20/07/2009 by admin.

Another anniversary! Forty years ago today Apollo 11 made history.  

On this day Neil Armstrong spoke the immortal words, ‘One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind’ as he became the first human to leave a footprint on another celestial body (as far as we know).  The mission fulfilled the vision of President John F. Kennedy made in 1961 to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the Earth before the decade was out.  The ghostly black and white images - viewed at the time by some 600m people - are now ingrained in human conscious, although some conspiracy theorists doubt whether the whole affair was a monumental elaborate hoax!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

In our novel we refer to the remarkable vison, focus and determination demonstrated at that time as an example of what human endeavour can achieve, so the anniversary is a timely reminder in the run up to Copenhagen - when world leaders will come together to agree action on managing carbon emissions.   

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

17/07/2009 by admin.

Following Ben’s sighting of the runaway horseman and the ghostly lady in grey, our novel includes discussion on the exploits of highwaymen in Hertfordshire folklore, including the notorious Sixteen-String Jack - a character mentioned by Charles Lamb in his journal. 

Curious then that a photo E-fit of the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin has been released by North Yorkshire Police some 270 years since he was sent to the gallows for murder, robbery and cattle rustling. 

York Castle are displaying a wanted poster based on the E-fit drawn from descriptions from the 18th century.  Dick Turpin is legendary for riding 200 miles from London to York on his beloved Black Bess! Maybe he was the ghost rider Ben saw - all will be revealed!

Here’s the opening music to the TV series Dick Turpin. It reminds Ben of his ghostly encounter. You can read about his experience in our novel extract.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrOcTAKboE&feature=related

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

03/07/2009 by admin.

We’ve previously commented on the sad death of Michael Jackson, the ‘King of Pop’ and how the star linked with our story.  Well given the reference Sara made to Neverland and the ghost seen by Ben and recorded in Charles Lamb’s journal, we were curious about the mounting speculation about a ghostly shadowed figure seen during a CNN tour of the popstar’s former residence. 

There may well be a logical explanation but it makes for fascinating viewing….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Am67-Sew7k&feature=related

Posted in Q62a Is life logical?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q59 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

15/06/2009 by admin.

A ghost forest of huge tree trunks from Africa will appear around Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square this November.  The dramatic artwork will highlight the threat of deforestation. The iconic world reknowned column will be surrounded by stumps of trees that once stood at similar height. The project is the brainchild of artist Angela Palmer who travelled to Ghana to locate naturally fallen trees to use in the display.  The artwork will then move to Copenhagen ahead of the crucial UN Conference on climate change in December.  The fate of the rainforests will be high on the agenda.

Our novel records how Ben and Sarah took part in a protest in Trafalgar Square about climate change. Dressed as a polar bear Ben Whittenbury poses beneath Nelson’s column as his daughter takes photos.  Whilst Charles Lamb’s journal records the significance of ‘Nelson and the Bear ‘ a painting by Richard Westall and gives an insight of the trip the Admiral made to the Arctic when just a boy; a venture captured in the painting.

Posted in Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

22/09/2008 by admin.

Summer? What summer? The season officially ended yesterday - in an ironic blaze of sunshine.  But the warm weather could not save this year’s summer from a place in the worst top ten on record. There was 14 inches of rain and 464 hourse of sunshine - 7% less than the average.  As mentioned earlier on our ‘Watch’ August was a particularly gloomy month.  The poor weather was blamed on a jet-stream of fast winds high over Britain which blocked warm weather arriving from Southern Europe.  All very interesting given Mary Shelley’s role in our story and the reference to ‘A year without a summer’ which led to her writing the famous Frankenstien story.

Meanwhile, the number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled over the past 5 years, and now stands at nearly 30 million.  A Survey conducted by the Royal Mint revealed some 2% of £1 coins are now fake.  There are ways to tell a forgery from the real thing, you just need to know what you’re looking for. This curious to us given our discovery of coins from the Maundy Ceremony and Julia’s observation, “Are the coins genuine?’ Coincidence?

And finally, habitat loss is contributing to the worldwide decline of populations of common birds, with Birdlife International reporting fa fall in numbers of 45% of Europe’s common birds.  Farmland birds were the worst affected with the number of European Turtle Doves falling by 79%.  The study shows that environmental degregation is having a major impact, not just on birds but on bio-diversity in general.  Readers may recall how Emma Isola and Ralph Emerson sing a lament to the newly weds, Captain Lewin and Lady Katharine on Christmas Eve, which is all about two Turtle Doves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCB4-JWZ1kQ&feature=related

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q28 Have you ever lived in poverty?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

21/09/2008 by admin.

A millionaire businessman in Yorkshire has become so spooked by his haunted mansion that he fled and left it to the bank.  The owner, Anwar Rashid, described how he and his family became so terrified after hearing screams, knocking and seeing apirations in the mansion at Clifton Hall.  He compared his experience to Nicole Kidman’s movie, The Others. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu494-Dr5po

If Charles’ diary is to be believed, perhaps he ought to pay a visit to Blakesware Manor to witness the ghostly events there too? 

Posted in Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

01/09/2008 by admin.

Last month was the greyest August on record - and one of the wettest ever.  Britain had just 105.5 hours of sunshine, compared to the August average of 165.1 hours.  This was put down to a temporary shift in the Gulf Stream, and a cooling current in the Pacific known as La Nina. 

Curious that this should happen - might it be the impact of the mysterious Lady in Grey in our story?

Posted in Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

19/04/2008 by admin.

The Hammer horror star, Hazel Court, has died of a heart attack, aged 82. She was known as the Queen of Scream, because of her loud and bloody roles in a handful of films created by a monster cult following.  Among her original fans was the writer, Stephen King, who once said, “Who could ask for more?” when describing the thrill of meeting her.  Hazel starred in such films as The Raven, The Man Who could Cheat Death and The Curse of Frankenstien. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTaj3rLPd68

Many regarded her as very much of the English rose generation. Here’s an iconic image:

Hazel took the screaming seriously, “One can’t just scream,” she said in 2000. “To give a good scream one has to take an enormous breath, and such one’s stomach in, and fill one’s lungs and let go.”

This as a study by the UK Noise Association reveals that noise pollution in Britain has doubled since the 1960s.  People are often woken at night by the piercing scream of a car alarm, the wail of an emergency vehicle whizzing passed, or the bleep of a mobile phone with a low battery!  The hum of traffic is rarely far away and our skies echo to the sound of planes and helicopters.  At work, the low drone of the computer hard drive is inescapable.  Walk into a store and we’re often greeted by piped music! Complaints about anti-social levels of noise have soared, as many flats and apartments have poor sound insulation.  Now, what was it Sir Peter Scott said to Sarah about his hearing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrfZpVYrbdM

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q44 Is there anything worse than a fly at night?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

22/02/2008 by admin.

A special exhibition is taking place at the Metropolitain Museum of Art in New York, featuring the American artist, Jasper Johns.

 http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={A0EA279E-8A65-4D15-A346-C1C8981A6765}&HomePageLink=special_c2a

It recasts the ashen shade as one that gives an intelligent perspective on the complexities of life.  The exhibition has encouraged critics to think afresh about the significance and meaning of grey in our lifes and in art and politics. For many grey is unappealing, uninteresting and unexciting. There is, after all, no grey in the rainbow, yet readers of ‘The Haymakers Survey’ know the wonder in the colour grey.  In the words of the 1960s popular music group, The Monkees…

Today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light,
Today there is no black or white
Only shades of gray.

Posted in Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

12/02/2008 by admin.

Hamsters have become the must-have pet in China, since the Year of the rat began. Pet shop owners say stocks are running low - and prices high - as children clamour for a furry friend.  According to the Chinese media, prices have tripled to about 30 yuan ($4.20, £2.10) per hamster across the country.  In the Year of the Rat, this tiny creature has become the most acceptable rodent, a type of animal that is not everyone’s first-choice pet.  “Rats and mice have a bad image, but hamsters are gentle.  Take a look…

We know all about the magic of hamsters.  So do Xinhua news who say, “You can hold them in your hand and play with them.”  We suggest they buy a plastic ball for them to run around in, just like Dixie!  It’s strange how each of the animals in our adventure are in the headlines just now. 

Take the extremely rare young white stag which has appeared in the Highlands of Scotland! The John Muir Trust, a conservation body, has confirmed the sightings in a secret location of the West Coast.  Sine time immemorial, a white stag has been regarded as a mystical messenger from the afterlife; a creature that chills the blood of kings and commoners alike.  Mrs Lockhart from the trust had the good fortune to witness the stag, describing the animal as ‘ a magnificent ghost-like creature when set aginst the red stags.’  Now, didn’t Lucy claim that a white stag came to Yggdrasil not long after it was planted!

View the animal via this clip… http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7230000/newsid_7238700/7238787.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

A Dutch optics engineer named Ralf Ottow claims to have invented the world’s brightest torch, equivalent to 52 million candles with a remarkable reach of 9 miles.  The Maxablaster can light a ship miles out at sea and make clouds glow in the night sky.  The special bulb creates an ultra hot plasma between two closely spaced electrodes inside a gas-filled central chamber. The inventor says, “It’s not a torch to walk your dog with as it’ll probably cook him!” Good job that Ben had a more basic model when he went in search of Malachi that equinox.

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q37 Do you know how to have fun?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »