Stop Press

We are thrilled to announce the next feature film. Aware of the vast historical heritage of the Highclere Estate, Julian Fellowes, the inspirational creator of “Downton Abbey”, has decided to go back in time to make a prequel, starting at a point early enough to leave plenty of scope for further chapters in the history of the Crawley family. There have of course been many such rumours over the last few months and we are sure that this news will delight the admirers of this phenomenal series.

Bronze Age setting
Filming of Downton 2000 BC will begin on location by the Bronze Age settlements and tumuli at the foot of Beacon Hill. Fans of this historical drama may, however, be most impressed that the costumes for which the show is so rightly renowned will be distinctly pared down. None of the trademark embroideries and millinery will be needed but nevertheless the original fabrics will be recreated with subtle detail. Even in this era, there are elements of social hierarchy to be explored alongside societal developments through the provision of better housing and cooking facilities.

Iron age reality
In terms of the crew, John, our Castle Manager, is delighted to be working once again with Sparky, the Downton Location Manager. Due to their combined expertise in logistics and wide experience of the challenges thrown up by adverse weather conditions, they have both been offered key parts as extras. Costume fittings will be taking place shortly.

John and Sparky practising their moves – they are both naturals

Tom looking good
Tom, Sparky’s assistant has already grown a beard in order to be considered, although will not be able to wear his glasses due to the strict guidelines for authenticity.
In addition, I have offered my expertise in cooking from the land alongside relevant recipes from 4,000 years ago which can then be reproduced in the tea room from gruel to cabbage surprise. My husband Geordie has offered to demonstrate farming techniques and suggested a range of implements.
Sally from the gift shop is investigating a range of Real Downton Abbey loin cloths and fur and suede bikinis although she has not yet decided who will model them. The gift shop will have to be re-decorated to reflect the prehistoric era. And given the trials of Brexit, we may well enter in to the spirit of the barter economy.
Constructions of the early round houses has begun and as you would expect from the set designers of the previous film, great care is being taken with exacting verisimilitude. It is hoped this prequel will be the start of a long progression of adventures for the much loved characters, giving its admirers a lifetime enjoyment of this wonderful series.
Ha!!! I was awaiting this next April Fools day installment with anticipation. Excellent~happy April!
Thank you!
You had me there…. for a while! Enjoying your web site, thank you
Glad you like it!
Ha Ha! April Fools!!
FANTASTIC!!!!! Best news ever!!!!!!
You had me – until the comments revealed the fool (me). Thank you for the good laugh.
At bikinis, I was sure.
Ha Ha… had me going for a sec! Love your humor… Happy April Fools
Thank you
I wish! Happy April Fools day to you also at HighClere!
Thank you – it is a glorious spring day here.
I got about half way thru and started giggling at the thought and knew that this was an April fools joke!! Love the idea of loin cloths and gruel being served at the tea room.
GOOD ONE!!
Thank you
You had me going there! Right up until the loin cloths and suede bikinis! Well done!
I’d actually be totally fine with this if it were true!
Very well done!! Thank you!
Good one!
Still a great idea….I think one of your books would make a wonderful movie! I so enjoy your blogs and open them with great anticipation. Great April Fool’s joke.
Loved the opportunity to meet you walking the dogs before your informative talk before my amazing tour last October.
Thank you
Absolutely awesome!!!! Best one of the day!!!!!
So excited, then I remembered the date. Very good joke.
I read this with anxiety as I couldn’t imagine until I belly laughed at my lack of “getting the joke”
Thank you, what a great way to end my evening, thinking of this beautiful place once again with a smile.
~Shannon Bell
That made me laugh out loud…in a Philadelphia Starbucks!
Oh: the joys of interpreting a very historic site!
Delighted
Well done !!!
What a great April Fools installment!! I was hooked until the loin cloths! Many thanks
Love it!
Oh
Well done!
A wonderful piece of tom foolery.
I was born on April 1 and celebrated my 60th Birthday.
Always have I enjoyed the frivolity of the day.
Cheers
Deborah
What a great day for a birthday! Happy birthday
So happy for you Castle family and group. Mr. Fellowes is a perfect complement and knows well how to provide uplifting entertainment and reinvent tropes.
Love that your enlightened caretaking and philanthropy are well rewarded and doing a power of good. (As they used to say.)
Best wishes.
Snagged like a trout and fully in the basket. Great laugh. Thank you.
Happy April Fools Day to you too, Lady Carnarvon! Loved this, thank you for the chuckle.
Tee hee!
Wow how fantastic is this !!! I Love Downton Abbey !!!! I miss it so very much !!! Truly need to go and visit Highclere Castle !!! Thank you for sharing the news !!!
It’s an April Fools joke lol
🙂
Omg you almost had me. This seriously has to be April fools.
🙂
Wow! I love well done period dramas! John is the best person to have on the team. Good luck to everyone from Colorado.
Fabulous!
More history is always something I crave……sounds like everyone certainly has a vision and is moving along with this project. Can’t wait !!!
……but we have already passed midday on today’s date (BST time zone). So who, I wonder, will play the part of the fool ?
There are many, many time zones . . . .
April Fool?!?!? 🙂
Well done!
Priceless!, but I must confess that the penny did not drop until I read about your cooking advice.
Haha! Same for me – it wasn’t until the cabbage surprise to be served in the tea room that I caught on! Too funny – thanks for the April Fool’s!
Happy April Fools
So excited.
You wicked, wicked woman! I was faint with excitement. Then I continued reading. LOL
Glad you enjoyed it! I had such fun writing it.
That certainly woke me up! And then I realized the date. Well done!
Thank you
That was great, I was almost had! I am so excited and cannot wait for our visit and Tea in August!
In August the gardens will be spectacular.
Lady Carnarvon,
I hesitate to suggest that you might be pulling an April Fool’s prank … but you are surely capable of such mischief. This morning my own Downton Abbey prank fell flat when Cheryl didn’t believe that the new movie had just been released.
It won’t be long now!
Brilliant prank, Lady Canarvon. Actually, this might be something to talk with Julian about. It’s quite possible, a new series, possibly set in the 1800’s, might work, showing the building of Highclere, Robert growing up there and The Dowager married and raising her two children. I tend to look at all aspects of potential story lines….. it could work!! And, I (and probably all my other Downton friends) would love to see Robert meeting his wife, courting her and seeing how their marriage builds. Can you imagine the girls as toddlers – Mary stealing their toys!!! Ah, the literary mind wonders!!
I am reading this and taking it all seriously until I got to the farming implements and the…well…house…I’m thinking, well, this has got to be a spoof, but I wouldn’t want to offend if I was wrong…and then I looked at the date today…
Ohhh well played…. I’d say that is game, set and match to Lady Carnarvon ☺️ (To paraphrase Dr Clarkson, I believe)
Thank you
Amazing! I was fully bought in and ready to watch until I read the comments. Actually this might make a good movie- Well done!
You are right – it would be fun. Mrs Patmore tending to the outside fire.
Hilarious
🙂
Great News, Julian Fellowes is such a great writer. Please keep me up with the News. Richard
Lovely, too bad this day comes but once a year! Love your “news stories” each time. Carry on, ma’Lady…
Thank you – it was such fun to write
Your sense of humor is wicked!!! I absolutely love it!!! But, a second movie would be nice!!!
Yes it would.
I was falling for it until I got to the gift shop items…
Perhaps the fur bikinis might not sell very well!
Well you truly got me there, you rotter. I almost had my costume sorted for the next visit
Hope you and everyone there are keeping well ?
Paul
Thank you. The British weather might demand something warmer than a loincloth. All good here – busy busy.
Lady Carnarvon,
I was getting so excited! …. Then, oops. Realized the day. Oh well, I was looking forward to your recipe for gruel and cabbage, thinking about your expert demand for detail. Guess I will just have to wait for the movie to see what happened after the excellent series of Downton Abbey. Thanks for the chuckle!
You’re welcome. I absolutely love cabbage, but not for every meal.
well done to you.
As I was reading I forgot about your April Fools pranks and was thinking that this would not be my cup of tea. It wasn’t until I read the first comment that I remembered your pranks. Well done!
Thank you. I do enjoy writing these every year.
Lovely! You had me…for a little while. Nicely done 🙂
Thank you. It is so good to laugh.
Got me! I was getting super excited there for minute
Thank you for a laughter- filled surprise. Happy April and Happy Spring! Love the reference to “ barter economy “… who knew??
Great “April Fools”. Thank you, and have a wonderful week!
Best regards,
Charlotte Merriam Cole
Perhaps that was the one part of my blog that was nearest the truth!
You had me up to the gift shop, loincloths and farming expertise!
Highclere branded loincloths is perhaps a step too far!
I was quite excited when seeing the preview in my email, and was a bit disappointed when seeing the actual blog article. Well, I suppose I should simply appreciate a good April Fools’ Day joke.
You had me up to the point when you said Downton 2000BC! It is interesting to ponder however, what the people who lived on the land in 2000 BC were like, and how they established their hierarchy. I expect they had went through triumphs and tragedies just like the Crawley family.
The landscape around here bears testimony to the primitive dwellings and lifestyle of the inhabitants. I imagine life was a lot harder, a lot colder and much shorter than ours.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I totally took the bait … until I read how far back dear Julian Fellowes planned to travel in order “to leave plenty of scope for further chapters in the history of the Crawley Family.” Bronze Age?! Now that’s what I call character development! I laughed right into my Earl Grey.
Happy April 1st! May your Cabbage Surprise be warm and plentiful, today and beyond.
You are too kind!
Call in Time Team as historical consultants!
That would be fun!
Ha, Ha! You had me for a moment. I was so excited and I said to my husband that there was going to be a prequel and then as I continued reading, it dawned on me that it was April 1st! Well done, Lady Carnavon.
Thank you – and apologies to your husband.
It was the 2000 BC that gave me pause
This was a great Monday morning chuckle!!
Thank you. I find we all need a chuckle on a Monday morning – it starts the week in a positive way.
My daughter is finding it amusing that five of her friends are receiving invitations by mail from her, today, requesting that they serve as bridesmaids in her wedding. Fact or fiction? It is a fun day!
That’s a good one!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Happy April Fool’s Day.
I heard that a Mr Lyon from the London Zoo was wondering if you could give him a call today.
It’s an odd day to celebrate. However, one can’t but smile with the thought of pranking someone on April Fools’ Day.
It also is odd that, it is equally acceptable for the Day to be referred to as “April Fool’s Day” rather than “April Fools’ Day”, despite the fact that it also is often referred to as “All Fools Day”. (You will note that I have deliberately included both terms above.)
As far as I am aware the origin of the day remains a mystery in these modern times. I have heard and read that it dates back to the Romans and/or the Celts but the explanation that I like the most appeared on the History Channel and can even be found on its website.
I will conclude by quoting verbatim from that website:
“Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes.
“These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as poisson d’avril (April fish), said to symbolize a young, “easily hooked” fish and a gullible person.
“April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.”
Enjoy your day, but beware of those fake tails and signs.
Regards,
Jeffery Sewell
Thank you – I was not aware of the origins. It has always been a day of jokes and japes in our family. I shall call Mr Lyon forthwith!
So clever and funny! Hope you have a wonderful April Fools’ Day and a beautiful spring month. I love April here in Georgia, USA and you are off to a fun start!
How lovely – thank you.
Good April Fool’s Day From Kentucky,
I believed every word of your clever blog until you wrote about suede bikinis! I was having my coffee and reading your blog and forgot it was April Fools Day. Thank you for reminding me. I will be prepared now for the possibility of more foolery.
Happy April and Spring,
Cynthia Mills
Suede bikinis are not really suitable attire for Highclere in the Spring!
Bah! You got me!!!
You had me for a minute! I rushed in to tell my husband the news… he manages a PBS station here and Downton Abbey was a huge hit for them… then as I read the rest of the blog… Happy April First!
We will be working with PBS on some Pledge activities later in the year – which station does your husband manage?
That is wonderful news! He is at KNPB in Reno. They serve Reno, Tahoe, and portions of Northern California and Northern Nevada.
Thank you. I will be in touch later in the year. I am always delighted to help PBS as much as possible.
That’s just wonderful! Thank you.
Well done you! Truly brightened my gray, cold spring morning!
Thank you
Great news
WELL DONE!
Thank you
He he, fur and suede bikinis 🙂 🙂
🙂
Hilarious
Hilarious!
Thanks
Nice try almost got me fooled, forgot the date. Fur bikinis!!!
I know – can you imagine?
Perfect April Fool’s prank for those of us who love Downton Abbey! I went from excitement to I laughed right out loud! Thank you.
You’re welcome. Glad you had a good laugh.
This was brilliant! We have a bit of an issue with fake news in the US right now, but should you wish to try your hand on days other than April 1 – it appears you have a talent for it. Thanks for a great laugh.
Thank you. This is the only day when fake news (with a humorous twist) is encouraged.
Dear Lady Carnarvon
Well, I must admit that I was well and truly taken in by your excellent post this morning…..until I looked up at my computer clock and saw that it was, indeed, the 1st of April. I am, indeed a Fool, since I have long been aware that the DOWNTON movie had wrapped last September with (no spoilers here) and will be out *this* September, if I recall correctly.
So kudos to you for your excellent post.
Thank you. The actual movie will be here before we know it.
Ok Lady Carnarvon, well played. You so got me, I am now a bonafide April Fool for sure! I was going to look for the round housing on Sunday the 14th when we visit and the bikini in the store, ha, wow got me good!
Thank you – so glad you enjoyed it.
The good news about this is that if the script is sufficiently detailed, if it is set in 2000 BC or thereabouts there is the potential for as many as 1,950 follow-on prequels.
Exactly!
NOnonononono…this TOTALLY needs to be a thing!
Do it! Do it! Do it!
My husband is gravely disappointed. He wanted to buy one of the bikinis for me to wear. Poor, sweet man. We have been married since God created dirt, but still sees me as beautiful. A prequel to Downton Abbey would be widely anticipated and enjoyed, but not quite dated so far back in history. I do enjoy your teasing.
How charming! Your husband sounds like a wonderful man.A prequel – from whatever era – would be marvellous.
Can’t wait! When is the premier?
1st April 2020
I foresee a language barrier!
Happy April to you…
Yes! Thank you
You are very good at this! Too good…my heart leaped for joy at first, but then…crashed and burned to a crisp!
Sorry – it was too good an opportunity to miss!
Okay, Lady Carnarvon, I’ll admit, you had me going. I didn’t sleep well last night and am very groggy. I actually read this three times trying to make sense of it, and then the date dawned. Gruel and cabbage surprise indeed! 🙂 It was such a fun read, and anybody who uses “verisimilitude” with such grace, is worthy a tip of the hat. I love your writing. And Poor Julian Fellowes. It’s he who will be surprised, when diehard American Downtown groupies, who are taking this seriously, will point to your blog, and then demand the Flintstone version of Downton, and on and on and on. I wish he would have kept going beyond the Roaring Twenties, or even written a Victorian prequel. We will take anything . . . even a prehistoric Downton! And please don’t stop writing your blog. You are a gifted, interesting author.
All best, and we shall look forward to the real movie in the autumn.
Lynn Morrissey
Saint Louis, Missouri
Brilliant!
I was reading this good news to my wife in Southend Hospital following her appointment …
She was getting quite excited, as was I.
Then I suddenly stopped reading it out loud!
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
Then she saw me laughing!
“What’s the date today!” I asked!
“Oh” she said, looking disappointed!!!
We’ll done you!
We will now look around for matching loincloths when we visit for the concert …
Oh please do!
Congratulations on a fantastic April 1 blog. I was expecting something fabulous(having had a bit of experience w/your sense of humor). When you reached the fur bikinis, I almost spilt my tea. My late husband & I once performed as Og & wife for Halloween in a former neighborhood family celebration. He wore a faux fur loincloth over his Speedo & I wore a faux fur blanket w/strategic safety pins. (We were young at the time- ) Needless to say, many parents checked us out after kids were in beds. I reassured a number of the ladies we had appropriate undergarments. Now, this is a true story & one of my favorites. You do have a delightful sense of humor & thank you for reminding me of a fun time.
Enjoy your week.
Thank you. I can just picture you and your husband – it sounds like a fun evening!
The first couple of sentences you had me on the edge of my seat. Nicely played on this April 1st. Can’t wait to see your beautiful home for myself in late May.
We look forward to your visit – May is a wonderful month for the gardens.
Hehe good one!!! had me for a moment there!!!!
What a delight it was to meet you a few weeks ago at your beautiful estate… and the afternoon tea was
Libby
Western Australia
Thank you Libby. So glad you enjoyed your visit.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you so much for the laugh this morning. Just what I needed as I sit in my Doctor’s office waiting for him to do a pre-op physical for a second shoulder operation in 5 months. Feeling sorry for myself…not looking to be in a sling for 4 weeks and I started reading this and it turned my morning around. You have such a gift for writing and you should know that you touch people in so many ways.
Thanks again,
Suzanne Rosenberg
Manassas, Va
Thank you – and very best of luck with the operation. You can always binge watch Downton during your recovery.
What a wonderful idea! I’ve already seen it all three times but it never gets old. Especially since my sisters and I got to visit Highclere and meet you last June.. it’s even more special now…
You had me until the part about the fur bikinis. 🙂
Ha ha!
Like Eliza Doolittle: what a fool I was.
I live right in line with a jet runway and about two miles from touchdown. Must have some effect on my ability to add2+2.
I was fully taken until I started reading the comments.
I like the tummy chuckle.
Thanks!
Shirley oklshoma
Lord Grantham (or should that be Granite-ham)spearing a wild boar, Barrow flint-knapping and Mrs. P skinning the boar while Daisy attends the fire. I love it.
Hilarious!
MY DEAR LADY CARNARVON,
EXCELLENT. HAPPY APRIL TO YOU.
Thank you
Brilliant April Fool’s joke! Thanks for my morning smile! 🙂
🙂
Ha, Ha! That was fun. I was having a difficult morning at work and you put and smile on my face.
I’m very glad – a smile (or even a hearty laugh) at work is so beneficial!
Cheeky blog, Lady Carnarvon. You had me going until something about fur and suede bikinis. You do have a gift for comedy, thanks for my laugh of the day.
Theresa F
Thank you!
I started reading your article and yelled out to my husband that there would be a prequel to Downton, joy! Reading on and getting to the “relevant recipes”, I next yelled out that this has to be an April Fool’s joke….lol…..love it!
Thank you Lady Carnarvon for starting my day in California with a good laugh!
Gayle Norton
Glad you started the day with a laugh – the best way.
Well done Lady Carnarvon!
And they say the English do not have a sense of humor. You have proven them wrong. Happy April fools day.
Thank you – I find a sense of humour is essential!
I know the perfect model for the bikini. You, my lady! I expect to see the photo on the movie poster!
Thank you for volunteering Carol!
Lady Carnarvon, I have a strange question. I know I will never break bread with Her Majesty, but sometimes when I am eating I wonder what types of food she would serve at a dinner party. Some food is difficult or messy to eat and I’m wondering if she takes that into consideration and serves food that can be eaten delicately. I know, a very strange question! Thank you. Gayle
Her Majesty particularly would enjoy seasonal food from her estates at Balmoral and Sandringham, and I am sure each dish is delicious.
Happy April Fool’s Day, my Lady of Carnarvon! Your sense of humour is most excellent.
HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are such a kidder! I must say you had me there for a little bit…August 8 I hope you can come and meet me at Highclere – that’s my wish for April Fools…..I’m so excited to come and visit – will those handsome men be about I wonder??? Happy April!!! It’s still raining here in Napa – waiting to complain about the heat – but I do love Spring wet or dry…
August will be a fabulous time for the gardens – I do hope you enjoy your visit.
I was hoping to see Sally modelling the fur bikinis!
We were hoping you might volunteer!
I was just about to write – “are you serious?” And then read the first comment about April Fool’s! You had me going until part about the gift shop! LOL. Nicely played, Lady C. Nicely played!
I was a bit dubious and surprised, until I got to the loincloths and bikinis. Well done!
The very thought..
Fur bikinis indeed!
The Dowager Countess Grantham would spit her tea.
Well done, Lady Carnarvon!
Thank you for my Monday Highclere fix,
Joan Lerch,
Webster Groves, MO
I hope she would secretly smile..
My husband says I’m gullible, and darn it, if he isn’t spot on today! Good thing for the comments or I’d be emailing my sister right now about that 4000 year prequel. I really should have known something was up with the mention of fur and suede bikinis. What a great way to start my day. Thanks for the good chuckle!
Lady Carnarvon,
Is this for real ??
Sarah N
???!!!!!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
You had me going until I read prequel of 2000 BC…! LOLLL!
Happy April fool’s day!!!
Salutations!
Chantal
I was getting excited about the project
because I love history until you got to the suede bikinis and then I realized you were putting us on for April Fools Day. Thanks! We will celebrate my Granddaughters birthday today. What a day for a birthday.
A fun day!
Oh no. I was thrilled. Until I saw the bikini and thought, wait there’s something wrong. Love receiving your updates. Happy April 1st.
Sheila
You had me at 2000 BC. Thank you for the giggle~
I so look forward to visiting in August with my daughter!
As I read the opening paragraph, I was truly hoping that this was not an April Fools joke. I would love more Downton Abbey. Perhaps Mr. Fellowes could go as far back as the Restoration. There are so many interesting periods of British history to work with to create memorable characters.
All the best today having survived the weather that March brought.
Well done! Love your sense of “adventure” I can only imagine you, a very gracious lady, cooking over a fire – Hmm, an early clay pot? And Lord Carnarvon? In skins? Nope – let’s just stay with our lovely 21st century clothes. Thank you for your humor.
Diana in Las Vegas Nevada.
Happy April fools day Lady Carnarvon!
Cleveland New York USA
Thank you
Hilarious, Lady Carnarvon! My favorite April Fool’s joke of the day! I was so confused. I love reading your blog!
SOUNDS FANTASTIC. WHEN WILL IT BE AIRED? WILL IT BE ON PBS ?
I ALWAYS ENJOY ALL YOUR CREATIVE BLOGS.
Hooray and Happy April Fool’s Day from South Florida!!
Haha! You had me there for a while I must say. although a serial such as this would certainly make excellent viewing!
Well, happy to offer historical support!
Thank you for your post, STOP PRESS! To quote the phrases I have learned from my new British DowntonAbbey friends, “Crikey! Well done!”
Well played I think!
Brilliant!!!!! April Fool’s Day!!!!!!! The best one I have had today!!!!
:0 🙂 🙂
Great “story”!!!!!!
Lisa Cosgrove
I was waiting with baited breath to hear what James’ role would be !! I can just see him in neanderthal gear!!
Yes except he would miss the landrover….
Thank you. As one who loves anything Downton Abbey and Highclaire Castle you really got me. Happy April Fool’s Day.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I love this! What a clever idea to go back to the Bronze Age! What a treasure trove of stories for Downton fans! I must admit I was reading the first few paragraphs with great surprise and confusion until I realized this was a most wonderful tale for April 1. I began laughing and my six year old grandson wanted to know what was so funny. We had just finished playing April Fools pranks on each other so this was a perfect learning experience for him. I then told him about my two tours of the castle and he was most interested in King Tut.
Thank you for enriching our day and making me laugh!
Best wishes,
Lauretta McMillen.
Wonderful
One assumes Alastair Bruce will be, as always, advising on the social choreography. “No one wore their pelt like that. It just wasn’t done.”
I would imagine so, what to wear when the chieftain visits ..
I literally sent a text to my friends and family telling them how great this was going to be and gloating that I knew before they did. Jokes on me!
That is so funny!
I caught on at Cabbage Surprise. Good one!
All the way from Idaho, USA.
WELL DONE LADY C ! Who says the Brits don’t have a sense of humor? Spent 22 years in Engand and found my american humor was bland compaired to English humor. Beautifully done! I tip my stetson to you, my dear! We follow your monday blogs faithfully.
Thank you
I really enjoyed reading all that and must admit I got quite excited but it is the 2nd of April here in New Zealand so I certainly did not think of an April Fools joke. Well done to you, and thanks for the laugh you made my day!!!
Sorry about that- the magic of time zones
The whole time I was reading this, I was thinking, this HAS to be a joke! Phew, breathing now.
It was a balance writing this…
You are the best April Fool’s joke teller I’ve ever known! It all sounded quite believable until the bikini and loin cloth bits! I actually wish this were true and you could go back and do the ancient heritage of the Crawleys!! That would be awesome!! Thanks for some fun on April Fool’s day, as my husband is rehabilitating from a very painful fracture in his back, and we need some laughs!!
Sincerely, Jane Franks
Laughter is the best medicine
I was fooled – – twice today 🙂
You and Julian make a good team.
I must have one of those suede and fur bikinis to match my mink and fox muffler I got when we visited in 2016. I’ll be expecting to see them in your lovely gift shop! I don’t understand why Julian doesn’t go all the way back to King Tut! A pyramid would be a lovely new museum for your Egyptian exhibit, and turn the basement back into the torture dungeon it once was
We have cellars rather than dungeons – better karma
That. Was. Brilliant. No one else got me today. I really was scratching my head.
Best regards,
Suzanne
NYC
Well….it was another crazy Monday here. I just had time to read your blog. I started reading and stopped as soon as I read that Julian Fellows was involved with another movie! I told my husband in the next room…”there’s going to be another movie about Downton…but this time it is a prequel”! I was so excited! Then as I read further…it just didn’t sound right….(I have also become somewhat familiar with your wonderful sense of humor). I told my husband it was a false alarm…April Fools Joke! As I read further I laughed at your imagination. Well done , you!
I will never watch Downton Abbey again…..APRIL FOOLS!
Sue Smith
Englewood, Florida
Haha! The first couple paragraphs almost got me. Happy April! I wish you a lovely Spring from Orlando, FL.
Thank you –
Well done! I got about half way through before I twigged as to the date!
Awww.. Shucks!
You had me going there for a paragraph.
Good job!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you so much for writing such a great story every Monday. I thoroughly look forward to Monday’s because of your great blogs. Also, thank you for making April Fools’ Day so special for each of us today.
Happy April Fools’ Day to you and everyone at Highclere.
Sincerely,
Tammy Raglin
Lexington, Kentucky
Thank you!
What fun! Hope you all had a “silly” April Fool’s Day, I am in Athens without wifi until today, so it was understandable, reading the immediate comments, that this was my Lady’s “joke”! Imagine a “prehistoric” episode of Downton Abbey? Thanks for this very clever blog !
Out of this world!
Just pick me up off the floor …Lololololol…..Rotf
Good!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
You had me there for a moment…it was the bikinis and then the realization that you published this blog on April 1st. This is almost as good as McDonalds pickle burger.
Blessings to all at Highclere,
Paula in Tulsa
Thank you !
So very clever! Actually, a prequel is not such a bad idea… Trying to recreate the world of 2,000 years ago or so would be a fascinating project!
Carry On Downton perhaps.
Imagine Lady Mary competing in a chariot race and providing the vocals at the feasting.
Never mind, just keep taking the medication and you should feel much better, but do not give up the day job.
Well done.
Witty and clever! Thanks for the laugh.
This surely fooled me! I got so excited I started reading the good news to my husband until I reached the comments. Speaking of Julian Fellowes, he should write a series or movie based on the life of Lady Almina. I loved reading your book, and though it would be similar to Downton Abbey, I would love to see her life come alive on the TV or movie screen.
Almina was a remarkable woman – so ahead of her time.
I agree!
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
You had me fooled for a little bit, then I started to wonder!!!
Best April Fool’s . Your the best Lady Carnarvon. Too funny.
Hugs,
Christina
ORANGEVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA.
Too funny …
I got so excited thinking about a movie of the Crawleys from Tudor times …
Thank you once again for the enchanting pictures!
Shelley in Virginia
So much fun to be had!
What a lovely day today at Highclere Castle! Such an interesting place to visit. And what a pleasure to see the beautiful and charming Lady Carnarvon walking in the Castle during the visit!
You are too kind!