Celtic Moment

Mainly from these countries: France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany and England

• Holiday tray depicting Santa leaving gifts; measures 15-1/4 by 6-1/2 inches
• Heavyweight earthenware; chip-resistant; hard, glazed surfaces
• Red and green pattern on a pale cream background; intricate details
• Broad selection of coordinating pieces available for purchase
• Includes attractive gift box; dishwasher-, freezer-, and microwave-safe

Product Description
This historical and traditional pattern, Old British Castles, is certainly one of the best known patterns from Johnson Brothers and has been in production since 1930. This holiday, indulge in the many joys of teh season, including a table beautifully set with Old Britain Castles Pink Christmas. This charming Victorian-style pattern now features pink and spruce green designs – perfect for a festive gathering as well as a simulate plate of cookies for Santa. Th… More >>

Johnson Brothers Old Britain Castles Pink Christmas Rectangular Tray with Santa

• 12-piece dinnerware set, service for 4
• 4 each: 10-1/2 inch dinner plate; 8-inch salad plate; 3-7/8-inch mug
• Fine earthenware construction with fluted borders and notched rims
• Deep-pink pattern on ivory background depicts regal foliage and classic Christmas tree
• Safe for use in the dishwasher, microwave, and freezer

Product Description
This historical and traditional pattern, Old British Castles, is certainly one of the best known patterns from Johnson Brothers and has been in production since 1930. This holiday, indulge in the many joys of teh season, including a table beautifully set with Old Britain Castles Pink Christmas. This charming Victorian-style pattern now featuring pink and spruce green designs will make any holiday table instantly merry. A stunning statement for a fabulous meal…. More >>

Johnson Brothers Old Britain Castles 12-Piece Holiday Dinnerware Set, Service for 4

During my lifetime I have had many various supernatural experiences including hearing of stories that brings a chill to the back of the neck. Please don’t start reading these scary English ghost stories after dark – you have been warned. The first of four true stories concerns Fate.

The sport of Cricket has been played in one form or another for over 1,000 years in England. The game consists of 11 players per side and the object of the game is to bowl out the batsman who is defending a set of wickets.

 

Fate – Gods Revenge

Many years ago in a Hampshire Village in England there was a Cricket Match being played. Going into bat was Jack Smith aged 28 years of age, who had played for his team for many years. During the course of his innings he hit many runs and reached 55 when the weather changed and started to get grey and overcast.

Just as he was about to make a run, after hitting the ball, Lightening appeared from nowhere and struck him on the foot and knocked him a distance of many metres.

Suffice to say, he was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital where he was treated for slight burns and nerve damage.

Over the next twelve months he recuperated and finally recovered from his shocking experience.

One day he was sitting watching TV when he received a visit from his old cricketing pal, Bill. It transpired that the cricket team were short of players and Jack was asked if he would like to play a match the following Sunday. After much persuasion, he agreed to play for the village team the following Sunday.

The sun was bright and hot that Sunday with lots of spectators watching including his parents. The game progressed with the opposition making 158 runs all out. Then Jacks team went into bat with the hot sun still shining and just before Tea Jacks team were on 76 for 4 wickets when a team mate was bowled. It was Jack’s turn to bat, so on he walked to the crease and waited with bated breath for the first ball. All of a sudden the weather changed and it became very dark and cloudy and before he could hit the first ball an almighty bang and lightening strike hit Jack on the head and he was thrown over 100 Metres, dead as a dodo.

I was told this true story by one of the Cricket Players who happened to also be a good friend. In truth, he asked me to play that same match but I was too busy to play (thank god) I believe in fate and God and I believe that when your time is up your time is up.

 

The Haunted Bible

The second story concerns my life in Gosport when I was 13 years old. One day my step mother and her friend went to a house contents sale where my step mother brought a silver covered bible. About a week later our TV went on the blink and a repairman was called in to sort out the problem.

The doorbell rang and at the door stood the TV repairman. He refused to enter the house because he felt an evil presence and he described and asked if there was a bible with a silver cross on the cover. When he was told that, yes it was a recent acquisition, the repairman told my step mother to burn the bible to cleanse the evil presence. This she did and when the TV repairman returned he told her the evil had gone. Months later she read in the paper that the TV repairman had been sacked for scaring customers with his psychic abilities.

 

The Hauntings at Arundel Castle

The third story concerns Arundel Castle in Sussex which is often said to be home to just four ghosts but there are more ghostly goings on between its ancient walls than first meets the visitor. The spirit of the first Earl of Arundel, who originally built the castle, is said to still haunt the Castle’s Keep. Another spirit is said to be of a young woman who, stricken with grief from a tragic love affair, took her own life by jumping to her death from one of the towers. Seen by some, she is said to still haunt the castle on moonlit nights dressed in white. Another spirit is that of a ‘Blue Man’ who has been seen within the library since the 1630s and it is thought that he could be a Cavalier due to his time period seeming to be from King Charles I’s reign. Another notable ‘spirit’ is that strangely of a white owl like bird. Legend tells that if the white bird is seen fluttering in one of the windows, it is an imminent warning of a death of a Castle resident or someone closely associated. It’s interesting to note here that Dukes used to keep a colony of white American Owls here at the castle before its restoration. There is also mention of a servant lad who once lived at the castle who was treated very badly until beaten to his death. He is said to now haunt the kitchen area and has been seen scrubbing pots and pans. Another strange sighting was more recent in 1958 by a footman. Working late one night on the ground floor the footman was walking near the servant’s quarters and saw what he thought to be a man walking in front of him when he thought he had been alone. As he got closer to the apparition the man faded and then was gone.

 

Mrs Duncan – The Last Witch to be Tried in England

The fourth story concerns the last person to be tried as a witch was a Mrs Duncan, a Scotswoman who travelled the country holding seances, was one of Britain’s best-known mediums, reputedly numbering Winston Churchill and George VI among her clients, when she was arrested in January 1944 by two naval officers at a seance in Portsmouth. The military authorities, secretly preparing for the D-day landings and then in a heightened state of paranoia, were alarmed by reports that she had disclosed – allegedly via contacts with the spirit world – the sinking of two British battleships long before they became public. The most serious disclosure came when she told the parents of a missing sailor that his ship, HMS Barham, had sunk. It was true, but news of the tragedy had been suppressed to preserve morale.

Desperate to silence the apparent leak of state secrets, the authorities charged Mrs Duncan with conspiracy, fraud, and with witchcraft under an act dating back to 1735 – the first such charge in over a century. At the trial, only the “black magic” allegations stuck, and she was jailed for nine months at Holloway women’s prison in north London. Churchill, then prime minister, visited her in prison and denounced her conviction as “tomfoolery”. In 1951, he repealed the 200-year-old act, but her conviction stood.

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

The Chinese call Britain ‘The Island of Hero’s’ which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

Originally posted 2010-10-28 23:37:25.

Preview of Vayacondios’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: www.travelpod.com This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Cahir, Ireland Entry Title: “I Do Like Castles” Entry: “Regretfully we decided we couldn’t stay with Cathleen forever, so we packed up & headed North. First stop was the Jameson’s Brewery tour in Midleton – Peter does like Jamesons. The old brewery buildings were lovely & the tour quite interesting, but the best bit for me was the comparative whisky tasting I got to take part in at the end. We compared a single malt, a bourbon & Jamesons. Since Jamesons is triple distilled it is very smooth (though smoothness is not always what you want in whisky!). Next we came to Lismore – a beautiful ancient town, with a cathedral & a castle & lovely walk along the Blackwater River. The monastery at Lismore was founded by St Carthage in 636AD! Makes everything in Australia, bar the Aboriginal sites of course, seem very, very nouveau. Unfortunately the Duke (of Devonshire) was not at home & I’m not sure he got my ATC request (must have been eaten by the Spam filter, I reckon) – so we had to carry on. My plan was that we take a narrow road through the mountains, but somehow we missed the turnoff, Peter got agitated about where we were spending the night & we headed for a main road. I was grumpy, he was rushing – so it was by the Grace of our Father, who has spoilt us rotten the whole way, that we …

During a period of time from the late 18th century to the early 20th century much of the world went through a period of time, in terms of architecture, called the Gothic Revival. This revival was a renewed interest in the architecture and styling of buildings during the Middle Ages. The focus was on the late period castles that were more of a manor home than a fortress.

This period of time also matched a period of very high prosperity in the United States and there were many wealthy individuals and organizations that built castles fashioned in this Gothic Revival style. Technically, very few of these buildings can be called true castles because they weren’t built with defense and armament in mind; They were more designed as manor houses but they still incorporated all of the wonderful and impressive architectural style that we come to associate with true castles. Many of them remain to this day and have found unique ways to continue to flourish. Some are museums, some are bed and breakfasts, some are wineries, and others are still living quarters. Here is a short list of some of these beautiful structures.

New England, being the oldest part of the country, was also one of the richest during the gothic revival and there are many impressive castles peppered throughout the New England states. The most famous of all of the locations is Newport Rhode Island where Belcourt Castle, The Breakers, and Ochre Court can be found. Belcourt Castle is a legitimate castle and The Breakers and Ochre Court are mansions. These buildings are a testament to the wealth generated by early 20th century manufacturing. Nearby Massachusetts also has its share and one of the most notable is Herreshoff Castle in Marblehead. It was built in the early 20th century and is fashioned after a castle built by the famous Viking Lief Erickson and it is now a bed and breakfast. Also of note in Massachusetts is Hammond Castle, which is located in Gloucester. The inventor John Hammond built it in the early 20th century and it is now a museum.

As we move away from New England and west across the country we find many more castles that were built near large industrial cities where their builders usually made their riches. One of the most remarkable of these is Boldt Castle located on Heart Island in New York. The builder was the proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Another noted castle is one in Michigan called Curwood Castle. James Oliver Curwood who was a very famous writer of adventure stories built it. Grey Towers Castle was built by two brothers in the sugar refinery business and is located in a suburb of Philadelphia. It is a National historic Landmark and is currently open to tours and is quite a large and magnificent structure. Henderson Castle located in Kalamazoo Michigan is another spectacular structure that is also now a bed and breakfast.

As we travel across the continent we come finally to California which was a mecca for money, power, and castle building. There are many structures that are still being used today and notable of these is Castello Di Amorosa, which is a working winery.

We end our look at some of the castles in America at one of the most famous, and most opulent. This is Hearst Castle located in San Simeon California. It was built by the media mogul William Randolph Hearst and epitomized the power and money of early Twentieth century politics and Hollywood. It is open to the public and is something that every medieval enthusiast should see.

When we think of medieval castles images of mountain top structures in England and Germany come to mind but America has also built its share of these magnificent structures. There are literally hundreds, and many of them are still in use today as bed and breakfasts or museums. So if you want to see a medieval castle but don’t have the money to travel to Europe there are probably some beautiful options right in your home state.

Originally posted 2010-08-25 23:36:32.

Traveling north into Scotland, we’ll show you a handful of the more than 70 castles that dot the beautiful countryside. You’ll see one of the oldest and youngest of these special houses and spend a good deal of time around Stirling. It is not only home to one of Scotland’s most famous castles but is a town important to the history of this region and this country. The tour begins at Traquair, the oldest continuously inhabited house in Scotland. In central Scotland, we visit Stirling Castle and Doune Castle, highlighted in the 1974 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In western Scotland, we stop at Cliff-top Culzean Castle. George Bauer, the Traveler, is a radio and television journalist with 30 years of experience. He’s been a reporter and anchor on local stations and national networks in the United States and Great Britain. Now he has decided to change course and give in to a nagging desire–to travel and tell others about exciting places across the globe. The Seasoned Traveler is a unique series created especially for today’s over-50 explorer. Award-winning broadcast journalist and travel aficionado George Bauer presents destinations and useful travel tips in a style that is informative, fast-paced and fun. The series caters to both the active explorer and the traveler who prefers a more relaxed pace.

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Famous Medieval Castles: The Ultimate Guide on Castles in England, German Castles, Scottish Castles, Castles in Ireland, Castles in Wales, and More Famous Middle Ages Castles

Medieval Castles are rich in historical significance. For instance, castles had many architectural touches for security purposes. One defense mechanism was a moat, a body of water that encircled the castle. A drawbridge could be raised so attacking forces would have to figure out a … More >>

Famous Medieval Castles: The Ultimate Guide on Castles in England, German Castles, Scottish Castles, Castles in Ireland, Castles in Wales, and 70+ Famous Middle Ages Castles

• Stamps
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• Palaces

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British Post Office issue… More >>

4 Stamps British Castles and Palaces

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Allington Castle stands beside the River Medway about a mile north of Maidstone. This beautiful, moated castle seems perfect, but the perfection has been contrived in modern times.

Henry II destroyed a Norman castle after the revolt of 1173-74. The low mound immediately southwest of the present castle represents the motte and some herringbone masonry is visible in the curtain facing it. Other than that, Sir Stephen de Penchester, Constable of Dover Castle an… More >>

Castles Of England – Interesting Facts And Information