Ghosties . . .

When I was chatting to the Librarian last Tuesday, we were nattering about ghostly experiences and I - rashly! - said that at least my lovely home wasn't affected by anything spooky.  Think I must have spoken too soon, or tempted fate!  Perhaps it was because my guard was down and I wasn't grounded after losing L. Whale so suddenly.  Anyway, on Friday I was going upstairs when I heard a loud sort of grain sound - like my big bag of rice had fallen out of the kitchen cupboard onto the floor.  I went downstairs to check, but nothing out of place.  

Then yesterday I went up to early (7.30 ish) to my craft room to work on the quilt repairs, and suddenly the harp was plucked - just one string, but loudly!  I looked up sharply, and then went to check .  There were three broken strings - I was trying to remember how many there were before as Tam stopped playing it for that reason.  I thought perhaps a string had just suddenly snapped for some reason, although that seems odd.

Then a little while later, suddenly the SACK of grain sound again from the kitchen, very loudly.  Pippi was with me and ran away.  Lulu hurtled up the stairs, scared, and when I went down, Alfie was hiding under the table.  Nothing to be seen, but I had the feeling what had happened was a sort of time-slip with one of the grooms from Victorian times, heaving a heavy sack of oats off his shoulder onto the floor.  It was very much that sort of sound.  The kitchen and Utility were the old stables, from Georgian times, with the stalls at the front and so probably the back part of the kitchen was the feed room.

Ruinous old farmhouse and barn ("held in Trust") up in the Ceredigion hills.

I have made sure I am grounded today and we will see if anything happens after this.  I know some of you will be sceptics, but I have had this sort of thing happen to me all my life - starting with knowing when letters were going to arrive, or who was on the phone, or even what they were going to say, as well as experiences with atmospheres and emotions.  The old house was quite challenging in this respect!!

Single track lanes - we had to back up when we met a van coming up the hill at one point.

Anyway, I went across to Aber to help Tam, but as Jon had a meeting with a friend, we weren't able to achieve what we had intended, to finish painting Rosie's bedroom.  We needed Jon there to lift/mend the broken wardrobe.  Anyway, Tam got smaller jobs done and then took me out for a lovely drive up in the hills, so that we could get Rosie off for a car nap.  It was SO beautiful.

Lovely now, but a bit bleak mid-Winter!

This is part of Ceredigion's industrial past.  The Pont Ceunant Generating Station, associated with the nearby Lead Mines.

More lead mine workings further up the Cwmnewydion valley.

Sea Campion, a first for me.  Don't know how it got inland here.

The spoil heap where nothing grows because of the lead residue in the soil.

As you can see, it was a lovely drive out.  Such beautiful scenery and interesting history too.  Frongoch mine had a terrific output at the height of its working life, silver too of course as that is always found with lead.  Plus it was important for a mineral, "brilliant hair-brown" pyromorphite crystals, which are rare.  

Quiet here so far this morning.  I will get ready to venture out to the Charity car boot sale in Llandod.