Tatty Batty

In much the same way as Edison worked hard inventing the light bulb, Ruth Handler toiled over a Barbie doll and Clive Sinclair laboured over the Sinclair C5; Castle Custodian Clive Brooke has spent a large part of the last few weeks hunched over a series of blueprints at his workstation, only occasionally disappearing to march over to the Castle keep with a metre stick, note pad and protractor.

A few of his colleagues became concerned about his behaviour but he insisted we leave him be, and that he was onto “something big.”

This week he has been proven correct; springing into life on Tuesday morning, Clive set out towards the Castle with a ball of string, some sticks, a can of spray paint and a lawnmower. A couple of hours later his masterpiece was unveiled.

To celebrate our upcoming Halloween set of events, Clive (ably assisted by Sarah) has cut the shape of a Halloween bat into the lawn in front of the Castle.

Previously, the largest bat known to man was the Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox, which has a wingspan approaching one and a half metres; but this is dwarfed by the Tattershall Bat (Graminoid Chiroptera), which measures in at twenty metres wide.

Visitors to the Castle can appreciate the view of the Bat best from the roof, and as Halloween approaches Clive is rejecting suggestions that the Tattershall Bat is his Sistine Chapel, and is promising bigger and better things next week.