Issue 361 7th Nov 2014

Rising Brook/Holmcroft/

Baswich/Gnosall

Libraries are under threat.

Could a travelling Wild West showman stay at the Nasturtium Hotel? E.g. Buffalo Bill Cody was in England in the 1890s: his Wild West show was put on in Salford for five months. Even Queen Victoria was amused!

Wikipedia image

2

E=mc² Everybody knows the equation but how many remember what the let-ters stand for? Energy equals mass times c(?) times itself ... Ermmm ...**

Random words : repetition, tea-light, jamb, bland, pickle, charity, artichoke, whistle, advantage Assignment : no turning back .... or two kettle household

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29819136 New copyright rules allow orphan artworks to be used

POETRY LIBRARY UPDATE: Latest Competitions: Beatons Tearooms & Bookshop Second Poetry Competition 2014 |Closing Date: 27-11-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1658 The Brunel University African Poetry Prize 2015 prize is open for entries | Closing Date: 30-Nov-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1652 Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 30-Nov-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1654 The Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition 2015|Closing Date:30-11-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1657 The Christopher Tower Poetry Competition 2015 | Closing Date: 27-Feb-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1656

Latest News: Buzzer ezine asking for submissions | 29-Oct-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1259 T S Eliot Prize 2014 shortlist announced | 27-Oct-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1258 Liverpool's DaDaFest put radical poet at the centre of their festival | 23-Oct-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1255 The Living Library needs Living Books | 22-Oct-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1254 Dylan Thomas celebration in the Poetry Library | 22-Oct-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1253

Trick or Treat or Just Plain THEFT? I‘m wishing stomach ache, sickness and diarrhoea,

They need a smack upon their rear. Tooth decay and pain in gobs,

All deserved by thieving slobs. From our porch a whole tin pinched, Trick or treat, I want them lynched!

Greedy, no good, little robbers, Spoil the fun, their stuffed mouth slobbers, Ugly, nasty, uncontrolled,

Think they‘re clever, in groups so bold. Sweetie tin all contents stuffed, With themselves proud and chuffed.

I hope one day they‘ll meet their match, On scrawny necks huge fingers latch And give the b****rs such a shake

That more that teeth will start to ache! (LP)

Trick or Treat ... Why have we allowed ourselves to accept this American custom which is totally alien to our nature? Should we be encouraging children to beg at the door of strangers?

** c = speed of light

www.issuu.com/risingbrookwriters

NEW: 2015 poetry collection

“Defying Gravity” Submissions now open

Counting livestock Owd Fred blog extract It may seem to most folk a simple thing to do to count a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep, but quite often you don‘t get a second chance to re-count at that time or in

that place. If you miss count and you‘re one down or perhaps gain one, and think they are alright you clear off to your next job thinking they are all okay, when that one you mis-counted might be stuck in a peaty ditch or in trouble away from the main group of animals, and left overnight could be found dead by morning. With sheep, counting them as they leave a fold, they will run out at high speed, so a narrow gap wide enough for two sheep to get through is usually about right, any narrower and two will wedge in the gap and block the flow of sheep. It was an old practice to count the sheep by the score, (in twenties), if you look at that counting up to twenty, they are all one syllable words, into the twenties and beyond they are two syllable which does not make for fast counting. So count up to twenty and drop a pebble into ya pocket, or if you have less than two hundred sheep you just curl one finger up for every twenty you‘ve counted. That‘s okay as long as no one or nothing distracts you when you grab or need to prevent a hurdle from falling and you cannot remember how many fingers you had curled up. Pebble in the pocket was a surer way of recording how many score of sheep you have, and can go beyond how many fingers you own. Cattle I find easier to count from slightly higher van-tage point when they‘re spread out grazing, I take the view of the group like the top half of the face of a clock, and bring the imaginary finger round the clock counting all whom it passes over, then do a check count going the op-posite way across them to get the same count again. This way of counting is okay when you have cattle all of the same age and size, the problem come when the suckler cows have calved and young calves are wandering about around and behind their mothers. It‘s best to establish that all the cows are there, then go round and count all the calves in a separate count, check counting each time, it just reassuring when you get both counts the same. When one is missing for some reason or other, you count and recount just hoping that the count will come right, then begin the search for who is missing, most of the older characters of the herd would be missed and know who you‘re looking for. Some

of the younger ones, all of whom would no doubt have the same father/sire may all be the same or similar markings and out of a group of fifty or more its near impossible to know which one is missing. Cows that are calving will go off on their own and very young new born calves will get their first belly full of milk and

find a bog of rushes or a bog of nettles or even duck under the wood fence and lay down and hide in the under growth, as nature tells them to at that age. Very often the only way of finding them, is to find the mother who when alerted will raise her head looking in the direction of where she knows the calf is, very rarely will she walk and take you to it. So counting is not just for fun, it‘s a serious matter to know if one is missing, if they get out through the broken fence it more often than not be a number missing, if you have a bad leader of the herd (if she gets in the habit of getting out) the lot will have gone. Keep the leader happy and contented and the herd will be happy. As with people, they are all individuals, all have their own characteristics and manner-ism, and you can almost read their minds as well.

I Remember Father’s Cattle

In the mid 1950s vets were recommending worming young stock with a new product called Phenothiazine. This was a green powder and had to be mixed with water and a pint or so was pour down their throats (drenched).

I remember father counting, cattle each and every day, He counts and looks at every one, to see they‘re all OK,

Now one day he sees one cough, and then it was another. If we don‘t do something quickly, we‘ll be in a bit of bother.

So off down he goes to get, some wormer in a rush,

And back he comes and reads the label, says get them in a crush, No crush have we, but four strong lads, we‘ll get them in a stable,

Mix water and green powder in a bucket, put it on the table.

Pint ladle and a bottle now, pour to the measure see, Us lads went in among the stock, as tight a they could be,

The bottles we did pass to one, who had one‘s chin held high, Uptip the med-sin to back of throat, do not look down or ni.

The cow that coughs, coughs both ends, and chuck it back they try,

It‘s just a waste as we were told, but hits you in the eye, Soon learn to leave it quickly, as soon as we could shift,

As dosing cattle get their own back, now who‘s being thrift.

We often wondered why we lads, had grown so big and strong, When other lads around us, were only lean and long,

Put it down to fresh air, and read Farmers‘ Weekly magazine, But all the time it wasn‘t, twas Phenothiazine.

Owd Fred

6

The Gardening Tips series was produced by well known local gardening expert Mrs. FM Hartley as monthly gardening items which featured on an audio news-tape produced locally for partially sighted people. (Link To Stafford & Stone Talking Newspaper. Link To R.N.I.B.)

As such the articles are meant to be read individu-ally and not as chapters of a book. The articles were written over a period of some 7 years. RBW is absolutely delighted that Mrs Hartley has agreed to some of her words of gardening wisdom gathered over nine decades being reproduced for our benefit by her son, Alan.

Gardening Tips December 2013.

Hello Folks

We have nearly reached the end of yet another year and they all seem to be flying by.

When Autumn came the trees seemed to be changing colour, very early, at first, but

the trees seem to have suddenly come to a standstill now, hanging on to their leaves

and giving us a bit longer with some beautiful colours.

When the leaves eventually all fall they can be left lying on your borders as they

will do good because the worms will drag them into the soil where they will turn into

compost. However, you must make sure they are not lying thickly on top of any her-

baceous plants including things like Primroses as they will cause the crowns of the

plants to rot. In this case the leaves should be gathered up and composted and obvi-

ously you don‟t want your lawn, or path covered in a thick carpet of leaves either.

They do take a lot longer than most compost material to rot properly and are really

best composted separately in a bag, but if they have been lying for some time the

worms will have already found them and putting these wet leaves full of worms into

your compost is still a very good thing to do.

It is getting a bit late to plant Spring flowering bulbs, but there will probably be

many still on sale at reduced prices everywhere you go, so why not risk it and plant

some bargains. The bulbs will still flower as the flower will already be developed in

the bulb, but they may well be a bit later than usual. The one bulb that really is not

worth trying unless they are fresh , is the Snowdrop. These are best if they already

growing in pots and then carefully transferred into the ground, becaeus they can be a

bit temperamental from dry bulbs. Hyacinths that have been started in the dark for

Xmas flowering should have their flower heads well up now, but not opening. These

can be put in a cool and light place now. Any flower heads you want dried for Xmas

decoration should be hung up in a cool place now to dry out completely. Especially

good for this are things like Alliums, Lunaria, or Honesty and some of the larger

leaves from things like Aspidistras, Hostas, or Loquats, look quite good as well, when

dried and sprayed.

A small Medlar tree in the garden has produced a lot of fruit this year. Nearly

200, rock hard, over grown crab apple sized, fruits. They are one of the last fruits in

the garden to be picked as you don‟t normally pick them until the end of November.

Then, they are just beginning to ripen, but you don‟t eat them until the fruit is going rotten, or

over ripe and is soft enough to be eaten with a spoon. Medlar fruits have to be “Bletted,” by stor-

ing them for a few weeks after picking in somewhere cool, but frost free until they have turned

brown and are evenly soft all over. If you try ripening them in a warm room the fruits will dry

out and be unpleasant to eat and if they get frosted the flesh around the pips will start to go

mouldy. Alan is quite fond of them and I‟ll eat them, but I don‟t really like them. I will tolerate

the soft, brown, mushy flesh of the fruit if a little is mixed in with a fruit salad to hide it.

I must give one final warning about Poinsettias. They will have come from a warm nursery

and the trolley they were delivered on would have been wrapped round with polythene to keep

them wind free. So do please have them properly wrapped when you buy them, or take a big bag

with you to put them in. A few days after getting them home they should still look fine in your

house, unless a cold wind caught them at the shop and then they will gradually wilt and die.

Our weather is so changeable and with the dull days we have had I think the birds couldn‟t

make up their minds whether it was breakfast, or teatime. It has been so dark lately some days it

has almost seemed like twilight all day.

It‟s time for cutting Holly with berries on ready

to start making Christmas Wreaths. It reminded me of

when I made some wreaths and they were all ready

for sale with lots of berries on. I carefully put them

where I thought they would be safe from peoples

feet, but the next morning when I opened the Nursery

up I looked at the wreaths and saw all the berries had

gone. The Mice had had a midnight feast, so rather than re-

do them all again, I used substitute berries that were plentiful on the Pyracantha and then the

wreaths were hung up away from the furry little Mice.

We have been enjoying some early maturing Parsnips from the allotment that have been

quite large, with no core and very tasty, but unfortunately are nearly all gone. We still have a lot

of Jerusalem Artichokes left in the ground though, which make a nice change from ordinary

vegetables. Those are the ones with tubers and not the thistle like flowers.

A lot of Leeks are coming on and some Broad Bean seeds in as well as Purple Cabbages for

the Spring.

I still have vases full of lovely Chrysanthemums all round the house, but the plants have

just about finished now so have all been dug up and roughly potted. They will stay under the

staging in the greenhouse over Winter and be kept almost dry „till the new shoots come in the

new year. The shoots will then be taken off about the end of February, before the Spring really

gets under way and the old plants started all over again. Any extra young plants can be given to

family and friends. That is how gardeners used to obtain plants before Nurseries and Garden

Centres were started. They used to give surplus plants away and also swap them with anybody

they could to increase the variety in their gardens. Gradually, a few shops selling corn and ani-

mal feed started selling lettuce, cabbage and other vegetable plants for the farmers gardens and a

few smaller packets of seeds as well instead of commercial sized quantities. The idea spread and

shops like Hardware and florists joined in and then everybody was selling

seeds, compost and all sorts of things. Finally, in the 1960s garden centres

started to boom and spread everywhere.

Well that‟s all for now.

Frances Hartley

RBW FICTION PROJECT FOR 2014/15 NOTES: ( CHANGES )

Story so far. Plotlines are developing ...

This is a listing of what we have so far ...

Place: Sometime in the 1890s The Grand Cosmopolitan Shipping Line Chain: The Nasturtium Hotel (GNH) in Trentby-on-Sea a place that has a similarity to Southampton, twinned with Murmansk and has a decided international flavour. Despite recent squabbles with Russia, France and certain other countries all rich spending foreigners are welcomed

Time Span: Between the arrival and departure of the steamship The Star of Coldwynd Bay. About 3 weeks.

Hotel: The GNH is owned by The Cosmopolitan Shipping Line and is the usual Victorian Hotel. It has three classes of accommoda-

tion, that are roughly: Suites [1st floor] for those with money and the POSH nobs. Rooms [2nd and 3rd floors] for the not so well off. Accommodation [tiny attic rooms, top floor back] for staff

Staff: Basil Bluddschott (70's) – Manager Mrs. Cynthia Bluddschott (20's) - 2nd (trophy) wife of Basil

Daniel Bluddschott (40) – Son of Basil by 1st wife Miss Marian Bluddschott (35) – Daughter of Basil by 1st wife Mrs. Natasha Bluddschott (34) – wife of Daniel — gambling debts up to mischief

Roberto Manchini - Italian chef; has the hots for Marian & Cynthia Mrs. Bertha Buckett – Breakfast Cook in Charge Peter the porter

Nancy the Scullery maid, Betty the Chambermaid Guests:

Lady Vera Accrington and Lady Gloria Stanley – a couple of old biddies with a chequered past who are enjoying themselves their Ward Dorothy ... much admired by the Maharajah and every other red-blooded male Major Martin – May be the ADC to the Prince of ??

The Russian Prince of ?? Referred to as Mr. Smith; even tho' everybody know who he is. Daphne Du Worrier - Writer Capt. Fowlnett – Recently appointed skipper of the clipper ship The Star of Coldwynd Bay. He may be a little short on experi-

ence as his last job was skipper of the IOW ferry. [Hey! How difficult can it be to find India or China?] St. John Smythe – Tea planter with holdings in Assam. The Maharajah of Loovinda and his wife and valet George (apologies to Shakespeare, you‘ll see why immediately)

The Sheik of the province of Kebab. (It‘s a farce!!) Walter Wales – hack writer for Capt. Thaddeus Hook travel books Murray Durrisdane (currently a Boots)— Jade Buddha/Stone of Kali seeker — (Jamie Burke — Alexander Mulrose — baddies)

Russians? in room 212 Russian Agent Capt. Wild Will Body and his travelling Wild Rodeo Show, Missy Clementine Jane, Big chief Light–in-the-Sky and Texas Jim

McGraw the shootist (may be subject to change) Graf Hubrecht Walther Falscheim, the Graf von Jagerlagerberg involved with Ward Dorothy Kugyrand Rippling South African diamond dealer nasty piece of work

Music Hall turns playing at 'The Winter Gardens', Also staying the GNH some in suites some in the accommodation class.

Miranda Barkley – maybe mistress of the Prince of ?? Dario Stanza – singer Vesta Currie – cross-dresser hot stuff on the stage - Cystic Peg – Medium / Seances Dan Fatso – Charlie Chaplin type

ALSO listed: Diamond dealer — Boniface Monkface

Jade - A rare Jade Buddha with a Kali Stone is specifically noted. A golden laughing Buddha also appears. NOTES:

CHECK THE DATE! Q. Victoria is Empress. Osborne House IoW is her fav. des. res. 1. Gas lighting or oil lamps – no public electricity supply about for another couple of decades; unless the hotel has its own generator, electrical lighting is out.

2. Horses and carriages in the streets, steam trains for long distances and on the dockside. Trams in some areas. 3. Limited number of phones, usually locally between ministries or business offices. Messengers or Royal Mail normally used.

Telegrams are available.

RBW Library Workshop group are working on a script for the next book. The ideas so far include a hotel in

the 1890s with as diverse a mix of travellers about to de-part for the far east as it is possible to squeeze into the

plot. Obviously the action will take place in Trentby-on-Sea, twinned with Murmansk, and

the establishment will be man-aged by Basil Bluddschott and his new wife Cynthia. If you‘ve ever watched a Carry On film you will have had all the training you‘d need to join in.

The annual joint project ...

The joint comedy is good practice in group co-operation, character building, plotting, dialogue, storyline arc etc and

besides it‘s hilarious to write.

What is more people actually read our free e-books ... Some brave souls even give us LIKES on Facebook

How unexpected was that ...

OPPORTUNITY: Take a room in the hotel ... Who is waiting to go to India? Why are they going? What are they running away from or towards?

The Go Between ‗Room 24,‘ said a woman‘s voice.

The man in the cravat with the diamond clip turned to see the bustle of Mrs Natasha Bluddschott, daughter-in-law of the manager Mr Basil Bluddschott, fast disappearing

along the corridor. Varanasi tapped his front teeth with the silver top of his walking cane which doubled as

a sword stick: it paid to take precautions in his line of work. Did the young woman wish him to accompany her to Room 24? Surely this wasn‘t that sort of hotel?

His curiosity was piqued. As the room was apparently on the way to his own desig-nated room it wouldn‘t hurt to explore the possibility.

He knocked three times with the end of the cane. The door opened a fraction and a very fat man, who was sweating profusely smiled

greasily and bowed in greeting. ‗Do come in good sir. I believe we have a mutual ac-quaintance and a mutual endeavour.‘

Varanasi released the clip on the cane handle and entered keeping his back to the wall. ‗You have me at a disadvantage, I do not believe we have ever been introduced.‘

‗Boniface Monkface, at your service,‘ said the fat man beaming bonhomie but with flit-ting eyes and fidgeting fingers. ‗Dealer to the aristocracy in object d‘art and fine jewel-lery. Shop on the High Street.‘

‗Ahh, I see,‘ said the gentleman from India relaxing his sword hand. ‗A go-between.‘ ‗Just so,‘ said Monkface. ‗And for such a small finder‘s fee, one percent, one can usually

be efficacious.‘ ‗But what if something was not lost, but stolen?‘ he said sitting on one end of an over-

stuffed chaise longe and crossing a pin-striped leg over the other, exposing a length of silk stocking and patent leather shoes of the highest quality.

Monkface seemed to sag. ‗Oh good sir, stolen is not my area. Not my province at all. I am in all things an honest broker merely wishing to assist those who have things to sell and those with things to purchase. All of course with total discretion guaranteed.‘

Varanasi seemed convinced. ‗And what is the price for the Buddha?‘ Monkface blinked: what Buddha? He was angling for a quick sale of a diamond neck-

lace for Mrs Bluddschott the younger whose gambling debts were becoming most press-ing.

‗Buddha,‘ he replied. ‗That item hasn‘t yet been placed on the open market, but any day. I‘m sure. What would be your likely first bid?

‗First bid? There will be only one bid. Tell Burke £100,000 take it or die like Durrisdane,‘ Varanasi said the words with complete calmness as if ordering cheese and as the swords-man made to leave the room, Boniface Monkface dabbed his sweating chin with a napkin and realised immediately he was way out of his depth here.

‗One last thing,‘ the man said with his hand on the door handle. ‗Tell Burke, Alexander Mulrose sends regards from the Black Hole, that should help sweeten the deal and con-

firm my intent.‘ It was only as he left that Monkface realised the gentleman from India was European,

in part at least. Not that that changed anything, he‘d still no idea who this man Burke was, or what it was he was selling, or if he was selling ... the only thing of certainty was 1% of £100,000 was a fortune.

RESEARCH: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show on Tour

Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West toured Europe eight times, the first four tours between 1887 and 1892, and the last four from 1902 to 1906.

The Wild West first went to London in 1887 as part of the American Exhibition,

which coincided with the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, requested a private preview of the Wild West performance for a command performance for Queen Victoria. The Queen enjoyed the show and

meeting the performers. A second command performance took place on June 20, 1887 for Jubilee guests. European Royalty attended, including the future Kaiser

Wilhelm II and future King George V. These royal encounters provided Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West an establishment endorsement and publicity which ensured success. Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West closed its London run in October 1887 after more than 300 performances, with more than 2.5 million

tickets sold. The tour made stops in Birmingham and Manchester (five months) before returning to the U.S. in May 1888.

Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West Show returned to Europe in May 1889 as part of the Expo-sition Universelle in Paris, France, an event to commemorate the 100th anniver-sary of the Storming of the Bastille and featured the opening of the Eiffel Tower.

The tour travelled to the South of France and Barcelona, Spain, then Italy. While in Rome, a Wild West delegation was received by Pope Leo XIII. The Wild West tour returned to Germany in 1891; then toured Belgium and the Netherlands be-

fore returning to Great Britain to close the season.

Logistics: Cody depended on staff to manage the logistics for touring with such

large and complex show: in 1891 Major Burke was the general manager for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Company; William Laugan, supply agent; George C. Crager, Sioux interpreter and leader of relations with the Indians and John Shangren, an-

other interpreter.

The show's 1892 tour was confined to Great Britain; it featured another command performance for Queen Victoria. The tour finished with a six-month run in London before leaving Europe. Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West returned to Europe in December 1902 with a fourteen-week run in London, including a visit from King Ed-

ward VII and the future King George V. The Wild West travelled throughout Great Britain during the 1902-03 tour as well as the 1904 tour, performing in cities large enough to support it. The 1905 tour began in

April with a two-month run in Paris before moving into the rest of France, where it performed mostly one-night stands, concluding in December. The final tour of 1906 began in France on March 4, and moved on to Italy for two months. The Wild West travelled east: performing in Austria, the Balkans, Hungary, Roma-

nia, and the Ukraine, before returning west to tour in Poland, Bohemia, Germany and Belgium.

The Wild West Show brought an exotic world to life for European audiences, allowing a glimpse at the now fading American frontier. Buffalo Bill‘s Wild West

was enormously successful making Buffalo Bill an international celebrity and an American icon.

Mark Twain commented, ―…It is often said on the other side of the water that none of the exhibitions which we send to England are purely and distinctly American. If you will take the Wild West show over there you can remove that reproach.‖ Source: Wikipedia and other web outlets

Cody and Sitting Bull

Cody/Wild Bill Hickok/Texas

Jack Omohundro 1873

‗Good afternoon Sir, do you have a reservation?‘ asked Natasha Bluddschott who was keeping busy behind the reception desk and staying as far away from her angry hus-band as was possible. Men! It was alright if they drank and gambled but her loosing at a few hands of strip poker, okay five hundred pounds, and it was the end of the world according to the sweet faced boy.

‗Rippling,‘ he said. ‗Kugyrand.‘ She was learning accents, this one sounded South African, which was a bit strange

what with the war and all. ‗Right,‘ she said running a manicured fingernail down the immaculate ledger. ‗No. Sorry not here.‘

‗Let me see,‘ said the man clearly annoyed. ‗I have the letter of confirmation right here.‘ He tapped his coat pocket but didn‘t produce an envelope.

‗I‘ll look again,‘ she said as her eye was caught by the group of people approaching the desk.

‗Oh here, perhaps this is the one. Yes, there‘s been a mistake with the spelling we‘d got you down as Rugyard Kipling, how silly is that. It must have been me got that wrong.‘

The man scowled as he signed the book.

‗Room 17, Peter will carry your bag.‘ ‗No,‘ he snapped, ‗I will carry my own bag.‘ As he strode away only then did she notice the carpet bag was attached to his wrist

by a length of chain. Another diamond merchant she expected. They had a lot of them stay at the Nasturtium. She didn‘t think this one gave samples away even to pretty girls.

‗Good afternoon Sir, do you have a reservation?‘ Perhaps she could have phrased that better as the Indian Chief crossed his arms across his chest and turned to watch the trio of musicians playing for the tea-dance in the ballroom.

‗And a good afternoon to you, too, litt-le lady,‘ said an American drawl which made her eyelashes curl and her buttons and bows stand to attention. ‗Captain Will Body and his entourage as expected, Missy Clementine Jane, Big Chief Light-in-the-Sky and his

squaw, ... emm ... wife and the shootist, Texas Jim McGraw.‘ ‗Ahh ... the Royal Suite,‘ she said casting an envious eye over the full-length feather

war-bonnet and buckskins with patterns of intricate beads. Missy and the younger man with the long hair and the side-burns seemed cosy. The one she expected was Texas Jim leaned across the counter and asked in a whisper, ‗Is there a house rule about checking in our hardware, side irons and alike?‘

‗Hotel rules are pinned on every door, sir, next to the instructions as to where to find the nearest escape route in case of fire,‘ she replied having no notion to what he was referring. Missy grinned knowingly. Natasha didn‘t know what to make of that.

‗The Royal Suite. I like sound of that,‘ said the Captain signing the book with a flour-ish, ‗Best in the house? Hot and cold running everything ...?‘

Crossing her fingers against the lie, ‗Absolutely, sir,‘ she replied maintaining eye-

contact a second or two longer than was necessary. Men with big moustaches, silver spurred riding boots and Stetson hats were somewhat of a weakness, especially those who were loaded with dollars and had an enormous travelling Wild Rodeo show setting up on the promenade.

‗With my compliments, litt-le lady,‘ a pair of tickets slid across the polished mahogany. ‗You come and see me anytime and I guarantee we‘ll have a nice day.‘

No Bill Cody nor Calamity Jane On top of the others that would be insane. Fowlnett & others? I’ll go there with glee, But Americans & Sioux Indians? They’re not for me! The idea I love, but we need to say, We’ll all get it written, but plot it THIS WAY! When that’s decided I’ll give it a go Just help me saddle the wild buffalo. A circus, a circus, it sings in the blood Let’s all work at it and write it, real good.

Peg & Hubert The torrential rain had stopped when the trio of: Lady Dorothy Calcutts, Petronella

West, and the strange, but exciting, man they had 'found' in the Grand Palm Court ar-rived at the front door of the GNH.

Peter the Porter, always on the look-out for a tip, greeted them with his very best salute, signalled a hackney carriage for them and the trio set off for ―The Golden Idol Tea Rooms‖.

Peg was intrigued by the man, particularly as he hadn't told them who he was. She used the ride to find out by the most direct method.

'Now, sir, as we've been singing together for the last hour or so I feel that we

should, at least know each other‘s names. I'll start the ball rolling by introducing my-self and then we'll all do the same, is that satisfactory?'

The nod she got from Dorothy was slightly ahead of the one from the mystery man.

'Good! I am Petronella West, a widow, who has to support herself with a stage act as Cystic Peg, a medium or spiritualist. I am currently appearing at the Winter Garden.'

There was a long silence before Dorothy spoke, 'I, sir, am Lady Dorothy Calcutts, and am awaiting passage to India to claim the fortune left by my Grandfather. Accord-ing to his will the fortune – the lawyers say it's substantial but we don't know the value - is to be split between my two Aunts, who are my guardians, and myself.'

Here she showed that she wasn't the fluffy headed ingénue she pretended to be, 'And you sir are, not, I think, now what was it you said? ―A poor, lonely, creature living,

in distressed circumstances, in this dismal establishment awaiting on repairs to your ship‖ you pretended to be. Although I agree with you about the dismal establishment you are, particularly, not one ―Who is in dire need of the company of congenial ladies.‖'

Dorothy shook her head and smiled. 'May like the company of congenial ladies for a surety, but not in any dire need.'

The man laughed as he said, 'A veritable hit in the gold, My Lady. I am wounded

to the heart that you have seen through my disguise.' He gave a little bow; acknowledg-ing an honourable opponent before continuing.

'You are also not, I feel, the empty headed little girl you like people to think you are. It amuses you to do it, just as it amuses my sisters to do the same. I think you would get on well together.'

There was another chuckle before he told them, 'I must confess ladies that I am in the hotel under, slightly, false pretences, and I must beg you not to give the game away.

So! I am Hubrecht Walther Falscheim, the Graf von Jagerlagerberg. But I'm on the hotel register as Hubert Walter Hunter-Hill, which is an approximation of my name and title, and the boat I'm waiting for is my yacht which, I'm told, will take another six weeks to repair. But, please, my friends, amongst whom I would ask you to consider me, call me Walter or Mister Hunter-Hill if it is required.'

That was when they heard the cabby shouting, 'Whoa there, girl,' they had arrived at their destination and private conversation had to stop for a while.

The eponymous, and large, Yellow Idol was secured in a sconce inside the door of the es-

tablishment. However, just in case some light hearted lad should form the idea of 'relocating' the statue to his advantage, it was also guarded by a formidable presence in the person of 'Mad' Madge Carew, the proprietress, and Mrs. Carew was not one you could ignore or trifle with.

An Amazon warrior in modern dress was often used, in polite company, to describe her, the local police force called her a Tartar and had, on occasion, needed to rescue some likely lad from a well deserved beating at her hands. What the underworld called her was another matter, usually profane but touched with a tinge of respect.

Mrs Carew always claimed that the person affected had 'resisted arrest' or 'run into a door whilst trying to escape'. The Magistrates believed her; they said so anyway, and the local toughs knew when to leave somebody well alone.

That, however, did not detract from her skills on the cooking range. There she, and

her helpers, reigned supreme. 'Good afternoon, Mr. Hunter-Hill! I trust you're in good spirits today, sir?' The lady

herself greeted the trio as they entered. Walter gave her a florid bow as he answered, 'Top form my dear lady. Top form! I

think you may know one of my companions, Mrs. West, as Cystic Peg from the Winter Garden. This young lady,' he indicated Dorothy, 'is Lady Dorothy Calcutts, who, being new in Trentby, has not yet had the opportunity of sampling your exquisite fare. I hope to remedy this sad lack today.'

There was a light laugh from the formidable figure as she bobbed a tiny curtsey. 'Your usual shilling lunch I suppose, Walter?'

A nod and the reply of, 'You have hit the mark there, my dear Madge. A shilling lunch for each of us if you please,' got them escorted to a banquette table at the side of

the room. Large menu cards appeared and they settled down to the serious business of selecting their dishes.

Can you remember Stafford General Infirmary? Part of it is still there on the Foregate ... And at the far right is a building which was named after this chap in the picture, William Withering. Withering is Stafford‘s claim to fame in the field of medicine.

William Withering (17 March 1741 – 6 October 1799) was an English botanist, geologist,

chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.

Withering was born in Wellington, Shropshire, trained as a physician and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He worked at Birmingham General Hospital from 1779. He noticed a person with

dropsy (swelling from congestive heart failure) improve remarkably after taking a traditional herbal remedy; Withering became famous for recognising that the active ingredient came from the foxglove plant. The active ingredient was digitalis. In 1785, Withering published An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses, which contained reports on clinical trials and notes on digitalis's effects and toxicity.

In 1767 he started as a Consultant at Stafford Royal Infirmary. He married Helena Cookes (an

amateur botanical illustrator and patient) in 1772; they had three children (the first, Helena born in 1775 died a few days later, William in 1776 and Charlotte in 1778). In 1775 he was appointed physician to Birmingham General Hospital (at the suggestion of Erasmus Darwin, a physician and founder member of the Lunar Soci-

ety). However, in 1783 he diagnosed himself as having pulmonary tuberculosis and went twice to Portugal hoping the better climate would improve his health. In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and

also published his Account of the Foxglove. The following year he leased Edgbaston Hall and became a mem-ber of the Lunar Society. During the Birmingham riots of 1791 (in which Priestley's home was demolished) he prepared to flee from Edgbaston Hall, but staff kept the rioters at bay until the military arrived. In 1799 he

bought "The Larches" in the nearby Sparkbrook area; his wife remained at Edgbaston Hall. After moving to The Larches on 28 September, he died on 6 October 1799.

Discovery of Digitalis: Withering first learned of the use of Digitalis in treating "dropsy" (congestive heart fail-ure) from an old woman who practiced as a folk herbalist in Shropshire, who used the plant as part of a poly-

herbal formulation containing over 20 different ingredients to treat this condition. Withering deduced that digi-talis was the "active" ingredient and over the ensuing nine years he experimented with different preparations

of various parts of the plant (collected in different seasons) documenting 156 cases where he had employed digitalis, describing the effects and safest way of using it.

At least one of these cases was a patient for whom Erasmus Darwin had asked Withering for a second opin-ion. In January 1785 Darwin submitted a paper entitled "An Account of the Successful Use of Foxglove in Some Dropsies and in Pulmonary Consumption" to the College of Physicians in London; it was presented by Darwin in March of that year. A postscript of the published volume of transactions containing Darwin's paper stated "Whilst the last pages of this volume were in the press, Dr Withering of Birmingham... published a nu-merous collection of cases in which foxglove has been given, and frequently with good success". After this publication, Darwin and Withering became increasingly estranged: Darwin accused Withering of unprofessional behaviour and poaching his patients.

Comment: What‘s in a name? They could have named the hospital after him, couldn‘t they? Although would we have wanted a Withering Hospital?

Dear Poet,

This month we would like to thank everyone who has entered The Great Escape and Flash Fiction over the past couple of months. All of the entries are now with our editors! We have also announced two competition winners. Well done to Penny Smith from Hampshire who is our An Ode To... competition winner and Shelly Connor from Berkshire who is our Love Is In

The Air competition winner. Forward Poetry Social Top Five : We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our 4,333 members for their contin-ued support for the social. Throughout the month of September we had amazing poems being added, which made it very

hard to pick our Top Five and Poet of the Month. Congratulations to:

Findo Gask with Patterns (Poet of the Month); Helenmatherrogers with Leave Lovers Be Cathryn with The Last Mermaid; Sheila with Now I Lay Me; Lolly with Devil Woman Sign up to the Forward Poetry Social today for free and share your poetry with our amazing community, who knows you

could be in the Top Five next month! Register Here Great British Write Off Book Shop Now Live

Did you hear about our Great British Write Off competition we held in the summer? If you would like to read some of the amazing entries we accepted for publication why not come and check out our book shop which has a range of books in the series. Maybe you have been published and you would like another copy for family or friends.

The last publication in the series it out at the end of November and then we announce the winners at the end of the year! Good luck everyone. Go to Book Shop

Where Shadows Fall Competition – Win £25 As the nights draw in, shadows grow deeper and a chill penetrates the air. Darkness takes over and what lurks in the shadows, what figments of imagination seem so real they make your blood run cold? Share with us your haunting poetry,

from ghosts to black dust and anything in-between, we‘re inviting you to scare us witless with your poem this Halloween! Read more

It’s not too late to enter Poetry Rivals! Haven‘t got round to submitting a poem for this year‘s Poetry Rivals competition? Don‘t worry, with the extended deadline

you still have until Friday 31st October 2014 to enter. Upload or post your entry along with your entry fee and be in with the chance to be one of our top 100 finalists and possibly win an amazing one of a kind book publishing package! Remember, if you refer a friend who enters, you‘ll be entitled to a free entry! Your friend needs to upload their poem and

enter your details into the referral box, we‘ll then contact you for your extra entry! Why not come and take a look at our confirm judges for the poetry slam next year, we have the amazing Mark Grist as the slam host along with Vanessa Kisu-ule, Fay Roberts and Mc Mixy! Read More

Featured Event – Halloween with Daljit Nagra 31st October 2014, 7pm, Keats House, Keats Grove, London NW3 2RR – £8 (includes a complimentary drink)

Join us on All Hallows' Eve for gothic literature, music and a poetry open mic compered by Keats House Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra. For lovers of life and literature - adults only. For more information on this event please go to www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/keats-house-4777597709

Tell Us About Your Literary Event! We include a poetry or creative writing event each issue as well as feature a poetry book. If you'd like your event or book

to be featured, please email newsletters@forwardpoetry.co.uk and include details of your event or book. It's a great way to share news and raise poets' profiles with a friendly audience. Feel free to pass this information on to a friend or relative

who may find this of interest!

Forward Poetry News

“Thought Apples” Lichfield Launch

Lichfield Library had to add more chairs as Alrewas poet Bert Flitcroft packed out the venue for the launch of his second collection, Thought Apples. Offa‘s Press, the publisher, will have been heartened by the response as they take their first tentative steps beyond their heart-

land writes Staffs Poet Laureate Gary Longden. Dapper Bert, basking in a burgeoning female fan base that One Direction might envy,

beamed as he ran through a selection from the twenty five poem strong offering. The ap-peal of his work is easy to understand, accessible poems on everyday subjects written with a wit and intelligence which delights.

Although an Arts fan, he is also interested in science, incorporating it in a fun, wry way, not least in Forget Gravity. But his most affecting poem of the evening was the inti-mate, touching, Little Things, dedicated to his wife, about the minutiae of domestic life. Bert

has an Everyman eye, sharing my view that New York is one of the least remarkable world cities whilst picking out a little human observational gem in Central Park on Sunday. He

never tells or preaches, just watches, and favours leaving his poems open–ended. Thought Apples flew off the sales table with ravenous fer-

vour and is highly commended, find yourself a copy and check

our Bert for yourself as he tours his work. More information may be found on his website.

http://www.offaspress.co.uk/ http://www.bert-flitcroft-poetry.com/index.htm

http://garylongden.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/thought-apples-lichfield-launch/

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