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5:08 pm
May 7, 2010
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I do sometimes wish as I read posts on here that we had some way of ‘rewarding’ the odd post. I would definitely have to have given that a thumbs up Bo “eat their own buttocks, with neither grace or gravy” I really liked that. 
Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves - Boudica addressing the tribes Circa AD60
7:49 pm
February 24, 2010
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At least I understood that one. Ha!
Oh Boleyn that book sounds just awful.
12:36 am
October 28, 2011
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I just had to go and hunt down an old blog to share some quotes with you guys. The Anne Boleyn book by Norah Lofts was the first book I read on Anne, followed by the Carolly Erickson. Not stellar stuff guys, I know, but it’s what I had in the book shop stock and I was waiting for better ones to arrive in the mail. Not to disagree with you Boleyn, people may consider Lofts an expert historian but I think she is mental.
….on the subject of the imaginary sixth finger and that witches actually exist
“Even in the Tower she made a typical witches threat, saying that if she died there, there would be a seven-year drought in England. Witches claimed to have some control over the weather, and seven has always been regarded as a magic number.
She bore on her body two marks then commonly associated with witchcraft; the mole, sometimes called the Devil’s Paw-mark’, and the slight deformity of the hand – these of course, for the ignorant, were evidence enough, but cannot be seriously considered“
There was also speculation a few pages back on whether she had an extra vertebrae in her neck.
“Those who like to think of Anne as a witch point out that she possessed an extraordinarily devoted wolfhound to whom she gave the name Urian – one of Satan’s many names and virtually unknown to the uninitiated”
I googled that. The name is either Welsh or Celtic, it is derived from Greek and means “from heaven/heavenly” I didn’t see any mentions of Satan, but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
On Anne not possible being able to commit incest, even though she accused her of “French kissing” her brother George some pages back
“It was not that incest was rare and unnatural a thing to be unbelievable; everybody knew it happened, but in overcrowded hovels with brothers and sisters sharing beds, among people whose lives were so isolated, or their appearance so unattractive, as to make normal sexual contact difficult.“
So, very ugly people must have resorted to incest.
On Anne taking her final communion and protesting her innocence…
“There is, of course, just another possibility – that she was in fact the witch that Henry said she was; that she had gone over to the Devil…in this case taking the Sacrament and telling a lie at the same time, could have been one more tribute to her Dark Master, offered perhaps at the hope of some magical aid even at the eleventh hour…It is a matter of history that some witches did die with exceptional courage and defiance”
1:48 pm
February 24, 2012
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I haven’t read that book…and now I don’t think I ever will.
That last part would be very funny if it wasn’t for the fact that some people will think it’s true. 
6:07 pm
January 3, 2012
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Olga kind of makes it worse if Norah Lofts considers herself as a historian LOL I wonder if she and SWMNBN are related somewhere along the bent sinsiter line of things if so then I will quite easily like to cut them both into collops and feed them to the cat. But only after they’ve eaten their own buttocks…
I did enjoy 5 gold rings by her however but I don’t think I could stomach another one of her books, and certainly not on a full stomach.
Like you I got the impression there was something wrong with her mentally. Perhaps she was, like SWMNBN were dropped on their heads as babies and when they woke up they believed they were bona fidi Historians…
Historians I’ve found have a misguided believe that witches and warlocks are evil when the truth is as far away from that as possible. Not to say that there aren’t bad witches and Warlocks because there is, but then these Devil worshippers as they are called must therefore except that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Satan worshippers are anti Jesus etc..
Real witches and Warlocks, except that Jesus Christ existed but don’t believe he was the son of God. He was simply a man who was very clever and unique for a man of his times, and as a result fell fowl of Roman Law, and died at their hands for mearly teaching the people there was a better way of life for them.
Wiccans,/ Witches/ Druids etc all believe in Mother Earth, and basically do no harm to man or beast. There are no virgin or baby sacrifices made and they don’t fly around on broomsticks terrorising people, that is a common and very wrong misconception put about by the Church.
Who I hasten to add stole a lot if not all of the Church ceremonies off the Pagans….
We are not evil. We don’t harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we are from looking at TV. We are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a sense of humor. You don’t have to be afraid of us. We don’t want to convert you. And please don’t try to convert us. Just give us the same right we give you–to live in peace. We are much more similar to you than you think.”- Margot Adler
If you take a copy of the Christain Bible and leave it out in the wind and rain soon the words that are printed on the paper will disintigrate and be gone. Our Bible is the wind and the rain Herbalist Carol McGrath
We should educate people to understand that a Witch is not evil, but very ancient and positive Margot Adler.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
7:07 pm
January 3, 2012
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I found this I hope it helps people to understand what the Pagan way of life is all about…
Embracing the Goddess within yourselfs will bring
all of you to a new understanding and a valuing
of life.
A vision that inspires you to live and love on
Planet Earth.
Like a priceless jewel buried in dark layers
of soil and stone, Earth radiates her brilliant
beauty into the caverns of space and time.
Perhaps you are aware of those who watch
over your home, and experience it as a place
to visit and play with reality.
You are becoming aware of yourself as a
Gamesmaster.
Imagine Earth restored to her regal beauty.
Stately trees seem to brush the deep blue sky.
Clouds billow to form magestic peaks.
Songs of birds fill the air.
Creating symphony upon symphony.
The Goddess is calling for an honouring
of what she allows to be created, through
the core mystery of the blood.
Those who own her planet are learning
about LOVE.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
7:20 pm
December 5, 2009
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I love that. If science has killed God, then for those who need something other than pragmatism, it fits the bill.
7:21 pm
April 1, 2011
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Olga said
Thanks again Neil and Susan :).
Now speaking of Susan and historical figures and Francis Brandon…
Ok I have only read one other fictional book on Jane Grey and Francis Brandon besides her Highness the Traitor (such a brilliant book, thanks Susan) which was Weir’s Innocent Traitor. I didn’t mind it, but man was Francis an outrageous monster in it. I just read the first chapter of Weir’s latest book (I think I’ll get back to it later) and she’s got Francis shrieking and whipping Jane every three minutes again. It’s pretty OTT in this one too.
So when I started Susan’s book I was waiting for Francis to turn into Godzilla, and after 100 pages or so I was like “oooh” (it was quite funny really, I was almost perplexed)
I loved the portrayal of all the women in that book. I also loved that Jane was actually a bit of a brat in it (because really when we look at the actual history some of the things she did were pretty disrespectful) The whole spin of Francis feeling uncomfortable around her was fantastic, where Francis felt inferior to everyone, leading to her attraction to Stokes.
Does anyone remember the movie with Helena Bonham Carter? I saw it sometime last year but for the life of me I can’t remember what the parents were like in it.
Thanks, Olga! It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie. Unlike Bill, I came away with the impression from the movie that Henry Grey joined the Wyatt uprising because he wanted to rescue his daughter from the Tower and that Frances was content to let her rot in there, but I could be remembering it wrong.
Susan Higginbotham
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
7:25 pm
February 24, 2010
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Very nice Boleyn.
Norah Lofts is an historian? No kidding. I never liked her books, but what I read of her was fiction. Stopped reading them many, many years ago.
7:35 pm
April 1, 2011
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Boleyn said
If you want to way over the top and bang out of order fiction about the Brandon/Suffolk household. Read 5 Gold rings, by Norah Lofts? Somewhere in it where Jane says she doesn’t want to marry Guildford apart from being beaten almost senceless, by her mum, locked in the Attic for days on end and starved into submission, and her father rapes her as well just to make sure she will go through with the wedding!!!!! It’s a long time sice I read the book but if I remember it right her father said to her to her after he raped her I hope a child springs forth from your womb as a result of our coupling you are a comely wench I’m sure Guildford will be happy to share you..
Just as well it was a work of pure fiction, because if it was written by a expert Historian I’m afraid I would have had to track them down and make them eat their own buttocks, with neither grace or gravy..Followed by a book flambe.
Having said that I did quite enjoy the book.
It was actually Philippa Wiat who wrote the Five Gold Rings novel. She wrote several other rather over-the-top novels as well.
The buttocks-eating candidate in this area as far as I’m concerned is Mary Luke, who wrote a supposed biography called Nine Days Queen. Although Luke explicitly states that she is writing nonfiction, many of the episodes in the book, such as Frances shaking her infants and misbehaving at “school” with Catherine Parr, are simply made up. We’re also treated to a description of Jane’s wedding night, to which Luke was apparently privy. I had actually enjoyed Luke’s novel about Catherine Parr, but after reading her so-called biography of Jane, I lost all respect for Luke.
Susan Higginbotham
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
8:11 pm
January 3, 2012
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Thank you Susan I wasn’t too sure. Although I have read a Norah Lofts and thought it was that… either way she should still eat her buttocks…
Sounds like I’d best avoid Mary Luke then….
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
3:22 am
February 24, 2012
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I’ve only read one Luke book, and that was “The Nonsuch Lure”, which was fiction and took place on the site of Henry’s Nonsuch Palace. I don’t remember much about it except some reincarnation ghosty stuff, but I did like it. Think I’ll see if I can dig it out and add it to the pile beside my bed.
2:11 pm
October 28, 2011
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Right thanks Susan, I will avoid the Mary Luke biography. I have seen it here and there but i wasn’t sure whether or not I should bother. Sometimes I get a little worried that older books, not very old, after the early 1900’s might be terrible.
I was reading the Lofts biography going “what the hell? What???” and then by the time I started reading the Erickson one I was like “Oh come ON” The third book I read on Anne was the Warnicke book, which still fills me with fear remembering the 30 page chapters. A historian I am not, I had only read Starkey’s books before those ones with his lovely short chapters .
Boleyn I have trouble with the old fashion notion of “witches” What we consider witches and wizards to be today doesn’t involve Satan, finding sticks in the backyard that you can cast spells with, or making poppets. Or injuring Richard III. Well I don’t think that anyway. And you know, the vatican eventually gave Harry Potter the thumbs up
2:40 pm
January 3, 2012
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Olga If it helps, my brother and sister in law are high preists of a Wiccan coven, and I follow the Pagan way of life. In fact Wanstallian Wiccan which is what I am, is a recognised way of life or religion if you want to call it that. We don’t refer to our beliefs as a religion it’s a way of life for us…
I respect different cultures and religions however and don’t condemn then just because their beliefs are different to mine.. We each must follow our own path..
Nope Satan does not play in any part of our lives, he is what Christains call the anti christ which means that Satanists except that Jesus Christ was the son of God, and therefore believe that the Devil is the real master of of the religious world, not Jesus.
For us we don’t believe in Jesus as the Son of God, we except there was a man called Jesus who was crucified for preaching to the people that they didn’t have to live like they did. We don’t believe there is some all powerful being called God either. So if there is no God or Son of God to us there is no Satan either.. You can’t believe in something that doesn’t exist without the other that doesn’t exist…..
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
2:24 am
October 28, 2011
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Boleyn said
I respect different cultures and religions however and don’t condemn then just because their beliefs are different to mine.. We each must follow our own path..
If only everyone thought like that Boleyn. But we are lucky we live in a time of (mostly) religious freedom. Sometimes when I am reading about old superstitions, it just astonishes me. It’s like they couldn’t actually apply any logic to situations back then.
2:47 pm
January 3, 2012
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Most cries of Witchcraft came about through Doctors, although the Church did back up a lot of the complaints.
Woman as we know were taught about the usage of certain herbs for treating ailments and assisting childbirths and overtime they learn’t more and more about what herb was best to treat this or what was the best method for giving birth, if the labour was prolonged etc.. Doctors being men at that time didn’t like the idea of a woman poking their beak in to what was then a man’s world. If they felt a woman was getting to big for their boots they were accused of witchcraft and being in league with the Devil.
Keeping an animal was considered that these woman had a familar. Keeping a cat was considered the worst of the worst, which is why when you look at some pictures of so called witches they always have a cat with them.. In truth a cat was kept by a person to keep the mice and rats down in a property, which given the state of the sanitary conditions would have been rife with vermin, a dog was kept purely for personal protection and for hunting.
I also feel that a lot of these accusations were made by other woman jealous of the fact that the accused knew more than they did about herbal lore than they did and as a result they were better off finanicially than they were. Make the acussation and the people will buy herbal medicines from you instead.
As Olga says thank our lucky stars that we now have the freedom to worship whatever Gods or Godesses we choose, these days. I’ve no doubt that I would have been burnt as a Witch a long time ago, if I spoke out about about my way of life back then.
A bit of Trivia here for you to ponder on.. Helen Duncan, oh the name means nothing to most of you, but I bet Louise knows who I’m on about…
Helen Duncan offered her services as a witch to Churchill during the 2nd World War to help him beat Hitler. She was scoffed at and basically told where to go, and imprisoned in Holloway for the duration of the war.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
4:26 pm
May 7, 2010
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Bo about Helen Duncan
she was not imprisoned for the duration – she served 9 months in Holloway cMarch 1944 – cNew Year 1945.
she was not imprisoned for being a witch but for fraudulent behaviour i.e. claiming to be a medium who brought the dead back at seances and taking money from people for the ‘act’.
she did not offer her services to Churchill and he actually thought her trial was ‘tomfoolery’ (his word) but he also accepted the need for her to be in seclusion at that point because of fears she would release information on the upcoming D day landings.
the reason this all happened was because in one of her seances she gave details of a ship which had been sunk though the news had not been made public for the purpose of not letting the enemy know of the loss to the navy etc. There were worries that she might, if truly a medium, make other public statements especially regarding the D day landings. (It came out later I believe that in one of those incredible chains of so and so’s friend who was so and so’s sister who lived next to so and so’s mother blah blah but anyway she got her information on the ship which had been sunk from someone who knew someone who had heard from someone on a different ship that someone else would not be coming back so that even though the sinking was kept under wraps by the War Office this dead man’s family knew he was gone and it was talked of among family and friends before the offical telegrams were ever sent out)
I don’t lean toward one belief or the other overly. She may well have been a good medium or she may have been a fraud, I have no idea but she never claimed to be a witch and no-one else claimed she was either.
Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves - Boudica addressing the tribes Circa AD60
9:15 pm
January 9, 2010
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I’ve never heard of Helen Duncan but her story sounds intriguing to say the least – witch, genuine medium or fraud
9:24 pm
January 3, 2012
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Thank you Maggie..Having read what your’ve put it’s possible although she herself and those who knew her well enough didn’t claim she was witch/mystic or whatever, you know how these things get started.. Someone who has no knowledge of her hears the story adds to it and eventually it goes round the wrekin and back again and comes out with “OOOOh she must be a witch then etc.. Chinese whispers can be lethal… Oh well mistakes happen, that’s why pencils have erasers..
There are some good mediums out there and bad ones.. But they have nothing to do with with being Pagan, there are some Pagan/Wiccans who have second sight as it’s called, but even so what they know could only be the outcome of one possible choice. It has nothing to do with magic or magical power.
We each hold our own destinies in our own hands and we can decide which way we want to go. If it leads to a good or a bad thing it’s what we have chosen and we must live with it consequences.. In much the same way as you could advice me to buy a cat for a pet, knowing that the area I live in is unsuitable to keep anything more than a cat or a cage animal of some type, and I go out and buy a dog instead, and afterwards realising that you were right in your advice in buying a cat.. However I made the choice of not following your advice and I have to live with it. Doesn’t mean that you are a witch, it just showed you used basic common sence and logic to point out that I would be making a mistake given the circumstances of where I was living at the time.
Shamans are perhaps the most magical (loosely worded) of men although the people who follow them know nothing else so believe in everthing he says and does. If he says turn left to his people they will turn left, in their minds he is right but is he? if something goes wrong when they turned left who do they blame? They don’t blame him because he’s always right, but someone must have in their mind thought that they should have turned right, and this is where the rot sets in and causes no end of trouble..
Being Pagan doesn’t mean I have to obey to the letter what is being said they are mearly guidelines and as I said we each follow our own path. The only thing that we are of one mind over is Mother Earth, who should be respected at all times.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
3:18 pm
October 28, 2011
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After reading Weir’s latest novel, I’m a bit baffled at her portrayal of Katherine Grey. The book runs between the life of Katherine Grey and Katherine Plantagenet 70 years earlier (Richard III”s daughter). I don’t know much about Katherine Plantagenet and I don’t think anyone does know a lot so nothing about that character bothered me a great deal, but Katherine didn’t come off well at all. I’m not sure Weir meant her to either. Actually I’m just not sure what Weir meant by the book at all.
Katherine is selfish and self-obsessed and fairly shallow. What do we know about Katherine Grey? I haven’t done any reading on her, maybe she was a bit of a prat (well some of the things I know of anyway) but Weir pretty much has her obsessing over being in line for the crown and looking after her own interests.
