A Newhaven Fishwife By Alexander Ignatius Roche – oil on canvas, Public Domain
No Requiem
Moonstone mounds of herring,
Quiver,
Torn from the belly
Of the Sea Mother.
Her baldy rolling, groaning,
Bleeds,
Foam fingers clawing,
Plead.
The herring girl,
Slits the guts.
Fish eyes pale,
Beseech,
Steel flick of entrails –
Fish eyes flat.
No requiem for them.
The stench of fish, her breath.
Beauty weathered.
Bright eyes tired –
Girl’s eyes flat.
Her dreams float with
Dead fish in parsley sauce.
No requiem for her.
Copyright Kathleen Ayres/Katy Walters.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, 1000s of girls were employed as fish gutters, following the fishing fleet from Shetland to Yarmouth and Lowestoft. These women knitted whenever they had free time and incorporated patterns they saw in other areas. A former herring girl told of the rivalry between knitters and the one-upmanship of using a new pattern that no-one else in the village had.
The Fisher girls traveled to the fishing ports each season.“
The work was long and hard, the girls were into the “farlin” to be gutted and the “guts were taken out with a very sharp gutting knife”. The girls doing the gutting had their fingers wrapped in “clooties” – bandaged cloths to prevent any knife nicks.
Above info. From Wikipedia
Have a lovely week.
1810: The Scottish Highlands. Secret lovers Muriall Mondell and Lord Duncan of Rhonan fight for the lives of evicted tenants. Lord Maximillian, member of the infamous Hell Fire Club preys on young women to take part in rituals. His intent is to conjure a demon – the prize Muriall’s soul. Present day: New York. American psychotherapist Jessica McGregor dreams are haunted by the lovers of two hundred years ago. Jess travels to Scotland in search of them. Drawn by the ruined castle in the grounds, she books into the ghostly Rhonan Manor Hotel. Shocked, she recognizes the owner of the hotel, the brooding Lord Douglas of Rhonan as the dream lover. Deep in the bowels of the ruined castle, a demon gathers strength.
Dr. Sophie Lampton’s fiance disappears without any trace. He is still missing after a year of extensive searches by the police, family, and friends. Overwhelmed with grief, Sophie succumbs to a social anxiety disorder that threatens her new practice as a psychologist. Her best friend, Dr. Rachael, a sexual psychologist, urges her to seek the help of a renowned professor of psychology, Seth Hunter. Yet the phobia is stopping her from seeking his help. Rachael is determined Sophie should be treated not only for the disorder but for the overwhelming grief. She goes ahead and books an appointment with the professor.
Sophie reluctantly attends a session with Seth, only to break down as a panic attack overwhelms her. Can Seth help her? Can he cut through the paralyzing tentacles of the disorder?
It is 2065, No-one knows the true identity of Detective Chief Superintendent Ben Tobin or where he came from. His world turns into a nightmare with a spate of shocking homicides and abductions. Determined to solve the sinister notes left with the bodies, he turns to American psychologist Lucy Roberts. Working together they begin a passionate affair that turns into a nightmare.
The clock is ticking, as the crimes take them across the world, and out to the Asteroid Belt.
As Ben races to save the victims, Lucy disappears.
Fast-paced and gritty, this is an electrifying read. A dark thriller that will take you into the night.
An exciting Regency Suspense Romance Theodore Penarth, the Duke of Hampton newly, returned from the Battle of Waterloo wants nothing more than to relax at his hideaway, a Fort on the edge of his estate. But his mother, the Dowager Duchess, has other ideas, one is to secure the family line with an heir and a spare. Without Theodore’s knowledge, she arranges an afternoon tea party on his behalf and invites certain eligible young ladies and their mamas to attend. But she reckoned without the strong will of Lady Annabel Darlington. Much to her parents dismay, Lady Annabel has no intention of marrying now or in the foreseeable future.
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Katy lives on the South coast with her husband and a loving hyper friendly dog who likes to greet and lick everyone on sight. She has a BA Hons (Psych) BA Eng.Lit. MA in Religion and Mysticism and a Hon Dr. Science for research into pain control.
She was a psychologist and hypnotherapist before changing direction for full time creative writing, Her main genres are historical romance, crime and science fiction.
