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labuenosairesfrancaise · 9 months ago

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Grimsthorpe Castle

Hi guys!!

I'm sharing another grand english state!

House History: The building was originally a small castle on the crest of a ridge on the road inland from the Lincolnshire fen edge towards the Great North Road. It is said to have been begun by Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln in the early 13th century. However, he was the first and last in this creation of the Earldom of Lincoln and he died in 1156. Gilbert's heyday was the peak time of castle building in England, during the Anarchy. It is quite possible that the castle was built around 1140. However, the tower at the south-east corner of the present building is usually said to have been part of the original castle and it is known as King John's Tower. The naming of King John's tower seems to have led to a misattribution of the castle's origin to his time.

Gilbert de Gant spent much of his life in the power of the Earl of Chester and Grimsthorpe is likely to have fallen into his hands in 1156 when Gilbert died, though the title 'Earl of Lincoln' reverted to the crown. In the next creation of the earldom, in 1217, it was Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester (1172–1232) who was ennobled with it. It seems that the title, if not the property was in the hands of King John during his reign; hence perhaps, the name of the tower.

During the last years of the Plantagenet kings of England, it was in the hands of Lord Lovell. He was a prominent supporter of Richard III. After Henry VII came to the throne, Lovell supported a rebellion to restore the earlier royal dynasty. The rebellion failed and Lovell's property was taken confiscated and given to a supporter of the Tudor Dynasty.[2]

The Tudor period

This grant by Henry VIII, Henry Tudor's son, to the 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby was made in 1516, together with the hand in marriage of Maria de Salinas, a Spanish lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. Their daughter Katherine inherited the title and estate on the death of her father in 1526, when she was aged just seven. In 1533, she became the fourth wife of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, a close ally of Henry VIII. In 1539, Henry VIII granted Charles Suffolk the lands of the nearby suppressed Vaudey Abbey, founded in 1147, and he used its stone as building material for his new house. Suffolk set about extending and rebuilding his wife's house, and in only eighteen months it was ready for a visit in 1541 by King Henry, on his way to York to meet his nephew, James V of Scotland. In 1551, James's widow Mary of Guise also stayed at Grimsthorpe. The house stands on glacial till and it seems that the additions were hastily constructed. Substantial repairs were required later owing to the poor state of the foundations, but much of this Tudor house can still be seen today.

During Mary's reign the castle's owners, Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk (née Willoughby) and her second husband, Richard Bertie, were forced to leave it owing to their Anglican views. On Elizabeth's succeeding to the throne, they returned with their daughter, Susan, later Countess of Kent and their new son Peregrine, later the 13th Baron. He became a soldier and spent much of his time away from Grimsthorpe.

The Vanbrugh building

By 1707, when Grimsthorpe was illustrated in Britannia Illustrata, the 15th Baron Willoughby de Eresby and 3rd Earl Lindsey had rebuilt the north front of Grimsthorpe in the classical style. However, in 1715, Robert Bertie, the 16th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, employed Sir John Vanbrugh to design a Baroque front to the house to celebrate his ennoblement as the first Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. It is Vanbrugh's last masterpiece. He also prepared designs for the reconstruction of the other three ranges of the house, but they were not carried out. His proposed elevation for the south front was in the Palladian style, which was just coming into fashion, and is quite different from all of his built designs.

The North Front of Grimsthorpe as rebuilt by Vanbrugh, drawn in 1819. Vanbrugh's Stone Hall occupies the space between the columns on both floors.

Inside, the Vanbrugh hall is monumental with stone arcades all around at two levels. Arcaded screens at each end of the hall separate the hall from staircases, much like those at Audley End House and Castle Howard. The staircase is behind the hall screen and leads to the staterooms on the first floor. The State Dining Room occupies Vanbrugh's north-east tower, with its painted ceiling lit by a Venetian window. It contains the throne used by George IV at his Coronation Banquet, and a Regency giltwood throne and footstool used by Queen Victoria in the old House of Lords. There is also a walnut and parcel gilt chair and footstool made for the use of George III at Westminster. The King James and State Drawing Rooms have been redecorated over the centuries, and contain portraits by Reynolds and Van Dyck, European furniture, and yellow Soho Tapestries woven by Joshua Morris around 1730. The South Corridor contains thrones used by Prince Albert and Edward VII, as well as the desk on which Queen Victoria signed her coronation oath. A series of rooms follows in the Tudor east range, with recessed oriel windows and ornate ceilings. The Chinese drawing room has a splendidly rich ceiling and an 18th-century fan-vaulted oriel window. The walls are hung with Chinese wallpaper depicting birds amidst bamboo. The chapel is magnificent with superb 17th-century plasterwork.

More history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsthorpe_Castle

This house fits a 64x64 lot and features several impressive rooms, more than 29 bedrooms, a servants hall and several state rooms!

I only decored some of the main rooms, for you to have a glimpse of the distribution. The rest is up to you, as I have stated that I do not like interiors :P

Be warned: I did not have the floor plan for the tudor rooms, thus, the distribution is based on my own decision and can not fit the real house :P.

You will need the usual CC I use: all of Felixandre, The Jim, SYB, Anachrosims, Regal Sims, TGS, The Golden Sanctuary, Dndr recolors, etc.

Please enjoy, comment if you like it and share pictures with me if you use my creations!

DOWNLOAD (Early acces: June 30) https://www.patreon.com/posts/grimsthorpe-101891128

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paralleljulieverse · 9 months ago

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Come taste the wine... : 70th anniversary of Julie Andrews's 'cabaret debut' at the Café Dansant, Cleethorpes, 3 performances Easter, 14-17 April, 1954

This week, seventy years ago, Julie Andrews made her official 'cabaret debut' at the Café Dansant in Cleethorpes. While not a major milestone in the traditional sense -- and one that seldom features in standard Andrews biographies -- the Cleethorpes appearance was nevertheless a significant event in the star's early career.

For a start, it was Julie's first appearance in cabaret -- the theatrical genre that is, not the Broadway musical which is a whole other Julieverse story. Characterised by sophisticated nightclub settings with adult audiences watching intimate performances, cabaret emerged in fin-de-siècle Paris before expanding to other European cities such as Berlin and Amsterdam (Appignanesi, 2004). Imported to Britain in the interwar years, cabaret offered a more urbane, adult alternative to the domestic traditions of English music hall and variety with their family audiences and jolly communal spirit (Nott, 2002, p. 120ff).

Julie's debut in cabaret was, thus, a significant step in her professional evolution towards a more mature image and repertoire. By 1954, Julie was 18, and well beyond the child star tag of her earlier years. Under the guidance of manager, Charles Tucker, there was a calculated strategy to reshape her stardom towards adulthood.

The maturation of Julie's image had begun in earnest the previous summer with Cap and Belles (1953), a touring revue that Tucker produced as a showcase for Julie, comedian Max Wall, and several other acts under his management. Cap and Belles afforded Julie the opportunity to shine with two big solos and a number of dance sequences. Much was made in show publicity of Julie's new "grown up" look, including the fact that she was wearing "her first off-the-shoulder evening dress" ('Her First Grown-Up Dress', 1953, p. 4). The Cleethorpes cabaret was a further step in this process of transformative 'adulting'. Indeed, it was something of a Cap and Belles redux. Not only was Max Wall back as headline co-star, Julie even wore the same 'grown up' strapless evening gown. In keeping with a cabaret format, though, Julie was provided a longer solo set where she sang a mix of classical and contemporary pop songs including "My Heart is Singing", "Belle of the Ball", "Always", and "Long Ago and Far Away" ('Cabaret opens', 1954, p. 4). That Julie should have chosen Cleethorpes for her cabaret debut might seem odd to contemporary readers. Today, this small town on the north Lincolnshire coast is largely regarded as a somewhat faded, out-of-the-way seaside resort. In its heyday of the mid-twentieth century, however, Cleethorpes was a vibrant tourist hub that attracted tens of thousands of holidaymakers each year (Dowling, 2005). With several large theatres and entertainment venues, Cleethorpes was also an important stop in the summertime variety circuit, drawing many of the era’s big stars and entertainment acts (Morton, 1986).

The Café Dansant was one of Cleethorpes' most iconic nighttime venues, celebrated for its elegant suppertime cabarets and salon orchestras. Opening in the 1930s, the Café was a particularly popular haunt during the war and post-war era when servicemen from nearby bases danced the night away with locals and visiting holidaymakers to the sound of touring jazz bands and crooners (Dowling, 2005, p. 129; Ruston, 2019).

By 1954, the Café was starting to show its age, and incoming new management decided to shutter the venue for several months to undertake a luxury refurbishment (‘Café Dansant closed', 1954, p. 3). A gala re-opening was set for the Easter weekend of April 1954, just in time for the start of the high season (‘Café Dansant opens', 1954, p. 8). Opening festivities for the Café kicked off with a lavish five hour dinner cabaret on the evening of Wednesday, 14 April. Julie was “one of the world famous cabaret stars" booked for the gala event, and she received considerable promotional build-up in both local and national press (‘Café Dansant opens', 1954, p. 8). There was even a widely circulating PR photo of Julie boarding the train to Cleethorpes at London's Kings Cross station. In the end, Max Wall was unable to appear due to illness, and Alfred Marks -- another Tucker artist and former variety co-star of Julie's (Look In, 1952) -- stepped in at short notice. Rounding out the bill were several other minor acts, including American dance duo, Bobby Dwyer and Trixie; novelty entertainers, Ruby and Charles Wlaat; and magician Ericson who doubled as cabaret emcee.

Commentators judged the evening a resounding success. The "Cafe Dansant has got away to a flying start, after probably the biggest opening night ever seen in Cleethorpes," effused one newspaper report (Sandbox, 1954, p.4). Special mention was made of Julie who “received a great reception when she sang a selection of old and new songs, accompanied at the piano by her mother” (‘'Café Dansant reopening’, 1954, p. 6).

Following her performance, Julie joined the Mayor of Cleethorpes, Mr Albert Winters, in a cake-cutting ceremony and mayoral dance. Decades later, Winters recalled how he still “savour[ed] the memory of snatching a dance with the young girl destined to be a star… [S]he seemed very slim and frail,” he reminisced, “but she was a great dancer and I thoroughly enjoyed myself” (Morton, 1986, p. 15).

Julie stayed on in Cleethorpes for two more performances on Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 April respectively, before returning to London with her mother on Easter Sunday, 18 April. The very next day she commenced formal rehearsals for Mountain Fire, Julie's first dramatic 'straight' play and another step in her professional pivot to more adult content (--also, time permitting, the subject of a possible future blogpost).

A final noteworthy aspect about the Cleethorpes appearance is that it was during this weekend that Julie made the momentous decision to go to America to star in The Boy Friend. In what has become part of theatrical lore, Julie had been offered the plum role of Polly Browne in the show's Broadway production sometime in February or March of 1954 while she was appearing in Cinderella at the London Palladium. To the American producers’ astonishment --- and manager Tucker’s horror -- Julie was initially reluctant to accept, fearful of leaving her home and family. She prevaricated for weeks. Finally, while she was in Cleethorpes, Julie was given an ultimatum and told she had to make her decision.

In her 1958 serialised memoir for Woman magazine, Julie recounts:

“Mummie and I went to Cleethorpes to do a concert. It was a miserable wet day. From our hotel I watched the dark sea pounding the shore with great grey waves. I was called to the downstairs telephone. “Julie,” said Uncle Charles [Tucker]‘s voice from London, “they can’t wait any longer. You’ll have to make your mind up NOW.” I burst into tears. “I’ll go Uncle,” I sobbed, “if you’ll make it only one year’s contract instead of two. Only one year, please.” … Against everyone’s judgment and wishes I got my way…None of us knew that if I’d signed for two [years], then I should never have been free to do Eliza in My Fair Lady. And never known all the happiness and success it has brought me” (Andrews, 1958, p. 46).

The Cleethorpes ultimatum even found its way into an advertising campaign that Julie did for Basildon Bond stationery in 1958/59, albeit with the telephone call converted into a letter for enhanced marketing purposes. Framed as a choice between going to America and the “trip [that] changed my life” or staying at home in England “and go[ing] on in pantomime, concerts, and radio shows—the mixture as before,” the advert highlighted the “sliding door” gravity of that fateful Cleethorpes weekend (Basildon Bond, 1958). What would the course of Julie's life been like had she said no to Broadway and opted to remain in the UK?

It is a speculative refrain that Julie and others have made frequently over the years. “If I’d stayed in England I would probably have got no further than pantomime leads,” she mused in a 1970 interview (Franks, 1970, p. 32). Or, more dramatically: “Had I remained in London and not appeared in the Broadway production of The Boy Friend…who knows, I might be starving in some chorus line today” (Hirschorn, 1968).

In all seriousness, it's doubtful that a British-based Julie would have faded into professional oblivion. As biographer John Cottrell quips: "that golden voice would always have kept her out of the chorus” (Cottrell, 1968, p. 71). Nevertheless, Julie's professional options in Britain during that era would have been greatly diminished. And she certainly wouldn't have achieved the level of international superstardom enabled by Broadway and Hollywood. Who knows, in a parallel 'sliding door' universe, our Julie might have gone on playing cabarets and end-of-pier shows in Cleethorpes...

Sources

Andrews, J. (1958). 'So much to sing about, part 3.' Woman. 17 May, 15-18, 45-48.

Appignanesi, L. (2004). The cabaret. Revised edn. Yale University Press.

Basildon Bond. (1958). 'I had 24 hours to decide, says Julie Andrews'. [Advertisement]. Daily Mirror. 6 October, p. 4.

'Cabaret opens Café Dansant." (1954). Grimsby Daily Telegraph. 15 April, p. 4.

‘Café Dansant closed.' (1954). Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 28 January, p. 3.

‘Café Dansant opens tonight – with world-famous cabaret’. (1954). Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 14 April, p. 8.

‘Café Dansant reopening a gay affair.’ (1954). Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 15 April, p. 6.

Cottrell, J. (1968). Julie Andrews: The story of a star. Arthur Barker Ltd.

Dowling, A. (2005). Cleethorpes: The creation of a seaside resort. Phillimore.

'Echoes of the past, the old Café Dansant'. (2009). Cleethorpes Chronicle. December 3, p. 13.

Frank, E. (1954). Daily News. 15 April, p.6.

Franks, G. (1970). ‘Whatever’s happened to Mary Poppins?’ Leicester Mercury. 4 December, p. 32.

'Her first grown-up dress.' (1953). Sussex Daily News. 28 July, p. 4.

Hirschorn, C. (1968). 'America made me, says Julie Andrews.' Sunday Express. 8 September, p. 23.

Morton, J. (1986). ‘Where the stars began to shine’. Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 22 September, p. 15.

Nott, J.J. (2002). Music for the people: Popular music and dance in interwar Britain. Oxford University Press.

Ruston, A. (2019). 'Taking a step back in time to the Cleethorpes gem Cafe Dansant where The Kinks once played'. Grimsby Live. 12 October.

Sandboy. (1954). 'Cleethorpes notebook: Flying start.' Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 19 April, p. 4.

#julie andrews #cleethorpes #cabaret #1954 #british theatre #cafe dansant

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weirdowithaquill · 1 year ago

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Traintober 2023: Day 17 - Holiday

How Sudrian Tourism has Evolved:

Sodor has changed majorly thanks to the publication of the Railway Series and the subsequent Television Series, both of which propelled the island and its railways from being just another part of the UK into a tourism juggernaut. But the fact of the matter is that Sodor did not immediately transform from being an insignificant island on the coast of Cumbria to one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United Kingdom overnight – so how did it all change?

To understand, we must go back to the 1500s, and the Protestant Reformation in England. At the time, Sodor was part of the English Crown – but far looser than its Irish and Welsh neighbours. Due to its small size, rough terrain and low population, King Henry VIII was far less interested in confiscating Catholic land on the island than its surrounding areas. This was in part due to the both Sir Geoffrey Regaby and Bishop Michael Colden, who managed to guide Sodor away from the Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace. Due to their remote location and general poverty, Thomas Cromwell never visited Sodor, and Cronk Abbey was never closed. For its part, St Luoc’s Cathedral at Suddery was ‘converted’ to a Protestant Cathedral in 1537, but continued holding Catholic mass. This was done by holding the two religious ceremonies one after the other.

As Sodor was now one of the few parts of the British Isles that had a Catholic church and direct line to the Papacy in Rome, it became an ‘underground’ tourist destination as a new British site of pilgrimage, frequented by Catholics looking to attend mass at the Suddery Cathedral. In return for continuing these ceremonies, Sudrians became more devout to the crown – in particular to Queen Elizabeth I, and by 1603 the Catholic mass had been all but forgotten. This did not end the attractiveness of Sodor as a religious destination, due to the caves of Saint Machan and several other holy sites that litter the island; the numbers were not large, but they did lead to a number of important connections, especially with Ireland, the Isle of Man and English ports.

The next phase of Sudrian tourism came in the 1860s, when the Skarloey Railway found the long-forgotten Skarloey lake and hidden hollow. Rather than explain it, I think I’ll just use the description that the Reverend Wilbert Awdry did:

“Spas were popular at the period and offered the possibility of a lucrative passenger business. Skarloey’s mineral springs and sheltered situation took hold on the minds of some members of the Board, among them Shamus Tebroc who conceived the idea of developing Skarloey as a spa. An hotel and a number of villas were built as a speculation, and the gravity worked incline which had been installed for the conveyance of materials was retained and up-graded for coals, merchandise, and passengers’ luggage.”

Skarloey became the first of the Island of Sodor’s tourist hotspots, especially due to its proximity to Culdee Fell and Saint Machan’s cave. The popularity of the spas was good for a time, but began to fall off as the bad fortunes of the Sodor & Mainland Railway continuously hurt the Skarloey Railway’s tourism campaign with delayed and cancelled trains, ratty carriages and even standoffish staff. This led to Skarloey becoming a local holiday destination instead, but even that began to slow down as WWII loomed.

On the other side of the island, the Mid Sodor Railway also began heavily advertising their railway to holidaymakers across the UK, but to a somewhat better result. The Isle of Man Steam Packet contract the railway picked up led to a large influx of tourists across the late 1800s and early 1900s, up until the 1920s. The railway’s ability to reach the walled city of Peel Godred and the cave of Saint Machan (via the Culdee Fell Railway) made it a very attractive destination for tourists, though this would change at the end of WWI.

The advent of relatively cheap international travel via ferries in the 1920s did a lot of damage to Sodor’s tourism economy, as their major markets in England preferred to travel to either the Continent or the Lake District – or even as far afield as the United States. Sodor instead switched to being primarily an agricultural and resource-extraction economy, with some manufacturing. This continued throughout WWII.

Which leads us to May 12th, 1945. The Three Railway Engines was published – in colour – in the UK. It achieved enough success to lead to the continuation of the series in 1946, and again in 1948, and then again continuously until 1972. These twenty-seven years’ worth of publicity for the island and its railways had a massive effect. Skarloey was rediscovered and the budget-conscience holiday maker of the 1960s chose it for its low prices, high quality, and picturesque scenery, turning around the railways needed to reach it. The Culdee Fell Railway also saw an uptick in traffic as the Peel Godred Railway brought in more passengers than the old Mid Sodor Railway had.

Furthermore, tourists came to see the engines, a phenomenon not seen before in the island’s tourism industry. Insignificant towns such as Dryaw, Brendam, Crosby and Glennock became infinitely more popular as the sites of incidents in the Railway Series, or as convenient locations to stay for travelling the island. The biggest success story of the island’s cities was Cronk however. Cronk grew massively from the tourism trade as the most central location on the NWR to reach the various tourist destinations of Sodor – even Awdry takes a moment to mention ‘The Crown of Sodor’ Hotel on Sigmund Street due to its prominence as a hotel on the island.

This large influx of tourists was however of a majorly local source – the UK, parts of continental Europe and a relatively low number from North America. It wasn’t until the advent of cheap international jetplane flights in the mid-1970s and the debut of the TV series on October 9, 1984.

This debut is what changed everything.

The Thomas and Friends Television series was an international success, with translations into a number of languages (eleven by Wikipedia’s count) and broadcast around the globe. This, coupled with the opening of an enlarged airport at Vicarstown (which had been constructed in 1941 by the RAF and expanded by Vickers in the 1960s. The airport itself had been bought by the NWR in 1982 (probably in anticipation of the TV series) and began receiving jetliners from across the world as early as 1986.

Today, Sudrian tourism is one of the largest income producers in northern England due to its international status crafted by the Thomas & Friends series. The island is a popular tourist attraction for both railfans and Thomas fans, as well as religious pilgrims, spa enthusiasts, hikers, ramblers and historians. The airport at Vicarstown has been linked into the NWR via a spur line, and more recently a number of signs on the island have been converted to include secondary and tertiary languages, for better interpretation.

Sodor reached its best numbers for international tourists in 2019, when over 1.5 million people visited the island, making it the third most visited tourist destination within England, beating out Birmingham. The secret to it’s recent further uptick in visitors is the opening of a number of museums, galleries and other cultural sites on the island, as well as a strong advertising campaign that focused on the island’s major tourist draws, which are:

The North Western Railway, Skarloey Railway, Culdee Fell Railway and Arlesdale Railway from the Railway Series book and subsequent Television series

A pre-Norman era Abbey at Cronk, one of the oldest of its kind in Britain

Suddery Cathedral, which continues to be one of the few remaining pre-reformation cathedrals in Britain

Several Norman-era castles, including a completely intact castle at Harwick

The Walled City of Peel Godred

The caves of Saint Machan

Culdee Fell

Henry's Forest National Park

Skarloey and its spas

Museums, galleries, and cultural centres

The Standing Stones of Killdane.

This advertising campaign brought a greater variety of tourists to the island, especially those from North America.

The island was badly affected by the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, which saw the high tourist numbers of the previous decade prop by over eighty percent, which forced the island to once again consider restructuring their economy around agriculture, manufacturing, and resource extraction. This eventually was decided against, as tourist numbers have slowly picked back up through 2022.

Sodor has been greatly affected by its rise to one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the UK, including a number of hotels being built on the island – many of which are converted manorhouses – as well as several upgrades made to the transport systems of the island, with updated ferry services between the island’s major ports and locations in the UK and Ireland, as well as the railway building a special line to the island’s main airport, new tram and bus services within the major cities on the island. The island’s railway system has also seen upgrades throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including a third track being added to the mainline, new signalling systems and a number of extra connecting services to cities in the UK, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Carlisle and Preston.

Sodor has grown drastically as a result of its tourism industry and is today an international tourism hotspot. The island continues to be popular into the modern day, as a result of strong advertising and a pointed diversification of tourist offerings on the island to help the island’s tourism industry grow and bring in profits for the island’s people.

Back to Master Post

#fanfiction writer #weirdowithaquill #railway series #thomas the tank engine #railways #RWS analysis #Thomas and friends analysis #island of sodor #tourism #mid sodor railway #skarloey railway #traintober 2023 #traintober

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rocketrecord · 1 year ago

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From Jackie issues 497 and 498, published 14th and 21st of July 1973. Transcription under the cut because why not

PART ONE: THE first time I met Elton John's mother, Sheila, she was busy making baked beans on toast for everyone who was visiting his house, Hercules, on the Wentworth estate just outside London.

Elton quickly explained that baked beans on toast, no matter how successful he was these days, was still one of his favourite meals!

Elton's mother is now moving to a house nearby, so she doesn't have to travel so far to see him.

Also when Elton is away, as he frequently is these days, his mother always stays in his home to look after it for him.

Sheila remembers her son's expertise at cooking when he was younger. She may now still cook him a quick beans on toast, and John Reid his manager and friend may make the grander meals, but Elton used to be and still is an expert at baking.

"When he was at school and I was out at work I often used to come home and find the kitchen full of flour and pots and pans, and there were all these cakes!"

Elton's mother remembers too that he first started playing the piano at an amazingly early age.

"He was playing all the pop tunes when he was three. We used to send him to bed, then he'd get up and play at family parties. The funny thing is that I can't play the piano myself, but my father played old military music

"When he was a bit irritated as a baby my husband would let him beat on the piano -Elton's little legs used to be hanging from the piano stool! In those days, of course, you weren't allowed to perform in public before you were 13 years old. I think without that law he could have been a child star. He could have won several talent shows I'm sure.

"It was when he was about eight years-old that he lost interest in music totally because he had the wrong teacher, but I managed to find a new one when he was 10 or 11 years old and she let him play all the pop stuff. I think other people had been forcing him into the classics when all he wanted to do was play pop. It just seemed to go very, very well after that and he took an interest again."

Even now Elton's mother plays a part in his musical career.

He always plays me over tapes of new material that he and Bernie Taupin have put together, and asks me what I think would make the right single."

Elton has alwas been very close to his mother, and they were talking eagerly about the “grand opening” of his new swimming pool. The pool is beside his large lounge and has been almost a year in the making.

Sheila's favourite Elton John album? Appropriately it's called the Elton John album!

"I love sad music," she told me.

"'Elton's alwavs been a sensitive and thoughtful person, and this comes out in his songs-particularly on that album. I've always enjoyed a good cry at films and things.

Even her house was named after an Elton John song track, Hienton." It was gold lettered on wood and Sheila is so devoted to it, that it's being moved to her new home at the back of Elton's.

Another person in Elton's life is moving closer to him as well:

Bernie Taupin, the man who writes all the words in Elton's songs.

Until recently Bernie insisted on staying up at his little cottage in Lincolnshire but has now been persuaded to move nearer to Elton so they can work more easily.

When we met, Bernie and Elton were just preparing to go to France and record at the same chateau where they made their album Honky Chateau.

"There will be a lot more rock'n' roll on the next album." Elton assured me.

Elton always keeps a sense of humour when he's talking about himself.

I’m not exactly your thin. lean, lank pop star," he laughed. hated my hair when it was long. So I had it all cut short and just lately I've had some green streaks added to each side just above my ears.

I think that mould green and orange go together!

"I guess I see myself as cuddly - certainly not sexy! I imagine that's why the audiences never try to rip my clothes off. Mind you, it's lovely because I've always had. young fans, especially up North.”

Elton told me of a recent dinner he'd had with a hero of his--the famous American comedian Groucho Marx, who was one of the Marx Brothers, whose films are often seen on television. Groucho is the one with the large black hat, moustache and cigar and the funny walk.

"It was while I was over in California and was renting a house at Malibu Beach. He agreed to come to dinner and although it was 100 degrees outside, they said that as he was now an old man he'd want a log fire burning in-doors. So we had to light one.

"He sat down in the lounge in his coat and his beret and insisted on calling me John Elton. He was amazing - you never quite knew whether he was taking the mickey out of everything

"Then I also met another famous old screen star Mae West. She was incredible. She must be eighty if she's a day!"

At his home Elton keeps two dogs. Bruce, the alsatian and Brian, a spaniel, and he's bought his mother Sheila a Yorkshire terrier called Fanny.

Whenever you call there they're apt to come bounding in from the garden demanding attention-especially from Elton, because he has to be away from home so much, they like a lot of his time when he is there.

Usually when guests are at his house they have to be kept out of the way, but they were allowed to bound into the room on one big occasion recently. That was when David Cassidy, his lifelong friend Sam Hyman and Rod Stewart came to dinner.

"David has his own dogs," ex-plained Elton, "and he was delighted to meet mine. They immediately sensed he liked dogs and made a great fuss of him.”

Next Week: The dinner party with David and Rod.

PART TWO: THE pop dinner party of the year took place at Elton John's house 'Hercules? on the Wentworth estate in Surrey, just outside London.

There was Elton, and there was Rod Stewart and there was . . . David Cassidy!

It was Elton's idea to get all three pop stars together during David's recent tour. He'd met David in California last summer and the two singers have become close friends.

David's visit to Elton was the closest kept secret of his tour. And one of the biggest attractions was Elton's jukebox, which he keeps in his large games room at the front of the house. Elton keeps the jukebox stocked with the current top twenty in America and England as well as some golden oldies. And David especially liked playing those old Beatles favourites, like Love Me Do. Please, Please Me and Yellow Submarine.

Elton let me into a secret: "I had an idea during David's tour that it would be nice to join him up on stage and play the piano for him. It never worked out but I thought it was a way of showing him how much ! liked him and liked his work. A lot of people knock him but I think he's very talented.

However, Elton may yet write some songs for David.

"Now I've got a record company, which I've called Rocket Records. I'm producing and I've written a song for Kiki Dee. I'd always written for myself before, and now I'm starting to write for other people, I don't see why I shouldn't try and do something for David. In fact I've written three songs for Kiki, so Bernie, who writes the words, has had to imagine he's a girl for those songs!"

Rod Stewart had told Elton that he'd like to meet David so Elton thought the dinner would be a golden opportunity.

Another guest at the top level dinner party was David's friend since schooldays, Sam Hyman, who flew over to Britain for the last few days of the tour. Completing the party was Elton's friend and manager John Reid, who did all the cooking!

What was the menu? A good English meal of roast beef followed by strawberries and ice crear with coffee and pear brandy to finish. The guests had red wine with their main course. Elton says the evening was very high spirited with David not leaving until four in the morning!

"I think David is really great," said Elton.

"He really works as hard as a navvy, you know. He's certainly not an idiot. He knows me now, but when I first met him he was so paranoid: he'd shut himself in his house for a year and a half because he was scared to go out in case he got ripped to shreds!

"When he came down for dinner he was completely at home, playing records and joking although he was very tired because it was at the end of his tour. He did ask me to write something for him and I'd really like to.

"There is such an awful barrier because he is a pop star. You have either to be a heavy group like Led Zeppelin or a pop star.

But what people don't realise is that he's a very good musician. The reason why I'd have liked to have appeared with him is because I'd like to have made a gesture to show that I appreciate his talent. I hate these musical barriers in pop music.

Elton has been spending this month in America on holiday.

“I like to go out there to California for a rest once a year. I'lI probably see David again then, although he's started work on 'The Partridge Family' again which means he works eighteen hours a day- he has to go into the recording studios when he's finished up at the film set. As I said, he works amazingly hard.

"I love Los Angeles, just for a month.

I just sit by the pool, go surfing and once a day I go up to Sunset Strip and visit the most fabulous record shop in the world called Tower Records. It's like a warehouse and has all these piles of albums. It seems to have every record in the world, past and present.

"I mostly look for ridiculous things, spoken word records and things like that literally every day. I reckon to spend half an hour a day there. I think I hold the record for record buying there. 6,500 dollars worth in a day! That was on albums and tapes.

“I’ve got this record library at home and I fancy myself as an amateur dise jockey. I did the Noel Edmonds show last Christmas, Boxing Day actually and we did the show together. I really enjoyed that.

“I catalogue everything in my collection: cross filed and everything! I'm a terrible collector of things. Actually I'm the sort of person who's got 700 bottles of Marmite and the same of Windolene."

Elton remains one of the friendliest of pop stars. It is typical of him that he has befriended David Cassidy, because he knows that stardom can bring loneliness, and also jealousy from other musicians. He went out of his way to help David and the dinner invitation was typical, also the fact that he saw that Rod Stewart was there too.

When we met, Elton was wearing a plum velvet jacket with musical notes embroidered on it. He's known for his wild clothes: in fact he can be said to have been a leader in the brighter clothes approach to pop with his gigantic platform soles and heels, his dungarees, and now he promises the wildest pair of glasses ever seen on stage.

"They plug in and have the words ELTON across them in neon! I'd also like to get into funny things like padded suits. You see, I haven't really got the sexiest body in the world so I like to have comedy in my act.

"When I toured America last, I had a tap dancer called Legs Larry Smith who used to come on stage. He was the only person who kept me sane. I get terribly bored when things get too serious.

"I have a lady called Annie who makes all my clothes. I just tell her any ideas I have and she does some drawings for me to choose from."

On the little finger on his right hand he was wearing an enormous sparkling ring.

"That's what I call my Liberace ring. It was bought at Cartier's as a present for me and it's made of gold and diamonds. It's sparkly and it's fun!'

And that's just about how you could describe Elton himself!

#jackie magazine #elton john #1973 #teenybop realness #It’s sparkly and fun!#when reading teeny bop magazines and they quote elton u may find urself saying ‘he does not talk like that’#this was an era when some magazines even said elton was living with sheila lol #i think elton and david’s friendship was brief but elton mentioned him a lot in this era #mine #rod stewart #david cassidy

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thiziri · 2 years ago

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Princess Anne paid a visit to a care centre in Grimsby to raise awareness following National Carers Week, on 12 June 2023.

The Princess Royal was at the Carer's Support Centre in Town Hall Square to meet with users and staff to raise awareness of the help that is out there for unpaid carers. The centre has been in Grimsby for over 30 years and currently helps over 2,700 people.

National Carers Week runs from June 5 to June 11, but Princess Anne came today, Monday 12 June, to continue to congratulate those who care for a loved one. A spokesperson for the centre said: "She was very engaging and spoke to all the team, wanting to find out as much as she could about what we do.

"She kept laughing and joking with us all and was just a lovely person. A lot of work has gone into today and although it felt bizarre it was absolutely brilliant."

The centre helps unpaid carers know the support that is out there for them including ways to relax and opportunities for respite. On arrival, she was greeted by Deputy Mayor Steve Beasant and Andrew Clark, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire. Royal fans also gathered outside to welcome Princess Anne to Grimsby.

#babeeeee #🥰🥰🥰#such a cutie #she's so pretty #pretty princess #anne serving looks #workanne #princess anne #princess royal #brf #british royal family

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une-sanz-pluis · 10 months ago

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[Philippa of England] was King Henry’s seventh child, born at Leicester, July 4th, 1394,* and her mother had died in giving her birth. Her sister, Blanche, was then two years old, and the two little things were taken to Bytham Castle, near Corby, in Lincolnshire, under the charge of a nurse named Maud. Here their father visited them in July, 1395, and some clothes were brought down from London to smarten them up to meet him. A few months later, they were taken up to London to spend their Christmas with him. In 1397, they were with their brother Humphrey at Eaton Tregoes on the Wye, near Ross, and were moved about between Bytham, Hertford, and Tutbury, under the charge of Kate Puncherdon and Mary Rodes, who did their heads and managed for them now that their mother was gone; and we know how much was paid for their black gowns with the white sleeves, their chaplets of crimson and white taffeta and red tartrin, and how they were dressed in damask baudekin of white silk and red Cyprus for Christmastide. When their father went into exile, they were left in the care of Hugh Waterton, at Eaton Tregoes, with their brother Humphrey, where a chaplain was to say mass daily with them for their mother’s soul. A clerk named Thomas Rothwell was to instruct the little Humphrey, and Kate Puncherdon bought their shoes and got black suits for them from London when their grandfather died. The Wardrobe Accounts for the same year (1399), show that the two girls required no less than 18,529 miniver wombs, 4,540 weasels backs, and 1,531 ermine beasts to find them in pellure for their dresses and shoes, though this may include the liveries of the mistress, the four damsels, the four chambermaids, and the Master in Philosophy, who lived with them and formed their household. In 1402, Blanche left England to be married, and the sisters never met again.

James Hamilton Wylie, “Lady Philippa” in History of England Under Henry the Fourth, Volume 2

* Philippa was the sixth. Wylie is counting the mythical short-lived son born around 1382 in his tally. Mary died on 1 July 1394, so Philippa must have been born on or before this date.

#philippa of england #blanche of england #humphrey duke of gloucester #siblings #historian: james hamilton wylie #crying at the chaplain saying prayers for their mother's soul 💔 these kids would have had no memory of her

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bryonyashaw · 1 year ago

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I was invited to view the exhibition of the work at @louth.museum (on from 18th - 28th October), featuring a soundscape, archival footage, large scale banners and many vibrant images of the market past and present.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 (𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲) 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.

As well as the mobile exhibition, they plan to produce a large-format book at the end of the project. This will be free to local organisations and partners and will feature the heritage, stories and images that they have uncovered over the year - was interesting to see the past and present of the town.

There is also a project website: www.louthmarket.org showcasing the work further.

Spectrum Arts would like to thank the traders and wider community of Louth, all their volunteers and their partner on this project, Louth Museum.

📌 4 Broadbank, Louth LN11 0EQ

At Louth Museum you can discover:

• The back-lit panoramic bird’s-eye view of Victorian Louth

• Rocks and fossils of the Lincolnshire Wolds

• 200,000 years of local archaeology

• Brickmaking and printing

• The disastrous Louth Flood of May 1920

• The story of the Ghost of the Green Lady

• Carpets made in Louth

• The largest national collection of Victorian woodcarvings by Thomas Wilkinson Wallis

The museum has accessible toilets, designed for both young and disabled visitors. These are located on the ground floor. There is a chair lift to the exhibition gallery on the first floor. It's not a huge place so those with small children won't find themselves with bored children but also it works as an educational visit!

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world-of-wales · 2 years ago

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─ • ✧ WILLIAM'S YEAR IN REVIEW : NOVEMBER ✧ • ─

1 NOVEMBER - William attended the 2022 Tusk Conservation Awards at Hampton Court Palace.

2 NOVEMBER - William attended the Tusk Awards Symposium. Later in the afternoon, he attended Film Africa Workshop.

3 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine visited Scarborough for the first Community Impact Day. They met the Two Ridings Community Foundation youth grant panel and beneficiaries of the funding generated to support local young people's mental health, at The Street. Subsequently, they visited the Rainbow Centre.

4 NOVEMBER - William appeared in a video announcing the finalists for the 2022 Earthshot Awards to be held in Boston.

7 NOVEMBER - William appeared in a very special episode of 'Game of 5s' along with his boyfriend Harry Kane and the child they were babysitting Declan Rice. (@duchessbitch)

8 NOVEMBER - William held an Investiture at Windsor Castle.

9 NOVEMBER - William attended a Meeting with the Duchy of Cornwall Rural Committee. Later in the evening, he attended the Child Bereavement UK Chairman's Dinner at Oswald's.

11 NOVEMBER - William received Ms. Hannah Jones (Chief Executive, The Earthshot Prize). Afterwards he received Mr. Alastair Martin (Secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall).

12 NOVEMBER - The Prince and Princess of Wales along with other members of the Royal Family attended Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

13 NOVEMBER - The Prince of Wales placed a joint wreath at the Cenotaph along with the Princess on the occasion of Remembrance Day as they attended the Remembrance Sunday Service.

14 NOVEMBER - William attended Service of Thanksgiving for the Earl of Home KT which was held at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Later he visited the England Men's World Cup team ahead of the upcoming tournament at St. George's Park.

15 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine attended a Reception following the Platinum Jubilee at Windsor Castle given by The King.

16 NOVEMBER - William was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of South Glamorgan (Mrs. Morfudd Meredith) as he visited Senedd Cymru.

17 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine attended a Reception at Coutts and Company.

18 NOVEMBER - William visited Royal Air Force Coningsby where he was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire (Mr. Toby Dennis).

21 NOVEMBER - William shot promotional material for Earthshot Awards Boston.

22 NOVEMBER - The Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed The President of South Africa on behalf of His Majesty at the Corinthia Hotel. They then travelled by car to Horse Guards for the official Guard of Honour. Following this they drove in a Carriage Procession to Buckingham Palace where an afternoon Reception was held. In the evening, William and Catherine attended the State Banquet given in the President's honour.

24 NOVEMBER - The Duke of Cornwall made his first visit to the duchy since taking over as he stopped by Newquay Orchard where he was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall (Colonel Edward Bolitho). He also appeared in a promotional video for Earthshot Awards for BBC.

29 NOVEMBER - William held a Meeting with Mr. Alastair Martin (Secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall).

30 NOVEMBER - William and Catherine kicked off their Trip to Boston as they departed from Heathrow Airport for the United States of America where upon arrival at the Boston International Airport by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mr. Charles Baker) and Mrs. Baker. They then called upon Ms. Michelle Wu (Mayor of Boston) at Boston City Hall and subsequently attended a Welcome to Earthshot event there. In the evening they attended a NBA match between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat at TD Garden.

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