WELCOME TO VIEWS FROM THE CASTLE. My views of my life,photographs,ramblings and nostalgia for what has past and my hopes for tomorrow.Plus anything I think might interest others.
The first snow fall has come early this year,I went out at 8am,in my pyjamas to get these photos while the sun was still shinning.There was no snow in the garden but it was very frosty and icy. Later in the day we had freezing fog so i am glad i braved the cold this morning,it was worth it.
Most of the guests we had were wealthy American,Canadian and Australian,we also had as private visitors,Ambassadors ,two Indian/Pakistani Princesses,Lords ,Ladies,actors and actresses,a DJ,the editors of a well known newspaper,a pilot and some bikers.As we guaranteed privacy,i can not name these people,but i can relate some of the more interesting stories.
The most enjoyable week we ever had as a guest house was when a party of eleven,took over the whole house,adults,grandparents and children.The matriarch was a very eccentric American lady,her very rich publisher husband no 4,her various children from previous husbands and the grandchildren plus friends.They were fun,and very easy to cater for and entertain. I arranged for the men and one little boy to go salmon fishing and the ladies and little girl to go horse ridding,the others went off to Cork sight seeing,so i had the day to myself,all i had to do once the normal chores were done was to cook the evening meal. I had been instructed by the would be fishermen that they would supply the salmon for diner.I cooked a salmon any way,just in case !!! At diner,with all guests,in evening dress,i served diner.,after the starter i came in with a huge victorian silver salver,having got everyones attention,i lifted the lid to show them the fish to be served,given to me by the only male to have caught anything all day.ONE tiny trout,caught by the little boy,everyone erupted with laughter,then photographs were taken of the trophy.Good job i had done the salmon !!! Most of this party were actors,including the children,can't name them but the children and their father were prominent in the TITANIC,the little girl sang the titanic song after diner,she was good.
Prior to their arrival i had been told not to tell any one who was coming as they wanted a holiday free of the press and fans,i was totally compliant to this re quest,BUT,they arrived in a convoy of huge people carriers,all the local people were asking me who the hell they were driving through the farms ( they had taken a wrong turn ).On the next day,one of the first things they wanted to do,was go to a local pub for a genuine GUINNESS.I took them into Cappoquin,because they had a really old genuine Irish pub.One of the actors,who was very tall,wore a floor length ,black felt coat and a huge black hat with a very wide brim and avery long scarf,wrapped round his neck,that then trailed on the ground.Plus big dark glasses!!!! Baring in mind he did not want anyone to know him,i was aghast,everyone was stopping me to ask who he was,i never told.
When this party left they were very generous with the tip because we had kept them private and given them a good holiday.I think at least two of them were disappointed that i kept the secret!!!! I did'nt want to tell them that probably NO ONE around here had ever heard of them !!!
All three an be seen ( somewhere in this video ) cant say where !!
The ongoing floods in Lismore our nearest town,thankfully the road was not closed for long but the countryside is still under water.The other clip is of local children in the park performing their version of river dance,back in the summer. The castle in the video is Lismore Castle,owned by the Duke of Devenshire,who owns most of Lismore. please look at the clips under the main video as they will give you an idea of what goes on in Lismore.
The castle was built for RICHARD BOYLE,the first Earl of Cork,by ANDREW TUCKER,in the mid 1500's.It started life as a hunting lodge,then during the rebellion in1641,it served as an out post when it was occupied by SIR JOHN LEEKE ( an associate of the Earl ) and some soldiers,but retreated in the same year.
Subsequently it was occupied by a Catholic party under JAMES FITZGERALD AND HIS 'MISTRESS GRANEY',they surrendered to SIR PERCY SMITH of BALLINATRAY in 1645. It's history after this is some what vague and a lot of documents were destroyed,but we know it was privately owned by a local ,who abandoned it and left it to fall into ruin.It was discovered by Aunty Pam,who rebuilt it in the 1960's,adding a new wing,making it as you see it today. The original plan of the castle was three round towers,joined to form a ' shamrock 'and there were outbuildings for staff and soldiers.These are long gone,only the footings have been found,while digging in the shrubbery and round by the lake.Only the stables exist,now converted into the cottage. My son used a metal detector to 'sweep ' the gardens but never found anything relating to the castles past or occupation,YET !! The local residents refer to it as the pepper pots,with its three pointed towers,thats exactly what they look like. Pam found an old brass and iron bedstead when she was clearing the undergrowth,it was very ornate,so she had it cleaned and restored,see picture of bed in haunted room.We like to think it was the bed used by James Fitzgerald and his mistress Graney,it would be so romantic if it was.I enjoy telling our guests that it is,after all it might be true !!
Some more pictures to complete your tour of the castle.
Dinning room , part of the kitchen , drawing room , red sitting room
All the main rooms are up stairs,so that you can see the mountains from any of the windows.When the weather is better,i will show you the views from the drawing room,which are stunning on a nice day. The weather is awful at the moment and we have had floods,not even "nice"floods,worthy of photos.The feeder stream to the lake burst its banks and flooded the cottage,John manned the pump most of the night to stop it getting in again,fingers crossed for a better night to night.
This is an original travellers caravan,Pam bought in the 1960's,she and Steve lived in it while major reconstruction of the castle was going on.It was fitted out with beds,cooker,cupboards etc,but sadly these have all gone now.The caravan its self is in need of radical renovation,but we can,t find anyone to do it.It makes for a good picture,and my grandchildren love to play house in it.
A GARDEN STRUCTURE used be my grandson as a shooting gallery !!
HAUNTED ROOM
BEDROOM OF HAUNTED ROOM
SITTING ROOM
OLD WOODBURNER IN HAUTED ROOM DOOR TO HAUNTED ROOM
THE PINK ROOM THE PINK ROOM
victorian toilet
Some more photos for your perusal,willpublish the up stairs pics next week. The haunted room is strange,lots of visitors have heard voices,their name called out in the night etc.My son will not sleep in this room ,i have but i dream really strange dreams as does my husband. The garden is quite sad looking this time of year so i will put garden pics up in the spring.
My first attempt at publishing photo's, hope you like them.they will give everyone an idea of where i live.I will put up pic's of our lovely countryside when it stops raining,if ever!!!
