The Bantry family's rise and fall 2:2

Shortly after the funeral of Colonel Arthur Bantry, there was a reading of the will at Gossington Hall.

Despite the latest family problems, they were all there.

And in addition to the immediate family, the vicar and his wife had also been invited

By request of the deceased, the vicar read from Luke 12:15: Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

“So true!” said Mr Petherick, the solicitor, and continued reading the Colonel’s testament. “In spite of what you might think”, he said, “None of his children have been delisted from his testament. You will all get an equal part of his substantial savings and stocks. They are, however, to be kept in a foundation until you reach the age of Thirty-five. The estate and surrounding land is left as a whole to Dolly, “my wife, strength and true fortune in life” as he writes.”

“Thirty-five!”, Abigail whined, “why should we have to wait that long?”

“Abigail!!” Philip cried out, “Are you going to give our mother a heart attack as well?”

“Don’t give any notice to her”, he comforted his mother, “She doesn’t know what she’s saying, and you know she is not in balance.”

"I know, I know", Dolly said, "It’s not that. I know you are all… well, the three of you anyway, grateful and sensible. But I just realized I will have to cope with all the family problems myself from now on."

“Oh dear, oh dear”, the vicar said. “These are tough times for you. But even in difficult times God will be with you. And so will all of your friends here in St. Mary Mead.”

After the reading, John asked to have a separate talk with the solicitor and his mother. “There is something I need to tell you about”, he said. “I have done something very stupid. And possibly dangerous. I owe almost 200,000 pounds to some shady loan sharks in London. I’ve been playing on horses, and now they threaten to kill me if I don’t pay them back. Is there any way I could get the inheritance now? It would not be enough, but maybe I can buy myself some time…”

“Unfortunately no”, Mr Petherick said. “It is legally impossible, I’m afraid”. Dolly was num from the shock, and asked her son to leave. “I need some rest, and time to think, she said.

Deeply troubled she stood in front of her husband’s portrait. “Dear Arthur”, she said, “I hope you will forgive me for what I am about to do. But, as you reminded us today, a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Next morning Dolly invited the rich American, actress Marina Gregg to Gossington Hall. “I have a fantastic opportunity for you Marina”, she said, “If we can settle this without delay.

"I need to sell Gossington Hall, as soon as possible. Would you be interested?"

- The End -

(But it is NOT the end of course. It is only the beginning of another story.)

The characters and buildings from this story are from the AnnoSims Group project St. Mary Mead, loosly based on the novels of Agatha Christie. ( Anno Sims is now closed, but you can find my own creations for the project here at KSW.)

Case of unknown identity

A man without clothes and of unknown identity was found in a helpless condition at the Bus Stop Park yesterday.

The vicar, who could see the poor man from his office, ran over to the park and gave the confused man a towel to cover his noble parts, and then left him in the care of Dr. Haydock. The man is, according to the doctor, about 40 years old, and not able to remember who he is or how he ended up in St. Mary Mead in such an unfortunate condition.

Dr. Haydock has alarmed the police and consulted Miss Marple in order to figure out what has happened.

If you have any knowledge of this man, please call the St. Mary Mead Police, or, if you prefer, contact us here at the Anno Chronicle, and we will hand over the information to the police anonymously.

Aiming for victory

The winner of the St. Mary Mead Spelling Bee, young David Clement (10), is studying very hard to prepare for the competition next month in Market Basing. “I think I can win” he says, “but there are some very good candidates from Much Benham” We cross our fingers for our own David!

Polio vaccination program

All citizens of St. Mary Mead are called to join the polio vaccination program introduced by the Public Health Department and Dr. Haydock. There have been some resent cases of Poliomyelitis fever in Danemouth, and no matter if you are rich or poor, everybody should take the vaccine Dr. Haydock says, for the common good. The program has started, and you can get your polio vaccine at the Church of St.Mary Mead every morning from 07:00 – 10:00 this week.

Brazen thieves steal old map

Wednesday night brazen thieves broke in to the Clement’s residence, while the unknowingly family was fast asleep.

Mrs Clement called the police as soon as she realized that they’ve had unwelcome visitors, but the strange thing is that nothing has been stolen, except from a pre-war map of St. Mary Mead.

“I have no idea what anyone would want with this map”, a startled Mrs Clement says, “They could have just asked for it, if they wanted it”.

Happy to be alive

The unfortunate Kizzie Buckland, who was hit by a meteor last month, was discharged from the hospital last night, to her husband’s great delight.

Mrs Buckland is by far finished with her treatment, and will be supervised at home by Special Nurse Ingrid Hawes, until she is ready for her next skin transplantation. Topical antibacterial therapy and change of bandages every three hours are still necessary, and even when performed by professionals like Mrs Hawes, it is very painful for the patient.

The Buckland family is very happy that they can spend the waiting time together, and are very grateful for the help and assistance from the hospital, friends and neighbours.

Even though her wounds are very obvious, and her beautiful long hair is now replaced by a wig, Kizzie is hopeful that she one day will regain her looks. “But if not”, she says, “I’m still very happy to be alive.”

The characters and buildings from this story are from the AnnoSims Group project St. Mary Mead, loosly based on the novels of Agatha Christie. (Anno Sims is now closed, but you can find my own creations for the project here at KSW.)

Tragic accident at the Tinker Camp

For the first time in history (as far as we know) a meteor struck St. Mary Mead. Just as Harman Buckland was getting the horses ready for the night, a huge stone struck just next to his wife Kizzie, who was painting in the garden.

Their little unharmed daughter was temporarily taken care of by the Police, but the unlucky couple was brought to the hospital with severe burns.

The following days the whole village helped out clearing the area for meteor stones and burned objects, and as soon as the couple has recovered they can return to their home. A cousin of Kizzie Buckland has now taken care of little Mirela, and the parents are very happy that their daughter is unharmed and in good hands.

Fire at the Baker’s

As Mr. Baker was trying to prepare pancakes for the Sunday breakfast, a fire broke out in their kitchen.

The fire services arrived within minutes, but there were substantial damage to the kitchen.

Mrs. Baker says that she doesn’t blame her husband, but will make the pancakes herself from now on.

Should men interfere with housework?

The above mentioned fire, has led to a heated debate amongst the housewives in St. Mary Mead, on whether men should be allowed in the kitchen at all. Mrs. Clement was met with resistance when she claimed that men perfectly well could do the same as women. “It is well known that I don’t cook”, she said, “and Leonard has better skills than I have in that domain. And he is surprisingly patient with the children.”

“After all, we are in the 1950’s and I can’t see any reason why men shouldn’t be able to do what is traditionally considered women’s duties. If the vicar can do it, anybody can.” 

The youngest addition to the Clement family has no saying in the matter, we just wanted to print her picture because she is cute.

Pranks

Miss Keene, a resident at the Mulled Wine Inn, confronted Mr. Baker the other day, after she caught his son Frank doing pranks in front of the Inn. 

Mr. Baker became very offended, and refused to believe that his son could do something like that.

Miss Keene, who thought she had raised the matter in a very polite way, was put off by the whole thing, and says that next time she will go directly to the Police.

The characters and buildings from this story are from the AnnoSims Group project St. Mary Mead, loosly based on the novels of Agatha Christie. (Anno Sims is now closed, but you can find my own creations for the project here at KSW.)

Puppy love

Mrs. Lestrange was literally shocked when she found a helpless puppy left in her garbage can a few days ago. "I fear that this was no mistake, but that it was left there to die a slow and painful death. It is so unbelievably cruel!"

Cruelty against animals are never taken lightly in St. Mary Mead, and the Police have sought help from Miss Marple to solve the case, and ask possible witnesses to come forward.

Nevertheless, this time it ended well, as Mrs. Lestrange decided to adopt the little puppy, and gave it the name Destiny, a very appropriate name.

No pain, no gain

In last weeks edition we reported on Miss Weatherby's amazing weight loss, and one of the notorious paparazzies have shared with us a photo from the work out. When asked why he didn't publish the photo earlier, the paparazzi says that "I felt bad revealing Miss Weatherby in such a vulnerable position". The most surprising thing in this story, if we might add, is not the weight loss of Miss Weatherby, but that there is such a thing as a decent paparazzi.

Major art

Mr. Redding's series of small watercolors are increasingly popular, but the artist haven't been able to work on large canvas, due to storage problems at his home.

Mr. Redding is confident that he will be able to make even better paintings, now that he has an agreement with the vicar of using his tool shed as an art studio. We can look forward to great art! And if not great, at least it will be larger.

Double vision

The vicar was sure something was wrong with his eyes the other day, when he Miss Hartnell introduced him to ... Miss Hartnell! "Everybody thinks we are twin sisters, but in fact she is my cousin, Miss Amanda Hartnell explains. Miss Margareth Hartnell is to the left. (Or right)

"It stinks!"

"It is basically a scandal", an outraged Mr Giles argues, "and nobody takes responsibility!" Dog owners in St. Mary Mead filed a complaint to the Mayor yesterday, for the lack of parks in the center of the village. After the latest building boom asphalt has taken over the village completely, leaving the dog owners in a desperate situation. Not to mention the dogs!

The characters and buildings from this story are from the AnnoSims Group project St. Mary Mead, loosly based on the novels of Agatha Christie. (Anno Sims is now closed, but you  can find my own creations for the project here at KSW.)

Rapid intervention

A tourist had an ailment last night in downtown St. Mary Mead, with Miss Marple and the travel guide as horrified witnesses. Fortunately Dr. Haydock arrived within minutes, and took action immediately.

   

The tourist was a bit nervous, since he didn't have a travel insurance. Dr. Haydock reassured him that this wasn't a problem, and examined the patient thoroughly.

He found that the patient suffered from a plumbob inflammation, and rapidly started treatment.

The patient recovered immediately, and he was very grateful. The travel guide praised Dr. Haydock and gave him flowers, and says she has not seen such helpful people anywhere. She is now considering to move permanently to St. Mary Mead.

Visitors at undeveloped land

The real estate agent reports that there have been unknown visitors at empty lots in St. Mary Mead. The police states that there are strong indications that the visitors have a child, and hope to solve the mystery very soon.

New inhabitant

Mrs. Clement had not been feeling well for some time, and consulted Dr. Haydock. 

After a very short examination, he told her that she was not sick, but pregnant.

After a uncomplicated pregnancy to full term, Mrs. Clement had labor on Tuesday evening. The vicar waited in anticipation, and spent the waiting time with refreshing his knowledge about newly borns.

Early on Wednesday morning Mrs. Clement gave birth to a healthy, little girl, who will be given the name Leonora after her father.

Fantastic weight loss!

Miss Weatherby took action last month to face her weight problems, and decided to consult her good friend Colonel Protheroe as a personal trainer. At the church fundraising last Sunday the result was obvious to everyone.

Miss Weatherby tells us that she at times hated the tough schedule of Colonel Protheroe, but that she is very happy about with the result.

The characters and buildings from this story are from the AnnoSims Group project St. Mary Mead, loosly based on the novels of Agatha Christie. (Anno Sims is now closed, but you  can find my own creations for the project here at KSW.)