Things that go bump....

Yes, indeed, there were some bumpy moments in the last couple of days! One was on my journey home last night when I was pulling my case from the storage area on the train and a silly woman decided that it was much more important for her to get hers first. The reslt was that my case's metal wheel landed on my bare toe.....ouch! I was very lady like despite the bleeding toe! However, that's nowhere near as interesting as the other tales I have for you!

As I said a couple of posts ago, I headed down to Sudbury, in Suffolk, on Thursday for a meeting and to demonstrate products for some of the staff at Personal Impressions. I got there around 4pm and had a quick meeting and catch up with everyone before myself and three colleagues went to where we were to be staying that night. I don't know if any of you have visited Sudbury, but it's a historic town, birthpace of Gainsborough and really pretty and characterful with houses painted in an array of gorgeous colours and each with their own style. No "little boxes" here! We were staying at an Inn that dated back to 1540 complete with original beams and barely any straight lines anywhere! We checked in and I got first choice of the keys and the "Brown Room". Upstairs we all trooped and my room was so unusual that I decided to take a couple of photos to show to David when I got back. The bedroom area was fairly straightforward and filled with antique Oak furniture but with a vaulted ceiling. The bathroom had a much lower ceiling, above which was what, I now know, is called a Minstrel's Gallery. This was a seperate area that you could have only reached by a ladder (there was no ladder of course!) and which I could only see part of...a little creepy I have to say!

Anyway, after a quick change we walked into the town to have a nice Italian dinner and, somehow, the conversation turned to rather spooky things as Jan told us of some of the strange things that had happened when she first began renovating their farmhouse in Scotland. My two other colleagues were quite sceptical about it all but enjoyed joining in the conversation. Eventually I asked for a change of subject as I said I would never sleep that night! We walked back to the Inn taking the shortcut through the old church graveyard (I know!) and a couple of us decided to stay up a little longer (it was only 9pm) and have a quick drink in the lounge before retiring. We were the only ones there and I said to the lady behind the bar that my friends had been telling ghost stories and spooking me. She said "Oh, you'll be fine so long as you're not in the brown room.".......well, thanks for that!!! So, came 10.30 pm I was back in the room and rang David to have a chat. I have to say that the atmosphere in the bedroom was very strange and I felt quite uneasy to say the least - and I didn't put it all down to suggestion. While we were talking I decided to look at the two pictures that I had taken earlier and I just about fell off the bed! I only noticed the anomoly in the second picture when looking at the little camera screen, and it was only when I put them on the computer that the ones in the first picture became clear. Those of you who may have an interest in this kind of thing will probably know about "orbs". If not, they are something which some people believe are manifestations of spirits that the human eye doesn't see but show up on camera. Of course, they are often explained away as light reflected on insects or dust etc, but there are some which seem to defy rational explanation. The ones that I have inadvertantly captured here seem to fall into that category. I can dertainly say that there was nothing in the room which could have reflected onto the walls or beams. Needless to say, seeing that bright orb over the bed did not improve my feeling of wariness. After I'd said goodnight I was then tidying things off the bed and, right behind me, came a long slow creaking sound. I spun round and the wardrobe door was very slowly opening! I slammed it shut and, once I'd recovered my composure, I tried recreating my movements to see if the door opened again but it remained securely shut (as it had been before). I normally have a shower before bed, but I just couldn't, so decided to have one in the morning instead. I felt, since the moment I got back to the room, that I was being watched, and I don't mean that vague, nervous feeling one can get, but a real, palpable presence that was watching me. You know when you look at someone and after a few moments they will look back at you because something in our survival mechanism lets us know that there are eyes upon us.....it was like that the whole time. I've spooked myself before after watching a scary film for instance, but this was completely different. I went to bed but I lay watching tv for a long time to try to shake the awful feeling off. I ended up with the tv on (no sound) all night and I drifted in and out of sleep every fifteen minutes or so all night. I was very relieved when it was time to get up but the feeling remained, even in the morning.

A couple more things happened before I went down to breakfast. I'd seen an open safety pin on each of the bedside tables when I'd first arrived and thought that wasn't especially good housekeeping! I had brought some safety pins with me as the top I was going to wear has a habit of gaping and a couple of pins keep it in place. I sat on the bed (which I'd remade) and put both pins down together on the cover. I picked one up, pinned it in place and reached down for the second one.....gone! I searched all over the bed and floor but it was nowhere to be seen. I had to get a third pin from my bag. A little thing but it was odd! I turned off the TV, the bathroom light, picked up my bag and left the room to go down to breakfast. As I turned the key in the door I heard voices from inside the room....opened the door again and the TV had come back on. I had turned it off at the set, not using the remote. I realise this can happen, but the timing of it was very odd.

I showed Jan my photos and she was pretty shocked! Even my sceptical friends were extremely surprised. I took a quick snap of the breakfast room and...... .......yep, another orb! Now, one of my colleagues is also a professional photographer and he could not explain the pictures. He took two more pictures of the room, right after I took that one, and there was nothing unusual at all, even though he used my camera. It's all very intriguing. Thought you might like to look at the close ups of the large orbs....in the breakfast room..... ......and these two from the bedroom......

.......what do you think?

I came home on Friday evening and, after a quick bite to eat, I went to the bathroom for a shower. I had been in there a few minutes when there was a slight flicker and the light went out! My immediate reaction was to shout "Don't mess about" and I opened the door expecting to see David, but he wasn't near enough and didn't know what I was talking about. Needless to say, I went back in but left the door open.....I was in the shower and, you guessed it, the light went out again! As it turns out, David checked and once he adjusted the light fitting it came back on. I know it was just a coincidence but for a fleeting moment I thought maybe I had come back with "someone else" in tow!!!!

Well, let's leave the strange events now and I'll share a picture that Jan took of me beside some of my stamps in the PI warehouse....not looking my best after the previous night's events! It was great to catch up with everyone and get the guided tour of the warehouse, offices and packing areas etc. Unfortunately it was such a busy day that I really didn't have chance to grab anything for my Blog Candy. However, I'll gather some things together and post details asap. I have some exciting new projects to work on now too, so will be letting you know about those as and when I am able (allowed!) to!

Okay, I am off to get dinner now so will sign off and, as Nick Ross used to say "Don't have nightmares" !!!!! Lindsay