WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM?

I love Halloween with all its pumpkiny spookiness. Later tonight I have one of the creepiest films I have ever seen lined-up to watch on DVD. It's called The Innocents and I recommend it if this Halloween you are looking for a ghosty film to watch made for grown-ups.

Other than that, if you have a spare ten minutes, perhaps you would like to read the fascinating if gruesome tale of Bella. It's a true story and the Hagley Woods and obelisk mentioned in the piece are local to me, and I can tell you the place is eerie enough in the day.

The story starts with a group of young boys finding the decomposed body of a woman in the empty hollow of a whych-elm tree whilst out poaching in the woods. Efforts are made to try and trace who the woman was, when suddenly the graffiti "who put Bella in the Witch Elm?" appears on the side of the obelisk near the woods. Then, spookily enough, the graffiti starts appearing in other places ....

Don't have nightmares!

BATTLE OF BOSWORTH FINDS

Your Scribbles was excited to hear on radio 4 this morning, in context of something else, that the newspapers were full of the new finds at the Battle of Bosworth. Previous best guesses at where the battle actually took place seem to have not been far off, with a huge cache of pistol bullets and cannonballs having now been found two miles down from where the battle was generally thought to have probably occurred.

Don't know what images come to your mind of a 1485 battle, but I'm seeing bows and arrows, not gun metal. Our History has been altered somewhat.

OK, BUSY STILL

OK, I was a little optimistic when I thought I was going to be able to post this week. Your Scribbles is working v hard at the moment, but if she wasn't she would have mentioned the anglo saxon loot leaving Birmingham (never did get chance to see it) and the fantastic blasting of the Daily Mail over the Jane Moir article by decent conscientious Internet users.

Don't delete me! I will write again when I get the chance!

NOW, WHERE WERE WE?

Sorry about that, very rude of me just to go off like that. No explanation. No goodbye. Just a static nothingness of a blog for you to stare at.

If I told you, dear reader, if you are still there, that I have been very very busy with something very very important, then maybe you can forgive me for just pissing off without a word.

I can't say what's been taking up my time yet, but as soon as I get a yes, I'll let you know what I've been up to.

Anyway, there may be posts over the next couple of weeks and so if you find yourself at a loose end, then come on over.

Meantime, I'm off to check out what you've all been up ...