Thought I'd include some of the lyrics (slightly altered) of the 1960's Classic Pop song ' Those were the days ' for the Theme and Storyline of the New little Candleford Project ' Halfway House '
Laura's Story
Laura and Tom had always loved each other ever since their childhood days growing up together in the small hamlet of Lark Rise. As young lovers they dreamed of owning a small business of their own and by coincidence the opportunity arose just two weeks after their marriage.
The tavern ‘ Halfway House ’ was owned by the Squire Sir Timothy Middleton.
Having decided to condemn the old building and pull it down, The Squire was persuaded to change his mind and took pity on the newly wed couple and accepted their offer to lease the property.
The run down building which is rumoured to be haunted and cursed is situated on the Lark Rise lane halfway between the bustling town of Little Candleford and the small hamlet of Lark Rise.
This was to become Laura and Tom’s happy home for two years, they worked on renovating the building during the day and served Food and Drink to the locals and passing tradesmen at night.
That is until the night a terrible tragedy happened and for Laura life would never be the same . . . . .
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The tragedy happened late one night after the Tavern had closed. Tom was counting the evening’s takings whilst Laura prepared his supper. Catching Tom totally unaware an armed robber burst into the Tavern bar, as Tom tried to fight off the intruder a gunshot was fired And Tom fell to the ground. Hearing the disturbance, Laura ran in from the kitchen only to find Tom lying dead on the floor, she looked up in horror and managed to catch a glimpse of the robber as he fled away with the money but she did not recognise him.
Tom was buried in the Little Candleford Cemetery and in the weeks that followed Laura wept at his graveside every day.
As the weeks passed and the Tavern remained closed, Laura had lost all heart and some days she wouldn’t even leave her bed. Then one night Laura was woken by the Ghostly sound of Tom’s voice which said
“Remember how we laughed away the hours and dreamed of all the great things we would do” …. This Ghostly sound stirred Laura, She knew Tom wanted her to stop mourning him and carry on running the tavern as they’d planned.
She got out of bed and started to clean the run down home and tidy up the Tavern’s bar where Tom had been cruelly taken from her. Whilst working there was a knock on the Tavern Bar door. A man appeared introducing himself as The Squire’s Debt Collector and demanded unpaid rent for the past month.
"But I have no money, the Tavern has been closed since my husband’s death" said Laura. "Then it looks like you will have to pay in kind" said the stranger pointing towards the bedroom. As tears filled her eyes Laura heard Tom’s voice again“Laura, Do what you have to do” Seeing no other way Laura reluctantly made her way upstairs. The stranger eagerly threw Laura on the bed and had his way.
After the deed was done Laura shakily asked “is that the debt paid now?” The man answered angrily “The debts paid when I say it’s paid, I’ll be back for more”
As a distraught Laura lay on the bed half naked and crying she heard Tom’s ghostly but familiar voice again “Laura under the bed” As the Debt Collector finished dressing, Laura reached under the bed and picked up Tom’s hand pistol, she pointed it at the Debt Collected and shouted “Right Sir I’ll decide when the debts paid, I owe 15 shillings rent to the Squire but as you have just had unlawful sex with me, I'll charge you One Guinea, therefore you owe me 6 shillings, Pay up or I will shoot you”
The man now shaking with fear grabbed some money out of his pocket, as he did so an envelope addressed to Laura fell on the floor. Retrieving it, Laura read the contents; it was a letter from the Squire who had heard of her sad loss whilst working away, it said he was relieving her of all unpaid rent and asked her to visit The Manor where he would give her the deeds to Halfway House so she would own the Tavern and be able to start a new life for herself.
“I didn't mean any harm miss, it was just a bit of fun” said the Debt Collector. Laura looked at the man, pointed the gun between his legs and pulled the trigger. “Well you won’t be having much fun with that now and when I tell Sir Timothy how you collect debts you’ll be looking for a new job" laughed Laura.
The man hardly able to walk, hobbled out of the Tavern and as he left :-
Through the door there came familiar laughter, she saw his face and heard him call her name,
All though I’m no longer with you, in our hearts the dreams are still the same,
And Laura knew Tom would always be with her even if only in his Ghostly spirit, she would reopen The Tavern and if money became a problem she now knew she could always raise more cash by more than pulling more than just a few pints.
The tavern ‘ Halfway House ’ was owned by the Squire Sir Timothy Middleton.
Having decided to condemn the old building and pull it down, The Squire was persuaded to change his mind and took pity on the newly wed couple and accepted their offer to lease the property.
The run down building which is rumoured to be haunted and cursed is situated on the Lark Rise lane halfway between the bustling town of Little Candleford and the small hamlet of Lark Rise.
This was to become Laura and Tom’s happy home for two years, they worked on renovating the building during the day and served Food and Drink to the locals and passing tradesmen at night.
That is until the night a terrible tragedy happened and for Laura life would never be the same . . . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The tragedy happened late one night after the Tavern had closed. Tom was counting the evening’s takings whilst Laura prepared his supper. Catching Tom totally unaware an armed robber burst into the Tavern bar, as Tom tried to fight off the intruder a gunshot was fired And Tom fell to the ground. Hearing the disturbance, Laura ran in from the kitchen only to find Tom lying dead on the floor, she looked up in horror and managed to catch a glimpse of the robber as he fled away with the money but she did not recognise him.
Tom was buried in the Little Candleford Cemetery and in the weeks that followed Laura wept at his graveside every day.
As the weeks passed and the Tavern remained closed, Laura had lost all heart and some days she wouldn’t even leave her bed. Then one night Laura was woken by the Ghostly sound of Tom’s voice which said
“Remember how we laughed away the hours and dreamed of all the great things we would do” …. This Ghostly sound stirred Laura, She knew Tom wanted her to stop mourning him and carry on running the tavern as they’d planned.
She got out of bed and started to clean the run down home and tidy up the Tavern’s bar where Tom had been cruelly taken from her. Whilst working there was a knock on the Tavern Bar door. A man appeared introducing himself as The Squire’s Debt Collector and demanded unpaid rent for the past month.
"But I have no money, the Tavern has been closed since my husband’s death" said Laura. "Then it looks like you will have to pay in kind" said the stranger pointing towards the bedroom. As tears filled her eyes Laura heard Tom’s voice again“Laura, Do what you have to do” Seeing no other way Laura reluctantly made her way upstairs. The stranger eagerly threw Laura on the bed and had his way.
After the deed was done Laura shakily asked “is that the debt paid now?” The man answered angrily “The debts paid when I say it’s paid, I’ll be back for more”
As a distraught Laura lay on the bed half naked and crying she heard Tom’s ghostly but familiar voice again “Laura under the bed” As the Debt Collector finished dressing, Laura reached under the bed and picked up Tom’s hand pistol, she pointed it at the Debt Collected and shouted “Right Sir I’ll decide when the debts paid, I owe 15 shillings rent to the Squire but as you have just had unlawful sex with me, I'll charge you One Guinea, therefore you owe me 6 shillings, Pay up or I will shoot you”
The man now shaking with fear grabbed some money out of his pocket, as he did so an envelope addressed to Laura fell on the floor. Retrieving it, Laura read the contents; it was a letter from the Squire who had heard of her sad loss whilst working away, it said he was relieving her of all unpaid rent and asked her to visit The Manor where he would give her the deeds to Halfway House so she would own the Tavern and be able to start a new life for herself.
“I didn't mean any harm miss, it was just a bit of fun” said the Debt Collector. Laura looked at the man, pointed the gun between his legs and pulled the trigger. “Well you won’t be having much fun with that now and when I tell Sir Timothy how you collect debts you’ll be looking for a new job" laughed Laura.
The man hardly able to walk, hobbled out of the Tavern and as he left :-
Through the door there came familiar laughter, she saw his face and heard him call her name,
All though I’m no longer with you, in our hearts the dreams are still the same,
And Laura knew Tom would always be with her even if only in his Ghostly spirit, she would reopen The Tavern and if money became a problem she now knew she could always raise more cash by more than pulling more than just a few pints.
Laura glanced at the empty chair in the corner of the living room. Six months have passed since Tom's tragic death yet every night in her dreams she has visions of him sitting there. His pipe and matches are still on the small table next to his empty wine glass and bottle of wine. His book is left open where he was reading it. Every night after the Tavern had closed, Tom would sit in his comfy armchair with a glass of wine, smoke his pipe and read his book while Laura prepared his supper. Despite cleaning their home everyday, Laura cannot bring herself to disturb his things, it is like a shrine to him and to her it will always be 'Tom's Cosy Corner'.
However, Tonight Laura had mixed feelings, for some unknown reason she felt the need to be loved again but after losing Tom and her bad experience with the Squires Debt Collector she knew she could never love another man.
The next day Laura decided to visit her parents in the nearby hamlet of Larkrise . Following the woodland path she peered through an opening in the hedgerows which led to the centre of the small forest known as Candleford Woods. As a child this place was forbidden to the hamlet children who Laura grew up with as it was said by the elders to be haunted and inhabited by the 'Candleford Witches'. Surely that was only an old wives tale Laura thought and as her curiosity got the better of her she found herself venturing into the depths of the small forest. Suddenly through the morning mist and as if appearing from nowhere, she saw an old cottage. This must be the mythical cottage that the Hamlet villagers called 'Spooky Hollows'.
Laura slowly approached the small dwelling and quietly made her way towards one of the small windows at the front of the house. Through the window she saw an old lady drinking tea and as her eyes searched around the small dark room' on the opposite side she saw a beautiful young woman standing with a broom in her hand.
Laura gasped in amazement; surely such a kind looking old woman and a beautiful young lady couldn't be the witches that the Hamlet folk had talked about. Laura couldn't take her eyes off the young woman, she had never seen anyone quite like her. She had long wild auburn hair, a pretty face and wore a black gothic style corset dress that was split at the side revealing her long legs.
Laura glanced back at the cottage as she started to make her way to see her parents in Lark Rise, she was sure she saw the young woman watching her from the window. All the way to Larkrise she couldn't stop thinking about the young woman and decided she would ask her mother if she knew anything about her and the old lady.
Laura and her mother sat companionably by the open fire in her parent’s small dwelling and Laura's mother started to tell her the story.
It all began a long time ago; a young woodland girl called Anastasia Mullen who lived in an old cottage called Spooky Hollows was pregnant. The father was the Little Candleford Squire Lord Middleton, of course he would not marry the girl and her mother who was thought to have 'special powers' put a curse on the Squires family.
It is believed the curse on the Middleton family was that they should never have daughters of their own but if they ever did the daughters would never marry, give birth or have feelings for men. For many decades the Middleton family only produced boys until Sir Timothy and Sir Amos each produced an illegitimate daughter. People suspect this is the reason why the present day Squires daughter Lady Katherine and her cousin Emma have never married and that both seem more interested in ladies than men.
So, who are the old lady and the young woman ? Asked Laura.
They are the only members of the Mullen family still alive, the old lady and the young girl are Grandmother and Granddaughter and live in the same old cottage as their ancestors 'Spooky Hollows', the old lady is known to practice witchcraft.
And the young woman is she also a witch? Asked Laura
The Hamlet gossips say she is but little is known of her except her name 'Anastasia' which means 'Resurrection'.
More to follow
The next day Laura decided to visit her parents in the nearby hamlet of Larkrise . Following the woodland path she peered through an opening in the hedgerows which led to the centre of the small forest known as Candleford Woods. As a child this place was forbidden to the hamlet children who Laura grew up with as it was said by the elders to be haunted and inhabited by the 'Candleford Witches'. Surely that was only an old wives tale Laura thought and as her curiosity got the better of her she found herself venturing into the depths of the small forest. Suddenly through the morning mist and as if appearing from nowhere, she saw an old cottage. This must be the mythical cottage that the Hamlet villagers called 'Spooky Hollows'.
Laura slowly approached the small dwelling and quietly made her way towards one of the small windows at the front of the house. Through the window she saw an old lady drinking tea and as her eyes searched around the small dark room' on the opposite side she saw a beautiful young woman standing with a broom in her hand.
Laura gasped in amazement; surely such a kind looking old woman and a beautiful young lady couldn't be the witches that the Hamlet folk had talked about. Laura couldn't take her eyes off the young woman, she had never seen anyone quite like her. She had long wild auburn hair, a pretty face and wore a black gothic style corset dress that was split at the side revealing her long legs.
Laura glanced back at the cottage as she started to make her way to see her parents in Lark Rise, she was sure she saw the young woman watching her from the window. All the way to Larkrise she couldn't stop thinking about the young woman and decided she would ask her mother if she knew anything about her and the old lady.
Laura and her mother sat companionably by the open fire in her parent’s small dwelling and Laura's mother started to tell her the story.
It all began a long time ago; a young woodland girl called Anastasia Mullen who lived in an old cottage called Spooky Hollows was pregnant. The father was the Little Candleford Squire Lord Middleton, of course he would not marry the girl and her mother who was thought to have 'special powers' put a curse on the Squires family.
It is believed the curse on the Middleton family was that they should never have daughters of their own but if they ever did the daughters would never marry, give birth or have feelings for men. For many decades the Middleton family only produced boys until Sir Timothy and Sir Amos each produced an illegitimate daughter. People suspect this is the reason why the present day Squires daughter Lady Katherine and her cousin Emma have never married and that both seem more interested in ladies than men.
So, who are the old lady and the young woman ? Asked Laura.
They are the only members of the Mullen family still alive, the old lady and the young girl are Grandmother and Granddaughter and live in the same old cottage as their ancestors 'Spooky Hollows', the old lady is known to practice witchcraft.
And the young woman is she also a witch? Asked Laura
The Hamlet gossips say she is but little is known of her except her name 'Anastasia' which means 'Resurrection'.
More to follow