Feathers - A Collage of Short Stories

8/2/2019 Feathers - A Collage of Short Stories

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CONTENTS

A Celebration of Life

Deaths Dark Vale

If You Go Down in the Woods Today

Singled Out

The Court Of Queen Elizabeth

What Is Luck?

A Wedding With A Difference

More Than Just A Christmas Decoration

The Burning Question

The Season of Goodwill

Who Is Santa Claus?


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A CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Its mid day and the temperature is touching 35C. Its hot, sticky andIm having my photograph taken in front of a very colourful ornatestructure.

The traffic is heavy and noisy and exhaust fumes fill the air.

Soon all this will cease, if only for a few minutes, while the ceremonybegins and the procession moves away.

But where am I?

I could be in the middle of any polluted city at rush hour but I am, infact, outside a house on a main dusty road in Denpasar, capital of Baliin Indonesia.

The colourful, ornate structure I am standing in front of is actually atype of hearse.

I am awaiting the start of the biggest and most celebrated occasionsthat can happen here on Bali. It happensto be the number one ceremony. It is a Balinese cremation. Thisceremony is not morbid or mournful. It is more like a carnivalprocession and attracts large numbers of camera toting tourists.

The locals encourage visitors to take part in what they look upon as apassing to a higher level of life. It represents the destruction of thebody and the release of the soul so that it can be reunited with the

supreme god.

On this occasion an old lady has died and her body is lying inside thebuilding just yards from where I am standing.


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Outside in the small courtyard a group of musicians, dressed in black,are making lots of clumsy metallic noises on large xylophones whichare known as gamelans. The sound from these instruments carriesacross the street.

The ornate structure is a high multi tiered tower made of bamboo,tinsel, silk, paper, string, mirrors, cloth, flowers and other bits of thingswhich are bright and colourful.

The tower represents the cosmos and the base symbolises thefoundation of the world. Towards the top of the base is a space for thecoffin to be placed on. A parasol is mounted at each corner of the

base and a large grotesque mask , with bulbous eyes and fangs, andwith large colourful outstretched wings, dominates the rear. Above thisis a large framed photograph of the deceased.

A funeral sarcophagus in the form of a white cow stands nearby. Thecow represents the female person while a bull sarcophagus representsthe male person.

Soon the formalities will begin. A group of about 20 young menemerge from the building and take up their positions around the baseof the tower. The musicians follow next and proceed to the front of theprocession. The coffin, draped in white cloth, is carried from the houseand placed upon the awaiting platform. Close relatives secure thecoffin to the base with rope. Food offerings are placed upon the coffin.

The group of young males lift the whole structure, containing the coffinand a close male relative sitting alongside it, onto their shoulders readyto move off with the rest of the procession.

Now the noise really starts. The musicians are taking the lead makinglots and lots of noise and clattering sounds, followed by thesarcophagus, on which sits another male relative who is busilysplashing water all over people who are standing nearby watching theprocession pass by.

The towere, meanwhile, is moving quite precariously along the


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highway, swaying and rocking as it goes. Telephone cables that crossthe street are raised with the aid of long wooden poles so that thetower can proceed without obstruction. The whole scene is uttermayhem!!

Relatives and close friends follow directly behind and then the cameratoting tourists behind thtem. The everyday traffic, which is by nowbecoming a long tailback, completes the procession.

This entourage carries on for about half a mile when it reaches acrossroads. At this point the tower is rotated 3 times in order toconfuse the soul of the deceased to prevent it finding its way backhome.

The whole kaboodle then turns into a narrow lane which leads to thecremation site. The site being used today is like a small graveyard withtwo very high trees at its centre. It is between these trees that thecremation would take place.

A high canopy had been erected between the trees and thesarcophagus had been placed beneath it.

The coffin was removed from the tower and carried around the outsideof the canopy 3 times to the sound of the chanting musicians. The lidwas taken off the coffin and the body removed. The body was coveredin white sheets and placed inside the sarcophagus. At this stage themale relatives sat on one side while the females sat opposite them.

A bamboo screen of about one metre high was erected at the base ofthe sarcophagus in a haphazard fashion.

Large drums of kerosene are placed nearby to which a long metal pipewith spray holes is attached. As the kerosene is sprayed up at the

sarcophagus it is set alight. The entire structure soon becomes ablazeas more kerosene is pumped through, so that the flames become morefierce.

Lots of smoke is emitted from the scene but only the odour in the air isthat of kerosene. Burning flesh cannot be detected!


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During the actual burning, a group of male dancers appear on thescene, adorned in black and white checkered attire and wearingpointed hats. They dance around the site making lots of clamour.

The sarcophagus only takes about 20 minutes to burn and when it hasalmost been reduced to a shell, two men come along and poke andprod at the remains of the flaming mass to reveal the now partiallyburned corpse.

The charred body slips out from the burning pyre and is suspended fora few minutes between the remaining shell of the sarcophagus and thescreen of bamboo below. This is clearly visible to the spectators but it

is not a stomach churning sight!

The men continue to poke at the remains and by now the body isalmost completely reduced to a skeleton. Whats left falls out of sightand into the embers below.

This continues to burn and at the end of the ceremony the eldest sonpicks through the ashes to make sure there are no bits of body leftunburned.

Finally, this noisy and colourful procession heads towards the ocean ora nearby river to scatter the ashes.


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DEATHS DARK VALE

Two countries in Europe have experienced the loss of a generation ofchildren. One may have been fiction but the other was certainly fact!Germany and Wales may have something in common when it comesto lost generations but thats where the similarity ends. Hamelin lost itschildren to a rat catcher - Aberfan lost its children to a mountain!

In Hamelin the children were led away into a mountain by the PiedPiper because it was claimed that the townsfolk wouldnt pay him forridding them of rats. In Aberfan the mountain came down and took

away the children because it was claimed that the Coal Board wouldntpay to have the slag heap, that had become that mountain, levelled off.

At the end of the day it would appear that there was one thing incommon - money!! Whats the cost of a rat catcher? Whats the costof coal? In both cases it was the children who paid the price!

Tragedy shows its face in many forms and its in the aftermath oftragedy that lessons are learned. But do we have to wait for things likethis to happen before we will really ever learn?

Wales and its industrial valleys have long been accustomed totragedies, especially within mining communities. In fact it becacme apart of life when something went wrong in the coal mines. Thesecommunities were always living under the shadow of death. But thetragedy that was to beset Aberfan was one that not only made animpact on Wales, but the whole world.

It has left a scar that will never heal in the hearts of the families even

though the scars made on that hillside in October 1966 have beencosmetically hidden.

When tragedy strikes in any family the grief is shared amongst the veryclose members of the family and friends. When a tragedy happens onthis scale it leaves a sense of total devastation that is felt by an entirenation.


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There had been some concern about the tip some years before whenthe people of Aberfan had complained that it had been piling higherand that a stream was filtering through beneath it and that there hadalways been the danger of it shifting.

It had been noted in the minutes of the meeting of Merthyr Tydfilcouncils planning committee in January 1964 that there had beentrouble from the slurry causing flooding and that if the tip were to moveit could pose a threat to the school below it.

Friday the 21st of October was like any other day. Aberfan was wakingup. Mothers were clearing up after breakfast and preparing theirchildren for school, just like thousands of others all over the country.

There had been two days of continual heavy rain and the chill Octobermorning was made even more sinister by the clinging fog which hadengulfed the valley like a shroud.

At Pantglas school the children had been happily playing and chattingoutside in the playground just before 9am, then they had gone intomorning assembly. Just after assembly had finished they went to theirrespective classrooms to begin their first lessons and were waiting forthe teachers to call the register.

Without warning and with a frightening suddenness disaster struck. Aheavy rumbling noise echoed across the valley and the entire villagewas engulfed in black dust. Then followed an eerie stillness whichfilled the air, though only for a few minutes. Out of the debris camescreams for help and mayhem broke out within the community.

Mothers, horrified at what they could now see, couldnt believe whatthey were witnessing. They ran to the scene and began clawing at the

mud and slime trying to get at their children. Wreckage from a farmhad been carried down into the playground and the school and a row ofterraced cottages had been strewn for over a quarter of a mile.

When rescuers arrived they were hampered by the fog which was stillcovering the area. Their first task was to tend to the dozens ofdistraught women who had been desperately digging with their bare


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hands looking for loved ones. Miners from two nearby collieries werebrought to the scene as well as troops to help form chains to removethe slag, bucket by bucket.

Some onlookers claimed that the mountainside had travelled a quarterof a mile in less than a minute, so anything and anyone in its pathwouldnt have stood a chance of survival.

Some children had been lucky because the bus that they had beentravelling on had been delayed by the fog.

The biggest tragedy of all was that the pupils were due to break up fortheir half term holiday at noon that very day.

The rescue operation had also come across difficulties when a brokenwater main added to the problems and had flooded most of the areaand was now turning the slag into mud. The whole scene washeartbreaking as ashen faced people stood and watched the rescuersattempting to dig out victims. Bare hands, shovels, picks, buckets,literally anything that could be used was used to dig at the rubble.Trucks were going backwards and forwards removing loads of slag.The playground itself was underneath 45 feet of slagheap.

Of the other children who had been lucky enough to escape when onlypart of their classroom collapsed some were able to give a graphicdescription of the scene. They described it by saying that they hadheard a rumbling noide and the next thing they saw was desks andchairs flying around the room and that there were stones and sludgeeverywhere.

During the rescue attempt it had become very clear that one of thegreatest dangers was that of more rain and everybody was praying thatthis would not happen.

The entire nation was in a state of shock and those shockwaves hadechoed across the world. Aberfan was now headline news in all of theworlds papers. All in all 2000 men and women had worked underfloodlights during the night to recover the bodies of the remainingvictims. It was now obvious that no one else would be found alive.


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Most of the school had been uncovered but it would take weeks beforethe entire area could be cleared.

200 men from the warship Tiger were sent in by the navy to help keepsightseers away from the village. Tributes poured in from all over theworld including one from the Pope and the Queen, who would later bevisiting the scene, sent a message of shock to the people of Aberfan.The Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil set up a disaster fund for the bereavedfamilies.

The mass burial was to take place on 26th October 1966. 40 villagechildren had already been buried or cremated in private ceremoniesthroughout the district. More than 500 relatives had been issued withtickets for the communal burial. A request had been made that people

from outside of Aberfan should stay away as a mark of respect andalso allow the village to become accessible for the mourners. A dayfor the villagers of Aberfan alone. No cars were to be allowed into thevillage until after the funeral.

The Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil - Alderman Stanley Davies , led theofficial party through the village centre up the steep, twisting road tothe churchyard. As coffins were lowered into the ground LovingShepherd Of Thy Sheep and Jesu, Lover Of My Soul reverberatedthrough that grief stricken valley on that very sad day when the worldhad come to say farewell to a lost generation.

Today, a new highway cuts through what once was that tip. Trees andshrubs grow in a peaceful landscaped parkland area which was thesite of this terrible tragedy. The rows of white marble arches, whichserve as headstones to the victims, can be seen clearly across thevalley, and seems to act as a landmark poining out the sad reminderof the tragic event which took place here some 40 years ago.

Soon after the tragedy the finger of blame was being pointed at theNational Coal Board. A spokesperson acting on its behalf claimed thatbecause of the abnormal amount of rainfall the incident had beenbrought about by a freak of nature.

Unfortunately a total of 144 lives were lost, 116 of those being childrenwhose ages ranged from 7 to 11 years old.


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Aberfan is still a very close knit community and everyone in that villageat that time lost someone to that mountain. Is it any wonder that thisissue is still a very sensitive one to the people who live there?


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IF YOU GO DOWN IN THE WOODS TODAY

The narrow winding lane held a sense of excitement as I drove along ittowards my destination. It was a tarmac surface but one could haveimagined what it must have looked like back in the 16 th century when itwas only a dirt track used by coaches and horses. It snaked its waydown through the densely wooded valley in a setting that would haveappeared very unwelcoming during the hours of darkness.

I also had a feeling of apprehension about the place as the trees oneither side of the road seemed as if they were trying to cross over andtouch each other, or perhaps even meet and form a barrier to preventanyone from reaching their journeys end. I hoped that I wouldnt meetanother car coming in the opposite direction because it would havebeen virtually impossible to pass. Ramps had been strategicallyplaced along the lane to prevent speeding traffic.

The odd shaft of daylight flickered through the thick foliage which madethe rays of sunlight appear to dash in and out of the forest, as if playinghide and seek.

The tranquility of the surroundings had suddenly been interrupted by awild rabbit which had scurried in front of the car.

The atmosphere was so electric that I was expecting a headlesscavalier or some other wandering spectre to materialise out of theundergrowth and scare me away.

Then, as if from nowhere, it appeared.

So this was Berry Pomeroy Castle which I had heard so much about.Right in front of me stood the ruins of what is reputed to be one of themost haunted places in England. It certainly looked very daunting,


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suddenly appearing out of the blue in a clearing in the woods. Justgazing at it made me shudder as it looked so cold and uninviting.

The grey stone walls seemed to be urging me to stay away!!

There was moss and various other types of lichen cascading from thebattlements and ivy was clinging, as if in sheer terror, to the walls ofthe infamous haunted tower.

It certainly made my imagination run wild to think what the place musthave looked like in its glory days and what dark sinister secrets it held.

I could have been miles away from anywhere but I was only 7 miles

from Torbay and just 2 miles from Totnes.

It seemed as if I had been lost in a time warp.

Theres not much left of the castle to see but the outer walls and gate house have been preserved along with the ruins of the old stonemansion.

It was the home of the Pomeroy family until 1547 and then of EdwardSeymour, Duke of Somerset.

English Heritage look after it now and an admission charge is levied forentrance to the ruins although access to the grounds is free. It opensbetween May and October.

The castle really has a reputation for attracting visitors because of theghostly goings on. Local legend believed that kidnappings and darkdeeds went on here and that an evil force still prevails.

Whatever, it has all the trappings of a romantic and mysterious setting.

The stillness of the building and the absence of wild birds flying aroundor roosting in the trees, which Id expected to see, added to theeeriness, which made my flesh creep!


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Nestling among the trees on the edge of the clearing, and opposite thegatehouse, was a wooden shack. This could have been mistaken for awoodcutters hut but was in fact a tearoom and gift shop.

This all added to the character of the place as it reminded me ofsomething from Hansel and Gretel.

I didnt stay for refreshments as I couldnt wait to be back at the top ofthe lane and return to the 20th century and civilization again!!


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SINGLED OUT

Nowadays there are many people all over the world who travel on theirown using scheduled or charter flights. They may be going to see theirfriends or relatives , away on a business trip or just taking a holidayalone. But whatever, they will be on their own not knowing anybodythroughout the entire flight.

If you fall into this category perhaps you might agree, or disagree, thatthe airline company could do something about it to make your journeyeasier by perhaps allocating a section of the aircraft for this type oftraveler.

For instance, if a section of the aircraft were set aside for the lonetraveler it could make a difference in the way that person enjoys theflight, or doesnt enjoy it!

The cabin crew could get involved by introducing a getting to knowyou session which could be in the form of an ice breaker aimed atlone travelers.

During the flight all the people falling into this category may find thatthey share something in common with the person sitting next to them.This could give them something to talk about during times when thereis either no entertainment on board or when there is a break in the in-flight entertainment..

On the other hand, there could be the argument that some peoplewould prefer to be left alone but in general this would probably be theminority.

I myself have travelled alone on several occasions and it is surprisinghow many others do the same. Usually, by the end of the flight Ivebeen able to chat to the person sitting next to me and got to know them


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and we have kept each other company. Sometimes you even end upwith having made new friends who tend to keep in touch with you longafter having broken the ice.

When a lone traveler is seated among a group of people or a familywho are travelling together it becomes more difficult to join in with theirconversation or interests because, after all, they are travelling togetherand may not want you to become part of their group.

Airlines may object to the idea of having to allocate a section of theaircraft to the lone traveler but if this is the case they could try andplace people in this category together on check-in, besides, people areasked at check-in if they are travelling alone or with someone else!

Obviously there are the plus and the minus factors in doing thisexercise because all of us have different opinions, especially whentravelling alone, and even moreso if the flight happens to be long-haul.Its not so bad if the flight is only about 2 3 hours because you couldfind yourself sitting next to someone who cant or wont stop talking orvice-versa. That is the risk everyone takes whether or not they aretravelling alone.

The concept of this is worth a thought though and perhaps in the futuresome airlines might adapt this who knows?


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THE COURT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH

The torrid romance blossomed into one of the most publicisedrelationships of the sixties here in the steamy jungle on MexicosPacific coast.

It was behind the walls of Casa Kimberley where Elizabeth Taylor andRichard Burton made their love nest.

He was her Antony and she his Cleopatra!

Perched in the hills above the Rio Cuale at 445 Calle Zaragoza, andnicknamed Gringo Gulch by the locals, stands the rambling whitevilla. The couple rented it at first during the filming of Night of theIguana in 1963 before Burton bought it as a wedding present for Liz.

It is located in a cobbled back street in Puerto Vallarta and would betypical of a well todo Mexicans home rather than someone of thesuperstar status of Elizabeth Taylor.

The villa was built circa 1957 by Bill Wilson and named after hisdaughter Kimberley. It stands on three levels and is centred around apicturesque courtyard with papaya, banana plants and coconut palmsfor vegetation.

Large irregular shaped coloured stones, appearing to resemble giantpebbles plucked from a nearby beach, comprise the lower outer wall.This wall appears to have been the original foundation on which theproperty was built because the floor directly above is of a different and

more modern material. It seems that what must have been a walledenclosed courtyard has eventually been turned into the dwelling as it istoday. Like the pumpkin turning, as if by magic, into Cinderellascoach.

Bouganvilla, honeysuckle and hibiscus cascade down the wall and thetop is edged with barbed wire to keep out unwelcome intruders.


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The entrance into the property is through a pair of heavy black wroughtiron gates which hang in an archway. To the right hand side of thisarchway, a white oval ceramic plaque, edged with a blue floral design,is mounted on the wall. In the centre of the plaque the words CasaKimberley are inscribed, with a pair of doves facing each other and aheart below, again in blue. To the left of the plaque are the numbers445 set in blue on smaller white ceramic tiles. Above the arch is an oldfashioned hand bell which serves for decorative purposes only as thereis also a modern electric push button bell on the side of the wall forvsistors to press to gain access.

Once inside, a terraced and tiered shady courtyard awaits with a verylarge framed black and white photograph of Liz herself gracing the foot

of the stone steps which lead up to the next level. This courtyard ispeppered with exotic plants and pottery and serves as a cool retreatfrom the searing heat outside.

At the top of the steps you enter a foyer area and there on display arepictures of Liz and Burton depicted on posters of the films Giant andBoom. The wooden furniture that graces this level is original and afountain acts as a centre piece. There is also a photograph of Liz withJohn Wayne on display.

Another short flight of steps, adorned with more pictures, posters offilms and large ornate mirrors, leads into the main part of the house.This part of the house incorporates the kitchen area, dining area andliving area.

The kitchen area is set behind an L shaped breakfast bar withwooden panelling above and has original hand-blown glass plates anddishes decorating the walls. These pieces of glass are each differentand made to Lizs specifications.

The dining area is directly opposite and includes a long woodensideboard and the table is made of wrought iron, painted white with aclear glass top and has six chairs to match.

The living area has plenty of space and seating, some of it bench typearound the walls, and also a couple of suites. It also has a day bed for


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relaxation. Large occasional tables make up the rest of the furniturealong with more wrought iron chairs, again in white.

This entire area is lavishly decorated with memorabilia of the stars andthere are photographs of Liz everywhere you look. Old posters of filmsthat she and Burton appeared in, decorate some of the walls.

Personal photograph albums are on view along with oddments whichthe couple had collected over the years adorning the tables andshelves. The floor is of pale grey marbled tiles throughout.

The place is so alive with their presence that you expect Liz to comewalking in at any minute.

The ceilings are painted white with beams running across. The oceanfacing side of this area consists of three enormous walk through picturewindows with louvred doors on either side of each one leading out onto the balcony edged with iron railings overlooking the street below.

The view from here looks out across to Mismaloya, the Pacific Ocean,the old quarter of Puerto Vallarta in the foreground and the Rio Cualeriver to the left, disappearing up the creek and into the heavily jungledSierra Madre.

Directly opposite this area, and on the same level, is a small squarecourtyard enclosed by the guest bedrooms. There are four bedroomshere and each bedroom is named after a film the couple appeared in:The VIPs, Taming of the Shrew, Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf andThe Comedians. All bedrooms have their own en suite bathroom andare interconnected.

Liz and Richard used to use the bedroom named The Comedians untilthe penthouse was added on to the building at a later stage. She

would take her own chef, chauffeur, nanny for the children and dogswith her when they went to stay in the house.

The courtyard is typically Mexican with the bedrooms having a palaparoof. There were no other houses around here at the time so it wasvery private for Liz and her family.


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Back in the main building, and on the left, a flight of stairs ascends tothe penthouse which was used as the couples bedroom. There is amatrimonial size bed here, which is not the original, and again photosof Liz adorn the place. Even her make-up and lipsticks remainoriginals I was told. There are also personal birthday and Christmascards on show here that had been sent to her by other well-knowncelebrities.

A wedding photo of Liz and Larry Fortensky sits on the dressing table.

The most amazing photo I saw here was a black and white one takenby her close friend film actor Roddy McDowell. In it she can be seenholding one of her children, as a baby, up to her face and you can seethat she is wearing no make-up and has curlers in her hair!! This is a

beautiful, natural and maternal photograph.

The story has it that when she sold the property, she left everything init, other than a couple of paintings that she took from the walls in theliving area, and that Larry Fortensky wouldnt enter the building, butwaited outside for her in the street whilst she collected these items.

The furniture and decor of this bedroom was of Lizs choosing and itappears that she was very fond of the colour purple.

The view from the bedroom is the same as the one from the living areadirectly beneath. Richard Burton is said to have called this room thescrew with a view!

Leading out of here, a patio area and balcony are reached, where Lizcould relax and not be seen by prying eyes. She had a large typeawning fitted which stretched out across the entire area.

Descending back into the lounge area and reached through a wide

archway is the bar area. This is where the notorious drunken partiestook place. Here in this bar are the two original thrones used in the filmCleopatra. The actual bar is an original altar taken from a churchwhich was being demolished and has been restored now to a finepiece of artwork. It is wooden and depicts various saints on the panelsat the front.


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Behind this bar, an eight branched tree is painted on the wall. Thebranches have 17 candles in holders placed along them. Richardcalled this the tree of life.

A spiral staircase, made of iron, descends from the bar into the gamesroom below, with a pool table that has balls made of ivory!! There isalso a bookcase containing lots of novels written by Agatha Christieand in a biography written by Burton he declared that home is wherethe books are!

A small garden is adjacent to this part of the house.

Throughout the entire building there are slots in the walls which act asair conditioning. The air conditioning is natural, meaning that the

design is open and airy and that the breeze coming in from the Pacificwafts through and keeps the place pleasantly cool.

The games room leads back into the foyer where we started and itsfrom here that we leave the Taylor residence, if you like, and go outthrough an opening and onto the bridge that connects with the otherpart of the residence across the street.

The bridge is very ornate and connects the two properties at a heightof about 10 metres across the cobbled alley. It is apparently modelledon the Bridge of Sighs in Venice and is painted white. Oddly enough itdoesnt look out of place in a Mexican cobbled back street!

According to several stories, when Liz and Burton had a drunkenbrawl, she would banish him over to the property on the other side ofthe bridge, then later they would have the most explosive, foulmouthed slanging matches across the street to each other, that all thelocal neighbors could hear, much to their amusement. Some storieseven go as far in suggesting that every time this happened, which was

a regular occurrence, Burton would have the bridge demolished thenrebuilt again after they had kissed and made up! This is too far-fetchedto be true. Nevertheless, it reflects on how the couple lived and loved.

On the Burton side of the bridge we descend a small flight of stairswhich have pictures of the filming of Night of the Iguana on the walls.


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This part of the building is not so palacial as the Taylor residence butsmaller and quaint. Inside is a small inglenook area with a cornerstone feature fireplace cluttered with all sorts of oddments. Theseinclude an old fashioned, very early typewriter and a very old boxcamera. Similarly there are old letters and programmes from playsscattered about, along with posters adorning the walls as in the Taylorabode.

A lounge, dining room and kitchen lead out onto a terrace whichoverlooks the swimming pool, which is now in a very dilapidatedcondition.

At the side of the pool is the original hoist used to lift Liz in and out ofthe water because of her back problems.

Three bedrooms are opposite the living area and again are namedafter films: Night of the Iguana, Boom and Sandpiper. Each bedroomhas its own en suite bathroom.

This building is supposed to have been built on and around what wasonce a pig enclosure and its from here that the couple would be ableto make an easy getaway from the paparazzi who were continually ontheir doorstep. A secret passage led from here through theneighbouring property and out into another back alley.

Both properties still retain the 60s feel and one can imagine the scenein its heyday!

Today, Casa Kimberley is used as a bed and breakfast hotel andmuseum.

Despite all the publicity given to the former owners, whether good orbad, this is where they nurtured their passionate, wild and very public

love affair. They have certainly left their presence here, none moresothan Liz who reigned supreme here.

Its easy to see that in its day it was definitely the Court of QueenElizabeth!


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WHAT IS LUCK?

What is luck? Is it just a word we use for the sake of it or does it reallyhave a meaning?

Some of us believe in luck while others believe that luck is what wemake ourselves.

We all seem to agree that we have a certain amount of luck on ourside. Whether it be good or bad, most of us have experienced one or

the other, or perhaps a bit of both.

So, what is luck?

The dictionary defines it as: chance, success due to chance, thetendency of a person to be persistently fortunate or unfortunate.

Then there are the terms: Good luck! if we are trying to achieve anyparticular goal or by having a go on the lottert or some other form ofgambling, or by taking a chance! The same applies if someone says: best of luck.

In games of chance we somtimes use lucky numbers and some of usmight experience a stroke of luck or a winning streak ( a run of luck )

On the negative side we often hear : that was a bit of bad luck, or Im out of luck, when we may miss out on something or an opportunityhas passed us by.

Many people believe that they were either born lucky or unlucky andsome even believe that luck is in our genes!!

Luck is not a feeling even though its common to hear some people saythat they feel lucky. It is not an emotional sense because we expressemotions in different ways, but we cannot express luck! An emotion isa strong feeling such as fear, love, sorrow or excitement which is often


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accompanied by a physical reaction ( shaking, crying etc. ). So luckcertainly doesnt fall under this category.

Some people even try to attract luck by wearing or carrying charms ortalismans such as a horse-shoe, a four-leafed clover and even arabbits foot!!

The legends attached to these items is as follows:

The horse-shoe goes back to very early times when people believedthat a crescent shape was a very protective sign against evil. It shouldalso be noted that seven nails are used to affix the horse-shoe andseven is supposed to be the most important number in the world ofsuperstition.

The four- leafed clover dates back to druid times. The druidsbelieved that this type of clover possessed a power over evil. Becausefour-leafed clovers are more difficult to find, they have become asymbol of good luck.

The rabbits foot, if it is to be used as a lucky charm, should be theleft hind paw from a rabbit that hsa been killed at a full moon by a cros-eyed person and should always be carried in the left pocket. It isconsidered to be lucky because the rabbits hind legs touch the groundbefore its front paws, so legend says that magical powers areattributed to those limbs.

Superstition also tells us what things to avoid so as not to attract badluck. Things such as walking under a ladder, the number 13 and evenpeacock feathers.

Walking under a ladder is supposed to be unlucky because it wasbelieved that a ladder leaning against something formed a sacredtriangle and anyone walking through that triangle would be punished.


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The number 13 is associated with Jesus and his disciples. Judas wasthe thirteenth disciple who betrayed Christ.

The Hindus also came up with the idea that to have thirteen people ata gathering was considered to be unluck too.

As number 13 is widely accepted as being an unlucky number, its notuncommon to see addresses appearing without this number on thedoor.

People who have a fear of the number 13 are said to be suffering fromtriskaidekaphobia!!

Peacock feathers are supposed to be the evil eye. Also, in the 16th

century, these feathers were bestowed upon cheats and liars toindicate that they were traitors.

However, if you are the seventh son of a seventh son, you are doublyblessed with luck, but according to gypsies, the seventh daughter of aseventh daughter is equally blessed but also has the gift of being ableto tell an accurate future!!

Luck is often associated with the word fate. Fate being defined as: apower that supposedly predetermines events, the future of a person orpersons. This inevitably leads on to fortune telling or seeing into thefuture and there are many ways that this subject can be approached;the most common form is by the use of astrology in predicting thefuture and at the same time asking the eternal question will I belucky?

So you see the conclusion is more or less the same as the beginningof the article. What is luck? Judge for yourselves now that youve

finished reading about it.


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A WEDDING WITH A DIFFERENCE

To come across a druid style wedding ceremony in England today is avery rare occasion. The service is unusual, original, colourful andremarkable and has to be seen to reflect on what bygone days musthave been like.

Situated just off the A4 and midway between Calne and Marlborough inWiltshire, England, lies the village of Avebury.

It was a sunny day and the crowd had gathered outside the half-timbered, black and white thatch roofed Red Lion Inn eagerly awaitinga wedding.

The bride and groom were already there even though they were not yetjoined as man and wife.

The bride was dressed in a long multi-coloured flowing dress coveredby a three-quarter length oversized brown knitted woollen jacket. Herhead was crowned with a garland of ivy and she held a posy of SweetWilliam.

The groom was dressed in a brown, humbug striped V necked T shirt,a tan suede waistcoat, charcoal coloured trousers and a three-quarterlength black jacket. He wore a black top hat bedecked with evergreenand sticking out from it was a very long peacock feather!

The crowd consisted of men, women and children, some dressed in

modern attire, but most of them dresses for the occasion, wearinggarments that one would have associated with medieval times.

The younger members of the party had pierced noses and ears andthe women wore long flowing skirts and multi-coloured blanket typeshawls draped across their shoulders. The entire scene looked typical


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of peasant folk of days gone by. A group of druids mingled amongstthe crowd.

After the crowd had finished their pre-wedding drinks, they formed aprocession and moved off along the public footpath towards theirdestination. The whole affair resembled a fancy dress cross-countryrhike!

They crossed over the main highway and into the rolliong Wiltshiremeadowland until they reached the place where the ceremony wouldtake place.

The site was an ancient circle of stones, similar to the one atStonehenge, although not on the same scale. In the background and

above the sound of the movement of people, sheep could be heardbleating.

A white banner with a logo on it was being carried along attached to abroken branch.

As the group gathered around the circle of stones, one druid satcrouching on the grass, using a large stone as support, playing theharp.

The young couple who were getting married stood on opposite sides ofthe altar stone, while a young, long haired, bedraggled looking mandressed in an olde England minstrels outfit, played a guitar and sang afolk song to them.

Following the song, a druid of the High Priest order who was toconduct the ceremony, led the couple across to the main section of thecircle of stones and they stood in front of the two largest of the stoneformation.

The gathering of about 200 family and friends, who had followed totake part in the ceremony, had begun to assemble. Please find yournatural place and stop where you feel comfortable, one of the druidsshouted to them. When everyone had found their places a large widecircle was formed around the couple. The ceremony was about tobegin.


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The High Priest held a scythe attached to a long wooden staff whileconducting the ceremony. He stood in the centre of the circle ofpeople. I declare this place the temple of light and the temple of love.This is the opening of All Hallows, a time when the ancestors areamongst us, he said. He beckoned the couple to join him at thecentre of the circle along with their two witnesses and parents fromboth sides then blessed them all.

The couple and the High Priest then returned to the two large stones.I call upon the four elements to be present here today, he said, fire,water, earth and air now join us at this wedding feast. I call on thewater element to open up the circle. The surrounding circle of peoplethen opened out.

A man , dressed from head to toe in red, yellow and green ribbons, hishead covered by a grotesque green mask, joined the High Priest andthe couple during this part of the ceremony. This man then led thebride and groom, High Priest and the two witnesses, in that order, andwalked them once around the circle of people, returning them to theiroriginal positions in front of the two large stones.

Another druid joined them and said, I call upon the sword Excalibur tobe brought here. The sword, which had a very shiny steel double-edged blade and a black and gold handle, appeared and was held highabove the heads of the couple. This sword represents truth, honourand justice, he said. It was then lowered to the couple who placedtheir hands upon it while the High Priest draped part of his robe acrossit.

The couple then exchanged their vows, kissed each other andexchanged rings as a token of their love for one another. The crowdgave three cheers for them.

The parents were then called back into the immediate group and theHigh Priest requested that the outer circle of people come togetheragain and join hands.


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A prayer was said for everyone by the High Priest and the fourelements were asked to leave and were bid hail and farewell andthanked for attending the ceremony.

The outer circle of people then released hands and the ceremonyconcluded with various folk songs and dancing around the happycouple.

The couple had chosen this type of wedding ceremony because theylived that type of lifestyle and found it fitting to be married in this way.There had been no objections from either family of the couple andagreed that it had been very interesting. There had been no Registrarpresent so it is unlikely that this marriage would be deemed to be legalby English law.

England is a country steeped in history and tradition which is why weare envied by so many others around the world!


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MORE THAN JUST A CHRISTMAS DECORATION

At Christmastime we usually incorporate certain types of plants andshrubbery into our decor. The obvious one is the Christmas tree butthere are three other types of popular ones that we also use. Theseare: sprigs of holly, mistletoe and , as a centre piece on the table, weusually have a poinsetta plant displayed.

Have you ever wondered why these three items are so popular andwhy do you think that we have them around the house at this particular

time of year?

Well, the holly is an evergreen so that could be used at any time ofyear but it is always associated with Christmas. Holly was a favouriteamongst the Romans, way before Christ, and friends used to give it toeach other as gifts during their midwinter celebrations. People inNorthern Europe used to hang it on their doors because they believedthat the wood spirits could shelter in it to keep them out of the coldwintery winds.

After the death of Christ, holly became a Christmas symbol. It wasbelieved that the cross was made from the wood of the holly bush andsome people also believed that the crown of thorns was made from ittoo. Legend has it that the berries were a yellow colour until after thecrucifixion and that they turned red from Christs blood. As a means ofpunishment the holly was turned into scrub!!

There is a strong superstition that if holly is brought into the housebefore Christmas Eve it will cause family quarrels. Once it has been

brought into the house it must be burned after the twelfth day ofChristmas or bad luck will follow.

In medieval times people would grow it around their doors becausethey believed that this would keep witches away. The syrup from thebark of the holly is supposed to be a cure for coughs and it is alsosupposed to keep lightning away. An old wives tale suggests that if


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you see lots of berries on the holly around Christmastime it is certainthat a long winter will follow.

We also decorate our homes with mistletoe and the custom says thatanyone standing under the mistletoe should be kissed!! This customcomes from Norse mythology and tells the story of a goddess namedFrigga. She was the goddess of love and marriage, so a kiss underthe mistletoe symbolised her protection of the love of two peoplekissing.

The druids also worshipped mistletoe and it was sacred to thembecause it grew near the oak tree. They would use mistletoe in theirceremonies but only if it had been cut with a golden sickle because itwas believed that this would stop it from losing its powers.

The other plant is the poinsetta which is usually in a pot and has brightred flowers amidst green foliage. This is a relatively new customcompared to the holly and the mistletoe.

It was first introduced in 1828 by a Dr Joel Poinsett hence the namepoinsetta. He had been working as a minister in Mexico and had heardof a story about this plant which he thought was apt for Christmas.

The story told of a poor Mexican boy who had gone to church to prayon Christmas Eve, but because he hadnt any money to put into thepoor box inside the church, he stayed outside instead and prayed onthe steps. It is claimed that a beautiful red plant had blossomedexactly where the boy had knelt down to pray, so he gave this plant tothe statue of the Christ child inside the church. The palnt is known tothe Mexicans as Flor de la Noche Buena, which translated meansFlower of the Holy Night.


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THE BURNING QUESTION

Have you ever wondered what happens in a crematorium after thefuneral service has finished?

We are all aware of the burial procedure which is straightforwardenough, but does the same apply to cremation?

This may appear to be morbid curiosity but in fact it is an everyday

reality.

The people who carry out this type of work regard it as a job in thesame token as any of us regard our daily routine.

This article hopes to answer the questions as well as getting rid of oldwives tales and myths that seem to surround this topic.

Before a body can be disposed of in this way there are forms whichhave to comply with legislation. There is a Notice of Cremation whichrequires the name of the deceased, their permanent address prior todeath, their age, the officiating minister, their denomination, servicesrequired at the chapel and the type of urn requested for the ashes.

Form A is the Apllication for Cremation and should be completed bythe nearest relative of the deceased. It also asks how you would likethe remains disposed of. Forms B, C and F are attached to each otherand form B is the Certificate of the Medical Attendant, which should becompleted and signed by a doctor. Form C is a Confirmatory Medical

Certificate which should be signed by an independent doctor and formF is the Authority to Cremate and this should be signed by the MedicalReferee to the appropriate authority.

The cost of cremation can vary.


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Regulations require that NO jewellery is left on the body as the intenseheat would only reduce the metal to a molten substance and not ash,and also, if a pacemaker has been fitted it should be removed becauseit could explode and hold a radiation health hazard for cremationpersonnel.

The staff at a crematorium DO NOT inspect a body before cremationso they would be unaware of what else could be on the corpse.

When the funeral party arrives at the crematorium the coffin is takenfrom the hearse and into the chapel where it is placed on a catafalque.

When everyone has left the chapel after the service is over, the coffinis removed through a sliding hatchway and onto a trolley in the

receiving area. Any remaining floral tributes are taken outside andplaced in a viewing area.

The deceased is wheeled from the receiving area and into an adjoiningarea which contains the cremating ovens. Each one has metal doorswith a glass spy-hole so that staff can ensure that a body has beencompletely disposed of, obviously before another one goes in. Asbody size varies with each person, there is no average length of timewhich states exactly when the procedure has been completed. As aguideline 90 minutes is the norm.

The cremating oven resembles a very large oven and can take a coffinof proportionate size, give and take a few centimetres. It is lined withfire bricks and the upper part is arch shaped. Contained within thisarch are 2 gas jets which are electrically ignited. The jets arepositioned in a way which directs the flames at the upper and lowertorso, thus distributing the heat evenly. The heat within the chamber isvery intense and the temperature reaches between 600C and 800C.

Air is distributed around the chamber which is fan assisted to helpdivert and get rid of some of the excess gases into the chimney areaand out into the atmosphere.

There were four ovens in the establishment that I visited.


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Once the body has been reduced to ash, the bones, which are nowvery brittle, still remain. This residue is collected in a container whichhas been placed at the bottom of the cremator. It is then put into acremulator for the final process. The cremulator is a revolving drumwhich crushes the bones into a powder. This machine would resemblea giant spin dryer which contains large metal balls that help crush upthe bones and it works like a pepper grinder.

The final result is collected and placed into an urn or casket on thesame day ready for collection or disposal.

The ashes are a greyish coloured powder and feel like sand with agritty texture.

Strict procedures are followed to ensure that the ashes in the containerat the end of the cremation process belong to what was once the bodyof the deceased.

The staff ensure that this happens by following a labelling system. Theperson being cremated has identity labels attached to the outside ofthe cremator and also on the receiving urn itself. These labels musttally up with the name plate on the coffin. If there is any discrepancythe crematorium office is notified to resolve the matter beforecremation can take place. A computerised work sheet is given to thestaff who work behind thte scenes so that they know who is beingcremated on that day at that specific time.

The urns are made out of plastic, wood or metal and are stored onshelves within the receiving area. Some establishments keep them instorage for up to 14 days free of charge then make a small charge forstorage thereafter.

When the remains are interred they are usually 18 inches below the

ground just in front of a commemorative plaque.

There may be some smell emitted from the chimneys during acremation but it isnt an unpleasant odour. Modern techniques, alongwith stringent environmental regulations, should combat any problems.


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It does depend on the size of a crematorium to ask how manycremations take place in one day. The one I visited averaged 13 or 14a day.

To get rid of the myth about the body sitting upright during burning this is impossible because the oven is only about 20 inches high sothere wouldnt be room. The truth is that because of the intensity of theheat, there may be a slight contraction of the muscles which wouldmake the neck come forward slightly.

The coffin containing the body is also burned along with the body. Iffor instance, a bio hazard body comes in for disposal in this way, itwould be body bagged first before being placed into the coffin.

Bio hazard means someone who has died of an infectious diseasesuch as hepatitis or AIDS. Crematoria staff are not at risk becausethey do not handle bodies!

I hope that after reading this article the myths and mysteries ofcremation have been explained.

I would like to thank the manager and the staff of the TorbayCrematorium for their help and information and time given towards thecompilation of this article.


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THE SEASON OF GOODWILL?

Air travel is regarded to be one of the safest forms of transport todayand lots of people find this means of travel both a quick andcomfortable way of getting from A to B.

Flying has made the world become that much smaller and is now takenfor granted, just as one would think nothing of jumping into a car to govisit loved ones.

Christmas is usually the time of year when families like to be reunited,especially if they have been separated over long distances throughoutthe year. It is also a season of peace and goodwill. This particularChristmas however, was to be different.

On December 21st 1988, the shortest day, flight PA 103 from London toNew York, was getting ready for take off at 6pm. The aircraft was aBoeing 747 jumbo jet and 211 passengers were booked on the journeybetween London and New York, with another 17 who had joined on thefeeder flight from Frankfurt.

As Christmas is one of the busiest periods of the year it seemedstrange that there were 159 seats still empty on that flight.

The aircraft was 20 minutes late taking off and because of strong windsthe flight path took it over Scotland before heading west out across theAtlantic ocean.

As far as the passengers were concerned it was just another flighthome, only this time they were excited at the prospect of spendingChristmas with their loved ones.

54 minutes after take off, the aircraft was blown out of the sky.


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The main part of the wreckage fell to the ground and on to the town ofLockerbie below, destroying several houses and fatally injuring 11people there. All lives on the jumbo were lost and the number of deadtotalled more than 260.

Because the wreckage had fallen onto land it was easier for theinvestigators to determine the cause of the accident.

At first light the investigation team started to piece together the jigsawpuzzle. There had been suspicions that the plane had been the targetof a terrorist attack and after many weeks of detective work this wasconfirmed.

The wreckage had been scattered over an area of 40 miles although

Lockerbie had been hit the worst.

There had been previous warnings of a bombing attempt against a PanAm aircraft but these warnings had been ignored. No one took anynotice and security hadnt been tightened up.

The bomb had been put into a luggage container at Frankfurt and thentransferred to the 747 at London without being checked.

The investigation team knew what they were looking for and knew whathad been used to cause this horror. They even knew exactly wherethe bomb had been placed in the aircraft.

It took almost 3 years to discover that the people responsible for thisatrocity were two Libyans.

Since this tragedy, security at airports has become more rigid and PanAm has since gone bankrupt.

Lockerbie was an unknown place before this tragedy happened andwould have remained so had the weather been different, because theaircraft would not have travelled so far north and the explosion wouldhave occurred over the Atlantic. This had been the terrorists intentionfor the plane to explode over the ocean.


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Since this tragedy, Lockerbie has returned to normal, but as eachChristmas approaches, the reminder of the tragedy will remain.

The two people responsible for this wicked act remain free, protectedby their ruthless leader Colonel Gadaffi in Libya.


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WHO IS SANTA CLAUS?

Christmas is a time of year for rejoicing, family reunions and forcelebrations for people in many countries all over the world. It is a timefor giving and receiving gifts. But where did this originate?

Today Christmas has become very commercialised but in the eyes ofchildren it conjures up a special magic. Children still wait for SantaClaus to call on Christmas Eve around about midnight to leave theirlonged for gifts which they have been eagerly awaiting since the last

time he visited. They have written letters to him and have promised tobe on their best behaviour so that they wont miss out.

But who is Santa Claus and where does he come from?

He seem s to appear in every large department store in differentcountries throughout the world, where a part of that store has beenconverted into a grotto for wide eyed youngsters to visit with theirparents prior to the big day. Is this Santa Claus they see in the storethe same one who calls on Christmas Eve or just a stand in?

How does he manage to deliver all the toys and other goodies tokiddies all over the world on time? Well, you could say that the answerto that question is simple there are different time zones throughoutthe world so it would make his day a very long one!!

If you ask any child to describe Santa Claus you will almost certainlyget the same description a jolly fat old man with a long white beardand hair, wearing a red suit with a red face to match, and who spends

most of his time climbing down chimneys. His helpers are pixies andelves in Toyland, somewhere near the north pole and a fleet of flyingreindeers, led by Rudolph, which ferry him across the rooftops of theworld delivering gifts to the sleeping children below.

This is a description that has stuck in everyones minds - not onlychildren but adults alike. After all, we were all children once! But the


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jolly bearded old gentleman, wearing the red suit stems from a seriesof Christmas cartoons created by Thomas Nast and were firstintroduced in Harpers Weekly between 1863 and 1865.

Santa Claus is also based on Saint Nicholas, and December 6th is thefeast day for this saint and it was then that gifts were exchanged.

The German legend has it that Santa Claus was someone called KrisKringle who bought gifts to the children and who was supposedly theoriginal gift bearer.

The real Santa Claus can be traced back to a town called Patara,which is on the Mediterranean coast in southern Turkey. He was bornthere and became the priest of Myra, which is further east along the

caost. He became a byzantine bishop in the 4th

century and was latercanonized Saint Nicholas. Lots of people still visit his church in Myratoday and the Turks know it as Noel Baba. A symposium on SaintNicholas is held in this church in December each year.

So that is who Santa Claus really is, but we must remember that giftsat Christmastime were given long before Santa Claus and these wereat the birth of Christ by the Magi - the three wise men, and we giveand receive Christmas gifts because we are celebrating this Holy birth.

But did you know that the giving and receiving of gifts started longbefore Christmas? The Romans celebrated seed planting andcommemorated the planet Saturnby doing this. It was calledSaturnalia. This day was also called a day of equality and on that daythe powers that be stepped down and elected peasants to run theland for that one day. People also gave each other gifts.

So, you see, although we associate Christmas with Santa Claus andgifts, the actual giving of them started long before him!!


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Feathers - A Collage of Short Stories

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Transcript of Feathers - A Collage of Short Stories