Week Four

The secrets of the map

Welcome to a new week. I hope you all had a great and demon-free weekend.

I spent the weekend visiting some of the spots on the map where the ghosts we've found are meant to haunt. I have to say, call me paranoid, extra-sensitive or just not wearing enough clothes, but I felt a chill and what I can only describe as a 'void' in the atmosphere in every location.

There's been talk from some corners about the ghosts we have found ""no longer walking the halls they once did." I'm afraid this is true. When I visited those locations, something was amiss, there was, what I can only describe, as a sorrow in the air.

Something or someone has started destroying the ghosts we have found, and this has happened since this site went up. I don't know who it is, or why they're doing it, but I'm determined to find out and try and put a stop to it (Lord knows how � I'm beginning to sound a bit Arnie a lot these days!) I'll keep you informed on my plans.

Sorry to finish on such a spooky note, but if any of you have any thoughts, or have visited any of the spots yourself and felt similar, do let me know.

14th April 2003

More letters through the post

I said yesterday that I received a batch of papers in the post, simply addressed to "Tamara Swift, BBC". No letter to say who sent them, no post-mark and no one knows how it got here - very weird. This is starting to happen more and more, and I'm beginning to get used to it.

There were lots of bits and bobs bundled together: letters, papers, maps, scrawls and other stuff which I just haven't had a chance to go through thoroughly yet. What I have ascertained though, is that the papers all relate in some way to my ancestry and the Protectorship of Albion.

I did read one account which I'll share, as it pertains to our clues this week. As you lot discovered, the ghosts from the clues turned out to be Samuel Pepys and Oliver Cromwell. By coincidence, the two also lived at the same time, and Pepys even wrote about Cromwell in his diaries.

I also discovered is that the two have been defenders of Albion since death. There's an account of a battle they fought with our old friend, Balberith, alongside the Protector at the time, a man named Graham Tisbury. Graham was the Protector sometime in the 1700's, but according to the account I've got, sadly he died in that battle.

Apparently, Pepys and Cromwell were constantly bickering - I think Cromwell had a problem with the way Pepys had written about him in his diaries. Graham was the only Protector who managed to get the two to work together harmoniously. But it was whilst fighting with them, just as he conquered Balberith, that Graham was killed.

Who he passed his legacy on is not in the account, But it's an exciting and important find as it's more info about the past Protectors and also about Balberith, who is seemingly turning out the be one of Albion's biggest threats.

15th April 2003

Peril is coming

Yesterday, I talked about the account I'd found about a previous Protector. Today, I've managed to find more clues pertaining, I think, to Ludlow's map. I'm not 100 per cent certain about this, but the way they're written and the scribbles around them suggest they might be.

However, I am very worried now, that by finding the ghosts, we are also helping to destroy them, and in doing so, losing valuable allies in the fight against the darkness. I didn't think when I took this job on, that I'd be doing any more than hosting a site about my interesting family history and possibly finding out some more about them by using your collective brains and research to make sense of the stuff I've inherited or come into possession of.

Now I find myself responsible for the destruction of important and brave characters. I don't want to be in this situation. I don't want to be the one who's started the trouble. And yet, the signs seem to say that, not only am I in danger, but I'm also putting you lot, my dear friends who have done nothing but help and support me, into peril too.

Should I stop? Should I carry on? There are times I feel the brave blood from my heroic ancestors coursing through me and I want to stand up and say, "Hey, don't mess with me", and other times I want to crawl under my duvet and go back to living in relative ignorance. I'm scared.

16th April 2003

The heat is on

Get your drinks ready, get your snacks on hand and get yourself onto the edge of your seat � it's Thursday � new episode day and new clues day!

For those of you who've watched the lastest part � gripping stuff eh? Nigel going loco and then... I won't spoil it for those not yet in the know.

But things are hotting up in 19th Century London, and poor old William and Tamara have been thrown right into the maelstrom. Can they cope? One hopes so � they've shown great courage and aptitude so far � let's hope it sees them through until the end.

As for me, I'm fine as well. What with all the gloom and doom in the last few days, I've tried to add a bit of normalcy to my life by doing all the usual stuff like exercising, going out, seeing friends.

I'm almost in the comfort zone, until I remember something's coming (and I do believe it is). Then it all gets a bit dark again. Oh well.

17th April 2003

A good Friday?

For those of you of Christian disposition, today's a sombre day. Good Friday is a day of death in Christianity, but the good news is that Easter Sunday always arrives with the promise of resurrection and new life.

It's something that the ghosts of Albion can empathise with, as in some ways. They too have a new life, as defenders of their country - a resurrection of another kind I guess.

For those of you not Christian, or indeed religious, Easter Sunday is a day to indulge in chocolate - lots and lots of it - so in every way, everybody wins. Truly a silver lining there.

With regard to the clues, you've done marvellously, and probably set a record for solving them. Thanks one hundredfold, as always. Nice to know there are so many talented musicians amongst you too - what skills we'd bring to a fight against evil eh?

Well, if Byron can use poetry, there's no reason we couldn't kill the enemy with song (and anyone who's heard me singing karaoke will testify to this possibility!)

Enjoy your holiday weekend.

18th April 2003