24 Days

Grab a cuppa, I am on my soap box!

Well, this is my second to last blog until Coffin Hop. I will have a creepy story for you this year. So will a few of my lovely scary friends and there will be prizes too!

I have had busy last week. I have a contract on my house and now I wait for a closing date. We were told that we were to work from Phoenix when we sold the house. Now after selling we were told no. Not really happy with that. Little that can be done about it at this point but looking for a new job.

This week as I was fixing tea the tele was on and I heard a school was banning books. What is this, the 21st century or did I fall back in time? What's next southern Arizona book burning? One paragraph in this book upset one parent. This parent says it’s porn. My question is if you are against it fine, but why take something out of context? The whole book is about how a young person survived abuse. I know it’s just me but I think that could help a teenager. This was a high school too, not junior high or elementary school. 

This is Banned Books Week and yet another small town wants a book banned. What will they do next, burn books they don’t like? It seems to me if you don’t like a book, don’t read it. I want to know what gives a few the idea that they can dictate what others read, write or paint. The arts have always been attacked by small minded people. I think you should be allowed to read what ever you please. I may not like it but who cares.

Freedom is for everyone not just a few. Some books that have been banned are now called the greatest literary works. Ever hear of a little book called “To Kill a Mockingbird”?

Go read a banned book and be glad you still have that freedom. So what book will you read?

Suggestions:

The Catcher in the Rye

Catch-22

The Great Gatsby

Slaughterhouse five

Kite Runner

Have a great time reading friends. Cheers!

Halloween fun for all.

Well, we are winding down Coffin Hop for another year. You don’t have to miss all the lovely writers and creepy stories. You can visit them anytime. I do hope you will stop in and visit me too. So on Halloween at 5 p.m. PST Princess will pull a name from a bag. 

I always look forward to Halloween all year round. I dress up for the whole day, after all you get a good costume might as well wear it. This is the first year I am going as a ghosts. I have a few Halloween traditions. Breakfast and then dress up. I make a nice spicy chili for tea. I bake cookies or cupcakes in ghost shapes too. I give gifts also to my loved ones and friends. I find fun things to make them smile and pop in some yummy candy. My Halloween Village will be on and the garden will be lit up. We will read nice spooky stories before bed too. I will post pictures of Princess and I dressed up.

Do you have any Halloween traditions? I would love to hear about them. I want to Thank you also for visiting my blog and all the kind words. I am writing and hope to have a new book out by the first of the year.

Princess and I will see you Halloween after she picks a winner.

Coffin Hop stop at RAF Chicksands...

Grab your cup of tea and settle in now. I do hope you are enjoying Coffin Blog Hop. So many spooky fun writers so little time. Please be sure to enter their contest. 

So now I want to take you to an out of the way spot in England. When I lived there last I visited a small RAF Base called RAF Chicksands. On this Base was a Priory it was used during WWII and was being turned into a small museum at the Base. It has quite a history. I do love history filled places, they always have ghosts. 

The Priory is also mentioned in the doomsday Book 1086. It started out as a Catholic Priory built about 1147. Henry the VIII sold it after he de-solved the church. It was a home and used during WWII. The tale doesn’t end there. 

There is a tale that a Num was walled up in the Cloisters. She can be seen on the 17th day of each month. The day I was there was the 17th June 1994. It is said that you can see other ghosts there too. Monks, nuns and horsemen have been seen as well.

I visited on a cloudy rainy day. It was chilly and damp. I walked through the museum and saw many wonderful items from WWII. It is a beautiful building and grounds. I had the feeling I was being walked with as I explored the building. I took pictures of the Priory as I was leaving.  Well, you be the judge for yourself. Myself I believe it’s her. I think that is the Nun. My friend with me said after seeing them said must be her. I hope you enjoy the pictures I took them with an instant camera back in 1994. I do hope someday to return and revisit Chicksands. I understand it is all open now and I would love to see it all restored. If you are ever there go visit and call me to go with you. It’s in Bedfordshire between Hitchin and Bedford.

            The Priory Nun I think.

Now hop off to visit 

http://theflipsideofjulianne.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/coffinhop-day2-sixmillimeters/

http://redtash.com/post/34302486232/coffin-hop-day-2-todays-contest-is-so-easy

http://kimkoning.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/2663/

After I had written this I googled Chicksands and found it has a site and winderful pictures.

Chicksands website:

http://www.chicksandspriory.co.uk/index.html

Welcome to Hampton Court, loads of ghost!

 

So did you enjoy the 30 minute ride on the train from Waterloo station to Hampton Court? It is one of Henry the 8th favorite Castles well homes. It was built for parties and he did party. You can feel the past brush past  by you as you walk through the place. Now as for me I fancy living here. It is just beautiful in so many ways. Now in the Portrait gallery you my see Katherine running about. She was Henry's 5th wife. He only beheaded 2 wives not all as some think. He took this place from Cardinal Wolsey in exchange for his life, he died anyway on his way to The Tower of London. Henry lied to many about their lives most died. I love the gardens, if you are here again please take the carriage ride through the gardens it is delightful. Now I suggest we eat lunch here. It is reasonable and so good. It's a stew they have made for centuries and homemade bread. Yum.

When you walk through you're so lost in the History you just stare. I hate to take picture's inside many of the priceless tapestries are very fragile. The Royal Embroider's they are here as well. They still do all the work on the Royal families clothes like weddings and such. You can also see where many King and Queens added their own touches. The chapel is lovely with the stars on the ceiling. I like that you can buy seeds here to grow flowers and herbs. The seeds come from the plants here. Sadly I wasn't allowed to return back to America with them. 

This is a beautiful place and you can stay the night here. I plan on it my next trip home. As you can see the clouds are rolling in time to head back to Central London. When you get off at Waterloo Station grab fish and chips from the green box, good price and ever so good. Head back up stairs grab a bench to eat it. Then check out station. Waterloo is haunted in more ways one. The Tube is in the basement and train on top. You can shop here as well. It was built in 1848 and I hear there is a party going on in the cellar. Have a look at a few pictures...

http://bit.ly/uEQyYR

Now if you are going to London go. Don't wait until you can hardly walk. So I am off to collect change in the settee to put in my TARDIS bank for my next trip home.

So Princess tells me we are giving away a sign book of Haunted Bedtime Stories. If you fancy yourself as the winner here is what you need to do. I wrote a blog about an article I wrote on London. So can you tell me where I feel like I am walking through History? Just DM me the answer on twitter by midnight Halloween night PST. Clue Oct. 2010.

Thank you so much for your time. I have had a flu jab and been rough this week and you have all been so kind. Thank you. See again soon. I hope to get to each blog myself. So time for a hop all are good so hop. Coffin hop.  http://coffinhop.blogspot.com

Cheers!

Tower Bridge, Tower of London

Hello Coffin-Hoppers, thank you for coming back for more. Well, we are standing on Tower Bridge. Unlike that silly woman I over heard say to her kids this is London Bridge. Yes, I corrected her. If you want to see London Bridge you need to head to American. It is proudly sitting On Lake Havasu, in Arizona. I hear its good to visit there.
Now Tower Bridge was built in Victorian era. Sadly many died building it. It still raises to let boats pass under and you can follow it on twitter. twrbrdg_itself Its good fun. This bridge took eight years to build. Let walk from over the bridge to The Tower of London.

Walk way

Engines

As you can just across the bridge is The Tower of London. We are on the North side of the river. This castle is was mostly built in the 13th century. It has been used as a prison up through the second world war. You find the Jewel House here where the Crown Jewels are keep. You have to stand in a queue to see jewels always. You can see the pearls that Queen Elizabeth I worn dangling from the crowns. Princess was mad I didn't bring a crown home to her. You can see why I said wear walking shoes, the cobble stones can be hard your feet. Traders Gate is where many unfortunate souls like Queen Anne Boleyn came in to the Tower. Now as for the ghosts there are many here. The two small prince's are just two you could see.  Walk through this castle you are walking through history of England. My first visit was on a school trip in grade school. I disappointed when we couldn't see a beheading. It's a fun place to walk around. 

Now come back Monday, I will meet you at Hampton Court. I fancy living there. I will also have a give-away. You could win a nice Halloween gift from me a signed copy of my book. So be back on Halloween.
If you like you can also follow Big Ben he tweets too.  @big_ben_clock Good way to keep track of time on twitter.
Thank you so much for your support. It has been nice to meet you all. So time to hop over to one of these spooky writers blogs http://coffinhop.blogspot.com