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Showing posts from September, 2012

The Avebury Stones...

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    The Avebury Stones. The village of Avebury is seen as a mecca for those who believe in Paganism, Wicca, and Druidry. The Avebury Stones surround the village in the fair county of Wiltshire England, a county renown for it’s fine quality hams and fresh country vegetables. The summer solstice and pagan festivals held at Avebury attract visitors from all over the world, as Avebury stands on the St. Michael ley line that runs from Cornwall to East Anglia - and in the village itself ; The Red Lion Public House can offer you one of the most ghostly inhabited pubs in England!

The Shriving of Miss Esme Stamp...

Serialized by Patrick George Callaghan                                                      Part Four Like an ancient dowager The Peoples Palace had marked the passing of time; its walls were cracked and bitten by a thousand winter gales. Now the evening was an earthy brown that hid its open shabbiness and rickety gas lamps clung tightly to their own familiar street corners. Heavy faces loomed from open doorways and men of use stood on cobbled roads; idle and without direction. There was company in one another; there was only accusation, discontentment and lawlessness at home. The ale bar offered up its saintly dreams…if one had a silver shilling. ‘Now there’s a woman ‘wiv furs on ‘er back and a fancy ‘at from ‘arrods.’ There were mutterings of agreement. ‘I bet ‘er belly’s goanna be full of dinner tonight! Our’s can ache and rumble till the cows come ‘ome.’ The voice died away, lost to the small group of men that had gathered close to the entrance. Men had the

Actress Enid Stamp Taylor and Polyfoto...

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This remarkable set of pictures taken by Polyfoto in the 1930′s show a more unguarded and natural Enid Stamp Taylor and thought to be taken in one of London’s large department stores. They were given to me by Enid’s daughter Robin Anne, and interestly enough there is a corresponding set taken at the same time of Robin Anne herself. Therefore, one must conclude this was a spontaneous gesture during one of Enid’s frequent shopping trips in central London. Polyfoto were a photographic company that had instore portait studios in many large towns across the country from the 1930′s right up until the mid 70s and enjoyed their own distinctive and notable photographic system which incorporated unperforated 35mm film that in turn produced small square pictures as a contact sheet from which the sitter could choose enlargements a day or two later. However, the system became expensive and dated with the rise of the photo booth. Sadly, these are all that have survive

A Family Outing...

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The Callaghan family enjoying a recent walk along the banks of the Grand Union Canal. Mentioned in an earlier blog was Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire UK, and that brings me to some interesting facts. The Grand Union Canal which ran the length of England was opened at Leighton Buzzard, and that Leighton Buzzard Railway Station was the location for part of the film  The Great Train Robbery made in 1963. The robbery itself took place just outside the town at Bridego Bridge, and turned Ronnie Biggs into a household name.

The Leighton Buzzard Railway...

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It was a great 'day out' when the family visited the Leighton Buzzard narrow-gauge railway in Bedfordshire UK recently. Built back in 1919, from materials surplus from the First World War battlefields railways, to carry sand from the quarries around Leighton Buzzard. It's now a popular tourist attraction, and one of England's top narrow-gauge working museums, with historic locomotives from all over the world. Top picture: The Callaghan family inspect the engine. Below: Posing for a group snap.