march 2007 newsletter

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The Dark Castle Lords Newsletter

March 2007

Welcome to March's edition .

In this months issue:

1. Castle of the Month – A Short History - Bodiam Castle, England

2. Recipe Corner - Tornep with Chestenne

3. Travel Tips - Get A Cheap Flight - 3 Tips To Getting A Cheap Flight

by Michael Kohler

4. Author Profile – CH Admirand

5. News from the Romance Industry – Meet our latest Dark Lord - Mark Johnson

6. Readers Corner – Photos of Bodiam castle submitted by Innes Din

7. Next Months issue

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      1. Castle of the Month
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Bodiam Castle is situated beside the River Rother in East Sussex and was built in the late 14th century by a veteran of King Edward III's wars with France, originally as a coastal defence. In 1385, Sir Edward Dalyngrygge was given permission to fortify his house against invasion from France, but then decided to build a new stone castle a short distance away from the house.

What can be seen today is a relatively small, picturesque building that symbolises the movement from traditional medieval castle to comfortable manor house. With an almost square construction, Bodiam Castle has a notable symmetry and is surrounded by a wide moat. The moat was created from an artificial lake which, in turn, originated from allowing the river to flow into a rectangular area of marshy land.

At each corner of the curtain wall stands a four-storey, cylindrical tower, with rectangular towers located mid-way along each wall. The southern rectangular tower of the Postern Gate at one time carried the drawbridge across the moat. Symmetrically opposite stands the Gatehouse with its twin, rectangular towers consuming one third of the northern wall. A deep arch and parapet connect the towers of the Gatehouse. The gun-ports on the towers were a later edition to the castle. Access to Bodiam Castle today remains via the moat on the north side, passing through the Octagon and the Barbican before reaching the Gatehouse. The Barbican was originally constructed as a two-storey gatehouse but only the lower part of the western wall survives. Bodiam Castle has no keep, thus employing the gatehouse as a defence to the bailey within the castle walls.

The fortifications were never tested to any degree, although during the Civil War the interior of the castle was virtually gutted. After surrending, Bodiam Castle was then left to deteriorate until the early 20th century. At that time, Earl Curzon undertook a sympathetic re-building programme in order to restore Bodiam Castle to its former medieval appearance. However, little remains of the interior buildings other than remnants of fireplaces and doorways. The doorway to the Great Hall and some doorways and windows of the kitchen area are still standing.

The excavation works of Earl Curzon also uncovered a wide range of artefacts in the grounds of the castle, which can be seen in Bodiam Castle museum. Walking around the landscaped grounds - which are believed to follow the design by Sir Dalyngrygge to compliment his original construction of the castle - some spectacular views of Bodiam Castle can be seen. The construction of Bodiam Castle appears to have been a perfect combination of medieval defence strategies and remarkably comfortable accommodation, thus creating a magnificent fortified building in an idyllic rural location.

***Text courtesy of English Heritage

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            2.    Recipe Corner
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Tornep with Chestenne

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb Turnip, small white, peeled & cut in bite-sized pieces

1/3 cup White wine, mixed with

2/3 cup ,Water

12 x Chestnuts, peeled

1/2 tbl Dried sage, chopped

1 tsp Honey

Method :

Young, small turnips should be cooked in water without wine for the first boiling. Then throw away the water and cook slowly in water and wine, with chestnuts therein, or, if one has no chestnuts, sage.

Parboil the turnips in water for 5 minutes; Drain. Add 1 cup water and 1 cup wine. Add chestnuts and sage. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer about 30 min.

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                                                3.   Travel Tips
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Get A Cheap Flight - 3 Tips To Getting A Cheap Flight By Michael Kohler

Whether you are looking for an inexpensive plane ticket to a family reunion, or a ticket to a foreign country for a two-week stay, it is often very difficult to find affordable airfare, especially with the cost of fuel. However, by applying these 3 simple tips, you will be able to get a cheap flight to virtually anywhere in the world that you want to go. Flying to another place can be one of the most exciting adventures of your life. Why pay obscene amounts of money to fly win you can get a cheap flight following these simple procedures.

One of the most important things to consider after you have acquired an inexpensive plane ticket is that the less that you pay, the more strict the terms will be ends there will be. There will be limited changeability, harsh terms, and difficultly of refunds if there's a problem. You might also encounter limited leg room, baggage restrictions, and limited customer service that are likely on the budget airlines.

Now that you know what to expect, here are three tips on getting the right price for the best for your flight.

Tip #1 is to book early. No matter where you want to fly two, it's usually best to book earlier. As flights get booked up, the limited supply causes prices to rise. So book your flight before seating becomes limited to save yourself money. Another benefit of booking early is that you will have a better choice of seating than those that purchase their tickets at the last minute.

Tip #2 is to use some of the many services online that allow you to surf multiple web sites and correlate the data into a spreadsheet format so that you can find in a quick glance the flight that you want at the price that you want. Enter your trip details and the computer program will zip this information to scores of normal airlines, budget airlines and flight broker websites to retrieve their quotes. After a few moments, this information is automatically reported back, listing the cheapest first.

Many of these companies are called screenscrapers and make money from lead fees. This means they are paid a small fee for advertising the plane tickets. It's important to recognise the difference between screenscrapers and flight-brokers. Brokers are companies with commercial relationships with airlines and consequentially have their own prices for those flights. Screenscrapers are search and report sites, which may also include some brokers in their searches.

Tip #3 is to travel via what is called a courier flight. Basically, you act as a delivery person for a company that wants to get information and products to another company. They will purchase your ticket and use your luggage space in order to transport their packages to the other company. Typically, this saves them thousands of dollars by utilizing your luggage space instead of paying one of the major shipping companies to do exactly the same thing.

This is actually a very good alternative to paying for full price if you do not mind bringing only a carry-on bag because your luggage space is being used by the company that is paying for your flight. The upside of this is that on the way back, you can use that luggage space and your flight was either very cheap or free. Courier flights travel worldwide and are a good alternative for those willing to give up their luggage space for a discounted plane ticket.

It is easy to get a cheap flight to almost anywhere in the world. You simply have to be a little creative and patient and you will be able to travel at discounted rates virtually anywhere you want to, and still have a bank account with money in it, all because you discovered how to get a cheap flight.

For more information on how to get a cheap flight, please visit: http://www.cheap-flight-guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Kohler
http://EzineArticles.com/?Get-A-Cheap-Flight---3-Tips-To-Getting-A-Cheap-Flight&id=403126

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                                               4. Author Profile
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C.H. Admirand

C.H. Admirand has been writing and receiving rejections for over a decade. Perseverance and the support of three amazing writers groups, RWA, NJRW and PASIC, kept her from giving up on her dream of publication. Her first book, The Marshal's Destiny, was published by Avalon in 2001, winning The Lories 2002 Award for Best New Author Historical. Her next book, The Rancher's Heart, will be published by Thomson/Gale's Five Star Expressions in February 2007. The Lord of Merewood Keep is her first book to be published by The Dark Castle Lords and the first in her Medieval Trilogy.

Her love for the written word is a gift from her parents, but the need to write was instilled by her 7th Grade English teacher. According to C.H., creating characters is a joy, and plotting the book pure pleasure... but revisions and edits ... well, that's another story.

One of C.H.'s writing quirks is that she loves to include bits and pieces of her ancestors and ancestry in all of her books. In The Marshal's Destiny, her main characters were named after her great-grandmother, Margaret Mary Flaherty, and her youngest son, Joshua. In The Rancher's Heart, you'll find the lyrics to her brother's song, "Off to Amerikay," written for their Irish immigrant ancestors and a reference to her husband's grandmother, Nellie Mae Flynn. According to genealogical research of her mother's maiden name, her fourteenth century Purcell ancestors were powerful Barons of Loughmae Castle in County Tipperary in Ireland...Loughmae Keep, Lady Jillian's family holding in The Lord of Merewood Keep, is named for the stronghold of those brave ancestors.

Married to the man she fell in love with at first sight, C.H. and her husband live in northern New Jersey with their three "adult" children.

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                                 5. Romance Industry News
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Meet our Latest Dark Lord

Mark Johnson

As Mr. Romance 1996, Mark Johnson is a well known face ever since in the romance industry.

Mark is the second oldest of 4, grow up in New York and left New York by the age of 28 to be come a stuntman in Florida.

After moving to Texas, Mark opened his own carpenter business, which he runs successful with the help of his best friend Ron Lord.

Mark is still involved in the romance industry, but having recorded a CD with his own songs in Nashville, he hopes now to break into the music industry too. Hopefully you will be able to buy his CD soon.

In January 2007, Mark flow over to England to help Pamela Seres to full fill her dream of filming a movie trailer for her movie script. Mark helped Pam in directing the trailer and also play one of the main characters in the trailer.

Mark loves all sorts of sport, but his favourite is ice hockey. And unusual for a man, he loves shopping and enjoys fashion.

Mark has a strong believe in god and faith

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                                         6. Reader Corner
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Photographs of Bodiam Castle by Innes Dinn (Izzy)

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                                          7. Next Months Issue
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1. Castle of the Month – A Short History - S. Jorge Castle Portugal

2. Recipe Corner - Lombard Soup

3. Travel Tips - Rhodes Island, Greece: A Pinch of Rhodes Town History

4. Author Profile – Tara Nina

5. News from the Romance Industry – Meet our First Dark Lady - Lady Teala

6. Readers Corner – Photos of S. Jorge Castle castle submitted by Jose Elias

We hope you have enjoyed reading Marchs's edition and if you have any suggestions or comments about any part of the newsletter then please feel free to contact us.

Best Wishes

Stuart and Pam

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