Typical Norfolk misty landscape

My Great Auntie Nell, a Londoner by birth, had, as a young woman during the early 1920s, moved to Norfolk (UK) to become a nanny for a wealthy family from Old Catton on the outskirts of Norwich. 

The family, unlike many major landowners and minor nobility, treated her very well and as she had no family close by to return to, they allowed her access to a pony and trap on her afternoon off each week.   

On one particularly hot sunny summer day, after breakfast had been served, Auntie Nell asked the mistress of the house if she would object to her borrowing the pony and trap for the afternoon and taking a picnic tea out as it was her free afternoon.  The mistress instantly gave her permission and suggested that Auntie Nell take along some of “Cook’s best boiled ham and roast chicken from the larder and a bottle of homemade lemonade” and also handed Auntie Nell a lady’s magazine for her to flick through.

Auntie Nell went down and told Cook what the mistress had said so Cook happily obliged.  She prepared some ham and chicken sandwiches and a bottle of lemonade  and added some home-grown tomatoes, a hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit cake.

It then occurred to Auntie Nell that the children may like to accompany her as they rarely got the opportunity to go on informal picnics, so she approached the butler and asked if it would be alright to disturb the mistress again.  The butler, at that time, told her that he was about to take mid morning coffee and cake up to the sitting room and said that he’d ask the mistress although he was sure she wouldn’t object. Needless to say, the mistress was delighted that Auntie Nell was prepared to carry out her duties even on her half day off!

Catton Old Hall

So, at around two o’clock that afternoon, after the children had finished their lunch, the groom brought round the pony and trap while the footman loaded up a hamper (with additional sandwiches, cake and lemonade for the two children).  They were due to return by six o’clock that evening in time for dinner.

Auntie Nell went just a couple of miles away from the Hall and, by that time, the children were so excited at the prospect of a picnic and a chance to run around freely that Auntie Nell decided to take the pony and trap down a small dry, grassy track known as White Woman Lane and pulled into a meadow.  White Woman Lane was so named as it was supposed to be haunted by a white woman although it seems nobody actually knows the full story behind it and who she was.

The children eagerly helped Auntie Nell to put down blankets onto the grass in amongst the poppies, daisies, buttercups, and campions, while Auntie Nell gently lifted the wicker hamper full of goodies from the back of the trap and led the pony to a sheltered spot under a gnarled oak tree to keep it out of the sun and allow the pony to graze leisurely for a couple of hours.

The party partook of their picnic tea at around half past three and then the children went for a run around the meadow while Auntie Nell settled down to read the mistress’s magazine.  After a while, she packed everything away ready for the journey home. 

As she packed the blankets on top of the hamper, she checked her watch and found that it was almost five o’clock so she called the children back and settled them down in the trap, turned the pony back into the direction of White Woman Lane and began the journey home.

Before they’d got back onto the main track back to the Hall, the pony suddenly came to an abrupt halt and despite Auntie Nell’s protestations and urges to go on, the pony became more and more tense.  It was then that Auntie Nell noticed a mist on the meadow to the left where they’d recently been enjoying their picnic.  The mist, despite there being little or no breeze and the sky being brilliantly blue and cloudless, drifted with some speed towards them, crossed the track in front of the pony to a wheat field on the right and, as suddenly as it had appeared, it just disappeared.

The pony then just trotted on as if nothing untoward had happened.  The children eagerly told their parents what they’d witnessed and the parents, as most would these days, just thought it was childhood fantasy and indulged them.  Auntie Nell had obviously witnessed it but decided it was best to keep quiet about it as it could alarm the family and could ultimately lead to her dismissal from their employ with no reference to enable her to gain further employment.  It certainly wasn’t the sort of subject that would naturally occur in day to day conversation between employer and employee although I understand that Auntie Nell did write to her brothers and sisters back in London to tell them what had happened.

So was this mist connected to the ghost of the white woman?  Or was it just a normal mist which often occurs naturally here in rural Norfolk; in fact it happens on the meadow at the bottom of my garden as the sun goes down.  I’m no Einstein but I do know that often, after a hot day, mists form over damp ground but bearing in mind it was only about five o’clock in the afternoon and not late it seems strange that the mist had formed so early.  The mists in our meadow during mid summer don’t tend to form until around six or seven o’clock at the earliest.

It also seems odd that the mist moved so quickly across from one side of the track to the other as there was no wind and usually mists drift extremely slowly.  And the mist disappeared extremely quickly once it had crossed the track and gone into the wheat field.

The onset of the mist also upset the pony into the bargain.  We have horses on the meadow at the bottom of our garden which are owned by a local animal sanctuary and they certainly aren’t spooked by it.

This isn’t fiction; it’s a true story told to me by my great auntie when I was a child and she was in her 80s.  And it wasn’t just a tale she made up for my benefit as my grandmother, my Great Uncle Rich and my Great Auntie Alice confirmed that Auntie Nell did write to them that following weekend.  And my mother now has in her possession the letter which was addressed to my grandmother.  My grandmother was a great hoarder and had photographs, postcards, correspondence and even old newspapers going back to the year dot!

I’m not convinced some 40 years on that it was a ghost or a spirit being of some sort but, for the life of me, I can’t explain it.  I like to think I have an open mind to such things but there’s always that inkling of doubt  and that there surely must be some scientific explanation.

Three times more than ordinary cheeseburger-II, it contains three pieces of meat, three cheese, lettuce and tomato, all thick in a bread long as an elbow.

Only cost $ 4.50, but buyers pay a high price from another point of view: sandwich contains 20 grams of saturated fat and 850 calories.

Showing market tests, however, that product would sell successfully, your burger giant could be sold in two restaurant chains across the U.S., over 3-6 months.

I almost fell to tears. San Diego has actually been hit harder than most due to the high cost of living here and we have the highest home foreclosure rate in the country.

My little valley community is one of the cheapest to live in in SD County, and we see this all the time.

If any of you have been following my and Westbrook’s recent comments, you know many veterans live here.

The sad thing is that we have an exceptionally high number of homeless in our community, many disabled vets.

Now my little city of El Cajon, we all pitch in for the most part and help these folks. I am myself not working, but that’s a whole different story. I no longer drive, so I do a lot of walking, and know a great many of these people. Yes, they can be a little dirty, but they have no choice.

So I’ll tell what I do; I sit and talk with them sometimes, and they are good down to earth people just like you and I. There is nothing wrong with them, and most are very decent human beings, and they suffer from a form of racism stereotyping that many have fallen victim to. This is just wrong. Here’s an eye opening statistic for you……over 90% of the population in this county are one paycheck away from being homeless.

One paycheck away, but that was before this disastrous downturn in the economy.

So, I don’t know about the rest of you, but where I live, a great way to help these people exists.

All you have to do to help keep them alive is to go to the store, buy a few loaves of bread, some bologna or lunchmeat, cheese, mayonnaise, whatever, go make a few dozen sandwiches and pass them out.

If this is not the case in your geographical area, donate 10 loaves of bread to a local charity.

People literally are starving right before our eyes, and stupid human pride often gets in the way when you or someone else needs a helping hand.

So step up to the plate people if you can, and help a downed brother or sister out. That and just a warm conversation for a few short moments can revive their will to live.

It will renew faith that the good in human spirit and good will toward others still exists in this crummy world today. Holiday times are very hard on these folks, the Lord works in mysterious ways, so feel free to let him work through you.

God Bless, and God Bless those of whom I speak also.

Find your favorite food below and find out about yourself.

1. Ice cream. Smooth and mellow, that’s you. Not much ruffles your feathers. You’re natural with children and your friends consider you the cream of the crop.
2. Hot dogs. Jeans and a T-shirt are usually your clothes of choice. You’re patriotic and a hard worker who can be counted on. You’re loyal, affectionate and good-hearted.
3. Donuts. You’re artistic and creative. You enjoy hobbies and crafts such as cake decorating, needlework or woodworking.
4. Sub sandwiches. Variety is important to you. You’re adventurous and like surprises.
5. Fried chicken-Family, tradition and old fashioned values are important to you. You like things slow and relaxed and stable.
6. Pizza. You’re friendly, outgoing and sociable. But you also enjoy intimate candlelight dinners. Sharing comes naturally and you look on the bright side.
7. Burgers and fries. You’re always on the go and know how to have a good time. You believe in honesty, integrity and fair play.
8. Frozen yogurt. The future appeals to you. You enjoy new and exciting things. You’re positive and friendly. And health and fitness are important in your life.
9. Chinese food. You’re surrounded by an aura of mystery and intrigue. You love to travel and visit new, exotic places. Thoughtfulness and patience are some of your many virtues.
10. Mexican food. You don’t mind a little mess. You like your home comfortable and lived-in instead of so neat it looks like a museum. Money and material possessions don’t impress you.

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