Ep 217: The Vertical Plane Part 1
“What a prospect! Either he was dead and we were alive or he was alive and we were more than 400 years from the dates of our conceptions.”
Description:
Many of us enjoy a good ghost story. Many of us enjoy Science Fiction. But how many stories do you know that start off as one and evolve into the other? What's become known as "The mystery of the Dodleston messages" is precisely just such a case. And if the story is accurate, it comes with some of the most incredible, baffling, and mind-bending implications we've ever encountered. Towards the end of summer in 1984, teacher and musician Ken Webster was renovating his 16th-century home named "Meadow Cottage" when the strange activity began. Located in the village of Dodleston, four miles southwest of the town of Chester in northwest England near the border with Wales, life was taking its usual somnambulistic pace while dusted with the discomfort and drudgery of living in a small, historical residence during construction. But one day, while Webster's lodger friend Nicola helped to decorate, the pair noticed tiny, six-toed footprints going up the wall that would reappear even after repainting. Then, it seemed a poltergeist repeatedly stacked their pantry goods in a playful yet orderly fashion. Clearly to them, some acquaintance was having a laugh at their expense. But a bigger mystery unfolded after Webster brought home a BBC brand word processor from his school so Nicola could write comedy sketches. Ken Webster, Nicola, and Ken's girlfriend Debbie noticed that someone was leaving at first cryptic messages on the microcomputer, but seemingly written in the style of 16th-century English. Before long, the epistler, or as the trio first thought, merry prankster, had identified himself as "Lukas" and was wondering what all these strange but decent folks were doing in his farmhouse, mucking about. Through leaving text documents back and forth, an ongoing conversation and friendship developed. Lukas claimed to be the original owner of the cottage. Not only that, he said he was currently living under the reign of King Henry VIII and his queen of the moment, Catherine Parr, making Lukas' lifetime the 1540s of England. But as unbelievable as this more than 400-year-old correspondence appeared, the situation would become even more bizarre as Lukas, Ken, and his friends would find themselves embroiled in royal Tudor intrigue with trying to save Lukas' life. Complicating this otherworldly drama was the emergence of mysterious correspondents who claimed to be manipulating this portal through time. As relatively mundane as Lukas' messages often were, these new entities professed to be from the future, or perhaps a possible future, and warned that messing with the paradoxes of time travel could lead to terrible consequences with alternate timelines. Ken Webster documented this series of mind-blowing events in his book, The Vertical Plane, published in 1989. Tonight, we're joined once again by our great friend and paranormal oracle, Richard Hatem. Rich made us aware of this story by generously gifting us Webster's book, years before its now princely sum of over $500 for a used, out-of-print copy on Amazon. Part One of our series on this unimaginable occurrence will focus on how Webster and his friends got to know this true "Renaissance Man" and leading up to the possibility that there are overlords of time who can dabble in our destinies.
Location:
The village of Dodleston where Ken Webster was refurbishing and living at “Meadow Cottage.” Dodleston is about four miles southwest of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, about a mile from the border of England and Wales, and about 2 ½ miles from the River Dee on the Welsh side. Generally, it’s in central to northwest England, about 18 ½ miles due south of Liverpool.
Reference Links:
The English village of Dodleston, near the border with Wales
The segment on The Vertical Plane, from the 1996 British TV series, Out of This World on YouTube
The BBC Microcomputer – Papercraft Design, from artist & designer, Rocky Bergen
“Ghost in the Machine” from the blog, MERCURIUS POLITICUS, by Nick
Catherine Parr, Queen of England as the wife of Henry VIII, from 1543 to 1547
The “Time Variance Authority” or TVA from Marvel comics and the 2021 Disney + series, Loki
Astonishing Guacamole Recipe
Courtesy of Scott’s friend and former NYC Sous-chef, Ian
There are two steps to this recipe. One is pretty standard for Guacamole. No surprises there. But what’s really amazing is Ian’s Spice Blend, which you’ll see after the main recipe. Typically Scott makes a batch of this up in the spring of every year and loads it into a pepper grinder to be doled out every time the guac is made until the winter. For the spice blend, toast the Cumin seeds and the Coriander seeds yourself! It’s easy to do! Just google it if you’re not familiar. It makes all the difference.
THE GUAC
2 avocados
2 plum tomatoes- diced
1 small onion (red or white)- diced
2 jalapenos- brunoise (smaller than diced, larger than minced)
1 lime
fresh cilantro- chiffonade (fine chop)
fresh oregano- chiffonade
salt & pepper to taste
Ian's spice blend (recipe follows)
Best with a Mortar, but just as good in a conventional mixing bowl.
Preparation:
Use gloves when cutting the jalapeno, so the oils don't get into your skin. Remove the ribs and seeds- using only the green flesh. (This is of course a personal choice on spiciness.)
Making the guac:
1- Take one teaspoon of jalapeno and one tablespoon of onions and add them to the mortar, with a pinch of salt and some coarse salt.
2- Crush everything together into a rough paste.
3- Add the avocados, roughly chopped, mash until some chunks remain.
4- Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime, and add the spice blend, salt & pepper.
5- Mix and taste- You should sense everything without one flavor being to dominant. Should be right at the edge of too salty.
6- Add the tomatoes, onions, remaining jalapeno, and herbs.
7- Taste again and adjust, if necessary by adding more lime juice and spice blend.
Can be enjoyed immediately, but even better when it sits for a few hours, so the flavors can marry. Best with fresh chips from your local Mexican joint...
IAN’S SPICE BLEND:
Whole Black Peppercorns
Very coarse Sea Salt
Whole Dried Chili Peppers
Whole Cumin seeds (toasted)
Whole Coriander seeds (toasted)
Dried, sliced garlic
There are no exact measurements, but Ian says that the items at the top should be in greater quantity than those at the bottom. Put it all in a spice grinder/pepper grinder and grind it to order into your guac or any dish you like. If you want to experiment, you could also add some dried, minced citrus peel...
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CREDITS:
Episode 217: The Vertical Plane Part 1. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel and Brandon Shexnayder. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Graphic Animation by Joshua Slone. Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.