#the outhouse/limbo

[whack-patty]

Hey would it shock you tumblr folks to find out i also make stuff like this instead of just dinky little scroobles all the time

The two versions back to back because

[delicatebluebirdruins]

the empty grave reread

Saturday 2nd Nov 2024

I love this opening line and the dread is still there about the Anthony Lockwood gallery

7 the Skull hated being called tame and for good reason

3rd Nov 2024

9 Marissa's funeral proceeding treating her as a queen (they mention it on page 32 lying in state for the 3 days?)

27 "lockwood's presence game me courage"

43 the group commiting the three sins of ghost hunting

47 hello Revenent

50 birds of a feather

60 ghost client whoop (I hope I am always this excited about it)

81 "I think, that we found greater peace and pleasure in each other than in anyone. That was the good news. The bad news? I wasn't quite sure why" hmmm I wonder you were already close already emotionally. Lockwood can be a bit emotionally blind but him icing you out in THB did play a role in your leaving a small one but still. You also walked through the realm of the dead together your bond was fractured many, many times in THB for so many reasons and it was reforged throughout TCS and now of course.

86 and 103 is just me finding new things to add to my revision cards

111 the epitaph on the Lockwood's grave "knowledge sets us free" meaning so many things like the ghosts trapped in the living realm and limbo. the parents in general being killed to prevent knowledge being set free. them revealing the truth to the world about Fittes and Rotwell

114 Hey it's the second empty grave! and this one will stay empty for a long, long time

116 Lockwood telling Lucy about his parents dying will be something Cameron Chapman would shine in

121 "In my experience, graveyards can be used for lots of activities, not just ghost-hunting" what is your experience Skull? (thought when writing this up 10/11/24 calm down Mary Shelly)

130 the history of the ghost they're dealing with is great "Or possibly Luton"

134 Lockwood saying they aren't weak is so funny

138 I love this description for Flo "She liked liquorice, George and Lockwood in a somewhat unclear order"

141 bless Holly's existence "she remained impeccably polite"

142 "if you hung a uniform on a section of concrete pipe leaning against an outhouse wall the result would have possessed more intellectual zip"

157 Lucy mistakenly going after Sarah is so funny because she is the reason the Belle Dame is loose

169 Sweet sister Mary

173 bi Lucy? going with it

186 jealous Lucy protecting Lockwood

189 "It had tried to take Lockwood from me"

+ 190 "intelligience and recognition - and something more than that" i wonder what that is? Lockwood POV please and thank you

+ 199 "I hate trapezes" is there a deleted scene somewhere in Strouds notes of Lucy learning how to use a trapeze?

196 What were his thoughts with who did this? intitally I mean?

205 Poor Adam Bunchurch

209 Barnes I love you very much

214 Barnes warning them is so nice

220 we have a name for our ghost client Dr Neil Clarke

225 I want a jammie dodger now

230 I love the Skull

4th November

245 Possessive Skull "hey, fish-face find your own human"

250 Lockwood wanting to kill Sir Rupert Gale... I'd help. Also I hate how he kind of hinted at something happening to George "not off being naughty in some library again?"

253 God bless Jake the cabbie

266 Lucy is small and full of rage

269 I love Kipps "we might have to duff up a few pensioners" and Holly "there'll be some duffing up going on right now if you don't start filling us in"

282 "We could feel an abyss opening beneath ou feet"

284 I wonder what Dark London is?

296 Lavender acid? at least it smells nice

303 the idea that we may never get this scene Lockwood frozen in the midst of chaos is a crime I may never recover from

307 and there it is the truth of the Problem

317 this world has bazookas?

331 "They're here to be used. And I believe my sister would want use to use her room too. She'd want to help us escape"

335 Ezekiel is a prat

345 Lucy being miffed at Lockwood seemingly enjoying this chaos but the chaos is exposing the truth... Winkman we were so close to a moment here

353 Holly is gay

361 Good Old Esmeralda

363 What was the message George

364 Middle names are fun

372 vengeful chicken lmao but also poor Kipps

385 Oh Skull really? Lucy where would someone who works for Fittes take a Source?

389 Seriously who are you hat man?

391 Why are you doing so well Kipps?

398 Flo backstory! imagine how upset Lucy would be if she learned this in the run to Aickmeres? because Flo was part of a three person agency and she was the last one standing?

409 first sighting of Marissa and Ezekiel

415 the conversation with the Skull is great

420 Poor Kipps (Jack would kill this scene so would Ruby and the others when they go back to our world)

430 Lockwood sacrificing his coat :(

433 sticky fingers George and wolf like smile from Lockwood (in AU we could have these two meet as George is a pickpocket/thief and Lockwood sees him in the act)

437 "they were all stocky and muscular, their shaven heads like small boulders on which rudimentary faces had been drawn" this happens a few times with Lucy the way she see's large groups of "others". (And it will be something I pay attention to next time I reread as I know I am missing some) She describes them as all being from the same mould stripping them of their personhood as they are all caught up in the machine of Fittes (and Rotwell her description of the group selling hot chestnuts in the first book) in this case it works because this group is not a group made up of people it's a group like Winkman's thugs because all they know is following orders without question and I don't know where I'm going with this but something something dehumanisation I guess?

438 "That bloodthirsty young harpy" compliments!

457 Marissa being similar to Belle Dame

466 This is so spooky like the body of Penelope Fittes, her face but also the face of Marissa

474 killing the tension here Skull

Final Day 5th November 2024

480 that was a good summary Lucy

487 I love the Skull protecting them

489 Suck it Ezekiel

490 cat behaviour for sure

501 Lockwood and Lucy going downstairs arm in arm

519 healing Portland Row and themselves

525 what was the doodle

529 a glimmer of green from the Skull and of course the necklace

and there we have it the final book reread I love this book (the ranking would look like TEG/THB closely followed by TCS and then the first two way down in the rankings... I will die on the hill of them being combined was the best thing they could do in a adaptation)

[lindaseccaspina]

Newman Rawding ---Clippings of Des and Jean Moore

Clippings of Des and Jean Moore thanks to the Moore girls The Ottawa Citizen Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Thu, May 2, 2002Page 55 Charles Fraser and Garbage 1949 What Was a Honey Wagon?- The Job of a Night Soil Scavenger Headbangers Arrested in Calgary Sewer – Canadian Insanity Needs to Go Viral! Beware of Germ Ridden Phantom Limbo Dancers – Public Bathrooms Outhouses Need to Be Cleaned–…

[thespookydoor]

Twilight Zoned

Ever had one of those dreams that invades an important place from your childhood, turning it into a realm of foreboding and impending horror? For most of my life, my aunt M— and uncle K— lived in a nice, quiet little hollow, hidden from the highway by a steep, rocky bank. They lived at the end of a long dirt road, past a few other houses, with a considerable chunk of property surrounding the main house, enough room for a large garage, space for my uncle to park at least a dozen vehicles to ply his trade as a freelance mechanic, and still have several fields of apple and pear trees in the back yard, a side yard reaching up into the woods at the base of the mountain, and even a couple up on the bank. There was also an old, bent apple tree in the front yard, propped up in several places over a picnic table, as it had grown too heavily to one side to support itself anymore. In spring, those trees would be all in bloom, buzzing with bees, and in autumn, all of the apples that M— had no room left for jarring or canning would fall to the ground, and the place would be buzzing with wasps and hornets instead. All summer, you could see the apples grow from blossoms to fully ripened, as well as go and play up along the bank. The house itself dated back nearly a century, starting out as a two-room shack, and had been added on to by successive owners, even including a second floor by the time they lived there. By the last time I got to visit the place (summer 2003), they had even replaced the wood stove in the dining room with central heating and other upgrades. There was also an old outhouse behind the place, despite the fact that the house had a fully functioning bathroom for many years before they moved in. The house was built right up against the bank, with concrete steps leading up to a retainer wall behind it, on the same level as the outhouse. It was high enough that you could actually grab icicles off the edge of the roof in winter, and in the trench below there used to be several water storage tanks from before the house was connected to the local water lines. There were several other outbuildings, including a shed next to the outhouse that was used for everything from storage to a brief existence as a club house, a chicken coop (where M— would sometimes raise chickens), and a door leading under the bank that no one seemed to ever use for anything, possibly due to age and/or structural instability. In those days K— was a volunteer firefighter, making his living from vehicle repair and local plowing and sanding during the winter, M— became the local babysitter after their own children left the nest, taking care of kids ranging from toddlers to grade school age, as well as my sister and I some summers when we were younger. Thus the place seemed to have a bottomless freezer of popsicles and endless pitchers of juice, and she was no slouch at baking, especially during the Holidays. It was also the natural place for family gatherings on that side of the mountains. Though it’s been many years, it holds a special place in my memory, which made it a very creepy setting for something eldritch and disturbing to invade… …A portal to the Twilight Zone is about the best way to describe it, just over the bank, on the other side of the highway. Submitted for your approval: a bizarre border, to a foreboding realm where even the color drained out of everything, where the sky shifted starkly to a shade of grey that only exists in old black-and-white films. No one else who entered returned, and occasionally disturbing things would happen on this side of the line, when the twilight would press in a little further on our side of the line, as if reaching out to claim the last refuge of our everyday reality. A group of locals found themselves trapped in the hollow, seeking refuge on my aunt and uncle’s grounds, for this invading space seemed to cut off the outside world, leaving us all trapped in the face of an advancing wall of darkness. I am part of the only group to enter this realm and return, and we are preparing to enter the Twilight Zone again, to make one last stand against this invasion, and some of my friends are preparing some kind of high-tech gear for me to equip, when things get worse. Up on the bank, where some refugees are camping, a large truck, in the midst of backing up, becomes possessed by an unknown force, running over several people and smashing into several other vehicles that had been moved up there for shelter or something, while the driver can only cry out in alarm and warning and ultimately, horror. And all I can do is run away, hopping a couple gaps that don’t exist in the waking world, and retreating down to the lower level. There is a horrible sense of shame accompanying this retreat, as the people here see us as heroes of a sort, and I have proven powerless against this truck without the equipment my friends are making, which is in one of the vehicles the truck smashes in its ultimately self-destructive rampage. Our numbers now greatly reduced by this assault, and I find myself unable to face the survivors, instead turning back to the wreckage above. As one of the few who had seen it and lived to tell the tale, I know that the other side contains all the scary things from the Twilight Zone, and that even just moving around in the open can leave you subject to all manner of strange and surreal modes of attack. I know the only chance I have is sneaking through the debris and retrieving the gear my friends were making. Still wary of any more animated machinery, I manage to crawl into the camper my friends were working in. I find no sign of them, nor any clue if they escaped or not. There is a computer running, and I can see the display showing a bunch of upgrades made to what I now see is a suit of powered armor, which I proceed to don even as I look over the list of new features. None too soon, I discover, as I look out to see some vast, shadowy form has entered the hollow, apparently seeking to wipe out the remaining survivors, and I am determined not to fail them this time. By now, the Shadow has overtaken the entire hollow, shrouding everything in darkness, and draining the color out of everything, as it had on the other side of the rift, leaving my area a heap of broken silhouettes, which would immediately put my waking self in mind of Limbo (the video game). I quickly discover that one of the new features is a stealth mode that allows my to hide amidst the shadowy ruins, as well as a “mystery” weapon that is apparently my best chance to vanquish the Shadow and turn back this unreal invasion. The last part is the Shadow moving about the hollow, looming over everything, its glowing eyes scanning the scenery, a deep, rumbling voice repeatedly challenging me, seeking to provoke me into revealing myself, even as I try to figure out how to use my mysterious new weapon against it. Knowing, in that way we just seem to know things in dreams, that this gift was no guarantee of victory, but merely a fighting chance… …Much to my annoyance, though, I would never get to find out how this harrowing confrontation ended, as I was dragged awake by the neighboring building’s regular 4-am engine-revving contest. Which may well be part of why this dream still haunts me, even days later, that feeling of being faced with something monolithic and seemingly inexorable, as well as having failed those around me against something that failure might well be inevitable, like trying to hold back a tidal wave with your bare hands. At the same time, though there is also a sliver of hope, the possibility that human ingenuity might yet invent a way to prevail, and turn the tide against the Unknown. To say nothing of the way the setting itself, an important piece of my childhood imperiled, left me with a sense of being challenged on a very personal level. Of all the places for something like that to begin, it had to hit so close to home, as it always seems to happen in the Twilight Zone…

[theadventuresoftyrah]

So 3 weeks ago I got fired from I job I had been at for 13 years. I was good at wheat I did and more importantly, I loved what I did. Now I find myself in this limbo of do I stay in the same industry or do I change my whole world. I sure you all can relate! I love to read books, ride my Harley and I love to take photographs. Unfortunately my brain is to logical to be creative in any other way. In the most perfect world I would be able to make the most amazing living while travelling on my Harley and taking photos. I just wish it were practical, you know!!! That being said, while I I interview for some pretty amazing jobs, decided to also start some writing while I take pictures and ride my motorcycle. This is the first.

I am currently the Director of the Phoenix Harley Owners Group (HOG) Chapter 93. This is a motorcycle riding group. I am also a Road Captain in this group so I help plan rides for the group. I also plan rides for myself. Since I am out riding to some pretty amazing places, I thought I would tell you all about them. However, today I am on a ride with my husband to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We left Heber, AZ, a small town in the White Tank mountains around 930 yesterday morning and arrived in Page, AZ, the small town near Lake Powell in Northern, AZ on the UT border, around 430 yesterday afternoon. Our route from Heber to Page Kent we spent 99% of our day on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is MASSIVE! It takes up all of the NE corner of AZ. It's a very interesting place as you get some really great roads and some really shitty roads. You also get some really incredible scenery and some really shitty scenery. I always say, the scenery along the US 160 on the Navajo Nation is partly amazing and partly looks like an atomic bomb went off there. The people you come across when you stop are sooo friendly and helpful. Yesterday on our journey we got some new roads for my husband and I on the Navajo Nation and because AZ has had a true Monsoon season it was all green and just beautiful. You had this great prairie that looked over the Painted Desert with these massive stone pillars that rise up out of the ground from nowhere that made me want to stop (unfortunately there was no where to stop) and truly take in the magnificent views. As we continued on our way we rode into the Hopi Reservation which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation. We didn't stop in the Hopi Reservation, but as I rode through there I noticed 2 things that really stood out to me. 1. Outhouses, 2. No electrical lines. Now I know that there are also parts of the Navajo Nation that also don't have electricity and outhouses, but for some reason it hit me harder when seeing it on the Hopi Reservation. I think it's because this part of the Hopi Reservation just seemed so inhospitable, yet people have been making their homes there since the Federal Government fucked over the Natives as that country developed and because of this, a portion of them don't have the basics items of electricity and a bathroom in their home that we all take for granted every day. I am sure some who read this, if any will say, but they can move and find a better place, but historically speaking, many natives don't leave the reservations that they grew up on, at least from all of the reading I have done. Anyway, I didn't mean to make this a diatribe, it was just something that really stood out to me

We finally made it to Page and checked into our hotel room. The view from the hotel pool is amazing and I can't wait to see the sun rise on the red rock over looking the Glen Canyon Dam of Lake Powell. Pictures of that tomorrow. Later today we travel to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which my husband calls a big hole in the ground. While it may be that, I am willing to bet the views will be amazing.

Heres to another great day of riding my Harley with my knees in the breeze and the wind in my face. Stay tuned as you never know where I will be going as I have more adventures in my calendar.

[crohnsawarenessproject]

‘Scatalogical’ August 27th, 2019 #scatalogical © Outhouse Cartoons/C.A.P 2019

Here we are again; little bit delayed due to that summer fun that hits me this time every year. Writing is one of the first things I lose the ability to accomplish, with brain fog causing frustrations as I try to put together writeups. But here I am, ready to knock this one out and get it out to you lovely folks.

Last year started a new annual process (only found out it was annual as of this year) for renewing my Pharmacare coverage on my Humira. They’ve started paying closer attention to how the medication actually affects you and have mentioned that if it shows that I’m TOO sick, they may cut off my Humira due to it not being effective. This has left me in a state. It’s never fun when your medication that provides you a semblance of life is in limbo. About a couple of months back I did what I was told (at the time last year) and had to do a new form of a stool sample. One that would analyze more, providing greater details than the standard local test.

I’ve never been a fan of stool samples, as I presume most of us are. Really not expecting someone to be, ‘Bring on the stool samples!!’. That being said, it took me a couple of weeks to force myself into doing the task.

With the sample sent, it was a few weeks before hearing the results. Inflammation in my guts is still high but shortly after sending the sample in, I had gone in for a scope where we discovered that my CD that had spread into my colon after my resection had all but retreated; showing a level of progress that wasn’t there previously. The choice was made to stay on Humira. Evaluate in a year's time.

It’s amusing how long a year can actually be. Sometimes it feels like forever, others it seems like it snuck up on you. I was back in my GI’s office and the subject of the stool sample was brought to my attention again. This time making sure to make mention that this was now an annual thing I would be going through.

This time wasn’t as bad though. I still didn’t get to it RIGHT away but cut my procrastination time down by over half! That’s a win, right? I’m going to call it a win.

As of right now, I’m on the waiting stage. I have a GI appointment coming up in a couple of months’ time where I believe I’ll get the final word. My medication must be covered due to still receiving it so the stress of being without can go away. There are talks of switch meds. Honestly, has been for a few years now.

The best I can do is wait and see. And as we all know; sometimes that can be the hardest thing to do. Wait. And see

Have you had to undergo any new/different testing requirements to keep your medication? Tell us in the comments below.

Bonus question:

Can you guess what the inspiration for this Funny was? Hint, it's a movie.

[maentglobal]

Texas based hard rock band BLACKTOP MOJO has announced their North American tour run with JOYOUS WOLF and OF LIMBO, including select dates with BLACK STONE CHERRY. Tour Dates: 04/20 @ Rock Box - San Antonio, TX 04/21 @ Lago Del Pino – Tyler, TX 04//22 @ OK City Limits - Oklahoma City, OK 04/24 @ Phase 2 – Lynchburg, VA * 04/26 @ Debonair – Teaneck, NJ 04/27 @ Wally's – Hampton, NH * 04/28 @ The Queen – Wilmington, DE * 04/30 @ Capone's - Johnson City, TN * 05/02 @ Mainstage - Morgantown, WV 05/03 @ Smiling Moose - Pittsburgh, PA 05/04 @ Whistlers - Watertown, NY 05/05 @ Rockpile - Toronto, ON 05/06 @ Token Lounge - Westland, MI 05/08 @ The Forge - Joliet, IL 05/10 @ Route 20 Outhouse - Racine, WI 05/11 @ Phat Headz - Green Bay, WI 05/12 @ Cheers - South Bend, IN 05/15 @ Spicoli's - Waterloo, IA 05/16 @ Shovelhead Saloon - Danville, IL 05/18 @ Warehouse - Clarksville, TN 05/19 @ Sidetracks - Huntsville, AL 05/26 @ Slidebar in Fullerton CA 05/31 @ Knitting Factory - Spokane, WA 06/04 @ El Corazon - Seattle, WA 06/06 @ Diamondz - Jerome, ID 06/12 @ Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO 06/13 @ Streets of London - Denver, CO * w/ #blackstonecherryofficial @tagprteam #tagprteam #rock #music #musician #tourdates #tour #live (at Los Angeles, California)

[christinaepilzauthor-blog]

St. Nicholas Abbey: A 17th century sugar plantation

by Cryssa Bazos Long before Barbados became a travellers' destination, renowned for its beautiful beaches, the island was a lucrative English colony and a source of exotic commodities, particularly sugar.

Barbados had been first colonized in 1627 by London merchants, and by approximately the mid 1640's, the island's plantation owners had started growing sugar cane. For the next three centuries, Barbados would become one of the major sugar producers in the world. Even today, when driving around inland Barbados, acres of sugar cane fields are a common sight. One of the oldest surviving sugar plantations on the island is St. Nicholas Abbey, which also has the distinction of being one of three remaining Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere. A visit to St. Nicholas satisfies those interested in the island's history, Jacobean architecture and life on a sugar plantation. 

Front entrance of St. Nicholas Abbey (picture by C. Bazos)

A tale of many families St. Nicholas Abbey is located to the north of the island in St. Peter's Parish, and the mansion was built in 1658 by Colonel Benjamin Berringer. With its 400 acres of prime land, at least half devoted to sugar cane, and its proximity to the main shipping port of Speightstown (once called Little Bristol), the plantation was indeed a jewel. As you drive up to the mansion, you pass under a shaded roadway lined on either side with mature mahogany trees. Those trees would have been planted in the 19th century, but when the house was first built, this roadway would have been graced by cherry trees. 

Picture by C.Bazos

Originally, St. Nicholas Abbey was part of a collective property owned by Colonel Berringer and his business partner, John Yeamans (whose own portion was called Greenland). Over the years, the two men would engage in a heated rivalry over the property, and more scandalously, the affections of Berringer's wife, Margaret. In the early days of their partnership, Berringer and Yeamans competed for the favours of Margaret Foster, a preacher's daughter. Berringer came up as the winner in that contest, and he and Margaret married and settled down to have three children. Yeamans, no doubt, stewed. It's very likely that the subsequent and ongoing disputes about the plantation borders were spurred by losing out on Margaret's affections. As these things often happen between married couples, Berringer and his wife's marriage had its ups and downs, and in 1661, the couple had a major argument which forced Berringer to leave the home and remove to nearby Speightstown to stay with friends. The cause of the argument is unknown, but he and Margaret did not have time to reconcile. Not long after his departure, Berringer died suddenly and under very mysterious circumstances. Many whispered that Yeamans had somehow poisoned his old business partner, and these rumours dogged Yeamans for the rest of his life. Whether Yeamans did poison Berringer or not, no one could say nor was any proof established, but everyone noted the speed to which he and Berringer's widow, Margaret, were married—her mourning lasted only ten weeks. Not only did Yeamans profit romantically by his former business partner's death, he came out significantly ahead financially. Upon his marriage to Margaret, Yeamans acquired the Berringer plantation and merged both properties under the new Yeamans Plantation appellation. John Yeamans's star was now on the ascent. A couple of years after Berringer's death, Yeamans was awarded a peerage by King Charles II and appointed Governor of Carolina, and he and Margaret eventually relocated to Charlestown. The man was reputed to be a greedy opportunist, and his reputation soon soured his dealings in the new world. He eventually moved back to Barbados with his wife and died in 1674. St. Nicholas Abbey eventually passed to Margaret's son from her first marriage and then shortly to his daughter Susanna Nicholas. This was when the plantation changed from Yeamans to its present day name. Eventually the plantation would change hands in 1720 when Joseph Dottin, the Deputy Governor of Barbados purchased it. In 1746, he gave the property to his daughter as a dowry, with the provision that it would revert back to her heirs, when she married Sir John Gay Alleyne (he was the Gay Alleyne connected to the famous Mount Gay rum). Sir John was a Speaker of the House and one of the first plantation owners to have educated his slaves. Unfortunately when Sir John's wife passed away, there were no heirs and St. Nicholas was in a state of legal limbo. The plantation eventually grew deep into debt and had to be sold off. Enter the Cumberbatch family. If you're wondering if there's a connection to that Cumberbatch, yes, there is indeed. Meet Benedict's 7 x great-grandfather (give or take). The resemblance is uncanny.

Abraham Carlton Cumberbatch (1728-1785) Father of Edward and Lawrence Cumberbatch (Picture by Cryssa Bazos)

Two brothers, Edward Cumberbatch and Lawrence Trent Cumberbatch purchased St. Nicholas Abbey in 1810 and through the Trent Cave branch owned the property until 2006. The property was sold one last time to architect Larry Warren, who restored the home to its former glory and opened it to the public. Features of St. Nicholas Abbey Come with me on a virtual tour of the mansion. When you walk up to the house, you will pass an old stone wall and gate which leads to a forecourt, filled with local plants and flowers. The front of the three storied mansion features three Jacobean curvilinear gables set above an arched entranceway. When you enter the short hallway, to your right is the formal dining room. In the 17th century, the kitchen would have been a separate building accessible off the dining room, but in recent years, the kitchen was connected to the main house through this route. Of note in this room is an English Sheraton sideboard that dates to the late 18th century and a mahogany dining table crafted from local wood. The Minton china dates back to the early 19th century.

Dining room (picture by C.Bazos)

China display (picture by C.Bazos)

To the left of the hallway is a grand drawing room with sash windows, which were installed in 1746, and which replaced the original shutters. These windows overlook a herb garden (with bay leaf, lemon grass, and aloe) and expose the room to refreshing tropical breezes. One amusing aspect of the house was that there were fireplaces built into the design. I don't think a chimney sweep's services have ever been needed. 

Drawing room (picture by C.Bazos)

View to the herb garden (picture by C. Bazos)

Just off the drawing room you will find a private study and in it, a unique gentleman's chair. Consider it a modern day equivalent of a La-Z-boy recliner. The master of the house could read, eat, sleep, and when his snoring grew too loud, be wheeled around to another room, all without having to vacate the chair! Upstairs there are seven bedrooms, accessible by a Chippendale staircase which dates back to the early 18th century. When the staircase was installed, it didn't just replace the original staircase, it was moved over from the left to the right. Moving toward the back of the house you'll find a 17th century English Oak Settle in the Jacobean style. A closer look at the settle will show the upper panels depicting various knights. 

Picture by C.Bazos

  From there we exit into the courtyard with a very large (and thorny) tree stands. This tree is believed to be nearly as old as the house, and locals call it a "monkey-no-climb tree" because the monkeys sensibly stay clear of it. There are a number of outhouses positioned in the courtyard including a bathhouse on one end and a barn at the other end. Sugar and rum and all things yum St. Nicholas enjoyed continuous sugar production from the 17th century until 1947. After a sixty year break, it resumed again in 2006. Today St. Nicholas crushes 350 tonnes of cane each year. The plantation crushes the cane on site between January to June using steam powered rollers which were introduced in 1890. Before then, the crushing rollers would have been wind powered. You still see these windmill structures throughout the island. 

Traditionally, the cane was cut by hand (a foot off the ground), stacked vertically in a wagon and taken to the crushing mill. Time was of the essence in harvesting the canes, for they had to be crushed by the end of the day or dry out. By stacking the cane vertically, instead of been laid flat on the bottom of the wagon, they're quickly offloaded at the crushing mill. Basic sugar production includes extracting the muddy brown cane juice, passing it through a series of copper pots in the boiling house and then curing it in clay pots. The coarse, brown sugar takes about a month to cure, while the refined white sugar takes a few more months longer. 

For rum, they distill the skimmings which run from the three lesser coppers in the boiling house to another building called the still house. From there the resulting liquor would need to be distilled twice and aged. Today, visitors can try the St. Nicholas plantation rum and be a part of the island tradition. If you're ever in Barbados and look for a unique experience and a trip back in time, I recommend a visit to St. Nicholas Abbey. 

References:

St. Nicholas Abbey Tour Guide: 350 Years of Heritage Preserved for Future Generations

The True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados, by Richard Lion

~~~~~~~~~

Cryssa Bazos is an award winning historical fiction writer and 17th century enthusiast with a particular interest in the English Civil War. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Romantic Novelist Association and is a co-editor and contributor of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog. Her debut novel, Traitor's Knot, is published by Endeavour Press.

Connect with Cryssa through her Website (cryssabazos.com), Facebook, Twitter (@CryssaBazos) and Instagram. Traitor's Knot is available through Amazon.

Hat Tip To: English Historical Fiction Authors

[whack-patty]

the drawings that wound up on a body pillow for a long stupid joke with @unwantedcrow and @cinderdraco . yes his face is huge on the actual pillow and he's also the friggin comfiest pillow i've ever owned. he sits on my bed and glares at me while i sleep

[whack-patty]

POSTING THIS HERE TOO BC IM SILLY PROUD