especially our most vulnerable children. And so part of the expectation will be and I think we need to all look at this going forward is that we will be wearing masks for a very long time. Some articles say this will be the new normal. Some scientists say Covid19 and the like, will never leave us. Going forward this will be our new normal in terms of social distancing in the plastic screens by the tills and between tables and restaurants and mask and all that sort of thing.

cricket lovely cricket ………

Finally sweet finally team sports are resuming. This weekend the cricket resumes and they are trialling a rather interesting thing of course there won’t be an audience but they are trialling putting loud cheers in and the audio as if there was a crowd present, to see if that makes a difference in how the players play. I think that’s a really interesting thing to do. We do know in sports how much the the athletes feed off the energy of the crowd and vice versa it’s all a very what’s the word pause visceral experience he kind of cheering and screaming and yelling when you get out all your frustrations while you’re cheering for your favourite team and it’s a it’s a healthy experience all the way around!

don’t cruise ………………

Well if you’re looking for a holiday they are suggesting anything but cruising! It is always a high-risk activity anyway because there’s so much food on display all the time and there’s all you always hear about food poisoning and bouts of people getting ill on cruise ships from that reason. Now adding Covid19 to the equation, just don’t 🚢cruise! That’s the recommendation and actually I’m quite surprised they’re even doing cruises but I guess they need money so badly that they’ll take whatever bookings they can get.

glee, not today ……………

Glee was a television show on the Fox channel in America about a high school musical club I think. I never watched it but it was immensely popular. There have been a number of young actors suffer from that show that have perished. A young woman by the name of Naya Rivera, her baby child was found in a boat today and the assumption is that she jumped and she drowned herself in the water. Just absolutely tragic and it’s just horrible. Condolences to her family, friends and fans.

tic-toc down. ………

Millions possibly billions around the planet today are freaking out because Tic Tok is down! The app is down is frozen and everybody who had saved Tic Tok messages have lost all their saved messages, their favourites are gone! They have lost everything and they’re not even sure if they’ll be able to recover the app and get it back up and going! So needless to say everybody who has been coming in so enamoured with Tic Tok is really really upset right now!

red crane down.

There has been been a tragic accident in East London today. A crane a large crane, red in colour, you know if those are the things that they use to build things wow I am an architect eh? Sad to say an 85-year-old lady was killed and she’s still with her body is still trapped in the house. They have sent another crane in to help with the recovery.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

——————

59. July 10

MM ANON …… fly high Vera…………… Johnny poo…………… Murray mint Kate…………… now Pneumonia …………… Break cover……………… without merit ……… cover up Boris………… stop and search 😱😱😱…………… open theatre …………………… “ we want gan gan !! “ …………… “ we can visit Catherine “ …………… “ yes’ before Scotland “…………… “ clandestine William “ ……… “your grandfather will be ecstatic 🤣🤣🤣”

Entertainment purposes

July 10/2020

💜💜💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈THANK YOU MM ANON🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜💜💜

RIDDLE#59

fly high Vera……………

Dame Vera Lynn who song just celebrated have the anniversary at the end of the first world war just a few short months ago. She died just after celebrating that anniversary, she was 103 years old. She is honoured today with a flypast from two Spitfires as crowds lined the streets of her Sussex village for her funeral - on the 80th anniversary of start of Battle of Britain. I Wonder if the Duchess of Sussex was there to pay her respects? She personified the the morale of many soldiers during World War II. The power of music we all know how powerful music it is. Certain songs especially and Till We Meet Again, Dame Vera, Rest In Peace Till We Meet Again……..🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😢😢😢😢😢😢🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Johnny poo……………

This whole court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard it’s just sinking more in a very filthy territory. The female in the relationship allegedly was so mad that the male, was two hours late to her birthday party that she did a BM in his bed. Now there’s some mixup saying it was her dog’s BM was not her own BM. Either way it’s all just terrible.I wonder if this is a precursor somehow, to somewhat numb us to what’s going to come out of the MOS trial , facts that will be made public about madam, facts and the videos related to Madam. We will have heard such horrific things like this and then will hear regarding her it’ll be maybe a little easier to take I’m not sure.What we heard was that he didn’t cooperate with something and she had a BM in the bed kind of like a dog goes BM in your bed or in your shoes if he is mad at you. Just disgusting that adults behave like this I just can’t believe it.

Murray mint Kate……………

This weekend would’ve been the finals at Wimbledon. Today Catherine made a call and she look absolutely gorgeous in green I went to post that to my blog this morning. I made a snarky comment I said soon as that was posted we can expect the next video of Madam should be the same hairstyle as she’s madly looking for a green dress with athletes is on it and a bow that Catherine space was wearing on her left chest.

Catherine was kind of cheeky in how she presented her special guest. It was just her first and then she so cutely told them in the children as who’s are somebody special here with me and it turned out to be so Andy Murray so I needless to say everybody was very excited. They spent time talking about tennis and different strategies that sort of thing. The children also got to ask Catherine questions and then came around to their families and the lockdown. And there were questions about things like what did they do during lockdown. It was just a really nice back-and-forth video call Catherine is so good at that.

Of notes and he worry so anywhere he does have a history of having his name and his face on some mints so I picture here I hope it shows up when I when it’s posted.I also put the link underneath the picture doesn’t show up because I charge for pictures in before and they haven’t worked. I’m not sure if that’s what’s the clue was answered but you do you got lots of information anyway.🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2402105/Andy-Murray-face-super-imposed-Murray-Mints-US-Open.html

now Pneumonia ……..

Chinese health officials are now saying that an unknown pneumonia more deadly than the coronavirus“ that is “sweeping“ Kazakhstan and it’s actually likely to be Covid19! They are having 32,000 cases and 451 deaths between June 29 and July 5, 2020 in China. In Kazakhstan there have been 52,301 cases and 296 deaths.

Break cover………………

I think I can say, in my humble opinion, that this is our Harry. You all know that I’ve been banging on for years now that he is covertly overtly on her Majesty’s Secret Service. Now that everything has been arranged completed and finalized, they are completely disentangled from each other.Harry can break cover from wherever he’s been staying and just I’m sure just dying to announce the world that is he is free from that horrible horrible SEAHAG!! Every day when I open my iPad I look at Skippy screen is a green is a green the day it turned green I think we will all squeal and I think that will be a squeal and joy heard across the entire world perhaps even universe😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

without merit ………

When I read this headline a few minutes ago or over an hour to go I was absolutely gob smacked disgusted! GM, her attorney has said in court today in New York that the charges against GM are entirely without merit🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 and they want bail granted to immediately that she is not a flight risk!

cover up Boris…………

During one of the BLM riots a woman was seen wearing an anti-Boris tshirt. If you read what it said it was extremely vulgar. Police asked he to cover it up. Well she didn’t take kindly to that and filed a complaint. Today the results, the police officer(s) are forced to apologize. What is wrong with the world? Complete and utter disrespect!! How wonderful next thing is they’re going to make them not just get down on one knee to get down on both an end to pray at their feet?? This is absolutely gusting it really Riles me up because it’s so stupid.

stop and search 😱😱😱……………

In the United States and I think in particular New York State or New York City , they had a program called stop and frisbk. And law enforcement found that to be very effective in stopping some crimes. But that of course was done away with because human rights and all that stuff. So it stop and search was also used in the UK under the lockdown. 22,000 people have been stopped and searched. Now with Black Lives Matter and all the other issues are a cry a racial discrimination has been heard. Therefore an Inquiry will be conducted to review it in fact there were any cases of racial profiling or abuses.

open theatre…….

The government always acknowledged that “some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point”.

Outdoor theatres, opera, dance and music can start opening Saturday July 11/2020!! as they take place with a limited audience. Singing and the playing of brass and wind instruments will be permitted in a managed and controlled professional working environment to minimise risk.

How absolutely marvellous this is! I did a fairly long comment in one of my previous riddles interpretations where Piers Morgan was interviewing John Barrowman who is a well-known stage actor. They were talking about the Panto season and how much revenue that brings in for the theatre. Will all theatres being closed for so long without any future date to work towards, if something doesn’t happen with short order they may never reopen. I’m not sure what riddle that was so sorry I should’ve probably looked at which rental it was but anyways Google it.

“ we want gan gan !! “ …………… “ we can visit Catherine “ …………… “ yes’ before Scotland “…………… “ clandestine William “ ……… “your grandfather will be ecstatic 🤣🤣🤣”

Well here we have the Cambridge family desperately wanting to visit her Majesty the Queen. And it sounds like yes it’s a go for the annual trip to Balmoral and in fact that will be the Cambridge just placed a holiday as well at Balmoral in Scotland oh does it get any better oh sigh🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰☺️☺️☺️☺️ . Sounds like before they head up to Balmoral, the Cambridge greatgrandchildren will be going over to Windsor Castle to see Gangan and Himself! How wonderful is that!

As I said yesterday the Cambridges would not be going on vacation if things weren’t resolved with Harry! Yesterday Allegedly Anon and the previous day too, had left us some messages that, especially one that Catherine and William were working clandestinely with the legal team to arrange things for Harry. Sounds like things have been successful and William has completed the arrangements and Harry is a free man!!! This bring me to tears just thinking about that! I want to Harken to something LEGAL ANON made yesterday. Doing the divorce is easy it’s just a slip of paper but all the other arrangements financial another that’s what takes negotiations That is what takes the time , and Madam would , not go gently into that good night, to quote Dylan Thomas. She would be fighting for every ££££ and the Duchess of Sussex title. HMTQ is very happy with this news and she is extremely excited to tell her husband about this news because he absolutely loves and adores Harry.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

—————-

60. July 11

MM ANON ………… relaxed on zoom…………… Leeds bleeds ………… office no office ………… compulsory …………… Brooklyn!! Yawn. ………… Smith, Will deny …………… “Well” , solve the mystery???…………… STONE cold guilty………… Bollywood in hospital ……………Beach sleep………… Tapes😱😱😱😱………… In secunda Eboracum venit ………… Boo-Hoo !!

Entertainment purposes

Saturday July 11/20

💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊THANK YOU DEAR MM ANON😊😊😊😊😊🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈💜💜💜💜

July 11/2020

RIDDLE#60!!!

Kids I think in total now I am well over 200 riddle interpretations I am so excited!

relaxed on zoom……………

Oh dear Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge how we love her!!! Initially in, doing her zoom meetings and time with in lieu of personal appearances or walkabouts, she was a little shy, but now she’s again, as with everything else, she’s come into to her own and she’s fully relax and is completely herself. I have to laugh Scooby Doo had to put in his comments to in the paper and he stole in my line!!! I’ve been saying this for years about Catherine , that she has fully come into her own!! Scooby I know you read here stop stealing my lines that is plagiarism!!!

Leeds bleeds …………

Everyone in the UK has a favourite football team! Sad to say the team in Leeds has lost a very very very valuable member of its family. Tributes are flooding in to the legendary World Cup winner for England in 1966 Jack Charlton who died at the age of 85 this week. There will be a lot of grieving and memories I am sure and my heart goes out to his family and all his friends and people who worked with him over the years.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

office no office …………

In a big change from his stay home, stay home, stay home work from home mantra. Boris Johnson now says everybody come on over , come on work it’s OK , come on in, to go back to your office, nothing to see here folks, just come on back it’s all right! And they’re having problems with the the tertiary businesses downtown because people are not working in the office or working from home. The thing is that people are getting to like working from home because they could have their own schedule and oh boy we we can’t have that can we can’t have people enjoying enjoying their life.

compulsory ……………

Was released from No. 10 a few hours ago, that the plan going forward will very likely be mandatory use of facemasks in all of the shops. That does not just mean that the staff that means also the people going to shop. So going forward I will suggest you stock up on reusable masks that are of a good quality that you can launder and sanitize and as well I also picked up a box of disposable ones so I have them on hand for when people come and I also bought a giant size of hand sanitizers so just start planning because it is the new normal.

Brooklyn!! Yawn. …………

Yawn is right big boring YAWN ! The Beckhams are never out of the news I’m so sick of this! now we have the 2.0 version Brooklyn Beckham is now engaged to some actress Nicola Peltz so I think her name is. well I’m sure millions and millions will be spent on this I wonder how long it will last yawn yawn yawn yawn is RIGHT on it MM Anon!!

Smith, Will deny …………… “

Oh more American trash news! Will Smith and his wife whatever her name is we are allegedly being interviewed on some podcast I think and she admitted having an affair with some woman. Now I always thought that they had an open marriage every that’s been the rumour for years and years and years and years I don’t know why this is such a big shock especially in Hollywood good gravy.

“Well” , solve the mystery???…………… STONE cold guilty………

Sad sad sad Madeline McCann they’re still looking for her. So they feel they have positive evidence and I’m not sure if the McCanns have even been told what that evidence is but they are searching wells near within I think at 8 mile distance from the hotel that they were staying at in Portugal and when little Madeline went missing. Yeah in the Stone called Yoshi I believe is the fact that the walls are made of stone so they must be pretty certain this is just terrible but there’s no way to sugarcoat any of this is just disgusting evil evil at its worst!

STONE cold guilty…

Another option might Oliver Stone, the famous Hollywood director/mogul. In his memoirs the director of many Hollywood huge films talked about the time he spent in Vietnam during the war. “I actually saw the man I killed which was rare in Vietnam… I felt no guilt he’s dead I’m alive that’s the way it works”.

Bollywood in hospital ……………

COVID-19 is in a rage in India and their Bollywood stars are I think it’s bigger than Hollywood because the population is bigger . They are all actually considered the royalty in in India and around the world actually because Bollywood has billions of fans. So sad to say the king of Bollywood cinema, Amitabh Bachchan who is 77, and his son Abhishek 44 have both revealed that they have COVID-19. Abhishek is married to Aishwarya Rai. She is beautiful, wowza, she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻for them to recover!

Beach sleep…………

Yes yes yes the ability to go to the beach has been returned and they are taking full advantage of it by not going back home I just saw her sleeping on the beach. Now I think that’s probably not legal I know that it’s not legal in some places however I don’t think that’s gonna stop anybody from it. I read that in the paper yesterday they were already concerned about the lack of social distancing on it on beaches in the UK and I think this will only add to that concern.

Tapes😱😱😱😱…………

GM, or is it OMG!!!!!!!!?????!!!!! The lawyer for VRG It’s saying publicly that the Epstein tapes that GM has, have HRH Prince Andrew is on those tapes. We have no idea the contents of those tapes they could be audio they could be video they could be parties who knows. But it’s just throwing more gas on the fire and again I have to say why is HRH Prince Andrew being singled out??? We have former presidents , we have many billionaires , we have many famous people men and women that have had contact with him and in fact flew that airplane to that horrible island why on earth are they focussing on Andrew!!??!!!

In secunda Eboracum venit …………

Direct translation from the Latin this is second income from the York. Now what does that mean?I mean we know what it means now but in terms of what’s going on what does this mean? Has Prince Andrew and you found another source of revenue? H as someone else been profiting off using York as a second income? This is puzzling to me I find the Latin stuff always kind of stumped me a little bit.

We know that there is no way that UK government would extradite him to the United States for charges should they be entered or even for a simple interview with the F.B.I. Or SDNY again l say, he’s not been charged with anything! There is a pending extradition order from the UK regarding that woman whose name I don’t remember who killed that young boy on his motorbike and then scrambled it out of the UK and flew back to America. America has been clear that they will not be extradite her back to England to face charges, THAT HAVE BEEN FILED!! So there is a rather sticky point there if they were just extra like a regular woman, not the son of HMTQ!

Boo-Hoo !!

This is completely shocking because England is not a Third World country one expects these things to happen in those countries but not not in a first world country. Although as we are seeing the changes that are happening in 2020 the things that we excepted were normal as normal are no longer there. I I keep harkening back to London scoop, who that poor girl, she said up and down and down is up. She got so scared and and she said things that will never be the same once you was you know what’s really going on.

“­­ ­‘Anyone saying all their staff are on minimum wage in the garment industry is a fraud:’ ‘Sweatshop’ owner of Boohoo factory confesses he pays workers a shocking £4 AN HOUR” is the headline of the article in the daily mail. That’s that’s literally the term sweatshop we are sweating for minimal money, I am sure and no benefits of any sort no health benefits no pension plan no sick time and certainly no vacation time. This is disgusting! I feel bad because I use that word disgusting quite a bit since I started this audio thing talking and then thing types for me to save my hands, I found myself talking out loud instead of talking in my head as I’m typing and I’ve noticed how I say certain things with regularity and disgusting as one of them.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

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61. July 12

MM ANON ……… keep my sex life private…………… farm infectious …………… we don’t have to wear them…………… elephants virus ……………… sad swim ……………… down and out in LA…………… Burton blocks…………ROYAL BUTLER. ………… Fourteen Times!!!! ……………… Ritchies holiday camp …………ATMs lockdown ……………… electric scooters😱😱😱😱😱………… Kate tops poll

Entertainment purposes

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😊😊😊😊😊😊🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸THANK YOU MM ANON🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸😊😊😊😊😊😊🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

July 12/2020

RIDDLE#61

keep my sex life private……………

Kate Beckinsale is one British actress I have actually seen and other than price of classic classic ones like Helen Mirren etc. and that level. She’s 46 believe it or not and is in a relationship with a young man who is 23. She has been getting trolled online and hassled and every other word you can think of in every social media regarding the age difference in this relationship and any anything else you can imagine they are having to go at her about. She simply wants to live her life and she said she’s not goning to let something like a menopause stop her from enjoying being a woman and having a relationship. And age and quite frankly any of her personal life is nobody’s business. Where do all these trolls come from? Do you not have anything better to do? That would be the day I would go online and tell somebody who they should or shouldn’t date or anything about their sex life that that’s just my mind just it’s just crazy.

farm infectious ……………

At a vegetable farm in Herefordshire, a large outbreak of COVID-19 has occurred amongst the seasonal workers. 73 people have been confirmed positive of having COVID-19.. The produce from this farm are sent to Tesco, Aldi ,Sainsbury’s, ASDA, etc all the usual food stores. so might start to see some empty bench shelves or a massive increase in price I’m not certain of that. this is no workers are all house in trailers. And currently the police are actually guarding the exits so that no one can leave that’s how serious this is.

we don’t have to wear them……………

Masks, we have been been told not to wear them, they’re not helpful, then oh yes you must wear them. Them if you’re outside amongst fresh air you don’t need them and then oh, no you still need them as protecting you and protecting other people. They have been made mandatory in the shops in Scotland both for the staff and the shoppers. Boris Johnson, there’s a funny picture of him in the paper pulling a pint wearing a mask. I think we should all go back to , remember the bubble boy? from Seinfeld? like we should all get big bubbles and then we could just roll around in our bubbles and have like a hole for the bathroom, a hole for food. I guess it’s just crazy already. No now I’ve read and heard they’re making masks compulsory in for children. Try get a child to keep on a mask for more than 1/10th of a second or to wear it properly and avoid touching their face. Oh this is so unrealistic as we prepare to send our children back to school. I’m not being negative, I’m being realistic because you all know little children I mean we know how it is as an adult uncomfortable those masks are, children will have a tough time with that. I saw on the blog the other day somebody had a picture with a mask on their dog or was that it was a cat with a cat like wow I wonder how long the cat kept that mask on for.

elephants virus ………………

In news that is likely to severely distress Prince Harry, because he loves Botswana so much, there is a virus loose amongst some elephants. 400 elephants have died. They don’t know exactly what the virus is but there is some concern that it is possibly transmittable to humans. currently there is a massive investigation underway they’re assessing the water the vegetation in the air the soil anything that could point a clue to what this is.

sad swim ………………

The Glee actress ,Naja Rivera, her body is still missing and she is presumed dead. They’ve been dragging the lake and searching and searching but as yet have not found her body. It’s agony to look at the pictures of her mom and her ex-husband at the lake. There was even a video of her father just kind of losing it and running out into the lake is so sad. She must’ve been in a very bad way to leave a four-year-old child alone on the boat in the middle of the lake and have him witness her it must’ve been so traumatic and he’s old enough to know that those memories are going to be in there somewhere for that child.

down and out in LA……………

Yes fake Madam and fake Harry were seen at a gas station in L.A., filling gas into a Cadillac Escalade. They are both looking pretty rough! Those actors need some grooming basic grooming and oh they desperately need an iron for her!? She needs something for her knees , Lord that woman, you need kneepads her hobbies/activities have so badly affected her kneecaps. Sometimes drunk people or people with bulimia spend hours hurling at a loo, on their knees. I think fake Harry need some new clothes. Maybe we should start a go fund me page for both of these two pathetic people.Always one to merch, wear Givenchy and everything designer, here she was carrying a clear plastic purse, like a little girl who’s two or three carrying their first purse! It was some alleged fertility medication or was an acne medication or was it a fake box everything is fake fake fake fake your fake!

Burton blocks…………

Yet in another case of a celebrity doing what they want to, Tim Burton has erected of a wooden wall on his property. Property is allegedly worth around £3,000,000! not too much eh? The thing of it is, the wall blocks a popular foot path that many people take to get down to the river. We know we like to walk, we like to walk our dogs and we get used to certain things and now that is no longer there. Needless to say the locals are not too happy. I wonder how much time these celebrities actually spend spend in their multi million pound country homes. Thechoices they make that affects so many other people who live there permanently surely there must have been another way around this.

ROYAL BUTLER. …………

A man named Grant Harrold, used to be Prince Charles’ butler and he’s also worked for other members rather for other members of the royal family. He’s become somewhat of a TV commentator as well as he’s wanting to start his own royal school for butler training and another for etiquette. . They were fine to have him style himself as a royal Butler. However when he wanted to name his school and his training course that he was offering royal Butler training and etiquette as Royal, that’s when the Lord Chamberlain’s office at Buckingham palace stepped in and filed an injunction.He should have known better and just left well enough alone. Whem it comes to actually use the word royal in the UK , no no no no cannot dothat!

Fourteen Times!!!! ………………

I need a sappy violin playing in the background, now today report on the legal case between Johnny Depp and Amber heard! she is saying that over a three-year period 14 times is the number of times that he allegedly, physically attacked her. Hold up your hand if you believe that. OK take a minute I’ll wait, I’ll wait and let you think about it. I don’t see any hands up yet. OK, one more time, hold up your hands if you believe her. I still don’t see any hands being held up interesting!

Ritchies holiday camp …………

Guy Ritchie, film director formally Madonna’s husband has a massive $9 million estate in the UK. He’s going to build a holiday camp on his estate so he can host hunting parties. Now is that the life of Riley or what?

ATMs lockdown ………………

During the COVID-19 lock down many ATMs Burton lactone as well. There’s no a mandate or a law that’s coming into our rule I don’t know what to call it that’s coming into affect that there will be an open and accessible ATM within each region per number of people per capita. This is that people can all have access to cash. A few years back all the rage was Glamping, that a hybrid between camping and glamour and the tents were filled with queen size beds and every luxury fancy thing you could imagine. So his cabins that he’s going to build are going to be luxury cabins probably nicer than most of our houses.So if you have an extra £15,000 that you wanna blow in one day do you know spend the day there for £15,000?

electric scooters😱😱😱😱😱…………

Gone are the days of scooters where you’d actually have to use some exercise and use your foot to propel yourself. Well now leave the little things are electric and they can go go go. They are now being legalized to use on rolls which is madness. The tuned term scooter in Canada is not the same as in the UK. A scooter here is what older folks or people with health problems drive around and it’s a four wheeled vehicle some of them have roofs it’s kind of like a mini golf carts know that we are talking about here or scooters like from the 1950s like a skateboard with a handle. More and more people are using this as a way to commute to work to and from work and putting more risk to it because it’s a busier time of day to be on the road in such a such an open device with no protection. A TV presenter by the name of Emily Hartridge was 35 and she was killed last year at a roundabout in Battersea. I think the fair is and rightly so of these things being in the traffic versus on the sidewalk big big concern.

Kate tops poll

In the latest survey run by the Daily Mirror, Catherine came out on top as most popular.just ahead of her Majesty the Queen. And madam’s sugars are all in a to-do about this because they believe Madam is the top royal.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

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62. July 13

MM ANON ……… heartbroken …………… musky Amber…… sleepy ice cream………… sad Lake……………… more organ warnings …………… huge slave factory’s ……………… tin foil………” never call your babies…???………………… second safest road ……………Forest Rambo…………………” you go old thing , it’s for the best” …………… “ I may stay!! “ …………… Ken. Palace bubble.

Entertainment purposes

🌈🌈🌈🌈💜💜💜💜😊😊😊😊THANK YOU MM ANON😊😊😊😊💜💜💜💜🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

July 14/2020 riddle was posted July 13/2030

Sorry l am late!

RIDDLE #62

Thank you to the Daily Mail for loads of help on this riddle!

heartbroken ……………

Wow what wouldn’t fit under heartbroken clue?? The death of that young celebrity while her young son was in the boat. All the deaths from Covid, all the tragedy around the world, the loss, this is a an open ended clue. I have no idea where to go because there is so much heartbreaking stuff going on out there.. We have John Travolta‘s wife dying of cancer, a toddler killed in the UK hit it in the driveway, a mother and daughter dying within a short span of time.

musky Amber……

Here again we have heard daily update in the saga of the duo whose lives are so sad. Into the mix comes Elon Musk yeah yeah yeah yeah.Elon Musk and NOT Johnny Depp could have given Amber Heard cuts and bruises during their affair, as her marriage to the actor fell apart, according to the Penthouse concierge! Musk was a regular visitor to Amber Heard’s LA penthouse, arriving at 11pm and still there at 1am, allegedly. How lovely! NOT🤢😱! These late-night rendezvous took place as Heard’s marriage to Johnny Depp fell apart amid a series of serious sometimes violent arguments.Johnny Depp is suing News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun over an article referring to him as a wife beater. Court heard of an argument that occurred on May 2016, when Heard says Depp threw a mobile phone at her ‘like a baseball pitcher’. But security staff at the building where she lived said there were no cuts or bruises on her face for a week after the alleged attack. Instead , Trinity Esparza, who ran security at the building, said it wasn’t until May 27 Heard ‘had a red cut underneath her right eye and red marks by her eye’. Ms Esparza also alleges that on June 4 - two weeks after Johnny Depp left the penthouse - she saw Amber Heard with further injuries; a bruise on her left check and two on either side of her neck in the shape of fingers.When asked who Amber Heard had been 'interacting over this time Ms Esparza replied, 'Elon Musk’ - then if there was anybody else, she replied, 'No’

sleepy ice cream…………

Catherine was interviewed this morning which would’ve been Monday morning on the BBC is that honey happy people right on her Tiny Happy People initiative. She spoke about all three of her children are like bottomless pit filling machines we used to say that kids head hollow legs when they can eat and eat like that as they were growing. Interesting she said little Louis does not understand social distancing well yeah he’s young and this is one of the problems with returning to school children will not understand the concept of a certain age anyway. I wonder I didn’t see the actual interview but I wonder if she mentioned that if they have a little snack at bedtime that’ll get them to sleep easier I’m not sure. I can’t find anything and I can’t think of anything other than that were sleepy ice cream that’s current, unless somebody put drugs in their ice cream and who knows with celebrities these days anything is possible!

sad Lake………………

Naya Rivera’s Glee castmates including Jane Lynch lead celebs paying tribute after body was found at Lake Piru six days after disappearance: ‘What a force you were’. Police confirmed that a body pulled from Lake Piru on Monday is the actress just six days after she vanished. The actress’s family rushed to the lake on Monday morning and some of her Glee castmates, including Heather Morris, were also there. Jane Lynch was the first to pay her respects as she took to Twitter on Monday to write: ‘Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family’. They both starred on the Fox series from 2009 to 2015; Naya as cheerleader Santana Lopez and 59-year-old Lynch as coach Sue Sylvester. A day prior, Rivera’s co-stars Amber Patrice Riley and Kevin McHale took to Twitter to urge followers to show some respect for Naya’s family and friends. She vanished on Wednesday on Lake Piru after taking a pontoon boat out on the water with her four-year-old son Josey. On Sunday, Naya’s distraught family were seen at the lake trying to assist investigators in their search for her. Her Glee co-stars Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Max Adler, Josh Sussman, Amber Riley, Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Chris Coelfer, Darren Criss, Alex Newell and Kristin Chenoweth posted tributes to Naya by Monday night.

more organ warnings ……………

It has been found that Covid-19 damages the heart? One in eight tests on infected patients in hospital reveal 'severe dysfunction’ and more than half develop abnormalities, a study has found.The study, done by the British Heart Foundation, was on patients that doctors already suspected had Covid-19 heart issues. One in eight of them showed signs of 'severe dysfunction’ in pumping motion.The majority of patients had had healthy hearts before catching the coronavirus. Yet another reason to be terrified of this virus to reduce social distancing and wear a mask and follow all the guidelines we are given.

huge slave factory’s ………………

We were just waiting for this weren’t we after last weeks news about boo-hoo. Boohoo’s links to Leicester ‘slave’ factory further revealed. The business partner of clothing brand’s co-founder owns warehouse accused of paying employees £3.50 per hour. The Leicester 'slave factory’ is run by Morefray Ltd, a Manchester-owned firm. Morefray has ties to the I Saw It First fashion firm set up by Jalal Kamani, 60. Kamani is the co-founder of Bohoo and retains a stake in the under-fire retailer. Bohoo is embroiled in the allegations of 'modern slavery and human trafficking’. Does it get any more pathetic I’m right downtown in a big city human trafficking going on? And we know this is happening across cities all across the world wherever we live it is so disturbing!

tin foil………”

Well now we have some more information from authorities on what went down when GM was arrested. Ghislaine Maxwell tried to flee when the FBI raided her $1M New Hampshire hideaway and had a phone wrapped in tin foil ‘in misguided effort to avoid detection’. Ghislaine Maxwell refused to open the front door to the FBI and tried to flee to another room when they raided her $1million home, prosecutors claimed today.The FBI smashed down the door and discovered a mobile phone wrapped in tin foil which prosecutors called a 'seemingly misguided effort to evade detection’. Prosecutors said that her conduct during the 8:30am raid on July 2 at the property called 'Tuckedaway’ in New Hampshire was 'troubling’. New York prosecutors said this was evidence that Maxwell was 'skilled at living in hiding’ and should be denied bail.Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend 'vigorously denies’ charges against her.Maxwell’s lawyers argued she is not a flight risk and is 'not Jeffrey Epstein’. They also said she had not been in contact with pedophile Epstein for more than a decade before he died in a New York prison last year. She will appear in court Tuesday where a judge will decide if she can be freed. I didn’t think there was a person on the planet that actually believed about the tinfoil thing but I guess now we know there is one.

“never call your babies…???…………………

The unpopular names British parents say they’d NEVER call their babies - including Boris, Karen and Meghan😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣.In a Survey of 5,842 parents reveals names they wish they’d steered away from. One Third admitted they didn’t give child’s name enough thought before choosing. 73% said they had thought of better names for their children after naming them.The top names parents would never give their children includes Boris and Donald!!

second safest road ……………

Car infotainment systems and mobile phones are keeping death rate on Britain’s roads unchanged despite improvements in vehicle safety, Department for Transport officials warn.Department for Transport (DfT) raises concern over number of deaths on roads.The figure remains largely unchanged since 2010, despite safety improvements.Last year in the UK five people died on roads each day, with 68 seriously injured.However new figures revealed road death rate is second lowest across Europe.Most accidents resulting in fatalities are due to driver distraction, says report. So wherever you drive you know that in the UK you are driving on the second safest rose that’s a good thing to know!

Forest Rambo…………………”

The hunt is on the for German ‘Forest Rambo’.Special forces and helicopters are in a huge manhunt for a camouflage-wearing, bow and arrow-wielding maniac who overpowered four police officers and went on the run in forest. Special forces, helicopters and sniffer dogs are searching forest near Oppenau. Suspect is Yves Etienne Rausch who was ID checked near Oppenau in Sunday. Rausch 'suddenly and completely unexpectedly’ pulled a gun on police officers.He made the officers hand over their weapons before running away, police say.

“you go old thing , it’s for the best” …………… “ I may stay!! “ ……………

Here we are at Windsor Castle and Her Majesty and Prince Philip are debating should they or shouldn’t they go to Balmoral. He says you go, it’s all it’s OK it’s for the best.I don’t think she’s having that she’s not going without him and her retort is a swift I may day stay!! Now that can be taken two ways, I may stay, thank you very much here right here at Windsor Castle or I may stay at Balmoral !! Are you taking the two ways? You decide which way you think it’s it is meant.

Ken. Palace bubble.

With all the chalk and bubbles school bubbles travel bubbles etc. I wonder if this is not Kensington Palace being a bubble? Given the fact that there are four heirs to the throne in that home , I wonder if when the Cambridges return from Anmer Hall or any vacations they may be taking, if Kensington Palace will become a bubble. Given the uncertainty of Covid and everything and he has some schools will start in the fall and some won’t we really don’t know until that time and what’s really going to happen. So I think they may be planning ahead and having Kensington Palace be a bubble I think that’s a really excellent idea.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

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63. July 14

💜💜💜💜💜💜I must say I’ve never done with the riddle if I had to type it all out because there were so many clues I am so thankful for this audio speak software off! Also won a game thank the daily mail for the great assistance in finding information for this riddle really appreciate it OK here it is!💜💜💜💜💜

MM Anon

MM ANON …… NO BAIL……… happy little people ………… gymnast aghast ………… George is not happy ………… a woke joke…………………… masked rats………………… carry on up the Amazon …………… “ so are White People” ……………… a new rash ……… HMTQ Royal zoom…………Black-burnt ……………… cut my card up………… veggies break out………… blame the dog-poo………………up up and Huawei………”

Entertainment purposes

🌈🌈🌈🌈🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💜💜💜💜 thank you MM Anon💜💜💜💜🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌈🌈🌈🌈

July 14/2020. RIDDLE #63

NO BAIL………

Oh of course not who are earth would have ever thought that she could possibly get bail!!! cry all you want to lady it’s too late for tears way way way way way too late for tears! She is the highest value target of that law-enforcement has been looking for to put this multi facetted multi country case to bed, pardon the pun. She holds in her head and possibly on tape or in books or journals or whatever the details about the most powerful men and women on the planet and the most wealthy and all their their evil filthy deeds that are secret still but need to come to light for justice for the victims. At some point the truth will come out the light will shine on the bill. We have yet to hear at least to my knowledge what if anything they found on that island or in the temple sort of thing not to degrade the word temple I don’t mean any disrespect at all. She will never be a free woman again and have you noticed that I have never said her name is yet I have no intention to say her name or her initials she’s not worthy of it and I don’t want it on my iPad.!!! But you all know exactly the woman who I’m talking about who is now in federal custody in the United States and is being watched because she is a high-value targets not an asset not yet not as yet we don’t know that she is not an asset because we don’t know if she’s told them anything. At some point she may become a high value asset but right now I’m looking at her as a high-value target so somebody’s willing to take her out like they did the man JE I shouldn’t say his name either oh yeah right now she’s a very very high value target and they have her under heavy heavy heavy supervision!!

happy little people …………

I spoke about this yesterday when I was talking about Catharine being interviewed by the BBC on television pardon me.She is working on a new initiative called Tiny Happy People. Catherine has been part of a video, an educational digital tool for parents. This video is part of Tiny Happy People, a BBC Education initiative providing digital resources to support parents. The Duchess of Cambridge,Quote “She said: ‘So much focus, particularly during pregnancy and when you have a newborn baby, is the physical development. But what I found was missing was the support on how to further their emotional and mental development… And it’s that bit that I think you really need the support.‘”By the way I have to say does not her hair look fantastic with a new highlights? I was reminded by Skippy of a few riddles ago something above blonde bits so I wonder if she was telling us of what was to come with Catherine’s hair? I know she did highlights last year and the photos of them walking the children into school she looks so gorgeous how could she not look gorgeous. Yes the feminist would say yes we shouldn’t talk about her looks and everything like that little Pooh Pooh Pooh I am going to because she looks fantastic especially just imagine all the pressure that that woman is under never mind me and a mother of three and on the front page all the time and that’s the subject of PR garbage from Madam. Catherine you rock and I love you to bits!

gymnast aghast …………

Just something that has been quietly going on behind the scenes for years for decades we saw I have seen it in minor hockey in Canada and junior hockey players in the NHL have come out or written books about their sexual abuse when they were young men. Many of the Olympic gymnasts on the American team that did so well in Brazil, have come out and and accused their doctor l believe, of long-term sexual abuse and it’s rampant. It was someone on their coaching staff him but I’m pretty sure it was the doctor.We know it’s been a rampant since sex was invented it’s been twisted and used for abuse.Olympic medallist Amy Tinkler has yet to hear from British Gymnastics EIGHT MONTHS after submitting a complaint and says her ‘experiences’ there are why she quit the sport in January. UK Sport has launched a probe into claims that gymnasts were abused by coaches. Amy Tinkler released a statement on Tuesday morning about British gymnastics.Tinkler said her negative experiences there is why she quit the sport in January.She says she submitted a complaint in December and is still awaiting feedback. How disgusting is that eight months eight months and not a word yeah. how ridiculous is this I thought with the #MeToo, movement that things are changing and you know it things will get faster looked at and dealt with but it doesn’t appear so does it! Athletes are still stepping up and talking about the horrors of abuse they experienced! They claim they were beaten and locked away at the hands of British Gymnastic coaches. An international athlete from Britain says abuse of gymnasts is ongoing and there is also a fear of repercussions that is preventing some from speaking out!! UK Sport is investigating claims British gymnasts were abused by their coaches after a series of allegations from gymnasts, including Catherine Lyons, were made.

George is not happy …………

‘Grumpy’ Prince George! Catherine Middleton has said her son, six, is upset because baby brother Prince Louis, two, is beating him in a ‘sunflower growing competition’ at home. Ahhhh but dear a George you will be 7 on the 22nd of July! You are years ahead of your dear little brother💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜!Catherine revealed her children are having a sunflower growing contest.

a woke joke……………………

I am so sick of this woman and her bloody word salad it’s not even funny I can’t even look at her and watch that video her hair now looks like it’s about 6 feet long oh gosh help me Lord help me!! Madam quoted the Dalai Lama as she urged young women to fight gender and race inequality with 'compassion’ - while vowing that she, Prince Harry and baby Archie 'will be cheering you on' she spoke to the Girl Up Leadership Summit via Zoom on Tuesday, when she urged young women to tackle inequality in the world. Oh how should they do that madam, should they go yachting or make a video and then sell it to a really naughty website??She quoted the Dalai Lama, saying: ‘Compassion is the radicalism of our time’. I don’t know if she gave credit to the Dalai Lama or if it’s the researchers at the paper that good she’s not normally known to get credit for people that she steals from. she spoke on a number of social issues, including gender inequality and racial injustice, as well as gun violence and mental health awareness. Other speakers have included Hillary Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Meghan’s close friend Priyanka Chopra Jonas. I love this part , where they say Her close friend Priyanka Chopra. So she did manage to weasel her way in there interesting so interesting I just it’s just so pathetic but look at the other women I mean who’s on the list I won’t even say their name just look at them and you’ll know back her back her back her!

masked rats…………………

BANKSY strikes again! Banksy urges Tube passengers to wear masks by disguising himself as a TfL deep cleaner to graffiti sneezing rats on carriage in his latest guerrilla attack. The world famous, artist from Bristol was filmed spraypainting a carriage with equipment used by Tube staff to disinfect London trains. This Piece is called 'If you don’t mask - you don’t get’ has rat sneezing and coughing across windows and walls. Banksy was filmed creating art on a busy train and was forced to usher people away so he could complete it. The last time he did the tribute to George Floyd I tried to include the picture in my interpretation it didn’t work so I won’t bother now but it’s easy to find if you Google it OK.

carry on up the Amazon ……………

An announcement of unbelievable Technology has been taken made by the billionaire Jeff Bezos company Amazon. Amazon unveils shopping ‘Dash Carts’ that know what supermarket customers are putting in their trolleys/ shopping carts and let them skip the checkout queue/line up. They will first show up at a new Amazon supermarket in Woodland Hills, LA. Cameras, sensors and scales automatically detect and list any items . Customers can leave directly without seeing a cashier and the card linked to their Amazon account will automatically be charged. This is unbelievable can you imagine how much time and effort this is going to save after a long days work when you wanna whip into a store and just grab your groceries and go you’re not gonna be held up you’re not going to be having to put up with a chatty cashier that likes to talk about everything and listen to beep beep beep as she slowly slides things across the thing you know the price detector that puts the price on oh golly I don’t know how it was described anyways wow is all I have to say!!!

“ so are White People” ………………

President Trump is being interviewed today and he was asked about the current police situation and he was saying “white people are being killed those two, upper case more white people! This was PresidentTrump’s response when he was asked why black Americans are still being killed by police officers.. I don’t think I’ll add anything more because everybody has their own opinion and I’m not gonna get into a political debate here I’m just going to state that’s what this is it this clue is OK.

a new rash ………

And yet more news regarding the COVID-19 virus we have some new information that skin rashes are also a symptom of COVID-19. One in 11 Covid-19 patients break out in itchy blotches as scientists urge NHS to extend its official list of tell-tale signs (which still only includes three). Researchers from King’s College London drew on data from over 20,000 Britons . Respondents either tested positive for Covid-19 or heavily suspected of having it. They found 9 per cent of those who were infected also suffered from skin rashes. While 8 per cent of people with other tell-tale symptoms of Covid had rashes. So I guess that’s another symptom to look out for even in children to I would think.

HMTQ Royal zoom…………

This is yet another thing that I absolutely love about her Majesty no matter what the situation she’s up for it and I just I just admire her so much! “One IS amused” Cheerful Queen laughs after hearing about RAF gunner’s lockdown training regime of pushing a CAR up and down the streets as she joins UK armed forces around the globe for video chat.” Daily Mail. Her Majesty, the Queen was seen enjoying a chuckle during her second official virtual royal duty.She spoke with Jamaica-born Lance Corporal Stephens who joined RAF 2011. The Lance Corporal is a member of the Jamaican Olympic bobsleigh team. Remember that movie with a John Candy about their team?? Cool Runnings!! Great film! Her Majesty laughed when he told her he pushed a car along for exercise!

Black-burnt ………………

Madam has once again, risen up and shown us her amazing compassion skills her humanity!🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 Meghan Markle has phoned a black woman, 18, who says she was set on fire by four white men in an alleged hate crime . She said it really 'lifted her spirits’ by talking about the 'importance of self care’ during the 40-minute call.Madam, allegedly so l say, spoke with Althea Bernstein, an 18-year-old black woman who was the victim of an alleged hate crime in Wisconsin last week. The paper uses Duchess, but l am saying Madam, got in touch through president of the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County. He told how Madam and Prince Harry pledged to speak with youth of Wisconsin. Are you kidding me neither one of those two has ever heard of Wisconsin!! I’m sure neither of them have ever been there!! Harry is not with her he has never been with her!! This is just such PR lies it’s not even funny! There is no way that woman had a 40 minute conversation focussed on another person it’s impossible!! She is so narcissistic she could not go 40 minutes without talking about her self and making it all about herself! My sympathies are with this young woman if in fact this truly happen and to be pulled in and use as a PR pawn by Madam is foul very foul!

cut my card up…………

You know I often hearken to London scoop when she said when she found the information she found that up was down and down was up and everything was twisted around to all she’s ever known. And here is another example. Conservative Party members have been cutting up their membership cards in protest at PM BJ’s plan to make face masks mandatory in shops as an MP Michael Gove shunned them while buying breakfast today.

The hashtag #NoMasks and the word ‘muzzles’ were both trending on twitter while several Tory supporters posted pictures of chopped-up cards, cancelled registrations or deleting their direct debits.

Many said the order - which will come into effect from July 24 and carries a maximum fine of £100 for non-compliance - is incompatible with the party’s libertarian values. Others claimed there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the measure has meaningful health benefits.

veggies break out…………

I told you last week of the what’s the word quarantine at the vegetable farm in Herefordshire. I think I also mentioned that they were being guarded by police so know that none of them believe and I believe at the time 73 of the hundred workers have tested positive. Well yesterday I read they were being offered free cigarettes and alcohol to comply with staying in quarantine. But here I see that’s four of them have managed to escape the luxury life of life in a trailer with free booze and free ciggies!! So the police are actually actively looking for them at this time. Because it is last week they were seasonal workers in today in the paper it seems most of them are from Eastern Europe. So I’m not sure that you’re thinking they’re going to try and make a run for going home or I wonder who has their passports with their employer hold their passports and I’m not sure.

blame the dog-poo………………

Oh here we are in the saga of JD and AH. I am tired of the name so I will just use the abbreviations. Yes yes we all know what she allegedly left in his bed when he was two hours late for her birthday party. I wonder if they’re going to have to do DNA testing on the stuff or even have the sample because the story keeps changing first it was her that it was a friend and now the dogs are being blamed. Maybe all three did it maybe they just got in there and got doing their business and you know somehow that’s how it goes let your freak flag fly right!😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

up up and Huawei………”

I think this is an excellent excellent decision in compliance with United States and Canada’s stand on Broadway. They have been known to hack and interfere with software and all sorts of bad actor activities. As I’ve told you before we currently in our country on behalf of the United States have the head of Huawei’s daughter in custody for charges in the United States part. She is fighting those charges and I’m not sure point this point how long is gonna take to extradite her to the United States.However hair and I was actually with the riddle is about that is my rambling.

“China’s trade threat: Ambassador hints at retaliation over 'disappointing and wrong’ decision to strip Huawei out of 5G network, saying it is now 'questionable’ if UK can be an 'open and fair business environment’

Government today announced Chinese tech giant Huawei will be banned from the UK’s new 5G network

It will be illegal for telecoms firms in Britain to buy Huawei 5G equipment from December 31 of this year

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said all Huawei 5G technology will then be stripped out of network by 2027

Government had given Huawei the green light in January to help build the network amid security concerns

US sanctions recently imposed on the firm prompted a reassessment of the company’s role and today’s U turn

Decision to exclude Huawei from 5G network will mean completion of roll out delayed by two to three years

Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the UK, tweeted it was a 'disappointing and wrong decision by the UK'” Thank you Daily Mail.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇳🇿🇦🇺

——————

[mageicalwishes]

Read on AO3: here

Read the previous chapter (On Tumblr): here

Summary: “I’m egging your house for a dare, but you’re parent is a cop and now they’re yelling at me, so I told them you were my ex and you wronged me, and now you’re coming outside, so please just go along with this, I really don’t want to go to jail” AU When Simon Snow agreed to egg some posho’s house, he never thought he’d find himself here - The only thing standing between himself and a criminal charge, the word of a handsome stranger.

Chapter: 4/?

Words: 3,831

Baz

SS (20:14): What are you up to anyways?

ME (20:15): Well, I was reading a book. But now I’m talking to you ... Obviously.

SS (20:15): Oh shit, sorry. I can text you l8r if you prefer. I didn’t mean to bother you.

ME (20:16): No. Don’t worry, you're not bothering me. I wanted to talk to you … You’re far more entertaining than Austen, anyway.

SS (20:16): Okay cool :D

SS (20:16): Austen? Like ... Jane Austen? Is that for school?

ME (20:17): No. Just for fun.

SS (20:18): WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?

SS (20:18): I had to read Pride and Prejudice for the GCSEs. It nearly killed me!

SS (20:19): I’ve never really been the best at reading, but that just took the piss! I swear to God, I didn’t understand like half of the words!

ME (20:20): That's understandable, to be honest. I will admit that the language can be a little 'flowery' at times. If you’re not really into reading, Austen isn’t exactly the most accessible literature. The stories are good though.

ME (20:21): Did you watch the film?

SS (20:23): Yeah, no kidding. I despised that fucking book!

SS (20:23):  And, kind of. We watched, like, half of it in class, but we never finished it - Ran out of time.

ME (20:24): That’s unfortunate, it's pretty good, as far as adaptations go. I have the DVD somewhere. If I can find it, we could watch it together when you come over, if you’d like?

SS (20:24): Aw yeah defo :) That sounds good.

SS (20:24): Are you free tomorrow?

SS (20:25): Not for me to come over dw - I know you want to wait till your dad is away.

SS (20:25): If not dw. I know it’s a bit short notice. Soz.

ME (20:26): Don’t worry. I’m free, as far as I know. Why? What did you have in mind?

SS (20:26): I was wondering if you wanted to come play footie with me?

SS (20:27): Josh and Nathan are out.

SS (20:27): So it would just be us 2.

SS (20:28): If that’s okay with you? I know footie with just 2 is a bit difficult.

Pathetically, my chest surges at the sight of it … Just us two. It’s more than okay. It’s perfect.

BP (20:30): That’s okay, I’m sure it would still be fun - I’d like to come. What time were you thinking?

SS (20:30): 1:30ish. I can do later/earlier if it’s better for you tho.

BP (20:31): No, that won’t be necessary. 1:30 sounds fine.

SS (20:32): Okay good :) The pitch is a few mins away from the home. I could come and pick you up if you like? We could walk down together?

BP (20:32): Is my house on the way?

SS (20:33): Nah. Not exactly. I don’t mind tho it’ll only take, like, 15 mins more.

BP (20:34): I can just drive down to your house. There’s no need for you to go out of your way.

SS (20:34): Oh okay, sure. Sounds good :)

SS (20:34): Lazybones ;)

SS (20:34): Do you need my address?

BP (20:35): Yes, Snow. As talented as I may be, I’m not a psychic.

SS (20:35): Aha lol. Bigheaded much?

SS (20:36): I live on Pallot Road. Number 61.

SS (20:36): Do you know where it is?

SS (20:36): Idk the postcode off the top of my head. Soz.

BP (20:37): Yes, I know it. I’ll be there at 1:30.

SS (20:38): Cool. Can’t wait :)

I falter, unsure of how much of myself I’m willing to give away. I’ve never been good with openness - Hiding behind sharp words, and a false air of indifference. In that respect, I’m Snow’s antithesis. He’s a boy without walls - Open and forthright, to a fault. Defenseless, yet not afraid. I don’t believe that he’s ever tried to conceal any part of himself, around me - Even when we were literal strangers (Which, despite how it may feel, was barely a week ago). And, we’re certainly more than that, now (Well, I hope so, anyway). So why should I keep pretending? Why not just be real? Why not be a little more Simon Snow? I mean, he could hardly fault me for it - That would just be immensely hypocritical.

I type out my response in a rush, staring down the screen critically. Realistically, all I’m doing is parroting him. And while I know that, it feels like something much more. It feels like a partial admission of another truth. Another, much more frightening truth … That Simon Snow appears to have found himself in my affections, in a way that nobody else has before. That being with him makes my heart pulse, and my soul sing … That I’m a helpless, lovelorn fool.

Nevertheless, I scrunch my eyes closed, and hit send quickly (Before my courage, inevitably, dries up).

BP (20:43): Neither can I. It’ll be great to see you again.

————————————————————————————

He’s already standing outside when I pull up to his house. His bronze curls whipping around in the wind, messily, and a hand tracing the hem of his hoodie absentmindedly.

Shyly, I slide out of the car, and pace over to him.

“Good morning, Snow.”

“Hey, Baz!” he chirps, smiling over at me.

“You’re actually ready on time, this time. Congratulations!” I toy.

“Hey! Piss off!” He gruffs, sweeping his hair back, out of his face. “I was three minutes late. That doesn’t even count!”

“Au contraire - It most certainly does count. I was deeply inconvenienced by your casual approach to promptness. I had to sit on the stairs for a whole five minutes ... I looked like a complete prat.”

“Not my problem,” he shrugs. “You didn’t have to wait right by the door, you moron. That is completely on you.”

“Whatever,” I scoff, my face flooding with heat.

He lets out a laugh - Deep and rumbling. “You know for a smart guy, you really are awfully dumb sometimes, Baz”

I roll my eyes dramatically, unable to think up a comeback. Stumped, I decide to move the conversation forwards ...

“Have you got everything you need?” I ask, nodding my head towards the backpack in his hands - Not even bothering to question why he’s chosen to hold it that way.

“Yep. I brought a ball, and everything!”

“Perfect,” I mumble, nudging my hand against his, and pulling the bag from between his fingers. “I’ll just put this in the boot, and then we can go ... Hop on in, Golden boy.”

————————————————————————————

Simon

Baz is ruthless on the pitch (Just like I’d imagined he’d be) - Pelting across the grass at a breakneck speed, and booting goal after goal into the back of the net. Truly, He’s a sight to behold - All straining muscles, and wicked grins. I’d be basking in it … If I wasn’t so bloody annoyed.

He’s absolutely thrashing me (Of course) - 5 to Nil. It’s an absolute disaster on my end, having, apparently, lost any sort of scoring capability. And, to make matters worse, he’s not exactly coy about it - Assaulting me with a constant stream of ' Are you even trying, Snow 's and over-exaggerated, false yawns. Utter prat.

In my desperation, I stick my leg out in a particularly botched attempt at a tackle, accidentally clipping the back of his ankle, and sending him tumbling to the ground. Shit.

“Oh my god,” I breathe, squatting down onto the floor besides him, and flipping him over with a tug to his shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry. I was trying to get the ball, I swear I didn’t mean to do that.”

He glares up at me, his full lips twisted into an acrid scowl. My stomach sinks at the sight of it. Shit. I’ve really fucked this up.

But then, he’s chortling heartily (Apparently incapable of maintaining his cruel act, any longer). His face scrunching up delightfully, as his eyes well up with joyful tears.

“What the fuck even was that, you complete barbarian,” he laughs, clutching at his stomach, stupidly. “Couldn’t stand losing, so you thought you’d just try knocking me out instead ... That is definitely a foul, Snow”

“I know, I know. It was an accident though, I swear,” I whine. “Just ... Shut up, and let me help you, you dick.”

I stick a hand out, pulling him up into a sitting position. He’s a mess - Small clumps of mud and grass clinging to his face, and a nasty, bloodied scraze disfiguring his knee. Yet somehow, even with all the marks of my stupidity, he still manages to look infuriatingly good.  

I take his face in my hands gently, tilting it towards mine. The laughter dies out, suddenly - His face falling marginally, as he goes eerily quiet. Unperturbed, I continue my ministrations, brushing my fingers across his face, sweeping away the debris as I go.

“I really am sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“It’s alright, Snow. I was only teasing. I know it was an accident. It’s fine, really, it’s just a little scrape - Nothing a wash and a plaster won’t fix.”

“Okay,” I huff, relieved. “I didn’t bring any with me, though ... But, there’s a first aid kit back at home. We could go and patch you up there?”

“No. If it’s alright, I’d rather do it back at my own house. It’ll be much less awkward that way”

“Oh,” I drone, my voice weak with disappointment. “Sure.”

How the fuck did I manage to mess things up so quickly? We were supposed to spend the rest of the day together (I mean, neither of us ever actually said that, but it was definitely assumed), and now, within one poxy hour, I’ve managed to kill all chances of that. I'm such a bloody idiot.  

“Cheer up, misery-guts,” he giggles, “There’s no need to strop - You can come too. You might just have to sneak in through the window, or something.”

“Okay, sure,” I beam, stupidly elated. “I can handle that.”

————————————————————————————

Baz

As it turns out, he really can't handle it.

“Christ, Snow,” I hiss. “You’re being way too loud. Shut up.”

“It ain't my fault! I don’t know why the fuck you thought I would be able to climb up this thing properly. It’s made for flowers Baz, not people!”

He has a point, to be honest. I knew that getting him up the trellis would be a challenge, but we didn’t exactly have many other options.

I thrust my hand out of the window, gripping onto his forearm tightly, and shifting my weight to support him properly.

With that, his body starts shaking violently, a poorly concealed chuckle escaping his lips.

“I told you to shut it, moron,” I scold (Although, there is no real malice in it - The smile is clearly audible in my voice).

“I’m trying, really. It’s just - It’s just this is like some shitty version of Romeo and Juliet, Baz. You can’t blame me!” He laughs. “It’s funny!”

“Yes well … Romeo was much more graceful about it than you!”

“Shhhh. I’m doing my best. I’m almost up! You should’ve gotten me a rope or something, it isn’t my fault!”

“Oh yes, Snow,” I deadpan. “Sorry. Let me go and grab the ten foot rope I keep under my bed at all times”

“Hey! I don’t know what kind of kinky shit you’re into! You could've had a rope lying around somewhere!”

I don’t even try and justify that with a response, choosing, instead, to focus on helping him up.

Eventually, we manage to pull him into the room - Snow plopping down onto the floor, with an unceremonious thud.

Laughing hysterically, he props himself up against the wall besides me, and rests his head against the side of my shoulder.

“Thanks for helping me up. I was so scared I was gonna fall back into that stupid rose bush.”

“It’s no problem. I didn’t really fancy having to explain to Father why you, of all people, were sneaking into my bedroom.”

“Hmmm,” he hums, his throat vibrating distractingly, against my shoulder. “You need me to help you with your leg?”

“No. I can handle it … I was going to have a quick shower, actually, if that’s alright with you? Get it properly cleaned up and everything, you know."

“Oh yeah, that’s fine,” He murmurs, lifting his head up, and shifting his body sideways (Away from mine). “What - I mean what am I supposed to do, though? Do you want me to hide somewhere?”

I puff out a breath, amused by his sincerity. “No, Snow,” I drawl. “You don’t have to hide yourself away in the wardrobe. You can just wait around here. Nobody is going to come in - Don’t worry.”

“Oh, right” He mumbles, glancing his eyes down towards the floor. “Cool.”

“Yeah. There’s plenty here to keep you entertained, though. You could play on the PS, or watch some TV … Or, you could read something, I suppose. Although, I know you’re not big on that.”

He smiles over at me, his freckled cheeks puffing out wide. It’s frustratingly adorable.

“Yeah, maybe not that. I’ll probably just watch TV, if that’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. I wouldn’t have offered otherwise,” I say, jumping up, and treading over to the en-suite door. “I won't be long, though, honest - I’ll be back in half an hour, latest.”

————————————————————————————

It definitely took me longer than half an hour. Although, that was Snow’s fault entirely - His lovely tackle, had left awful clumps of mud matted into my hair, so I had to give it a proper wash.

When I step back into the room (My hair still annoyingly damp), Snow has got himself starfished out across my bed, his chin propped up in his hands. He looks completely at ease, laid out in my bed like that - Even with the, admittedly, rather intimidating decor of my room.

Stepping besides the bed, I scoop his legs up in my arms, and swing them over to one side of the bed - Making room for myself besides him.

“What are you watching then, Snow?” I ask, laying myself down onto the duvet.

“Dunno. Some crap cop show. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“No?” I ask, gasping with faux incredulity. “Would you like to play some FIFA instead? That way I can thrash you again, without sustaining any serious injuries.”

“Don’t be a wanker, Baz,” he scolds. “You know I didn’t mean to do that!”

“I know, I know,” I coo. “I’m only messing with you. Don’t stress.”

He glares at me, pouting his lips out, slightly. “Okay then,” he agrees, a sly smirk spreading across his face. “I actually play a lot of FIFA, you know. So, I reckon I’m going to enjoy beating you … Would serve you right for being such a cocky bastard!”

I raise my eyebrows in challenge, punching out a quick, mirthless laugh. “I’d like to see you try, Snow. Do your worst … We’ll see who comes out on top!”

————————————————————————————

For all my arrogance, I will admit that Snow was actually a very worthy opponent (Although, I’d never tell him that).

Considering that I’d been playing everyday for the last two months, I had assumed it would be an easy victory - But, as it turns out, I was wrong. He put up a more than admirable fight - Actually leading for the majority of the match. But, of course, I still managed to beat him - Hammering in a goal on the ninety-third minute (Much to Snow’s dismay).

“For fuck sakes!” He fumes, throwing the controller down onto the bed, childishly. “I almost bloody had it, as well!”

“There, there, Snow,” I tease, pressing a hand to his shoulder in a mocking comfort. “There’s always next time.”

“Piss off, Baz!” He whines, flopping back against my pillows with a dramatic sigh. “I’ve had enough of this shitty game!”

“Alright,” I breathe, slowly laying myself down besides him, as I desperately try to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside me. “Do you want to play a different game, then?”

“No.”

“Okay,” I drawl, my voice rising with uncertainty. “So … You want-”

“Just wanna stay here for a bit,” he gruffs.

“Okay. We can stay here, then.” I agree, my voice hushed.

As silence settles over us, I steal a glance over at him.

He’s got an arm stretched out over his face (The synthetic material of his football shirt, straining against his broad shoulders, perfectly), and beneath it, I can see the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

Unobserved, I take my opportunity to scan my eyes over him, appreciatively. Sprawled out against my bed, he looks positively obscene. His hair mussed intoxicatingly, where it rests against my pillow, and every revealed inch of skin decorated with constellations of moles. For a moment, I envision pressing my lips against them, lavishing each and every mark with the attention they deserve, but I quickly restrain myself. Allowing my mind to wander now, when he’s so close to me, would be an irreparably idiotic move.

In an attempt to cool myself down, I flutter my eyes shut, and shift my focus onto the steady puff of his breathing - Slow and constant. In and Out. In and Out. In and Out …

————————————————————————————

Embarrassingly, I’m halfway to sleep when he speaks next.

“Baz?” he whispers, poking my arm lightly. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” I mumble, my voice deep and lazy with tiredness.

“Okay. Cool,” he sighs. “Can - I mean, can I ask you something?”

“Hmmm. Of course” I hum.

“It's just that, I’ve been thinking … Did - Did you mean what you said the other day?”

I scoff, quietly. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific, if you want me to answer that, Snow.”

“Right yeah. Obviously,” he huffs, clearly frustrated.

Opening my eyes, I tilt my head over to look at him - Our eyes meeting immediately. His deep blue boring into my grey. This close, it’s far too intense.

Caught off guard, and humiliatingly wonderstruck, I avert my eyes, focusing my gaze on the canopy of my bed, instead. I feel my face flush with heat, once again, and pray to God that he doesn’t notice. That would be the last thing I need, right now.

“I just - I mean what you said to your dad,” he continues, stammering slightly.

“What bit?”

“When you were all like - 'Oh don’t worry Father, he's one of mine',” he explains, making an absolutely atrocious attempt at mimicking my accent. “I just mean like - Do you really have lots of, like - I don’t know ... Guys?”

“No,” I drone. “There’s no one else ... Never has been. I just said that to get him off of your case. He doesn’t really like talking about that stuff, so I figured it would be effective.”

“Oh,” He breathes. “Okay.”

I pause, unsure of what else to say. The silence stretches between us painfully - Tangible tension flooding the air. And then, I feel it. It’s barely a brush at first - Easy to play off as a simple accident, given our close proximity. But then, he continues. Pressing our hands together more fervently - His skin impossibly warm against mine. It’s searing - The contact lighting me up from within, as hopeful sparks ignite within me.

I gulp, audibly. “Why?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

“Just - I’m just like … Curious, I suppose,” he murmurs, his finger tip tracing it’s way along the side of my thumb. It’s feather-light, but it weighs like lead in my heart. And I think that, maybe (just maybe), he might be trying to tell me exactly what I want to hear.  

He presses on, nervously, his voice wavering slightly. “It’s just that -”

Suddenly, there’s a banging at the door - Loud and insistent.

Panicked, I shove him off of the bed, sending him flopping onto the floor with a girlish yelp. Biting back a laugh, I rush over to the door, and pull it open ever so slightly.

“Basilton. Dinner is ready. I don’t know what on earth you’re doing in here, making all that racket, but you need to come downstairs now,” Father chastises.

“Of course. I’ll be down in just a minute.”

“Alright. Hurry down though. Please don’t keep us all waiting. We don’t want to start without you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Father,” I taunt, my tone laced with sarcasm. He’ll definitely lecture me about that later (He’s never impressed with my 'petulant attitude'), but, right now, I don’t particularly care.  

Closing the door behind him, I scurry over back to where Snow is sat.

“You have to leave,” I whisper, rushing out the words with a frightful urgency. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time. You just - You really have to leave. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone ... So, you can't really stay.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” he hushes. “It’s fine. Don’t stress. Do you want me to go right now?”

“No,” I cry. “Just - Wait until I’ve been down at dinner for a few minutes - Then you can leave … That way, you can be certain nobody will be creeping around outside.”

“Okay, sure.” he says, smiling over at me.

Looking at him - I hesitate. “But - Are you sure you’ll be okay climbing? If you’d rather wait, I’m sure that I can find some other way to sneak you out, a little bit later. I could say I'm going out to the bin, or something. If you were quiet, we might be able to get away with it.” “Baz,” he sing-songs, teasingly. “I’m sure I can climb down without your help. It’s only one floor.”

“Yes well,” I deadpan. “Forgive me for thinking it may be best to find an alternative route. You didn’t exactly dazzle me with your speed or grace in getting up here.”

He snickers, squinting his eyes at me daringly.

“Yeah, but it’ll be easier going down. So chill. I can handle it - Trust,” he reassures. “You’ve seriously gotta go and get your dinner now, though. If your dad comes stomping up here to yell at you, it’s game over for me! And then fussing over this would've been entirely pointless”

“Okay,” I huff, standing and pacing over to the door, reluctantly.

Flashing him a quick smile, I call out a quiet “Message you later, Snow,”, and then, I leave him.

————————————————————————————

I’m just tucking into my dinner, when an almighty crash tears through the hush of the dining room. Of course, I know what it is immediately - Simon bloody Snow falling off of that god-forsaken trellis.

Fucking hell. I knew I should’ve tried to sneak him out another way.

I mean, what if he’s hurt himself? It’s not exactly a steep fall, but it’s certainly enough to do some damage. And the only reason he is even here, is because of my stupid, desperate plot to get to spend more time with him - And now, he's probably laying out there with a broken leg, or something. God. I'm such a selfish dolt.

Anxiously, I slide my phone out of my pocket, beneath the table, and hurry out a quick text.

ME (19:27): Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Do you need help?

I wait, holding my breath as my leg bounces under the table, impatiently.

SS (19:28): Nah. Don’t worry. I’m good.

SS (19:28): I might’ve killed your flowers tho :/

SS (19:28): Sorry!

I smile to myself privately - Doing my best to hide my grin behind my hand.

That bloody disaster is going to be my undoing, I swear.

[porchwood]

Hey friends,

I’ve been struggling to come up with a sufficient thank-you for all your help with the GoFundMe, but it seems every time I sit down to try to write a response, some new awful thing arises. And this past week was the worst yet (maybe the worst ever).

When last I spoke to you, I was getting over a bad cold and preparing to ease back into work after my injury. The PT office finally called me back and I went in for one session to make sure I was at a recovery point where it was okay for me to do massage again; the therapist did a quick assessment - no exercises demonstrated or recommended - kinesiotaped the knee and charged $100 that I had to pay then and there. (So a waste, and an expensive one, but I guess it could have been worse?) The next day I started back at work VERY part-time (one 60-90 min client a day) and it absolutely killed me. I was no longer wearing the brace and my knee actually did okay with the work (bending/crouching notwithstanding), but the rest of my body (esp core muscles) were just drop-kicked by the work. I went home exhausted and shaky every day and finally tried substantially increasing my protein intake, which felt a little ridiculous (we’re talking a 24g shake + an 11g bar for breakfast or two entrees at lunchtime), but it’s done a world of good, and that’s all thanks to you guys. (Protein of any kind isn’t cheap and your incredible donations made it possible for me to buy good food to rebuild my muscles.)

The end of my first week back at work, I fell hard on the ice outside my house. Miraculously, my left knee never even hit the ground, but I fell flat on my back and my left wrist - without any lasting injury, thankfully, but I was absolutely worthless for the next 24 hours and had several days (crucial returning-to-massage days) of varying degrees of pain in that wrist. In the meantime, I made a couple of other adjustments (raising my massage table to take the strain off my lower body, getting back on an ibuprofen schedule instead of just taking it after the fact, when I was hurting badly), all of which helped, but I’m still only about 85% back. My knee still hurts every morning when I wake up and gets stiff and sore whenever I have it bent for any length of time. My workplace has been surprisingly good about letting me work a slower schedule as I build back up (ex. 3 clients a day instead of 5), and last Friday I finally got a paycheck for the first time in over a month (!). 

Then, two weeks ago, I was wakened at 3am to Lucky (my little rat terrier) falling off the bed. This has happened before and is usually comical after the fact, but when I picked her up, she emptied her bladder all over me, and when I tried to set her down to check on her, her back legs had gone limp and wouldn’t support her. Terrified (I’ve heard enough end-of-life dog stories to know this isn’t good), I was about to take her to the emergency vet when she sat up like nothing had happened and began licking herself. I took her outside and she walked around a bit, completely sound on her feet, and pottied again - business as usual. Worried and mystified, I messaged my (LPN) mother who thought the urination sounded like a shock reaction to the fall, so I gave Lucky a bath and spent most of the day just cuddling with her.

For about two seconds, life seemed like it might finally be getting a little better. I was able to pick up two massages at a local inn (which pay substantially better than massages at the spa and provide some very helpful extra money). And then on Thursday, I came home to a slightly anxious Lucky (howling quietly on my bed), and when she got up to greet me, her back legs wouldn’t support her. I scooped her up immediately and her entire body went limp (seemingly lifeless), her head and neck lolling over my arm. As I ran through the house with her, her bladder emptied down the front of me and - still lifelessly limp - she gave the most horrifying howl I’ve ever heard. I was convinced she was dying in my arms.

As we tore down the road to the vet’s (thankfully, about a 5-minute drive from home), she sat up on my lap and by the time we’d reached the office, she was acting downright normal again. I was able to get us in with one of the vets about 10 mins later (a tech checked her out right away to triage her and make sure she was stable), and he wanted to get some data on her heart. She’s had a heart murmur for almost her entire life and, while I’ve asked repeatedly what we could do for that, the only advice I was ever given was hawthorn and ginkgo supplements (which she takes on a more or less daily basis), and at one point we tried a canine cardiac formula for a few months with no notable changes.

She had an EKG, chest x-rays, and a blood draw ($516, including the office call) and then that info was sent to a veterinary cardiologist in Portland. All they could tell me in the meantime was that her heart is enlarged and to just have her take it easy for the rest of the day; they would call me first thing the next morning with the cardiologist’s report. Lucky was sleepy but normal for the rest of the day and I passed an awful night of bad dreams (including one about rabid dogs) and waking every hour or so to make sure she was okay.

I was scheduled for my typical split on Friday but had only one client at the end of the day and was an emotional wreck, so I asked if I could just go home to be with Lucks and I found another therapist to cover my client. I still hadn’t heard from the vet by 10am, so I called to check in. He gave me a brief summary over the phone and asked if we could come in for some more tests, which was another hour and a half and $236. (I was able to put these two visits on my CareCredit card but for some reason the vet only gives a 6 month promotional period instead of the 12-18 months that other places do. If you’re not familiar, CareCredit is a great option IF you can pay off everything quickly. If you can’t, you’re clobbered with obscene interest on the entire sum at the end of the promotional period, even if you’ve paid off almost all of the principal.)

I’m still making sense of the cardiologist’s report because it’s quite in-depth and my knowledge of the heart isn’t quite that high, but here’s what I’ve been able to glean:

- “severely enlarged” heart - borderline tachycardia and occasional arrhythmia (her collapse was considered a syncopal episode, if that helps anyone) - some degree of mitral valve issue - at risk of developing congestive heart failure

She was put on two heart meds, pimobendan/Vetmedin (which is supposed to be very effective and is also very expensive) and enalapril (an ACE-inhibitor), and she has a kidney check-up in about a week to make sure she’s doing well on them and adjust the doses if necessary. The vet seemed to think the prognosis was pretty good (considering that at this point we’re talking about staving off heart failure :/) - he said small dogs with mitral valve issues tend to do well on these meds - and other than this insanity with her heart, Lucky seems to be in pretty good shape. Before Thursday she was extremely active and happy; there’s no sign of neurological issues, and her BP, thyroid, kidneys, etc are all looking good. So I’m trying to stay hopeful.

She’s been a little extra sleepy (understandably) the past few days, but this afternoon she seemed unusually “off,” so I’m trying to figure out whether it’s her tiny body adjusting to the meds (which she needs to stay on for the rest of her life) or if her heart is suddenly starting to get tired and this is the new normal. :( I called my mother earlier (a mistake) and got a lot of pessimism-in-the-guise-of-sympathy that left me feeling like Lucky is on hospice and I should start making end-of-life arrangements now. 

I’ve been crying for the better part of the last four days, and I don’t think I can articulate how painful this is for me. I didn’t think it was possible to donate a human heart to a canine but I looked it up just in case, because I would give her mine without hesitation. Lucky is my whole life - my soul running around in a little black-and-white body, and five years ago when my life systematically fell apart, she was the only thing misfortune didn’t touch - and I knew this, and I was waiting. Since then she developed sleeping bladder leaks (which, while frightening, were easily and effectively treated with estrogen), then severe separation anxiety (which I’ve been struggling to treat since 2016, and yes, I blame myself for the anxiety making her heart worse, even though I’ve done absolutely everything to help her overcome it). Lucky is absolutely the reason I didn’t try to end my life at various junctures over the past five years, and I don’t want to think about what will happen to me if she’s not here anymore.

And as ridiculous as this will sound: I was supposed to be married by now. When I got Lucks as a puppy, I knew the inevitable would one day come (unless Jesus comes back before then so Lucky and I can just go to heaven together, which I haven’t given up on), but I knew my life would be much different by then. I would have a home and a husband to help shoulder the financial and emotional burden. I was not supposed to be alone, sterile, and struggling just to make ends meet. I love my roommate dearly, but it’s not the same as having a spouse, nor should it be. She can give me hugs and listen to me cry, but at the end of the day it’s me in that dr’s office, holding my hurting baby and promising to pay for whatever they have to do, and me that has to hold everything together and keep going when the worst happens. 

Incidentally, last Sunday was my birthday. I’ve mentioned before that my birthday has some kind of perverse curse, and if this year didn’t prove it, I don’t know what will.

My father (living in Nebraska, and with whom I’ve had a strained relationship since my hysterectomy) has congestive heart failure, and my mother called me shortly before all of the Lucky stuff to tell me that he’s failing and to try to talk me into moving back to Nebraska to help keep an eye on him. Which is a subject for another time entirely, but over the past few days I’ve been wondering if I should think about going back (temporarily), if only to be around family myself. It would be a complicated situation (I’d still be on the Maine lease and paying for half of everything, Lord knows if I’d be able to keep my Maine job when I came back and I’d end up back at Massage Envy in Nebraska, not to mention I’d be scrambling to pay down my medical bills and Lucky’s), but maybe it’s something I should consider.

Anyway: that’s where I’ve been. :( And I’m sure I look like an ingrate for not saying thank you about the funds sooner, but between the fatigue and the heartbreak, it’s been hard to manage much of anything lately.

[fluorescentpipedream]

Some character notes while I’m thinking of them

Trevor Phillips (main world)

Mid-40s, Canadian originally, he lived on the border between the US and Canada for most of his young life, in and out of detention facilities and jail for a while before he eventually wound up in LA, around the time Damien and Jax were vying for power. Trevor is what is known as a Berserker, you wind him up and set him loose and he’ll cause carnage until he either runs out of energy, ammo or someone sedates him.

About 5 years ago he was involved in a home invasion gone wrong (or possibly right, I don’t know if he went in with the intention to kill or not) which resulted in a married couple being killed in their homes. The massacre made public attention because of the trial mostly. The neighbor -thought- she had seen him but he was wearing a mask and it was dark so she could only identify him by his hairline. The only one that COULD have identified him was a 3 year old little girl who only said he was like the Grinch, he gave her a cup and put her back to bed. He was acquitted and disappeared into the less populated areas around Los Angeles where Theresa finds him later for a big job she is planning.

Trevor was a bit of a surrogate father type to Ryki and Rory and has very little empathy for nearly everyone. He is the kind of person you could oddly trust with your child but not necessarily your grandparent. He is a drug addict, but not racist, homophobic, he just has a short fuse and often doesn’t take much to set off.

Trevor Phillips (2nd version, alternate world)

Imagine a world where the EPA, FCC, and most government controls have thrown their hands in the air and said fuck it. The people left behind after a pandemic that wiped out about 2/3 of the population just don’t care anymore. Drug addicts, dealers and criminals all play the same game day to day where if they want it, they take it and the one with the most toys at the end wins. This version of Trevor is psychotic, unhinged and gives absolutely no fucks. He would kill someone for a Klondike bar without even flinching.

Simon Knox (yes, -that- Knox)

Simon is Jericho (Lorelei, John & Ryder’s father), Daryl and Quinten’s (Ford & Matthew’s father) brother, closer in age to Jericho and not that emotionally stable. Simon joined a motorcycle gang in Georgia when he was a teen and Jericho had been a member before he got married and left them, while his brother remained behind in them. When the Outlaws left the state he moved with them, refusing to continue down the same road as countless members of the Knox family had before him. Blood may be thicker than water but it’s just as easy to cross. Simon has met his nieces and nephews but doesn’t spend much time with the family due in part to his open ended sexuality and a very real threat that if he was ever near “uncle Teddy” again, he’d kill the man (he may have been one of his uncle’s victims but he’s not really liberal with that info right now.)

Simon became a member of the Slayers in LA when the gang he had been with at the time was assimilated into the group. Lethal with any weapon, he doesn’t show much empathy or emotion towards anyone but he does hold some people in very high regard and would follow them to hell. Immensely loyal though never to a fault, he’s dangerous if he’s unhinged. Following the death of BP and his wife, Simon is among the ones captured and thrown into an ultimate death match, in order to wheedle out who murdered them. The home had been the site of a berserker’s rage, there’s only a few in the Slayers capable of that level of violence.

When Queenie makes an appearance and Rollo attempts to kill her, as he failed to do the first time, Simon picks up an axe that was on the ground near him and proceeds to…deal with Rollo. Afterward he kneels to Queenie, as she’s BP’s daughter, she’s the defacto leader.

This one doesn’t have a name yet, he’s a member of a rogue motorcycle group run by a Negan type in our Zombie world. Same basic hallmarks exist in his personality from the other three, fiercely loyal and dangerous though more quiet. Negan somehow comes into possession of Mikail, following a Zombie attack on Kristy & Ryki’s small convoy. While he’s not above murdering children to prove a point, this one often stays close to the little boy acting as protector. Negan and his lot are dangerous but are in control of a lot of weapons and food, if they play their cards right, they can either be a great help or worst enemy of Kristy and Ryki’s small group. Considering he uses the same one as Simon, he may be an alt version of him, I’m not that sure

@musesnotebook​

[nepalholidayexperiencetour-blog]

Nepal Holiday Experience Tour

Holiday in Nepal with a complete Nepal experience in less than two weeks, now it is possible with our specially designed trip - ‘Nepal Holiday Experience Tour’.  It will be a life time Nepal holiday experiences for all kinds of travelers.  No strong athletic fitness required. Nepal all experience tour is for all from family with young children to old people. Amazing experiences you will enjoy are – road drive to a beautiful mountain village to view majestic Mt. Everest (8848m) with bare eyes + more Himalayan big mountains,  meet and mingle with locals, join them in their family house,  closely observe Buddhist and Hindu rituals,  visit historical heritage sites, relax and enjoy the well preserved pristine nature in the national park. Real Nepal experience tour at comfort is the main theme. At the end of the trip, you will be rejuvenated with unique cultural experience and refreshed with nature retreat, fully content emotionally and philosophically. 

Tour Program

Day - 01. Arrival:   Pick-up at Kathmandu airport and transfer to your hotel.   Trip briefing at the hotel. There will be a short walking tour if arrival is early afternoon.Duration: ~ 0.5 hours.Overnight  in Bhaktapur

Day - 02. Cultural  Sight-seeing;  Bhaktapur, Changunarayan & Patan: Ancient traditional town Bhaktapur treasured with Durbar Square is an amazing living museum in itself. The square consists of stone temple of Batsala Devi full of carvings, Palace of 55 windows, temples and architectural showpieces like the Lion Gate, the statue of king Bhupatindra Malla, the picture gallery and the Batsala temple. They are master pieces of Nepali traditional art and architecture preserved for hundreds of years. Perched on a hill and visible from miles around, the Changu Narayan temple stands majestically above the rice fields of Bhaktapur. Dedicated to Vishnu, the Preserver the temple’s origins go back to the 4th century. The temple is a showcase for Newari art and architecture of the early century. The stone, wood, and metal craft found here are exemplary. Patan Durbar Square is a unique piece of art and architecture well preserved and hundreds of Buddhist Stupas and Bahals dating back to over 2000 years old. One unique temple among many temples here is Krishna Mandir a 16th century temple dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Krishna, built entirely of stone in Shikhara style architecture. All these stupas and temples are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Monuments.   Duration: ~ 7 hours.Overnight in Bhaktapur

Day - 03. Everest View Tour by road,     The morning starts with scenic drive via popular hill town Dhulikhel, Kavre Bhanjyang enjoying panoramic view of central Himalayan range, terraced hill farm land and scenic nature. After Bhakunde town, the road runs along Roshi river,  then follows Sunkoshi river valley on BP highway. The drive turns left to new mid hill highway and crosses Sunkoshi river at Gurmi. A short lunch stop will be at river bank before Ghurmi.  The road to Patale crosses Sunkoshi river and turns Northwards on Harkapur Okhaldhunga road.  The drive climbs up higher Northwards via hill villages past Hilepani, Thakle, Mani Bhanjyang and continues past Chitre, Todke and Dap (2932m) villages. After Dap, you start viewing the Himalayan range including Mt. Everest.   Duration:  Total 235 Km and about 7.5 hoursOvernight  Patale (2840m)

Day - 04. Hiking and Village Tour: Tour begins with a short hiking to higher view point, Thale Danda for more wider view of  river valley, high hills, mid mountains and the Himalaya. If you like, continue longer hiking to Ranivan, Timburbote cave and Gauritap temple. Afternoon visit of Patale village meeting local people for observing their simple way of life. The Himalayan mountain view can be enjoyed all day long. At the day end, join a Nepali family for traditional dinner in their house. Enjoy the sunrise and clear view of majestic Mt. Everest and other big mountains  - Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumori, Makalu, Kanchanjunga and Gaurishanker ranges. Duration: ~ 7 hours. Overnight  Patale Day - 05. I.  Drive  or  II.  Fly  back:

Day - 05. I.  Drive back: Option - I. Drive to hill town Dhulikhel, the same way back; down to Sunkoshi river via Okhaldunga and along the river up stream on BP highway.   Dhulikhel is a scenic old town situated 30 kilometers east of Kathmandu on the Araniko Highway that goes to Tibet boarder, Kodari. From here one has a panoramic view of the Himalayan range. Duration:  about 6.5 hours.Overnight  Dhulikhel

Day - 06. Tour of Buddhist and Hindu holy sites. Stunning sun rise view over the Himalayan mountains is a popular attraction here. After breakfast,  drive to Namobuddha, the Buddhist pilgrimage holy site where sight of rituals by monks, nuns and other pilgrims is common. There are new and old stupas and Buddhist Monasteries. Afternoon sight-seeing in Panauti situated at confluence of two small Rivers.  The old traditional town noted for its numerous temples and shrines with magnificent woodcarvings. You can meet Hindu Sadhus here. The confluence is also cremation site for the Hindu people. Duration: ~ 7 hours. Overnight  Dhulikhel

*  OR  

Day - 05. II.  Fly  back: Option- II.  Fly from Phaplu to Kathmandu and transfer to hill town, Nagarkot Getting from Patale to Phaplu airport is about an hour drive. Again, it is about an hour drive from Kathmandu airport to Nagarkot. Duration: ~ 4 hours. Overnight  Nagarkot

Day - 06.  Nagarkot at an elevation of 2,195 m. is one of the best spots to view the central and eastern Nepal Himalayan panoramic range. It also offers an excellent view of the Indrawati river valley, hill villages, terraced farmlands and beautiful mid hills. Stunning sun rise view over the Himalayan mountains is a popular attraction here. After the breakfast, you can do hiking around the nature and do village tour near by. Or simply relax and enjoy the magnificent Himalayan panoramic view and scenic valley below . Duration: ~ 4 hours. Overnight  Nagarkot *Note; Flight back option depends on number of pax in the group and booking days. Because, there are no regular flights to/fro Phaplu.  

Day - 07. Transfer to Sundarijal, drive or hike to Haibung, Shivapuri National Park,   HIKING:Morning drive ~ 40 km. to Sundarijal (1350m) in Kathmandu countryside and about half an hour walk up hill on stone paved steps through national park jungle take you to a small hydro electricity reservoir. The trail still climbs up about an hour through Mulkharka Tamang village then levels towards Nagmati river bank. After about 1.5 hours further walking through well preserved jungle along pristine small riverside, view opens up with magnificent Himalayan mountains to the North upon reaching Hile Bhanjyang (2050m) ridge.  Panoramic Himalayan range can be viewed as far as Annapurna, Manaslu to Ganesh Himal, Langtang Himal, Dorje Lakpa, Gaurishankar and further East. Beautifully laid out Prakriti Resort & Organic Farm 20 minutes away stands fascinatingly inviting where you will enjoy nature retreat for next two nights. Duration:  Drive ~ 1.5  hours + Walking (9 km)  ~ 3.5 hours   

OR

DRIVING:Morning drive ~ 40 km. to Sundarijal (1350m) leaves behind hustle and bustle of vibrant culturally rich Kathmandu valley and the road enters into national park area. From Sundarijal, about 1 Km. short drive through the jungle and across Nagmati pristine river over a small bridge, the road climbs up to lower part of Mulkharka Tamang village then gradually goes further through the jungle. While driving further towards Jhule danda (2175m) through the national park jungle, sprawling Kathmandu valley can be viewed to your right below and also the Himalayan peaks to the North East. The road still continues through the well preserved jungle and drops to Hile Bhanjyang (2050m) ridge before turning right to beautifully laid out Prakriti Resort & Organic Farm. The Prakriti with an impression of a small farming village looks fascinatingly inviting where you will enjoy nature retreat for next two nights. Sundarijal to Prakriti is about 19 Km. drive. Duration:  1.5 + 1.5 =  ~ 3 hours.Overnight Haibung From here;  panoramic Himalayan range can be viewed as far as Annapurna, Manaslu to Ganesh Himal, Langtang Himal, Dorje Lakpa, Gaurishankar and further East.

Day - 08. Nature Tour;  Lake side walk, jungle walk, trout fish farm and tea garden visit. Sunrise view even from your bed rooms is memorably fascinating.After breakfast, you will take a short walk to Dhap Pokhari (lake) for lake side nature walk. Those, with more interested to longer hiking, can go higher to Chisapani (2215m.). Afternoon program is visits to; village agro farm, Everest tea garden, Trout fish farm, Gurung village etc. Or more jungle walk with alternate options. Duration: ~ 6 hours. Overnight Haibung Day - 09. Drive  or  hike back to Kathmandu A)  DRIVING:There are two route options; 09.A.I;   On the same road driven before via Jhule danda and Sundarijal and back to Jorpati, Kathmandu, 26 Km.

OR

09.A.II;  Different route via trout fish farm, Everest tea garden, Bhotechaur, Jarsingpawa villages overlooking Melamchi valley below to right side and towering Himalayan peaks to the North East. After about 21 Km drive, you reach Sankhu old Newari historic town. An hour cultural sight-seeing here including Salinadi Narayan temple is recommended.  Total drive back to Jorpati, Kathmandu is 31 Km. Duration: ~ 1.5 hours. Overnight Kathmandu B)  HIKING:There are two options; 09.B.I; -  On the same route hiked up before along Nagmati river side to Mulkharka village and down to Sundarijal, 9 Km. Duration: ~ 2.5 hours walking. Overnight  Kathmandu

OR

09. B.I; A short walk up to Hile Bhanjyang (2050m) junction where the road branches out rightwards to Chispani and leftwards to Sundarijal. Taking left turn, it is about 1.5 hours walk up hill along the dirt road through the national park jungle to Jhule Danda (2175m). From Jhule, walking trail drops down to the army camp and Jhule village  then further down to main road, small Chauki Bhanjyang. Total walking is about 3.5 hours. There is also an alternate route hiking trail to famous Bjrayogini Buddhist temple and direct to Sankhu town. This route is longer by about half an hour more. Transfer from here to Jorpati, Kathmandu by road about is 12 Km. An hour cultural sight-seeing of the old town including Salinadi Narayan temple is recommended. Duration: ~ 3.5 hours hiking + ~ 1 hour driving. Overnight  Kathmandu

Day - 10. Cultural Sight-seeing;  Pashupatinath, Boudha, Swyamabu & Kathmandu Durbar Square. Mt. Everest Flight in the morning,   OptionalPashupatinath, the principal temple of Lord Shiva with its two-tiered golden roof and silver doors is considered one of the holiest Hindu shrines in the world. Pashupati area is small village with numerous temples and shrines. Bagmati river bank by the side of the temple is also a busy cremation place for Hindus.  Boudha, the ancient colossal Buddhist stupa is one of the biggest in the world and an important pilgrimage center for Buddhists. Further proceed to Swayambhu, about 2000 years old, one of the world's most glorious Buddhist chaityas painted with the all-seeing eyes of Lord Buddha. Next sight-seeing site is Kathmandu Durbar Square and temples like; Taleju,  Kal Bhairav, the God of destruction; Nautale Durbar; Nasal Chowk; Gaddi Baithak; Kumari temple etc. are not only hundreds of years old but also very historic and rich in art and architecture. All the above sites are again UNESCO world heritage sites. Duration: ~ 7 hours. Overnight  Kathmandu

Day - 11. Free day,  activity of personal choice. Overnight  Kathmandu

Day - 12. Departure;  transfer to the airport for onward/homeward flights Duration: 0.5 hours.

[letterfromtrenwith]

Prescription Passion - Ch. 5

Carolight Hospital AU

Ch 5: Dwight gets an invitation...or two.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

~

“She’s this way.” Dwight didn’t bother with any preamble as Elizabeth strode into the A & E. She wasn’t making a social call. A First Kernow bus had been forced to swerve across a road to avoid a collision between two cars at a junction. The driver had done very well to control it, but several passengers had been thrown to the floor or into other seats. Most had sustained little more than cuts and bruises, but one passenger was a pregnant young woman who had fallen hard into the aisle of the bus. She possibly had whiplash, but it was the baby Dwight was most concerned about.

“What’s her name?”

“Chloe.” Elizabeth pulled back the curtain, Dwight following close behind. Chloe lay on the bed, strapped into a neck brace. One sleeve of her blouse had been cut away to treat her sprained wrist.

“Hello, Chloe. I’m Elizabeth, I’m here to see about your baby, okay?”

“I can’t feel her move, she’s not moving…” Chloe gasped.

“Shhh, shhh, just lie still for me.” Elizabeth glanced back at Dwight. “Have you got the ultrasound?”

“It’s on its way.” He glanced back around the curtain, in time to see Rosina leading a young woman wheeling a machine down the ward towards them. He stepped back to let the technician in, and Elizabeth immediately set to work. Dwight watched as they spread the conducting gel on Chloe’s stomach, and Elizabeth placed the transducer, both she and the technician concentrating intently on the monitor. The fetus’ heartbeat began to come through, loud and clear. Dwight was no obstetrician – although he’d dealt with deliveries during his time with MSF – but even he knew that it was fast, and arrhythmic.

“That’s fast, that’s too fast!” Chloe cried, and her own monitors began to bleep, her heartrate and BP increasing.

“Shhh, Chloe, shhh.” Elizabeth soothed. “You need to stay calm for her, all right? Can you do that, Chloe? It’s fast, but it’s not too fast. We’re going to take you upstairs to keep an eye on you both. Have you got her chart?”

“Here.” Dwight handed it off to her, and he was about to help Elizabeth get the bed moving when there was a shout from further along the ward, machines beeping. He turned away to deal with it, glancing back to see Elizabeth and Rosina wheeling the bed towards the lifts, another nurse and a porter joining them to take care of the equipment.

It was almost four hours later when Dwight finally got around to remembering Chloe, feeling a touch guilty. He’d been busy, dealing with the rest of the injured from the bus crash – the victims of the primary collision had been taken to the Royal Cornwall – as well as numerous other cases. A heart attack, a football injury, severe food poisoning, and everything else that was a bit more commonplace than a bus crash.

Over a cup of watery vending machine tea he rang up to the maternity ward.

“Maternity Unit, Verity Poldark speaking.”

“Oh, hi, Verity, it’s Dwight.”

“Dwight! Hello! What can I do for you?”

“Are you busy?”

“Not really, relatively speaking.”

“I just wanted to check on a patient who came through A & E earlier. A pregnant woman who’d been in a bus crash. Elizabeth brought her up – her name was Chloe…Brooks, I think?”

“Oh, yes. I haven’t been treating her, but…” He heard the click of a keyboard in the background. “Oh hang on, here’s Elizabeth now….Elizabeth!”

“No, don’t bother her – “ Verity’s voice was muffled as if she’d held the receiver away from her, but Dwight heard something about “bus” and “Chloe” and an indistinct reply from Elizabeth.

“Hi, Dwight.”

“Hi, Elizabeth. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“No! It’s okay. You were asking about Chloe? She’s fine, the baby’s fine, it was mostly just reacting to her shock. We’re keeping her overnight for observation, but the baby’s heartrate is back to normal, and she doesn’t seem to be in any kind of distress. All the tests are coming back fine. Chloe’s resting now, her mum and her fiancé are here.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.”

“It’s good of you to ask after her.”

“Well, thanks for speaking to me, I’ll let you get on…”

“Oh, wait! Now that I’ve got you, are you free on Saturday?” Dwight blinked, thrown by the question. He had to think for a minute.

“Er, yes, I think so. I’m on call overnight on Friday, but I’m off Saturday.”

“Oh, great! George and I are having a little sort of party at home on Saturday afternoon, since most of us are off or on-call that day. Would you like to come?” Dwight felt genuinely touched by the invitation. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to a party, or any real social gathering aside from a couple of trips to the pub.

“Yes, that would be nice, thank you. Can I bring anything?”

“Well, I’ve convinced George to brave the barbeque if it’s fine, so you can bring something for that if you’d like, or something to drink, but it’s not really necessary.”

“Ok, then. Well, I really should get back now, thank you again for asking me.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? I’ll text you the address, see you. Bye!” With her cheerful goodbye, Elizabeth hung up and Dwight smiled. He wondered if “most of us” included Caroline…

~

Dwight hadn’t managed to get around to sorting himself out with a car, having sold his old one before he went off abroad. George and Elizabeth lived in a suburb he wasn’t familiar with, and which didn’t seem to be on any obvious bus routes, so he was obliged to beg a lift from Verity.

“Wow.” Verity pulled up outside a very beautiful white-painted detached house on a quiet, leafy road. The wide drive way was filled with cars – a silver Audi he recognised as belonging to George, one or two others, and a dark blue soft top Jaguar which set off a little flutter in the pit of Dwight’s stomach. Not because he was a car enthusiast – although it was a beautiful machine – but because he knew it belonged to Caroline.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Verity locked her little Mini, which she’d parked neatly beside the hedge.

“Er, yes.” The door was opened before he could ring the bell, and Dwight almost greeted Elizabeth before the words died on his lips when he realised that he wasn’t looking at Elizabeth at all, but at someone uncannily like her. The impression was made even more slightly disconcerting by the fact that she was holding the same baby girl Dwight had seen a picture of, although rather bigger now.

“Hi, Verity! And you must be Dwight? I’m Morwenna, Elizabeth’s cousin.”

“Oh, right! Yes.” Elizabeth had mentioned her, laughing about St Neot’s being a ‘family affair’. He hadn’t been expecting such a strong family resemblance, however.

“Come in, come in.” They followed her into an airy entranceway and along a hall-way into an impressively large kitchen.

“Hi!” Elizabeth was standing by the back door, holding two bowls in her hands. Slightly awkwardly, he proffered the bottle of rosé he’d brought. “Oh, thank you! That’s lovely! You can put it in the fridge, unless you want to open it?”

“Er, no, I’m okay with a beer, if that’s all right?”

“Of course! Help yourself. Come out when you’re ready.”

They were clearly fairly late to the party; quite a few people were milling about in the garden; a long sweeping lawn, surrounded by neatly kept flowerbeds. He’d stepped out onto a patio, where George was poking unenthusiastically at a gently smoking barbecue.

“I don’t know why you insist on this bloody thing.” He muttered. “We’ve got a perfectly good stove.”

“It’s summer! Honestly, so grumpy.” Belying her words, Elizabeth, having rid herself of the dishes, placed an affectionate kiss on George’s cheek, hugging him. “Now say hello to Dwight and Verity.”

Despite George’s complaining, he was obviously a dab hand at the barbecue as the food was absolutely delicious, not to mention plentiful, considering it came on top of a buffet of salads, breads and half a dozen other things. Clearly, the Warleggans liked to spoil their guests. Dwight kept insisting he didn’t want any more, but his protests were ignored by the hosts, as his insistence he didn’t want another drink was ignored by Morwenna, who seemed to be on bartending duties.  He did manage to eventually persuade her to pour him a large lime and soda, there being a plentiful supply of non-alcoholic drinks for those who were on-call or driving.

Feeling extremely well fed, he sat sipping his drink in a comfortable chair on the extensive decking at the end of the garden, watching a few children run around on the grass. One of them was George and Elizabeth’s little boy, Valentine, who was even cuter in reality than in his picture. Two of the others belonged to a woman he’d been introduced to as Margaret Vosper, a consultant radiologist, and another was the nephew of Emma Tregirls, a nurse he’d met once or twice.

“Well, Dr Enys, are you as well fed as I am?” He started as Caroline sat down next to him, a smile playing about her soft lips. When he arrived, she’d been talking to Demelza and Francis, who seemed oddly inseparable. It was probably just his imagination, but she’d seemed almost keen to avoid him, drifting away from the food table when Elizabeth had dragged him over for yet another helping, and slipping out of the kitchen when he’d taken back an empty beer bottle. He’d barely listened to Malcolm MacNeill as the surgeon had been telling him something about an experimental procedure he was helping to research, distracted by Caroline sitting with Elizabeth on a swing bench by the fence, her bare legs kicking as the bench rocked gently.

“Yes, I couldn’t eat another bite.” He answered, as casually as he could, ignoring the way she was gently trailing her fingers around the rim of her glass.

“Elizabeth is determined to have us all stuffed to the gills. It’s the mother in her.” She tutted. “So domestic.”

Dwight followed her gaze to where Elizabeth and George were standing, George holding their baby daughter while Elizabeth petted her little cheek. He glanced back at Caroline and saw that, despite her words, she was watching them with a small smile, a slightly faraway look in her pretty blue eyes. He was about to speak – although to say what he didn’t exactly know – when Elizabeth called Caroline over. With a quick glance at him, she was gone.

The group dwindled as time wore on – those with children going first, Emma Tregirls picking up her sleeping nephew from where he was curled up on a garden chair and carrying him gently away, managing to lean over and give Elizabeth a quick kiss on the cheek as she left. Shortly after, the phone of the young-ish surgeon Dwight had seen watching the OOKP, and who had introduced himself as Hugh Armitage, trilled, calling him to the hospital. One or two others who had to work tomorrow excused themselves as well, leaving only Francis, Demelza, Verity, Caroline and Morwenna – who Dwight eventually realised actually lived at the house – aside from himself and their hosts.

He began to feel as if he should perhaps leave himself. He’d had a few drinks and he was back to work at 9 on Monday morning, but with Verity as his designated driver, he couldn’t go until she did. It wasn’t that he especially wanted to go, but he was still very aware of being the newcomer to this group, despite his long-standing friendship with Verity.

With the daylight gradually beginning to dwindle, they gathered under a couple of garden umbrellas on the decking, George disappearing behind the shed for a moment before several strings of lanterns lit up along the fence.

“I was so proud of the little group of plant pots in my back yard until I came here for the first time,” Demelza laughed.

“I keep telling them if they didn’t have such a nice house, I would leave, so it’s their own fault I’m still here.” Morwenna smiled, pouring herself a glass of the homemade lemonade Elizabeth had carried out of the house a while earlier before disappearing again.

“Oh, so it’s got nothing to do with the fact we don’t charge you rent?” George raised his eyebrows as he sat down, taking the jug from her to pour some for himself.

“Maybe a tiny bit.”

“All right, who wants ice cream?” Elizabeth returned, balancing two tubs, as well as dishes and spoons.

“Elizabeth, you seem to fully intend that we should all put on at least two stone before the night is over.” Caroline cried, although she took a dish as eagerly as everyone else.

“Yes.” Elizabeth replied flatly, before laughing.

“I’m not sure I can eat another bite.” Demelza patted her stomach.

“Oh, but that’s the beauty of ice cream, it melts and fills the gaps.” Francis stuck his spoon into the rocky road Elizabeth had scooped out for him.

“Is that a medical fact, doctor?”

“Yes, and frankly, as a pharmacist, you should be ashamed of not knowing that.” Demelza laughed, tongue between her teeth and, as Dwight took in the way she was looking at Francis, he suddenly felt monumentally dense.

He’d accepted a dish of cookies & cream flavour, and it was absolutely delicious. It gave him something to focus on other than the way Caroline was sucking on her spoon. He had definitely had too much to drink.

“Are you ready to go, Dwight?” He realised he’d drifted off, staring into his scraped-clean bowl, when Verity spoke to him.

“Only if you are.”

“Well, I was going to have another drink – non-alcoholic! – but if you want to leave…”

“No, it’s ok – “

“I can drive you.” He looked up at Caroline in surprise, feeling his mouth open and close like a fish. Or an idiot. “I’d like to drop in on Uncle Ray before I go home, and the hospital is on the way there – you live nearby, don’t you?”

“Uh, er, yes.”

“Well, then, whenever you’re ready.” Elizabeth pressed him leftover food on both of them – Dwight tried and failed to argue out of the sake of politeness, but he couldn’t really deny that he had absolutely nothing in his fridge.

He felt spectacularly awkward balancing the foil covered dishes on his knee in the slightly cramped front of Caroline’s Jag, really wishing he’d thought to adjust the seat when he got in.

“So, where’s Horace today?” Why was it whenever he was in proximity to Caroline, the ability to conduct an intelligent sounding conversation seemed to desert him?

“My neighbour took him for his walk and fed him this afternoon.” Caroline answered distractedly as they pulled up to a blind corner, easing the car out slowly. He found himself watching her as she drove, her elegant, long-fingered hands on the wheel, her brow furrowed gently as she watched the road. It gave him a slight start when they pulled up outside his flat, the plain brown terraced house looking a bit sad compared to Elizabeth and George’s beautiful home. He’d felt mildly embarrassed when he’d given Caroline the address – he could probably afford something a bit nicer, but it was convenient and it had been available right away.

“Right, well, er, thanks for the lift.” He shuffled the food, about to get out, when Caroline turned to him, her blue eyes sparkling in the low light.

“You intrigue me, Dr Enys.” She tilted her head. “I don’t know why, because I hardly know anything about you.”

“Well.” Dwight swallowed, hoping to God this wasn’t the alcohol making him imagine the enticing look in her eye, and decided to take a chance. “What would you like to know?” 

[spellboundtours]

Salem Night Tour

Before I assumed ownership of Spellbound Salem Night Tour I traveled with two different carnival freak shows. Out of time as it may seem, yes, a handful of them still exist playing out in various locations across the United States. Even right here in Massachusetts on occasion our own Topsfield Fair, just a short drive from Salem, plays host to such shows. Not that long ago they displayed the world famous Bat Boy, and the alleged World’s Smallest Woman. One of the shows I worked with was comprised mostly of variety performers, magicians, sword swallowers, that kind of thing performance artist, as well as the occasional human oddity or freak. The other one was largely a museum. It had wax figures of famous freaks, and preserved specimens of strange people and animals. Some of it, like the BP Oil Spill Mermaid and the cyclops baby were hilariously fake. But some of the attractions were all too real.

This story concerns one of the real attractions. It was a human skeleton. One hundred percent, undeniably real. So real that in some towns we needed special permits to show it. So real that some places would not let us display it because it was “disrespectful to the dead”. It was a real human skeleton, or most of one. The advertising material referred to it as The Evil Dwarf.

In front of our circus tent there were large, colorful banners advertising the wonders contained within. The Evil Dwarf banner had a caricature of a little person with a mischievous grin flashing a cartoon Snow White. Upon entering the tent, if the visitor made it past the live displays of freak animals like the Six Legged Sheep, and the various dead, stuffed, and faked attractions they came upon a coffin. A small coffin.

The coffin was about three and a half feet long. It was looked ancient. The lid was clear glass and inside could be seen portions of a skeleton. There was a delicate looking skull, ribs, scapula, a pelvis, a humerus and a half, a bunch of vertebra, and femur crammed up randomly with the other bones. The jumbled remains were undeniably old, and the grim aged skull was missing a couple of important teeth. Without a doubt this was the real thing. Even the most jaded costumers would gaze at it with awe. This mess of bones had been alive once.

There was a handprinted sign propped up next to the casket. In garish colored letters written in florid circus font was a story about the skeleton. It was The Evil Dwarf. A Wild West outlaw who happened to be a little person. “He robbed banks, trains, and looked up ladies’ skirts!”. The sign described how the bad little guy was finally gunned down outside of Tombstone, Arizona and because no one would pay for his burial he was put on display as a cautionary tale of what happens when you fight the law. The story was clearly carnival ballyhoo, but no one could deny that the gnarled old bones were one hundred percent real, old, dead, and entirely human.

My friend Jim owned the show and the bones. I asked him about their true origin one day. He said that he had bought the bones in the early nineteen nineties. His freak show was set up in a carnival playing a Native American reservation in New Mexico when a man approached Jim and told him he had something weird for sale. No one can turn down an offer like that! Jim went to the man’s home and was shown the the bones that became his Evil Dwarf. They were sealed up just as he later displayed them, except the top of the box was solid rather than glass. He was told they had been dug up by accident while a field was being cleared on the property, they had not been buried very deep. Jim purchased the remains for a price that was surprisingly low for human bones, and the owner was glad to see them go. According to Jim the man seemed relieved when the little coffin was hauled away.

Jim replaced the top of the coffin with a clear panel and hired renowned circus artists Jim Hand and Bobby Rawls to make signs and banners advertising his “Evil Dwarf”. He concocted the legend about the rotten little bandit and sold tickets. People lined up to see the skeleton. No one ever complained. Despite the outlandish story no one could dispute the bones were the real deal. He was making money hand over fist.

At the end of the season Jim went home to Florida. He proudly showed his girlfriend the new star attraction. She was not a fan. The Evil Dwarf made her profoundly uncomfortable. They laughed about it. She was used to Jim bringing strange things home.

Then the nightmares started. As long as the old bones were in the house she could not sleep peacefully. She started seeing visions she claimed were The Evil Dwarf when it was alive. She claimed that in life the bones had not been a dwarf at all, but a young woman. In her dreams she saw violent scenes of abuse where the girl’s father hurt her and ultimately killed her. She was killed by being beaten about the head with a flat rock from the field. After death he dismembered the body, shoved it in a box and dumped it in a ditch on his land. Years later it was discovered and finally sold to Jim. These nightmares troubled her to the point she refused to stay in the house as long as the box of bones was there.

Jim put it into storage and life went on. The next spring when he took the show on the road again The Evil Dwarf came with him, it was still a strong attraction. People loved it. One day he noticed that there were two college age women who had been in the tent far longer than most people ever stayed. They were fixated on the old bones. They were looking too closely at the contents of the coffin for comfort. This was not good. When people poked around too long it could sometimes mean trouble. Curious as to their motives Jim approached the women and casually as possible asked, “you ladies like The Evil Dwarf?”

They women told him that they were indeed fascinated by the skeleton, but there was no way it was the bones of a little person. As it turns out the ladies were medical students and they knew their way around a skeleton. Judging from the pathology they had determined that the bones were not from a male dwarf at all, but were the remains of a teenaged girl! This was not good news, it was starting to sound like Jim’s girlfriend’s dreams might have been true. “Any idea what happened to her?” inquired Jim. “From what it looks like here”, the student indicated a couple of damaged spots on the skull, “she received a lot of trauma to the head. Someone smashed her up pretty badly. Any of these blows”, again she pointed to the injured spots on the skull, “could have done her in. From the condition of the bones, she was not embalmed right like we do today, it looks like she was just left to decay.” Jim thanked the girls for the information, let them take pictures of the skeleton, and sent them on their way. They left happy having enjoyed sharing their knowledge of bones and showing up the carnival man.

Jim was glad to know the truth about the skeleton, but now he was uneasy. He no longer would load up and pack the box himself, delegating it to the other workers. Sometimes I would catch him just gazing into the casket. The Evil Dwarf banner got flown less and less. It was not so fun anymore, now that it was known who she really might have been. Some years after I left the show I believe she was given a decent burial and put to rest.

Many people who claim mediumistic ability will use bones of the dead as a way to channel the spirits. Sometimes they say the bones help open the doors to the spirit world and working with the bones is a good way to get in touch with the other side. Skulls are particularly popular for this purpose. In the case of the so called Evil Dwarf it seemed though that she was less interested in helping the living than just getting her story known at last. We have several skulls in the Spellbound Collection and thankfully none of them have been troublesome like the poor girl in the coffin.

[simonloweblog]

Looking back on 2020 and looking forward

There are few countries and few families who have not in one way or another felt the impact of Covid-19 this past year. Loss of life, loss of freedom, loss of employment and loss of a “normal” way of life that we have been accustomed to, yeah, taken for granted for so long.  Through man’s enduring ingenuity the arrival of a vaccine in record time will help us regain our lives of yesteryear, but will it turn the clock back?- probably not, for let us hope that mankind has reflected on not only our own health but that of our planet, our priorities and what changes of direction we should strive to achieve in the world of “tomorrow”.

My personal reflections vary from learning to be in one place alone with my wife for long periods of time and enjoying the feeling of contentment to gazing into the future of life online as it will surely accelerate even after a return to “normalcy”. Zoom, Team, et al have become new words in the lexicon, but acceptance of these new media formats have improved business and communication  to the point that travel is becoming superfluous to commerce and even concerts, but all the while realizing that there is no substitute for a hug. 

Many of us have endured a trauma of some kind in 2020; for us it was the shock of learning that our daughter Mandy had contracted stage 3 Colon-Rectal cancer back in February. With the pandemic raging in NY where she lives we were terrified that she would not get her chemo and radiation treatments; happily she did and six months later she has been given the all clear. The miracle of modern medicine administered under the most trying of circumstances is testament to the ingenuity of man and as with the development of the vaccine, the miracles that modern science can deliver.

Sadly that cannot be said of many western governments, none worse in governance than that of the US under Donald Trump’s Presidency. In 2015 Bill Gates warned ( view his Ted talk) of an imminent pandemic and that if government would set aside a few billion dollars in preparation,disaster could be avoided. Whereas governments in the East did prepare, most Western governments did not. The result has been that they have had to spend trillions not billions to prevent a complete economic meltdown but their negligence failed to prevent an unnecessary massive loss of life that is still raging.

For decades the appeal of the West has been the freedom, well being and prosperity that western democracy delivered. Governments in the Far East and China today tell their citizens that instead of freedom the West offered lockdowns, misery instead of well being, and in so many cases, unemployment and economic hardship instead of prosperity. The West will have to do better if it wishes to regain the mantel preached for so long that now sounds so hollow.

The fourth industrial Revolution has been gaining momentum for some time, but from here on in will gather an even faster pace. Online activity of every description will accelerate at warp speed. From shopping to education, to travel, hospitality and commerce  and thus employment prospects and the arrival of mass robotics, driverless electric cars and soon planes, trains and boats will radicalize our way of life.

Will unions disappear as robots work 24/7 without holidays, pensions or rights? In fact will the working class become irrelevant as they become redundant and as a consequence of little interest to the “haves”? ; most likely yes.

Will inner city life, commuted to via ever more congested roads and trains continue unabated?; will  massive malls and office conurbations remain dominant? Very possibly not as a reversal of the migration from the country to the bulging, dense, overcrowded and over expensive cities  is already taking place. Much food for thought as especially the younger families think of their futures.

As an eternal optimist, there have been nevertheless some brighter features of this very difficult year. The traumas of the US election have passed and in spite of all the mischief and relentless efforts to overturn the results of the November Presidential election, democracy and the checks and balances that the Founding Father’s laid down have meant that democracy is very much alive and working in the USA. Doomsday merchants will not agree, but the fact is that Jo Biden will become the 46th President of the United States on Jan 20th.

There too is hope for our planet; Jo Biden will rejoin the Paris Accords and BP and Shell have seen the righting on the wall and set out a vision for their futures that embrace a carbon neutral position. The diesel car is doomed and electric everything is on the cards; cleaner safer air will come to the people of Shanghai and Delhi as their governments realize that their citizens will not prosper in the death traps of their air-polluted mega cities.  

The recent break through resulting in the establishment of diplomatic relations between long term foes, Israel and the UAE will hopefully flourish and be extended to other parties bringing some hope to a more peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. The Palestinians may realize that a deal is better than a no deal as their long term financial benefactors slowly peel away from them.

2020 has seen the final exit of the United kingdom from the E.U. This has been the single most controversial topic in British politics and much of life for the past 47 years (since 1973 when the UK joined the E.E.C.) At least the constant arguments and divisive bickering that has engulfed families, political parties and communities for so long can now hopefully to put to rest. In volume 3 of William Manchester’s epic biography of Winston Churchill he quotes the great man as saying in 1946, “We are with them, but not of them”. For me and so many, Churchill was the greatest Statesman of the 20th Century. He believed  and had the foresight that Europe could only be rebuilt and avoid future war if Germany and France joined together in mutual recognition that a union of sorts was needed. So he encouraged a Union but equally was clear that Great Britain was not “of them”.  

Our hopes and aspirations for 2021 and beyond are  that life will become safer and easier. Sadly, “ plus ca change”…..- corruption, bureaucracy, inequality, religious fanaticism and tribalism are set to continue  with little change; intrinsically man has not changed.

Will the young become slaves to social media and hand IT control of their lives?, I hope not. Let us pray that man’s ongoing ability to change and adapt will prevail and conquer the many challenges that lie ahead.

 Wishing you all a very happy New Year.

 Simon

[turntechhex]

all of them B)

Significant Other Asks.

okay its under the cut you shit

1. Tell the story about how you met.

the first time avi and i actually spoke was in a stream i was holding and i was just about to close it off because nobody popped in but then he did and then that lead to punk rock points 

2. Was it a gradual increase of trust and love, or was there a specific moment where you knew “I want to be with this person for a long time”?

it was gradual for me but it hit me that i wanted to love him

3. Describe their eyes. Describe their hands. Describe their laugh.

his eyes are really sensitive to the light so he wears his shades a lot but god when he takes them off i get to see his eyes

theyre red and kind of like mine but not in the freaky albino way like mine

his are a beautiful deep red and when i look close enough i can see the little flecks of whatever mixed in

his hands arent scarred and scabbed like mine theyre soft but with a slight toughness to them and when we intertwine our fingers i can really feel that and i love kissing his fingertips just to show him that

and his laugh

god his laugh

i never want to hear anything else

the way it bubbles up and his head falls and his smile is so wide its beautiful 

4. What’s your zodiac sign and mbti type? What about your partner’s? Do things like that reflect your actual compatibility or is it just bunch of bunk?

we are both the same sign and i dunno about that mbti stuff and i dont think any of it works for compatibility its kinda dumb

5. Are you long distance? Have you met in person before? When do you get to see them again?

we live together

6. Tell me a story about a happy experience you two shared. Something that makes your heart warm whenever you think about it.

i had lit a bunch of fancy rose candles and turned out the lights and we just showered each other with so many kisses and then fell asleep together smiling stupidly it was nice 

7. Tell me a funny story. Did they do something silly? Did you do something silly? Talk about your inside jokes.

he always does something silly

he has this silly smile when he falls asleep and apparently when i sleep i look “angry or apathetic as fuck”

sometimes he walks in when im shaving my legs early in the morning with my hair in a bunch of mini pony tails so i can see and he knows hes seen a demon

8. Are your families supportive? Does it matter if they’re not?

avi doesnt have much of a family other than his sister and i havent met her

and dirk and hal are all ive got and dirk is pretty supportive and i think hal is too 

if they werent it would hurt but i couldnt stop loving him yknow

9. Would you ever have a pet together? Do you already have one?

he has four cats and i have an owl

10. Do you have children together? If not, are you both interested in raising children some day?

we do not but maybe someday i havent really thought about it all too much

11. If they’re having a bad day, what do you do to help?

listen the best i can and do whatever i can

give him space if he needs it

hold him if he needs it

12. If you’re having a bad day, what do they do to help?

he listens 

fuck he listens

he lets me cry and yell or whatever i need to do and he helps me

he lets me talk to him

he is everything to me when im having a hard time 

he knows when to hold me and rub my back and hush me

he knows when to give me space and let me yell

he knows me so well

13. What’s something that your partner does that would be annoying if anyone else did it, but it’s cute when they do it?

he moves a lot in his sleep

he has grabbed my ass on more than one occasion

14. Have you ever went on a vacation or adventure together? Tell me about it. If not, do you have plans to do something fun in the future?

we drive out to the coast sometimes its fun just driving away so yes

15. What’s something that you learned about yourself because of being with your partner?

i learned that im allowed to be confident with my body and im beautiful and nothing anybody can say will crush that

i really started to stop wearing makeup to cover my spots because of him

16. What’s a piece of advice that your partner gave you that has resonated with you? 

“please dont ever talk about corpses in public again”

17. Which one of you kills the bugs (or captures the bugs and places them safely outside)?

me

18. Describe the perfect day with your partner. It can be something that’s already happened, or something that you plan to do.

like i mentioned before just driving out to the coast

both of us laughing the whole way there

his smile as he watches the road that reflects in his eyes

watching the sun set when we finally get there and we just leave the car by the road and nobodys on the beach anymore and i run out to the water with him and it was cold as fuck so we just sat in the sand and held each other and looked up at the moon and he was so beautiful like he is everyday

and then we reluctantly got into the car and drove home mostly in silence expect the whispers of i love you 

and we got back home and fell asleep with smiles on our faces it was perfect 

19. Do you prepare meals together? Does one person enjoy cooking more than the other?

i usually cook when we arent just having eggs

avi isnt the best cook >BP

20. What are the best restaurants to go to? Do you see movies at the theater? Do you do things like golf or bowling, just to bond more?

theres a really not too fancy nice one downtown that we like

we watch movies at home and dont do much of that stuff

21. Tell me about a time that you got into an argument over something silly. 

the ghost in the kitchen that insulted his butter spreading skills was being annoying 

22. Tell me about a time that you got into an argument over something serious. How did you compromise? What did you learn?

it was just about family shit it was dumb

we just ended talking

i learned that we both need to talk more and we do now

23. Is there a famous couple, fictional or otherwise, that reminds you (or other people) of you and your partner? 

not really

24. Do you have a shipname?

not that i know of

25. Do you two have a “song”? What is it and how did it become your song?

do we have a song 

26. Has your partner ever inspired something creative like your art, writing, etc?

ive painted him a few times and he helps me with colours and stuff when im stuck

27. Do you have extremely similar personalities and interests? Or extremely opposite? Or is it a balance that just makes sense? How do you try to better understand each other? Do you ever have to experience things you’re not interested in, or vice versa? 

we are pretty similar but other than that its just a good balance

we talk to each other

sometimes i suppose 

28. Has your partner ever changed one of your opinions on morals, politics, society, etc?

i dunno

29. Tell me about a time that you were really proud of them. 

his dance performance in january he worked so hard for that and i brought him roses afterwards and he did so good

30. Does physical affection and/or sexuality have a role in your relationship? Are both of your needs being respected and fulfilled? 

yes we both love physical shit and we make sure that its fulfilled and respected too

31. How often do you talk? On the phone, Skype, in person? Are you two the type that stays up too late because the conversation is too good to end?

we talk and text everyday

32. Talk about your sense of humor, and your partner’s. Do you laugh a lot together? Which one of you is funnier?

we laugh a lot of course

i dont know whos funnier

33. Is there anyone who doesn’t like the idea of your relationship? What’s the reason? How do you and your partner overcome disapproval from others?

not that i can think of

34. Have there been any hardships that have ultimately brought you closer than before?

yeah

there have

35. What’s their contact name in your phone?

my love 💕💕

36. Tell me about what your partner is good at. Are they an artist, are they good at math, do they play a sport, etc?

he is an amazing dancer

37. Get really sappy and gross for a moment. Be so gushy that your friends would groan in mock annoyance if you told them. What’s adorable about your partner? What makes your heart melt? What’s something cute that they did that you’ll always remember no matter what?

david rae strider

he is everything to me

he is my present and my future

he is the rest of my life

falling asleep next to him and waking up next to him is such a privilege and i feel like the luckiest goddamn man in the world to be able to love him

he makes me feel like the happiest man on earth to be able to love him

hes so understanding and patient and he listens to me

his movements are soft and not quick

he comforts me 

he cries and i feel like im bleeding from tha inside out and i want to make sure he never has any reason to sad cry

he cries with a smile and i know that i am so in love with him

he kisses my nose and holds me

he kisses every single one of my spots and tells me im beautiful

he traces my scars on my back my arms my face my legs everywhere and kisses my neck still

he holds my hand in public and does fake proposals for free dessert

he knows all the words to every single grease song and so do i

his voice is so nice to hear and his smile is all ive ever wanted to see

his hair is soft and i like to kiss his stubble cheeks when he doesnt shave for a while

hes cute

hes beautiful

he realizes his mistakes

he bought me roses once and put a note inside that he wanted to have roses like that at our wedding someday

he kisses me without regret

he says that he loves me and i believe him

when he got down on his knees and asked me to marry him with tears in his beautiful eyes and held out a shaky beautiful hand with an earring in it

i knew that i loved this man with my entire being

and i said yes

god i said yes

38. Let’s talk about life goals and hopes. Do you two have a similar idea for the future (regarding careers, getting a home, family, finding meaning)? Do you two make a good team? Can you imagine spending the rest of your life with them?

we are moving into his sisters old place once hes done with school and we are getting married in the summer

we just know we want the rest of our lives to be together

39. Reflecting on all of your experiences, what advice would you give to a young couple? 

talk to each other and dont try and hide important things and your feelings 

dont be stupid but also do stupid things

40. Is your partner on tumblr? Tag them here and write them a small message, it can be anything.

@bromosapiens

ur gross

[abstractanalogue]

Slane Castle Concerts: From the Outside

If you grew up in Co. Meath, as I did, you would have been more directly aware and affected by the concerts at Slane Castle than those who travelled to it from the rest of the country. I mean this in the sense that you wouldn’t have even had to attend the concert itself to be touched by it. If you were too young to go or had no interest in seeing these bands you could still experience it in intangible ways through events or occurrences that hovered around it; perhaps in the atmosphere surrounding the day itself or in the build-up, its aftermath and in memory. This subjective experience is what I’ve written about here. 

I grew up in the countryside about 3 miles from Navan and the first time the village of Slane, its castle and concerts being held there, entered my consciousness was in 1984, when I would have been 11 years old. I also got to learn about a man called Lord Henry Mountcharles who lived in the castle and put these concerts on. He had also let U2 record an album there once, wore odd socks and would be interviewed on TV from time to time. I ceased to have any real interest in the concerts about 10 years later in 1995, which as it turned out, would be the only time I would actually attend the event. A few of the concerts of that period left a strong and vivid impression on me as a young person. 

Bob Dylan 1984: I might have been vaguely aware of the name Bob Dylan but that was all it was to me, I wouldn't have known what he was famous for or even his nationality. The first I heard about it was on the news, that there had been a riot in the village. This actually happened the night before the concert, when a large crowd and with only 12 Gardai on duty, had attacked the local Garda station and terrorised local people. This was my first impression of the Slane concerts, that they were dangerous and lawless events. 

On the morning after the concert I remember going to church in Navan with my family and seeing an old van parked up and people outside it, who I heard it commented, "Must have been at Slane." In my child’s mind they must have been involved in the riot somehow. I think there was a dishevelled looking bearded man in a lumberjack shirt and a woman with a blanket pulled over her shoulders. Today I can see that they were just ordinary people, possibly college graduates with nothing more than a bellyful of bottled stout, who probably hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. They had just stopped off on the way home to get supplies and probably couldn’t wait to get home for a shower and a proper sleep in a warm bed. But at that moment and for a long time afterwards I was fascinated by the riot and these strange looking people. The ‘real’ world where news came from could be just down the road and not everyone was like my family and the people I knew.

About 10 years later when I was renting a house in Dublin, I learned that one of my house-mates, a teacher who was about 10 years older than me, had actually been at the concert. I immediately asked her what the riot had been like? She looked at me like she didn’t know what I was talking about. She had forgotten all about the controversy as she hadn’t witnessed it and could only remember being out in the open air and enjoying the music and craic. A serious as the riot had been it was still a very isolated incident, probably blown up to some degree by the media.

The saddest aspect of the day was that two fans had drowned while trying to swim across the Boyne to get access to the concert. I might have heard this on Radio Carousel, the local station based in Navan Shopping Centre. They would have been covering the events of the weekend in-depth all day. The Meath Chronicle too would also cover the build-up and aftermath of the concert in detail for weeks. My mother was a nurse working in the casualty department of Navan Hospital at this time and would be for the next few years as well. If she wasn’t on duty she would always be on call for the duration of the concert weekend. Most years the medical staff would be kept busy with cases of people with too much alcohol or drugs in their system, stabbings and a whole variety of incidents that could not be treated on site. This insider knowledge would also colour my picture of the event as well.

Bruce Spingsteen 1985: A year later and I was more aware of the hype surrounding the build-up to the concert and would even have known Springsteen's hit of the moment, 'Born in the USA'. I was a member of the Scouts and our Whit Weekend camp coincided with the concert. We hiked out to the campsite from the Ramparts, just on the edge of Navan and walked for a few miles along the Boyne river. Eventually we turned into a field and set up camp (I think all the tents and camping equipment had already been dropped there). We were a very short distance from Slane and the next day Bruce Spingsteen would be playing. We were all talking about this and hoping that somehow we would get to see the concert. One of my friends was obsessed with Springsteen and was going around singing the line, “Born in the USA” loudly and repeatedly. 

The night before the concert there was a night hike organised. We continued walking towards Slane along the bank of the Boyne and at some stage turned into a wooded area. What happened next is still clear in my mind. In the near pitch black it was obvious there were people in the forest just off the pathway. They were obviously making a weekend of the concert and some of them were now very drunk. When they saw the light of our torches it set off a panic along the forest. We could hear people shouting that the Guards were coming and people were running off in all directions. We were just as freaked out as they were, we couldn't see them but only hear the commotion we had inadvertently caused. As we walked along we got deeper into even more panicked voices until we began to hear this one man yelling, "Juventus", over and over again in a slow football chant style. This extremely drunk individual even stumbled onto the path as we got close. At the time, while I knew he was drunk, I was still confused as to why he was repeating this word into the night. Years later when I saw the scene in Apocalypse Now when they are close to the end of the river and visit a US military base where no-one is in charge and everyone has gone a bit crazy I was reminded of how it felt this night. The Heysel Stadium disaster had happened just days before resulting in 39 dead and 600 injured. This was when Liverpool and the Italian club, Juventus, had met in Brussels at the European Cup final. 

According to Wikipedia: Approximately an hour before the Juventus-Liverpool final was due to kick off, Liverpool supporters charged at Juventus fans and breached a fence that was separating them from a "neutral area". This came after a period of hostility between the two sets of fans which saw missiles thrown from both teams' supporters. The instigators of violence are still unknown, with varying accounts. Juventus fans ran back on the terraces and away from the threat into a concrete retaining wall. Fans already standing near the wall were crushed; eventually the wall collapsed. Many people climbed over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. The game was played despite the disaster, with Juventus winning 1–0.

Our Scout leaders were pretty worried by now but we were past the worst of it and managed to get back to camp by a route that bypassed the forest. While researching this piece I realised we would have been on the other side of the Boyne from the castle, the side that people would attempt to swim from. Again, like the Bob Dylan fans I’d glimpsed, who these people in the forest were and what they were doing would continue to play on my mind as a kid.

Queen 1986: In spite of the fact that one of my best school friends would have been a big fan of the band (I do remember hearing their album of this time, A Kind of Magic, quite a lot) until writing this piece I had zero recollection that Queen had ever headlined Slane. I put this down to the traumatic effects of the Scout night hike! The above image I found also confirms to me I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this show very much.

David Bowie 1987: This time I remember being even more aware of the hype and build up to the concert. One of my older brother’s friends was even going to it! I would not have had much of a clue about Bowie's history or music however, I would just have accepted that he was a ‘rock legend’ and remembered seeing him play at Live Aid and seeing his video with Mick Jagger for 'Dancing in the Street’. By now I was 14 and a Jesus and Mary Chain fan and starting to become more aware of the alternative acts of the day and bands like the Sex Pistols. Interestingly, I would have been aware that JAMC had actually caused a riot at a gig once. The night before the concert RTE2 showed one of Bowie’s concert films from the 1970s I think and I watched some of it but had to turn it off it was so bad in my opinion. A year or so later I would hear his Ziggy Stardust album at school and really liked it and would gradually become a fan. According to reviews of the time, his Slane show was generally considered poor, with BP Fallon even going so far as saying it was, ”one of the worst David Bowie gigs I ever saw.”

What sticks in my mind the most from this year is hearing that another fan drowned whilst trying to swim across the Boyne. I remember naively thinking when I heard this, how could the show even go ahead and how would Bowie be able to live with the fact that he was responsible for the death of one of his fans. 

Guns N’ Roses 1992: Perhaps due to the drownings and growing complaints of local residents there would be a 5 year gap before the next concert would take place. It strikes me that there was a lost generation of people, including myself, who would have come of age at this time and would have enjoyed going to the concert. Guns N’ Roses would be the latest headliners and I was now 19 and working in Dublin. The following month I would see Nirvana in The Point so that type of music and local Dublin bands in very small to medium sized venues was more my scene at the time. I happened to be home for that weekend and I think it only started to occur to me about going to it the day it was on. I had no ticket and as far as I knew it was sold out. However, I was curious enough about the spectacle surrounding the concert to go for a cycle into Navan and it was a beautiful summer's day. If you were travelling to Slane from the south or west you would have had to travel through Navan to cross the Boyne and go up Flowerhill. This was where I went first and the traffic was busy with concert goers and slowly moving. I easily sped across the bridge and cycled alongside a van with the side-door open and chatted to some mildly drunken lads who were lying and crouching inside. They were on their way to the concert and I’m pretty sure they offered me a lift to the gig. I probably should have taken it but this brief exchange gave me the idea to cycle out to Slane for a closer look. This was only another 10 miles or so and the day was young. 

As I got close to the village I knew there would be checkpoints to stop ticket-less fans like me. I think I turned left close to the town and ended up where people had parked cars at the sides of the road and were camping in fields. No-one had stopped me so far but I thought this was the time to get a bit sneaky so I pushed the bike up a hill along a farmers track and hid it in the hedgerow. I must have had a good idea where I would come out as I walked down this field, climbed through a hedge and came out right on the road opposite the main entrance. I boldly crossed the last fence and walked into the crowds. I remember it was all surprisingly peaceful (not a riot in sight!) even though there were swarms of people walking into the site. There was a tout selling tickets and more out of curiosity I asked him how much they were. I can't remember what he initially offered it to me for, perhaps face value, but as I still had no intention of actually going into the concert I told him no. He must have thought I was still interested and eventually he offered it to me for a fiver. I guess they really had been stopping ticket-less fans from getting this far as he had no takers. After awhile I felt I had seen enough and went back through the field by the same route to retrieve my bike and began the long journey home. 

Years later when I met my wife I found out that she was actually at this concert! She hadn't been a fan either but had gone with a group of college friends the day after the Trinity Ball. I like to think that might be why I felt that strange draw to go to the concert that day.

Neil Young 1993: This was another lineup I had pretty much no interest in seeing or recollection of. Even though I would be a fan of Neil Young today I don't feel like I missed anything.

REM/Oasis 1995: I was 22 now and in a band of my own by now called Buckle. My band-mates, Fran and Glenn, were big fans of REM and were going. I wasn’t that into it but thought it would be good to finally have the full Slane concert experience and we could all stay at my parents house that weekend. 

It’s a long story but I had seen REM before in Dublin’s RDS in 1989, this had actually been my first ever gig at 16. From that moment on I became a big fan and later that summer I bought all of their albums on cassette so I could play them on my Walkman, with the money from my first job while staying with my aunt and uncle in England. When I got back I started doing a fanzine about music. The first issue was called, Interzone, which I changed for the next issue to Murmur. This had been in tribute to REM's first album and the zine would gradually become focused solely on REM. I created a new one called Superfuzz to cover the other music I liked. I only did these zines for two years and had stopped by the time I moved to Dublin in 1992. 

By 1995 I had very little interest left in REM to be honest, I had read so much about and listened to their music so often I’d pretty much worn out my enthusiasm. I can listen to them in moderation again now however. There were just so many more younger and much more interesting sounding bands and electronic musicians around at the time. Their music by now had become kind of bland as they achieved mass success, although the Monster album they were promoting at this time was when their popularity started to seriously dip. Perhaps we had all heard ‘Everybody Hurts too many times.

In the end about five of us stayed at my parents and we all squeezed into my mother’s Toyota Starlet (I was still only a learner driver) and headed for Slane. It was yet another glorious summer’s day. Being in such a vast crowd was kind of what I expected it to be. It certainly was a beautiful setting and the hill rolling down to the river did form a perfect natural amphitheatre. We were there from the first act so we knew we had to pace ourselves so we relaxed to watch the opening acts from afar.  

I think at some stage I went off exploring the site and we gradually all got split up during the day but I got pretty close to the front for Oasis and REM. One of the reasons I wasn’t keen on large open air concerts was that the stage could potentially be so far away, I was determined therefore to get as close to the action as possible. Even though I wasn’t a massive fan, Oasis actually stole the show for me. On a friend’s recommendation I had already caught their debut Irish gig at the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin the year before and had been blown away by the energy and attitude coming off the stage. I’m quite sure REM played a great set as well but all I can remember now is when they dedicated ‘Let Me In’ to Kurt Cobain (who had died the year before). This struck a deep emotional chord with the crowd and I looked back during the song and the audience had spontaneously started to throw a cloud of paper cups, plastic bottles, whatever high into the air, it was quite a sight to see.  

At the end of Oasis’ set I asked security to pull me out from the front row, there was a constant flow of people leaving this way. I might have thought it was a quicker way out than fighting my way backwards through the crowd and by now I was feeling a bit dehydrated anyway. They lifted me out and I was next escorted to the St. John’s Ambulance tent where I was offered some water and asked to rest. This was very kind and I chatted to them and they told me that so far there had been no serious incidents for them to deal with. I got a quick look at the deserted backstage area before I went back into the main arena. The VIP area was higher up at the castle itself.

I was determined we wouldn’t get caught up in the legendary traffic jams leaving the site so at the end of the show we all somehow managed to meet up as agreed behind the sound-desk (like everybody else) and with my local knowledge I got us quickly home by the back-roads. Shockingly another two people did actually drown trying to swim across the river that year. To be fair each year the organisers had boats patrolling but obviously this measure still couldn’t save everyone. Even if you did make it across it was highly unlikely you would not be spotted in this secured area and thrown out of the site.

This is a good link with an overview of all of the concerts held to date at Slane. Slane Castle and Lord Henry Mountcharles very much put rock culture on the map in Ireland in providing a suitable venue to attract the huge touring bands of the time. These concerts loomed large in the minds of young people and attending was a rite of passage for them and still is. Not surprisingly there were dangers involved no matter how much the organisers tried to remove or contain them. These hazards, like the excitement surrounding the event (the spirit of rock’n’roll), as I’ve tried to show, stretched way outside of the live arena and could never be contained. The music, hype and chatter around the event simply became every-bodies soundtrack for the day.

Stephen Rennicks