Seligor's Castle, fun for all the children of the world. Googlenoks SDS
JUST BEFORE WE BEGIN THE STORY OF THE SPECIAL DAY IN THE SHIRE, WHERE YOU WILL BE INTRODUCED TO A LOT OF THE GOOGLENOK'S OF PEPPERCORN GREEN. I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT I HAVE WRITTEN TWO MORE STORIES ABOUT THE LITTLE PEOPLE AND THEIR SHIRE AND LOOK FORWARD TO PLACING THEM IN SELIGOR'S CASTLE VERY SOON.
BUT HERE FIRST IS A LOVELY RECIPE FOR PEANUT BRITTLE WHICH CATHY the COOK BROUGHT BACK WITH HER WHEN SHE WENT TO AMERICA.
Traditional
Peanut Brittle U.S. Style A traditional
holiday classic
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish
peanuts if possible
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. baking soda Heat and stir sugar, syrup and water in
a heavy 3-quart saucepan until the sugar
dissolves. Add salt. Cook over medium heat
to soft ball stage (234 degrees).
Add peanuts
at 250 degrees.
Cook to hard crack stage
(290 degrees), stirring often. Remove from
heat.
Quickly, stir in butter and soda. Beat
to a froth for a few seconds.
Pour at once
onto 2 well-buttered 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch
pans, spreading with spatula.
If desired,
cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch
thin. Break up when cold.
Yield: About 1-1/2 pounds of peanut
brittle.
Peanut Brittle Recipe
Original Message-----
Subject: peanut brittle, of course!
This is a very simple recipe from my husband's
family. what makes it so delicious is how light
and airy it is and not at all sticky. You achieve
this by adding the soda after you take it off
the heat.
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
raw peanuts
(however many you like)
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
Put all the ingredients, except the peanuts
and soda, in a deep sauce pan. Put on medium
heat. stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.
Now add the peanuts. Stirring at all times,
take mixture to 290 on a candy thermometer.
Remove from heat and stir in one heaping teaspoon
baking soda (make sure baking soda is fresh).
Now pour out on a greased cookie sheet. do not
tip cookie sheet to thin, this peanut brittle
is best when thick which makes it more airy.
Ginny - Bradonton, Florida
Chapter One
A Special Day In The Shire
The
sun was shining brightly through the window of King Peppers’ bedroom.
The king sat on the end of the bed watching as the sunbeams bounced
back off the mirror of his wardrobe, dust was trapped in the light and
seemed to be dancing like little dust bugs. “Hm m” said the king stroking his beard, “today is going to be a beautiful day.”
He smiled then jumped up off the bed and went into the bathroom; showered and
cleaned his teeth, and when he came out again he was looking deep in thought. he dressed himself in
his favourite blue suit, then placing his crown on his head; he combed
his moustache and went downstairs for his breakfast. Queen Pepper was
sitting at the table in the dining room already eating her spicy
sausages and fried bread. The King said as he
sat down to the table opposite her and filled his plate with poached
eggs and bacon. “Nice sausages my dear, its a lovely morning don’t you think?” He smiled
at the queen lovingly, how pretty she looked with her purple curls
hanging down over her shoulders and her crown perched on the top of her
head, a bit squint as usual. “Yes Pepper,” the queen replied taking a
sip of her tea, “and I do believe it’s going to stay like this all
day,” she
added smiling. The king gave her a big smile, a twinkle appeared in his
eyes, "To warm to let it go to waste, do you think then dear? he replied stroking the ends of his moustache again. "Now I
wonder what we could do with this beautiful day?” he pondered. He
finished the last of his bacon and eggs, helped himself to some
toast and Peppercorn marmalade, then picking up his coffee cup, went
over to the window seat. He stood there looking out over the rooftops
of the town below the castle wall, it wouldn’t be long until the
little town began to bustle with the days work and if he was going to
plan a special event he would have to decide in the next few minutes
what it was going to be. The king’s eyebrows wrinkled together as he
looked at the little red roofs of the houses that were glistening in
the sunlight, the dew still wet on the tiles. Beyond the town the
fields stretched away to the mountains, the yellow of the cornfields
blending in with the moorland. Then the sun reflected off the glass of
the sports stadium. “That’s
it, that’s it Pepper my darling," he said jumping up and down on the
spot." Queen Pepper didn't even raise her head. As usual there was a sudden thought and the day could begin. King Pepper turned to
the queen with a huge grin on his face.“I’ve got it! ” he exclaimed. “We’re going to have a Sports Day.” “Oh really Pepper, do you think
we’ll have time to arrange everything? It’s a huge project my dear.”
Queen Pepper was still smiling for she knew they would have time, they
always did. Every special day they had ever had in the Shire started
like this with King Pepper waking up; seeing the sunshine and then
deciding this would be the day for whatever it was they ended up doing.
“Poppycock, we’ve got plenty of time so long as we get Tommy in here
straight away.” The king said as he picked up the bell and rang it. “Tommy can take his bike and be round the whole Shire before eight
o’clock, I’ll make out the notice and have it ready before he gets
here.” Pepper
was just about to ring the bell again when the door flew open. A pretty
little girl came dashing in, almost knocking the king off his
feet. “Daddy, Daddy have you seen the sun, its going to be a fabulous
day, can we do something special, please can we? She said throwing
herself round her fathers’ neck, but she was kissed on the cheek, patted on the head and put down firmly. "You'll have to ask your mother dear, too much to do I'm afraid, to much todo!" And he was gone. Princess Cornflower had been followed into the breakfast room by Minnie and Martha, they too almost bumped into the king as he went
bustling out into the corridor. “Oops, sorry King Pepper,” they said
at the same time, but the king didn't seem to notice them. Oh no,” said Minnie looking at Martha
and pulling a face.“Not again.” “I’m afraid so." Queen Pepper said
smiling. “And that’s a big one so there's no time to lose." Only now did Cornflower seem to get her senses together “Come on then
Mum, tell us what it is?” Cornflower said jumping up and down, “please?”
“Not just now my darling, you help the girls take the breakfast things
into the kitchen and I’ll tell you all together so that Cathy can get
the food started.” Queen Pepper shook her head, picked up her glasses
and made her way to the kitchen. “Oh well, we might as well do as she
says,” Cornflower said shrugging her shoulders. “Lets clear everything
away.” she picked up the empty plates. Minnie and Martha Speedwell were identical twins; they had not
long turned seventeen and had been working at the castle since they
left school. They had beautiful scarlet hair like their grandmother's and the only way you could tell them apart was by the ribbons they wore
in their hair. Minnie wore hers on the left side of her head and Martha
on the right. Together the girls carried the dishes through to the
kitchen.
Cathy Fern was stood at the table already taking down
everything that the queen was saying on a piece of notepaper.
Cornflower loved Cathy almost as much as her mum, she had been at the castle for as long as she could remember, and she never
seemed to change not like Daniel Burnett, the butler whom Cornflower
was sure must be at least a hundred years old, she still loved them
very much, they were all part of her life in the castle at Peppercorn
Green. Barnaby Nettle and his wife Buttercup were the only other two
Googlenok’s who worked in the castle full time keeping everything
running smoothly, mind you nine times out of ten the whole of the Shire
managed to get involved somehow or other, especially on days like
today, and there were many days like today, believe me! Queen Pepper
was just about to tell the girls what the king was planning for the day
when the sound of a loud bell was heard in the courtyard below. Everyone rushed over to the window, apart from Daniel who sort of
shuffled slowly his shoes squeaking with every shuffle. “Hush, hush,
everybody,” said the queen, letting Daniel get past her to the window. “Tommy will explain everything much better than I can so I’ll just sit
down and have another cup of tea.” She went over to the table and
poured herself another cup of tea, there next to the teapot
was the left over spicy sausages from breakfast, and Queen Pepper did like
a spicy sausage with a nice hot cup of tea. The girls watched as Tommy
Reed placed his bicycle up against the stable wall. He reached inside
his coat and pulled out a large piece of paper, which he unrolled
carefully, then taking his bell and giving it one more ring he began to
sing very loudly.
OYEZ! OYEZ! OYEZ! HIS ROYAL MAJESTY KING PEPPER III OF PEPPERCORN GREEN HAS DECLARED TODAY THE 16TH JUNE TO BE A SPECIAL HOLIDAY.
HE HAS DECIDED TO HOLD THE FIRST PEPPERCORN GREEN OLYMPIC ’S DAY AND DUE TO THE USUAL SHORT NOTICE GIVEN TO THE FOLK OF THE SHIRE,YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT IN THE ORGANISING OF THE SAID EVENT WILL BE MOST WELCOME. PLEASE COME TO THE SPORTS STADIUM BY 9 O’CLOCK
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP. OYEZ. OYEZ. OYEZ.
Of course King Pepper knew that the whole of the shire would arrive
sooner or later, and why because it always happened that way. Tommy
Reed folded up his paper, jumped on his bike and peddled out of the
courtyard. “My and wasn’t that a good song.” Daniel said wiping a
tear from the corner of his eye. It was one thing having a town crier,
but a town crier who was also the music teacher was even better. “There
can’t be many Shires that can boast a singing town crier, or should
that be Shire crier.” He added thoughtfully. The queen put her empty
cup on its saucer. “Well girls, now you know as much as me. The King
has decided on a sports day and a sports day we shall have, it is going
to take some organizing so we had better get started straight
away." Princess Cornflower and the girls were still standing with their
mouths open in shock. “A sports day,” spluttered Cornflower, “a sports
day,” repeated the Minnie and Martha. “Come on girls it’s no good
standing their with your mouths open catching flies, there’s a lot to
do.” Cathy then handed pieces of paper to the queen, who
glanced through them. “Minnie you can take this list to Stephen
Barleycorn, and if he can have them all ready by eleven thirty, that
will be fine. Hold on I think we had better put a couple of thick
sliced loaves on here as well, then we can have some bacon butties at
dinner time.” “What a good idea the king does love his bacon butties on
these occasions.” Daniel said smiling. “Martha you can take this one to Samuel
Barberry, I shall need the oranges and lemons as soon as he can get
them here so that Buttercup can start making the squash.” Cathy added, “nearly forgot about Samuel that will never do,”she pushed the note
into Martha’s hand, “and do you think you could call on Kristine
Spurrey and ask her if she could come and give us a hand in the
kitchen, maybe she could bring Felicity with her.” “Oh yes and if its
possible to have the onions early as well it would be very much
appreciated.” The queen gave the princess the list for Dick Butterbur. “Now this one is for the meat and we will have to have it by ten
o’clock at the latest.” Queen Pepper looked at Cathy frowning. “I’ve
got a good idea, if the girls ask everyone in the shops to have as much
as they can ready by ten o’clock, Barnaby can pick the whole lot up in
his cart. What do you think?” “A brilliant idea,” agreed Cathy
nodding her head. “Mother, you’ve forgotten something on this list.”
Cornflower said, something very important." “I have.” said the queen, “
and what could that be?” “Well its no good getting bread for the bacon
butties if you haven’t got any bacon to go on them, now is it?” Queen
Pepper took the note back off the Princess and added. “ Three pound of
best back bacon.” “Three pounds!” exclaimed Daniel, “ are you
expecting to feed the whole Shire Ma-am?” The queen laughed. “ That's
the trouble Daniel, you never can tell.” It was just at that moment
when Barnaby Nettle came into the kitchen, and found everybody
laughing.“Ah well it is nice to hear you all having a bit of fun, I
thought you would all be up to your eyebrows getting things ready for
another of King Peppers crazy days by now.” “Oh we are Barnaby, but
crazy or not things go a lot better with a little laugh now and then.”
the Cook said happily. “ And how is your back this morning, not playing
you up I hope.” “Don’t get a chance to rest it, even if it was.” Barny
added. He wasn’t really an old grump. It was just his way he moaned
about everything. If the sun was shining he needed rain for his
delphiniums, if it were raining hed complain that there was never any
sunshine in this darned Shire. But deep down inside he loved the Shire
and all the folk in it, so everyone put up with his moaning. “I suppose
you’ve got a list a mile long for me to be doing?” he said with a small
grin on his face,(only a small one mind.)“Whatever it is I must have
me cup of tea first, so put that kettle on again Cathy,I can’t work with
me mouth dry, I say.” “What a wonderful idea Barny,” smiled the queen
who as always never refused another cup of tea. “Right girls, you get
on your bicycles, and get down to the town as soon as you can.” Cathy
said handing the girls a drink of orange juice. “ You had better drink
this before you go its already quite warm out there.” “Cornflower you
had better go to the stadium and see how your father is coping after
you’ve delivered your message.” Queen Pepper added. “Minnie, you and
Martha can call for Felicity and Kristine on the way home and bring
them back with you, try not to be too long dears.” The girls left the
kitchen; Cathy began to sing as she put the kettle back on the range. “
Now for that cup of tea.” Queen Pepper said sitting down at the table
and writing out yet another list for herself.
Chapter Two after this small break
The world is a rainbow With many kinds of people; And when we work together It's such a sight to see. The world is beautiful when we live in harmony!
Rainbow Now you be you And I'll be me. That's the way we were meant to be. But the world is a mixing cup. Just look what happens when you stir it up!
I see the moon, And the moon sees me. Sitting on my grandma's knee God bless the moon, And God bless me. Shine on the ones I love.
I see the moon The moon sees me Under the shade of the old oak tree Please let the light that shines on me Shine on the one I love.
Over the mountains Over the sea Back where my heart is longing to be Please let the light that shines on me Shine on the one I love.
Queen
Pepper and Barnaby finished their tea and said goodbye to Cathy and
Buttercup, who had arrived just as they were leaving. Poor Barnaby, he
often wondered if life in Peppercorn Green could be simple for just one
whole week. He hitched up Prudence to the cart and drove it round to
the front of the castle. Queen Pepper was dressed in a deep purple
skirt and white blouse, she looked very summery. “Now Barny I am going
to have to call at Terry ’s store first, I’ve got a huge list
of things I need,” she added looking at her list. “ Sugar for the
squash and candy floss, gallons of tomato sauce for the hot dogs and
beef burgers, coloured napkins, and what on earth Cathy wants with
three boxes of wooden spoons I dread to think, never mind.” she said
shaking her head, “not to mention what looks like a mountain of paper
cups.” She took a deep breath. “Then I want to call and see if Gabby
Willow can get some flowers over to the stadium to decorate the stands.
Oh yes, and I’d like to call on Mary Lou to see if she can make me up
some rosettes for the winners of the competitions.” She read through the
list making sure she hadn’t left anything out and turning to Barny gave
him a huge grin. Barny just shook his head and growled at Prudence. As
they drove along the little lane, Barny was thinking of the day he met
Buttercup, his wife. It was a day just like today, the old king; King
Pepper’s father had arranged a picnic down by the lake. He saw
Buttercup lying on the grass trailing her fingers in the silver water
and fell in love with her there and then. He was only sixteen,
Buttercup a year younger; she was the dairymaid at the castle. Barnaby
had applied for a job at the castle and it wasn’t long after he had
started work there that he and Buttercup were married. The dairy had
moved to the town now, but Buttercup still helped with the work around
the castle and he looked after all the odd jobs. “That was over forty
years ago,” he said out loud. “What was that Barny.” Queen Pepper
said.“Oh nothing, your Majesty, just thinking out loud.” Barny said
smiling to himself. As they reached the town, it was obvious Tommy had
already done his job. Everyone seemed to be dashing round doing this
and that. Two of the Sorrel triplets were sat in the post office
doorway eating toast. “That reminds me,” the queen said on seeing the
children. “If you could get the candy floss machine and canopy out of
the old dairy when we get back, I’d be very grateful Barny?” Queen
Pepper climbed down off the cart. “Now I’ll meet you outside Dick
Butterbur’s at ten o’clock. Are you going to the stadium to see if the
king needs any help?” “On my way my-lady.” Barnaby said as he turned
the cart towards the stadium. “I’ll be back at ten, don’t be late we
have lots to do as you said.” He was still mumbling as he turned
prudence around and headed off down the lane towards the stadium.
The
King meanwhile had arrived at the stadium ages ago and he began by
drawing out a plan of where he wanted everything to go. Already things
were being put in their right places. Both the Shires football teams
were in the stadium when he arrived, they were training for next
month’s football tournament, and as soon as King Pepper told them what
he was planning they offered their help straight away. Peppercorn
United started by erecting the big tent for the refreshments and drink
stand, then they placed a smaller tent to the side of the big one for
the district nurse, Nancy Campion to use as a first aid post, this was
probably going to be the most used tent of the whole day. Peppercorn
Rangers began by arranging the seats for Judge Orpine at the far end of
the stadium; from there the judges of the competitions would be able to
view the whole arena. They placed a small canopy over the table and
chairs for shade from the afternoon’s sun. Then there was the king and
queen’s seats to be placed at the top end of the stadium, King Pepper
thought the queen would like the green and gold canopy, not that she
sat down for very long she always seemed to be dashing here and there
doing something or other. Shortly after nine o’clock the two rugby
teams arrived at the stadium it didn’t take long for the king to find
them tasks to do. Osian and Owen Bugloss of the Peppercorn Greenbacks
took the handcart over to Henry Carline’s; the barbecues had been left
in the Smithy since the last barn dance. The rest of the Greenbacks
laid out the course for the tug of war and the marble ring. Whilst over
the other side of the stadium the Cornpepper Daredevils roped off the
show jumping arena. King Pepper had just finished putting up the nets
for the discus and shot-put when Barnaby arrived with the cart, they
used it to bring out all the equipment needed for the field events and
placed it in the right places. They only had one small hiccup and that
was when no one could find the mattresses for the pole vault and high
jump but that was soon sorted out when Barnaby remembered they had
taken them to the castle, for the Princess Cornflowers birthday party,
with out no more ado. Poor Barny was dashing back to the castle to get
them. “And all this before nine thirty,” he muttered as he jumped up in
the cart and made for the gateway. As he was leaving the stadium
Gabriel Willow and his wife Mary Lou arrived to start arranging the
flowers. Mary Lou didn’t stay long, she had to get back to the shop to
start making the rosettes and of course, she must also make a bouquet
for Queen Pepper.“I think white lilies and marigolds will look nice for
her majesty’s bouquet.” She said to Gabriel as they arranged huge white
daisies and yellow marigolds all around the arena.“I won’t bring the
rest of the flowers down till this afternoon,” she told King Pepper. “
We don’t want them to wilt in this heat, now do we?” “Do you think you
could call into the builders yard on the way back, and ask David
Willowherb to send some sand down for the jumping pits.” King Pepper
said looking at the nearly empty sand pits. “It looks like the Sorrel
triplets have been building sand castles again, the sand is everywhere
but in the right place,” the king added smiling. "Yes it was all going
very well in the stadium just as he thought it would." King Pepper
thought as he stroked his beard stroking his beard. Princess
Cornflower had delivered her list to Mr. Butterbur, said goodbye to the
twins and then set off to the stadium, she was going to call for her
friend Ann on the way. Ann
Carline had been Cornflower's best friend all her life, they had gone
to nursery school together, then on to infants and now they were in
Pepper Corn High together. They had so many things they liked to do
together, they both loved horses, and they would both be taking part in
the show jumping that afternoon. Henry Carline, Ann’s father had moved
to the Shire eleven years ago just after Ann’s mother had died. He was
a very good blacksmith, and was liked by everybody in the Shire,
especially Mrs. Hop the landlady of the Golden Oak. Cornflower and Ann
were almost certain that they were in love with each other, and being
as Ann was an only child and Mrs. Hop had a daughter Christina, well it
would mean that if they got married, Ann would not only have a new mum
but an older sister as well. Cornflower kept her pony in the same field
as Ann kept hers, so the girls decided to give their ponies a quick
brush down and polish their shoes before going on to the stadium. Ann’s
father was going to bring them to the stadium paddock after dinner.
When the girls arrived in the arena it looked like half the Shire was
there already. The boy scouts were busy filling in the long jump and
triple jump pits with the sand from Mr. Willowherb's yard. The guides
and brownies were putting up the bunting with the help of the fire
brigades ladders. King Pepper and the Major were measuring out the ring
for the marble shooting competition. King Pepper was the best marble
player in the Shire, maybe even the whole of the world. In fact nobody
could remember him ever losing a game and as he stood there with his
hands on his hips surveying the ring it looked like he was definitely
going to try and win the first ever Peppercorn Olympic title, though
looking at Major Twayblade standing next to him, he looked like he
wanted to win just as much as the King. Opal Bennet the High School’s
gym teacher was busy sorting out the discus and javelins, she had come
all dressed up for the job, wearing her shorts and tee shirt,
Cornflower was certain that if Miss Opal was also competing in the
javelin and discus, nobody else would stand a chance, she was very,
very good. Henry had arrived with a few iron bars that were going to be
used as the weights in the weight lifting competition, and being as he
was the only one who could lift them, it was rather a safe bet that
Henry himself would win that event. Ann turned to Cornflower and
smiled, “Gosh Cornflower, your Dad was right everything does seem to be
going to plan.” “Yea, if there ever was a plan” whispered Cornflower in
her friends ear,” I think it’s luck more than planning, myself.” The
girls laughed and walked over to the barbecues, they had been lit early
to get the coals glowing before Cathy arrived with the food. Messages
had been sent to Mr. Rush the headmaster, Judge Orpine and Dorothy
Willowherb asking them if they didn’t mind being the adjudicators.
Nancy Campion had brought quite a few bandages and plasters, some
iodine and other bits and bobs in case there were any accidents. There
usually were a few usually involving the Sorrel Triplets and she had an
idea this event was not going to be any different from all the others.
This time she asked for a folding bed to be put up, just in case. Sid
Spurrey had offered to ferry the Shire folk to and from the stadium,
free of charge obviously, and of course Tom Reed and his band would be
providing the music. The king looked round the stadium and smiled, “Time for some dinner I think.” he said and jumping on his bike he made
his way home to the castle.
Have fun looking at the Disney Princesses, whey are all available from Amazon Market Place.
Chapter Three Back At The Castle
Cathy Fern had changed her pinny twice already so had Buttercup and
Felicity; they hadn’t stopped since Tommy had come round singing his
message. As soon as Barnaby had arrived back with the food it was non-
stop cutting, peeling and crying. Kristine had volunteered to peel and
chop the onions; she had stood at the table crying for over an hour,
with Daniel bringing in cold flannels to put on her eyes. Buttercup
must have squeezed a hundred oranges and lemons. Then she had to cut up
all the peel and put it in the huge cauldron with the juice and sugar.“
If you had your black coat and a pointed hat on Buttercup.” Daniel said
laughing, “ You could be mistaken for a witch.” Buttercup smiled at
Daniel and carried on stirring the pot to make sure all the sugar was
dissolved. Then it was left to simmer for an hour, with Buttercup
stirring it every twenty minutes. Cathy also reckoned she looked like
one of the witches in a fairy tale book but didn’t say anything. Queen
Pepper had arrived back with Barnaby and immediately vanished into the
conservatory to make her candyfloss. Not only was it rainbow coloured
candyfloss made up of the seven colors of the rainbow; each colour had
its own special flavor. The green was mint, the red tasted of wild strawberries,
whilst the orange and lemon tasted just like oranges and lemons. But it was
the violet, blue and indigo that made people wonder if she had a magic
spell. The indigo tasted of iced elderberry wine, the violet was like a
succulent sherbet fountain and the blue, well you name your own
favourite fruit and that's what it tasted of. If you loved pomegranates
then it tasted like pomegranates or if your fancy was for a knickers
bocker glory, then that is what you felt as the floss in your mouth ran down your throat.
King Pepper said the queen had the recipe handed down to her from her
grandmother, and he reckoned his grandfather always referred to her as
an old witch, so maybe that was why it was so magic. Kayleigh
Willowherb had asked her father to drop her off at the castle as he
passed by on his way to the stadium to deliver the sand. She had really
come to call for the Princess, but had ended up helping out in the
kitchen. Cathy had given her all the bread rolls and baps to cut and
butter, then she had to put them all back in the trays that Mr.
Barleycorn had left. She could never remember seeing so much bread in
her life before. Cathy had been busy making bread as well, only two
long rolls, but no one was allowed to know what they were for. She had
also made two big pots of stew or something, put lids on them and put
them on the range. “ These won’t need any looking after.” She said and
that was that, there they sat bubbling away all morning. Felicity had
the boring task of pouring bottles of tomato sauce into large plastic
dishes and putting lids on them when they were full up. “ It will be a
lot easier to use a spoon than end up with tomato sauce on everything.”
Buttercup said after she had shook a bottle and ended up with most of
it in her hair. Minnie and Martha were having great fun, Cathy had made
some really sticky toffee and as Minnie stuck the sticks in the apples,
Martha was dipping them in the toffee it seemed like there was more
toffee on the twins than on the apples.
“ You two are going to need a good scrub before you get to the stadium
this afternoon, just look at the state of your shirts.” Cathy said
shaking her head. Buttercup had just finished slicing the last of the
tomatoes as Queen Pepper arrived back from making her candyfloss.“ Time
for those bacon butties I think,” she said pinching a slice of tomato
off the plate. Everyone looked up at the clock. “Goodness me its half
past twelve already.” Cathy said wiping her hands on her apron. “ I’ll
just get Daniel and Barnaby to take some of these trays through to the
parlour and then I’ll put the bacon on.” “ Did I hear the word bacon”?
King Pepper said as he came through the kitchen door. “ How are you all
getting on, nearly finished my dears?” “ Yes its almost done, just a few
finishing touches here and there and we’ll be ready to take it all to
the stadium.” Cathy said turning the bacon over as she talked. In no
time at all they were all sat round the table tucking into their
dinner. “ I never realised I was so hungry,” King Pepper said as he
finished off the last bacon sandwich. Princess Cornflower and Ann could
smell the bacon cooking as they cycled up towards the castle. They had
met up with Jody and Heledd as they were leaving the stadium. All four
girls jumped off their bikes and left them outside the stables before
going inside. Cornflower just heard her fathers’ last words as they
walked into the kitchen.“ I hope that wasn’t the very last bacon butty,
father dear,” the princess said walking over to her fathers’ side. “
Oops, I knew we’d forgotten someone.” King Pepper said smiling, he
still had bacon grease on his chin and the Queen wiped it away with her
napkin.“ I can easily make you some more, my darlings.” Cathy said
getting up from the table.“ No it’s alright thanks Cathy.” Cornflower said
giving her a hug. “ We stopped at Mrs. Barleycorn's as we came past and
she gave us a cup of tea and all the doughnuts that had come out without holes in them,
honest Mum I’ve never seen so many doughnuts in my life, she will need
a tent just for her and the doughnuts.” The girls helped sample somemore of
Buttercup's squash, it was delicious.“ Are you coming back to the
stadium with us now, Kayleigh?” Cornflower winked at Kayleigh. “ Or do
they still need you for slave labour?” “ Oh as if I would.” Cathy said
going a pretty pink, “ You offered to help, didn’t you pet?”“ Yes, of
course I did.” Kayleigh laughed at the cook. “ She’s only pulling your
leg. In fact it was quite good fun, and you missed out on one of the
funniest sights you’ll ever see in your life.” She took a glass of
lemonade off Cathy and continued with her story. “ It all began when
Mrs. Nettle shook a bottle of tomato sauce which didn’t happen to have
the lid screwed on proper, she was covered in it. Her hair was red;
blobs were running down into her eyebrows and onto her glasses. She
looked like she's been in a fight with a combine harvester.” “ It must
have looked hilarious,” Felicity continued. “ For it even made Mr.
Burnett laugh, and you know how often you see him laughing.” “ Don’t be
rude young lady.” Daniel replied, putting his hand over his mouth
trying to hide the smile that spread over his face. “ You must admit it
did look rather funny, Buttercup?” “ Well you might have looked funny,
Mrs. Nettle but your squash is definitely the winner of the
competition.” Jody said smiling at Buttercup. “ And talking of the
competition Daddy, where is the list of competitors?” King Pepper
spluttered into his cup of tea. “ Oh darn it, I knew I’d forgotten
something.” “ Oh well that's it then, we’ll have to call the whole
thing off.” Queen Pepper frowned, shaking her head in Pepper’s
direction. “ Not a chance,” Cornflower said laughing, “ we knew you’d
forget, you always forget at least one important detail,” she kissed
her father on the forehead.“ But we have it all under control.” Heledd
added. “ We thought it best just to have two teams. King Pepper can
lead the purple team who will wear the purple sashes and your team can
wear the green sashes which we wore for the dance marathon last month.”
she said to Queen Pepper. “ Well,” said Pepper quite taken aback by the
way the girls had arranged everything. “ You seem to know what your
doing, so I think the best thing to do is to let you get on with it,
and we’ll see you at the stadium at three o'clock."
Chapter Four after a short break but you will need to take a deep breath before carrying on.xxx
The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly
There was an old woman who swallowed a fly I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a bird How absurd to swallow a bird She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a cat Imagine that! She swallowed a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird How absurd to swallow a bird She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a dog Oh, what a hog to swallow a dog! She swallowed the dog to catch the cat Imagine that! She swallowed a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird How absurd to swallow a bird She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a goat She opened her mouth and it went down her throat She swallowed the goat to catch the dog Oh, what a hog to swallow a dog! She swallowed the dog to catch the cat Imagine that! She swallowed a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird How absurd to swallow a bird She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a cow I don't know how she swallowed a cow She swallowed a cow to catch the goat She opened her mouth and it went down her throat She swallowed the goat to catch the dog Oh, what a hog to swallow a dog! She swallowed the dog to catch the cat Imagine that! She swallowed a cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird How absurd to swallow a bird She swallowed the bird to catch the spider That wiggled and wiggled and jiggled inside her She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly -- Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old woman who swallowed a horse She dead, of course!
Chapter Four
MARBLES AND WELLIES
It
was almost half past one when the girls arrived at the stadium, most of
the preparation was completed, and the trestle tables had been covered
with brightly coloured cloths. The squash with its mountain of paper
cups and the toffee apples had been placed on the table nearest the
door. Queen Pepper’s candyfloss machine had been bought down from the
castle, and Rowena Bugloss who helped in the flower shop had decorated
it with bright coloured ribbons and flowers. “ Oh isn’t that beautiful
just like a rainbow.” Mrs. Barleycorn remarked when she arrived to
string up the doughnuts she had made, the sugar on them glistened in
the sunlight. “ I hope they don’t melt with this heat,” she said as she
threaded the last few doughnuts on the string. Cornflower was right she
had made an awful lot of doughnuts, there where at least ten strings
reaching from one side of the tent to the other. The beef burgers and
hot-dogs had been put in huge cooler bags to keep them fresh, and the
barbecue was glowing wonderfully. The onions had already been put on to
fry gently; the smell was amazing it filled the arena. Cathy Ferns huge
pots had been brought down from the castle they were simmering on one
of the small fires, the two long parcels wrapped in foil were, in a
basket by the side of the fire, on the handle of the basket was a note
that said “Do not open.” and signed Cathy Fern. The toffee apples
and sandwiches filled one of the long trestle tables, in fact food wise
everything was almost ready. Elsie Barberry from the coffee shop was
laying out the cups and saucers for the tea and coffee, the milk was in
a big churn under the table and the sugar was in those small packets.
Sally Stonecrop from the General Stores and Marigold Speedwell, Minnie
and Martha’s mother had offered to help Cathy and Buttercup with the
food. Pauline Sorrel had been very brave and offered to look after all
the children under five, mainly because nobody else offered to look
after the triplets, who I can assure you were quite a handful on a
normal day let alone a special day, but at least this time they would have the bouncy castle to play on. Up in the bandstand Tommy Reed and
his band were tuning up their instruments, there was a true feeling of
excitement all round the arena. The
princess and her friends stood by the entrance gates giving all those
taking part either a green or purple sash to wear depending on whose
side they’d been selected for. The only slight upset came when little
Hope Sorrel who was supposed to present the bouquet to Queen Pepper
managed to spill an ice-cream down the front of her new dress, so Mrs.
Barleycorn had to dash home to fetch her youngest daughter Clover to
present it instead. It was almost three o’clock and the noise inside
the arena was unbelievable then suddenly you could have heard a pin
drop as King Pepper and the Queen came in through the main gates. The
band struck up the Peppercorn National Anthem; everybody stood still
singing at the top of his or her voices. Then little Clover took the
bouquet up the steps and presented it to the Queen, who was dressed in
a sapphire blue jogging suit edged with silver, she wore her small
silver crown and had a necklace of silver corn round her neck. The
king had decided to wear his emerald green tracksuit with the gold
belt, they both looked very colorful. King Pepper raised his hands and
the stadium went quiet again. “ Folks of the Shire, it is my pleasure
to welcome you all here today, and for so many of you to turn up at
such short notice, I do believe your getting use to it,” The King
waited while everybody stopped laughing. “ I won’t keep you from your
afternoons fun and games all I’ll say is run well, play hard and eat
hearty and this could turn out to be one of the Shire’s bestest days.”
King Pepper gave a huge smile, everybody cheered and the games
began.Queen Pepper left the stand and went to start up the candy floss
machine, the King made his way over to where the marble shooting
contest was due to start at three thirty. The first race was the high
hurdles for men, this was won easily by Philip Sorrel the Postman, he
claimed his success was due to the practice he had everyday jumping
over the town folk’s fences and walls escaping the teeth of the owners
dogs. Felicity Weaver won the ladies dash, a straight run from one side
of the track to the other, having four brothers and two sisters,
Felicity said she had to run fast to get away from them. Kristine also
took part in the dash for the King’s team, but her shoelace came undone
and she tripped and fell. She was the first one to need the attention
of Nurse Campion, only a graze but it still needed a plaster to keep
the dirt out. Poor Constable Lavender was disqualified from the discus
throwing, not once did the discus land in the playing area, and when on
his third throw he almost knocked Lady Larkspur’s hat off, it was
decided by Judge Orpine that he might hurt someone badly if he was
allowed to continue so he was disqualified. He
was also due to take part in the javelin competition but thank goodness
he withdrew his name, he probably would have ended up piercing
somebody’s ears or something. Opal Bennett won both the javelin and the
discus for the queen’s team. Poor Queen Pepper ended up with rainbow
candy floss down the front of her new jogging suit, she had forgotten
she had the candy floss in her hand and every time Opal threw the
javelin, the queen would jump up and down waving her hands in the air.
The best throw of the day came during the red wellie throwing
competition. Florence Weaver the farmers wife walked over to the line,
picked up the wellie and gave it a mighty throw over her head
unfortunately she let go of it a bit to soon and it went sailing
through the air and landed on top of Augustus Rush, the headmaster of
the High school. The
children rolled about on the grass laughing their heads off, they
thought it was hilarious. Mrs. Willowherb had to ask them to be quiet
in one of her sternest voices, but it was funny she admitted later to
the Queen who wanted to know what had made the children laugh so
loudly. The marble-shooting contest had almost drawn to it end and the
whole of the stadium stopped to watch the draw for the final four
places. King Pepper was drawn against Marcus Plantain from Oakland
Shire, and David Willowherb was to play against Major Twayblade. The
first semi final was between the Major and David, only one point
separated them when they came to the final roll. David Willowherb tried
his best but unluckily his final marble landed in the sand. The Major
was through to the final. Marcus hadn’t been playing marbles all that
long and was beaten easily by the King. And so it was decided, King
Pepper would play the Major in the final. They both stepped into the
circle and shook hands. “ May the best man win.” the Major said to the
King. Then they took up their positions.The Major rolled his first
three marbles, the blue one cannoned off the jack and began to roll
towards the edge of the ring, it stopped an inch from the edge. King
Pepper shook his marbles in his hand, blew on them twice and let them
roll, all of his marbles stayed in the ring. They were both equal with
one throw to go. Everybody held their breath, not a sound could be
heard, and even the Sorrel triplets were quiet for a change. The
Major’s hands were beginning to sweat, the marbles were sticking
together, he placed them on the ground and wiped his hands on a towel.
Picking them up again he kneeled down onto the pad and let the marbles
roll. Once again he had to hold his breath as the green marble rolled
to the edge of the ring, but this time it didn’t stop and it rolled
into the sand. King Peppercorn wiped his hands on his lucky purple
towel that Queen Pepper had given him for good luck. He bent down to
pick up his last three marbles; he held them tight in his hand for a
moment and then gave them his lucky shake. He
opened his hand again all three marbles shone in the sunlight, a
purple, a white and a gold one, lying there snugly in his palm of his
hand, he bent his head down to his hand and blew on them gently. “ Go
gently, my dears,” he whispered and let the marbles roll. The white
one stopped close by the jack, the gold one rolled slowly past then
slowed down stopping just two inches past the jack but the purple one
carried on rolling closer and closer to the edge of the ring. Queen
Pepper put her hands over her face and held her breath. There was a
loud gasp from the folk of the Shire and then the marble stopped
rolling just one inch from the lip of the ring. An almighty cheer went
up from the crowd. The Queen took her hands away from her face to see
her husband, the King of Peppercorn Green dancing a jig in the middle
of the marble ring. Then he stopped and turning to Major Twayblade
shook his hand and patted him on the back. “ Good game you played there
Major.” The king said smiling and shook his hand again.
It
took a little while for the folk of the Shire to calm down but it was
almost time for the equestrian events to begin, and this time it would
be the young Princess who would be taking part. Cathy Fern had not seen
a lot of the games due to working so hard in the food tents but she did
take time off to go and watch the show jumping, and a wonderful
competition it was to. Nobody was surprised to find that the two
finalist in the final jump off where Princess Cornflower and her best
friend Ann Carline. This time it was the Princess to go first and she
managed a clear round in just one minutes and fifty-three seconds. Then
it was Ann’s turn, by the seventh fence Ann was four seconds quicker
than the Princess, only two more fences and she would be the winner.
She gripped her pony Buttons with her heels as she jumped the last
fence, Buttons kicked back with his hind legs and the pole wobbled but
stayed there. Ann knew it would have slowed her down but she raced for
the winning line. The clock flashed up her time, One minute fifty two
seconds. Princess Cornflower let out a shriek of delight and gave her
pony Shadow a huge hug, then she went over to Ann and gave her an even
bigger hug. They left the arena together hand in hand; when your really
good friends it doesn’t matter who wins or loses for you always know it
could be your turn tomorrow. The Princess looked so proud when the King
presented her best friend with the red rosette for coming first.” And then she pinned
it on Buttons bridle, Cathy told everyone. “ I’m sure he knew he’d made
her happy.” Cathy added as she put the last of tomato sauce into a dish
and placed it under the table.“ Don’t give this to anyone she told the
ladies, I need it for later.” The tug of war competition was played
down to the final between The Cornpepper Daredevils and the Firemen
of the Shire, it went to three pulls with the firemen coming out the
winners. King Pepper looked round the stadium and smiled, it was so
lovely to see everyone having such fun. “ I wonder what we could do
next week,” he said out loud. It was a good job Barnaby Nettle hadn’t heard him he would have had a heart attack.
THE GOOGLENOKS of PEPPERCORN GREEN
A Special Day In the Shire
If you have any ideas do leave a message for me at dottido@hotmail.co.uk
Special Day in the Shire
Chapter Five
The
mountain of paper cups had now shrunk to a small hill that was a good
job for there was only one barrel of squash left. The hot dogs and beef
burgers were finished and there were only a few teaspoons of red sauce
left.
triplets had their fair share of them as well.” muttered Barnaby, who
had, had the dreadful task of emptying the buckets when the girls had
finished using them. Adrian Speedwell and Mark Clary had tossed a coin
to see who would have the last doughnut. Adrian won and ate it down
quickly before anyone else challenged him for a bite.Judge Orpine and
Mrs. Willowherb had been kept very busy counting up the points for both
sides. Mr. Rush, having recovered from his wellie bashing had done a
wonderful job refereeing most of the competitions with the help of
Andrew and Mark Hawthorn, but now it was almost over and the Queen had
asked that everyone should find a space to have a rest before the final
event took place. Queen Pepper took off her apron and walked over to
the main stand.“ As you all have been told already, the final race of
the day shall be a relay.” Everybody nodded his or her heads in
agreement.“ I believe the two captains have already chosen the teams,
and I would now like to ask the two teams to go to the starting
blocks.” Queen Pepper said smiling down at the tired faces of the
competitors. The Queen’s team had been picked as follows, William
Bartsia was to run the first leg, followed by Kayleigh Willowherb,
thirdly would go Hector Loosestrife, who had won the men’s thirty meter
dash and bringing up the rear would be the team captain Poppy Bisort.
The King’s team had Adrian Speedwell to begin the race, but after all
that he had eaten he didn’t think Speedwell was very appropriate.
Princess Cornflower would be running the second leg, Josh Weaver, who
had come second to Hector would be running the third leg and their
captain Victoria Knapweed, who had also won the thirty meter dash for
the ladies would run the last leg.It was all set; the eight runners
were standing by their blocks. The race would be one lap of the circuit
each. Herbert Gromwell, the Bank Manager had been chosen to start the
race, he was also the football referee and the only one who had a
proper sports whistle. King Pepper stood up on the podium and called
for everyone to be quiet. Once again the stadium went quiet, and King
Pepper help up his hands in appreciation.“ Before Mr. Gromwell starts
the race I have someone to introduce to you, you all know her well and
I would like you to put your hands together for the one lady who makes
our special days extra special.” He looked over his shoulder and called Cathy Fern to the stand. “ I give you Peppercorn Green’s one and only
Miss Cathy Fern.” Cathy climbed up onto the podium and stood blushing
next to the king. She had put on a clean bright yellow pinny and cap
and looked rather splendid. In her hand she held the two long parcels
she had placed in the basket marked, “ Do not touch.” “ Hm hmm,”
Cathy said clearing her throat, “ No doubt you’ve all been wondering
what I had in these two parcels, well you’re about to find out.” She
handed one to the King to unwrap and unwrapped the other herself.
Inside the covers where two of the biggest hot dogs you have ever seen
in your life, they were full of sausages and onions and smothered in
tomato sauce.“ So that's where the last of the sauce went.” King Pepper
said smiling. “ As you know this is going to be the last race, and it’s
going to be a relay race, these are the batons,” Cathy said holding the
long rolls up in her chubby hands.“ They both have the exact amount of
food in each and it is the job of the runners to eat at least a quarter
of the hot dog as they run their lap.” She handed the batons to Adrian
and William. Adrian couldn’t believe it; he just stood there staring at
the steaming baton. “ Why, oh why did I eat that lastdoughnut he
thought to himself? But he had no time to worry for Mr. Gromwell had
called them to order and it was time for the race to begin. The whistle
blew and Adrian and William began to run, neither of them went very
fast. Poor Adrian had never felt so sick in his life, the tomato sauce
was dripping down his chin and bits of onion had fallen onto his
shirt. He managed to stay in the lead and was about two feet up on
William when he handed what was fast becoming a gooey mess over to
Kayleigh.He was still trying to swallow down what was left in his
mouth as he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Cornflower was not that
bad a runner and it didn’t take her long to catch Kayleigh up, but if
there was one thing Cornflower detested it was fried onions, and fried
onions that were getting colder and soggier by the minute was not her
cup of tea. Still she ran as fast as she could and by the time she handed over the half eaten baton to Josh there was hardly anything in
it. Hector was already beginning to pull away from Josh when disaster
struck. The ribbon that was holding the hot dog together had worked its
self-loose and somehow it had wrapped itself round the pin that was
holding his number on his vest, he couldn’t get the hot dog to his
mouth to finish his quarter. He easily beat Josh to the line but he had
to stay there and eat his portion before he could hand over to Poppy.
Josh couldn’t believe his luck and he was just handing his baton over
to Victoria as Hector handed his to Poppy.The last lap and there was
nothing in it, both girls were running like the wind. Queen Pepper had
climbed upon her chair and was screaming. “ Come on Poppy, come on
Poppy.” at the top of her voice. King Pepper although he wanted to
shout for Victoria, thought at least one member of the royal family
should behave properly and stood there quietly with his hands over his
mouth, saying little prayers for Vicky. Only ten meters to go, Poppy
was just in the lead, and then the tape brushed across her tomato sauce
splashed T-shirt. Poppy and the Queen’s team had won. Queen Pepper
jumped down off the chair and ran over to congratulate her team. King
Pepper straightened his crown and went to join her. Judge Orpine
was standing on the podium two sheets of pink paper in his hands, he
stood there waiting while everyone settled down to hear what the final
result wasto be. “ Your Royal Highnesses, Princess Cornflower and all
the folk of Peppercorn Green, I would like to thank you all very much
for coming today and making it such a wonderful success, I think we can
all say that it will be one we will all remember for a long, long
time.” He smiled at the King andQueen. “ I would like to thank Your
Majesties for the effort you have given and the fantastic support of
the staff of the castle, especially Mr. Barnaby Nettle, who as usual
did all the running around.” A huge cheer went up from the arena, and
Barnaby stood up and took a bow. “ Think nothing of it.” he said
smiling. Judge Orpine rustled the paper and everyone went silent again.
“ I suppose you would all like to know how the teams scored over the
past few hours, I must tell you that it was a very close thing, but we
do have a winner.”Judge Orpine looked round at all the tired faces in
front of him. “ Before I tell you which team won, I would like you all
to give a huge cheer for yourselves, to say thank you to everybody for
the wonderful effort you all put in.” A huge cheer went up again from
the stadium. “ I would also like you to give a special cheer to Mrs.
Pauline Sorrel who did a marvelous job looking after all the little
ones, it did seem at one stage that young Hope and Honesty were never
going to let anyone else use the first aid tent.” Pauline Sorrel, who
looked very tired indeed stood up and accepted the applause. “ Never
again.” she whispered to her husband, “ Next time you can look after
the little darlings, I’d rather run the marathon. Our thanks too,
to Nancy, who did a wonderful job tending the sprains and blisters.” “
And now the result of the first Peppercorn Olympics is as follows, due
to the wonderful last leg of the relay by Miss Poppy Bisort, I declare
Queen Pepper’s team the winner.” The cheering and shouting went on for
a good ten minutes with everyone having a look at the lovely trophy
that Henry Carline had quickly made especially for the winners.King
Pepper questioned everyone down and handed the stand back over to
Cathy.“ Oh no,” said Adrian. “ Not more food.” But it was, the two pots
that Cathy had been guarding were full up to the top with her special
beef and dumpling stew. “ So that was what the wooden spoons were
for.” Queen Pepper said smiling. And to help wash it down Mrs. Hop,
from the Golden Oak had brought five barrels of Peppercorn Cider for
the adults, and crates of Peppercorn coke for the children. “ Well wife
I told you it would all go well didn’t I?” King Pepper said to the
queen as they sat on the grass eating their stew, he reached over and
kissed her purple curls as they fell on her shoulders.“ In fact I think
this has been one of the best days ever.” Queen Pepper looked up
smiling. “ Do get away with you Pepper,” she said placing the empty
dishes on the table. “ You say that every time we have a Peppercorn
Holiday.” They both lay back on the grass laughing, it seemed everyone
had, had a wonderful day. That is except poor Adrian Speedwell, who
swore he would never eat another hot dog or doughnut again in his life.
Dorothy Milnes Simm copyright 1996