Val's Cafe

frogmorton

Joan Lucy's neurology apt is 14th Dec if she doesn't get a telephone one now...I ended up walking with (2m distanced) our senior partner at the Drs surgery he reckoned that's what she should do. Hope Sue is warm enough and you too of course ((()))

Kath so far so good for me I am enjoying the story! Barbara will be too so she can tell it to Niamh! Sorry it's such hard work though 😕Kitten is a little girl Niamh will love that🙂

Sleek was so very happy on arrival home she and Rosie shrieking like banshees! Sleek was allowed to help the nurse do your flu jab! Rosie wanted to do Chris's but has absolutely no experience so the nurse said no?

I also have my orders in up to Christmas including one on the 23rd so feeling under control 🤞

Mike krampoth! Great word I must add it to Pikelts and Crumpets🙂 sorry to hear you didn't like parsleybox😕 I actually liked the idea they kept for so long, but they have nothing vegan so haven't tried them myself. Wiltshire farm look amazing, but expensive again limited vegan options.

I know Deliveroo have a minimum £15 order that is ludicrous for one. In our village I order with my lovely neighbours. Fish and chips tonight - just chips for me sadly 😕but Paul will have the works.

Nothing at all wrong with a Birds eye meal so long as you wear your Christmas hat and Vixen does too! I got my pusskin one of those flappy fish toys for Christmas? I got over excited to show it to her last night and she is terrified! So far anyway.

Morning Barbara hope all is well with you today and the family too.

My friend hates peas because they 'burst' in your mouth...is that what Niamh dislikes too? If so try mushy ones. She is a good girl eating her veg. My girls used to love crumpets with butter then melted cheese on...

Tier 3 for us too mostly from the Wolverhampton end of Staffs, but what can you do? the Hospitals are under so much pressure, but to be fair I feel safer in tier 3 and hope the majority comply🤞

The cloak is ready for your bloods and your eye test Sleek is hoping she can take your blood for you? She will travel there ahead of us to speak to the nurses

Sending love to Chris (catlady) hope all is still going well and you aren't overdoing it too much ((()))

Love alos to Carol. Some of the family should be out of isolation now hope everyone is well ((()))

Love also to Christine and Mig

vegan option below:

dachshund

Good morning everyone

Mike ((())) we have never tried parsley box's or Wiltshire farm foods thank you for saying what you thought of them.

Kath ((())) you write good stories thank you. Love to Chris ((())) Anita ((())) and Val ((())) and your Dad ((()))

Barbara ((())) I hope all is well with everyone there. Love to Mr B ((())) your son ((())) and Niamh ((())) and your brother ((())) and his girlfriend ((()))

Toni ((())) are you in tier 3 it will be difficult with your big family bur you will cope with it I'm sure ((())) love to Paul ((())) Charley ((())) her girlfriend ((())) and the carers ((())) Lucy ((())) Tia ((())) and Kari ((()))and P ((()))

love to Bill ((()))Chris (((())) Mig ((())) Carol ((()))

Kitty

Kitten - part 4

“Kitten, what a lovely name. But I don’t suppose it’s your real name” Tom’s mum added.

“No, my real name is Katharine, but I couldn’t pronounce it when I first began to talk, I could only manage to say Katrine. So it was shortened to Kitty which I didn’t like. So gran called me her kitten.

“Does your gran live nearby?” Tom butted in.

“She lives on the mobile home park.”

Tom’s mum handed them both a glass of milk. Now the doctor had checked them both over, and neither were he worse for their experience. “perhaps I’d better call her” she suggested as they both devoured the Malted biscuits she’d given them.......  

Toni, we'll make a fully fledged nurse of Sleek yet. Chris has a sore arm (the nurse did hid) but I haven't had even a twinge after Sleek's administrations. If she wants to do a blood test, I have one next Wednesday.

Barbara, yes the cloak will scoop us all up for your blood test, we will be quiet as mice (unless I start snoring).

I hope all are as well as can be. I keep forgetting to ask, can we adopt a donkey or 4? I have begun supporting https://www.thebrooke.org/

just take a look at their website. They re wonderful. So to have a few in our little animal rescue would be great. I'm sure Aidan would approve.

Mike1

Morning Froggie - who wrote "I know Deliveroo have a minimum £15 order that is ludicrous for one. In our village I order with my lovely neighbours. Fish and chips tonight - just chips for me sadly 😕but Paul will have the works."

Regrettably we do not have any of the National take away delivery services down here, the only deliveries we can get are a Chinese and an Indian from two individual restaurants in Penzance. There is a chippy about 3 miles up the road but they do not deliver and, at the moment, one has to telephone an order then they will tell you what time to turn up to collect it, sadly it would take too long to get up there on my mobility scooter as it is mainly uphill to get there and one cannot book a time, besides by the time I get home it would be cold and greasy anyway.

Kitty

Just a short note. I've given up on Kitten, it was getting boring. But I found a much more exciting one I finished years ago. It has 12 complete chapters, called Phoenix Cottage and is about time travel. I'll begin it tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it.

barbara12

Evening all ooh its cold

Joan i hope Sue's room is warm ..and all the bungalow come to that...did you get the JL calander because it was my turn to pay this year..xx

Kath I look forward to your story.. wish I had a brain that worked..xx

Toni bacon sarni ..Niamhs favorite

I would love skeek to do my bloids especially in that outfit..hopefully we will all be out of tiers very soon xx

Mike we don't live in the middle of nowhere and have many takeaways but none of them any good.. xx

Thanks every one for the cloak duties to come..

Love to all

Xxxxxxx

frogmorton

Joan yes we are in tier 3 so is Barbara and I thought maybe Kath too? You should be in 2 I think? We'll manage as you say safety first! I hope you and Sue are well and the carers are too? ((()))

Mike I am lucky because my husband fetches the take-aways or my neighbour's husband likes to take his turn sometimes too. We all had chips last night which were lovely a real treat. Being in tier 3 there isn't much else is there except food 🙄

If you fetched yours by scooter it would be pretty bad by the time you got home.🤢

My favourite by choice would be Indian I love a good curry, but my husband isn't so keen 😕 Hrak at us all we talk about is food! Mind you this is supposed to be a café so I think that's fair enough!

Update on the cat flippy toy

This is not my pusskin, but mine is getting better and is less scared. I can see she'll love it in time 🙂

Kath I love time travelling books! I am actually listening to one on Audio at the moment called Come again by Robert Webb. Yes please! By the way I could live in that cottage....sigh....

Sleek is proper preening now! Yes she is reading over my shoulder again and said she thought the nurse didn't do such a good job on Chris🙄

She will be there on Wednesday she loves taking blood.

Barbara it was proper cold last night - I feel a lot warmer today so far mind you the heating is on. I lit the fire lats night which i don't do too often as it's not great for the old lungs.

I thought Niamh liked a bacon butty! Please do share today of course is Aidan's usual breakfast for Saturdays.

Sleek is reading over my shoulder and is really happy to come along in her outfit. It's been washed and is in teh ironing pile for later ready.

Shame your take-aways are rubbish. Our Indian is great, but i really don't like ony ordering for me and Paul it's not fair for them to come all this way. Of course at the moment none of the girls can come over. In the summer we had one or two outside with one or other of them.

Today I hope to have a treat of a costa or starbucks coffee (decaf soya🙄) via a drive thru, The highlight of my week!

Love of course to Carol and Chris and Christine if she happens by and Mig

Breakfast:

Fresh from the oven

dachshund

Good morning everyone

Kath ((())) Good luck with the blood test (()) sorry Chris has a sore arm ((())) love to Anita ((())) Val ((())) and your Dad ((()))

Mike ((())) where do you live. have a good weekend ((()))

Barbara ((())) thank you I have not put my phone on yet ((())) they are coming to fix Sue's rad on Tuesday. Love to Mr B ((())) your son and Niamh ((())) and your brother ((())) and his girlfriend (((()))

Toni ((())) I hope you get your costa coffee ((())) it said on the news that the virus had stopped growing I hope so. Love to Paul ((())) Charley ((())) and her girlfriend ((())) and the carers (((())) Lucy ((())) Tia ((())) Kari ((())) and P ((()))

love to Bill ((())) Chris ((())) Carol ((())) Mig ((()))

Mike1

Dachshund -"Mike ((())) where do you live"

Goldsithney near Penzance

Kitty

Phoenix Cottage

Chapter 1

The Past

As the two horses picked their way between the trees, sixteen year old Simon Cadogan and his younger brother Benjamin looked all around them. Although the valley was steep, the horses were sure footed and the boys excellent horsemen. Then Simon noticed a small wooden building nestling among the trees, this is what they had been looking for.

"So the stories are true" he gathered up the reins and his mount came to a halt. "There is a witch living in the forest." Benjamin drew alongside his brother and peered anxiously through the trees.

"Is there any sign of life?" At fourteen, he wasn't as brave as his brother and Simon noticed the nervousness in his voice.

"She's probably brewing up some vile concoction to cast a spell on you Benjamin" Simon teased spurring his horse on down the hill, Benjamin kept close behind. When they reached the ramshackle hut they tethered their horses to a nearby tree.

"Surely no-one can live here." Benjamin stared at the derelict hovel as Simon leaned with his hand against the door. Immediately it caved in and he fell headlong into the dark interior. Something furry leaped at him, hissing and spitting. Sharp needles dug into his face as he struggled to his feet. A large scrawny cat hung with its claws embedded into the flesh on Simon's cheeks. With a yowl, the animal fell to the ground then fled into the forest.

Benjamin rushed to his horse for the flask of water from his saddle. He took it back to where Simon stood, blood trickling down his cheeks. Using his handkerchief, he gently cleaned the wounds left by the cat's claws. No one had come out of the hut to see what the commotion was about.

"The devil himself must be behind this." He stepped cautiously into the doorway and peered into the darkness. "What a filthy stench!" As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness he could see what looked like a human figure seated in the corner of the room. An oil lamp stood on a rickety table nearby; it still contained a little oil so Simon lit it. Benjamin was about to follow his brother inside, but was knocked over as Simon gave a cry of horror and flew out, dropping the lamp as he did so. Benjamin picked himself up and ran after Simon who was loosing his horse and mounting. "Hurry Benjamin, we must get out of here." Benjamin turned to look back at the hut. The lamp had broken in its fall and set fire to something inside the hut, which was now blazing.

"But what about that?" He called pointing to the fire.

"Leave it and follow me - quickly Benjamin!" he yelled over his shoulder. The horses were straining to get away from the fire and need no spurring on. The two brothers gave them their heads and they galloped up the hill. When they reached the relative safety of the hillcrest, they reigned in their horses. The smell of fire was far behind them now and the horses soon settled.

"What was in there Simon?" Benjamin asked. Simon looked at his younger brother.

"It's better that you never know Benjamin." Simon slowly rode away, his cheeks were hot and throbbing, he needed to get his wounds tended to properly. Benjamin rode behind him; trying to imagine what horror Simon had seen inside the hut. If his brother didn't want him to know, perhaps it would be better if he tried to put the whole incident out of his mind.

As the Cadogan brothers disappeared over the brow of the hill, a troop of Roundhead soldiers made their way down the opposite side of the valley. As they neared the bottom they saw the flames. By the time they reached the hut, it was just a smouldering heap. Captain James Porter turned to his Sergeant.

"Who owns the land surrounding this valley?"

"Sir Richard Cadogan owns them sir."

"A Royalist!" His superior spat the words out; as far as he was concerned all Royalists were devil worshippers and should be burned at the stake. "We had better inform him of what has occurred so close to his land."

"Perhaps he already knows sir." The Sergeant sneered.

Simon and Benjamin headed for home. Their Grandfather had built Cadogan Hall in 1591. Their father, Sir Richard Cadogan, had inherited the house and all its land on his father's death in 1628. As next in line, Simon would inherit it on his father's death, but at sixteen all that seemed a long way off.

The horses were left at the stables, where Samuel the groom took care of them. Sarah the cook was busy preparing the meal when the brothers entered the kitchen.

"Master Simon, what on earth has happened?"

"It's only a cat scratch Sarah, but it is sore. Do you have any balm to put on it?" While Sarah tended to Simon's wounds, Benjamin went to his father's study. He was about to knock and enter when he heard voices from inside. He put his ear to the door and listened for a few moments. The door suddenly opened and Benjamin jumped back, startled.

"Benjamin, what are you doing there?" Benjamin wasn't afraid of his father, as he was usually a gentle man who seldom lost his temper, but the expression on his face was so angry.

"I was looking for you father." He said nervously "Simon has been hurt." As he spoke three men emerged from the study behind Sir Richard. 

"I will contact you in a few days time Sir Richard." One of the men said, "We will see ourselves out." Sir Richard nodded then turned to Benjamin, his face softening as he did so.

"Now, what has happened to Simon?"   

TO BE CONTINUED

Kitty

Daily Poem

My Bubble 

I'm living in a bubble, 

and It isn't very nice, 

sitting here alone 

with my heart as cold as ice. 

So many people round me 

Think they know just how I feel. 

But no matter what they think, 

my life is so unreal. 

"You're cured now" They all tell me 

"You've been so brave" and yet 

I sit here in my bubble 

trying to forget! 

I didn't feel too scared. 

I didn't feel that I'll, 

It's now I've learned to dread 

as I start to climb the hill. 

The hill towards normality 

whatever that might be. 

So I'll stay here in my bubble 

and search for the real 'me'. 

Well that's the first Chapter, hope you like it. You will meet other characters tomorrow, and then the adventure begins. I thought you'd like a poem as well.

I tried to book another delivery slot with Tesco last night. But the dates available only go as far as Christmas day, which is odd as I already booked an order for Boxing day, and January 2nd so why no dates for after. Yesterday's slots went up until January 8th so there should be one available now for January 9th! What's all that about?

I rang dad this morning, he turns 90 tomorrow God willing. He had his sandwiches and a Shepherd's Pie delivered by one of the leaders from the Friday club.

TTFN ❤️

barbara12

Hello all..its been dark all day here...

Joan I haven't bought the calander yet but if you haven't got it will send you one..hope they do fix Sue's radiator on Tuesday..xx

Mike we have spent many holidays in Cornwall..but never Penzance..we love it there but to far for us these days xx

Toni Saturday breakfast of croissants..thank you ..

I agree its all about food in lockdown ..😅we gave up on takeaways.. but we have a bonus of good restaurants doing takeaways while in lockdown..some good come if it...I tell a lie we have a really good chippy..

We both like a good curry but I can't eat a full one and hubby has them hot so I can't share his..xx

Kath the story is brilliant.. can't wait for the next chapter..is the poem yours has well..searching for the real me..don't think we ever find them..

dad 90 how good..the only one in our family to reach that was my gm..all the others were under 70..🙄

Love to everyone..Will post a pic if some

stones a man did for my garden..xxxxxx

.

frogmorton

My seat at my lap top!

frogmorton

Morning everyone :)

A bit foggy here this morning and Sleek has half-inched my chair so I am on another one next to it🙄She says I am being annoying coughing too much😳but has everything packed ready for her duties this week...

finished ironing her nurses uniform:

Barbara I freeze half of my curry and just reheat it with some freshly cooked rice. Paul has meat so we can't share either. It is indeed all about food and mealtimes at the moment what else is there to look forward to?

Those stones are gorgeous I don't know who the man was who made them but he is very talented.

All 70 or under in our family too sadly 😔 How long have we got left😉Hopefully we do better which helps our kids live longer.

Mike I googled your village and I think it may be a similar size to ours here. Except we have no pub or shop now. The old boy who ran ours died about 2 yeas ago and now they are turning it into a house. There's a petrol station on the main rd with a spar and a pub in the next village IF you drive.

Joan I am so glad to hear Sue will have heating soon bless her it's just not fair! I got my 'posh coffee' and a vegan sausage roll from Greggs so very nice treat for me. thank you ((())) xxx

Kath I think I get the bubble Lucy has pulled herself out of hers and it's bouncing along behind her - called denial in her case I think🤔

Love the new story - I hope the 'witch' is ok😕

I just checked you are right...where have teh slots gone for after Christmas? Same on Ocado😯 Maybe they are frantically trying to find extras for those who haven't yet got a slot for Christmas itself?

Been up all night baking....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kath's Dad🎈

Sunday breakfast:

Love to Carol and Chris and Christine

dachshund

Good morning everyone

Kath ((())) we wish your Dad a very happy birthday ((())) and a good year. Love to Chris ((())) Anita ((())) Val ((()))

Mike ((())) have a good day I have heard of Penzance.

Barbara ((())) thank you we don't want the calendar they have put the prices up it's too expensive. Love to Mr B ((())) your Son ((())) and Niamh ((())) and your brother ((())) and his girlfriend ((()))

Toni ((())) it will feel so strange when this virus is over to feel normal again love to Paul ((())) Charley ((())) and her girlfriend ((())) and the carers ((())) Lucy ((())) Tia ((())) Kari ((()) and P ((())) and your lovely neighbours.

love to Bill ((())) Chris Carol ((())) Mig ((()))

barbara12

Afternoon all foggy and dull here

Joan are you sure..must say I am not getting it for myself..like you say they have put the price up..but I can't keep staring at the screen anyway ..love to all of you xx

Toni that's what you call a mega breakfast..

I think sleek will be very gentle taking the bloods bless her..she could sit in my knee whilst doing it...

I think Lucy will be back in your bubble soon ..just a feeling..😍

that's a lovely cake you made for Kaths dad..😁..

Our youngest son Niamhs daddy starts a new job tomorrow..gas work has usual but he trained from being 14 with Mr B so he's good at it

Dinner's being delivered today.. I hope..

Love to everyone xxxxxxxxx

Mike1

Froggy wrote: "Mike I googled your village and I think it may be a similar size to ours here. Except we have no pub or shop now. The old boy who ran ours died about 2 yeas ago and now they are turning it into a house. There's a petrol station on the main rd with a spar and a pub in the next village IF you drive." That is Rosudgeon which is a couple of miles up the road, the garage has closed down now and the Spar has gone to be replaced by a Coop; I no longer have a car since the DVLA took my licence away last year on disability grounds. I could get there on my mobility scooter but it would be a bit of a strain as it is all uphill on the way there, but if I got there I would be unable to take my scooter into the shop and they do not have wheelchairs available for use. There is a huge car boot opposite the shop which is on every Wednesday from Easter till the end of September (when the bug has gone) but I have not had the nerve to go there on my scooter yet.

Turbogran

Evening all

This week has gone by so fast. I have been busy doing online shopping for the 6 little people. The two that were the hardest to decide what to get them was Ashley and Lillie. I knew all there likes but it was difficult to decide what ones to get. Both Rubie and Kian are Peppa pig fans, and Graycie loves the Disney princess Anna from the film frozen and Faye loves Disney princess Moana another film. So I got the respective dressing up sets for them. Fayes I am still waiting for to be delivered should have been delivered yesterday from Amazon via UPS courier. they sent a message later in the day to say they tried to deliver it at 9.30 am. Well if they did they didn’t ring the bell. So I spent Yesterday afternoon trying to sort that out with Amazon, and also another parcel again purchased from Amazon to be delivered by Dpd this one was sent back to seller by the courier and I have to reorder and they are going to refund that one.

we are all fine here and all the family are well. I think the Kent family are a bit fed up with the fact that they are in tier 3 after this lockdown. They say a lot of people living there are not following the rules. We are still in tier 2 but the rules are a little bit more restrictive. I have also be taking my exercise allowed outing a lot more seriously this time ,and have been doing daily walks a little bit further each day. On Friday I managed to get nearly up to our high street and back I was one bus stop away from the high street.

Cookie is getting really mischievous now and on Tuesday we have had her for a whole month. After which we can ask the refuge to change the keepership of her microchip over to us. They keep it for the first month in case the cat dose not settle. But this one has made her self quite at home. Still a bit nervous at times. If our security door buzzer goes she will leap onto the back of me arm chair and hides behind it on a shelf that is there. Crazy Pusskin.😾

her favourite place she also likes cardboard boxes 📦

I have not read back on all your post since I was last in so I can’t reply to any of them so I won’t try. Hope you are all doing ok and not in too much pain. Mr T is suffering with his back at the moment, but still doing his walks everyday he says it helps to ease the pain. I believe that because sometimes it’s the same for me a short walk helps me too.

it’s time to say good night

Love and Sparkles not you all ❤️❤️❤️🌈🌈🌈

frogmorton

The CLOAK of Invisibility is ready for sweep us all up for Barbara's bloods are you all ready? Come in your PJs if you want and there's a bed for Kath to sleep in! Hope today is less achy for you Kath I saw your post on facebook ((()))🌈

Definitely walking is good for your back Carol. If I fail to go for 3 days I know about it so I try to go almost/every day if i can 🤞

You are striding out there! You won't need to catch the bus soon except on the way home from the high street with your shopping! I think most of us are in tier 3 on here....Mike maybe in 1 and Joan in 2?

Well done getting your Christmas shopping done for pretty well all of the 'little people' they will love everything you put so much thought into their gifts

Don't worry too much about reading back it can be a lot especially as we have turned a page....

Look at Missy Cookie she has made herself at home in her box! and sees your chair as her safe place for definite which is why when the door buzzer goes she hides there bless her 😻So soon her chip will have your details on it? Sleek is due her annual check up....bloods BP etc as she is 11 now. Her old chip which has gone AWOL will be replaced by a new one and both linked to us. Complicated these chips. Good job we don't have them....yet!!!

Barbara we'll see you at the Drs for your bloods Sleek is ready I think she plans to go independently to the clinic - apparently she has recced the route already. Uniform is on she'd just having her breakfast.

She plans to sit on your knee while she takes your bloods. She says she likes Niamh's Daddy and we both wish him good luck with his new job 🤞

Erm dare I ask? How was your roast dinner?

I have ordered the Figaro calendar even though Penelope didn't get into it this year she WILL next year and of course I will have to have the village one too.

Joan yes Penzance is right down the bottom of Cornwall in tier1! It will be odd being able to go out when we want. It might take some of us a while to feel 100% safe again. So hard to imagine how carefree we all were 😕 Love to you both ((()))

Mike Rosudgeon sounds good if it has a car-boot! I would brave it if I were you - when it feels safe enough of course. No good getting all the way to the Co-op though if you can't get in. Losing your car must have been a real blow though. Do you use some of your mobility for a taxi sometimes (or will you when this virus is under control?)?

Lucky for us it's a very friendly village we live in so alway someone happy to help out.

What shall we have for breakfast today? It's foggy here but not too cold.....

and builder's tea!

Mike1

"Do you use some of your mobility for a taxi sometimes (or will you when this virus is under control?)?"

I will have taxis when I need them but, irrespective of my mobility allowance, it is so expensive being out in the sticks plus there is only one taxi that can take me in my wheelchair. It is £30 return to the nearest supermarket for example and even more to get into town. I will not be making use of them until this virus is over anyway as I am not comfortable going anywhere even if I could.

dachshund

Good morning everyone

yes we are in tier 2

Barbara ((())) we will be with you for your bloods and your eyes ((())) that's good your son having a new job good luck to him ((()))) and Niamh (((())) and your brother ((())) and his girlfriend ((()))))

Carol ((())) sorry about Mr T having a sore back (((()))) cookie has settled in good how old is she. Love to the family ((()))

Mike sorry you haven't got your car a mobility scooter is good mine is an 8 mile one (((())))

Toni I saw your post up above about Lucy's appointment being December ((())) love to Paul ((())) Charley ((())) and her girlfriend ((())) and the carers ((())) Tia ((())) Kari ((())) and P ((()))

Kath ((())) Happy birthday to your Dad ((())) and Chris ((())) Anita ((())) and Val ((()))

love to Bill ((())) Chris ((())) Mig ((()))

Kitty

Phoenix Cottage (most of the chapters are too long, so I will have to split them).

Chapter 2

The Present

"You know Amy, everything looks better upside down." Leonard Martin dangled from the ancient Yew tree. His sister Amy ignored him and concentrated on her art homework. She was sketching their house, Phoenix Cottage. It had been rebuilt in 1650 after being destroyed by fire during the Civil War. The old chapel nearby had been damaged at the same time and had gradually become a ruin during the centuries in between.

The Martin family had moved into Phoenix Cottage six months ago. Amy and Leonard had settled into their new schools quickly. Leonard had one more year of Junior School, while fifteen-year-old Amy was in year 9 at the local comprehensive.

"There" she held her drawing up so that Leonard could see it.

"Not bad sis!" He grinned down at her.

"You'd get a better view if you looked at it the right way up." She scolded. "Besides, all your blood will rush to your head and you'll go dizzy when you try to stand up." Leonard swung himself down beside her. He compared the sketch to the real building.

"The doorway doesn't seem right Amy," He pointed out.

"I know, I draw it exactly as I see it but it looks all wrong somehow." She put her drawing in her folder. "Well, it will have to do. Come on Len, Tea-time." As Lenny got up, his attention was drawn over to the chapel. Three men stood looking at it. Every so often one of them held something up to his eye, Lenny thought it could be a camera. Then they moved to a different position and repeated their actions. Lenny shrugged his shoulders and followed Amy indoors.

During Amy's history lesson the next day, Mr Grant droned on about Oliver Cromwell as usual. Amy was more concerned with the art lesson she had later, then Mr Grant said something that made her sit up and take notice.

"Phoenix Cottage was rebuilt with what could be salvaged from the original house." He said. "The doors were not damaged, so they were used again. Only a mistake was made, the front door was put on upside down."

"So that's why it looks so odd." Amy thought.

"The original key was never found" Mr Grant went on, "so a new one was cut. As you can see the house we know now is very similar to the original." He took a piece of paper from his desk and held it up so all the class could see. "This is a photocopy of a drawing of the house just before it burned down." Amy closed her eyes to picture the house as she knew it. Then she looked at the drawing. She took her own sketch from her bag.

"That's it," she said to herself "I've drawn the door as it was in the original house. Not as it is now." She quickly put her drawing away and listened intently to Mr Grant; he was talking about the old chapel now.

"So it has been decided to restore the chapel. It won't be ready in time for this summer's pageant of course which is a shame as this year its theme is the Civil War."

Amy was thoughtful as she made her way to art; Mrs Simpson was very pleased with her sketch.

"I'm not very happy about the doorway though." She told her "It looks more like the original house. I wanted it to look how it does now."

"Never mind Amy," Mrs Simpson held it up to the light to get a proper look "maybe you could try again another time then you could have a 'before and after' picture of the house."

After tea that evening Lenny was in his usual upside down position in the Yew tree.

"Lenny" his mother shouted from the doorway. "Don't do that after a meal, you'll make yourself sick." Lenny sighed and hauled himself the right way up. He was still sat on the branch when Amy came out, she followed his gaze. He was engrossed in watching the activities over at the old chapel.

"Nosy!" She grabbed his leg and pulled him out of the tree.

"Ow!" He yelled, luckily he landed safely. He lunged at Amy who rolled out of the way and scrambled up the slope away from him. It was too warm an evening, and too soon after their evening meal for a real scrap. They were both full so Lenny followed Amy and flopped down on the grass by her side.

"What are they doing?" He nodded in the direction of the men working around the chapel.

"Taking measurements by the look of it." She rolled over onto her back and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"I can see that, but why are they doing it?"

"Apparently they're going to restore it to its former glory."

"How do you know?" She told him what Mr Grant had said about the chapel, Phoenix Cottage's door and its missing key "So you see my sketch looks just like the original house."

"Wouldn't it be great if we could find the missing key." Lenny said excitedly.

"Don't be silly, it would be all rusty now anyway." Lenny looked quite crestfallen and Amy tried to think of a way to cheer him up. "Mr Porter invited him to his house on Saturday.7"

"Oh big deal!" He sounded totally underwhelmed.

"It's the only house in the village that's older that Phoenix Cottage" she continued, ignoring his sarcasm. "There are all sorts of interesting things there from the Civil War."

"Any weapons?" He brightened at the thought. Amy hesitated for a moment, not wanting to build false hopes.

"Maybe" she said with a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Great!" He jumped up "Come on Amy, I'm going to have a nosy round the old chapel."

"Sorry, more homework to do. You go though, tell me what you find out." 

To be continued.....

Kitty

As we missed a chapter on Sunday, I thought you might like another today to make up for it.

Phoenix Cottage

Chapter 3

Cadogan Hall

Leonard sat on a fence near the chapel watching the workmen taking measurements. In the distance he could see Cadogan Hall. Behind him the thatched roof of Phoenix Cottage flowed in the setting sun. One of the men sauntered over, it was Mr Porter. Lenny was surprised to see him.

"Hello Leonard, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Mr Porter. Amy told me they were going to do the chapel up."

"That's right" Mr Porter turned to survey the ruined chapel. "When we break through the rubble in there, we will be the first people to enter it since 1647."

"What do you expect to find in there?"

"Well these lands used to belong to a Royalist family." Mr Porter sat next to Lenny on the fence. "They may have hidden documents, jewels, that kind of thing."

"Why would they need to hide them?"

"From the Roundheads of course." Lenny thought for a minute or two.

"Any skeletons?" Mr Porter laughed.

"There is a crypt and depending on how damp it is, there could be skeletons." Mr Porter eased himself down from the fence and rubbed his back.

"Why are you working this late?" Lenny jumped down beside him.

"All the work is being done by volunteers to save money. Most of us have to work during the day, so we do this, evenings and weekends."

"So it's going to take a long time then."

"Yes, but we should have broken through the rubble by next Saturday, the renovation itself will probably take about a year - maybe longer." Lenny could see Amy heading towards them and looked at his watch.

"Is that really the time? Sorry Mr Porter, I've got to go in now."

"Come on Lenny mum wants you" Amy called as she approached them.

"Coming Amy, goodbye Mr Porter."

"Goodbye and don't forget about this Saturday will you Amy?"

"We'll be there Mr Porter, goodbye."

Cadogan Hall was not only the oldest house in the village, it was also the largest. Amy and Leonard arrived a little early and Mr Porter was in his study talking to someone. The housekeeper showed them into the drawing room. Amy immediately noticed the paintings in the room. There was a painting of the Hall and another of the chapel, the rest were portraits: an old man, a young girl, a small boy and two young men.

"I wonder who they are?" Amy thought out loud.

"You mean who they were" Amy hadn't heard Mr Porter come in. " I have just been discussing these paintings" he walked over to where she was standing. "They need a good clean so the art restorer is collecting them in a few days time."

"So who were they?"

"The old chap was Sir Richard Cadogan. His father Sir Thomas had this house built. It was completed in 1592."

"When was the chapel built?" Amy asked.

"That was built in 1075. The Cadogan family were given these lands by William the Conqueror."

"Then why wasn't the hall built until 16th century?" Mr Porter wasn't used to such an appreciative audience and enjoyed answering Amy's questions.

"The family used to live in Cadogan House, which was where Phoenix Cottage now stands."

"But we thought the original house was called Phoenix Cottage too" Lenny piped in.

"Oh no, as they used as much of the original house that survived the fire they considered it appropriate to rename it Phoenix Cottage. You know the legend of the bird rising from the ashes?" They both nodded.

"Was it the Cadogan family who rebuilt it?" Lenny didn't usually find history interesting but this was their own house they were talking about and he was fascinated. Mr Porter looked at the portraits and quietly said:

"Most of the family were killed in the fire, it was common knowledge they were murdered by the Roundheads" he looked slightly embarrassed "one of my ancestors as it happens - although I'm not proud of him, a pretty nasty chap by all accounts. Anyway, Cromwell rewarded him by giving him the Cadogan lands and property."

"Then why is this place still called Cadogan Hall?" Amy was curious. Mr Porter smiled wryly.

"There were Cadogan's surviving, another branch of the family who lived in Yorkshire. Captain Porter decided that keeping the old name was a way of rubbing salt in the wound so to speak. Impress on the rest of the family what they had lost."

"He really was a nasty piece of work wasn't he" Amy kicked Lenny on the shin to shut him up, but Mr Porter didn't seem to mind admitting that his ancestor was an embarrassment to him.

"What about the others?" She asked. Mr Porter moved on to the portraits of the boy and girl.

"This is Abigail and Clement Cadogan, Sir Richard was their uncle and they were staying with him when the Roundheads struck. They had two younger brothers in Yorkshire, the surviving Cadogans I mentioned."

Kitty

Chapter 3 continued

"So they were killed too" Amy looked sadly at the portraits, the girl looked about her age and her brother could have been as old as Lenny. Mr Porter nodded and turned to the third picture.

"Benjamin Cadogan, Sir Richard's younger son, he was only twenty when he was killed." Lenny had already moved to the next painting. Cold evil eyes stared down at him, the mouth sneered cruelly. A furious red claw-like scar on each cheek added to the bitterness in the expression on the face they now looked at.

"He doesn't look at all nice" Amy stated.

"This is the real villain of the piece" Mr Porter joined them.

"How did he get those scars?" Lenny asked.

"It's said that a cat attacked him. Those scars were supposed to have made him bitter, but I suspect he was already a very nasty young man."

"What happened to him, did he die in the fire too?" The evil face fascinated Amy.

"No! Rumour has it that he knew beforehand of the Roundhead's attack and escaped to France before the fire, leaving his family to die." Amy shivered involuntarily and turned away from the paintings.

"Now for the real reason for your visit" Mr Porter announced, "follow me."

They followed him out into the hall and up the broad sweeping staircase. He led them to a small rook at the back of the house which contained shelves full of boxes. Two large travelling trunks stood in one corner; Mr Porter opened one of them.

"Take a look in here Amy" she knelt down beside the trunk and could see it was full of neatly folded clothes. The top article was a tweed suit with 'plus fours'. Underneath was a silk gown. She put them carefully over the lid of the trunk.

"Are they very old?" She asked.

"These are about sixty years old, they belonged to my parents. Amy lifted a small blue velvet suit.

"Lenny you'd look good in this." She laughed "grow your hair long and you'd look just like 'Little Lord Fauntelroy." Lenny pulled a face at her "surely this is older than the others." She turned to Mr Porter holding the suit. He shook his head.

"It was made about fifteen years ago. All the costumes in here, except those first two, were made over the last twenty years for various pageants." He dug his hand into the trunk and pulled out a dark blue dress and held it out to Amy.

"It's just like the one Abigail is wearing in the painting downstairs" she gasped.

"That's right, it was made for the 1975 pageant. I thought you would like to wear it in this year's pageant. I have just the thing for Leonard to wear too." He delved into the trunk again and pulled out a boy's suit similar to the blue one Amy had found, but made of green silk. "Take these home and try them for size." Lenny held the suit at arms length and looked at the lace collar in disgust.

"No way, I'm not wearing this thing. Everybody will laugh at me."

"No they won't" Mr Porter reassured him. "They'll all be dressed in similar outfits so you won't look out of place. Oh, you'll need stockings and shoes to go with the suit."

"Stockings! I can't wear stockings."

"Oh it's only for one day Lenny, and you've got to look the part." Amy pleaded.

"Can't I be a Roundhead instead?"

"Sorry Leonard, we don't have any Roundhead costumes to fit you." Mr Porter was searching through one of the smaller boxes on the shelves. "Ah! Here we are, and this one is for you Amy." he handed them a box each. Lenny opened his and Amy tried not to laugh as he eyed the contents suspiciously. It contained dark green stockings and brown leather shoes with green bows. "And we mustn't forget the hat of course" Mr Porter passed a large brimmed brown hat with a green feather in it "you'll look quite the gentleman with that on." Lenny threw him a sidelong glance and sighed.

Amy peeked into her box to find beautiful blue shoes with tiny pearls stitched onto them. She thanked Mr Porter and they both left clutching their new outfits, Lenny grumbling all the way.

To be continued...

frogmorton

Wow Kath what imagination you have!

Thank you so much for that it was really enjoyable. You write so well, the detail and descriptions! You should be very proud of yourself. I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

By the way I hope you are feeling a good bit better and so you know Sleek washed her uniform when she got back from Barbara's bloods ready for yours tomorrow 🙂

Blimey Mike £30! That's outrageous daylight robbery😮 I would be unsure about a taxi too at the moment...enclosed space with a stranger and who knows who was inside before you?

No that's for after the vaccine.

Joan yes it's december now and I think tomorrow we go into tier 3 which is about the same as now so fair enough. I hope Sue's rad gets sorted today🤞

Where is Barbara? I hope all is well🤔 she seemed ok yesterday when we joined her for her bloods😕Perhaps it took it out of you Barbara ?

Love to Carol, Mr T and Cookie

Chris - hope the new flat is wonderful still.

and Christine how is the eye doing?

cheese on toast (low-salt for Barbara) tommy sauce/brown and mayo available in case Mike prefers that!!