Ghost Walk

 If you go hunting for ghosts on a sunny Saturday afternoon the likelihood of encountering any spectres must diminish somewhat. Of course, with those facts at our fingertips that is precisely what my friend Elena and I decided to do when we headed over into Kent a few weeks back. It might seem a slightly odd decision, but factor in that we were in allegedly the most haunted village in the UK maybe Pluckley wasn't such a daft idea👻

Fortified by lunch and tales from the landlady about how you soon get accustomed to seeing a little girl sitting on the end of your bed and that the unexplained odd happenings in the pub are so regular that you barely register them we sallied forth to the parish church of St Nicholas. So with a mere 13 different spooks to choose ranging from monks, dogs and a young lady who poisoned herself with a drink made from toxic berries, this one is the haunt of the White Lady [white and grey ladies abound in the UK]. It's been reported that strange lights have been seen inside the church and the belief is that they emanate from the wife of one of the Dering barons who owned most of the village from the 15th century through to 1928. It's claimed that her grieving husband had her buried in the family vault [see photo below] encased in several lead coffins with a red rose and an outer oak sarcophagus to preserve her beauty. In truth we were more spooked by the weird pulsating orange stream of light we saw as we approached the church tower....we speculated as to what on earth we were seeing, but I'm afraid that the mundane explanation is that there was a tiny scrap of leaf or caterpillar caught on my friend's phone camera lens which was being blown about by the wind😁

Those very same Derings are the same lot who are responsible apparently for this unusual shape of window which you see throughout the place. Sir Edward ['gentleman extraordinary' of the King's Privy Chamber no less]. During the Civil War this chap made good his escape from Cromwell's forces by diving head through such a window. There's nothing quite like blowing your own trumpet is there...just in case anyone forgot this chapter of history he had all the windows built in the same style in his rebuilt manor house [burnt down in 1951]. Or did he? Another version has it that one of his descendants saw that all the village buildings had the windows to commemorate this great escapade. When you own the village I guess your word goes!

Pluckley itself is small and most charming. It pays absolutely no heed to its haunted reputation and although you may never heard of it, it's known as the place where 'The Darling Buds of May' was filmed back in the day and during the Great War it was a Remount Centre for moving horses to and from The Front. We enjoyed stumbling across the different styles of building as we followed the ghost walk route. Not everyone we encountered was friendly though. As one in the ownership of black cats, I tend to assume that they're all friendly souls, but this one definitely gave us short shrift. The message was loud and clear...just bog off you two will you and leave me to sunbathe in peace in my personal puddle of sunshine😼😾

Having completed our little circuit we carried on out along the surrounding country lanes. Looking at those gorgeous blue skies it seems hard to believe that it had been grey and teeming down when we first arrived. 

Is anyone with me in wanting to rescue that poor old Moggy Minor rusting away out in the elements like that? I'm sure someone would love to have a go at restoring it, although it may be that the bodywork is already too far gone😢

Our final stop was the Dering Woods. You know if somewhere is also known as the 'Screaming Woods' there's got to be a story behind it. On 1st November 1948 a gruesome discovery of 20 bodies piled up was made. They were local people and the cause of death has never been fully explained. Officially carbon monoxide is suspected, but if there was foul play no one has ever been brought to justice. The original newspaper article is here https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Dering_Woods?file=DeringWoodMassacre.jpg However, if you create a vacuum people are going to fill it and the whole affair has taken on a life of its own within the 'creepy pasta' [ an internet genre of short horror stories I gather.....the things I learn when blogging!!] sector especially since 4 students were supposed to have disappeared in there following a camping trip in 1998. Frankly I don't know what to believe. We did venture in and I can confirm that it has some rather natty fungi [the white one is Candle Snuff, but I don't know the pink one...Rosy Bonnet maybe?]. 

In truth there's a bit of an odd vibe in there so we didn't tarry. For whatever reason sometimes places seem to retain an atmosphere of sorts which doesn't always feel welcoming. It may of course simply be a case of a febrile imagination after an exciting day of adventuring😀

Arilx

One for the dogs

 

This spot of daftery made me smile🐶🐾

Have a fabulous weekend.

Arilx

Upper Beeding

After all that madness of months of dancing we have now got the whole of November off...Aril has been scheming to get us out and about at what can be a challenging time of year. This time I picked one of the local heritage walks which the Horsham Museum put together a few years ago for our district. It took us to yet another little pocket of West Sussex that I've never even driven through.

This time we were in the Adur Valley exploring the village of Upper Beeding. We delayed our arrival until a bit later as it was Remembrance Sunday and we didn't want to disturb any of the services going on. I really personally appreciate the thoughtful touch of showing the different coloured poppies together on the memorial display. It's a sensitive way to represent the differently held views around the whole topic of war and the lives lost.

There has been settlement here since at least the Saxon times and some articles suggest that parts of the parish church of St Peter may originate then. From the time of the Norman Conquest this land was part of the package given by William I to his loyal knight William De Braose. This area fell into the so called Rape of Bramber. By 1075 he had established Sele Priory for the Benedictine Order of Monks and they were sharing the church. It was a so called daughter house of the French Abbey of Saumur. As is oft the way of these religious houses it had been dissolved on the grounds of corruption by 1459. Nothing of it stands today, but you can see bits of it still built into the churchyard wall. 

The main part of the village has built up over time alongside the 11th century causeway. If you're familiar with the vernacular styles round here it will come as no surprise to see attractive flint cottages and many timber framed buildings which often started out as manor or farmhouses and have been converted into smaller houses over time. Stone Cottage is a typical example of just this practice, but sadly is noted more for its former occupant Susan Budd, a 30 year old spinster, who served 6 months in prison in 1872 for concealing and burying her child. I suspect this was a far more common occurrence than the records would suggest. 

Not everything is quite so chocolate boxy. The edifice below is certainly a monument to all things Victorian Gothic. It's based loosely on the style of a French chateau which I can see and from 1903 until its closure in 2020  was an Independent Catholic school called the Towers Convent run by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The nuns still live on site and the local state school has taken on the site for its sixth form.

As we made our way towards the wild brooks beyond the village these pretty pink berries drew me in. They looked like a type of Rowan. The footpath soon had us weaving in and out of the reed beds along side the river and the access point is from a shared piece of public land which is run by the Hogs Wallow Community Group. We all know by now how important it is everyone to be able to get out into nature if they want to and this lot do fantastic work setting up projects to make this happen. 

You'll have to take my word for it that what you're looking at below are actually medieval salt making mounds [salterns]. You're not far from the coast here so the sand in the estuary is salty and so it was scooped up and washed. To extract the salt the briny water was boiled and the sand used to build the mounds for the boiling kilns. Such was the importance of salt for preserving food owners whose lands included salterns often took salt in lieu of rent. Crossing the nearby bridge got us back to our starting point, by which time Aril, in typical fashion, had wheedled a little pitstop in the next village of Bramber [using the carrot of free parking😆. I can usually rely on Bramber to top up my weirdometer and as you can see from the final pictures I wasn't disappointed.

As it stands I have no idea where our next adventure will take us, but never fear there will be one!

Arilx

Completely bonkers.

 Last Sunday I did not wake up with any intention of buying a painting. As you can see below things didn't quite pan out that way.

My lovely friend Nurse Lin has just painted this and the moment I saw it my gut instinct screamed that I needed it. This in itself is quite a rare occurrence as I really am quite disciplined about buying stuff, but what I have learnt over the years is to heed such an authentic reaction as it's my true self prodding me. It won't be to everyone's taste, but it will hang happily in my hall [it's too lairy for my other rooms and would clash horribly] where I can see it and enjoy one of my favourite quotes. GBT is full of the weird and wonderful and this latest addition will blend in perfectly. I do hope you all enjoy your very own version of an entirely bonkers weekend....particularly at times like this it's important that we look after ourselves and do more of what we love. If you want something to make you smile might I be so bold as to suggest that you take a quick look at the tweets that Aldi UK put out...they are hilarious.

Arilx

Anyone fancy a cuppa?

At difficult times us Brits like to turn to that old favourite....a good old cup of Rosie Lee. Anyone care to join me? I feel in need of bringing a little lightness into the world right now after the difficult news of the last 24 hours. I can't change anything, but I can be responsible for my reaction to it.

Arilx

Peace and Quiet

I thought that my friend Eloise might enjoy the little local arboretum I discovered last year. Like me, she has a good working knowledge of our local patch of Sussex, but this one had remained beneath the radar. Without the hard frosts I didn't see the brilliant magenta and crimson hues of last time, but was instead treated to golds and russets delivered in an ethereal light mist. Each tree has its own QR code and the first one we scanned goes by the memorable name of Ilex Vomitoria [its common name is Yaupon]. Native Americans brewed a black tea from its leaves for their ceremonies which was often followed by vomiting bouts. Europeans drew the conclusion that this was caused by the tea, but it was down to another cause and the tea is still on sale. 

As we retired to the village cafe afterwards we both remarked what a peaceful morning we had. It exudes calm and feels a very safe space. Somewhere to take a breather from the spinning whorl of our everyday lives and return with 'a spring in your step' as my friend put it🍂🍂

Arilx

Samhain 2024

Here's what is going on in the Great Hall in Hogwarts this Halloween👻💀 

Hope you have a great weekend.

Arilx

Hubble Bubble

 

Thank you so much for all your good wishes for the 'All Hallows' event. I am so pleased to say that the weather dried up for us and it all went off so well that we've already been asked to do it all again next year. We sold out quite a while ago, but there was huge demand for tickets still so I'd felt quite a bit of pressure these past few weeks. It's been all systems go this past few months as we also launched a brand new Viking story at the Butser Farm Equinox Boat burning we went to last month too. However, we have all lived to tell the tale. For me the magic was being up on top of the South Downs with the famous ancient Cissbury flint mines ahead of us and undisturbed Neolithic burials behind us as we called to the ancestors. Spine tingling stuff. 

Despite this being my working Monday I have still stumbled across my own little piece of magic today with this fabulous homemade Halloween decoration just round the corner of GBT. It looked even more spooktacular in the wind and rain❤

Arilx

Souling

 Whether you're a fan or not Halloween related talk abounds at the moment. Much of what we do now is imported from across the pond....when I was a nipper we did apple bobbing and maybe draped a white sheet over ourselves to turn ourselves into ghosts [homemade dressing up was very much the order of the day in the hard-up 1970s]. I'd never seen a carved pumpkin and we certainly didn't go to the bother of doing the same with a swede as our forefathers did....they're a devil to cut and take forever. In the main [bar the trick or treating which I personally detest] I enjoy it, but what I take from it is the focus upon the ancestors and where many of our own customs originated.

It has been a hectic time for Mythago this past few months as we've undertaken several new creative endeavours. The biggest project is tonight when we're holding our own All Hallows event. It's our first ever ticketed event and we shall be holding the fort for 2.5 hours. Part of what we're doing is reviving some of the folk practices which are in danger of dying out, so people will be able to take part in a call and response to the ancestors and we'll be introducing the new Hooden Horse as part of our soul caking ceremony. Many will rightly associate the horse with Kent, but it is very likely that similar would have happened here in Sussex. At the end of the day people will have marked this magical time using what they had lying around and animal skulls mounted on poles were common. You may never have heard of soul cakes Pre Reformation soul cakes were given to the poor, but in later years groups of children knocked on household doors and sang a song in exchange for one. The idea of the soulcake is that you break it in half...eat one portion and then leave the other piece out as an offering to the souls of the dead. Having eaten a few this past week or so they are absolutely delicious...bit like a rock bun, but more biscuit like in texture and form.

I am currently swinging between nerves and excitement....🤞. Wish me luck!

Arilx

Batty Scaremaker

 It was another of my precious Mondays off and I was due to be in London, but my lovely friend was called for a very important NHS appointment so understandably needed to postpone. Despite the weather not looking very promising I donned my waterproofs and boots and took myself and my inner four year old over to Nymans to enjoy their Halloween themed trail. Thankfully it's still term time here which just left me and a heap of toddlers spotting the spooky sites. As ever the National Trust staff have done a fabulous job and, as if all that excitement wasn't enough, I then decided to drive on to the next village because they always have a cracking new topper every time I get over there. I wasn't disappointed👻🦇❤👀💀😈

Having had a wild old morning I sat down like a sensible adult and got on with the tedious task of finishing my new dancing mask which I am delighted to report is now done thank goodness! 

Arilx