I had a long chat on Zoom the other day with Lady Amanda Barclay, who (as you probably know) is managing The Salon during my prolonged absence.

 

Lady Amanda told me that they were very busy during the Coronation weekend. Lord Belcher, Lord Bromley, Lord Fanshawe, Lord Quentin Mowbray and Lord Trent were all in a sulk about not having been invited io the Coronation itself. So Lord Belcher organized a lingerie party at The Salon, with all of our regular girls, and a few extra performers thrown in for good measure.

 

Their Noble Lordships all had a fabulous time with our girls! Around about midnight – when the orgy had reached its peak – Lord Trent was heard to remark: “Where would you all rather be right now, boys? Here, or in Westminster Abbey?”

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Love and Kisses to all my Friends and Fans!

xxxxx

Lady Rebecca Lyndon

Duchesse de la Baleine D’Or

 

I managed to catch the sun just peeping over the horizon. The trees and fields are still in shadow, but to the west you can see the towers of Toronto gleaming in the dawn's rays.

 

This High Dynamic Range 360° aerial panorama was stitched from 78 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed with Color Efex, and touched up in Affinity Photo and Aperture.

 

Original size: 25000 × 12500 (312.5 MP; 953.01 MB).

 

Location: Ontario, Canada

Managed a break in the rain a few weeks back.

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So ventured down to my local park in search of some Snowdrops, ideal conditionas as it was still overcast.

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Found it tricky to get a good angle even with the tripod splayed to ground level.

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Then I came across a fallen tree with the snow drops growing up from the raised root base.

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This is one from the set I took that morning, a single Snowdrop with rain drops on it.

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Best seen on black - Press L

"Sometimes.. I'm still there."

♫Memory Reboot♫

Sim: Mischief Managed

  

Managed to capture an image of our nearest planetary neighbour Venus during the afternoon of the 26.03.20.

 

This is a false colour UV/IR filtered composite image in order to reveal some cloud definition in the thick atmosphere of the planet. Some brightening is evident at both poles.

 

The IR filter is mapped to red, the UV filter to blue and the green channel is a blend of both.

 

Imaged with a Celestron C8 and a ZWO 290MM camera.

Managed to grab a few shots of the Charlotte Skyline yesterday evening. Was hoping to get some more clouds streaking across the sky with some long exposures, but in typical Carolina fashion the clouds cleared by sunset. #charlotteskyline #queencity #charlottesgotalot #carolinaphotographer #canonphotography #canon90d

Managed an hours photography whilst visiting family in Gravesend last weekend.

Managed to get a few shots of Cattle Egrets inter-acting with the "Rare Breeed" White Park Cattle this morning. I/C the classic "on the back" shot

Managed to catch up with Purple Sands a few location along the North Antrim coast today.

Managed to get these shots this morning. So pleased and relieved to see they are still about after another dreadful few days in Suffolk.

Managed to escape the inlaws today. And her is today's outfit. Different skirt to the other day . Blinking hot today

Graham went into the bedroom to find his slippers to find that Rufus wasn't just on the bed.

 

He'd managed to cover himself up in the duvet too. Thankfully he didn't move while I quickly took some photos of him.

 

www.flickr.com/groups/2016_one_photo_each_day/

 

Thank you for your favourites. :O)

I never quite managed to get this one into my photostream even though i live less than 3 miles away and its one of the most photographed locations in the North East.

 

The sky wasn't up to much at all. The bluey tones were the best that i could come up with.

 

Also, i need to buy some wellies.

  

I managed to capture this long exposure image using my sony fe 28-70mm lens with a hoya 10 stop nd filter.

 

When i first arrived it was really foggy and misty, barely seeing any of the bridge. luckily within the next hour or so it cleared which enabled me to get the shot i was after. :)

The sun manages a brief appearance sandwiched between the horizon and the low cloud....and shortly afterwards, it was dull again.

Managed to get another Athearn GP40-2 done. The prototype photo I used for reference was from RailPictures.net and was taken in 1999. www.railpictures.net/photo/55432/. You will notice some detail differences between the prototype and the model. The model is as the loco would have been in 1984 when painted into this scheme. However, I liked the look of this as it is in this photo so decided just to go with it. The locomotive was originally Western Pacific 3553 with a build date of Apr 1980. UP renumbered it to the 900 series in April 1984 and then to 9988 in Jan 2003.

They love nettles and this little swarm of mini munchers has managed to strip a patch.

 

www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=io

  

Larva

 

The behaviour of the larva is very similar to that of the Small Tortoiseshell, the two species often being seen together. In the first instar, Peacock larvae are very similar to those of the Small Tortoiseshell. However, mature Peacock larvae are jet black for the most part, whereas Small Tortoiseshell larvae are typically dark green with a pair of yellow stripes running down the length of their sides.

 

On emerging from their eggs, Peacock larvae build a communal web near the top of the plant and from which they emerge to bask and feed and are usually highly conspicuous. As the larvae grow, they move to new plants, building new webs along the way. Webs are decorated with shed larval skins and droppings and are easily found.

 

Larvae have several techniques to avoid predation. When disturbed, a group of larvae will often jerk their bodies from side to side in unison, which must be a formidable sight to any predator. The larvae will also regurgitate green fluid and will, if necessary, curl up in a ball and drop to the ground. Larvae feed both during the day and at night. There are 5 instars in total.

 

The primary larval foodplant is Common Nettle (Urtica dioica). Hop (Humulus lupulus) and Small Nettle (Urtica urens) are also used.

  

1st Instar

 

"The larva eats away the crown of the egg, and all hatch at once. Those at the bottom of the batch immediately start feeding through the leaf, and all live in a dense mass, spinning a web over the leaf. Directly after emergence the larva measures only 1.6 mm. long; the body is cylindrical; the head large, black and shining, beset with fine black hairs. On the body are four longitudinal rows of long, fine, black, simple hairs with bulbous bases; they are slightly curved and have the extreme tips very slightly clubbed and whitish. On the ventral surface and claspers are paler fine straight hairs; the spiracles are outlined with black. The surface is finely granular, with minute, raised, dark points. The colour is a very light ochreous-green, almost white-green." - Frohawk (1924)

  

2nd Instar

 

"The first moult was on June 5th, 1908, the first stage lasting six days. Before the second moult, nine days old, it measures 8 mm. in length. It is a good deal similar to the previous stage; the base of the longest hairs now form black conical tubercles, which are beset with bristles, and each terminates in a long, slightly serrated black hair. There are numerous black serrated hairs of different lengths, some extremely small, scattered over the body, which is granulated with fine black points. The head is shining black, with minute black bristles. The surface of the body is very shining, of a mottled olive-brown, blotched with pale ochreous round each of the largest tubercles. They live and feed in company. Preparatory to moulting they all assemble in a dense mass on a thick carpet of web spun over the eaten part of the plant, and thereon, packed together, undergo the second moult. When disturbed they all throw up the anterior half of their bodies in the form of a hook (thus c__) and remain so for a few minutes." - Frohawk (1924

  

3rd Instar

 

"The second moult occurred on June 9th, 1908, the second stage occupying four days. Before the third moult, thirteen days old, it measures from 12.7 mm. to 14.8 mm. long. In this stage a further development in the size of the tubercles is noticeable, especially the two dorsal rows, which are of considerable length and terminate, as all the shorter ones do, with long, slightly curved hairs. The ground colour is purplish-dark-brown, the longer hairs, which are scattered over the body, are placed on white dots. The head and other details of the surface are as in the previous stage; the claspers are pale olive-ochreous. They still live gregariously, and, as in the previous stage, prior to moulting they all assemble in a dense pack, forming a conspicuous black mass. In this stage they consume a great quantity of food; and when touched or irritated exude from the mouth a comparatively large drop of green liquid; and when slightly disturbed they throw up their heads and fore part of the body as in the last stage, and if still further annoyed or shaken they fall to the ground with much wriggling, at the same time lowering themselves by a silk thread." - Frohawk (1924)

  

4th Instar

 

"The third moult June 13th, 1908. The third stage also lasted four days. Before fourth moult, eighteen days old, the larva is 25.4 mm. in length; very similar to the previous stage. All the tubercles are well developed, the two dorsal rows being about twice the length of the sub-dorsal and lateral series. The white spots are now more distinct and numerous. The head and legs are shining black, as well as the anal pair of claspers. The ground colour is a purple-black; in other respects the details are the same as in the previous stage. Before moulting they again assemble in a dense mass." - Frohawk (1924)

  

5th Instar

 

"The fourth and last moult took place on June 18th, 1908, the fourth stage lasting five days. After fourth moult, fully grown, about twenty-eight days old, it averages in length about 41 .3 mm., some specimens as much as 44 mm. long. It is fairly cylindrical and comparatively slender; the first segment is much the smallest. There are six longitudinal rows of black shining spines from the fifth to eleventh segments inclusive; the second and third segments have each only two dorsal spines, which are longer than those on the other segments; the fourth and anal segments have each four spines; the first segment has no spines, but a transverse ridge of fine black hairs. The spines are sub-dorsal, super-spiracular and sub-spiracular. They are long and shining black, sharply pointed, and bear numerous bristles of various lengths; the body is densely covered with minute black bristles, which adds intensity to the rich velvety-black ground colour. At the segmental divisions the surface is smooth and of a dull leaden-black. Each segment is encircled with numerous pure white globular warts, each emitting a fine white hair; the largest are in front of the spiracles. On the first segment is a dorsal, shining, black, transverse disc, and two round ones on the anal segment; the first is small and adjoins the eleventh segment, the other forms a large rounded knob on the extremity. The head and legs are shining black and thickly studded with black bristles of varying lengths; the claspers are ochreous-brown at the base, the middle portion bright ochreous, the foot palest. Several of the larvae were fully grown on June 24th (the fifth stage occupying six days), making the larval period twenty-seven days: twenty-five days feeding and two days occupied in changing to pupa." - Frohawk (1924)

  

Managed to catch the famous Flying Scotsman steam train as it made its way through Oxfordshire...

 

Almost 100 years old, it was built in 1923, and was the first steam loco to reach 100mph; it was retired in 1963.

 

Taken at Heyford in Oxfordshire, UK.

 

Taken March 2022

granville,telford,shrophire,i dropped in after work to a local spot to me the granville country park,the ibe wasnt very showy at all but i still managed a couple of below par pics against the sun light,thanks for all comment and favs all.

Managed to visit the Red Tower in York a few days later with my 10-20mm lens this time. The clouds were interesting and the wind had picked up so I thought I'd dig out the 10-stop filter.

( 263 of 365 )

All I could manage for this day , a drive in loads of rain , got soaked unloading so we will have to do with the above !!

managed a couple of hours out this afternoon between the showers ,got this oystercatcher sifting through the mud

Managed to capture this show of affection and protection.

Managed to take this photo just after a huge storm so can count myself lucky. The one thing you can't see in the photo is the 15 other photographers crammed under the pier taking the same shot

www.matthewdowningphotography.com

 

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Managed to get this nice shot in Piazza San Macro in Venice, Italy, just as the sun was beginning to set. Ideally I would have liked to use an @LEEFilters but the sun was fading fast :)

I managed to build 3 quite big models this year! Especially 'to the sky' was huge and much more structural work than usual!

 

You can see here some models that I didn't post on my Flickr main account. Most of them were just some small builds for contests done within a few hours.

 

Among those is the 60ies furniture or Shaun the sheep. Contests can be quite interesting: I would have never thought of building Shaun otherwise and it was fun and satisfying.

 

'Land Ahoy' might look like a rip off of my former Lighthouse-wave MOC of 2018. Which was in a way only a fraction of my space tube cylinder. But I managed to do it 'legally' and stable and it got enough Lego Ideas votes within a few months.

Acolyte

 

The Prologue:

Julie had come alone. Having missed her ride with a friend to deal with some pressing servant related issues, she had taken her father’s roadster out and had driven the curving, often bumpy road into the city by herself. Parking it, she had made her way to where the festivities were already in full swing.

She now stood at upstairs entrance, allowing herself a minute to unwind from her driving to breathlessly take it all in. As she stood to one side, allowing the swarming mass of guests to pass uninhibited by her as they headed downstairs to the party chambers below, her eyes grew wide with the splendor below.

Julie still possessed some of the awkwardness of youth, and it showed by the way she carried herself. From her constantly gawking eyes, to her nervously moving hands, down to the high heels on her feet that occasionally still tripped her up as she walked. But despite all that, she still managed to present a total picture of elegance and grace, the result of years of etiquette being forced down her pretty throat.

Now, anyone down below who happened looked up at the entrance, would have given Julie a second look, and they did.

With that second look the following would have been taken in; long brown hair hung down in silken masses past her shoulders. The hair framed an oval face, with large, innocently wide, eyes, heavy with the mascara that always gave her face a perpetually surprised look. Resplendent in a long soft gown that seemed to pour down forever over her quite perky youthful figure, a purple satin sheet of flowing liquid, broken only by the black bolero jacket with its shimmering ornament. The hem of her gown almost covered the pointed toes of her coal black high heeled shoes.

A diamond necklace blazed in rippling fire hung from Julie’s throat, its brilliance matched by the long diamond earrings that peeked in and out as they swayed vibrantly, like a twin beacons. A sparkling diamond brooch with swinging sapphire’s that matched the colour of Julies eyes , had been placed high on one side of her black satin bolero styled jacket. She wore no gloves, and her bare fingers were home to a rather lively assortment of gem encrusted rings.

Soon two ladies also broke away from the crowd and joined Julie in her observation, as they commented to one another about the scene below. They then asking Julie if she agreed, as if the strangers and she were old acquaintances, Julie gave them both the once over as she reluctantly agreed with them.

Both Ladies were red heads, although the younger one, with pretty hazel eyes, was more of a ginger ( like Julies maid), Julie finished giving both a swift appraisal before turning her attention back to the crowd, looking for an opening to make her escape. The ginger, a young miss stunning in a gown of deep green brocaded satin with silken emerald frills, apologized for the intrusion, then let out a small squeal, commenting on how adorable Julie’s jacket was, as she lifted it up, of Jules of Paris( Pariee is how she pronounced it), and your gown, it’s of the house of Yevonne, is it not, the young lady asked? No Julie said, starting to shake her head, which made her earrings sparkle even more erratically, as the other lady continued admiring Julie’s satin jacket, momentarily covering the bright brooch from view. At the same time the other lady, a bit older ,becomingly clad in a fine gown of red wine colured Taffeta, placed a hand on Julies other shoulder, asking the now disconcerted girl if she knew how late the orchestra was playing, Julie continued shaking her head, as she looked into the older lady’s deep green eyes, mesmerized as they just oozed kindness , No, sorry ma’am she answered obediently . The younger one finished her admiration of Julie’s s attire by patted Julie’s shoulder, well nice meeting you, and with a cheerful tootles, both women left, melting ahead into the crowd.

Julie watched them for a few seconds as the pair swished downstairs, straightening her jacket as she did. Suddenly all thoughts of the two ladies were pulled from her mind as she realized something was amiss. It took her but a second to realize the brooch her maid had pinned onto her jacket was now absent. Bother she said under her breath as she looked around her on the empty floor, it must have fallen off in the roadster! Under her breath she chastised both the roadster, and the road, remembering the way the vehicle had lurched to and fro on the bumpy roadway in her haste to reach the city. She must have words with that maid of hers for not fastening it properly, that brooch was simply too valuable for her to be so careless... Julie then puts the brooch out of her mind; she decides she will have the maid search the roadster for it in the morning.

And she makes her way out into the stream of guests and begins her descent, carefully as her high heeled feet negotiate the stairs…..

***

The Tale

Dazzling!

This was the word that best described the vision enclosed within the massive chamber that evening. Filled wall to wall with a seemingly endless swarm of guests, presenting an endless sea of colourfully be gowned, be gloved, and bejeweled ladies, escorted by a small army of tuxedoed and top hatted male chaperones. The crème del a crème of the huge cities finest citizens were there, displaying a good portion of what their all the hard cold pounds and guineas could buy.

The guests had entered via a large double stair case that led down into the sub street level chamber. On the east end was a mammoth stage, which stood about 4 feet above the dance floor, easily holding the 30 piece orchestra with room to spare. The music that was played was as diverse as the guests in attendance, appealing to every age group present.

Couples and singles milled about talking merrily, just a low murmur heard just below the music. A jazz number was being played and a number of the “young bright ones” were on the floor dancing earnestly with various random moves.

A stream of fresh guests had entered, making their way downstairs, gaining the attention of a few of those already in attendance. Jewels sparkled radiantly as many a satin gloved hand was raised in greeting, many a female head was turned to point out someone they could spread gossip about, and in the process exposing a multitude of jeweles in various sparkling colours.

One of those newcomers, a raven haired, black eyed woman with a dark features, possessing an almost feline like beauty, came onto the upstairs landing. She was probably aged in her mid-twenties, surprisingly alone and unescorted. She was waved to by no one, pointed out to by many. Looking around she suddenly spied something down below that made her smile, a wide Cheshire cat like grin that quickly spread across her wickedly pretty face. She scurried down the stairs, pushing, not gently, a young miss in in a purple satin gown and black jacket, who had been moving slowly ahead of her, wobbling in her high heels, the poor girl fell against the wall, clutching it for support with well ringed fingers.

The raven haired beauty parted several more pairs of guests as she made her way down, moving too slow for her, without a word of apology. At the middle landing, she shoved her way past a pair of ladies, moving slowly as they regarded the pretty scene being played out below in the well lite chamber. One was red head wearing a tailored wine coloured taffeta gown that made a swishing noise as the lady passed, and her companion, about the same age as the intruder, (a kid sister, or cousin of taffeta gown?) was dressed in gown of deep green brocaded satin with silken emerald frills, her long hair done up in a high bun, held by dangling rows of rhinestone ropes. She looked at the lady who was unexpectedly cutting between them, but said nothing; as the lady paid neither one no never mind. The raven haired lady continues down, and still never uttering a word or wearing even the slightest look of apology, trips up yet another lady, clad in a long pure white satin gown, with emerald bracelets dangling from her white gloved wrists, who actually had started to fall, and would have if the pair of red headed ladies in wine and emerald gowns had not caught and steadied her, and in the process an emerald bracelet is lost to sight.

The raven haired, dark beauty finally landed onto the chamber floor and began snaking through the crowd, licking her vibrant red lips as her eyes darted about searching for any distractions to avoid keeping her from her selected designation, (and prey)! Her long thin figure was sleekly covered by a lengthy body-hugging black satin sheath, her heavy mascara, and long flowing hair matching the dress. She wore opera length satin gloves, red as her lips. Her jewels were all white diamonds, earrings, necklaces bracelets, and a large brooch hanging from the low cut of her gowns neckline. She wore a number of fancy rings, one of which was a large diamond cocktail ring on her left hand, while her right, gripping a red satin clutch purse, was home to 3 smaller versions of the same ring. She slowed down suddenly, and opening the purse pulled out a long telescoping holder, and opening a gold (14k) case extracted a long white cigarette and inserted it.

She than bee lined and circled around, flanking a young miss wearing(limply) a long pretty satin dress of pink coral, white pearls hanging expensively down from her ears and neckline. She wore white wrist length satin gloves, with a diamond merrily glittering from a long slender finger on her left hand. She was talking to a rather handsome youth her own age, dapper in his tails and top hat, a precision trimmed Saxon style beard, and a face with solid Welsh features, and hazel coloured twinkling eyes. A long gold chain and fob held a solid gold engraved pocket watch to his chest (all 14 k) and he wore a ruby pin in his black ascot.

As she stole behind the back of the poor princess in coral, she gave her a venomous gaze, which quickly changed as she touched the young man on the shoulder, as he turned to her, the raven haired beauty, whose name was Lilith, eyes were now brimming with contrived admiration.

Hello darlings Lilith said, in a syrupy low voice, addressing them both, although she did not even glance at the girl. Both hoarsely said hello back, and the boy took the offered hand and kissed it, her large ring shinning, blindingly in his eyes. Would you be a dear then? She asked, waving the cigarette holder in front of his face. He obligingly lit it, and she let out a puff of smoke, aimed directly in the girls face, who started coughing Lilith smirked, panting her on the back, sorry dearie, mind if I borrow him for a bit, and she led the young gentleman away, before the pretty girl in coral and pearls could regain whatever composure she had left. Charles! Be a dear and buy me a drink please Lilith asked him, and he (with proper breeding of the titled) led her off without question, abandoning the young miss who watched them trot off with tears brimming in her blue eyes.

 

The drinks came, and Lilith sat her cigarette holder down next to them, dance with me Charles, and she took his arm and led him off to the dance floor, just as his fiancé in the coral gown and borrowed pearls had managed to catch up.

 

Charles held Lilith in his arms, as one might hold a cold blooded serpent. She moved close, appropriately hissing in his ear. Why are you wasting time with that silly Ginny creature, don’t you know her parents are about to lose all their money, and that Ginny’s only interest was in his title, and his parents fortune, silly bean. Charles looked warily at Lilith, than over at the forlorn Ginny, just standing there. He genuinely liked , maybe even loved, Ginny, even had given her a friendship ring, signifying his desire to become closer , But there were the rumors of her father being swindled of his fortune, and if his parents ever found out!. He looked back into his dance partners beady black eyes, they held a seductive fire which played immensely to his vanity. She was smiling winningly at him, she had made her selection, and although it would never show in her eyes, in the back of her devious mind, she was starting to think how the letter would go that his parents would anonymously be soon receiving concerning Ginny, the little pipsqueak, Lilith called her silently in her mind.

***

Meanwhile the pair of red haired ladies who had had the cheekiness to stop on the middle landing of the grand staircase, impeding Lilith’s progress, were now walking the perimeter of the mammoth chamber, meandering, taking in all of the sparkling and shininess of the surroundings, their eyes missing very little as they talked. The young, ginger haired one, pretty in her gown of deep green brocaded satin with silken emerald frills, seemed a little peeved about something, and her companion noticed that her grey eyes had turned a certain shade of green, always a sign of something amiss. She stopped her and asked her to please spill it out.

Oooh how I despise that witch, a seething Lydia said to her companion in the wine coloured taffeta gown, spitting out each word like a hissing cat, even Lydia’s back was arched a little like a feline. Her friend, whose longish flaming red hair was lying over her left shoulder, hanging down in a picturesque manner over her full bosom, was surprised at Lydia’s reaction. Who dear? Asked her friend, Angie. The lady in white satin Angie asked? No, spit out the usually collected Lydia, not her, she was really fuming. Angie continued, I was going to say, if it was, than taking her emerald bracelet should have been revenge enough, Angie stated, then continued. So just who are we talking about Lydia?

 

That one!, Lydia snarled, nodding her head, the witch in black who rushed through us on the stairs and went that way! Angie stopped, looking off in the direction Lydia had nodded. Oh her, she said, the one in black satin. Lydia just glared, and Angie knew she had gotten it right. She asked Lydia, does this witch have a name? Lilith! Lydia spat it out like a swear word, followed by a gushing tirade. She is a backstabbing creature who can charm any man into submission while making a girl cringe and wince with the merest of glances. She is a gold digger extraordinaire with two ex-grooms who couldn’t see her for her true colours until they had been gutted by her gilded claws!!

Really exclaimed Angie, her green eyes becoming brighter! Two of them? Yes, Lydia went on, both wealthy, both became available when their parents received anonymous poison letters about their then betrothed.

I’d give anything to knock her down a few pegs, Lydia continued through clenched teeth.

Angie mulled it over; realizing anything more she said would just add fuel to Lydia’s fire. She decided to let her simmer down on her own, and then perhaps they could get on to their business. She suggested a drink, and they moved off, passing a forlorn young lady in a limp coral coloured gown, wearing a nice display of pearls, who seemed to be staring off in the distance at something with tear filled eyes.

Skirting the dance floor, they soon attained the lounge and settled in……..

 

***************************************************

It had now been four years since Angie had taken the charmingly talented young Lydia under her wing.

She had encouraged her blossoming skills, abilities that Lydia herself had self-taught by playing games with her siblings, until she encountered a professional she could learn from. That professional had been Angie. Lydia now possessed the little dog eared ancient pamphlet that had been the secret to Angie’s success as a light fingered lady pickpocket, focusing mainly on the fine jewels worn out and about by rich girls and women in society.

 

(Please visit our albums section and peruse the various Angie Albums for more background stories on Angie and her “light fingers” the Eds.)

 

It had cost Angie a necklace to acquire the pamphlet, and it had been worth it. It had cost the younger, ginger haired Lydia her brooch and ring for a chance to do the same. Lydia caught on quickly, mastering certain moves in half the time it had taken Angie, and for which Angie gave her high praise.

 

But sadly it was now less frequently that they worked as a team, each after a time branching off on their own paths.

 

Lydia was a different creature than Angie in the respect that coming from a wealthy family she was supported, even though most of the family lands, money and titles would go to the heir, Lydia’s twin brother. For her lifting items from her wealthy friends and relations had started out as an edgy game. Now it had evolved into a challenging pastime, a trophy hunt of sorts where she collected jewels like her father collected animal relics. Some of her lesser trophies were passed onto Angie, who had the connections to dispose of them, turning them into ready pound notes.

 

Whereas Angie had been born to impoverished English parents who had immigrated to Canada. They made her, their only child, an orphan at age 6 upon their untimely deaths in an epidemic. At the crowded orphanage the nuns taught her a little about manners, how to act properly for a lady, and the rest she had learned on her own, what she needed to say to please them and avoid the “floggings” that they administered to those who refused to “fit” in. She fled the orphanage when she was 14 and forged her own, often lonely path in the years that followed. For her lifting a ladies valuables was a means of lively hood as much as it brought her thrills. And she had accomplished it all without Lydia’s advantages, which had been a pair of a willing accomplices, AKA a sister and brother, to practice on!

 

But the pair remained in constant touch and it had been at Lydia’s beckoning that Angie had met her in London a few days prior. From London they had travelled by rail to attend this once a year function, and to attend the various balls and other affairs that were the natural outgrowths of the Gala.

 

It had been an eventful journey, the train ride had proven to be even more profitable than usual for the two light fingered ladies.

 

Lydia had written Angie a letter (to Angie’s solicitor who she saw at least one a month) telling her about the upcoming gala, and how would she would like Angie to join her in for the hunt. Their plans were to attend the gala and its outgrowths, then spend a few months of the upcoming party season continuing Lydia’s education. They had met at the London station, and after checking their bags found themselves with a little time to kill before boarding. Now outside the station there was a sprawling green where several vendors had set up their wares, a haven for those possess a light fingered touch. The two ladies meandered, catching up on what had been happening in their lives since they last time they had been together.

 

Now as they walked the green, they also kept their eyes open, and it was the second time they had passed a group of small benches, across a path from where an organ grinder was performing with a pet monkey, which they stopped, giving some serious attention to something they had both glanced at the first time in passing.

 

There was a trio of young ladies by one of the benches. Later they learned the trio were three sisters awaiting for the arrival of their parents and older brother. All three wore eye catching outfits, the younger 2 siblings in silk dresses of canary yellow and butterscotch, the elder sister was in a long flowing black skirt with a glistening silver coloured ruffled satin blouse. The jewels the three were innocently wearing in public were also worth a second look. The youngest (12) wore a pretty selection of silver, the middle (14) wore gleaming pearls, their older sister and chaperone (19) was wearing gold bracelets, a fine collection of rings and (probably unwisely) an expensive sapphire brooch at her throat.

 

Now the first time they had passed the oldest was seated at a bench reading a magazine, while her siblings played on the lawn. They had stopped to watch the sisters, under the pretense of watching the crowd around the organ grinder and his monkey. They watched both groups with some interest, but were distracted when Lydia pointed out a pickpocket working the crowd across the way. Angie spotted him immediately, he was chatting to a pair of ladies wearing fashionable day gowns of shiny damask. It looked to be a wealthy mother and her younger sister. As the grey top hated gentleman thief engaged the mother in conversation, he was reaching around and gingerly lifting the silver watch of the younger sister, her attention being paid out to her two young nephews. They watched until he had pocketed the watch, his skill level about average for the type, before Lydia and Angie headed off for the far side of the green.

 

The second time around they saw that the oldest had fallen asleep, sitting on the bench and the younger two were sitting on the grass, watching the monkey from across the way. The grey top hated man who had relieved the lady of her watch, was now lurking on the scene, eyeing the two sisters sitting on the grass, their dresses splayed out, making the small glistening pools that had probably been what first caught his attention, before noticing their jewels, which were ripe for the picking now that their chaperone eyes were closed.

 

Lydia and Angie, without a word between them, moved in for the kill. Lydia went straight to the younger sisters, while Angie made a wide circle, cutting in front of the top hatted gentleman, who nodded to the pretty, clever faced, red head. Angie than seated herself on the far end of the bench, primarily to keep the grey top hated man and any other opportunist who may also have designs on the sound asleep older sister’s jewelry, at bay.

 

Lydia meanwhile had come up behind the younger pair of sisters, laying a hand on the older ones shoulder as she chirped a happy hello to them. Asking them if they would give some coins to the monkey for her, they got up and allowed Lydia to lead them across the path.

 

The girls called to the little monkey and handed him their coins, while they all laughed at the tricks he performed for them. The younger one was looking up at Lydia who handed her another coin; she scrunched down, and gave it to him, as they waited for him to perform again. Lydia placed her hand on thy older sister’s silken covered shoulder, than her fingers quickly slid up to the necklace of pearl, and with two fingers, flicked open the hook and eye clasp, and pulled away the pearls in one motion. She then moved back, leaving the younger siblings to play with the monkey and melted back into the crowd,

 

Watching all this, Angie made a noise after Lydia had vanished from sight, waking the sleeping lass, who immediately looked around for her wayward sisters. Spying the pretty red head sitting at the end of the bench, she smiled (girls always felt more at ease around other women), Angie smiled back, and looked towards the monkey, and the sister also looks, and spies her siblings. She calls out to them, and as they come back Angie sees with satisfaction that Lydia had been busy. The sister also notices something amiss; the middle one is missing her pearls.

 

They begin to look, with the concerned red head kindly offering her” a hand” in their search. After a fruitless 15 minutes spent searching through the crowd of huddled people watching the organ grinder and his monkey, the nice red headed lady gave her apologies’, saying she must leave to make her train. The pretty lady takes her leave, holding the girls hand as she earnestly expresses her hopes that the pearls are found. She holds out her arms, and is given a hug for helping by the grateful older sister. Angie places a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes, as her other hand reaches up and unhooks the sapphire brooch from the sisters satin blouse, palming it effortlessly.

 

As Angie disappears in the crowd the search goes on in earnest, It is not much after the red headed lady had swished her way through her crowd towards the train, that the older sister discovers she is wearing on less ring! As she in bewilderment places a hand to her silk covered chest, her fingers feel nothing, and start to feel around fruitlessly for her brooch, her sapphire brooch, its gone, not even so much as a tear on her satin blouse where it had been pinned by her maid that morning. The older sister feels a hand placed on her shoulder, she looks up into the smiling eyes of a dapper gentleman in a grey top hat, I something wrong my dear? He asks her, showing genuine concern in his smiling eyes.

 

As the gentleman in the grey top hat was giving his upmost attention to the young lady Angie had been “helping”, Angie entered the train, and walking to the end of the last passenger car, settled into the seat next to Lydia.

Lydia Turned towards Angie, and speaking in French, Commented:

La levée de suite les bijoux d'une jeune femme est comme une plume prise !

Dear, Angie said in an almost motherly tone of voice, I really wish you would not go about quoting that Arsène Lupin wretch, as a pickpocket the man is a butcher.

Angelica, Lydia teasingly chided, you say that about all men with light fingers, like our gray hatted friend back there.

Honey, Angie smiled, most men like that are serpents, and Lupin is still a butcher.

Lydia watched Angie settle back in her seat with a secret smile. She did not know too much about Angie’s past, but there was something there about Monsieur Lupin, (whose exploits had been made into print, tickling her young girls fancy, as she poured over them), that seemed to get at Angie’s goat. A lot about Angie’s past life was a secret to Lydia, but she knew well enough when to let sleeping dogs lie..

Lydia than settled in as the train lurched forward, taking them safely away from the London park, along with the sister’s “trinkets “the pair had obtained.

 

A little later, it became Lydia’s turn to show her mettle.

 

An hour after leaving London Station, the train stopped at a fashionable suburb. Lydia watched with half opened eyes, the disembarking passengers, and the new arrivals now walking to and fro along the wooden platform. Suddenly her eyes opened wide, and she made a small noise. Angie looked up from her book with interest, immediately spotting it too.

 

A young couple was walking past their window. He was wearing a 3 piece suit, walking stick, a silver timepiece, and a small brown derby. It was his wife, though, upon which the ladies interest lay. She was sporting a slinking satin frock, pretty in itself as it lay along her voluptuous figure, but it was her necklace that stole the show, and as she walked it was noticed by more than a few of the people she passed. It was a buoyantly bright gold drop necklace that encircled her neck, with a large stone ruby in the center of the drop that lay along her bare throat. The necklace really vexed Lydia’s interest and she watched it, and the lady who wore it for as long as she could before finally losing sight and settling back in the seat with a long sigh.

 

Only a few short minutes later she her heart leapt in her throat. The couple had entered their car, probably heading for one of the private cars at the end of the train she reasoned, as her eyes took in every detail. But no, the couple stopped at the empty seat just before the one Angie and Fiona occupied.

 

Now Lydia and Angie had the end seats in the car, their back was to the cars wall, and directly across from them was a small storage room, , so the seating across the aisle started up about three rows, which meant that basically no one could see them unless they were walking past. Lydia continues to watch with interest as the couple settled in, the wife taking the window seat, in front of Lydia a. Angie just kept her nose buried in the book she was holding; this was all Lydia’s show. Lydia watched the lady as she sat back, her and her necklace reflected in the windows, The ladies shoulders were just above the seat, and after she had settled in, she made a show of doing up her long hair in a bun, giving Lydia ample time to study the valuable necklaces gold box clasp, and plan her way to it.

 

After listening to the few sharp words the lady gave her husband, Lydia decides this elegantly coiffured lady was somewhat a prima donna. Her husband tries to place his arm around her, but is chased off. They both finally fall off to sleep, and as the twilight outside takes over, Lydia sees her chance and seizes it. Lydia reaches over, and after licking her fingers, plays with the man’s ears. He groggily wakens, still aroused now that he thinks his wife is also now amorous, he reaches over and pets her affectionately. She wakens, angry and pushes the husband away. But Lydia is prepared, as the wife leans towards her husband, and away from the window, Lydia’s fingers have already flicked open the box clasp and whisked of the gold necklace from the opposite direction, towards the window, where she catches its reflection as slips over the back of the ladies seat and curls up in Lydia’s open palm.

 

Lydia and Angie now had private, “front” row seats for when the wife’s loss was discovered. It was always a performance that Angie never tired of watching when she could chance it. And Lydia? Sticking around and watching her victim’s reaction at being pickpocketed was one of the reasons she started lifting jewelry in the first place. Neither of them was disappointed on this occasion.

 

Now wide awake, the wife settled back down to read her book, playing with a strand of her hair that had fallen while she was chastising her husband. As she did her fingers brushed her neck, she stopped reading, and carefully felt around her throat, before letting out a yelp that woke her husband, and several of the other passengers ahead of her. She cried out (in a heavy Italian accent) my jewels, La mia collana , è svanito, it is gone? In panic she rose and started to look around, her hand to her throat, giving everyone watching a nice display of her pretty figure in its shiny dress and of her remaining jewelry. Angie, Lydia, a Stewart and the couple two seats ahead got up and helped in the fruitless search. Her necklace had somehow mysteriously vanished.

After things finally settled down Angie and Lydia made friends with the husband, but his wife remained angry and distant….

The rest of the trip had been uneventful, mainly because Angie and Lydia had had their fill of their appealingly pretty little games for the time being.

*******************************************************************

Angie suddenly perked up, letting go of her thoughts. She looked over at Lydia who was nursing her drink, her eyes looking a little less peeved. Did you see her, she asked? Who? Answered Lydia, Lilith? No answered Angie patiently. Not the Girl in the coral gown and pretty pearls, that one looked miserable enough without our help, stated Lydia? No, not her, but Angie reflected, Her pearls were nice, I almost suggested a go at them, but glad we didn’t, your right she did seem sad enough as it is. No, I mean that one over there, and she threw her eyes over to the entrance of the lounge.

Oh, Lydia exclaimed, I see what you mean. In the corner just outside the enclosed lounge area stood a lady in teal velvet, carrying a purse, her silver satin gloved wrist and fingers, home to a rather nice set of blazing emeralds and diamonds, matching those around her throat and hanging from her ears. Lydia looked over the situation.

 

The new mark wearing the teal velvet, was idling looking around, obviously trying to spot someone. Lydia looked at Angie, her Hazel eyes turning green with anticipation. Who gets her, she asked sweetly. Angie nodded,( wanting something to take Lydia mind off …..) she is all yours princess ( a nickname that Angie sometimes used on Lydia, and about the only person in the world Lydia could tolerate calling her that).

And watch her movements, added Angie in an instructing tone, See how she jumps up to peer over the crowd? Try and use it to your advantage. Lydia smiled and watched, licking her lips in anticipation.

 

Now Lydia’s forte was lifting necklaces, so that whenever it was Angie’s turn to be the spotter, she would always be on the lookout for Ladies wearing necklaces that would be within easy reach of Lydia’s talented fingers. Likewise Lydia, when spotting for Angie, kept an eye out for brooches. So, when Angie told Lydia the mark was hers, it was her emerald necklace that received close study first.

 

Lydia waited until the lady had her back to them, and she rose and carefully threaded herself through the maze of tables to the entrance of the lounge, her gown rustling against any object it touched. She came up on the lady in teal. Violet she cried out, as she raised one arm, wrapping around it around the girl’s back, while the other gripped the girl’s arm as Lydia drew the lady up against her figure in an embrace..

 

The girl tried to turn, squirming in Lydia s clasp, and as she did so, Lydia’s hand had already snaked up to the studied necklaces clasp, popping it open. I’m not Vio…. the startled girl tried to say, but as she turned around, Lydia exclaimed, you’re not Violet, oh I ‘m so sorry she said, asking for forgiveness sweetly,( undoing the clasp of the necklace and lifting up one end) I thought you were my cousin violet, Lydia apologized profusely, while her one hand squeezed the girls arm, finger bails digging in, as the other one holding the end of the necklace on her shoulder, moved down behind teal velvets back, slipping away the fiery necklace with it.. As Lydia balled up the necklace in her hand, she begged her leave, expressing regrets that she did not have time to chat with her new friend, have to find where Violet wandered off to she explained, squeezing the girl’s arm.

 

The mark was only too glad to accept the pretty stranger’s apology at not being able to stay and chat. The lady watched Lydia swish off into the swarming crowds. Her eyes slightly puzzled, before she remembered that she was also looking for someone, and went off, soon forgetting the entire incident ( and later, when the loss of her necklace was discovered, her brief encounter with Violet’s confused cousin was not even thought of)!

 

As Lydia sauntered off she stowed away the emerald necklace, and then meandered about the chamber, taking her turn to spot fresh victims, whose jewels were doomed to disappear under Angie’s talented fingers.

 

Meanwhile across the Ballroom another scene was being played out…..

********

Lilith was now holding court at the edge of the dance floor; her second straight dance had ended with the young gentleman she was leading to believe fascinated her. She was busy continuing chatting him up, expressing her utter delight at the wonderful dancer he was, when Ginny timidly approached. She drew near her erstwhile boyfriend, asking him for their dance, as she desperately tried to keep her lips from trembling. Lilith’s eyes lit up in false apology (Ginny could see that all too well), darling! Lilith exclaimed, could I borrow your young man for a bit more, he promised me a drink. She placed her arm around him, isn’t that right darling? The overly polite boy, choked up a bit, unsure of what to do, his breeding not letting him wanting to hurt either Ginny, or Lilith, despite what his true desires actually were, and that was to be alone with Ginny! Although the seeds of doubt that had been planted in his mind by Lilith were beginning to take root and he was starting to have worries about what if future with Ginny would become an actuality.

 

Ginny, Charles started, faltered, than tried again, Ginny, the band is going to play The Charleston, you know how you like to dance to it, why don’t you go and I’ll catch up with you soon, promise. Yes darling, Lilith chirped maternally at poor Ginny, It will be just a quick one darling, and taking Charles by the arm, led him off, leaving Ginny standing there, wilting away as the Lilith’s words and actions burned through to her very soul. The music stared, and she reluctantly, if not a little obediently, did as Charles wished. Three dances later, he still had not shown up as promised, and Ginny danced on, a burning hole opening ever wider in her heart.

**********

Meanwhile, as poor Ginny started dancing to her second of three solo dances, we visit another end of the chamber, where Lydia is found talking merrily with three girls around her own age that she had collected around her. She had lured them into her web by engaging the considerable charm, elegance and sophistication that had been bred into her by her parents pretty much since birth.

 

Three pretty maids all in a row, overloaded with a multitude of dripping jewels, and Lydia was waiting for Angie to make an appearance and lighten their load! A blond haired lady in shiny red satin, a brown haired maiden in bright blue, and a tow headed damsel in silky gold. As Lydia was chatting up the three girls, her eyes, discreetly and unobtrusively, take an account of their jewels, their placement and their value.

 

Amongst the jewels the lady in red is wearing the most valuable is a necklace of small diamonds and a ring around her right hand’s pinky that is a large diamond cluster that shimmers spectacularly as she plays with a locket of her lion’s mane like blond hair.

 

The pretty maiden in blue was displaying a nice collection of gold jewelry, braided chains with small flecks of silver woven in. But above her left breast, was her only jeweled piece, pinned with a simple c-clasp, a gold brooch with a center stone of blue topaz surrounded by dazzling ½ caret diamonds.

 

Then there was the damsel in the pretty gold coloured gown, woven of some type of exotic, overly expensive, material that just shimmered in the massive chandelier’s light. She was also wearing opera length gold satin gloves, from which were dangling a pair impressive jeweled bracelets, their stones a multitude of rainbow coloured gems. She also wore a long pair of dangling diamond earrings, held loosely by rather ancient hinge clasps. Although her many other jeweled pieces were pretty valuable, these two twin sets were by far the most valuable pieces that anyone in the group was wearing.

 

Lydia feasted on the show her three marks jewels were displaying as she won them all over, soon bringing them into fits of giggling and laughter as they started to talk about the things most groups of women by themselves talk about, men! Out of the corner of her eye Lydia spied Angie coming up and around to see what’s up. She circled past each of the girls, slowly, nonchalantly, attracting no notice from the others in Lydia’s little group.

 

As Angie passed behind the blond in red satin, Lydia adjusted one of her rings, like it was bothering her, the motion caught Angie’s eye. Then Angie passed behind the gold gowned miss, and her eyes darted to Lydia, who lifted up her hair, exposing her ears, than absentmindedly started playing with a bracelet. Then Angie went behind the little blue gowned miss, and saw Lydia suppressing a cough, patting her chest to stifle it, her fingers splayed just above her left breast. Nodding, as much to herself as Lydia, Angie melted back into the crowd, and made a wide circle before approaching Lydia’s side.

 

Angie touched Lydia on her shoulder and she swirled, delighted that her “new friend” had shown up. (for whatever the reason, it always makes the mark(s) more comfortable when a pair of newcomers are related or are friends, Gaston Monescu, page 15 paragraph 2), Lydia excitedly introduced Angie to her three new chums, explaining to them how Angie and her had met on the train and had bonded, and how nice Angie was, and how very interesting a life she had led, along with other bits of flummery.

 

Angie’s first formal introduction was to red satin, Jessica. Whom Angie took by the hand, then reached around and hugged her, receiving a warm embrace in return. After the embrace, Angie clasped Jessica’s right hand in both of hers, praising Jessica on her pretty gown. As Jessica looked down, lifting a portion of the gown’s skirt with her left hand to show it off better, all eyes looked down. As everyone’s attention was diverted for that fraction of a second, Angie released Jessica’s right hand, slipping off from Jessica’s satin clad pinky, the large diamond clustered ring. Angie discreetly passed off the ring to Lydia, who was standing close to one side.

 

Then Lydia introduced Angie to the elegantly gold gowned young lady, Abby. Angie raised one arm, wrapping it around Abby’s back, while the other gripped her wrist, flicking open the jeweled bracelet‘s safety chain, as she drew the gold gown wearing Abbey up against her figure. The girl tried to turn, squirming in Angie’s embraces. Angie’s hand patted the girl on the back as the girl halfheartedly did the same, feeling Angie’s face bury itself in her shoulder. Effectively blocking from view the hand the held her wrist, which was picking open the bracelets clasp. Angie pulled away, looking the young miss in the eyes, everyone else eyes were also on Angie, which is what she was aiming for. And as she told the sweet young thing that it was her pleasure, she patted the ladies wrist, squeezing open the bracelet, slipping it off and into the slightly open purse at her side. As she does, her other hand goes up to the lady in gold’s dangling earring,( all eyes follow this movement) admiring the earring openly, taking its clasp into consideration for possibly an attempt later if they meet somewhere outside after hours. One never knows.

 

The last one to be introduced was the pretty Miss wearing the blue gown, Meria. Lydia, laughingly teasing her about being last, led her by the elbow and pulled the Meria towards Angie, and while she was turning, Angie took a small step forward and made sure her left side would bump against her. As Angie drew her in for an embrace, her right hand right hand was on the brooch while Angie’s left was grasping Meria’s left shoulder. Performing a move so familiar and well-practiced it was almost second nature, her middle finger pushed the c clasp out of its hook releasing the brooch into Angie’s palm. Pulling her hand down, she deposited the brooch into her purse, as she enveloped the girl in a hug. Then she stepped back, and began chatting with all three, soon winning them over like Lydia had done, keeping them distracted from themselves and their missing fine trinkets. Angie told them a quick, funny story about a man she had met on the train recently, which soon had them all giggling.

 

Angie took her leave after about 5 minutes, making an excuse that she needed to freshen up, she again took each ladies hand in goodbye, including Lydia’s, whom Angie slipped off a ring from her finger, so if things got sticky, she would be one of the victims also.

 

Lydia stayed behind to keep the three darling ladies occupied. She noticed one by one the missing jewels of each girl. The three shimmering silken lambs had been most professionally sheared, the most expensive of their jewels disappearing in such a manner that requires a ladies touch, no mere male, not even the talented Arsène Lupin, could have done better in the same scenario. As she looked them over, Lydia mused that with the mass quantities of jewelry each of the three were wearing, it would be some time before any of them realized some were missing.

 

********

 

Meanwhile across the ballroom, as Angie had been introduced to her last of the three ladies and their jewels that Lydia had lined up; another scene had started being played out…..

 

Lilith had just finished her second drink with Charles, while the third song of a five song set had just started, fast and one meant for singles (favored mainly by the ladies, one of who was the wretched Ginny). Lilith looked at Charles, and suggested he should join the gentlemen up in the smoke room (she had seen him watching them mass exodus of gentlemen heading that way when the current set of songs had started). Charles hesitated, I should really see about Ginny, he cautiously stated, not sure of Lilith’s reaction. Lilith smiled, licking her re lips, don’t you worry yourself over the poor dear, I will go and keep her company until you return, she promised happily.

 

Defeated, Charles wearily accepts her suggestion, and Lilith watches him depart, then smugly looks in the direction of the dance floor, and exultantly plucking the fag from the gold holder, squashes it down quite hard in an ash container. She snaps closed the telescoping holder, and with a positively wicked grin, leaves her seat with a pounce and heads onto the dance floor, her hips swinging her black satin gown with a fluid motion, not unlike like a black cat making a move against a frightened mouse, or perhaps a snake slithering towards its victim.

 

It is a known fact that in the wild herding animals will avoid any member who is ill or dying. This may explain that, with Ginny’s 3rd dance of the 5 song set, she was still alone. It was like her wretchedness was felt by others and so kept their distance, leaving poor Ginny alone in her own empty circle, dancing at a far end of the chamber. This is also why she was not hard to spot by one who was now specifically seeking her out.

 

Ginny jumped as a hand grasped, not softly, her shoulder, and a voice said her name, with an evil hiss into her ear…

 

Ginny turned to face Lilith, whose look of utter hatred made that she gave the poor girl, made Ginny cringe as she backed away, dancing was now the last thing on the poor girls mind.

 

Darling, Lilith said spitting out the word as she looked around to make sure no one else was listening in, I have some very bad news….

 

Lilith launched into a tirade filled litany of reasons of why “Her” dear Charles would simply never be able to have anything more to do with her. Starting with her jewelry( really dear, you had to borrow them?) jumping to her moneyless parents( penniless in-laws, really darling it just isn’t done ), her now lowered position in society, (not to worry though , after she(Lilith) and Charles were marred she would find Ginny a maids position somewhere). And finally, that Charles was leaving because he was angry with the jealous way the sniveling Ginny had been acting.

 

With each sentence that was thrown in poor Ginny’s face she stepped back, the hateful words (some of which she knew had truth in them) slicing like a knife into the already tormented girls soul.

 

Finally she could take it no longer, and openly weeping she turned and tried to flee, looking fruitlessly around for Charles, but Lilith was quick, and grasped the poor girl before she could make good her escape..

 

Oh, you poor darling, I haven’t hurt your feelings have I spat Lilith in mocking tones, her , and she drew Ginny to her in a tight embrace, feeling the girl squirming in her arms, much like a mouse would squirm under a cat’s clawed paw, or perhaps wrapped in a serpents coils( both scenarios fit Lilith). Lilith finally released the poor thing, who fled recklessly away.

 

Lilith stayed and watched Ginny bolt, an indulgent smile creeping upon her face. She started to move in rhythm with the music, extremely pleased with herself, her sleek, slinky black gown and gloves flowing down along her devastatingly pretty figure making her appear like some slithering serpent rising up from the bowels of some glittering hell….

It was no more than 2 minutes later that a hand was placed from behind on Lilith’s shoulder.

********

As Charles headed off to relish his cigar, and Lilith headed off to relish tormenting Ginny; Lydia was continuing to entertain the three young ladies, while biding her time until the next conquest of the evening.

 

Suddenly Angie appeared from the crowd, again behind the three unsuspecting girls still under Lydia’s spell. Angie gave her a subtle signal, indicating that she has spotted fresh prey in dire need of being shed of her jewels, and needed Lydia’s help with the shearing. Lydia encourages the three ladies to meet her a little later, she sees a gentlemen (winking) whom she had promised a dance. They let their friend go, thinking she should wait for a slow dance, the music being played now was no way to dance close and personal, but they unknowingly were quite wrong.

 

After leaving the 3 young ladies, Lydia soon reached Angie’s side by the edge of the dance floor. Angie turned and nodded her head indicated one side of the floor, is that Lilith? She asked Lydia’s eyes followed Angie’s nod, soon eyeing the solitary lady in black standing at one end talking with the girl in coral and pearls.

  

Yes it is she answered, why? Attend, said Angie, and Lydia listened as Angie laid out her plans before her, as Lydia watched her witch, and the diamonds she wore that flickered around her black encased figure like so many evil tongued serpents. Suddenly she saw the girl in coral whose pearls the ladies had admired earlier, suddenly turn and flee, crying. Still up to your dirty tricks, are you Lilith!, Lydia thought spitefully.

Ready, the pair of scheming red heads than made their move.

*********

Lilith turned to see whose hand it was, half expecting to see Ginny, she checked herself quite nicely when turning, when she saw Lydia’s beaming face.

The two ladies dance in step for a few seconds, than Lilith gushes, why Lydia dearest, I hadn’t noticed you were here. Perfectly lovely darling, then Lilith added, but who brought you this evening? She asked, appearing very casual.

 

Lydia stayed silent on the subject; she wouldn’t give Lilith the satisfaction of knowing that she had not found anyone since Lilith had stolen Lord St. Claire, her longtime Beau, from under her nose.

 

Instead, Lydia praised Lilith, her lovely figure and gown, false praise, and Lilith knew it. They both continue dancing, almost sparing like a pair of fencers, with sharp eyes, and tongues rather the swords.

 

***********

Having been pre-warned by Lydia that the situation would become volatile very fast, Angie had come up behind Lilith very quickly, and started to dance behind her, coming ever closer, unnoticed by Lilith whose guard was totally centered on Lydia.

 

Angie saw her chance and tripped on Lilith’s Gown, sending her into Lydia’s waiting arms. Angie’s hands at the same moment had flew up to clasp of Lilith’s diamond necklace, unsnapping it, and sending the necklace falling into Lydia’s hands as she pushed away Lilith, who was in the process of turning and rounding on the person who dared ruin her expensive gown. As she spat at Angie, reprimanding her for her careless ness, Lydia moved in between, flicking the clasp of Lilith’s diamond broach in the process. Pushing the pair apart, Lydia apologies, as her right hand neatly slipped of the opened broach from Lilith’s satin gown, saying it was her fault for dancing so close to Lilith that she had backed poor Lilith into the lady.

Lydia took Angie’s hand, apologizing, slipping her the necklace and broach into Angie’s half open purse in the process. And with that, Angie turned and went on her way, never looking back, Hearing Lilith saying something to Lydia about the clumsy bitch, as she left.

 

************

 

Later that evening found Angie walking through the lounge of an upscale hotel, having joined in with the spillover from the fancy dress ball that had gathered there. She had stashed in her hotel room the shimmering collection of purloined jewels that Lydia and her had lifted while attending the Ball proper.

For the past half an hour she had been having an enjoyable conversation with the sparkling (both in personality, and attire) tow headed lady in silky gold that Lydia had introduced her to at the ball, and who still had not noticed she was shorn of a one of her bracelets from her gloved wrist,. Angie had come across the damsel sitting alone by the bar, her friend (The pretty maiden in blue who had been displaying the nice collection of gold jewelry- less one brooch) had left her to party on with a male friend of hers.

Angie had just left the pretty ladies side, also leaving her without the bother of placing her earrings and one of her twin bracelet in the hotel safe that evening. She as of yet failed noticed that now her dangling diamond earrings that had been loosely held by their ancient old fashioned clasps, had gone the same route as her Bracelet. Angie had slipped off the earrings while giving her a generous hug of greeting after watching and waiting for her to be alone.

 

*******************************

 

Lighting a cigarette Angie left through the lobby and headed into a late night pub. As she nursed her first scotch, neat over ice, a familiar figure approached and slid onto the empty stool next to her. Thought I’d find you here, chirped a much happier Lydia. Just wanted to pop to give you an update, She waited and made small talk until after the bartender had taken and served her drink (a whiskey Soda) then began to fill in Angie.

So what was her reaction when you pointed out her jewels were missing, Angie asked Lydia with great expectations of what had happened? Well when I pointed them out, instead of thinking you (Angie) had been the culprit, Lilith assumed they had been taken by” Ginny” (the sad one wearing the coral gown and pearls) when Lilith had been hugging her. That little toad, Lilith had spat out to Lydia, and turned to hunt Ginny down.

Poor dear, said Angie, felling a small pang of sorrow for the little Ginny creature. No, answered Lydia, not really, and she continued…

Lydia had followed, realizing that Lilith was out of control, worried that someone innocent may be hurt.

And she was correct, because Lilith approached Ginny and lit into her something fearsome.

Lilith literally grabbed Ginny and started shaking her, demanding that she give them back. The girl was petrified, and Lilith started calling her some pretty nasty names.

A crowd started gathering.

Then all of a sudden this bloke wearing a gold pocket watch, cuts through the crowd and rescues the poor girl from Lilith’s clutches. Like a white knight Angie commented. Well he was in black tails, and boy was he angry with Lilith, he held the girl in coral tight as he looked at Lilith lividly, his face the reddest I have ever seen on an angry young man.

Lilith finally, collected herself, and I saw all fire drain from her face, and she turned around and stormed out of the chamber. I don’ know, nor care what became of her, stated Lydia.

 

Feel better now, princess? Angie asked Lydia.

 

Lydia smiled perking up, actually for the small bit of solace it may have been worth, it had made her feel better now that she had thought about it.

 

She smiled at Angie, producing a necklace of pearls, it seemed easier to do when she was so happy, Lydia confessed. So you do feel better Princess, Angie stated happily.

 

Lydia smiled, and the pair finished their drinks in thoughtful silence.

 

Lydia was the first to leave, smiling she bade Angie a good night, and began walking away.

Lydia had only gone a few feet, when she turned, and looked at Angie who had been watching her.

Lydia, a sly smile brightening her face and eyes, happily quoted “Assistez à un oeil de demoiselles dans vos s , chatouiller les dames de fantaisie avec une main”

Angie finished Lupin’s quote quote with a faraway look in her eyes

“tout en soulevant ses bijoux avec l'autre”

Till the morrow, Princess, Angie said in parting.

Till Tomorrow answers Lydia, turning with a skip, her gown flowing out behind her as she, now in very good humor, leaves into the smoke swirled darkness of the city to walk the few blocks to her hotel.

*****

The Epilogue:

Late afternoon of the next day, after attending an early afternoon Garden Soiree, Lydia and Angie are strolling through a park, both still dressed in their party dresses, both still wearing their fancy day jewels, (worn so they would fit in with the well to do female attendees), and both with secret pockets holding jewels lifted from some of said female attendees.

Lydia looks back at Angie, Lifting that silver dragon brooch with the ruby eyes and diamond scales was a nice move on your part Angie, she praises.

It was a lot easier with your help Lydia, Angie responded.

Lydia turned her head back onto the path, her pony tail whipping around, the pearls she had woven into it shining a bright white.

Angie said to Lydia’s back, that girl in the crème satin dress, you know I was going to go for her gold braided necklace, then you came out of nowhere and beat me to it.

Lydia just smiled satisfied to herself, I know she responded,, I wanted it to be my coup, she did not turn back to look at Angie’s reaction., but continued.. you laid down the gauntlet ,(or in this case satin glove) Angie when, as you commented on how pretty the necklace looked as it slithered along the front of her crème satin dress, you said it would take extremely deft fingers to slip it off her throat. Although I though her sisters pearls were a better score.

Angie, still walking behind her now had a secret smile on her face, and her eyes had glazed over as if her mind was drifting a million miles away from that quite park in the English countryside where the pair were now walking.

The two pretty red heads continue to walk on a bit, both in the silence of their thoughts.

Angie, Lydia asks, plopping down on a bench.

Yes dear, Angie says, her train of thought broken.

Lydia pulled out a long her gold braided necklace and was admiring it. The lady in the Crème satin dress who wore this lovely thing,; her sister, the one wearing the emerald silk gown and the pearls I fancied, you said she reminded you of a story you promised would tell me sometime? Could you tell me it now?

Angie smiled, Princess, you certainly are an inquisitive one! Let me think a minute…

Angie settled down next to her, and after mulling it over a bit, finally began…

It was during my first time in Monte Carlo, I had left the states soon after I had scored a major haul, and decided to ply my trade in new waters. It was during the fall of…

Lydia interjected, It was because of your haul at that politicians daughter’s wedding, (see album Angie being receptive)

Yes princess, that and a few other functions helped fund that trip. Angie confirmed, then went on…

I had met this pretty young like in an emerald silk gown, positively dripping in gold jewellery with rubies and emeralds…

Lydia cut in again, please start at the beginning; we have the rest of the day all to ourselves.

Angie smile, very well, I will start at the beginning: …….

 

( We will post in the album’ Angie “holidays” in Monte Carlo’ the rest of the tale stated in the epilogue. Once the story we recently unearthed in previously unknown chronicles of Angie’s life have been modified …The eds)

  

The lifting away a young lady’s jewelry is as a feather taken

La levée de suite les bijoux d'une jeune femme est comme une plume prise

 

Editor’s Notes:

Our Thanks to Mr. J. Gardner for pointing out the existence of Mr. Monescu’s 1826 guide

If you enjoyed our little story, please like and leave a comment.

And if you wish, describe what intrigued you the most about it…

Thank You

 

And last, but not least,

Kudos to the Light Fingered Lady who planted the seed of the flower that became Lydia

 

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

 

Managed by the MDC

 

S5II 20-60

I found this little gem not for from a cottage I was staying at. It was already night and was quite dark. I still managed to capture the atmosphere I think. I layered 4 exposures...

www.brockholes.org/

  

Brockholes is a new kind of nature reserve, an unreserved reserve owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

 

There's lots to see and do at Brockholes, you can hunt out our floating Visitor Village with a restaurant, shops and Welcome Centre or explore our family-friendly hides, walking trails and play area.

  

www.brockholes.org/visit

  

At Brockholes you can explore our beautiful reserve, see the wildlife that call it ‘home’ or hunt out our Visitor Village with restaurant and shops, all of which float (yes really!) on one of our lakes.

 

Our floating Visitor Village features a gift shop and a restaurant providing stunning views across the lake. You can also discover our interactive Welcome Centre and learn all about the wildlife that you could see on-site. Be sure to call in to pick up a welcome leaflet that will help you plan your day. You can view the reserve map in our Welcome Leaflet here to help you plan your first visit.

  

2013/14 Opening Times:

 

4th November 2013 to 31 March 2014 10am-4pm

1st April 2014 to 31st October 2014 10am-5pm

 

Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only

  

Car Park Charges

 

We don't charge for entry and any profits made here go back into looking after the reserve. So every time you pay for parking, treat yourself in the shop or enjoy some lunch, you are helping look after the reserve and the wildlife that visits us!

  

Sorry no dogs allowed!

 

There is a good reason! Dogs can disturb wildlife, especially nesting birds. If your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest. So to avoid any accidents we ask that you don’t bring your dog. (Assistance dogs are welcome.)

  

Explore the reserve

 

Brockholes is one of the best sites in the UK for many species of bird and has one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the county. You can take a stroll by the River Ribble, explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see!

  

Walks around Brockholes

 

What can I see at Brockholes?

Read about the happy habitats we've been working hard to create at Brockholes.

Watch out!

  

The Visitor Village floats on water and there are lots of areas of open water on the reserve. Take care in these areas and keep an eye on any children with you. The following activities are not allowed on the reserve:

 

Barbecues and fires

Fishing

Swimming

  

Please do not feed the birds

 

Big gulls know it’s much easier to find food when we leave it lying around rather than finding their own lunch. Here at Brockholes we have lots of species breeding with us, little ringed and ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank. Unfortunately the big gulls will eat the chicks of these special birds so if we feed the gulls and encourage them to stay there is a big chance that they will eat our important chicks, so please do not feed the birds and take your leftover picnic away with you.

  

www.brockholes.org/our-journey

  

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working on developing Brockholes for nearly 20 years, here is an overview of our journey.

 

1992 Lancashire Wildlife Trust first contests the quarrying of Brockholes.

 

27 November 2006 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has four weeks to raise £50,000 to buy the Brockholes site, near Preston, and protect it from development. Brockholes sits next to J31 of the M6 and is the size of 120 football pitches.

 

15 January 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust makes the biggest land purchase in its history - thanks to donations from Wildlife Trust members, and an investment of £800,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Newlands scheme. The project to buy and develop Brockholes is also supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.

 

3 May 2007 Ian Selby is appointed as Brockholes project manager. Ian has 20 years' experience of managing the North West's canal network for British Waterways, followed by environmental regeneration work. Sophie Leadsom, Brockholes' new reserve manager, has worked in conservation for 14 years.

 

July 2007 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the launch of a new open competition to design new visitor facilities.

 

5 October 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the shortlist for the new multi-million pound visitor centre. 61 architects from all over Europe submitted designs. The five were Adam Khan Architects, Arca, Architecture 2B, AY Architects, McDowell + Benedetti.

 

25 February 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and partners announce the winner of its competition to design a visitor facility. Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World". Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.

 

April 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the completion of its first phase of preparatory work, including the restoration of the wetlands, creation of ponds, seeding of meadows, planting new hedgerows and trees, making access paths and building proper bird watching hides.

 

March 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust secured £8million of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The investment was made under ‘Newlands’, a NWDA and Forestry Commission programme that is regenerating brownfield land across the Northwest into economically viable community woodland.

 

Summer 2009 Volunteers gave us 134 hours of their time to help propagate our own reed seedlings on-site. We ended up with 20,000 new redd seedlings ready to plant out around our new visitor centre, creating two hecatres of brand new reedbed.

 

August 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust were granted detailed planning permission for the site.

 

December 2009 Contractors first day of work as they begin to construct the iconic floating visitors centre. Press conference being held with a ‘cutting of the first sod’

 

November 2010 A herd of longhorn cattle move into Brockholes to graze the reserve.

 

December 2010 BBC Countryfile fronted by Julia Bradbury visit Brockholes to film a feature that airs in January 2011.

 

March 2011 Brockholes makes history as the Visitor Village is floated for the first time.

 

Easter Sunday 2011 Brockholes opens its doors to the public for the first time!

  

www.brockholes.org/happy-habitats-brockholes

  

Happy habitats at Brockholes

 

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust are using their expertise to create habitats that will encourage lots of different species to visit the site, read more about the work we are doing on the reserve...

  

Number 1 Pit

 

Uniform and steep, the edges around the original gravel pit used to look very different. The island looked different too – an egg-shaped piece of land sticking out of the water by three metres. These land profiles weren’t great for the bird species and aquatic invertebrates we wanted to attract. So, with bulldozer and digger we pushed earth into the lake to create shallow, underwater ledges and peninsulas where birds can roost and feed, safe from predators. Diving ducks, such as Great Crested Grebe, now hunt for fish in the deep water.

  

Nook Pool

 

The edge of this pool has been planted with reed to create places for small fish and aquatic invertebrates like dragonfly larvae to hide and grow, away from predator fish. The shelter provided by the vegetation provides an ideal hunting ground for lots of species of dragonfly including the impressive Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.

  

Meadow Lake

 

This shallow lake is great for bird watching: when the water level is down, wading birds feed on small invertebrates in the exposed mud. This lake has some of the richest water plant life in and around it, including White Water Lily and Cuckooflower. The reed fringes are becoming well established and hold some of the largest populations of birds on site. The islands provide safe roosting and breeding areas, we keep the vegetation short so the birds can watch out for predators.

  

Boilton Marsh

 

This area is part of our newly created wet grassland habitat. We remodelled 17,000 cubic metres of quarry spoil to create 10 hectares of wet grassland with nearly 2km of channels and five pools. This is the ideal habitat for breeding wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe. We now graze traditional breeds of cattle and sheep that thrive on the coarse grasses and rushes and provide the low grassland sward that encourages wading birds to nest.

 

The channels and pools are kept topped up by using a high-level reservoir, filled from Number One Pit by way of a solar pump.

  

Woodland

 

Brockholes is fringed by the ancient woodland of Boilton, Red Scar and Tunbrook Woods. Woodland has grown here for thousands of years and developed a very rich variety of wildlife. Looking after our trees and paths will help the woodland to thrive and enable you to see the wildlife safely.

  

Reedbeds

 

Reedbeds are home to Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings and Water Rail. We protect the new reed from grazing birds like Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Goose, by erecting chicken wire fences and baling string barriers. It will take several years before our lak fringes start to look like reedbeds. You might notice that the Visitor Village has been nestled in reedbed. This helps it to blend into the reserve and allows you to hear the song and chatter of the birds that nest there.

  

www.brockholes.org/brockholes-partners-and-funders

  

Brockholes partners and funders

  

For the past ten years, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have been working to secure this site of national environmental importance, and restore habitats to their full potential.

 

The £8.6 million of regeneration funding was provided for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve project has been granted under 'Newlands' - a £59 million, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission programme to transform brownfield land into durable community woodland, which act as catalysts for economic, social and environmental gain.

 

The Lancashire Environmental Fund awarded £446,000 for the development of the education facilities, hides and infrastructure on the site. Tubney Charitable Trust granted £350,000 for Biodiversity and Natural England DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund awarded circa. £300,000. The Environment Agency granted £50,000 for the continued development of Brockholes.

 

The support of these funders helped make Brockholes a reality, as did the amazing support from our public appeal, which raised an amazing £63,000 - the most successful public appeal the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has ever run!

  

www.brockholes.org/volunteer

  

Volunteering at Brockholes

  

Around 200 volunteers have now been recruited, inducted and trained to begin volunteering at Brockholes, so we offer an enormous thank you to all who are helping it make such a big impact on our visitors... Volunteers truly are the face of Brockholes.

 

There are currently some exciting opportunities to be had volunteering here at Brockholes. Please have a look below at roles (you can click on the titles to download a full role description) which might suit you and click here to register, mentioning Brockholes and the role on the form.

  

Seasonal Activities Volunteer

 

Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.

 

Running throughout all school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).

 

The Seasonal Activities Volunteer role is ideal for friendly, outgoing people who want to utilise their creative skills and help visitors – in particular children – enjoy the reserve. You will work alongside other volunteers to plan and deliver a variety of activities including pond dipping, guided walks, bird watching. The role will also include assisting with larger events such as our Extreme Adventure Weekend and Craft Fayres. Support will be given to you by the Events & Communications Manager.

 

This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.

 

For full details on the role and what it entails, click here.

  

Seasonal Retail & Visitor Services

 

Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.

 

As a volunteer for Retail & Visitor Services you will provide a warm welcome for visitors, helping to ensure that their Brockholes experience is a positive one. You will help visitors by providing them with information about products on sale in our gift stores and help them plan their visit by telling them about the various events and activities we have on offer.

 

The role suits a friendly, outgoing person who has an interest in wildlife and conservation.

 

Running throughout the school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).

 

This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.

  

Each volunteer will be required to undergo a minimum of 1 and a half days training before they start. If you’d like to find out more or ask questions about any of these roles do not hesitate to get in touch with Catherine Haddon, Volunteering Support Officer on 01772 324 129 or email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk

  

www.brockholes.org/awards

  

Awards

 

Brockholes has scooped many high profile awards since opening in April 2011:

 

2013 Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Conference/Meeting venue

 

VisitEngland's Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) 'Excellent'

 

Green Tourism Gold Award

 

Customer at the Heart Award

 

Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards 'Marketing Campaign of the Year'

 

National Wood Award

 

BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for the interim design stage

 

Chartered Institute of Building Services – Building of the Year 2011

 

Civic Trust Award

 

Civic Trust Special Award for Sustainability

 

Highly Commended in portfolio of Newlands sites in Landscape Awards

 

CIWEM Living Wetlands award

 

Greenbuilds award

 

Green Apple Awards for the Visitor Centre

 

Sustainable Project of the year – 2012 Building Awards

 

RICS North West – Overall award

 

RICS North West – Tourism and Leisure

 

RICS NW – Design & Innovation

 

RIBA North West Building of the Year

 

RIBA North West Sustainability Award

 

RIBA Award for top 50 new buildings in the UK

  

www.brockholes.org/business-0

  

Brockholes is an award winning-venue, which floats on one of our lakes - the only one of its kind in the UK.

 

Combine this unique design with access straight off the M6, a beautiful nature reserve, ample parking and on site catering, and you have found yourself the perfect venue for your next event. View our Conference Brochure here.

 

We think Brockholes is the natural place to do business, our dedicated centre can cater for 50 to 130 delegates.

 

We have a choice of two conference rooms and a reception/break-out area.

  

www.brockholes.org/conference-packages

  

At Brockholes we want you to be in control of your event as much as possible. This is why we have created these basic packages, enabling you to tweak each element to build an individual event.

 

Alternatively, we can cater to your specific requests if you require half day, early morning or evening hire.

 

Here is an overview of our conference packages, please contact us for a quote.

 

Our Conference brochure can be viewed in digi-book format here.

  

Day Delegate Package

  

Private room hire from 9am - 5pm

Tea and coffee served on arrival with bacon rolls

Mineral water for each guest

Tea and coffee served mid-morning

Buffet lunch served with tea, coffee and fresh fruit platter

Tea, coffee and biscuits served mid-afternoon

Use of a flip chart, screen and projector

Recycled pen and notepad for each delegate

Dedicated co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning to delivery of your meeting

24 Hour Delegate Package

 

All of the above plus;

 

Three course dinner

Full breakfast

Accommodation in a standard bedroom at our recommended accommodation supplier

  

Accommodation

 

Preferential rates are available on request from a local hotel when booking through the Brockholes Sales Team.

 

We can tailor our packages to suit your needs. Make the UK's first floating venue your next choice

 

Please contact us for more information or to arrange a meeting or showround with our Conference Sales Co-ordinator

 

Call us on 01772 872005 or enter your details below and we will contact you to discuss your requirements.

  

www.brockholes.org/sponsorship-opportunities

  

Sponsorship Opportunities

  

Brockholes is an award winning nature reserve owned and manages by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which was opened in 2011. The 250 acre reserve is already attracting record numbers of breeding birds and around 170,000 visitors each year. Brockholes runs a wide range of events throughout the year and has a particularly strong offer for families. Events include wild families, school holiday clubs, school and community group visits, self led trails and larger festivals during the summer holidays.

 

The key marketing campaigns run targeting families include Christmas, Summer and Easter. Each campaign targets a series of family focused publications across the North West, with a monthly average reach online of over 40,000 people through the website and social media. Advertising and direct marketing campaigns have an average reach of 70% of the total North West population.

  

Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities

 

Summer at Brockholes sees a host of family events each year, from school holiday clubs to open air theatre, guided walks to family fun. Over the Summer period, Brockholes expects to welcome over 60,000 visitors. The marketing campaign is multi channel and will reach a wide audience of families across the North West. Brockholes has also been featured in the National Press for some of the unique events run. We have some new opportunities for sponsorship and partnership, which will allow your business to raise brand awareness and fulfill part of your Corporate Social Responsibility by supporting Brockholes and The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

 

Summer at Brockholes Headline Sponsorship £4500

 

Expose your brand to thousands of families across the North West.

- Logo on all Summer promotional material

- Inclusion in all four of the Summer e-news and Lancashire Wildlife Trust e-news

- Sponsor Feature on Brockholes.org

- On site promotion

- Promotion through social media channels

- Inclusion in all PR activity

- Temporary use of Brockholes logo on promotional material directly related to the partnership

  

Wild Families Sponsorship £4000 per year

  

Our Wild Families events are always fully booked. With themes ranging from scarecrow hunts to nature detectives, each event provides quality family time for family members of all ages. Events are run throughout school holidays.

-Logo on marketing materials for Wild Families

-Inclusion in PR for trail launch

-Inclusion in social media activity

-Inclusion in Brockholes e-news

  

Seasonal Trail Sponsorship £500 per trail

Each visitor to Brockholes can collect their free seasonal trail on arrival. The trail helps visitors to explore the reserve, learn more about what to see and how the reserve changes with the season and challenges them to spot things.

-Logo on sponsorship trail

-Inclusion in PR for trail launch

-Inclusion in social media activity around the trail

  

Half term at Brockholes £1500

-Logo on all marketing materials

-Inclusion in launch PR

-Social media promotion

  

Annual Headline Sponsorship £10,000

- Logo inclusion on all Promotional Material

- Dedicated web page on Brockholes.org

- On site promotion

- Dedicated stand area on key event days

- Promotion through Brockholes and LWT e-news, member magazine

- Promotion through social media channels

- Inclusion in all PR activity

-Discounted delegate rate on our conference facilities

 

Children's Corner £500

 

Would you like to help brighten up the children's corner in our restuarant for our younger visitors?

 

-Inclusion in PR activity

 

-Recognition in the children's area

 

-Inclusion in activity to our database promoting the new area

  

To talk to us more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ruth Gaskell rgaskell@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.

  

www.brockholes.org/commercial-opportunities

  

Commercial Opportunities

  

Make Brockholes your business

 

Businesses are being offered an opportunity to become partners in a North West tourism and wildlife success story.

 

Brockholes nature reserve is entering the second phase of development which will provide commercial opportunities for other businesses and boost local employment.

 

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust attraction attracted 185,000 people to its nature reserve and the first ever floating visitor village in the UK, last year. It is looking to top that visitor figure this year.

 

Just off the M6 at Preston and easily accessible from anywhere in the UK, Brockholes has received more than 30 regional and national awards despite only opening in 2011. Visitors continue to pour in despite the reserve being surrounded by the attractions of Manchester, Blackpool and Liverpool.

 

The business has shown year-on-year growth and, as a result, is seeking commercial partners for the next phase of development.

 

Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust said “Brockholes has performed incredibly well despite being launched in a recession. We have steered the business through the stormy weather and achieved fantastic results.

 

“We are now looking to move into the next phase of development. As a conservation charity, we want to ensure our focus remains on the nature conservation of the reserve, whilst ensuring the commercial income supports this work. We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage and asking businesses to be creative with their proposals.”

 

The Visitor Village has a restaurant, shops, conference centre, welcome centre and education centre. Major companies have made use of the conference centre including RBS and Aldi. The surrounding nature reserve is continuing to grow, with an increasing population of resident creatures and rare visitors like red kite, bittern and otter.

 

Anne continued: “Brockholes received funding for the initial start up and development phases but it was always designed to be a self-sustaining model. By making the most of the commercial opportunities and keeping these balanced carefully with the needs of nature, we believe we can continue to success of Brockholes into the future and achieve even more fantastic results for wildlife, our wide range of visitors and the tourism economy”.

 

Opportunities include retail, water sports (non-motorised), indoor play provision, events partners and mobile food concessions. However, the Trust is open to hear if any investors would wish to develop sympathetic commercial facilities on the site.

 

An opportunity information pack is available by request from:

Karen Williams Karen.Williams@brockholes.org

 

Expressions of interest should initially be made to

Lindsey Poole, Commercial Development Manager lpoole@lancswt.org.uk

  

www.brockholes.org/groups

  

Group Visits

 

Whether it’s a full day out or just a quick stop off on the way to your destination, Brockholes is the ideal place for groups to visit.

 

There's so much for all ages to see and learn about at Brockholes. Everyone from toddlers to seniors will find something to fascinate them, whether through our exciting range of organised events, or by just wandering around the site.

 

We are passionately committed to lifelong learning for all – our belief is that everyone should leave knowing something they didn't when they arrived! The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has over a decade of experience in delivering environmental education, so you can relax, enjoy the surroundings and be sure to come away both enchanted and enlightened...

 

We have several options for various groups, each with a variety of benefits. For more information click on the relevant link below…

 

Coach Groups

School Groups

Community Groups

 

To enquire about group visits please call 01772 872000 or email info@brockholes.org. Or leave your details on the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

  

Coach Groups

 

Situated next to Junction 31 on the M6, we are the ideal stop for coach trips, whether it is for a short stop, as a green motorway services, or as part of a full day visit.

 

Free entry for coaches and convenient coach drop-off point

 

We have a variety of walking trails for your group to explore, ranging from half an hour to 2 hours in length.

 

We have our floating visitor village that features a stunning waterside restaurant, 2 unique gift shops and a welcome centre with exhibits, which are ideal should your guests decide for something less active (or if the weather lets you down)!

 

All our buildings are fully accessible, while the vast majority of our paths are well surfaced, level and suitable for wheelchairs.

 

We now have a more convenient drop-off point exclusively for coaches and in addition have a number of benefits for coach groups:

 

• Free entry to the reserve and visitor centre

• Free coach parking

• Refreshment voucher for the coach driver

• Free familiarisation visit for group organisers

• Free meet and greet at the coach (on request)

• Free Brockholes welcome leaflet and trail guide

• Free events and activities throughout the year (visit our events calendar for details)

• Free play area

• Pre-booked guided tours (available at an extra charge)

• Adapted toilets available at the visitor centre

 

Please note that there is a 4 metre high bridge on the entrance to Brockholes. We also advise all coaches to let us know of their visit in advance by calling us on 01772 872000.

 

For any further information please just call 01772 872000, email info@brockholes.org

  

School Groups

 

Our 250 acre nature reserve and Visitor Village is a great place for school groups to visit. Children can learn about the geological history and how the quarrying has shaped the land today. And because we are a new nature reserve, you can watch it grow! It is also home to the UK's first floating Visitor Village.

 

Most importantly of all, the children will be able to see that Brockholes is home to a host of wildlife, with many different species of bird popping by throughout the year, along with brown hare, dragonfly and deer to name a few!

  

Facilities

 

Your school will have use of the education centre on our floating visitor village and you will have at least one Education Officer dedicated to your group throughout the day.

 

Plus... NEW FOR 2014!

 

Next year your school will be able to get even closer to nature at Brockholes by booking an education session in our new purpose-built bird hide classroom, right on the edge of the lake!

 

The hide will overlook No 1 Pit Lake which is home to many different species of birds and you'll also be able to look across to the new sand martin wall, which will provide valuable breeding habitat when they arrive in spring.

 

Why not your details below if you'd like us to keep to informed of these exciting new developments!

  

Programmes

 

We offer a wide range of programmes including:

 

Big Adventure in a Miniature World

Life Cycles

Migration and Hibernation

Environmental Art

Geography and Geology

Forest School

 

You can read more about the education programmes available at Brockholes here.

  

Education Team

 

Our Education Team are based at Brockholes and have a huge amount of experience in inspiring young people about the natural world. They are a lively bunch and pride themselves on creating an exciting and memorable experience for your school. You can read about how great our team is here: Meet the Education Team.

  

Outreach

 

Can't get to us? Then we can come to you! Our outreach education programme is very popular and offers a wide range of programmes for those who are unable to reach Brockholes.You can view our Outreach Programmes here.

 

For any information just call us on 01772 872000 for more information, email eduadmin@lancswt.org.uk

  

Community Groups

 

Brockholes is a great place to bring your community group, whether it's the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Beavers or a rambling or photography group, there is something for everyone!

 

As well as exploring our stunning nature reserve you can enjoy an activity such as a guided walk, a mini-beast hunt or an environmental art session.

 

You can visit Brockholes during the day or we have special community group evenings when the reserve is open beyond our usual opening hours. Group activities usually take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

  

Forest Schools

 

Forest Schools is a unique outdoor learning experience that improves children's self-esteem, confidence and abilities.

 

Brockholes provides an inspirational setting for Forest Schools sessions and training, and is conveniently located just off junction 31 of the M6 at Preston.

 

Our Forest School sessions are designed and delivered by our experienced and fully qualified Education Team including our Level 3 Trained Forest Schools Practioner.

 

Our next Forest Schools adult training session will be running in October. To find out more about Forest School sessions at Brockholes please call 01772 872017 or email kphillips@lancswt.org.uk

  

www.brockholes.org/shop

  

Shop til you flock

 

Why not drop into our two on-site shops, The Nest and Village Store, which are packed with all sorts of goodies. We've a variety of products from local beverages and food, to cards and books and crafts and jewellery. They are the perfect place to pick up a unique gift... and there's plenty of treats for the little ones too!

  

The Nest

 

The Nest is home to an inspiring collection of gifts, jewellery, books, toys, arts & crafts. Discover what's inside The Nest here.

  

The Village Store

 

The Village Store stocks a wide range of products, from locally sourced food and drink treats to bird food, garden accessories and wildlife books. Come and look inside here.

  

Membership of the Wildlife Trust

 

Brockholes is a Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. You can become a member today or talk to our friendly staff members and volunteers on your next visit to Brockholes. Gift membership is available in The Nest or you can buy it online here.

  

www.brockholes.org/eat

  

Our restaurant is the perfect place to stop and watch the world go by with panoramic views of our lake. Scrumptious homemade dishes and a taste bud tingling selection of Lancashire's finest local produce are all here to tempt you, along with fair trade tea and coffee.

 

Our restaurant is open from 10am to 5pm.

  

www.brockholes.org/very-special-occasions

  

Brockholes is a fantastic place for your very special occasions.

 

Our floating venue is one of the newest and most unique in Lancashire and promises you and your guests an unforgetable event whatever the occasion.

 

We have a dedicated function centre that can accomodate weddings, christenings and all sort of functions.

 

The clean, contemporary finish of our venue means that you have the perfect opportunity to put your own stamp on your event, with a flexible range of catering available from our on-site restaurant.

 

We have a dedicated Conference and Events Co-ordinator that will be available to help you plan your special occasion.

  

Very Special Weddings

 

We had our first wedding celebration September 2011 and since then it's been all go with Wedding Fayres and lots more bookings for this year and next. Find out more about weddings at Brockholes here.

  

Very Special Christenings

 

Brockholes is a real family friendly venue for a Christening celebration that you will remember for years to come. Find out more here.

 

For general enquiries about holding a function at Brockholes please call 01772 872005 or email philip.dunn@brockholes.org.

I know lots of you manage to photograph Jays but where I live in the Pennines they are extremely wary, almost certainly because they get shot at. So this is one of few photographs of Jay that I have managed.

 

The General Licences that allow birds like Jays to be shot were challenged recently by the organisation wildjustice.org.uk/, and as a result were withdrawn by Natural England (in England only). Mark Avery describes the case much better than me here:

markavery.info/2019/04/28/what-wild-justice-says-about-th...

But Michael Gove found the time during his busy leadership campaign to issue new General Licences including GL34 – to 'conserve wild birds and flora or fauna', which includes Jay. But the BTO have researched Jays thoroughly and say there is no justification to include them on this, or any other General Licence. Again Mark's blog explains it better. markavery.info/2019/05/04/jay-to-drop-out-of-general-lice...

 

So it looks like Gove bowed to pressure from the shooting industry because "wild birds" includes the 70 million non-native Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges released annually into the British countryside. And once again, Mark Avery has written an excellent blog on how the shooting industry have their cake and eat it too, by absolving themselves of responsibility once their captive-reared birds are released. markavery.info/2019/06/13/the-common-pheasant-livestock-o...

Quoting Mark's blog " This is convenient for their former owner because if his (or her) Pheasants eat your vegetables in your garden or cause a serious, maybe even fatal, road traffic accident then it’s a wild bird not someone’s livestock for which they are responsible."

07DW1320

Sea mist rolling in

Managed to get close enough before he moved.

I managed to find a somewhat new angle to shoot this rusty-tipped page (Siproeta epaphus) at the Haga Ocean butterfly house.

 

Here you can see the proboscis of the butterfly. That's the almost rolled up appendage which butterflies and moths use to suck nectar from flowers with.

 

The proboscis is actually made up of two tubes which are held together by tiny hooks and can be separated for cleaning. The proboscis also contains muscles which allow the butterfly/moth to roll it up or in and also directi it towards the nextar.

 

Each tube is inwardly concave, which means they form a central tube which moisture is sucked up through.

I managed to get out last night between rain squals and get this shot with my new RGND filter that I've had for a month. Just haven't had the opportunity until last night. Obviously there was a lot of editing in photoshop but starting with the filter gives you a great starting point. Well worth the money spent.

 

Explore 05.06.09 Thanks Everyone!

 

View On Black

"Manage me, I'm a mess

Turn a page, I'm a book half unread

I wanna be laughed at, laughed with, just because

I wanna feel weightless and that should be enough

But I'm stuck in this fucking rut

Waiting on a second hand pick me up

And I'm over getting older

If I could just find the time

Then I would never let another day go by

I'm over getting old

 

And maybe its not my weekend

But its gonna be my year

And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass

While I go nowhere

And this is my reaction to everything I fear

[everything i fear]

Cause I've been going crazy

I don't wanna waste another minute here

 

Make believe that I impress

That every word by design turns a head

I wanna feel reckless

wanna live it up just because

I wanna feel weightless

cause that would be enough" Weightless - All Time Low

 

my boys. i absolutely cannot wait for that album of theirs. we played robinson today, lost.. 9-1. varsity lost 20-1.

i am 1) wet. 2) tired 3) sore

and i have 1) a headache 2) a stomachache 3) hurt knee.

 

I NEED SLEEEEEEEEPPP

tomorrow is my pampering day. i feel like without it, i'll literally go insane.

 

and again..

currently listening to: weightless - all time low for the third day in a row..

I managed to finally drag myself out for a gentle wander around the lanes. Just before coming across this puddle, I had noticed movement in the woods to the left. I kept looking, as it didn't seem to be a dog, and realised there were two roe deer there.

After feeling poorly all week, this cheered me up, although it certainly didn't cure my cough :-(

did my 1st 8" munny this time around (4th munny overall) i like having more room to work with. looking back at my previous 3 minis, i wonder how i managed to work in such a tight area, haha.

 

since i was trying new things, i also decided to step away from the usual spraypaint method, doing this little guy completely by hand. there are some areas that i wasn't completely thrilled about (i HATE brushstrokes on my munnys)

 

and now, we're off to phoenix, to hand deliver this kitty for the MUNNY GRUBBERS show taking place on august 8th.....u

I managed to get a photograph of this Chough with its bill open that I thought was different enough to merit posting. This is the vagrant Chough on the Lancashire coast which was still present yesterday.

 

In Britain, Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) are rather rare, and have always been so as there are few English folk names for them. There are many ancient references to Chough but that is because this was the name originally applied to the Jackdaw. Shakespeare refers to Choughs in seven of his plays but at this date he can have only meant Jackdaws. The name Cornish Chough was the real Chough's earliest name (Turner 1544) as it was literally the Cornish Jackdaw (also called Cornyssh daw in 1575). Thomas Bewick (1804) was the first to drop the epithet "Cornish" and just called it Chough as by this date the name was no longer used for Jackdaw. As Chough is a defunct onomatopoeic name for Jackdaw it is certain that it was originally pronounced "Chow" (similar to Bough being pronounced bow). But everyone now pronounces it "Chuff".

Managed to find one lone flower to photography in the middle of winter. First time the weather has been nice enough to play with my new toy...65mm MP-E macro. Center of a Viola, at appx. 2x life size. Single shot, hand held. More soon.

I managed to get my Godox AD200 fixed today so it would have been remiss of me not to nip out in the night and try to avoid breaking it again! Red and blue lighting made using the lightpaintingbrushes.com screw on colour hoods, all shot in one photographic exposure etc etc.

Managed to get the camera fired up but think the constant carrying stuff about might be having an adverse affect on my gear. Took a few test shots with the 70-200 and, not sure if it's a sharp as it used to be.....

Ok normally I manage to get up early a lot more during vacation but this time the weather was just not good enough in the morning. This shot is from the only time I went out for a morning shoot and well I waited and waited for the sky to break up but instead this was the foreboding of the days rain coming . At least I manged to get some shots and I like the mood in this, already looking like rain :-)

 

cheers

A blast from the past! In my younger days I used to follow the World Rally Championship, especially the NZ round of the event.

 

This is a shot of Carlos Sainz ('El Matador') in his ST165 Toyota Celica GT4, early morning and getting ready to start the first stage of the day. These top international drivers weren't easy to get close to but I managed to sneak this shot and was always pleased with it, especially the concentration on his face.

 

From memory he won the event and the championship that year,

 

This is a scan from the original 35mm negative I still have from the event. A further practice of scanning 35mm film negatives!

 

Originally shot on a Minolta 7000i / Minolta AF 100-300 / Kodak 200 / Epson V300 scanner.

 

© Dominic Scott 2022

Managed to get to the Birdlip viewpoint in time to capture a beautiful sunset over Gloucestershire and Worcestershire

Managed to be in the right place at the right time for an extremely short burst of sunshine on an otherwise miserable day to capture the fabulous Oranmore Castle.

I managed to catch a few last shots of these tulips before all the petals fell off.

Managed to catch the last bit of sun of the day.