noise

Would you dare to the stay the night in Cornwall in what is said to be one of the most haunted hotels in the UK? Well – one woman did, and it inspired her murder mystery novel

Perched on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, this hotel is renowned for its eerie tales and rich history, tracing back to the 1750s.

As we’re in the midst of the spooky season, there’s nothing quite as chilling as spending a night in a hotel reputed to be one of the most haunted in the UK. The Jamaica Inn, an old coaching inn with a dark past believed to involve smuggling and ghostly stories, is famous for its spine-tingling reputation.

Originally built in 1750 as a coaching stop, the hotel now serves as a pub, restaurant and hotel, with a dedicated area for learning about the alleged spectral encounters. The Grade II-listed building exudes charm – and fear – with its traditional oak beams and snug rooms.

However, before it became a popular spot for food and overnight stays, it was infamous as a hub for the Cornwall smuggling trade. Its isolated location on the moors made it notorious for smugglers transporting goods like tea, brandy and silks from the sea, hidden beneath the floors and panels.

The isolation of the Jamaica Inn was its greatest asset in those days, often frequented by mysterious figures under dimly lit lanterns. Despite its modern touches, it was creepy enough for English author Daphne du Maurier to base her entire murder mystery novel on her stay there in 1936.

Taking its name from the precise spot where it stands, Jamaica Inn became a literary sensation amongst readers and was subsequently transformed into a film under Alfred Hitchcock’s direction.

The movie marked the final British production he would helm before departing for Hollywood, where he would establish himself as one of cinema’s legendary figures, earning up to six Oscar victories.

Thus, despite its shadowy and occasionally unlawful past, the inn achieved immortality through du Maurier’s fictional masterpiece, as she found herself captivated by the brooding heritage and spooky presence of the establishment and its bleak landscape.

Today in the 20th century, Jamaica Inn has evolved into something of a regional icon, where visitors pause to rest and discover its enduring legacy. One guest posted on TripAdvisor: “Had a thoroughly enjoyable two-night stay.

“The views from the inn were amazing onto the moor. The atmosphere was as expected from an old smugglers’ inn, full of mystery and intrigue!”.

Another visitor, eager to witness a supernatural encounter or sense the presence of the smugglers who once trod these very boards, recounted their spine-chilling experience.

They wrote: “We had done some research before arriving and saw that some rooms in the new, and many rooms in the original, areas have had activity from the paranormal…”

They shared tales about their terrifying night’s sleep – or their lack of. “Within a few minutes I was in the bathroom getting ready for a shower and heard a very loud male whistle from inside the room (corner nearest the bedroom). When asking my partner if she had whistled and getting a response of ‘absolutely NO’ I suddenly felt on edge.”

It’s no mystery that whilst the hotel has been transformed into a contemporary cosy pub and inn popular with travellers, its spine-chilling past is renowned for good reason. Whilst many other guests claim to have never experienced anything of the sort, others can’t help but let their minds wander.

PRIME Day is finally here, and these Skullcandy headphones are at their lowest price all year

Currently, Prime members can pick them up for £43.99 instead of £69.99, making them one of the first proper tech steals of the day.

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Skullcandy Hesh ANC Headphones, £69.99 £43.99

Amazon’s 48-hour sale is underway, with deals on everything from top gadgets to beauty buys, and these headphones are already a clear frontrunner.

The Hesh ANC headphones have dropped by a huge 37% for Prime members, and shoppers can’t get enough of them.

Having tested plenty of the market’s best noise-cancelling headphones myself, I know how rare it is to see this spec list at this sort of price.

With 4-mic active noise cancelling, they block out the world so you can sink into your playlists, podcasts or plane movies in peace.

Battery life clocks in at a generous 22 hours, and the Rapid Charge feature earns you enough juice for three hours of listening on just a ten-minute charge.

They’re cleverly built too, with easy controls for calls, volume and tracks right on the earcup, and Tile tracking tech baked in so you can hunt them down in seconds if they go missing.

They fold flat, collapse down for travel, and even come with a bonus USB-C charging cable, which is a small but handy extra that makes them feel like a real all-rounder.

And with Christmas now creeping closer, they’re the kind of gift you’ll feel smug saving on early.

If you’re not already a member, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial and still cash in on the deals while the sale’s live.

Shoppers are already raving, earning the Skullcandy Hesh Headphones a strong 4.6 out of 5-star rating.

One says “the noise cancellation is really quite marvellous, nice and comfy too. I’d recommend at this price point.”

Another calls them “the best headphones I ever bought, the bass is clean, love the details and Tile feature. Great buy, premium quality.”

A third says they’re “excellent on flights with very good battery life.”

If you’re browsing beyond headphones, there are more gems to be found, like Blink’s ‘easy to install’ £120 home security kit, now just £31, its lowest ever price.

And for those after Amazon’s device deals, we’ve rounded up the top deals on Fire TV Sticks, Echo speakers, Kindles and more.

You can also head straight to our guide to the best Prime Day deals to see every top offer worth snapping up before the sale ends.

Amazon Prime Day: the 10 best early deals

The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale kicks off tomorrow (7th-8th October), but there’s already some early deals to snap up.

*If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue

1. Amazon Fire TV Stick HD, £19.99 (was £39.99) – buy here
2. Poounur Fitness Smartwatch, £23.99 (was £129.99) – buy here
3. Hangsun 12L/Day Dehumidifier, £88.38 (was £118.98) – buy here
4. LKOUY Portable Charger, £12.99 (was £59.99) – buy here
5. Slumberdown Feels Like Down King Size Duvet, £21.56 (was £31.19) – buy here
6. Remington Proluxe Ceramic Hair Straightener, £34.99 (was £109.99) – buy here
7. Felix 40-pack Jelly Wet Cat Food, £9.48 (was £14.77) – buy here
8. Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, £69.99 (was £149.99) – buy here
9. LKE 268W UV Nail Lamp, £16.14 (was £28.99) – buy here
10. EverFoams Women’s Shearling Memory Foam Slippers, £15.97 (was £22.99) – buy here

When the sale lands, you’ll find more top bargains here:

Just remember, you’ll need to sign up to Amazon Prime to take advantage of these bargains.

The festivities begin even before the characters of “One Man, Two Guvnors” enter the stage. A skiffle band (complete with washboard player) performs a pre-show set to rev up the audience for this update of a classic farce relocated to Britain on the eve of the swinging ‘60s.

The inspiration for Richard Bean’s “One Man, Two Guvnors,” now at A Noise Within in Pasadena, is “The Servant of Two Masters,” Carlo Goldoni’s mid-18th-century comedy that formalized the commedia dell’arte antics and masked characters made famous by the improvisational Italian troupes of the day. Bean’s play, set in the eccentric seaside town of Brighton, is quintessentially English by contrast. But farce is a universal language, and the hilarity is not just translated but alchemized into something riotously contemporary.

Grant Olding has written the songs that set the play’s mood, a mischievous Joe Orton-esque ambiance, only less jaundiced and more childlike. Francis Henshall (Kasey Mahaffy), a down-on-his luck busker who moves through the world like an overgrown baby, is driven more by hunger than lust, at least in the play’s first half.

His raging appetite compels him to break the fourth wall and beg the audience for a spare sandwich. When James Corden played the role in London and then on Broadway (where he won a Tony Award for his work), Francis became a figure of unstoppable gluttony. Mahaffy, who starred in the exuberant revival of “A Man of No Importance” at A Noise Within last season, is more insistently peckish — hungry rather than hangry. Sustenance is offered — a hummus sandwich, not one of the character’s favorites — but the plot won’t allow him to dig in just yet. Poor Francis has no choice but to gamely proceed with the farcical business at hand.

“One Man, Two Guvnors” was so dominated by Corden’s star-making performance (this was before his late-night talk-show days) that I assumed the play was a vehicle for a no-holds-barred clown. The effectiveness of the new production, co-directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, is the ensemble approach to the comedy, with everyone expected to contribute their fair share of mirth.

Mahaffy may not be the most natural Zanni, the commedia term for the trickster servant who’s riddled with hunger and lust and always prepared to talk his way out of trouble. He works hard for his laughs, sometimes too hard, but he’s an endearing imp — an overwhelmed freelancer trying to survive the unforgiving gig economy of his age.

Cassandra Marie Murphy, left, and Christie Coran in “One Man, Two Guvnors” at A Noise Within.

(Craig Schwartz)

When the play begins, Francis is employed as the bodyguard of gangster Roscoe Crabbe, who has mysteriously returned from the dead. In fact, Francis is working for the gangster’s twin sister, Rachel Crabbe (Christie Coran), who has disguised herself as Roscoe to extract a debt from Charlie “The Duck” Clench (Henri Lubatti).

Charlie’s dim-bulb daughter, Pauline (Cassandra Marie Murphy), was betrothed to Roscoe, a known homosexual with a sadistic temper. It was to be a marriage of convenience — convenient business-wise for both Roscoe and Charlie. But after Roscoe’s reported death freed her from a frightening prospect, Pauline has become engaged to Alan Dangle (Paul David Story), a would-be actor whose every utterance of love is as hammy as it is sickly sweet.

Rachel is trying to obtain enough money to get married herself. Her intended, Stanley Stubbers (Ty Aldridge), an upper-class twit, murdered her thuggish brother, who was against their union. If she can collect the dowry from Charlie, she and Stanley can sail to Australia to escape the police and live happily ever after Down Under.

Lacking the money to buy even a single portion of fish and chips at a local pub, Francis agrees to be Stanley’s right-hand man. Francis is determined to keep his two bosses apart, a recipe for farcical mayhem, made all the more complicated by Rachel’s convincing drag act and Stanley’s ignorance of her master plan.

In true commedia style, character is destiny. The plot is prescribed by the constellation of types. Obstacles are set up only to be overcome in a stroke of mad luck or outlandish kindness. The longer the delay, the greater the satisfaction when everything is gaily resolved.

Christie Coran and Ty Aldridge in “One Man, Two Guvnors” at A Noise Within.

(Craig Schwartz)

But the route to the happy ending matters, and the actors make this journey a rollicking one. Aldridge’s Stanley is as obtuse as he is supercilious, a dangerous combination for Francis and a hilarious one for us. Coran’s Rachel plays a clever tough guy who puts on a vicious façade to avoid an actual fight. The performance — both in and within the play — works like a dream.

Murphy’s Pauline, a vacuous blonde too literal-minded for metaphor, and Story’s Alan, a scenery-chewer who hogs the spotlight, are a perfect match. Charlie, the transactional patriarch, is as proudly corrupt as his underhanded lawyer, Harry Dangle (Lynn Robert Beg), who sets an equally bad example for his kid, Alan.

Dolly (Trisha Miller), Charlie’s bookkeeper who capably sorts out whatever crooked business is put before her, becomes the romantic object of Francis’ exploits in the second act, when food becomes secondary to love — or its Majorca vacation equivalent, the holiday he dangles before her.

Toward the end of the first act, a serving scene involving a multicourse meal and an octogenarian waiter named Alfie (Josey Montana McCoy) with an adjustable pacemaker brings Francis’ mania for food to a feverish pitch. It’s an ingeniously choreographed slapstick routine, but the bit is even funnier after Francis conscripts a plant in the audience to assist him in hoarding food.

A production of “One Man, Two Guvnors” at South Coast Repertory in 2015 failed to summon the necessary vivacity. That’s where Rodriguez-Elliot and Elliot succeed, creating a party atmosphere through not just the hard-charging band (under the music direction of Rod Bagheri) but the mod scenic design of Frederica Nascimento and the jaunty vintage flair of Garry Lennon’s costumes.

Bean’s play is impressively worked out, mathematically and verbally. The wit is crisp and the comic routines are evergreen, all the more so for the sharpness of the playing.

Mahaffy’s Francis is unfailingly vivid as the self-serving valet of commedia tradition. But this production proves that “One Man, Two Guvnors” is more than a star vehicle for an insanely hungry clown.