'A Letter from Honeysuckle Harebell'~ 19th September 1908

Dear Millicent

How are you? How lucky that you escaped from the trunk at Dieppe. It must have been a squeeze with that Cat. Thank goodness someone was on hand to hear the yowls. At least you are now out of the country and have finally arrived with my Great Aunt Mildew. She is kind, if a little eccentric. Take no notice of her occasional outbursts, her ‘flights of fancy’ as she calls them. She only does it when she’s excited.

Flight of Fancy

I have been tracing my family tree with my Great Aunts help while waiting for you to turn up. It seems longevity seems to run in my family. They all lived to very ripe old ages. For instance, both my mother and her mother all lived well into their hundreds. I myself am only ….now that would be telling!

Honeysuckle Harebells’ Family Tree

Anyway, talking of trees .The news here is desperate. Violet was chained to the large tree on the Village Green but the 'Powers that Be' didn’t care, they chopped it down anyway with her still chained to it!  Huge branches falling all around her. The Tea Time Club stood guard over her for as long as we could. The animals and birds did their best, biting, shrieking and attacking the axe wielding wardens but it was no use. Incredibly Violet got away without any significant injury, a few cuts and bruises but has been in flood's of tears all week and refuses to leave her coalbunker, has only a couple of Hedgehogs for company. Of course all the birds and animals went home with her to their new home but it’s all the little creatures we feel sorry for not to mention the tree itself. A gloom descended over the village on that day and I think the villagers are slowly waking up to how life will be without any Magic in their lives.

Peaseblossom has now made herself Commander in Chief of the village and is making a special visit. We have to stand aside when she passes and wave, which we are refusing to do of course. They will have us swearing allegiance to her next! Truly, it is hard to stomach. Some of the villagers are revolting however and let off stink bombs whenever she appears. Good for them. The newspapers are full of it , The Bindweed Clarion is all about her and her latest declarations such as banning Fairy lights and curfews on Moths. Peaseblossom does this, Peaseblossom said that. I can’t bear to read it anymore.

The Papers

Her troops, or L.I.C.E. as we call them ( stands for Low Intelligence Cretins & Edjits I believe) are stationed outside the Reading Room and are accosting anyone they don’t like the look of. People are scared to venture outside. For instance, Mr. Painswick the chemist had a terrible experience taking Tabitha Trickle her prescription. He has now been released, thank goodness, but he has gone to stay with his nephew in Wokenham so the Chemist is closed indefinitely. Tabitha now spends most of her time in the outhouse.

Mr. Painswick resisting arrest

The Tea Time club can only do so much. Hopefully our small acts of defiance will add up to something. At present, Professor Ruckenfigur is digging a tunnel (not really his forté) underneath the Commanders office, in what used to be the Florists. He has got as far as the new road crossing system in the village.

(I don’t think it will catch on, pushing buttons in order to cross the road, riddiculous- what's wrong with just walking across with a flag)

However, the Professor crossed safely and has resumed digging. His aim is to sabotage all the equipment in the office and find out any other classified information such as the whereabouts of Percy’s friend, Jocasta , who we believe has been deported to El Salvador. Percy wanted to do it but as she is the only one of us who can ‘officially’ fly, she is dropping leaflets from the Biplane every Wednesday afternoon, so people get ‘The Truth’.

Percival is currently corralling any Garden Gnomes in the area and keeping them safe at an unknown location and I am making a Plum Duff to give to the L.I.C.E. boys . I have, shall we say, spiced it up a bit. They will perhaps be needing the use of the lavatory themselves. That should at least give people time to go out and get supplies.

Millicent, I shall be blunt, we need you to come home and stand for election. It’s the only way we can see how any of this will stop. We need you to become a Member of Parliament. Please consider it, I beg you. I know, women don’t even have the vote yet but we can dream. I hope you are taking the waters in Baden Baden and have a speedy recovery. Have to go, my leeks need mounding.

Best wishes

Honeysuckle Harebell

X

P.s. Please ask my Aunt how to get rid of sparkles.

P.p.s. Where did you post the Cat?

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'A Letter from Honeysuckle Harebell~12th September 1908

Dear Great Aunt Mildew,

I must thank you for pulling some strings to get me out of prison. The 'Get Out of Jail Free' card wasn't as useful as I had always imagined. 

Has the trunk arrived? I have been on tenterhooks since I waved it off at Waterloo. Please tell me all is present and correct inside? There were adequate breathing holes, we made sure of that.

Never having travelled by trunk before, I can only hope that Millicent made it safely across the Channel and has arrived with you in Baden Baden, in one piece. Thank you so much, my dear Aunt, for agreeing to looking after our precious cargo until the time is right for her return. I do not think it will be anytime soon however, as things here are getting worse by the day.

Unexpected Grand Tour

I may have mentioned the Tea Time Club to you. Of course, you are now an affiliated member, by proxy, all things considered, so I shall let you in on what happened at our second meeting. We decided to meet in the orchard under the pretence of having a picnic but we were on far more Serious Business.

Peaseblossom had banned the lunar eclipse, can you believe it! Professor Ruckenfigur was apoplectic and he wanted us to take action. His whole life has revolved around staring up into the night sky, pondering lifes’ complexities. The case he put was made with the uttermost eloquence and logic and we were all dumbstruck, apart from Violet who snuffled quietly into a Bunny Rabbit. To cut a long story short, we needed to come up with a plan of action so we decided - to Manipulate Time.

Time is, after all, man made, but the Moon and the Stars cannot be messed about with . If we could somehow convince Peaseblossom and her cronies it was day and not night, Professor Ruckenfigur could watch the eclipse in peace, without fear of reprisals. It was going to take clockwork precision, a lot of black curtains and even some medicinal ‘persuasion’.

Picnic in the Apple Orchard

It was arranged that Percy’s twin brother, Percival, a new member of the Tea Time Club, would put the village clock back an hour every day. Then, while The Peaseblossom was at church on Sunday, Professor Ruckenfigur, who holds no sway with religious beliefs, was to call at her house and demand to wait for her as a matter of urgent importance. While the maid left him sitting in the parlour he was to change the time on all the clocks in the house.(I must say the members are all taking undercover operations in their stride. )

On the day in question , and don’t ask me what day that was, Percy, who is working for us as a double agent, was to invite Peasblossom for luncheon and slip her a sleeping draft. Or was it for breakfast? You see! I am not even sure what time it was, or is, even now.

Percy makes up Time

As for me, the group thought I shouldn't draw attention to myself after the Hoo-Ha regarding my brief stay in prison, so I was tasked with simply walking around the village asking for the time. When the villagers took out their fob watches and replied, I was to say “ Oh but you must be mistaken. I see the village clock says it’s only a quarter past three” and they of course adjusted their timepieces accordingly.  By our reckoning by the night of the lunar eclipse everyone would be so confused as to what time it was they would all be going to bed at precisely 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

Total Eclipse of his heart

Success ! The plan worked- to a certain extent. Professors Ruckenfigur did get to see the Lunar eclipse after all and no one was any the wiser. However Percy, mistakenly gave the sleeping draft not only to Peaseblossom, but themselves and they were both out for the count for two whole days. I, myself, was reported for soliciting, by that dreadful woman at the Salon. Don’t worry dear Aunt, the local Policeman Surge was summoned but I explained to him my actions were entirely misconstrued and he let me off with a caution. Not before I asked him for the time of day of course. I pedalled home again, exultantly, as I am rather getting a taste for this subterfuge.

One exciting thing has come of it all. One of the Professors’ colleagues was so intrigued by the idea of putting the clocks back, he is to put a bill forward in Parliament to have it enshrined in Law ! Apparently they already do this in Canada. Great minds think alike. Elbows up Canada!

But my dear, we now have another challenge on our hands. The local council have cordoned off the Village Green and according to the Bindweed Clarion they intend to chop down the Golden Beech Tree that always plays a starring role in our yearly festivities in Wittering, not to mention being home to so many creatures. They are saying it is a waste of space. Of course the tree represents everything the Magic Deniers are against, the beauty of Nature, the passing of the seasons and history itself. They want it gone and plans are afoot to concrete over the Green and the rose garden and have what is to be called a ‘municipal meeting place’ a place where deals are done, business will thrive, money will be made. Sounds truly dreadful and we have to stop it. Miss. Violet Shrews is, as we speak, chaining herself to the tree in protest.

Violet Protects the Great Tree

I am calling an urgent meeting of the Tea Time Club we must assist her- but before I do that I need to gather my brassicas. Better dash.

Best wishes

Honeysuckle Harebell

X

P.s. I enclose the key for the trunk, sorry I forgot.

P.p.s. Can you hear a Cat?

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'A Letter from Honeysuckle Harebell' ~ 5th September 1908

Pigeon Post

Dear Violet,

Hope this missive finds you well? I am writing by hand as I am away from my trusty typewriter as you know and I am sending it by Pigeon Post to ensure prying eyes don't read it. I am sure you are on pins wanting to know what happened. I shall tell you down to the last detail when I see you all again, but I shall give you a vague outline as to the sequence of events last week. Hope you have safely stowed the ‘bed linen’ in the cupboard as planned?

Last Tuesday, Percy and I travelled to a large field in the dead of night, on my bicycle . They rode on the handlebars, I couldn’t see a thing however we arrived in one piece. We were to meet Percy’s friend and his Biplane there at precisely 10pm.

What a sight it was Violet, as the plane trundled around the field, a few feet from us, startling quite a few sheep. Percy immediately ran up to the cockpit and climbed in behind the pilot, a very dashing young man who I understood to be named ‘Chocs’. I gathered up the prepared bedlinen, stowed my bicycle in the hedge and followed on. My legs had turned to jelly and I wasn’t sure if it was the cycle ride or the thought of clambering up into a Biplane that did seem rather small for three. Once I had managed to squeeze into a very small space inside the fuselage, Percy suggested it may be a good idea to leave my umbrella behind as it would affect the aerodynamics . I agreed, so I threw it out and hoped the sheep would make good use of it. The biplane bumped over the meadow and then we took off!

'Chocs Away!' Percy shouted.

Sheila the Sheep with accessory

I don’t think aeroplanes will catch on, catch fire maybe, but they won’t be a thing of the future. Dear me no, too squashed. However, being up in the air was marvellous, if you stopped yourself thinking about imminent death for a moment. I couldn’t see very much, bundled underneath the bedlinen as I was, but I reminded myself, comfort was not essential as we were on an important mission.

Chocs Away!

When we arrived over the prison, the Biplane suddenly did a nosedive . “Now!”  shouted Chocs and Percy shook out the bedsheets we had carefully tied together and dropped them over the side . They dangled above the parapet on the prison wall. My big moment. I do wish I wouldn't volunteer for things but being the smallest and lightest, it made sense. I bravely climbed over the side of the plane and holding tight onto the sheets started my descent. I dropped onto the ground below, rather nimbly I thought. I watched as the Biplane narrowly missed the tower but pulled up and away just in time. I could see Percy giving me the thumbs up as they disappeared into the night.

I rearranged my hat and checked my handbag, it was a fine night so I didn’t miss my umbrella. I had to find Millicent quickly so I went through a door on the gantry. Luckily it was open and no one was about. One needs lucky breaks on these sort of missions I find. Being a Sunday I knew the prison officers would be playing bridge as Millicent had informed me and so I managed to get down to the floor she was on quite easily, without being spotted. Then I was suddenly confronted by a large Black uniform. An Officer, who obviously didn't like bridge, and who questioned my presence on the corridor. I decided the best course of action was to faint. He kindly took me to his office and proceeded to give me smelling salts and made me a lovely cup of tea. He asked me why I was there and I told him I was visiting my friend Millicent in Cell 9 that afternoon during Visiting Hours but must have fainted and on coming round, found myself in the broom cupboard instead. I had come all the way from Wittering to see my dear friend and would now have to go home without doing so. I must admit Violet, and you will think very badly of me,  I used tears . The Officer, Officer Screwshank, Thomas, seemed affected and decided I should indeed see my friend and then go home after what had been an awful experience for me.

Warder Tomas Screwshank.

He led me to Cell 9 and opened the doors with a gigantic key. It sent shivers down my spine Violet, to think of poor Millicent being held in such a place for the supposed crime of wanting Women to have Voting rights the same as men. I asked the Officer to leave us for one moment to give us a modicum of privacy. As soon as he closed the door I gave a brief 'Hello' to Millicent, who was sitting up in bed, somewhat surprised, reduced in size due to the Hunger Strike she was on poor thing, and wearing nothing but her underwear. No time to lose, so I set about removing the bars from the cell window. I have told you about the truly amazing 'Break Out or In Balm' I purchased from Saxifrages havent I? 

Break Out Balm- natural remedy

Well, prison bars are its speciality. It certainly worked its magic and the bars came away easily. I managed to get Millicent up from the bed, push her out of the window and onto the ledge outside.

On the edge

The ledge was high up and Millicent was very unsteady on her legs so it was a relief to hear the engine of the Biplane coming towards us. The length of bedlinen swung closer and closer, I could see Percy holding the sheets on the other end. I gave Millicent a little shove of encouragement and she made a leap of faith to catch hold of the rope. Then I signalled to lift her up and up she went . The plane did wobble rather but I couldn't hang about as I could hear the officer knocking on the door. I replaced the window bars, shoved a pillow in the bed under the blanket , which looked fatter than poor Millicent, and stood at the doorway waiting to be let out. The Officer glanced inside but I had my sweet smile on, you know the one I use to get better fillets from the fish man, so he didn’t check any further but locked the door and showed me the way out. I was walking out, rather delighted at myself for what we had achieved, when the officer called to me.

"Excuse me Miss. You dropped something."

I turned to see the jar of Break Out Balm rolling slowly down the corridor towards the officer. He picked it up and examined it.

"Oh thank you Thomas " I said, taking it from him and hurriedly putting it in my handbag, "That’s most kind, it’s life saving stuff it really is."

"Are you the one who writes all those letters to her?" He asked me.

" I have had occasional correspondence with the lady in question." I admited.

"Yeah I’ve read em" He replied.

"Oh really, I trust you found them - unsensational? "

"Totally. Except for one thing . You mentioned you were going to help her escape."

Oh Catkins! He had read between the lines of my letters after all. Needless to say it was a very long night and the upshot is - could you possibly go into my drawers on the left hand side of my desk and retrieve an envelope that says 'In case of Emergency' and also a ‘Get out of jail free’ card that’s in there somewhere. Then would you please bring them to the police station where I am currently detained. I would be very much obliged. Toute suite if you please Violet !

Best wishes & penitance,

Honeysuckle Harebell

X

P.s. Please hurry, I need to tend my flageolets

P.p.s. Is the Cat with you Violet? Own up !

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