DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

     Cheese Rolling has become an annual event in Stilton and every May Day hundreds of villagers and visitors make their way to the main street to watch the teams battling for the  honour  of being called the " Stilton Cheese Rolling Champions" . Stilton History and The Cheese The Bell Inn, where the rolling starts! Ancient Stilton     No one knows who lived here first - the earliest finds date from the time of the Roman occupation and are probably associated with the road that runs from London to the army fortress at Lincoln, which the Saxons later called Ermine Street.     For centuries this road seems to have been little used, the important route was the east-west road, Fen Street and Church Street, which is why our oldest building, the Church of St Mary Magdalene, is found away from the main road that now exists.     Stilton gets three mentions in the Doomesday Book of 1086 as...

    Under the watchful gaze of crumbling saints and baby-faced cherubs, you hurry down a path lined with mausoleums. Eventually, you pass crops of headstones casting long, narrow shadows in the moonlight. Each engraved with the epitaph of the dead person's life. You run past sunken graves and dying flowers, hoping that the sound you hear is just the wind and you're trying to shake the feeling that something is following close behind you.     Maybe you've never taken a midnight stroll through your local cemetery. But if you have ever set foot in one, you've likely felt a hint of fear and uneasiness that is their legacy. Maybe you were attending a funeral of someone dear and close to you, touring graveyards or simply fleeing things that go bump in the night.     Whatever your reason for strolling among the tombstones, you probably felt something noteworthy about the experience-something different from all the other spaces and pl...

    The attraction of snakes seems to be a huge pull factor, and seemingly the whole world's major ophidiophillaccs (snake lovers) often accompanied by their snakes, alongside keen photographers, descend on the small medieval town of Cocullo , in the Abruzzo Majella Mountains , ready to take part in this festival which has been re-enacted in its current Christian format each year, apart from 2009.     There are three supposed origins to the Cocullo Snake Festival ....In the 11th century, apparently Saint Dominic cleared the local fields which were being overrun by snakes, and as a sign of thanks, since 1392, the locals parade his statue and snakes around the streets. The second version dates to 700 B.C., locals experienced the same problems in tending to their field and Apollo ordered the village to entwine the snakes around his statue so that they would become tame and be able to farm once more. The first origin dates back some 2000 yea...

Take some dead body parts. Stitch them together. Add one mad scientist, and toss in a lightning bolt for good measure. What do you get? The Frankenstein monster! Alternately portrayed as both mindless killer and a misunderstood gentle giant, the Frankenstein monster is a classic Halloween creep. Learn more about him with these 13 freaky facts. . The young Mary Godwin, later wed to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen. As a house guest of Lord Byron, Mary Shelley was invited to participate in a challenge. Byron, Shelley, and the other guests set about writing the most frightening story they could. Shelley won, she claimed that her inspiration came from a vision she'd had, wherein a pale student of science knelt ...

  A Ghost Town is a place that no longer exists. For some reason, and many times unexplained reasons, the people of the town leave and never return. The town is left to rot and be forgotten. But, a lot of these places allow you t come and visit, to step on the land that is no longer wanted, and to learn the mysteries behind their disappearances. Here is a list of some of the best Ghost Towns in the United States. Roanoke Island, North Carolina       The Lost Colony. Everyone knows that the first settlers in the new world created colonies in Jamestown and Plymouth, but there was also a colony on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. History tells of a woman, named Virginia Dare, who settled there with her family. Sir Walter Raleigh had led ships there. It would be the first settlement on American soil, but it was short lived.     That's because everyone disappeared!     To this day, scientists and historian...

     The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese fest on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar. Astronomically, it is also a solar term. The Qingming festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qingming. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (Taqing, "treading on the greenery") and tend to the graves of departed loved ones.     Qingming has been regularly observed as a statutory public holiday in Taiwan and in the Chinese jurisdictions of Hong Kong and Macau. Its observance was reinstated as a public holiday in mainland China in 2008, after having been previous suppressed by the ruling Communist Party in 1949.     The holiday is known by a number of names in the English language:   All Souls Day (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic...

     There are many hairy guys out there (even I have extra!) in the world. Most of them are completely harmless, sort of. However, every now and then, a werewolf might be on the prowl and these are the type of creatures you don't want to take home to mom and dad. Man or woman, a werewolf will likely try to rip you up! You need to know what to do to protect yourself from the hairy beasties. And I do not mean your big bro. How to tell if the person you're with is a werewolf     Just because a man is hairy does not mean he's a werewolf. There are a number of things to look for to help you find if the man stalking you is a werewolf or not. According to Warren Zevon song, The Werewolves of London , a werewolf likes Chinese food, especially the beef lo mein. They also love pina colada's (and getting caught in the rain). The biggest trait that will stand out the most, is that a werewolf has perfect hair (especially for the ladies!!!). T...

    Taking a photograph of a ghost or spirit does not require fancy equipment or extensive training. Any camera is capable of capturing images of ghost and spirits. Digital cameras are preferred because they produce immediate results, can e stored on a memory card or transferred to a computer without losing quality and there is no film to fiddle with in the dark. Select a location that has reports of paranormal activity.  Although you can certainly capture a ghost image in the most unlikely of places, exploring paranormal hot spots increases your likelihood of capturing apparitions or ghostly figures. Take pictures of a defined object to provide perspective and to judge distance. Focus on a tree, gravestone or fence post if you are shooting a photo outside in a haunted location. Include people in your photos when ever possible. It is believed that some spirits are attracted to people and you just may catch that perfect shot while photographi...

    The Takayama Festivals in Takayama, Japan, started in the 16th to 17th century. The origins of the festivals are unknown; however they are believed to have been started during the rule of the Kanamori family . Correspondence dated 1692, place the origin to 40 years prior to that date. One of the festivals is held on the 14th and 15th of April and the other on the 9th ad 10th of October.     The Spring Takayama Festival is centered on the Hie Shrine . The shrine is also known as the Sanno Shrine , and the spring festival is also known as the Sanno Festival. The Sanno Festival is held to pray for a good harvest and the Autumn Festival is for giving thanks.     The Autumn festival is centered on the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine and is referred to as the Hachiman Festival . It is held after the crops are harvested. The fall festival is one of the three largest festivals in Japan. The other two are Kyoto's Gion...

I was surfing several differen sites this last week and came across this cool coasters.  Who doesn't need coasters for drinks around the house?  This DIY comes from www.theidearoom.net , great idea for a fathers day gift!    Today I have a new little project for those of you who drink your beverages out of a can or know someone who does. These will also be a great gift idea for Father’s Day…Soda Can Coasters . Yes…that is my favorite drink of choice…that I no longer drink…Boo! Getting to old to be drinking my calories! But I can still enjoy looking at it when I place my ice water on my lovely new coasters!    Simply empty out some cans of your choice and rinse them out with water. Then take some tin snips and very carefully cut off the top and bottom of the can. This can be a bit tricky. **But be very careful as these cans are super sharp!!!! I suggest wearing garden gloves while cutting to help give you extr...