Windlight

A New Sunset















A New Night

















A New Dawn

Moment of Silence

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— John McCrae

Dodge City

Knees Up Mother Brown

Skating with the snowman (and dancing the can-can) has aggravated my Housemaid's Knee.

It's a condition I have suffered with many a year due to scrubbing the floors of the Workhouse as a young lass.

I was lucky to leave there when I did. You have to be thankful for small mercies I suppose...

I sometimes look up at the bit of blue sky
High over my head, with a tear in my eye.
Surrounded by walls that are too high to climb,
Confined like a felon without any crime,
Not a field nor a house nor a hedge I can see -
Not a plant, not a flower, nor a bush nor a tree...
But I'm getting, I find, too pathetic by half,
And my object was only to cause you to laugh;
So my love to yourself, your husband and daughter,
I'll drink to your health with a tin of cold water:
Of course, we've no wine, not porter, nor beer,
So you see that we all are teetotallers here.

James Withers Reynolds

An unfortunate man who spent some time in Newmarket
workhouse later became known as ‘the workhouse poet’.
This is how he described life there in a verse letter to his sister,
‘Written from Newmarket Union’, 1846

Countdown to Christmas

Christmas is generally a busy time in the Household so before all the madness begins, I thought I'd have some fun.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen...

I'm not a Kitchen Maid by trade. I can easily burn a pan of water without trying very hard. However I do enjoy singing, (quite badly and mostly out of tune) whilst making my own words up to songs as I dust.

The following can be sangalong with "I'm in the mood for love"

I'm in the mood for soup
Simply because I made some
And simply because I made some
I'm in the mood for soup

Vegetables that I fry
Prior to adding water
Cumin and coriander
I'm in the mood for soup

My pot in winter weather
It'll see some soups I've made
We've put our veg together
Now in the pan, I'm not afraid

And I feel proud because
If it should boil, we'll let it
But, oh please, don't forget it
I'm in the mood for soup

Pour toutes les saisons

With grateful thanks to Henri Toulouse Lautrec (and his artwork) for inspiring me.
For more information visit here

Voulez vous Can-Can

Having read up on burlesque, I decided to visit Le Moulin Rouge.
It's an option I suppose. I like to dance.

History of Can-Can

Can-can first made it's appearance in the working class ballrooms of Paris in 1830.

Further reading shows:

"who knew that the French cancan had revolutionary roots, and the dance is coded, physically coded? It's a language. It's a grammar among a group of people...it was incredibly defiant but coded so the dancers wouldn't all end up in the Bastille. The cancan is entertainment, but behind the entertainment is a much deeper and smarter meaning"

More reading

"Many composers have written music for the cancan. The most famous music (and probably the most well-known melody from any opera) is French composer Jacques Offenbach's galop infernal in Orpheus in the Underworld (1858).

Other examples occur in Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow (1905) and Cole Porter's Can-Can (1954). The cancan has often appeared in ballet, most notably Léonide Massine's La Boutique Fantasque (1919) and Gaîté Parisienne. A particularly fine example of a French Cancan can be seen at the climax of Jean Renoir's 1954 film of the same name."

Don't put your daughter on the stage..

The Theatre in Caledon Penzance.

I wonder what entertainment will be on offer? The Theatre isn't officially open as yet (neither is the sim), but I had a wander by on my rounds. Duster in hand, of course. There is a bit of construction dust but as it's work in progress, I didn't spend much time cleaning as only more dust will appear.

I sneaked a look inside and my, it does look very grand.

Research shows that Burlesque was popular in the Victorian Era.

Originally, burlesque featured shows that included comic sketches, often lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes, alternating with dance routines. It developed alongside vaudeville and ran on competing circuits. In its heyday, burlesque bore little resemblance to earlier literary burlesques which parodied widely known works of literature, theater, or music.

Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment of burlesque focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects.

The genre originated in the 1840s, early in the Victorian Era, a time of culture clashes between the social rules of established aristocracy and a working-class society.

The popular burlesque show of the 1870s though the 1920s referred to a raucous, somewhat bawdy style of variety theater. It was inspired by Lydia Thompson and her troupe, the British Blondes, who first appeared in the United States in the 1860s.

Surprisingly, early Burlesque was produced, written and performed mostly by women.

Here are some interesting links to read .

The History of Burlesque
http://www.musicals101.com/burlesque.htm

Popular Entertainment in Victorian Britain
http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/index.html

Important Dates in Burlesque History
http://www.anatomyofburlesque.com/datesframe.htm

c.1890 Young Man's scrap book of pictures
http://www.costumes.org/HISTORY/galleryimages/1890sloperia/index.ht

Singalong

Oh I love to go a-dustering
Around sweet Caledon's land
And where I go, I love to clean
With a duster in my hand

Val-deri, Val-dera,
Val-deri,
Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Val-deri, Val-dera.
My duster in my hand

I love to wash all the glass
Enhance all that I see
Polish all the wood and brass
then have a cup of tea...

Visiting the Titanic

Happy Pumpkin Day

I'm busy dustin' pumpkins
Dustin the whole day through
(Trying to find my suitcase too)
I'm busy dustin' pumpkins
Just look at all the grime
I'd like to wish you a
Happy Pumpkin Day too

Titanic

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Volcano Cay/172, 167, 23

To read about the Titanic visit Encyclopedia Titanica which lists biographies of most of the passengers and crew aboard. The ship hit the iceberg on her maiden voyage at 11.40pm on the 14th April 1912 and she sank at about 2.20am on 15th April 1912.

712 were rescued and 1496 souls perished.

Further research shows that there were 20 Personal Maids on board. All were saved.

Incidentally, one of the crew was an "Archie Jewell" click here to read his story. And click here to read his testimony at the official inquiry to the tragedy.

Happy Halloween

I have been very busy dusting the pumpkins...

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza can be found in the Mexico sim (unlike my suitcase)
(181,60,41)

It's a chronological conundrum as scientists are unsure when it was built

I was surprised to see it raining when I arrived.. I hadn't brought a jacket with me.

CEBSC Thursday 16th August 12pm SLT

Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise....Our two weapons are fear and surprise... and ruthless efficiency....Our three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope....Our four... no...Amongst our weapons... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise...

I'll come in again.

(Ladies.. for all your facial hair needs, a visit to Mr Enoch will brighten your day...and put hairs on your chin.)

Thank you again, Sir.. a star!

Garden Croquet

Here is the pretty (yet pretty useless) set of croquet mallets and balls that I came across. It is a shame that you can't play with them.

I've come across the rules of Garden Croquet which can be found here. (uk site)

Although in America, "Backyard Croquet" or Nine Wicket Croquet can be found here.

An amusing quote from The Lakewood Croquet Club rules:

Section 45, Paragraph 1: Speaking in Tongues
"God save the Queen..."

As much as possible, competitors should attempt to speak only in pompous, over-the-top, grating approximations of British accents during match play. These accents should be somewhere in the region of the dialect displayed in early Monty Python movies. Players should also attempt to invoke the name of the Queen as often as possible, as well as belittling opponents by referring to them as members of Oasis. Of course, players who are not capable of a proper, obnoxious British accent should refrain from even attempting to speak in such a manner during match play. These players should allot a reasonable amount of practice time outside of matches to correctly perfect the accent so that it can be used in later match play.

Antiquity Snapshots

Waiting

Flea Circus

Do the okey -Croquet

Brighthelmstone..

Better known as Brighton.

I have been travelling around the grid to see if there are any builds of Brighton in world but I have not been very successful. (any ones you know about please leave a comment)

I came across this "Brighton Pier"















The Prince Regent spent much of his leisure time in Brighton and commissioned the exotic and expensive Royal Pavilion as a "holiday home" for him and his mistress. Or so the story goes.

You would think such a fine building would have a facsimile inworld. But as far as I could search, No Royal Pavillion. Which is a shame.















According to resources, between 1815 and 1822 the designer John Nash redesigned the palace.

Linden Labs are situating their new UK office in Brighton , coincidence or just strange... you decide.

History: Regency Fashions

The Gentlewomen of the Regency period temporarily abandoned tightly laced corsets in favour of a high-waisted, natural figure. The Empire Line was born. Although the Empire line was named after the First French Empire and not the British one.

The material used was often white muslin (almost transparent) although young ladies could also wear softer shades such as pinks, periwinkle blue, or lilacs.

The more mature matrons were advised to wear stronger colours such as Purple, black, crimson, deep blue or yellow.

Useful links to read more

http://fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1795-1820_in_fashion

http://locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy/reg3.html

http://janitesonthejames.blogspot.com/

http://www.janeausten.co.uk/index.ihtml

History: Regency

I've been hearing that Caledon Regency is under construction and being an inquisitive soul I have to read and find out when exactly was "The Regency" period.

According to the Aethernet, the English Regency period refers to the years 1811-1820. There was a French Regency (Régence) period that occured earlier between 1715 to 1723.

King George III being incapacitated with mental illness, his son, The Prince Regent, took control of the throne so to speak.

It was a time characterised by distinctive fashions, politics and culture.

Definition: Kitchen Maid

A kitchen maid's salary was slightly more than that of the scullery maid. She got a a pricely sum of £15.00 per year (about $30.00). Her day started at 6.30am but generally ended at 9.30pm.

In large households, the head kitchen maid is an under-cook and assumes many of the plain-cooking responsibilities. In small households, the kitchen maid prepares vegetables, game and poultry, does the dairy-work, and bakes the bread. If there is no stillroom maid, she makes the cakes for luncheon, tea and dessert and the rolls for breakfast. She keeps the kitchen clean and keeps things in order.

She is only allowed upstairs once a day, to attend Morning Prayers. Otherwise she spends all her time between her bedroom in the attic and the Kitchen. She usually dines in the kitchen with the scullery maid.

Gin toddies -- large measures --

"Small pleasures, small pleasures,
Who would deny us these?
Gin toddies -- large measures --
No skimping if you please!
I rough it. I love it.
Life is a game of chance
.I'll never tire of it --
Leading this merry dance.
If you don't mind
having to go without things,
It's a fine (second) life!

Your own imaginations

My sewing skills are still, how shall we put this.. messy but I managed to fashion a likeness of Nancy's dress from the well known Mr Dicken's book, Oliver Twist. (well according to the musical Oliver!)

"There's a little ditty,
They're singing in the city,
Espeshly when they've been
On the gin
Or the beer.
If you've got the patience,
Your own imaginations
Will tell you just exactly what you want to hear... "

Definition: Scullery Maid

So what exactly does a Scullery Maid do?


According to the dictionary, the word "Scullery" comes from :

"Old French escuelerie, from escuelier, keeper of dishes, from escuele, dish, from Vulgar Latin *sctella, alteration (influenced by sctum, shield) of Latin scutella, salver, diminutive of scutra, platter."

Scullery maids were the lowest ranking of the female servants. They had the most physical and demanding tasks in the kitchen. Being at the bottom of the servant hierarchy meant they were mocked and ridiculed by upper servants and completely ignored by members of the household.

Duties included, cleaning the floor, stoves, sinks, pots, pans and dishes. They would rarely handle the fine china due to the expense if they were damaged. They were sometimes expected to collect water and empty females servants chamber pots.

They worked from 6.00am in the morning to 11.30pm at night with poor wages to compensate them. All this for £13.00 per year (about $26.00 per year)

If the household was not wealthy enough to employ a junior parlour maid and a scullery maid, they may employ a ‘tweeny’. They were nicknamed 'tweenies' because they worked 'between stairs' in the basement helping the cook or upstairs in the family rooms with the parlour-maid. She would usually get a Sunday afternoon off but was expected to attend church in that time. She would get one week's holiday a year.

There was an old woman

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn't know what to do!
So she gave them some broth without any bread,
And she whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed!














There are two theories of the history of this rhyme - both in English History.

The first references Queen Caroline as the 'old woman'. Caroline was the wife of King George II who had eight children.

The second theory places King George as the 'old woman'. King George was the one to begin the men's fashion of wearing white powdered wigs, thus making him the old woman. The 'children' in this theory are the members of parliament and the bed was the Houses of Parliament. The term 'whip' is still used in the English Parliament to describe a member of Parliament who is assigned to making sure that all members 'toe the party line'.

Plaque: to the Future

The plaques that I fashioned (before breakfast) have now been installed.

No rest for the wicked

Another busy, busy day.

As my suitcase is still missing, it seems that I am very busy sewing new clothes.















Lord Smythe-Kurkin sent some material for me to use. Quite exotic but beggars can't be choosers. Included in the package was a lovely Cameo Brooch that was designed especially for me and features my very own face no less. (Silhouette in Jet from Whitby, North of England)
He apologises profusely for leaving me behind and hopes I am keeping well. He will be back over Caledon way as soon as his business allows him.

Since reading the Needlework volumes, I managed to make myself this new outfit using the free dresses as a pattern that is available in Caledon Victorian City Square.

The Needlework volumes are now in place in the Library so I can have a read whenever I need to.















Mr Drinkwater had another project for me this time required at the 11th Hour. A request for copper plated plaques no less. Metalwork not being one of my strongest skills, I fashioned 17 of them before breakfast.

All in aid of a good cause. The Relay for Life.

I lost my Mother to this dreadful disease, and nursed her through her final days. She had suffered many years but always had a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

I miss her terribly.