Super_Turnip

Super_Turnip t1_jdt7uoo wrote

Greg Ham, the flautist who included the two bars of disputed music, was distraught over having caused problems for the band. Colin James Hay later said he thought Ham's profound depression contributed to his death. Hay made it clear he never blamed Greg Ham for anything and was himself deeply distressed by Ham's death, as Ham was a friend from childhood on.

36

Super_Turnip t1_jbkbrz5 wrote

I'm terribly prone to disorientation in malls. I hate them, hate them passionately. Within moments of walking in I'm as lost as a little kid and that triggers a low key anxiety that stays with me until I find the damn exit and make good my escape.

3

Super_Turnip t1_j6cny77 wrote

Assia Wevill, the mistress who later committed suicide, was deeply unhappy with, in her words, being treated like a housekeeper by Ted Hughes, who had promised to marry her. Elizabeth Sigmund, a close friend of Plath's, wrote of the difference in the way Hughes treated his daughter Shura (by Assia Wevill) compared to the way he related to his children with Plath, and said that the little girl was sad and quiet, seemingly well aware that Hughes didn't give her the same parental love and attention that he gave to his son and daughter with Plath.

Assia would later leave Hughes and return to London with Shura. Hughes had continued to make vague promises to Assia about setting up house with her and their daughter, while simultaneously making plans to marry Carol Orchard, with whom he'd been having affair. (He was also having an affair with Brenda Hedden, a married acquaintance.) Assia committed suicide on March 23rd, 1969, by dissolving sleeping pills in water and giving some to Shura, drinking the rest herself and chasing it with whisky. She had dragged a mattress into the kitchen of her flat and the pair were found there by the family au pair, Else Ludwig.

Ted Hughes seems to have been a lodestone of tragedy to both Platt and Wevill. Brilliant he may have been, he was also a serial philanderer, was accused by Plath (in a letter to her therapist) of having beaten her two days before the miscarriage of her second pregnancy, and was observed to have been a distant and unloving father to his daughter with Assia Wevill. Passion might make for good poetry, but it doesn't look as if it made for stable, healthy relationships.

If anyone is interested, here's an article in the Guardian that offers Elizabeth Sigmund's recollections about Plath, Hughes, and Wevill.

76

Super_Turnip t1_iw0hiz5 wrote

This was very interesting. The wiki entry says:

> Historians, poets, and lawyers speak of the Medieval law associated with the curfew bell as being levelled mostly against the conquered Anglo-Saxons. It was initially used as a repressive measure by William I to prevent rebellious meetings of the conquered English. He prohibited the use of live fires after the curfew bell was rung to prevent associations and conspiracies. The strict practice of this medieval tradition was pretty much observed during the reign of King William I and William II of England.[7] The law was eventually repealed by Henry I of England in 1103.[8]

Also:

> The English word curfew is from old French carre-feu or cerre-feu.[2] These initial French words later derived into couvre-feu.[2] The word was again later turned into cover-feu in the Norman language after the conquering of the English.[6] Each of these meant to cover the live flaming fire.

There's a horror novel called Curfew by British author Phil Rickman, that heavily features a village's need to honor an ancient curfew. From goodreads:

> On the border between England and Wales lies the tiny town of Crybbe, not picturesque enough for the tourist trade, quietly sliding into decay. Max Goff means to change all that. Goff has made millions in the record business, but his heart is in New Age philosophy. He has learned that Crybbe was once a spiritual center of sorts, surrounded by ancient standing stones that were emblems of power. He means to replace the stones that have fallen - or been destroyed, as many of them were - and establish a thriving New Age community that will draw tourists and students from all over the world. What Max Goff doesn't know is that the standing stones of Crybbe were destroyed in the sixteenth century for a very good reason. Some of the endearing customs of the town - such as tolling the church bell for curfew each night - are actually deadly serious rituals. The people of Crybbe know that evil has been kept at bay here by the old ways, and that there's nothing quaint about them. And the power about to be unleashed by Max Goff is nothing like the soothing music and herbal remedies he associates with the New Age. This is the power of the old age, pent up for centuries and about to be released with deadly fury!

I'm subbed to /r/horrorlit and talk up the very talented Phil Rickman at every opportunity.

65