Jenjie

add the listing on the off chance they get a ticket, particularly if they've sent someone to the box office to purchase

The unknown warrior was carried from a French battlefield 90 years ago, to be laid to rest among kings and statesmen in Westminster Abbey. But how did this symbol of the sacrifice of war come to be chosen? In 1916, a Church of England clergyman serving at the Western Front in World War I spotted an inscription on an anonymous war grave which gave him an idea. That moment of inspiration would blossom into a worldwide ceremony that is still being replicated in the 21st Century - the grave of an unknown warrior, symbolising those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The Reverend David Railton caught sight of the grave in a back garden at Armentieres in France in 1916, with a rough cross upon which was pencilled the words "An Unknown British Soldier". In August 1920 Mr Railton wrote to the Dean of Westminster, Herbert Ryle, to suggest having a nationally recognised grave for an unknown soldier. The idea - which had also been mooted by the Daily Express newspaper the year before - was presented to the government and quickly taken up. Memories of the war, in which a million British people had died, were still raw and the thousands of bodies that lay unidentified were a blight on Britain's conscience. "Those parents and wives who had lost men to war didn't have anything tangible to grieve at, so the unknown warrior represented their loss," says Terry Charman, a historian at the Imperial War Museum. But there was a procedure in choosing a single corpse to represent the many unnamed dead. The unknown warrior's body was chosen from a number of British servicemen exhumed from four battle areas - the Aisne, the Somme, Arras and Ypres. These remains were brought to the chapel at St Pol on the night of 7 November 1920, where the officer in charge of troops in France and Flanders, Brig Gen L J Wyatt, went with a Col Gell. Neither had any idea where the bodies, laid on stretchers and covered by union jacks, were from. "[T]he point was was that it literally could have been anybody," says Mr Charman. "It could have been an earl or a duke's son, or a labourer from South Africa. "The idea really caught the public mood, as it was a very democratic thing that it could have been someone from any rank." Gen Wyatt selected one body - it has been suggested he may have been blindfolded while making his choice - and the two officers placed it in a plain coffin and sealed it. The other bodies were reburied. The next day the dead soldier began the journey to his final resting place. The coffin was taken to Boulogne and placed inside another coffin, made of oak from Hampton Court and sent over from England. Its plate bore the inscription: "A British Warrior who fell in the Great War 1914-1918 for King and Country". This second coffin had a 16th Century crusader's sword, taken from King George V's private collection, fixed on top. Burial honours The body was then transported to Dover via the destroyer HMS Verdun and taken by train to London. On the morning of 11 November 1920 - two years to the day after the war had ended, the body of the unknown warrior was drawn in a procession through London to the Cenotaph. This new war memorial on Whitehall was then unveiled by George V. At 1100 there was a two-minute silence, and the body was then taken to nearby Westminster Abbey where it was buried, passing through a guard of honour of 100 holders of the Victoria Cross. In a particularly poignant gesture, the grave was filled with earth from the main French battlefields, and the black marble stone was Belgian. And at the exact time Britain was interring its unknown warrior, France was doing the same - burying its Soldat Inconnu at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Floral tributes But while the coffin in London had been laid with great ceremony, no-one was exactly sure how the public would respond to this new memorial. In the event, they flocked to it. An estimated 1,250,000 people visited the Abbey to see the grave in only the first week. Ninety years on, the dead soldier continues to be honoured, by the public and royalty alike. What's more, the symbolism of the act has been mirrored by many other countries around the world. Iraq, the United States, Germany, Lithuania and Poland are just some of those which have created their own memorials. On 17 October 1921, Britain's unknown soldier was given the US Medal of Honor, America's highest award for bravery, which hangs on a pillar near his grave. On 11 November 1921, the US unknown soldier was reciprocally awarded the Victoria Cross. And the commemorations have continued - Australia's unknown soldier was buried at Canberra in 1993 and a Canadian equivalent interred in Ottawa in 2000. Six years ago, New Zealand exhumed remains from the Somme in France and buried its own unknown warrior. Mr Charman says the diminishing significance of the Commonwealth may have added to the need for individual nations, which were once part of the British Empire, to create their own memorials. "Nowadays, the concept of Commonwealth is much diminished. It doesn't mean anything in the same way it did years ago. "To have its own unknown warrior, for a country that sent troops to WWI, is part of its own national identity." By Mario Cacciottolo BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11710660

Row over Amazon sales of paedophile advice guide self-published guide giving advice to paedophiles that was on sale through online retailer Amazon is stirring up controversy, with some threatening to boycott the website. The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct has now been removed from sale. But Amazon had defended the listing, saying it did not promote criminal acts but also avoided censorship. Amazon allows authors to submit their own books and shares revenue with them. Before authors are able to sell a work on the site, they are asked to read a set of guidelines, which bans offensive materials. But Amazon does not specifically state on its website what material it deems offensive, instead saying "probably what you would expect". Boycott threat In recent hours the book listing appears to have been removed from the Amazon website. But there has been no response yet to BBC requests for a statement from the retailer. It had previously adopted a defiant posture, saying in a statement: "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. "Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions." The author, listed as Philip R Greaves II, argues that paedophiles are misunderstood and purports to offer advice to help them abide by the law. Individuals on the micro-blogging website Twitter have asked Amazon to remove the book from its site, while some are threatening to boycott the retailer. One Amazon user posted a comment on the site, saying that "to see a book like this on Amazon's 'shelves', so to speak, is very troubling to me". The title is being sold for the Kindle electronic reader. self-published guide giving advice to paedophiles that was on sale through online retailer Amazon is stirring up controversy, with some threatening to boycott the website. The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct has now been removed from sale. But Amazon had defended the listing, saying it did not promote criminal acts but also avoided censorship. Amazon allows authors to submit their own books and shares revenue with them. Before authors are able to sell a work on the site, they are asked to read a set of guidelines, which bans offensive materials. But Amazon does not specifically state on its website what material it deems offensive, instead saying "probably what you would expect". Boycott threat In recent hours the book listing appears to have been removed from the Amazon website. But there has been no response yet to BBC requests for a statement from the retailer. It had previously adopted a defiant posture, saying in a statement: "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. "Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions." The author, listed as Philip R Greaves II, argues that paedophiles are misunderstood and purports to offer advice to help them abide by the law. Individuals on the micro-blogging website Twitter have asked Amazon to remove the book from its site, while some are threatening to boycott the retailer. One Amazon user posted a comment on the site, saying that "to see a book like this on Amazon's 'shelves', so to speak, is very troubling to me". The title is being sold for the Kindle electronic reader. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11731928

:) its more Gran needing the practice run! :lol:

aaaarrrgggh! Sammy wasn't supposed to need to spend a night away from home just yet :( he hasn't had any practice runs

you can be in love earlier than 17. my auntie & uncle have been together since he was 14/15 and they're both in their 60's now

for Sam :) tyvm :kiss: http://apps.facebook.com/baby_modelcomp/entry/261035

its just lazy and there's no need. there are enough words out there to be able to express yourself without resorting to swear words. plus, if you don't use swear words every day in general speech, when you do use them they have more of an effect because people you know don't expect it of you. same with getting angry & shouting, if you don't do it often it has a much better effect when you do. probably partly why people find it so funny when Chris swears, because you don't expect it of him.

I think it starts in the UK tonight. I like the look but it clashes with work :( and I don't know if Ian's interested in watching it

lots of cheeeeeeeeese! :) it was buy 1 get 2 free so what can you do? :lol:

wow. i never understand why writers say how long a series will be. surely its as many books to tell the story as it takes.

wasn't it only going to be a 10 book series though?

very true!! not in the old lady's house though :lol: now it allegedly is due to the fact that contractors were refitting the kitchen the previous day.

that series is still going? :stunned:

I'm 3/4 of the way through Angel by L.A. Weatherly. Its very good and the back of the book says there are at least 2 more to come.

Eleven people have been injured in a suspected gas explosion in Salford, the fire service has said. One house has been completely destroyed and up to four others have been badly damaged in the blast in Irlam. Although all residents are thought to be accounted for, search and rescue teams are still picking through the rubble as a precaution. A spokesman said gas was still believed to be leaking on Silver Street. Gas engineers are at the scene. A 76-year-old woman has been seriously injured and several others have been taken to hospital. A Greater Manchester Fire Service sniffer dog had earlier indicated that more people could be trapped in the rubble, but all residents are believed to be accounted for. Earlier, crews rescued five adults and two children from the property. "[They were in] a pretty bad condition, some had quite bad burns," fire service spokesman Tony Lander said. "I heard an explosion from my own home at ten past seven this morning and I live in Urmston, approximately five or six miles away. "About 10 minutes later control rang to say we had a report of a gas explosion in Irlam." BBC reporter Kevin Fitzpatrick told Breakfast News roof tiles had been blown off and car windows smashed by the force of the blast. Resident William Billinge was woken up by a "very loud bang" and he said the explosion shook his house, destroying four nearby properties. Mr Billinge, 65, said: "There's nothing left of them. There is debris everywhere, all over the place. "Four houses completely flattened." Up to 50 firefighters were sent to the scene after the blast, which neighbours reported as a gas explosion. Mr Lander said there was a strong smell of gas in the air. Stephanie Van Rosse, a spokeswoman for National Grid, said they had been asked to switch off the gas supply for the whole of Merlin Road, but added it was too early to discuss the cause of the blast. "Explosions like this are rare but, yes, we have dealt with them. And, you know, we are gas emergency professionals and this is what we are trained to be able to deal with," she said. Greater Manchester Police are also at the scene and have closed Silver Street, Merlin Road, Morrillion Road, Cutnook Lane and a number of other routes. A number of people have been evacuated from surrounding homes and sent to Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, which was has been closed to pupils. Barbara Holgate had just returned home from working a night shift at Tesco when she heard the explosion. "...it's a close-knit area so people have been going to relatives and friends. I've invited somebody in for coffee," she said. "They told most people to go inside. There's a big smell of gas." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11671916

am intrigued as to how Breaking Dawn will work as a film.

Breaking Dawn finally came out in paperback and I've read it :D can now go back through the thread and read the conversation!!

i'm fairly certain you can remodel on some leases. most shop chains, for example, don't own their shops they lease them and convert them to match the brand. there'll be something worked into the lease terms and conditions

Easycar.com - Generally, most local suppliers have a minimum rental age of 21. Minimum and maximum rental ages and other restrictions vary by location and supplier and there may be supplementary charges for drivers under 30 and over 65. Please check the local terms and conditions before completing your booking. Hertz - The minimum age for rentals from us in the UK is 25 years of age for all vehicle groups except for Luxury 4 door (H), special 4 door (S66), and Hertz Prestige Collection (HPC ) for which the minimum age is strictly 30 years old. It is however possible to rent vehicle groups Mini (A), Economy (B), Compact 4-Door © and Compact 2-4 Door ® from 23 years old on payment of a young driver surcharge in the amount of GBP 15.00 (excluding tax) per day with a maximum charge of GBP 150.00 (excluding tax) per rental. Please click here for more information on age restrictions and for age restrictions in other countries. Europcar - can't find anything specific but it suggests they don't rent to under 25. Avis - In the UK, you can rent from Avis when you are 23 years old or over (you will need a driving licence for at least one year and a credit card). A Young Driver Surcharge is applicable for drivers under the age of 25. They're the bigger chains. Some of the others might rent to younger people, but it might not be economically viable to do so.

most hire companies won't hire to under 21's because of the greater risk of damage to the car. its why most insurance companies set the highest excesses for under 21's. your standard insurance x/s might be £250 but then they quite often add an additional £3/400 to it for an uner 21. I know Enterprise & Drive Assist definitely don't hire to under 21's. If any company did hire to you, the chances are it'll cost you a lot of money. Are you going to anywhere in particular in the UK?

its generally over 21.

they can only just stop people ramming on the tram and squishing everyone else, so I'd agree with that!

its more expensive than the bus already. and yes its more convenient on the tram but its not just the increased tram fare, its finding somewhere to park the car to get the tram. the only places there is space is the pay & display car parks. and I'm quite sure Q-Park will increase the cost of the park & ride ticket. there's no way I'm going to get the bus to town with Sam, but I can cope with only going to town a couple of times a year when I don't have Sam with me. the rest of the time the Trafforc Centre & Altrincham can have my money

Charlotte Hodgman talks to Owen Davies about nine places associated with the witch hunts that saw hundreds put to death across early modern Britain. From Hollywood to Harry Potter, witches have been viewed with macabre fascination for centuries. But behind the stereotypical broomstick-flying hag lies a dark history of trials, persecution and torture that claimed the lives of hundreds of men and women. The 16th century was a time of religious upheaval caused, in part, by the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. As the aftershocks of religious division extended across Europe, fear spread that the Day of Judgment was nigh. Catholics viewed the rift as a sign that the antichrist was increasing his works in the world, while Protestants saw the corruption of the Catholic church as proof that the devil was near. Fuelling concerns about the pernicious influence of magic and the devil was the revolution of print, which saw an influx of written texts from the continent, such as the Malleus Maleficarum (c1486), urging people to take decisive action in the battle with witches and magic. It was against this emotionally charged backdrop that Henry VIII introduced the first English statutes addressing witchcraft in 1542, followed by new, stricter, legislation by Elizabeth I in 1563 and James I in 1604. No one was safe from an accusation of witchcraft, even clergymen. However, marginalised women bore the brunt of the accusations – particularly elderly spinsters, widows, and those living alone. In fact, 80 per cent of those tried in Britain were women. Begging, a standard method of survival, lay at the root of many witchcraft allegations, and beggars were often blamed for misfortunes that occurred after they were refused help. More often than not, accusations of witchcraft resulted from neighbourly disagreements, inextricably bound to a deep-rooted fear of malevolent magic and the devil. As stories of continental trials spread and as the new witchcraft laws filtered down through society, some took it upon themselves to lead the witch hunts, gathering evidence before trial as self-proclaimed ‘witchfinder generals’. The most notorious of these in England was a Puritan called Matthew Hopkins who launched an unprecedented campaign of terror against suspected English witches during the 1640s. These led to some 300 trials and the deaths of around 100 people in eastern England. Hopkins was by no means the only witch detector, but his reputation spread far and wide and he had a profound impact on those around him. One source from the time commented: “It is strange to tell what superstitious opinions, affections, relations, are generally risen amongst us, since the Witchfinders came into the Countrey.” Although the use of torture to extract a confession was illegal in England, Ireland and Wales, it was permitted in Scotland, and less ‘formal’ types of torture were often used by men such as Hopkins at a local level, often presided over by a magistrate or local constable. One such method was sleep deprivation, whereby the accused would be forced to walk back and forth until exhausted and then denied rest. In Scotland, thumb screws and leg crushers were also used. Another, more public and informal type of trial was ‘swimming’ the accused to prove their guilt. The victim’s right thumb would be tied to their left big toe and they would be thrown into a nearby pond or river. If they sank, they were innocent; if they floated, they had been rejected by the water as a servant of the devil, in a type of reverse baptism. As a capital offence, witchcraft trials in England were held before a judge and a jury under the common law system, during which evidence against the accused was presented. Court records reveal extraordinary stories of witches flying out of windows on broomsticks or cavorting with satanic imps. There are many theories to explain why the accused related such fantastical stories to open-mouthed juries – some historians cite mental health disorders; others attribute it to attention-seeking. “Contrary to popular belief”, explains Professor Owen Davies of the University of Hertfordshire, “witch trials were not a foregone conclusion; only 25 per cent of those tried across the period were found guilty and executed. In fact, the total number of people tried for witchcraft in England throughout the period was no more than 2,000.” Scotland, which has traditionally been regarded as more zealous in its persecution of witches than its southern counterparts, had a quarter of England’s population, yet tried 2,500 people and had an execution rate of around 67 per cent. Wales, however, held very few trials throughout the period – no more than 34. This has mainly been attributed to cultural differences and language barriers preventing the practice of hunting witches from crossing the Welsh border, as well as a tendency to explain misfortune as the work of fairies. This was also the case in Ireland. By the late 17th century – thanks to a combination of judicial scepticism, low prosecution rates and the costs of pursuing a case through the courts – the number of accusations of witchcraft had plummeted. Many people turned instead to ‘cunning folk’ (‘wise’ men and women who practised ‘good’ witchcraft) and healers to combat the malevolent forces they believed to be at large. Witchcraft was finally decriminalised in Britain in 1736 – though people were still being accused of it as late as the 19th century. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where history happened 1. Pendle Hill, Lancashire Mass witch trials were rare in England, primarily due to the workings of common law, which prevented individuals from pursuing campaigns against a general perceived threat. Instead, a charge was usually based on a formal complaint from an injured party. However, in 1612, 16 people living around Pendle Hill were tried at Lancaster gaol, accused of selling their souls to the devil and murdering 17 people through witchcraft. The initial accusation was directed at Alison Device for allegedly cursing a pedlar who had refused to give her some pins. When the pedlar later suffered a stroke, Alison was accused of causing him harm by witchcraft, and in her subsequent trial incriminated other members of her family, who in turn named other village members. After reports of a witches’ sabbat (assembly) at Malkin Tower emerged and bones and clay images were allegedly retrieved from the building, ten were sentenced to death by hanging, and five were acquitted. The final member of the group, Margaret Pearson, was found guilty of a minor offence and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. The Pendle witches are one of the most famous examples from the period, partly due to the wealth of evidence available, recorded at the time by a local clerk of the Lancaster courts, Thomas Potts, and partly due to the nature of the trial. The location of Malkin Tower is unknown but one of its most likely sites is Pendle Hill. There is still a great deal of superstition surrounding the hill and many people choose to visit the site on Halloween, or to follow the walk the Pendle witches would have taken to their trial at Lancaster gaol. http://www.visitpendle.com 2. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Scotland saw numerous witch trials throughout the early modern period, many of which have been attributed to the zeal of the Calvinist clergy in alerting secular authorities to cases that appeared before them in the church courts. Edinburgh Castle played a key role in the trial and execution of condemned witches, and an estimated 300 were put to death on the castle’s esplanade. One such figure was Agnes Finnie, an Edinburgh shopkeeper who was charged with 20 counts of witchcraft and sorcery, including placing “so frightful a disease on Beatrix Nisbet, for some other trifling offence, that she lost the use of her tongue”. Arrested in 1644, Agnes was found guilty of witchcraft and held in the castle’s dungeons. After strangulation, her body was burned on the esplanade. Although the use of torture in this case was not officially recorded, it was permitted in Scotland, the most common format employed being sleep deprivation. Thumbscrews and leg crushers were also common, as was ‘witch pricking’ – the method of piercing the skin to find areas of flesh that would not bleed. Today, a small well on the castle’s esplanade marks the spot where Agnes Finnie, and others, were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Edinburgh Castle and its dungeons are open to the public. 0131 225 9846 http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk 3. Brandeston village, Suffolk As the witch hunting momentum grew, self-appointed ‘witchfinder generals’ sprung up around Britain, devoted to extracting confessions of guilt. Matthew Hopkins, the most notorious of these, was responsible for one fifth of the total number of executions in England over the period. One of his targets, John Lowes, was the elderly vicar of Brandeston who was accused of witchcraft in 1642. After being ‘swum’ in the moat at Framlingham Castle, and proclaimed guilty after floating to the surface, Hopkins “kept [Lowes] awake several nights together while running him backwards and forwards about his cell until out of breath… till he was weary of his life and scarce sensible of what he said or did”. Ultimately, Lowes ‘confessed’ to sending imps to sink a ship near Harwich and allegedly proclaimed that he “was joyfull to see what power his imps had”. Lowes was hanged at Bury St Edmunds in August 1645. All Saints Church has a plaque dedicated to Lowes and an image of his hanging is depicted on the village sign. Framlingham Castle and moat are still open to the public. http://www.brandeston.net 4. Exeter Castle Devon Popular pressure and the power of the community often lay behind witchcraft sentences. This is seen in England’s last executions for witchcraft, which took place in 1682 and involved three women from the town of Bideford: Temperance Floyd, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards. The trio were arrested “upon suspicion of having used some magical art, sorcery or witchcraft upon the body of Grace Barnes…” who complained of a “griping” in her “belly, stomach and breast”. The three women, two of whom were widows and the other a spinster, all confessed to meeting the devil during their trial at Exeter Castle, and sources from the time emphasise their unpopularity. “A less zeal in a city or kingdom hath been the overture of defection and revolution, and if these women had been acquitted, it was thought the country people would have committed some disorder,” claimed one witness. The judge, it would seem, caved before popular pressure and all three were hanged. Although little of the original castle remains, a plaque near the gatehouse names all three women as the last to be executed in England for witchcraft. A fourth woman, Alice Molland, is also mentioned. She was sentenced to death but it is unclear whether she was executed, as there are no accounts of the sentence being carried out. 07968 797135 http://www.exetercastle.co.uk 5. Taunton Castle, Somerset The lead up to the repeal of the witchcraft statutes in 1736 saw a shift in attitudes towards witch trials and a marked increase in judicial skepticism, as well as the rigorous examination of the evidence. Juries became increasingly disbelieving of witness’s claims of supernatural activity and, consequently, fewer people pursued their claims through the law. One of the last witch trials held in England, and the last in the south-west, was the case of Maria Stevens who, in 1707, was charged with bewitching an acquaintance, Dorothy Reeves. Although little evidence remains, we know that the trial was held at Taunton Castle and Maria was acquitted and released after both judge and jury failed to believe the evidence given against her. Five years later, England saw its last witchcraft conviction in the shape of Jane Wenham, who was later pardoned. Demonstrating the cynicism with which England’s elite viewed accusations of witchcraft, when hearing the charge that Wenham flew on a broomstick, the judge allegedly joked that there was “no law against flying”. The authorities in England were distancing themselves from popular beliefs. The remains of the castle and later buildings now house the county museum, military museum and gallery. These are currently being refurbished and are due to re-open to the public in 2011. 01823 334496 http://www.somerset.gov.uk 6. Dornoch, Sutherland The decline of witch trials in Scotland was roughly equivalent with that of England, and in 1722 the last execution for witchcraft was performed in the town of Dornoch. The execution date is still debated, as the central Scottish courts did not conduct the trial – as was the norm – and therefore no trial records exist. Anomalies like this were fairly common in Scotland due to its scattered population, which often led to local authorities pursuing cases that would otherwise have been heard in the central courts. The case involved a woman, Janet Horne, who was accused of “having ridden upon her own daughter, transformed into a poney, and shod by the devil, which made the girl ever after lame…”. After stumbling over the Lord’s Prayer in the dock, Horne was sentenced to death. Sources written after the event write of Horne being stripped, covered in tar and paraded through Dornoch in a barrel before “warming herself by the fire lit to consume her”. The latter is unlikely as most witches were strangled before burning. In the garden of a cottage located in a side street just south of the town’s square stands the ‘Witch’s Stone’. Dated 1722, the stone is said to mark the site where Horne was burned. http://www.visitdornoch.com 7. Tring Hertfordshire Long after the Witchcraft Act of 1736, people continued to administer their own justice on those they suspected of being witches. In 1751 a chimney sweep named Thomas Colley was executed for leading the swimming of Ruth Osborne and her husband, John, both of whom were accused of witchcraft. A notice was served in the village stating: “This is to give notice that on Monday next a man and a woman are to be publicly ducked at Tring, in this county, for their wicked crimes”, and despite sheltering in the vestry of Tring church, the pair were dragged to a pond between Wilstone and Long Marston by a mob of villagers on the prescribed day. After their hands and feet were tied, both were wrapped in sheets and thrown into the pond where they were then poked at with sticks. Ruth subsequently drowned but her husband was pulled out alive. The inquest into Ruth’s death was held at the Half Moon pub in the village of Wilstone, and Thomas Colley was hanged for murder. His body was allegedly left dangling for some time to deter similar acts of cruelty. The Half Moon pub still stands, as does the church of St Peter and St Paul at Tring. 01442 823347 http://www.tring.gov.uk 8. Ffynnon Eilian, Anglesey Although Wales held very few witch trials, the practice of ritual cursing was widespread and many ‘cursing wells’ sprung up across the country during the early modern period. One of these, Ffynnon Eilian (St Eilian’s Well) in Llaneilian, Anglesey, was originally a healing well where pilgrims would offer money and food to obtain a cure for a sick child, and was affiliated with nearby St Eilian’s church. By the late 18th century, however, the well had taken on a more sinister role and had grown an extensive and profitable reputation for enacting curses. One object found in the well in 1925 was a small piece of slate with the letters ‘RF’ carved in the middle. Pinned to the centre of the slate was a small wax figure with head, body, legs and one arm – the left arm had been broken off. Evidence suggests that the object had been placed in the well to wish misfortune on ‘RF’. Some cursing wells even had ‘well keepers’ who would note down curses in a ledger. The well was destroyed, probably by the church, after its notoriety for cursing rituals spread, but St Eilian’s church still exists, as does the spring that fed the original well. 01248 750057 http://www.visitanglesey.co.uk 9. Sible Hedingham, Essex Right through to the 19th century, magic and witchcraft were still very much a part of everyday life, and although trials by swimming were frowned upon in the eyes of the law, they continued to be used by the population at large long after the repeal of the witchcraft statutes in 1736. The last recorded case of swimming in England occurred in the village of Sible Hedingham in 1863 when an elderly man by the name of Dummy was dragged from the taproom in The Swan public house to a nearby brook. The man, who was deaf and dumb, gained a living by telling fortunes and was a figure of curiosity in the village. He was accused of bewitching the wife of the beerhouse owner, Emma Smith, who complained that she had been ill for some ten months. After Dummy refused to ‘remove the curse’, Smith struck him “several times” with a stick and pushed him into the brook, encouraged by other villagers, in particular master carpenter Samuel Stammers. Dummy died a few days later from shock and pneumonia caused by the constant immersion and ill treatment, and both Smith and Stammers were sentenced to six months’ hard labour. Although no longer a working pub, The Swan Inn still stands, and the stream in which Dummy was swum flows nearby. http://www.siblehedingham.com Words by Charlotte Hodgman. Historical advisor: Owen Davies of the University of Hertfordshire. Davies is author of A Very Short Introduction to Paganism (OUP, 2011) http://www.bbchistorymagazine.com/feature/war-witches