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Little Gems - The Witches and the Grinnygog
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The Witches and the Grinnygog by Dorothy Edwards
Episode Three
Dave was not at all impressed with London city although the others were very happy especially young Jimmy. Back at the Firkettle house Dave notices that the daughter of Mrs. Ems has not left the attic or been seen since she arrived. Essie thinks about going to snoop upstairs but has to come downstairs when Grandad catches her and questions what she is up to.
Later in the woods the boys hear a scream and go off to investigate. Just on the edge of the golf course they see an old woman clad in old clothes sitting in a sand pit in the middle of a clearing. The woman cannot see them and she is complaining bitterly about something. The boys smile and watch her from a distance. Suddenly a voice booms out of the air, Major Gilmour is playing golf and the woman is sat in a bunker near the green he is currently trying to hole. He shouts towards the woman and has a go at her for lighting a fire in the sand bunker. The woman says it is her business and to mind his although she is not belligerent in the slightest. He threatens her with the police and she tells him that no police cell can hold her and instead she offers him a cup of tea. As if a spell had been cast on him, the Major's attitude changes and both himself and his golfing partner agree to have a cup of tea and sit down to enjoy the day. It was like they had had a spell cast on them. The boys cannot believe what they are seeing and then hear the woman state that she has three cups but her friends will not mind if they use them. Colin and Dave realise three cups equals three guardians. Is this one of the guardians and has she cast a spell on the Major and his friend? After tea the men continue playing golf and the old woman casts another spell so that with Major's next shot the ball goes straight in the hole. The boys cannot believe what they have seen and when they look back at the sand bunker, the woman and all her belongings, fire and all have vanished. No evidence remains that she or anyone else had been there.
Back at the parish church, the Vicar is speaking to another old lady about cleaning and tidying up the museum. She asks if she will get her own room as the one she is currently in is drafty and noisy (suggesting it is the bus shelter). She also asks if he minds her not having the same faith as him. He asks her what her faith is and she says it is primitive - fallen along the wayside, not many of them left. The Vicar says he does not mind at all. We learn that her name is Miss Letitia Bendybones. She will clean and tidy the church, house and more importantly the museum.
Later on in the day Nan goes into the museum and introduces herself to Miss Bendybones not realising she is now being employed as the housekeeper. Miss Bendybones looks around at some of the museum objects and then starts to tell Nan what they were originally used for. On one object she picks up she says that it was not a bad spell but could have been better. It was a dwindler and dwiner used to help babies when they are born. Miss Bendybones does not like it at all. With another object she tells Nan that is is used for drawing out evil spirits. Nan says she will have to change the object description. Nan leaves to do the shopping. On her way through the village she sees Mr. Alabaster talking to everyone he meets on the streets. They all seem to know him and everyone is acting like they have known him for years. Nan finds this very strange but has chores to do.
Not long after Colin and the other children continue to work on the diaries and the museum. Colin eventually finds the names of the three guardians, they are all the same as the new arrivals in the village (Mrs. Ems, Miss Bendybones and Edie Possett). The three have the task of guarding their sacred object, a burden from they will never be free and therefore can never die. Whilst Colin and Nan are reading the books, Miss Bendybones comes into vacuum but she really does not know how it works and makes her excuses in order to save face and leave. As she leaves the children ask how long she has been living in the village and then if she knows Miss EMS Miss Bendybones has been in the village on and off for a very long time. Miss Bendybones warns them not to ask about Miss EMS daughter as she died sometime ago. Her voice is a little dark and almost menacing with regards to the subject of Miss EMS
Back at the Firkettle's house, Jimmy comes running in and drags his brother and sister out into the garden. There are a lot of new flowers around the head of the Grinnygog which no one in the family planted and cannot work out where they came from. Later that night Jimmy wakes up to the sound of jungle drums and goes to look outside. Through his bedroom window he sees Mr. Alabaster in full ceremonial dress dancing and playing through the center of the village. He then sees Miss EMS who kisses his hand. At breakfast Jimmy says that Miss EMS did the flowers by planting the seeds. The others do not believe him though and again ignore poor Jimmy. Jimmy it seems is the more sensitive of the five and if only the others would listen to him, he could explain a lot of what was happening..
Later on Nan shows Miss Bendybones how the zip works as she thinks it is magic. Her father then enters the room and puts on the television to watch the news. There on the screen in front of the three of them is Mr. Alabaster who is introduced as an anthropologist. He is looking at pre-Christian cultures and how they compare with those from his native land. Mr. Alabaster refers to a sacred object, a fetish which is an object worshipped and thought to have magical powers (according to the Reverend Sogood). Miss Bendybones asks Nan if she would write a letter for her (she informs Nan that she has no formal learning of letters and the kind) and to add to it some money she hands her. The letter is to say
"To right a wrong, and pay for Lillies waxen child."
Nan asks the address and is told, to be sent to the store in the new town. Coats and dresses up the top. Nan looks worried. She realises what this means.
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Episode 3
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