Kathy Vale : The Castle

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Entry posted by tariely · October 10, 2015

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The first thing people told P. R. when she arrived in Kathy Vale, her being a science fiction and fantasy writer and all, was : "You must visit the castle !" The Castle ? There was a castle in Kathy Vale ? "Oh, yes", they said, with a proud twinkle in their eye, "Bollet's Castle". A medieval castle, where they had a big Renaissance Fair in the spring, medieval reenactment galore and medieval music festivals in summer, and a killer Halloween party in the fall. It was spring, so P. R. took the designated bus and went to The Castle. And yes, by Jove, there was a medieval castle among the fields and woods. Or, more accurately, what some misguided, romantic --and rich -- XIXth century European immigrant named Bollet-Le-Duc had imagined a medieval castle should look like, when he settled in the region. Still, it is a nice outing for school children, a tourist magnet (there were several buses of Japanese ones, that day) and an altogether pleasant place, with a (very narrow and not complete) moat and almost everything else. Normally, the Fair occupies the entire grounds, inside and outside the castle, but it was just being set up when P. R. visited. She bought lots of knick-knacks, geegaws and assorted thingamabobs, all prettily medieval. And it gave her lots of idea for writing exercises she used during the workshop she gave the week after.