แฟ้มประวัติEvelyn Wallace -The Cast...รูปถ่ายบล็อกรายการเพิ่มเติม  |  เครื่องมือ วิธีใช้ |
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25 พฤศจิกายน Castles and Halls of Northeast Cheshire, Part Two On the way toward Macclesfield, northeast from Congleton, you'll find quite a smattering of wonderful architectural marvels in Adlington, Gawsworth, and Capesthorne Halls with medieval origins. Driving further north there is Macclesfield Castle itself, which is completely in ruins but Grade I listed and just a little further north on the Cheshire/Manchester border is the sublime Lyme Hall !
 Macclesfield itself which had fortifications and a castle plus a few museums to take in when you get there. This northernmost corner of the county borders the ever burgeoning Greater Manchester which has claimed a bit of Cheshire's former territory. Today, much of the fortifications, probably started by 1100, were ramparts and three principal gates: Jordangate, Chestergate and Wall (or Wellgate) which are now completely missing. Equally missing is Macclesfield Castle which stood very near where the ancient well (or Wellgate) is indicated today, made of sandstone of square proportions with projecting wings. It was built by commoner John de Macclesfield between 1392-1398 as a manor house. A year later this officer of the court of Richard II, whose official title was Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, applied for a license to crenellate but by then the king had died and he found no favor with Richard's successor, Henry IV. Nevertheless, he was finally granted his license by 1410 and by 1444 the lands were bought by Humphrey Stafford, the 1st Duke of Buckingham and it came to be known as Buckingham Castle and Buckingham Palace, by turns, after he made additions. Henry VII visited this castle after the Earl of Derby came into possession late in the 15th century. A hundred years later it fell into decay but parts of the castle were still being used during the period between 1793 and 1811 by a Roman Catholic congregation. By 1932 the porch and parts of the curtain wall that remained were completely dismantled and the dressed stone was reused to build cottages and shops in the city. Excavations were carried out in 1985 after some of the remaining stones were uncovered by accident. This is a sad end for a castle which once featured a vaulted interior in unusual Tudor rose, dating back to Henry VII. In my photo album I have included a photo of the town with St Michael's cathedral in the back ground.
Before you leave Macclesfield be sure to check out the silk museums on Roe Street. This award-winning program features exhibitions, models and costumes. Tours include seeing jacquard silk looms, demonstrations of weaving with expert guides showing life in the 1930s in Macclesfield. T-01625 613210
 Five miles north, in Macclesfield Forest, Adlington Hall is quite a dichotomy in architecture. It isn't eclectic. It's rather dissociative, to be more precise, in psychological terms. Over six hundred years of continuous building, alterations, and demolitions have produced something of a curiosity. It's a great place to show off the differentiation in English architecture, though.
The four faces of Adlington are basically in the Elizabethan East Wing, the 18th century Georgian South Front- which is the private residence of today-, Tudor brick and even Restoration. No two facades could possibly be more different than the east and south wings! Facing adjacent to each other helps to soften the impressions but nothing will prepare you for the shock of these wings being connected in any way.
The true beginnings of this complex of buildings are with the Cheshire black and white timber Tudor east wing although only a portion was originally a hunting lodge built in the year 1040 by the Saxon, Earl Edwin. He bequeathed Edulvintone (as it was once called) to Hugh Lupus. Very little of that original lodge remains. The moat is also gone.
The 2,000 acres of the estate became home to the Legh family in 1315 and has been in the family, one way or another, ever since. Today it is a four-sided courtyard with a 15th century Great Hall with wings built in the late 16th century. The north front which is the back of the hall was refaced in brick and refenestrated after the Restoration and shows off its gables.
 The earliest part of the house is the Great Hall on the north where all visitors enter. This was the work of Thomas Legh, the seventh heir, built between 1480 and 1505 in timber with a sandstone base, sand stone roof slate and red-brick chimneystacks. Its southern wall was refaced in brick and stone and plastered and the hammerbeam roof was finished by 1480. A marvelous organ on the east side is supported between two oak trees, still rooted in the ground and is all that remains of Earl Edwin's hunting lodge. The Bernard Smith (ne'e Schmidt) organ was built in the 17th century, late, with a pre-Cromwellian console. Adlington Hall's greatest and most famous story is Handel's visit and subsequent playing of this organ in 1741 and again in 1751 ! Handel and Schmidt hailed from Halle in Germany so the association with the Legh family is two-fold. The true enthusiast for such music in the family, however, was Elizabeth Legh, the daughter of John and Isabella Legh. She was a great harpsichord player and an admirer of Handel. Unfortunately, she had already passed on at the young age of forty several years before Handel's visit to Adlington. The west wall is canopied and contains no less than 60 panels of Cheshire heraldry. Incredible murals cover the walls on all sides of the Hall. The porch, pictured above, was built by Thomas Legh's grandson, also a Thomas, in 1581 and may have also added the entire east range.
Inexplicably, Charles Legh, who was the sixteenth successor to the estate, tore down the south range in 1754 and built the current Georgian south front with a heightened classical portico. He also constructed the stable block and laid out gardens including a shell cottage, Chinese-style bridge and T'ing House with the actual work being carried out by the ever illustrious Capability Brown. He added a west wing which was modern for the time with a Carolean staircase, formal dining, drawing room and ballroom along with a suite of rooms along the northwest corner. All this work was completed by 1757, but in 1928 a large part of this west side was demolished taking out the ballroom and other rooms. Two projecting bays which were originally attached to the new South Georgian wing were pulled down. A large brick barn which forms the present Hunting Lodge was added in 1817. It is now used as a venue for weddings, events and as a conference hall.
T- 01625 829206 Guided tours by arrangement except in July.
 South of Macclesfield Gawsworth Hall is another Cheshire black and white Tudor which has survived mostly because of the amount of restoration it has undergone. The detailing in the overhead bays in this three-winged courtyard manor is extraordinary, visually. This is no ordinary Tudor house and it's apparent why the Richards family acquired it in 1962!
 The Fitton family were as unique in history as their ancestral home appears. Full of scandals, duels, heavy players in the War of the Roses and court intrigue, these tenants to the Stanhope fortune gave history a run for its money. It's fitting that the billiard room features a reclining statue of Echo and the extensive tilting (jousting) track was made into pleasure gardens. Ah, peace at last !
 A Norman beginning was rebuilt in 1480 and extensive remodeling followed in 1701 coinciding with the death of the 3rd Earl of Macclesfield. The basic courtyard layout is reminiscent of Little Moreton Hall in Congleton, but here it's much more open with a three-storey, jettied bay on the far wing with the original window frames. Inside, an original Great Hall, which appears to be reduced, remains as the Green Drawing Room. There is a library furnished with Pugin bookcases, the staircase chandelier is Waterford crystal ( last-minute save apparently!) and a small chapel which was rebuilt in 1701 but has existed here since 1365. Here, the Richards family built an additional ambulatory in which they installed William Morris windows along with other furnishings taken from a church in Ipswich. Upstairs, again, is the Green Drawing Room along with bedrooms and priest's holes in Tudor-style throughout with the exception of a 50s style modern bathroom, which is surprisingly listed for preservation as well !
Events occur regularly at a 1,000 seat auditorium on the grounds www.gawsworthhall.com
 Only five miles west, at Siddington, Capesthorne Hall has been the Bromley-Davenport ancestral home since the Norman conquest when the responsibility of Master Sergeant was appointed them to essentially keep law and order for the forests of Leek and Macclesfield. Many generations of this family have served at Parliament with the Bromley side as both Chancellor and house Speaker. Eight generations have lead up to the current squire of Capesthorne, Lord Lieutenant William Arthur Bromley-Davenport and his wife, Elizabeth Watts, an American artist.
The current hall is the work of Salvin remodeled by him after 1861 when the first Tudor Revival hall was gutted by fire which destroyed the entire central portion leaving only the two wings remaining. Originally designed by the Smiths of Warwick in the first half of the 18th century, it was altered by Blore in 1837 in neo-Jacobean. Salvin's salvation of the mansion was in turning the original three-stories into two but raised the heights of the rooms giving the main interior of the house a more spacious and grand look. Only the beautiful Georgian chapel, also built in 1719, survives as original and services are still held there. When touring through the rooms, it is difficult to believe the house was once used as a Red Cross Hospital during WWII and the cellars were used as a bomb shelter.
 Lenette, William Arthur's mother, is partly responsible for the interior decoration which is full of color and an amazing amount of fine art. Elizabeth, the current lady of the house has also contributed immeasurably in acquisition of fabric and furniture. The entrance hall is a vivid yellow with a large chimney sporting Flemish figures taken from the chapel and Victorian Willement glass along with portraits. Salvin's interior flair along with the Bromley-Davenport paintbrush fills the house along with an extensive collection of portraiture and sculpture. Upstairs, the American Room commemorates Lenette's Pennsylvania background with a more rustic and simple look compared to the décor elsewhere in the house. The entrance hall contains historical paintings, marble sculptures, English, French and Dutch antique furniture and 16th century stained glass windows. There is a room dedicated to sculpture which sits between the saloon, which is filled with the family portraits, bronzes and ebony furniture and the Queen Anne Room which is dominated by a large fireplace with heraldic mantelpiece surrounded by paintings, marble pieces and porcelain figurines. Salvin's staircase leads to first floor exhibition rooms which give the visitor more family history in the Royal Bedroom, Bow Room, Child's Room, the aforementioned American Room, Dorothy Davenport Room and Box Room. Some family legal documents dating from 1153 can be viewed as well !
Today it is rented out as a conference, wedding and events venue as well. Capesthorne Pavilion was added this year which can easily seat 450 along with a brand new lakeside evening area. Vintage car shows are regular events every summer, at the end of each month, one of which featured classic American models in 2005.
Near the chapel, 18th century Milanese gates open to fine gardens and three lakes which occupy over 100 acres including herbaceous borders and an array of perennials. In late summer, a variety of rare rose varieties are in bloom, rhododendron woods and woodland walks lead to an arboretum, an ancient ice house, Old Boat House and the curious Swallow Hole.
  Special tours through the Hall manager Christine Mountney
T-01625 861221 or info@capesthorne.com
Christmas at Capesthorne 2009 Craft Show from November 27-29th
 Lyme Hall gateway The land that Lyme Hall occupies south of Disley, near Stockport, is part of a medieval deer park in the Peak District National Park. It is seated in lake-surrounded formal gardens directly on the border of Cheshire and Manchester and has the honor of being the largest house in Cheshire with a Grade 1 listing but its appearance as Palladian from the approach doesn't give you the full appreciation you will have upon closer examination. Its beginnings are almost unlikely.
Considered the noblest house in the northwest, it was originally built as a hunting lodge for Sir Thomas Danyers in 1346 for saving the Black Prince (Edward III) at the battle of Crecy in France. It may have been built onto in 1465 as the first records of a house being built on the premises bear that date. Through marriage it passed into the hands of the Leghs in 1388 and remained in their possession until it was granted to the National Trust in 1946. This prodigy of architectural heritage is seated 4 miles west of Whaley Bridge and looks splendid in its parkland environment. It took the unlikeliest architects to get to its sublime appearance but that is often how such magnificence is achieved.
It was started in Elizabethan with Sir Piers Legh VII, in the middle of the 16th century by an unknown designer. It had an L-shape plan with east and north ranges and small additions were made during the 17th century. In 1720 an architect from Venice, Giacomo Leoni, added a south range turning it into a courtyard and retaining some of the Elizabethan features but mixed Palladian and English Baroque to stunning effect. Deterioration had occurred before Wyatt was commissioned by Thomas Legh to do restoration during the period 1816-1822. Much of his work concentrated on the interior, of course, but he did add a hamper tower which was for servants and a one-storey block to the east wing with a dining room.
 A large part of the late 19th century work involved grounds structures, such as gardens and landscaping initiated by the 1st and 2nd Barons Newton. Richard Legh, the 3rd Baron, inherited the estate in 1942 but sold it quickly. The 15 acres of park and gardens contain a mill pond, a stone bridge called Killtime, a sunken Dutch Garden (by William Legh), and an orangery with flower gardens. The deer park is a conservation area which protects rare and original breeds and 17th century trees. Wyatt added a conservatory years before.
To tour Lyme Hall is serious architectural study. A prodigious mix of Palladian with English Baroque was applied to the exterior and the original Elizabethan dominates some of the interior. One interior ceiling is Rococo, in the Saloon, which also contains wood carvings attributed to Grinling Gibbons imported from the dining room and placed expertly by Wyatt. Lyme's interiors span four centuries, with early 17th century Mortlake tapestries (added a century ago!) in the entrance hall along with portraits of Edward III and a unique collection of English clocks. The drawing room features exquisite strapwork, a renaissance fireplace with the coat of arms of Elizabeth I and medieval stained glass. The Long Gallery has a Jacobean ceiling and portraits from the National Portrait Gallery. Everywhere you look your eyes will be filled with Corinthian pilasters, Doric and Ionic columns, bays and pediments featuring Minerva, Neptune, Venus and Pan. Every type of window is displayed in the rusticated courtyard entrance which features an Italian renaissance well (in simulated marble) in the center. It is better to see than to describe the beautiful doorway.
  View of The Cage from Lyme Hall The approach is a long drive into a deep ravine which was enclosed in the 14th century but never really landscaped. It wasn't necessary. The façade you will see from the drive is the Elizabethan frontispiece of 1570, built by the unknown architect, of course, a nine-bay, three-storey facade which has a single storey extension protruding from the middle. Oddly, the latter was Wyatt's work. Some odder features of Lyme Park are the gateway and a tower called The Cage which sits far afield of the hall. Legend says that a secret passage leads from the Knight's Room to The Cage built especially for the 2nd Lord Newton's mother-in-law who was convinced that the house was overrun with burglars. Both appear to be asides but worth taking a look, even though they seem to be irrelevant. If Lyme Hall seems somewhat familiar to you it's possible that you have seen it before. It was used as Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's seat in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.
T- 01663 762023
 from The Castle Lady (non-prepossessing but immodest kisses) ! hee hee
The final third part for my Cheshire entries is coming up soon and a really cool surprise on my official web site !
Congrats to the Nuggets for their 130-112 whuppin of the Raptors last Tuesday !
Everybody have a wonderful Thanksgiving, OK ? ? 21 พฤศจิกายน I get by with a little help from my friends.... Part Two I believe I have the best friends on MSN's Live Spaces because they are so diversified and so interesting. I have hand-picked almost every one of them or in some way they found me and I am definitely a better person for it. I'm out to prove it, though, and here's the proof. This isn't a long story but it might interest any blogger out in cyberspace how to make a real friend out there without getting yourself caught up in some mind-blowing idiotic cult. You know what I'm talking about.
 Without any further adieu, here is a roster and a short bio on my history with my friends who happen to be called my network: First there's Keith who is relatively new on my network of friends. He has a very interesting day job and he's an extraordinary talent on the guitar. I sent him a copy of my inspirational book, "In Spirit and In Truth" and these are some of the words he used to describe it:
 I have been leading worship in one capacity or another... for over three and a half
years. I have led well over a hundred people in worship...
and I have never seen a good deal of the things that Evelyn speaks of within her book.
Perhaps it's because I'm not ready, or have not fully submitted unto God.
Perhaps it's due to fear, the fear of the supernatural that I know exists...
I many times fear what He might do if I would just dare to let Him.
I would recommend the reading of "In Spirit and in Truth" to anyone currently involved
in the leading of worship and anyone aspiring to lead worship.
Here is a link so you can read more on his experience in reading my book:
 I remember when Mr. Sin first showed up on this Live Space with a comment. He knew how to say a few words in English and all the rest was in Korean characters. Now I know a little bit of Korean, phonetically, but I never learned any of the characters because you can study Korean in our alphabet. Luckily, I had just made friends with David Yoo who I noticed was a Korean living in California. I asked him to go to my photo that Mr. Sin had made a comment on and tell me what he said. As it turned out he was basically trying to tell me he was my biggest fan ! Is that cool or what ? I'm very grateful to both for their continuing friendship and glad that I had familiarized myself enough with the written language so I could tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters. When you get a chance check out Mr. Sin's web site. It is absolutely amazing and I don't know how anyone could top it. He's got every gadget you can think of downloaded on it and it's beautiful as well. Here's David:
 I also love to visit with my friend Kate who has a Live Space totally devoted to our fav band of all time- KISS ! One day when we were chatting I told her she should call her blog Kiss Me Kate!
 We both have extensive disc collections of their music going all the way back to the beginning of their careers. Here she is ! Sorry, guys ! She's got a boyfriend already !  Magic JP is a prestidigitator... yes... a tour de passe-passe extraordinaire... Un bricoleur en magie desee'ne a` Puy de Dome! A professional magician, that is ! He decided he liked my pirate music on my WMP on this blog about a year ago and pinched it but it was very apropos on his Space and so I let him keep it. He also has great taste in cars !
 My friend Val in Italy puts up very funny and thought provoking entries but she's a little busy with college right now. Best to let her study....
 My French friends, Dany, Poopsee, Belle, Mammo and Gael are the apples of my eye. Mammo is my French maman and I just adore her winning smile and vivid imagery in her poetry. They are all stars in my book and I love everyone of them with all my heart ! If you understand French really well I recommend that you go read their voluminous amounts of heart felt words. They have quite a few blogs so have fun looking for them all. Dany loves owls just like me, Gael is an entrepreneur in Brittany and Poopsee has recently published a book- all wonderful poets !
 Dany Mammo    Poopsee ( Mes amis de poesies, Dany, Poopsee, Belle, Mammo et Gael ils ont comme a` la prunelle de mes yeux. Mammo, ma maman francais, j'adore sa sourire charmant et poesie vivante. Ils ont tout comme les celebrite's a` mon coeur et j'adore ceux poemes tres bien ! Si tu comprends le francais bien je te conseille a` visiter ces bulles a` lire leurs mots sincere. Il y a plusiers des bulles d'eux, si quand tu cherche que s'amuser.)
Then, there is my Yorkshire friend, Stevader, who likes to surprise his friends with new subjects all the time. Apparently he's so good at it that there are a lot of Stevader wannnabes out there. I think he's unique and difficult to imitate, though, like most North Englishmen. When you go to his site you're going to see a lot of photos of English actors and I'm learning quite a bit. We really don't get very much English TV here in the States so if you visit him you'll find out about the entertainment world on the other side of the pond, if you're American. If you're European you probably know all those people ! Here he's just snagged another autograph from Louisa Lytton ! Cheeky !
 If you prefer your poetry in Spanish my friend Eternia writes wonderful Goth poetry en espagnol. It's lovely !
 If you are in a light hearted mood and you love to read jeu de mots en Francais you should check out Madame Ping & Mr Pong. Their Live Space c'est de s'amuser beaucoup ! Sheer fun !
  Ellen is also a long time friend on my network. She's gone quite a bit but she has a wonderful blog called
Ellie's Castle of Dreams and writes very wise quotes, such as:
 Ellie with her son Justin "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
or "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man must seek Him in order to find her."
Just priceless. I love all you guys !
 Amities pour toujours a` tout le monde !
 Le Chateau Demoiselle aka The Castle Lady aka El Castillo Senora
10 พฤศจิกายน Cheshire's Southern Castles and Prodigies Cheshire has a delightful varying landscape and is a garden lovers paradise. Situated in the lowest part of Northwest England it is one of England's richest counties and is a veritable mosaic of architectural styles covering a little more than two millenniums. The residential dwellings vacillate between concentric castles to early timbered black and white Tudors to palatial manor houses which earn their keep through visitor fees, paid events and gift shop sales. The Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show is held there every year at its most sumptuous neo-classical mansion, Tatton Hall along with Tatton Old Hall in its own parkland at Knutsford- on the northeastern portion of the county. Within, it contains the lush flowing moors of Peak National Park and has possession of two internationally used ports in the River Dee estuary and Mersey's as well. Chester, its chief city, is an historically important with its medieval castle and wall remains with winding streets alongside much more modern structures.
Medieval Cheshire was a Palatine county, meaning that its Norman earls retained powers not unequal to William the Conqueror because of their tolerance against the formidable Welsh resistance. The conquest along the Welsh border was largely a draw between the two factions and from 1237 on, the earldom's obsolescence was taken over in the person of the King or his heirs. The autonomy of the earls ceased as a result.
Unlike the other English/Welsh neighbor counties, Cheshire is no longer rich in medieval castles even if it once had more. There are twenty at present which have good remains or are partially to totally ruinous. Of those twenty, eight are within four miles of the border and twelve are early medieval. There were no Marcher lordships here, as there was along the Scots/English border, so the earls prevented anarchy during their time but prior to the Norman invasion the defensive buildings in England were kept by certain communities as Anglo-Saxon burghs against the attacking Danes. Those closest to the border have alternative Welsh names for obvious reasons !
Beeston Castle, on its mighty rock, has taken on a great importance because of its impressive remains while Chester Castle, beside the River Dee, was leveled in the 19th century and only by a miracle have important ancient portions of it survived. Its origin has been indicated as the home base of the Briton tribe by the name of Cornavii whose domain covered the large area now named in the counties of Chester, Shropshire (Salop), Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Chester's wall is the most complete of its kind in England though it has been mostly restored. Its size and use is comparable to that of York and Chichester. A short distance, also southeast of Chester on the Cheshire plain, is Beeston Castle's neighbor, Peckforton Castle- a magnificent Victorian medieval-revival folly! Built by Anthony Salvin in 1844 it sits a short distance from its authentic neighbor in perfect harmony although with obvious differences.
 1. Crown Court and original site of motte and bailey castle
2. Original stone building of the castle's inner bailey, The Agricola Tower
3. Flag Tower 4. Half-Moon Tower (Chester Mint 1696-8) & Guard Tower
5. Military Museum ( once had drawbridge and moat)
6. Gun emplacement platform (built 1745 during the Jacobite Rebellion)
7. Cheshire Military Museum
8. Grosvenor Museum Shop
Chester's castle was built in 1070 by Hugh Lupus under William the Conqueror, and once it was established he appointed Hugh D'Avranches as the new Earl of Chester and granted him the castle. From that point it was the principal seat of the Palatine earls. When it passed to the Crown in 1237 the defenses were brought up to date and Ranulf de Blundeville, who had neglected Chester while favoring Beeston, reduced its function to that of gaol (jail) and courthouse. The remains were strong clear up until 1793, when they were demolished for the assize buildings which occupy most of its former space now. These neoclassical buildings were designed by Thomas Harrison and were put up between 1788 and 1813. An 18th century blueprint shows it sans keep but features two baileys within curtain walls. These buildings remain in use today as Crown courts and a military museum.
Chester started as the usual motte and bailey and was rebuilt in stone by the 12th century. It was continually built upon clear up to the 13th century with new towers, new gatehouses and an outer bailey all during the Welsh Wars! During the 13th century Henry II built curtain walls for the outer bailey, blocked up the Agricola Tower and placed a Great Hall along with accommodation along the south wall of the inner bailey. Toward the end of that century Edward I added a new gateway to the outer bailey along with two half-drum towers with a drawbridge over a moat that was 26 feet deep. He added chambers for himself and his queen along with a new chapel and stables. The Great Hall was rebuilt late in the 16th century.
It had been an administrative center to the local earldom but when it became a home to the Crown, as was so often the case, expenditures afforded were merely to maintain the castle but certainly not to the extent that other such castles were of the same size or importance. It was destroyed by fire in the 18th century and the Agricola Tower was the only building that remained standing.
 The latter mentioned is the castle's finest feature of which the name suggests that Chester was originally a legionary fortress. As a matter of fact the town was named Deva by the Romans and the defenses which went up circa AD 100 (and were built upon for the next three centuries) remain as Chester's city walls and were originally built for the 20th legion. This square tower, (most likely the early work of Blundeville) was named after the Roman governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, being the original gate tower later superseded by another gatehouse which has since been removed. The top floor contains a finely executed, vaulted Chapel of St Mary de Castro in Norman Transitional style, adorned with well-preserved frescoes which completely cover the walls ! (Author's note: The entrance to it is barred.) This chapel had been sealed off completely since 1848 but was rediscovered in the 1980s by English Heritage. It has been attributed to Edward II and Henry III.
The Danes came in after the Roman evacuation (circa 369) for refuge one winter and managed to fight off the Saxons for possession. By 907 the Earl of Mercia, Ethelred, established Chester as his burgh on the Wessex pattern. William the Conqueror met up with unusual English resistance here but they eventually succumbed to his sieges by 1070. The Welsh resistance was another story.
As a result, the present city wall is largely of the 13th century which ordinarily was a period when English towns were rebuilding defenses. The need for their defenses arose from the threat of Llewellyn the Great and Llewellyn the Last of Wales. Rebuilding took place under the palatine earls with the first being circa 1249 when they were forced to cede to the Crown. Building continued for a time but its strategic importance declined after the Edwardian conquest of Wales along with the silting up of the River Dee. The two-mile circuit around the Norman fortifications is another of Chester's greatest attractions. There is a wonderful photo of a portion of the wall in the new photo album along with more diagrams of the former features, so be sure to check it out. The citizens of the town are largely responsible for the restoration which entailed filling in gaps and repaving the parapet which were damaged during the Civil War.
During the Civil War the city walls held the roundheads at bay against the siege, on and off, for three years. Additional redoubts constructed of earth were placed outside the old defenses and were successful. However, after the defeat of Royalist relieving forces at Rowton Heath, the roundheads under Sir William Brereton approached and quickly made a settlement with the town because starvation was imminent. The surrender came in February of 1646.
The legionary fortress which existed is under the medieval defenses and the more modern structures which exist there today. The usual rectangular plan of Roman forts, with rounded corners and gates on each side have been found and the city wall follows the Roman configuration along the north and east sides, between St. Martin's Gate and Newgate. Most of the original Roman fortification has disappeared. Since the medieval city expanded beyond the Roman fortifications, to the south and west, it follows the River Dee but near Newgate the foundation of the Roman angle tower clearly shows the differentiation between the two walls.
Medieval preservation just didn't happen in Chester for the most part, in all honesty. Four main gatehouses were pulled down and replaced by wide arches to make foot and modern traffic easily accessible. Only two medieval gates remain, which are posterns. One remains on the east side, beside Newgate and another leads to the cathedral. Half of Chester's flanking towers are gone and there is no evidence that any were placed along the river along the south and west sides. Small, internally projecting towers once stood along the inner curtain.
The towers which remain are King Charles' Tower (which has a Civil War exhibition) on the northeast corner and the Water Tower which was built circa 1322-26. The cylindrical Water Tower is 75 feet high with a spur defense projected northwest of its circuit. Between it and the western portion of the city wall is a big loop known as the Roodee. The northern wall which was placed between these two towers is the most attractive portion with the moat still intact. Roman masonry which was rebuilt during the 4th century can be seen between King Charles' Tower and the North Gate. Other remains include a heavily restored portion of the inner curtain wall along with Henry III's hidden 13th century Flag Tower.
Off Castle Square. Car park on Grosvenor Street.
Managed by Chester City Council and open daily 10-5, April- Sept & 10-4 Oct-March.
 Not too far off (two miles south of Tarporley) 350' high on a sandstone crag above the low lying countryside, Beeston Castle looks down from the northern end of the Peckforton Hills, adjacent to Peckforton Castle. This former bronze and iron-age hillfort site was strategic because it was surrounded by natural defenses along with its obvious look-out advantage. With an inner and outer bailey which was built with great walls and a gatehouse this enclosure castle is entirely insurmountable on three sides and has a deep moat on the fourth. The outer curtain wall was built nearly 7' thick !
 After his return from the crusades, this marvel of Cheshire was built by Ranulf de Blundeville, the Earl of Chester, during the 1220s and is a twin to Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire which was built around the same time, an era which had reached its highest level in fortification architecture. Curiously, there is no keep at Beeston but all the usual elements of motte-and-bailey building is present. Since it is often assumed that only the keep may be used as a residence it has been surmised that rooms in the gatehouse may have been used for residential purposes. This 19th century gatehouse makes a grand and formidable entrance to the main part of the castle, awesome in its ascent and adjoins an earlier two storey twin-towered outer gatehouse- the earliest equipped with rounded-flanking towers. A good part of the outer curtain wall is quite ruinous but seven D-shaped open-back towers along the east side will impress you and are very closely spaced, which most likely provided very effective flanking fire from the battlements. The ascent will bring you to the inner bailey which has a great gap of exceptional width and depth, spanned by a modern bridge. The wall on the other end of the courtyard has worn thin and has no tower left with the hill leaving a breathtaking drop out on the plain. In some places the drop is nearly four hundred feet !
 Blundeville was the most powerful palatine earl of Chester and he built several strong castles to dominate and secure his respective territories. By that time the new fashion in building was round flanking towers without a keep and the location was ideal for this unusual strategy in castle building. Unfortunately he died before it was completed in 1232. Blundeville's heir John le Scot died in 1237 (leaving the castle in the hands of Henry III) and so it remained in an unfinished state- even through wars with the two Welsh Llewelyns- until King Edward took it over at the turn of the century. It was not completed until 1303. By the 16th century it was considered to be of no further military use and was only pressed into service again during the Civil War.
This castle has seen fierce military action, as a matter of fact. During the Second Barons' War (1264-1265) it was taken from the Roundheads (a reference to the Parliamentarians) by Prince Edward from Simon de Montfort who was the 6th Earl of Leicester. It was captured during the Civil War only to be taken back by Edward and his Royalists who scaled the cliffs to regain it! A year long siege for possession ensued but the garrison eventually was forced to surrender in November of 1645. It was then totally slighted by 1646 reducing the structure to its present ruinous state although it is also due to the fact that it was used as a quarry for stone in the 18th century !
The name Beeston is derived from Sir Hugh Beeston who was a local landowner during the 16th century and he allowed the less fortunate members of his family to live in part of the castle who used the surrounding land for farming. It is a Grade I listed museum thanks to funding by Lord Tollemache who built Peckforton Castle with the help of Anthony Salvin in 1844. He built a lodge house at Beeston two storeys high in the mid-19th century which was later expanded with two circular towers on either side of a central archway. It is now owned by English Heritage and is open to visitors with a small museum and visitor's center on the site.
T-01829 260464 www.english-heritage.org.uk/beestoncastle
Peckforton , on the other hand, is an early Victorian renaissance which is quite a magnificent example of medieval fortress, nevertheless. This is completely the work of Salvin who was a master of Gothic Revival. Peckforton may be one of his greatest achievements. Access to it is on the west side of a minor road less than a mile south of Beeston village. A winding road leads up to its own rocky outcrop and sprawls in luxury there. It was meant to be a family home for Lord John but possesses all the features that exist for Edwardian castles with a splendid gatehouse, working portcullis, dry moat and windows which were built more or less authentic. However, this castle was built for the Tollemache family so the interior is much more Victorian and in a flamboyant style with some outstanding features. He is on record for owning the most land in Cheshire at 26,000 acres and he owned land and houses in other counties, one of which is the prodigy moated manor Helmingham Hall in Suffolk. Being a Member of Parliament seems secondary to his prodigious use of fabulous wealth acquired through inheritance at the age of 32. William Gladstone thought very highly of him because of his charitable work, which speaks volumes.
Built with nearby quarried red sandstone, the works were carried out by Dean and Son of Leftwich and Joseph Cookson of Tarporley acted as supervisor. This three-storied marvel features a five-storey tower, in which the wings surround a ward with the great hall and most of the residential portion on the north range, opposite the gatehouse. On the west are stables, coach and a bell tower. The eastern wing has a pretty octagonal library tower. Every attempt was made for authenticism with arrow slits, a crenellated parapet and a garderobe in the gatehouse !
The interior main rooms have rib-vaulted roofs, stone-mullioned windows and had Victorian designations with a dining room, drawing room, gallery and a small chapel next to the gatehouse. The dining room houses an oak sideboard and a wine cellar beneath. The circular tower has a spiral staircase which leads into a large game room.
The castle never had a formal garden but near the kitchen vegetable gardens and an orchard exists.
Some years after Lord Tollemache died in 1890, his eldest son Wilbraham, 2nd Baron, brought the interior up to date by adding central heating and electricity very late in the 19th century. By 1922 the Peckforton Hills underwent reforestation and the land which the large Tollemache family lived on until 1939 was granted the status of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The last Tollemache was Bentley Lyonel John Tollemache, a 3rd Baron who left to live in Eastbourne, E. Sussex. During WWII the castle was used by Lady Lynette Tollemache as a hostel for physically handicapped children who were evacuees from London.
For a time the castle was leased by another Lord John Tollemache to Mr. George W. Barrett and it was used strictly as a private residence. Mr. Barrett did quite a bit of restoration, nevertheless, to portions of the castle including the castle gardens. His daughter's wedding was the first to be held in the chapel which was decreed legal by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Since that time it has been used as a filming location which includes Time Warrior scenes and the Doctor Who series. It has been a wedding venue ever since Pascale Barrett's wedding and it was converted to a hotel by the American Mrs. E. Graybill who purchased the castle in 1989 and carried on the remaining restoration that Mr. Barrett started early in the 20th century. Thanks to the Naylor family who had a large wedding there in June of 2006 it is now also used as a luxury hotel which also opens its doors for corporate events as well.
T- 01829 260930 Castle hotel, wedding and private function venue.
 All along the Welsh border Peckforton and Beeston Castles had quite a bit of military backup in Aldford, Shocklach, Oldcastle, Pulford, Malpas, Dodleston, Shotwick and Newhall Castles. All have been completely reduced to mere mottes. This was an area of strong Welsh resistance and it is understandable that these once strong fortresses are now in rubble and cannot be seen at all.
 Aldford Castle Six miles from Chester Aldford's motte height is about 17 feet and 33 feet wide with an 8 feet deep surrounding moat. The bailey moat is similar in depth but the width is nearly double that in a triangular shaped area covering 46,000 square feet. There are also indications that a manor house was built on the motte site later but all building portions have vanished. Not much is known about its origin other than that it was built by Richard de Aldford in the 12th century. Only fragments of stone remain but excavations carried out on the flat-topped motte have revealed foundations of a former shell keep with a D-shaped tower.
Three miles west of there Pulford Castle was placed strategically as an outpost for Chester which is only a few miles away. The name is Welsh, pwll-ffordd, which means marsh crossing. Along with Dodleston and Aldford it served more as a guard tower with a moat, where the crossing of the River Dee was very crucial. Most likely all three of these castles suffered casualties during the Glyndwr revolt in 1403. Most of the building of Pulford has been attributed to Hugh d'Avrances or his son Richard FitzHugh who was Earl of Cheshire from 1101-1120. Dodleston was founded by Osberne Fitz Tezzon and had a wide wet ditch and a large square bailey. It is certain that these were only timber castles and most likely were never rebuilt in stone.
 Shotwick Shotwick Castle on the other hand was most likely built in timber and stone by Hugh Lupus or de Blundeville. It is situated north of Chester above the River Dee. A hexagonal stone wall was erected around the 11th century bailey and stone shell keep in the 12th or 13th century reminiscent of Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire. Henry II and III stayed at this castle during campaigns countering the Welsh and Edward I also visited in September of 1284 when on his way to Flint Castle. By the 17th century it was reduced to nothing.
Malpas Castle
 Eleven to 16 miles south of Chester, along the southern portion of the Cheshire/Welsh border Shocklach, Malpas, Oldcastle and Newhall Castles have also been reduced to mostly earthworks with photos often only showing a grassed over motte like the one shown above for Aldford Castle. Newhall, a fortified tower house, which was situated between Combermere Abbey and Nantwich may have been rebuilt or repaired as late as the 16th century although nothing was left in evidence by the time Ormerond published the history of Cheshire in 1819. Its earthwork outlines are impressive along with dressed sandstone as architectural fragments (which include pillar bases !) and have since been reused.
If you head north of there up to Nantwich you can view the former site of the city's castle where Gregory's, a popular night club, sits in its place. The mound still exists but it was a small tower which had a moat about 12 feet deep. Several excavations have been made in very recent years to secure proof of the existence of the moat. This castle was built by William Malbank for his brother whose name was Piers circa 1160 to 1170 for the purpose as a watchtower. After 1282 the materials of timber and any stone used was taken to rebuild the town. A good portion of these materials went into the building of the south transept of St Mary's Church.
 Dorfold Hall A hop, skip and jump west of Nantwich, Dorfold Hall sits in beautiful hunting grounds as a Jacobean prototype. It has been modernized but it's difficult to tell until you go inside. This was built in 1616 for Ralph Wilbraham, an ancestor of Tollemache. The lime avenue and courtyard were designed much later in 1862 by the landscape architect, William Nesfield, as a birthday present for the lady of the house. Unfortunately, she wasn't very impressed but most everyone will love it.
The first floor contains hall, dining room and library (with an Adamic ceiling!) with beautiful plasterwork. Upstairs was not altered significantly with its Grand Chamber above the old hall featuring a barrel-vaulted intricately executed plaster ceiling. It reflects the work done at Lyme Park with emblems of rose, thistle and fleur-de-lys. Portraits of the Roundells are hung here with a recent one by Howard Morgan.
 Cholmondeley Castle (pronounced: Chum-ley) Heading west on the A500 to A49 junction will place you on the wonderful grounds of Cholmondeley Castle which is a Gothic renaissance beauty in pink-grey stone. These grounds cover 5,000 acres and includes two lakes. This family seat has been in effect since 1200. An earlier house built of brick and timber in 1541 by William Smith and remodeled by Sir John Vanbrugh between 1713 and 1715 was torn down. The present castle was built in 1801 on a design by architect William Turner taking direction from the 1st Marquess, George Cholmondeley, and was augmented later by Robert Smirke in 1829. (Smirke also worked on the renaissance castles of Eastnor in Herefordshire and Lowther in Cumberland.)
This castle has never been open for public tours, except for the gift shop in the basement. It has become a garden lovers paradise, however, with one of the most diverse and spectacular ornamental parks in northwest England with no less than 7,500 acres of every kind of tree and beautifully landscaped. This was the work of Dowager Lady Lavinia Cholmondeley who worked alongside her late husband for fifty years. It was originally laid out by George London with additions of ironwork by Jean Tijou (now moved to Houghton Hall in Norfolk, another Cholmondeley estate), a fountain by John van Nost, William Emes surpassing landscape park and John Webb's camellia walk, an encompassing terrace. Other additions were a bowling green, aviary and a Temple Garden.
www.cholmondeleycastle.com T- 01829 720383
 Combermere Abbey Combermere Abbey sits right on the border between Cheshire and Shropshire. This Cistercian Abbey has also served as a family home to the Cotton and Crossley families since 1133. It was founded by Hugh de Malbank and originally sat on 22,000 acres which included part of Nantwich and a church at Acton !
After the dissolution of the monasteries many of the original buildings were demolished and only the Abbot's House, which was built in 1539, remained. Sir George Cotton was granted the estate and it remained in his family line until 1919. Much of what you will see were additions to the Abbot's House including its Gothic ornamentation. Wellington's wing was added to mark his visit in 1820 but unfortunately was torn down later in 1972 because of maintenance problems. Some portions of the 14th century monastery remain in the Abbot's House.
Presently the estate retains 1,100 acres with a monument dedicated to Stapleton Cotton, a game larder, clock tower and stable block dating from 1837. Groups can visit on appointment basis on Thursdays. There is an active organic farm on the premises and many of the listed buildings have been restored for holiday cottages along with a wedding venue.
As you head northeast the Leaning Tower of St. Chad's at Wybunbury might be interesting to you. Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was stabilized using underexcavation by James Trubshaw in 1832. This predated the work on the tower in Italy by quite a number of years and the original work in Pisa has since been superseded with new technology in stabilizing techniques. St. Chad's looks quite normal by comparison, I must say. This tower once belonged to a late 15th century church but the square tower is quite high at 29 meters and is worth seeing. Surrounded by gravestones it has seen two other demolitions of later built churches on the premises in 1892 and 1977 !
 Doddington Hall Situated five miles southeast of Nantwich, Doddington Castle was built from 1364-1403 by Sir John Delves and his son which was originally called Delves Castle. He built this tower in the 14th century after he received a license to crenellate by Edward III. The elder Sir John distinguished himself at the Battle of Poitiers as one of Lord Audley's squires. This tower was not built onto the 18th century mansion, Doddington Hall , which Samuel Wyatt planned within the grounds of Doddington Park but it does share the estate with the mansion which was commissioned by Sir Thomas Broughton. The tower was incorporated into a series of domestic buildings in the 17th century which were later demolished in 1777. It still stands rather like a monument on the grounds all by itself, a sandstone edifice, three stories high with the Grade 1 listing pedigree. The listing is well-deserved considering that a vaulted ground floor and corner turrets are in wonderful condition. The first floor entrance, which is an unusual feature for a late-medieval tower house, has been restored with a Jacobean staircase.
You'll find Little Moreton Hall , a few miles north from the A534 just four miles south of Congleton. This is Cheshire's best example of a timber-framed black and white Tudor and also Britain's finest moated manor house ! Any visitors will find that it is also astonishingly unique in design. Some feel that its survival and good overall condition are nothing less than a miracle.
 The National Trust turned this prototype for the Picturesque movement into a museum in 1938. It was started in 1450 by Sir Richard de Moreton with a Great Hall. After that it went through continuous building with service wing, solar and chapel added. Next came the guest chambers on the first floor of the gatehouse along with the wonderful bay windows to the Great Hall and Old Parlour by 1559. The Long Gallery was added above the gatehouse wing in the 1580s. Completion of it basically took 130 years which is unusual for this type of structure. That isn't all.
For its day, Little Moreton was already old-fashioned but it makes up for that in its design. It is a gingerbread house with a couple of twists. The asymmetrical façade wraps itself around a cobbled courtyard and from a distance it appears as if the bays and porches are trying to occupy the same space. During the process of building the hall it encompassed two eras: Late medieval and the renaissance period. As a result, the motifs are absolutely stunning for effect, as can be seen in the carving of beams and fireplaces. The disorienting south wing will throw you off guard making you wonder if you stepped into a fairy tale but once inside this architectural quirk will ill-prepare you for the warping that has taken place inside. By 1570 the south wing was added and the oversailing third storey glazed gallery, which was most likely added quite late in the stages of construction. The weight of the gallery's glass, timber and gritstone roofing slates caused the lower floors to bow and warp under the pressure and accounts for the reason that many visitors feel almost as if they are on a drunk when they tour through the lower floors of the house. It was determined by the 19th century that the problem was lack of a proper foundation and steel rods were inserted to support the added weight.
 The Moreton family were Royalists, so when the Civil War broke out the house was simply requisitioned and Cromwell's soldiers used it in a utilitarian manner. At the end of the war they were financially ruined and had to take in tenants who used it like a farmhouse. Most of the house was unoccupied and simply used for storage and a barn. It was in a ruinous condition when it was inherited by Miss Elizabeth Moreton who was an Anglican nun.
She took on the restoration of the house but never occupied it and eventually she bequeathed the house to her cousin, Charles Abraham who was the Bishop of Derby. He finished the restoration and then transferred ownership to the National Trust. They, in turn, restored the neglected gardens which have been restored to the Tudor era with a knot garden in the 1980s, a yew tunnel and an orchard of apple, pear, quince and medlar trees were added, too.
In addition, Little Moreton Hall is a movie star appearing in Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders in 1996 and in David Dimbleby's 2007 documentary, How We Built Britain. You can buy a guide for the hall before you visit. For more information:
T- 01260 272018 littlemoretonhall@nationaltrust.org.uk
 Rode Hall is not far away but sits on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border 3 miles northwest of Kidsgrove on Church Lane. This red brick manor shares its Wilbraham ancestry with the Bakers since it was Mr Baker who took on the name of Wilbraham back in 1872 upon his marriage into the estate. This is much more common in England among the landed gentry than one might imagine. Preservation of the name on family estates was as important as the actual preservation of the homes and castles at that time. This family has the distinction of one Sir George Baker being one of the doctors in attendance to George III who was treated for insanity late in the 18th century.
This particular manse has been in the Wilbraham family since 1669 and it is obvious it had two construction periods because one part is middle Georgian and another two-storied portion, the main building, in Queen Anne style with a pillared loggia at the entrance. Alterations were made by Lewis Wyatt in 1812 and then a modern addition by Darcy Braddell in 1927. The chief interest of many visitors to Rode is Sir Richard's collection of china and porcelain and the house also boasts a continuous line of family portraits, many from Reynolds and other artists clear up to the present day.
The landscaping and gardens were originally laid out by Humphrey Repton and later Willian Nesbit had a go with the formal gardens by adding roses in 1860. John Webb constructed the Pool which is an artificial lake of 40 acres in size. The actual gardens are quite extensive and profuse with color when in bloom. It includes a woodland garden, terraced rock garden and grotto with many species of rhododendrons, azaleas, hellebores, climbing roses followed by snowdrops and daffodils in spring. A large walled kitchen garden yields in June.
www.rodehall.co.uk T-01270 873237
The northern Cheshire castles and more are coming very soon ! While you're waiting why not
have a look at the larger photos in the new Cheshire photo album ?
Remember, friends are the flowers in the garden of life !
 Seulement l'amities du Chateau Demoiselle toujours mes amis !
 Bless all our guys at home and abroad during Veteran's Day !
09 พฤศจิกายน Holocaust It started with a chorus of yellow leaves
taking jaunty flipping courses down wispy streams of air
after awhile they started to hiss in the warmer clime
I walked on in a type of wonder
a changed golden world
suddenly a flurry of fury in a soprano wind
they slammed against my eyes, arms, mouth
body, hands and legs
in a vicious coil they wrapped me in a tower forcing me to stop.
Now they lay on the ground scattered in a
chaos
that I cannot place in order
like dead bodies
waiting to be buried.
They seem sad there.
Not at all like when they were green.
Melt under my feet
you earthen wonders.
Make way for winter's coat.
by Evelyn M. Wallace
All rights reserved by author
 November 9, 2009
Congratulations to the Nuggets for four straight wins on their first four games of the playoffs !
31 ตุลาคม Stay safe !Congrats to the Nuggets for their two opening wins and Melo's 41 points against the Trail Blazers !
 Don't drink and drive !
The Castle Lady with lots of kisses and no tricks ! 28 ตุลาคม This is it.... just go and take a friend !  I just came back about an hour and a half ago from seeing the first screening of Michael Jackson's family's This is it tribute and I was absolutely annihilated over the way it was edited in that we finally get to see the real Michael. To say I was pleasantly surprised is putting it mildly. Essentially the film takes us on a visual tour of what his London concerts would have been like if his untimely death had not stood in the way. Each song hit was highlighted with mostly outtakes of the process but with full entertainment value; some going back to the very beginning of his career with the Jackson 5.
At the beginning of the film we are given short bits on the backup singers and dancers who were picked by Michael to help with the comeback concerts and even their brief comments were very touching and heartwarming. Many of the set designs, special effects and videos he was planning on using are in full presence in this film so you don't feel like you are watching a documentary at all. Indeed, it isn't a documentary.
This may be the best tribute of all, despite what the critics say- and they already said too much- because it's Michael up close and real but in full swing the way he always is and as musical as ever. Some of the dialogue is eerily prophetic and the part where they cover Thriller was purposely changed and amplified to the max and to great effect.
I have watched and listened to Michael Jackson all my life, I feel I grew up with him because in a very real way, I did. Tonight I got to see everything- the way he laughs, God blesses everyone and then breaks into his phenomenal dancing- and he was everything I ever imagined and more. His whole body was music and because of that everyone who stayed on the side of refraining from judging him continues to enjoy him even while we mourn his passing....
Want to read more ? www.parade.com/celebrity/celebrity-parade/2009/1028-kenny-ortega-this-is-it.html
Michael's autobiography Moonwalk has been re-released as well. It will be worth checking out.
  This is it ! The Castle Lady can't stop loving you !  24 ตุลาคม United Nations DayThe love of one's country is a natural thing
but why should love stop at the border ?
-Pablo Casals
 Love you all, The Castle Lady !  08 ตุลาคม Castle of the Cats ~ A Book Review It's quite possible that this book is the most original story in children's literature- long past and present. With stunningly beautiful illustrations and the whimsicality in the text, it's the most pleasure I've ever had in an overall reading experience. Even if you aren't curious about children's literature, you must see and read this book to understand the quality that can be achieved in this genre- whether you are a child or an adult child.
 Based originally on an old Latvian folk tale, the artist and writer transformed the fantastic old tale into a plausible delight, with humor and even a few morals which are embedded into its richly woven tapestry of words and images. When I corresponded with the artist, Katya Krenina, back in August of this year she told me that she used mixed media to make the book as authentic as possible using textiles of the era and grew her own catnip for use in her collage. She states in the blurb, "The tale is in Latvia, but my heart is in the Ukraine." Some changes according to this unsurprising nationalism just add more texture to an already rich tradition in her visual art. Eric Kimmel's English prose adds another dimension to the story and makes the art come alive. The basis of the tale was gleaned from a book published in the Soviet Union titled, "Tales from the Amber Sea." Eric chose the story, "The Palace of the Cats" and transformed it into a feline-friendly story.
Castle of the Cats is an entrancing voyage into another dimension for your child and yourself! I won't divulge the story but I urge you to discover this beautiful book yourself.
 Four paws up ! The Castle Lady will meow her way into your heart !  05 ตุลาคม I Love Autumn ! For those of you who are not aware of it, autumn happens to be my favorite season. I thought I would share the following ideas on why I feel this way and just a few of the reasons why I love it so much. - The Castle Lady
 Autumn is a beautiful name. If I have a daughter one day I think I will give her this name. It makes me think of auburn hair, too.  I love all the colors associated with autumn as well.
There is something so earthy and yet distinctive about them.
 I like the song "Autumn Leaves" sung by Nat King Cole.
The feel of autumn is unique. It is so refreshing and lively and the natural
scents which permeate the air are absolutely invigorating to me.
 For all those who reverence this almost mystical experience of a season,
Enjoy !
 hugs and kisses from The Castle Lady !28 กันยายน Christianity is JewishChristianity was first embraced by Jews because it is the fulfillment of what had
been promised and handed down by faithful Jews through the centuries.
Therefore, it is far more Jewish than Gentile.
Gradually people learned that God meant the message of salvation
through the Messiah to be given to any
who would listen, regardless of their national,
racial, or religious background.
-Edith Schaeffer author of Christianity is Jewish
May Yom Kippur be blessed and joyous for you !
 The Castle Lady
26 กันยายน The Story of Ylang-YlangCette billet dedie'e a`mon ami merveille des Live Spaces, J J du Pyrenees !
This past summer when I was working both in my P.C. lab and my studio (involves continually going up and down stairs) I smelled the aroma of my favorite flower, Ylang-ylang. I tried to track down the source of the scent but could not explain it and I had several other people go to the base of the stairs to sniff and they described the scent of a flower I have loved, along with my best friend Debbie, since adolescence. While I never did track down the reason why that scent came for about an hour and then went away as mysteriously as it came, I got a little curious about its origin since I have never really known any particulars about it at all. I did some internet research on it this year and the following information is my discovery and summation. Perhaps J J can tell me more if he is familiar with this curious but diffusely-endowed flower.
Because it has a very light but pervasive scent I had prejudged it to be of exotic origin. In several accounts I have heard of this scent being compared to jasmine and neroli and I agree that the intensity is matched but it has a uniqueness that really cannot be compared to other flowers. The aromatic components of the essential oil, which I keep a vial of at all times, are benzyl acetate, linalool, p-cresyl methyl ether and methyl benzoate. When the scent is produced artificially, however, it is always too heavy and must be diluted sometimes 20 to 1 with exotic water. This most famous perfume which makes use of ylang-ylang as one of its components is Chanel No. 5 but is not used as a high note and most likely only uses a very small dose. My personal opinion is that ylang-ylang should be worn alone and if you use the essential oil you must dilute it to the degree I've already mentioned for use in summer. This can be adjusted to suit you, by the way.
 The flower itself is not visually beautiful to the eye. This close up of the usually yellow blooms can be pink but the pink color is very rare. It is shaped like a sea star, as this one is, and generally curly appearing almost like tiny amorphus bananas. This particular cananga- which is its genus- is from the annonaceae family along the order of magnolias. Its binomial name is cananga odorata forma genuina. It grows on trees which grow fast, exceeding 5 meters a year generally attaining a height of around 12 meters in maturity. The tree itself is found in rainforests and native to the Philippines and Indonesia and is most commonly grown in Polynesian countries (i.e. Melansia and Micronesia.) As a matter of fact the name is from the Tagalog language (the Philippine language) and can mean both rare and wild, interchangeably.
 In addition to producing the flowers, the cananga tree also produces fruit which turns out to be an important food item for birds, in particular various types of pigeons and doves which are native to Polynesian countries, as well. A related species to this tree is the Cananga fruticosa, basically a dwarf version of the above mentioned cananga odorata forma genuina. The essential oil I mentioned up above is also used to relieve high blood pressure, normalize sebum production for those with skin blemish problems and is also considered an aphrodisiac. Margaret Mead did research on ylang-ylang in the Solomon Islands and found the latter claim to be in serious use for such purpose. Apparently it is a common practice in the Philippines for the flowers to be spread on the bed for newlywed couples. They are also used to make leis for women and on religious symbols! A component of the flower is also an ingredient in the motion sickness medicine, MotionEaze !
The Castle Lady easing on down the road
 and blowing healthy kisses your way !
22 กันยายน Two Poems for a Crow As I wandered the forest,
The green leaves among,
I heard a Wild Flower
Singing a song.
I slept in the Earth
In the silent night,
I murmured my fears
And I felt delight.
In the morning I went,
As rosy as morn,
To seek for new Joy;
But I met with scorn.
William Blake
(born Nov. 28, 1757 in Golden Square, London
died August 1827)
'and did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green...'
Dust of Snow
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Robert Frost
(1874-1963)
You won't rue my kisses ! The Castle Lady
 The reproduction of the painting of the corvine above was done by Rudi Hurzlmeier.
It is classified as absurdist, but I think it's delightful and a great way
to usher in impending Autumn !
A New Year for the Faithful ! All my love to the Singer family, Simona, Patty and anyone I may have forgotten to mention.
Mazel tov ! from The Castle Lady ! 19 กันยายน Who Really Stole the Tarts ?They told me you had been to her,
and mentioned me to him:
She gave me a good character,
But said I could not swim.
 He sent them word I had not gone
(We know it to be true):
If she should push the matter on,
What would become of you?
I gave her one, they gave him two,
You gave us three or more;
They all returned from him to you,
Though they were mine before.
 If I or she should chance to be
Involved in this affair,
He trusts to you to set them free
Exactly as we were.
My notion was that you had been
(Before she had this fit)
An obstacle that came between
Him, and ourselves, and it.
Don't let him know she liked them best,
For this must ever be
A secret, kept from all the rest,
between your self and me.
 copyright by Lewis Carroll Lithographs by Tenniel
from Alice in Wonderland
Wonderful and truthful endearments from
The Castle Lady
 Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson who was born in England in 1832 and educated at Rugby and Oxford. His qualifications were that of a minister but he never served in a church as one and rarely preached anywhere. Instead, he taught math and wrote works on Euclid, Algebra and Mathematical Logic. He also tried his hand at photography although much of his work was destroyed. It is claimed that he wrote Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and The Hunting of the Snark for the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, Alice Liddell, although much of his writing has been paralleled as doubling for political commentary. Whatever the reason, I find it refreshing sometimes to read these books over again when political intrigue seems to be a little heavy. He died peacefully in 1898 two weeks before he would turn 66. 15 กันยายน Searching for Mr. GoodMovie ! ! ! When it comes to finding the perfect movie and I'm in the mood to go to a theatre to see a new film, the task is a little more difficult than in the past, with all the new ways of getting information, buying tickets (from Fandango, of course ! ) getting to the theatre on time and making myself comfy in those new huge, plush seats. It ought to be easier than ever to see a new film but I think it's a huge hassle in comparison to staying at home to watch a DVD, pay-per-view or a scheduled cable film in your own living room with your own goodies and your broken-in lounger. Personally, I've taken to watching DVDs on my P.C. when I have time because that's the most convenient way. In retrospect, I wonder if all these conveniences made us too lazy to go out and meet the public. I remember my mother dressing me up to go to the movies ! ! How things have changed!
This last Sunday I decided to take Mom and myself to see a movie. I think Mom's become too sedentary and it seems as if (just for fun, mind you!) no one ever takes her anywhere. I started looking at what was available and noticed something that looked like it was sci-fi:
 Later on, I found a review on this one that said there were quite a few gross-outs in it including the forcible removable of someone's fingernails. That went off the list immediately- gaaack !
 I had seen a very short preview of Julie and Julia on T.V. and had already decided that I wanted to see Meryl Streep become Julia Child, so that was inked as a definite. Then I saw what looked like a very romantic movie titled The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't know anything about it but the photos for it looked interesting to me even though I am definitely not an avid chick-flick attendee.
  I thought we were not going to make it on time because Mom came up with several shopping trips she wanted to make before we went to the theatre. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we arrived at the box office just in time to see Julie and Julia and so we paid and went into the tiny theatre that was nearly empty. It did fill up half way before the film started to run, finally.
I'm so glad we went to see this film. For one, Meryl Streep never disappoints me for her authentic portrayals and perfect accents. It seems she adopted The Method somewhere along the way. She was Julia Child. Why do I say that? Well, Child always put on a fake French accent which in itself was good but definitely overdone. So how does a person match an overdone fake French accent without overdoing it? Well, Meryl Streep did and (may I say it?) ~ with finesse ! Her hair and face were made up in such a way that you forget that you are not looking at the actual person and she became multi-dimensional, which is what people most likely want to see the most. The behind-the-scenes Julia who faced many obstacles in going all the way with her passion, once she ascertained what that was, and how she dealt with her many trials, is fascinating ! This film does not touch on her alcoholism but vaguely implies it. Even so, her real story is very entertaining and maybe it's for the best that we remember only certain aspects of her life.
Julie and Julia is really two stories on a parallel plane, however. There is also Julie from Brooklyn, who doesn't seem to know what to do with herself until she discovers the world of cooking with Julia. She's a blogger who becomes a foodie and consequently a celebrity in her own right. I had a sense that she felt inadequate as a cook. She certainly flounders quite a bit through most of the recipes and discovers she hasn't the heart to even boil lobsters. (Her husband ends up taking the honors.) If you like light fare that is entertaining and uplifting Julie and Julia will be just right for you. Go see it at the cinema. So many subtleties are lost on video and I'm not sure why. Meryl must be seen and appreciated in a theatre.
After this movie, Mom and I started talking about cooks she has followed in her life. She has a sizable library of cookbooks and a drawer full of her own written-down recipes which she either acquired from her father, who was a baker, or those of friends and relatives. Mom loves to bake and owns a baker's oven which likes to overheat even though it's a fairly new stove. We determined that the famous cook who influenced her most and whose book is worn to falling apart is that of James Beard. Just recently I spied a wonderful new copy of his book, "The Fireside Cook Book" which was originally published back in 1949. That was probably when Mom started cooking in earnest. One philosophy of his which I would echo wholeheartedly is this:
"There is absolutely no substitute for the best. Good food cannot be made of inferior ingredients masked with high flavor. It is true thrift to use the best ingredients available and to waste nothing."
I agree with that philosophy and try to stick with it as much as possible even though I am not a traditional cook at all. I am more likely to try exotic dishes of all ethnicities and my favorite is mandarin Chinese cooking. The ironic closing of the movie is when Julie visits the museum which contains Julia's kitchen in a recreation exhibit. A very life-like portrait hangs to the side on the wall of Julia with a berth. She leaves a large stick of butter rather than flowers. It is ironic because Julia's use of butter was as much a staple of her recipes as any other ingredient.
I don't think I share the passion for butter in my food but I believe I share the passion of both women for following and completing the dream all the way through to the end, even if the end is a bit bitter, after all. We can always dilute it with sweet kindness. That's the best bon-bon in the world.
With kisses like chocolate,
The Castle Lady !
 11 กันยายน The Forgotten Genius of Stubblefield A little more than a hundred years ago a Kentucky farmer proclaimed, "I have lived fifty years before my time." His words were ambiguous to his slow-minded detractors but he paved the way for the wireless technology we enjoy today in the form of cell phones. I don't need to tell anybody where we have gone from there. Look around you. How many people do you see texting, taking photos, surfing the internet and talking on devices that were crude talk boxes only twenty years ago? Wireless technology has taken off in forms no one could've even predicted a few decades ago but we enjoy all this because one seemingly common man came up with a very uncommon idea and invention.
 Nathan and son, Bernard That Kentucky farmer was a man by the name of Nathan Stubblefield born in Kentucky on November 22, 1860. Many years before Marchese Guglielmo Marconi presented his radio-signaling system as his first successful invention, Nathan should have wowed the crowd that loitered around on the court house lawn in Murray, Kentucky in 1892. Hundreds of people showed up for his demonstration in which he claimed to be able to send messages through the air without wires. At points approximately two hundred feet apart on the lawn, Stubblefield set up two boxes, each two feet square and not connected in any way. The boxes contained telephones and when Stubblefield and his son talked to each other from opposite, disparate sides of the court house their voices were made clearly audible to the curious crowds which gathered around both boxes.
Even though his invention was clearly a success most of the crowd hooted and snickered like the common folk they were, not realizing the magnitude of the event they had just witnessed. Even so, he left with his equipment angry at his expectations of missing accolades. At this time, Marconi was only a teenager fresh out of Bologna University but his invention was that of telegraphy and not anything at all like what Stubblefield had discovered. At the time, Stubblefield was a telephone repairman who barely eked out an existence on his farm in Calloway County. His first demonstration barely made a ripple of recognition to the locals but he hadn't given up at that point, quite, either. He did, however, attract national attention by the few who were astute enough to see the potential of his invention.
When news finally reached the St. Louis Post Dispatch he was sent for by the paper to go there and give a demonstration. Some weeks after they sent Nathan a letter they received a post card from him which said, "Have accepted your invitation. Come to my place any time. Nathan Stubblefield, inventor." A reporter from the Dispatch showed up on his farm on January 10, 1902 and Stubblefield gave him a simple demonstration.
   This innovative genius handed him a telephone which was connected to a pair of steel rods about four feet long and told him to take the set anywhere he wanted in the neighborhood, stick the rods into the earth and put the receiver to his ear.
In a newspaper article some days later, the reporter relayed his experience. He walked at least a mile away from Stubblefield's house, put the rods into the ground and claimed that he could hear every syllable Stubblefield's son spoke into a transmitter as clearly as if he were standing right next to him. In explanation, Stubblefield explained that he was merely using the electrical field which permeated the earth, the water and the atmosphere itself. He predicted that some day wireless transmission of speech would enable people living in Kentucky to listen to weather reports from the nation's capitol and hear music and news from points all over the world.
 Everything snowballed after the newspaper article was published, bringing invitations for Nathan to take his invention to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in May of 1902. He gave a successful demonstration at Belmont Park in Philadelphia, May 30, 1902 and went on to Washington, D.C. presenting his invention to scientists of his time. This untutored, simple Kentucky farmer was receiving attention from the likes of Tesla at his Philadelphia demonstration. In Washington his apparatus was installed on a steamship with Bartholdi and other prominent people stationed at places of their choice along the Virginia shore of the Potomac. As the ship rolled down the Potomac River startled dignitaries communicated with those aboard the vessel, clearly and distinctly by merely sticking the customary iron rods in the earth and speaking into their telephones. On May 21, 1902 the Washington Evening Star proclaimed, "First Practical Test of Wireless Telegraphy Heard For Half Mile. Invention of Kentucky Farmer. Wireless telephony demonstrated beyond question," in the headlines.
With all the laudits he received and financiers asking him to sign contracts so the invention could be developed further, Stubblefield chose to sign on with the Wireless Telephone Company of America who were responsible for the publicity, public relations and demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Their hope was to attract wealthy investors but when Stubblefield found them to be a fraudulent stock promotion outfit he walked away and back to his lab.
Since the company acquired the rights to his natural conduction wireless phone, he dropped work on it and began working on a prototype for his electromagnetic induction phone. In 1907 he filed for a patent on it, but the first application was rejected. He worked on the application for another year, showing his device to be an improvement on earlier applications of other inventors clear back from the 1880s but by the time they accepted the application it was already outdated and useless.
What Nathan invented was a wireless telephone using natural conduction through the magnetic field of earth and water. The difference in the later inventions of others, which still didn't match the clarity of Stubblefield's device, is subtle to the unvigilant eye but he made the quality of transmission unequaled by comparison. He had been experimenting with ground radio since 1882, around the time that a man by the name of Amos Dolbear filed a patent on what he termed induction wireless telephone and demonstrated it publicly in the U.S., Canada and Europe. His invention, however, used an elevated capacitance, which acts as an antenna and only uses the earth for grounding. The induction coil used is a self-inductance creating high tension in free space. In short, it was not the same as a Hertizan wave transmitter.
 Around the time that Nathan was trying to show the Murray locals his invention, Tesla had been working on a transmitter that had better construction rather than of great power. He wrote, "This is essentially, a circuit of high self-induction and small resistance which in its arrangement, mode of excitation and section and action, may be said to be the diametrical opposite of a transmitting circuit typical of telegraphy by Hertizian or electromagnetic radiations." He performed double ground experiments with impulses, spoke of them in lectures and he patented embodiments of these ideas in 1901. Even so they never achieved the powerful transmission with clarity, tone and volume of Stubblefield's ground telephony. The device which Stubblefield invented used natural energies magnifying them to full capacity. All other inventors used artificial sources such as batteries, alternators, dynamos etc.
Stubblefield's true research was sourced in magnetic waves and never made use of ground terminals for exchanging signals. His aim was always long distance wireless telephone communication but his invention was entirely distinctive from radio transmission. From the beginning his transmitters and receivers were telephonic, not telegraphic and used the earth as a battery powering an apparatus which was connected to a long horizontal aerial line. (Apparently, the waves that Stubblefield used were longitudinal in nature.) Marconi eventually used a diagrammatic symmetry which was similar to Stubblefield's in conjunction with grounded copper wire conductors and achieved some success with long distance transmission but Nathan had done this without use of alternators or spark exchange and his medium was voice transmission not the dot and dash system of telegraphy which was Marconi's lot.
His system reasoning was that since electrical waves traverse the earth it would be possible to send signals to distant places. Eventually using electrical waves which were naturally present in the ground and would serve as carriers for the human voice- and more eventually. Therefore his technology made use of the earth as both power generator and signal conductor. This makes the power limitless and cannot diminish in deference to the time of day or even length of use.
 Stubblefield's wife, daughter and himself next to a wireless induction device. As time dragged by and other inventors took up the torch for wireless technology, Stubblefield became increasingly reclusive, morose and stopped working his farm. He was sued by financial backers. His children sold his farm and his wife left him. After his death in 1928 of starvation, investigators found wires leading from the roots of trees on his property. Small arc lamps were attached to the wires and they were put out because it was believed that those lamps had been creating a strange hillside sunlight. However, it did not explain the warmth and light which emanated from the ground around his property, apparently, day and night. In addition, many people had heard loud and unfamiliar noises coming from the area surrounding his cabin. It was supposed by some that he had discovered a way to transduce natural impulses from the ground energy into audio.
Two weeks before his death he remarked to a neighbor, "The past is nothing. I have perfected now the greatest invention the world has ever known. I have taken light from the air and earth... [the same way] I did sound."
On March 28, 1928 he was found dead in his bed. Neighbors who had broken in to investigate noticed that the interior was not cold but warm as if it was heated by a strong fire. Town officials trying to locate the source of the heat found two highly polished metal mirrors which faced each other and they radiated great heat in rippling waves.
A stone memorial on the court house lawn at Murray, Kentucky, marks the spot where he made history in 1892. He is now a local hero and has a radio station named after him. The locals still seem to think that he invented radio. They don't know the half of it.
Would you like to read more about Nathan? Check out www.icehouse.net/john1/stublefield1.html
 The Castle Lady
sending you kisses you'll never forget !
Physical science normally proceeds by inductive reasoning tested by experiment.
-Walter M. Miller, Jr. from "A Canticle for Leibowitz" 08 กันยายน Punctuation Hell and Other Egregious Blunders Back on August 15th of this year I happened to notice this wonderful little slice of literary criticism in the funnies. It isn't the first time I've read these short quips on proper grammar, phrasing and punctuation of the English language on this delightful strip but this one hit on a subject which has inspired me to expound on just a few of my pet peeves concerning writing.
 www.candorville.com by Darrin Bell
Faulty usage of quotation marks is just the tip of the iceberg on my long list but let's get started with that anyway. Listen up:
Quotation marks seem to be a whimsical sarcasm tool currently but in a professional format their use is quite specific. They are the only way to distinguish somebody else's words rather than our own in a sentence but there is a right and wrong way to employ them. The only proper use is placed with a comma preceding the quotation mark and closed with a comma preceding the closing quotation mark when inserted within a sentence. When the quote is used at the end of a sentence then a period precedes the closing quotation mark . They are the indicators of a direct quotation of someone else and not a single word emphasis of your own or the person you are quoting. I wish to further state that a single word does not constitute a quote.
Any other application of quotation marks is a violation of their proper use. If a person wishes to emphasize a word, it may be best to italicize or underline when italics are not available. To use quotation marks in emphasis when chiding your own use of a hackneyed word or phrase is inexcusable and as far as I'm concerned, ought to be punishable by law !
While we're on the subject of writing, if I may go on, my other pet peeve is rampant exploitation of the phrases sort of and kind of. Worst of all, would of, could of and should of gets my hair curled in a knot. The first two are the snakes-in-the-grass among the qualifiers which no one seems to be aware of inside or outside the literary world. Not only do qualifiers punch holes in any good narrative but they are stumbling blocks as bad as any four-letter word laid claim to or played as a substitute for a good noun. The last three just simply don't exist. These phrases should be written as would've, could've or should've but as I stated already, these qualifiers should be avoided as much as possible by a serious writer, outside of use in dialogue.
If you are serious about writing the English language as a profession may I suggest that you obtain copies of two reference books? The first is The Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference and Strunk and White's Elements of Style. While the rest of the world is sitting back and telling themselves that writing is just typing, you can be at the business of proving them wrong.
The Castle Lady
proving excellence one kiss at a time !   04 กันยายน The Birthday Dance Hey Everybody !
It's my birthday !
Time to do the Birthday Dance !
 Watch me now !
The Castle Lady with a jig, a jug and a hug !  I've got a lot of info, castles and new everything coming your way in September so stay close by ! 03 กันยายน Cheshire Crossroads... "Cheshire Puss" she began rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name; however, it only grinned a little wider. "Come, it's pleased so far," thought Alice, and
"I don't much care where," said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you walk," said the Cat.
"-so long as I get somewhere, " Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
Alice felt this could not be denied, so she tried another question.
"What sort of people live about here?"
"In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, "lives a Hatter; and in that direction", waving the other paw, "lives a March Hare. Visit either you like; they're both mad."
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat; "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad ?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
excerpt from Alice in Wonderland by
Lewis Carroll
 Just mad about you.... wild even !
The Castle Lady
 LOL28 สิงหาคม Goodbye to Summer
It's hard to say goodbye to summer
the water on the rocks beats on
in rhythm to a low lying wind
 that caresses our skin and fills our hair
with memories of an earlier rhyme
 when our hearts still searched for a place to share
a lofty lair with a misty clime.
Laughing at the olden ways
 amid the pounding heat
which still purveys something sweet
leaving a scent that lingers for days...
 and makes me stretch out my hand for time...
more time.
By Evelyn M. Wallace
All Rights Reserved by author
August 28, 2009
 With fond kisses, The Castle Lady |
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