The Halloween News this morning features The skeleton Lady of The Day of the Dead, who has been a fixture at fiestas for a century. Mexico's elegant and classy "Skeleton Lady" is even inspiring some movie and rock stars in the U.S. to don Halloween costumes based on the macabre figure. Nowadays, it is a busy time of year for make-up artists, who are increasingly losing out to computer-generated graphics, as everyone wants to be transformed into a monster for the night. Theme parks and film studios in the US take advantage by hosting "fright nights" and turning hundreds of actors into zombies.

While the whole of America goes Halloween crazy with activities that include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, I have to wonder why children like telling scary stories, and adults watch horror films.

I guess there is something in the human nature that is fascinated with dreadful things that could happen. When they return to their normal life, they feel secure. The children of a bygone era would listen enthralled to Grimm's Fairy Tales.

But how did this macabre, extreme festival of Halloween begin?

Halloween or Hallowe'en,  (All Hallows' Evening or All Hallows' Eve), is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It initiates the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (or hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan Celtic roots. Other academics maintain that it originated independently and has solely Christian roots.

Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which have pagan roots, and others which may be rooted in Celtic Christianity. An academic folklorist, writes that the sacred and the religious are a fundamental context for understanding Halloween in Northern Ireland, where an uneasy truce exists between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived. Samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter—the darker half of the year when spirits or fairies could drift easily into our world and were particularly active.

In modern Ireland, Scotland, Mann and Wales, the festival included mumming and guising, which goes back at least as far as the 16th century. This involved people going house-to-house in costume or disguise, reciting verses or songs in exchange for food. The period from the harvest season until All Saints Day provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities from wandering souls of the departed.

North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was celebrated there. The Puritans of New England, for example, maintained strong opposition to Halloween, and it was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century that it was brought to North America in earnest. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds.

I'm inclined to think the whole thing is silly. But take no notice of me. I'm a spoil-sport. I never indulged, even as a child. In my quiet area of Hertfordshire, England, there are no children knocking on the door, demanding sweets or trying to scare an old lady. I'm sure you have your own ideas of the practice. Perhaps you love spooky stories.

If you really want to frighten yourself, Gateway, a short story by Melissa Massey-Moroni, the writer who made my wonderful book trailers below, is released today.
Take a look at the Getaway book trailer: http://youtu.be/CFeFZGt005w
On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Getaway-ebook/dp/B00GBHQVY0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383180702&sr=1-1&keywords=mel+massey

I'm always interested in treasure, so I latched onto this story about a new exhibition of the world's most valuable collections of jewels, dedicated to the patron saint of the Italian city of Naples. Gennaro, the bishop of Naples and martyred in the third century, has been venerated as the city's protector against war, the plague, earthquakes, shipwrecks and natural disasters.

The treasure of San Gennaro is said to rival Britain's Crown Jewels and those of the Russian tsars in value. Kings, popes and emperors have all sent valuable tributes to the saint's shrine. Armed guards accompanied the 70 pieces to a museum in Rome. For more on this story.

Statues and religious items such as golden chalices were donated over several centuries by many crowned heads of Europe to the patron saint of Naples, San Gennaro, or Januarius in English.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a bishop's mitre, decorated with 3,964 diamonds, rubies and emeralds, commissioned to crown a bust of the saint carried in procession in Naples on his annual feast day.

But perhaps the centerpiece of the exhibition is the large necklace of San Gennaro, composed of thousands of gems, which was begun in 1679. Considered one of the most exquisite items of jewelry in the world, it has been forged from several ornate pieces, including a jewel-studded cross donated by the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

But for much of that time, the treasure was kept away from the public eye in a vault in Naples cathedral. Which makes it rather pointless. What use does accumulated treasure and wealth serve if it's simply stored away?

In the 1520s, when Naples was beset by disease, war and the frequent eruption of the nearby Mount Vesuvius, Neapolitans pledged to build a chapel to San Gennaro and safeguard the donated treasure, in return for the saint's protection. Neapolitans pledged? Did the people own the treasure at that time?    
I assume whoever was in charge announced their decision to the cheering of massive hordes.

Naples is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC. Refounded as Neápolis in the sixth century BC, the city became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia, merging Greek culture into Roman society. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, it united with Sicily until the unification of Italy in 1861. Now, Naples is the capital of Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. Around 960,000 people live within the city's administrative limits.

Over 55 movies have been made of Naples, including Treasures of San Gennaro, a 1966 Italian comedy film; a funny classic story of a perfect robbery plan gone wrong in the Italian way. Let's hope the armed guards do their job during this latest exhibition. The treasure should be displayed for all to see, rather than stolen by hi-tech criminals to break up and sell for their own profit. Nobody could afford to buy the items in their present form.

Treasure elicits awe and excitement. Most of us could never afford to own anything more than a few items of jewelry. The exhibition contains pieces accumulated over time, and, like all historical items, can't be split and returned to whence it came. The most we can hope for is a glimpse of the sparkling hoard—to stare and wonder about a time gone by.

Today, nothing on the news inspires me to talk about. Reports of weather, degenerate behavior, and how people can equal, if not better, technology: the after-effects of the St. Jude storm in England; inmates in an immigration centre report sex with guards; locals can monitor growth in rain forests with string and paper just as well as satellites.  

I guess I have other things on my mind.

A fellow writer has made two book trailer videos for me in the last few days. They're short—less than a minute each and act as teasers for the novels.

Melissa Massey-Moaroni is still waiting for the proof reader to finish on her own novel. She posted a video on facebook that she'd made of her novel and offered to make one for someone else. As fete would have it, I read her post at just the right time—kismet. I believe in such things. How about you?

Please, please, watch the videos. Two minutes of your time would be well spent. You can contact her on twitter  @melmmassey  if you want something similar. Her price is very reasonable.

Do you have a time when fete altered your life for the better?

I'm reporting live from England during the storm named St. Jude. No. I'm not in the most endangered part, but rather on the edge of the eye here in outer London.

The news report says that rail services across much of southern Britain have been cancelled for the morning rush hour as a storm continues to batter parts of England and Wales. More than 40 railway line blockages caused by falling trees have been cleared, but more are expected to be found by special trains being used to clear tracks. In four cases the train inspecting the line has hit a fallen tree. They are also dealing with a landslip in the New Forest area, and 130 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow airport. As of this morning at 8am 40,000 homes are without power. Forecasters said exposed coasts in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent could face the strongest winds. Gusts have been recorded at 90 mph out to sea—nowhere near the 115 recorded during the Great Storm of 1987. I experienced that one as well.

At the front of my home, giant horse chestnut trees are taking the brunt of the wind. Most of their remaining leaves litter the roadside. Leaves are swirling for hundreds of yards around like giant snowflakes. At the back, a line of tall poplars are swaying alarmingly. In times like these, trees play their most important role. Without their protection, the wind sweeping over the field from the south west would batter the fronts of our tiny strip of cottages.

Although flood warnings are in place, our homes are safe on the upper slope of the hillside. When the heavy rain hits, I fully expect floodwater to cover the road at the junction below. Drains were already clogged with autumn leaves.

People have been warned to remain home if possible. Schools are closed around my area, which reduces traffic as well. The wind has stopped now, I ½ hours after dawn, and the sun is blinding when it breaks through black clouds. St. Jude is protecting us from the worst effects of the storm.

And, just maybe, the combined prayers of the inhabitants of our Great island.

Signing off from the United Kingdom. ~ Francene, who believes in the power of the mind and that an 'ant can move a rubber tree plant', from the Frank Sinatra song.

A storm is approaching the south of England. By tonight, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain should hit us. There are fears about falling trees, buildings being damaged, flooding, travel disruption and power supplies. Exposed coasts in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent could face the strongest winds.

In 1987, I'd just arrived in London from Queensland, Australia. When I say just, I mean a week or so before. I took a live-in job in Kentish Town as a nanny, and was given a room at the very top of the three-story house. During the night, the wind roared overhead and the roof started leaking. I awoke in the morning to devastation. Millions of trees fell overnight. On the streets, many crashed onto cars.

The approaching storm, like the one 25 years ago, is not expected to be too severe. With technology, earlier forecasting is much easier. However, things can change and an amber warning has been issued.
Amber meaning, 'Be prepared'.

The predicted storm is named after one of the twelve disciples, St Jude, the patron saint of depression and lost causes, whose feast day is Monday; when the storm is due to reach its most ferocious.

Overnight, rain lashed the hydrangea leaves outside the bedroom window. Daylight revealed hundreds of flattened leaves littering the roadway outside. I hope the English trees won't suffer too much. There are few of them left, what with diseases striking the oak, elm, the ash and the horse chestnut. Trees are the Earth's lungs.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

                                                       William Shakespeare

Women in Saudi Arabia are taking part in a mass driving protest today to challenge the kingdom's ban on female driving. The authorities have increased warnings to women not to defy the order.

The interior ministry has reiterated that anyone flouting the ban is likely to face unspecified punishment. The activists behind the campaign believe the mood of the public, including men, is changing to support lifting of the ban.

I don't believe one country should interfere with another's traditional way of life, but in this instance, the women are standing up for themselves, despite threats of unspecified punishment. They're brave and strong.

In a historic move last week, Saudi Arabia passed a legal ban on domestic violence and other forms of abuse against women. The law is the first of its kind in a nation that has been called one of the worst places for women to live. Fathers sell teenage girls to men in their 70s, 80s.

In conservative Saudi Arabia, a woman's life is not her own; she is nothing but a legal minor. Every woman must have a male guardian. Until she is married, the father takes the role, but other family, even sons, can assume the guardian status.
To fit in with this tradition, Saudi women need permission from the guardian for certain types of healthcare, to study, work, travel, and marry.

In Saudi Arabia's sex segregated education system, the facilities available to women are more limited compared to the boys. According to the Saudi official policy, the purpose of educating a girl is to bring her up in a proper Islamic way so as to perform her duty in life, be an ideal and successful housewife and a good mother, ready to do things which suit her nature such as teaching, nursing and medical treatment.

Nowadays, Saudi women still depend on private drivers or male guardians to move around in the country. Let's hope they can take this one step toward independence.  If only the 'world could live as one', allowing these women to be free to make their own choices.

Just how important are women in society? Well, for a start, they human race wouldn't have reached this stage with women to give birth to future generations. Maybe that will change in the future if science has any say in it. What about women's role, their leadership, their teaching and acting as a role model for the children? Invaluable. If future generations are grown in an artificial womb, someone else will tutor the youngsters—someone without the love and bond created by natural childbirth.

I often wonder how present circumstances came about. After all, men and women were created different, each with a separate role, but equal in importance. Yet, nowadays, men take the lead and have the say about the future of society—war, bombs, and mass genocide. Would things be any different with women at the helm? Let's look at one society from the past.

In February, Archaeologists in Peru discovered a pyramid-like temple at the ancient site of El Paraiso, near the capital, Lima. Entry to the rectangular structure, estimated to be up to 5,000 years old, was via a narrow passageway. The temple walls were made of stone and covered in fine yellow clay which also contained some traces of red paint. At its centre, the archaeologists from Peru's Ministry of Culture found a hearth which they believe was used to burn ceremonial offerings. The smoke is thought to have allowed the priests to connect with their gods.

With 10 ruins, El Paraiso is one of the biggest archaeological sites in central Peru and has been under excavation since 1981. The settlement once supported a farming and fishing community numbering hundreds of people.

In June, archaeologists unearthed a royal tomb from about 1,200 years ago. The discovery north of Lima and close to the modern-day Ayacucho in the Andes, sheds new light on the Wari empire, which ruled in the Andes before the rise of the better-known Inca civilization.

Archaeologists found more than 60 skeletons inside the tomb, including three Wari queens buried with gold and silver jewelry and brilliantly-painted ceramics. Many mummified bodies were found sitting upright—indicating royalty. The fact that most of the skeletons were of women and the very rich grave goods, shows this was a tomb of the royal elite and that also changes our point of view on the position of the women in the Wari culture, which thrived from the 7th to 10th centuries AD, and conquered all of what is now Peru before a mysterious and dramatic decline. Little is known about the Wari culture, as they did not appear to leave a written record.

The news this morning reveals a new find of two mummies, an adult and a child, more than 1,000 years old. The child is believed to have been an offering to the gods and may have been buried alive after the adult's death. The mummies are squatting and are fully dressed wrapped in rope. It is the third intact find among more than 70 tombs uncovered in the Huaca Pucllana tomb.

We can only speculate on the circumstances of these deaths. It seems that little has changed in the way of people's cruelty over the centuries. But it's the interaction between men and woman that holds my interest. Women seemed to play an important role back then.

Throughout the present-day world, the gap between men and women has narrowed slightly in the past year in most countries, according to a new World Economic Forum report.

Iceland, Finland and Norway top the list of 136 nations, based on political participation, economic equality and rights like education and health. Featured in the top twenty countries, Ireland is sixth, New Zealand seventh, and the UK eighteenth with Canada 20. No mention of the USA in this list.
The Middle East and North Africa were the only regions not to improve in the past year, with Yemen at the bottom.

It seems we've got a long way to go before a balance is struck between men and women nowadays.

An international team of astronomers has detected the most distant galaxy yet. This sets me dreaming—floating in space amongst the stars. All sorts of possibilities spring to mind about newly formed stars. What if they're people? Reborn after passing through a life on Earth? What if one of the stars contains the soul of my dearly departed loved-ones? Or yours? But, let's get real.

Scientists working at the Hubble Space Telescope found the distant galaxy. The distance was then confirmed with the ground-based Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The study is published in the journal Nature. See more here.

The galaxy stretching about 30 billion light-years away is helping scientists shed light on the period that immediately followed the Big Bang.

Because it takes light so long to travel from the outer edge of the Universe to us, the galaxy appears as it was 13.1 billion years ago, 700 million years after the Big Bang. Because the Universe is expanding, its distance from Earth is 30 billion light-years

The system is small: about 1-2% the mass of the Milky Way and is rich in heavier elements.

But it has a surprising feature: it is turning gas and dust into new stars at a remarkable rate, churning them out hundreds of times faster than our own galaxy can. It is the second far-flung galaxy known that has been found to have a high star-production rate.

It seems to me, there's a co-relation between the fast production of stars and the number of people dying all over the world. More and more people are being born and others are dying in their hundreds. It's as if every soul who has ever lived on Earth is rushing to join a final dance on Earth.

This really makes me wonder about what happens to lost souls. If our departed loved-ones reach the highest achievement a human can strive for, do they become stars? I, for one, would like to be a star. I can't imagine what that would entail though—cold and alone, it would need a specific strength to create new life forms. As Edgar Cayce said, we could become co-creators.

Listen to this short explanation. Co-creation - Edgar Cayce's Cosmology by McMillinMedia. http://youtu.be/iPwJlltKZHQ

Red foxes have successfully colonized urban areas throughout the world including a place near me—and probably you. This animal is the largest of the true foxes and the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America and Asia.

The animals that first settled into United Kingdom towns and cities as far back as the 1940s have increased to an estimated 33,000. There are thought to be 16 foxes per square mile in London alone. In rural areas, the fox can live for up to 15 years, but life expectancy in urban areas is much shorter and most only survive for about two to three years, with cars responsible for the majority of deaths.

Many people dislike urban foxes, blaming them for biting babies and killing penguins at London Zoo. However, I've often read about others feeding them and treating them like pets.

Dealing with UK urban foxes is complicated. They are protected under a series of wildlife laws and it is only permissible to control numbers in very limited ways. Even then methods such as shooting often aren't appropriate in urban areas.

But there are a small number of experts specializing in dealing with them in ways that will not harm the animal. The humane deterrence squad are getting up to 50 calls a week from people who need help but don't want the fox harmed.

A fox's territory can cover up to 40 acres and in urban areas can include up to 400 gardens.  Apparently, killing foxes is pointless in urban areas because another one will quickly take its place when they notice the scent mark is gone. The humane approach is about disturbing a fox's normal behavior and, crucially, moving it to another part of its territory. This means its scent will still be left around the area so no other foxes will move in. You'd have to ask the experts about their method of ensuring the fox remains in their new accommodation.

Common complaints about foxes can usually be narrowed down to mess, pungent-smelling faeces, digging holes and noise. They screech when they fight over territory or female foxes during mating season. I've heard them at night, especially in winter or early spring, calling across the road from our bedroom. The horse chestnut trees shelter wild scrub along the road. Behind that, fields dotted with occasional spreading oaks stretch as far as the eye can see. Wonderful country for these wild creatures.

Britain has some of the highest-density fox populations in the world but they cause remarkably few problems. There are many benefits of having foxes in urban areas, including being nature's pest controllers when it comes to rats and feral pigeons.

Human beings can't exist in isolation. A large colony of wasps has lived inside our roof for the last few years. They don't pose a threat to us, and play an important role in reducing the numbers of flies as well as pollinating crops. We live together in peace. Considering the harmonious workings of nature, foxes play an important part in the whole too. If we continue taking out what we don't like: squirrels, foxes, and badgers, we will lose everything else that contributes to the ecosystem.

Unfortunately, Ciboxer went to sleep on Saturday evening. I couldn't raise her face. Her body seemed fine, all her lights twinkled, but it did no good if I couldn't gaze into her depths.

I tried everything—replugging all her veins, clicking and pressing different key points. Nothing. I let her rest for the night, thinking she'd rouse in the morning. Didn't work. I tried other measures, prayed, asked for calm—for the grace to accept what I could not change. At the beginning of day two, I called a doctor. He explained a delay and I agreed to his exorbitant feel if only he'd come.

I waited. What would be, would be. I couldn't afford anything major. That's when I made the decision I could live without Ciboxer. I could indeed live without writing. Without my online friends. God had given me a wonderful garden to delight my senses. I should use it, love my husband and appreciate our final years together. With time at my disposal, I read some old lectures, boned up on writing, and settled down to read a novel. The time passed in pleasant leisure with no demands to drag me away from real life. I began to enjoy myself.

The next day, the pc doctor rang to say he'd be late. Nearly an hour. I held my patience inside. After his examination and a bit of fiddling, the doctor breather new life into Ciboxer's veins. She'd suffered a blockage. There she was—as good as new, face blinking in the sudden light.

The doctor cleared out old potential blockages and spent the hour bringing her to full working capacity. He congratulated me on a fast and bright screen—um, monitor. Delight sped my feet into the other room where I collected the agreed sum. And handed over the doctor's fee.

We're working in harmony again, Ciboxer and I. Tomorrow, I'll be back with more views on news.