Guy Fawkes is most famous for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which he was placed in charge of executing because of his military and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was a failed attempt by a group of English Roman Catholic conspirators to kill King James I of England (VI of Scotland), his family, and most of the aristocracy in one swoop by blowing up the (now demolished) House of Lords building in the Houses of Parliament during its State Opening. Guy Fawkes may have been introduced to Robert Catesby by a man named Hugh Owen, a Catholic who was in the pay of the Spanish Netherlands. Sir William Stanley is also believed to have recommended him and Guy Fawkes named him in his torture, leading him to be arrested and imprisoned for a year after the discovery of the plot. It was Stanley who first presented Fawkes to Thomas Winter in 1603 when Winter was in Europe. Stanley was the commander of the English in Flanders at the time. Stanley had handed Deventer and much of its garrison back to the Spanish in 1587, nearly wiping out the gains that Leicester had made in the Low Countries. Leicester’s expedition was widely regarded as a disaster for this reason among others. Stanley was a known Catholic sympathist.
The plot itself may have been occasioned by the realization by English Protestant authorities and Roman Catholic recusants that Spain was in far too much debt and was fighting too many wars to assist English Roman Catholics. Any possibility of toleration by the State was removed at the Hampton Court conference in 1604 when James I attacked both extreme Puritans and Catholics. The plotters realized that no outside help would be forthcoming unless they took action. Fawkes and the other conspirators were able to rent a cellar beneath the House of Lords. They were much relieved to find a cellar for rent, as they had first tried to dig a mine under the building. This would have been difficult, because they had to store the dirt and debris and carry it away in barrels. By March 1605, they had hidden eighteen hundred pounds of gunpowder in the cellar, with the intent of detonating it during the State Opening of Parliament with the King and Lords in attendance. The plotters then wished to abduct Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth of Bohemia, the "Winter Queen"). A few of the conspirators were concerned, however, about fellow Catholics who would have been present at parliament during the opening. One of the conspirators wrote a letter of warning to Lord Monteagle, who received it on October 26. The conspirators became aware of the letter the following day, but they resolved to continue the plot after Fawkes had confirmed that nothing had been touched in the cellar.
Lord Monteagle had been suspicious, however, and the letter was sent to the secretary of state who initiated a search of the vaults beneath the House of Lords. Fawkes was discovered and arrested during a raid on the cellar in the early morning of 5 November. He was tortured over the next few days, after special permission to do so had been granted by the King. Eventually, he revealed the names of his conspirators (who were either already dead or whose names were known to the authorities). Some had fled to Warwickshire where they were either killed or captured. On 31 January, Fawkes, Al Roth, and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were tried in Westminster Hall, and after being found guilty, were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster and St. Paul's Yard, where they were hanged, drawn, and quartered. Fawkes cheated this fate in a way: though weakened by torture, he jumped from the gallows and snapped his neck rather than being hanged until almost dead.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
My Mother - A Poem
Shining Light that shone so bright
To illuminate my world
A beacon in my darkest hours
When my weaknesses unfurled.
You gave me Love when Love was lost
And Hope when there was none
You helped me look beyond myself
Gave me the Will to carry on.
You made me laugh when I would cry
And to think when I would not
You always sought the truth from me
And you knew when I would lie.
Sometimes you made me feel ashamed
Of the things I’d done or said
Yet always you were there for me
To show the way ahead
And lead me from my waywardness.
You shared my Hopes and Dreams and Fears
You cooked and cleaned and washed my clothes
And dried away my tears.
You stood by me when I let you down
As I was prone to do
And forgave me for my churlishness
When I was rude to you.
You gave yourself to me and mine
And helped us on our way,
I know my wife is grateful
For that week you came to stay
So long ago when we were young
And felt we couldn’t cope
With a new born babe’s demands on us,
But in fact you gave us Hope
By doing what you did so well.
So thankful am I that I had you,
I would not have wished for any other
Person in this World than you
To have as my friend and confidante,
To Love and call “My Mother”.
So many words unspoken, so many thoughts left unsaid
So many emotions left drifting, around in your Son’s head.
Written in December 1992. My Mother died on Jan 4th 1993 aged 71, she had Alzheimer’s.
To illuminate my world
A beacon in my darkest hours
When my weaknesses unfurled.
You gave me Love when Love was lost
And Hope when there was none
You helped me look beyond myself
Gave me the Will to carry on.
You made me laugh when I would cry
And to think when I would not
You always sought the truth from me
And you knew when I would lie.
Sometimes you made me feel ashamed
Of the things I’d done or said
Yet always you were there for me
To show the way ahead
And lead me from my waywardness.
You shared my Hopes and Dreams and Fears
You cooked and cleaned and washed my clothes
And dried away my tears.
You stood by me when I let you down
As I was prone to do
And forgave me for my churlishness
When I was rude to you.
You gave yourself to me and mine
And helped us on our way,
I know my wife is grateful
For that week you came to stay
So long ago when we were young
And felt we couldn’t cope
With a new born babe’s demands on us,
But in fact you gave us Hope
By doing what you did so well.
So thankful am I that I had you,
I would not have wished for any other
Person in this World than you
To have as my friend and confidante,
To Love and call “My Mother”.
So many words unspoken, so many thoughts left unsaid
So many emotions left drifting, around in your Son’s head.
Written in December 1992. My Mother died on Jan 4th 1993 aged 71, she had Alzheimer’s.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Today's 3 wishes
1. That my Microsoft Word programme will start working again when technical support call me back from Adobe - (I downloaded a 31 day free trial of Contribute 4 and it has done something to Word). (I had to de-install it to get Word working again!)
2. That the leaves will blow off the trees before too long, so I won't have to keep sweeping the path. (The leaves decide when they want to fall, have swept path twice more since this posting).
3. That today will brighten up soon and this drizzle (you know, that fine rain that gets you wetter than all the others) will stop. (It didn't).
2. That the leaves will blow off the trees before too long, so I won't have to keep sweeping the path. (The leaves decide when they want to fall, have swept path twice more since this posting).
3. That today will brighten up soon and this drizzle (you know, that fine rain that gets you wetter than all the others) will stop. (It didn't).
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Today's 3 Wishes
1. That my wife won't shout at me too much for messing about with "this silly blog!" (She did)
2. That my grandson doesn't wreck the house too much this week-end! (He loves emptying the pan drawer and throwing the pans all over the kitchen floor!) (He did)
3. That people everywhere will show a bit more care for others and treat them as they would wish to be treated themselves. (They didn't - if reading and watching the news is anything to go by))
2. That my grandson doesn't wreck the house too much this week-end! (He loves emptying the pan drawer and throwing the pans all over the kitchen floor!) (He did)
3. That people everywhere will show a bit more care for others and treat them as they would wish to be treated themselves. (They didn't - if reading and watching the news is anything to go by))
A Little Person's Query - Patricia Catherine Jones 1967
A Little person stopped and stared at Earth in all her glory
“I wonder if good Earth you would tell us your life story?
Would you please tell us why you were placed exactly where you are?
What useful purpose do you serve – why a planet not a star?
Did you feel pain or terror the day God gave you birth?
Knowing then that Mankind would call you “Mother” Earth?
You’ve nurtured us, sustained us and held us to you tightly,
But sometimes in your moodiness you’ve rejected us as lightly.
You’ve drowned us in your raging seas, swallowed us in ‘quakes
Tortured us with raging thirst – shown us mirages of lakes.
To give us bliss with one hand, with another give us Hell
What sort of Mother are you who should do all things well?
Please speak to us dear Mother, our eyes look for a sign
In you we seek the signpost to show us the Divine,
But brother turns on brother and hatred scars your face
Oh! Can you not do something these errors to erase?
Our voices cry in longing “Dear Father send again
The Shepherd who can lead us to where Truth and Beauty reign.”
He will lead us to green pastures and by quiet waters lie
“We do not ask for greater wealth” – Earth answered with a sigh“
You turn to me for comfort and I have none to give
I can only give you sustenance so that your bodies live.
It’s true sometimes I have reared up and sacrificed my young,
Drowned them in my hungry seas and lashed them with my tongue.”
“What Mother does not oftimes chastise her dearest child
When his foolish stupid antics are apt to make her wild?
You call for the Good Shepherd to walk the Earth once more
Think you Men would listen in these days of hate and war?
My purpose in the scheme of things is plain for all to see
And those having ears should hear and those having eyes should see.”
“But having eyes that see not and hearts that know not Love
How can you read the portents and omens from Above?
Another cycle has been turned and now the crucial thing
Can you dear children of my Soul survive the upward swing?
Mankind doth stand pinned on his Cross, braced on the lower arc,
Together you must rise – together make your mark.”
“Love ye one another babes, for Love unlocks the Gate,
Ye cannot pass unless you do, but only stand and wait.
To wait in fear with trembling limbs and anxious beating hearts,
Fearing the coming of each day and what that day imparts.
Unleashed Powers lurk around and several have a Key
To unlock those hidden terrors for all Mankind to see.”
“Then who would see, or who would hear and who would even live?
I say to you my children my bosom could not give
A place for you to lay your heads, or food for you to eat.
My soul would weep in bitterness to witness Man’s defeat
A bereft Mother I would be – my family departed,
Aeons of time before I’d see some other offspring started.”
“The ripple on the water’s face I’d eagerly await.
From water came you long ago, but perhaps another gate
Would open up to let you thro’ – not Earth but in the air
Your new bodies would be formed and they’d be wondrous fair.
Perchance another Shepherd would come to lead you Home,
Maybe this time you’d follow Him – not hankering to roam.”
“Why stray when in your secret hearts you know you are Divine,
Can you not see the way lies clear? – hold fast to what is thine.
The act of Creation lies in thee, a gift from God most High.
Create a Heaven here on Earth and no longer will I sigh
For gifts for all my children, for nothing will they need.
Love, Peace and Beauty will be yours if only you would heed.”
“Listen to a Mother’s words, then no secrets will be hidden
And treasures I will offer in abundance when I am bidden
By Him who, in his greatest Love and Wisdom bid me hide
Until such time as ye are grown and working side by side
To bring about his Holy Plan in all sincerity
Knowing that your aim is Love, shared in Humility.
Written by my Mother – Patricia Catherine Jones in July 1967.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
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