Kidney Hill Watch, also known as the Kidney Hill War Watch, refers to a strategic watchtower located on a hill in Hong Kong. Situated in Shek Kip Mei, the watchtower played a significant role during the World War II. During the war, Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese forces from 1941 until 1945. The Kidney Hill Watch became one of the key locations for the British forces to monitor enemy movements and protect the Kowloon Peninsula. It offered a view of the entire Kowloon area and the harbor, giving the British forces a tactical advantage in defending Hong Kong. The construction of the Kidney Hill Watch began in 1936, prior to the outbreak of the war.

Kitchen Witch

I stumbled across this list of the best cookbook stores in the world. I don’t mean book stores with good cookbook sections, I mean bookstores that only sell cookbooks. In other words, heaven on earth to all of us cookbook collectors. As I scanned the list, I discovered Kitchen Witch in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Lucky me; I was leaving for New Orleans for my daughter’s wedding the next week. Kitchen Witch would be the first cookbook store on my bucket list. I picked a good one. Come on in.

The first thing I wanted to do was smile and giggle. There is no store like Kitchen Witch. I fell in love with it instantly. It has sparkly lights and looks sort of like my own Culinary Cellar in progress. I am going to add sparkly lights to my ceiling when I get home.

I also need to find an old stove. Cookbooks just belong there, don’t you think?

Kitchen Witch even makes their own line of spices and other items.

I was feeling like a kid in a candy store, and it must have been obvious because I struck up a conversation with Debbie Lindsey, one of the owners, and when I told her I wrote a cookbook blog and then babbled on how much I loved her store, she gave me a hug. I never wanted to leave this 1830 era store on Toulouse Street.

The way to find church cookbooks, or apparently an exit to New York City.

Shelves like this are all over the store. Dinty Moore Stew optional.

I probably spent ten minutes looking through this recipe box.

If you can take your eyes off the cookbooks for a second, look up and view the art work. It’s all over the store. I found at least six paintings I wanted to take home.

And of course you can buy an actual kitchen witch.

Cookbook-only stores are a labor of love. Owners Debbie Lindsey and Philipe LaMancusa look forward to your visit, they say, “by phone/email/spirit/carrier pigeon.” They obviously love what they do and will bend over backwards to help you. You can get free services such as cookbook searches, ideas, advice, and recipes. Yes, all free and offered with a big heart, and if you’re lucky, a hug from Debbie.

Witch who is attracted to herself achieves ‘heightened sense of fulfilment’ after self-marriage ceremony on Halloween

An American witch who is sexually and romantically attracted to herself has had a self-marriage ceremony on Halloween, involving sacrifices such as Reece’s peanut butter cups and apple juice to Pagan gods while wearing a witches costume, and has said she now has a “heightened sense of fulfilment, peace, and security within”.

Ghia Vitale, 33, a senior editor at Quail Bell Magazine, from Long Island, New York, first learned about sologamy – the practice of marrying yourself – in May 2017 and on the same day, she “mentally” asked herself to marry herself.

The witch had the self-marriage ceremony, which is not legally binding, on Halloween 2023, to celebrate her “dark side” in her bedroom, wearing a black witch costume, and decorated her altar with a statue of The Venus of Willendorf, who she believes looks like her, to “honour [her] fat body.”

The ceremony began with the offering of sacrifices – such as Reese’s peanut butter cups, apple juice, and tealight candles – to Pagan gods, as well as tracing her wedding necklace over a pentagram “as a blessing”.

Vitale repeated her self-written vows to herself, and secured the necklace around her neck, and “became married to (herself) from that moment onward”.

She has not yet consummated the marriage through self-pleasure, but has said she is “not worried” because she is with someone who is “willing to wait”.

Since being married, Vitale feels “validated and complete” in a way she “never thought possible”, and would encourage others to become sologamists.

Vitale told PA Real Life: “I feel like a more complete person now – now that I’ve finally performed my self-marriage ceremony, I feel a heightened sense of fulfilment, peace, and security within myself.

“It’s become clear to me that marrying myself is something I’ve needed to do for myself for a while.

“Although my self-marriage ritual was purely spiritual and non-legally binding, validating my relationship with myself in a ritual was very moving and even therapeutic – no amount of love or reassurance from others could provide me with the feelings of completeness I’ve been experiencing ever since I performed my self-marriage ritual.”

Vitale first learned about sologamy in May 2017 when she came across an article online.

She said: “I wanted to marry myself immediately after I found out about sologamy.

“I am both autosexual, sexually attracted to myself, and autoromantic, romantically attracted to myself, which is why the idea of marrying myself is so appealing to me.

“Because I considered myself to be in a relationship with myself when I learned about sologamy, I immediately realised that was the next step to take with my self-relationship as soon as I learned about it.”

On the same day she learned about sologamy, on May 22 2017, Vitale proposed to herself.

She explained: “I mentally asked myself to marry myself – I mentally paused for a few seconds, then internally responded ‘yes’ to myself.”

Vitale also identifies as a witch, and had her self-marriage ceremony on Halloween 2023 as it is her favourite seasonal celebration.

She said: “I call [Halloween] ‘Samhain’ like many other pagans and witches do.

“Samhain has always been my favourite day of the year for both festive reasons and occult reasons – I wanted to hold my self-wedding during the dark half of the year to focus on honouring my dark side and exploring my shadows instead of avoiding or suppressing them.”

Vitale said she almost postponed her self-marriage ritual entirely due to illness, but antibiotics allowed her to perform a low-key ritual on Halloween.

Vitale had the ceremony in her bedroom, wearing a black witch costume, and decorated her altar with a red gingham cloth and a statue of The Venus of Willendorf.

She said: “The Venus of Willendorf is the depiction of Venus I relate to the most because she looks the most like me – I did it to honour my fat body that I find attractive and hot despite society’s hatred for fat bodies.

“To represent the powers blessing my self-marriage, I had a tealight candle holder that is also a representation of Venus along with a slate, circular tile with Astaroth’s seal on it.”

Vitale’s ceremony started with offering sacrifices to Venus and Astaroth, she explained: “For fire, I lit another red tealight candle, for air, I lit patchouli incense, for earth, I ate a Reese’s peanut butter cup, and for water, I drank a chalice full of apple juice.

“I offered my original poetry to them as an additional sacrifice and act of appreciation – it’s a poem I wrote that was specifically inspired by Venus and Astaroth.”

Instead of a wedding ring, Vitale has a wedding necklace, and traced it over a pentagram “as a blessing”.

I feel like a more complete person now - now that I’ve finally performed my self-marriage ceremony, I feel a heightened sense of fulfilment, peace, and security within myself

She said: “I held the black necklace as I enchanted the necklace to strengthen my sense of self-love, self-confidence, and self-worth, all while attracting more love into my life.

“After that, I repeated my sonnet-vows to myself that will eventually be published in the future.

“I secured the black necklace around my neck and became married to myself from that moment onward.”

Vitale has not consummated her self-marriage through self-pleasure yet, she said: “I’m not worried, though, because I’m with someone who’s willing to wait until I’m ready.”

Vitale celebrated her first day of self-marriage by listening to music and eating Reese’s peanut butter cups, and is now planning on having a wedding celebration with her loved ones.

She said: “My friends are happy for me, a few of my family members have also expressed to me that they are happy for me.”

On what would happen if she wanted to have a legally binding marriage to another person, she said: “My self-marriage would remain in effect if I were to ever desire marriage with another person.

“Self-marriage is about honouring your connection with yourself, especially since that connection impacts your life so significantly – me having a good relationship with myself is good for my other relationships and my overall well-being.

“However, I would not even consider dating someone who had a problem with my autosexuality, autoromanticism, or self-marriage – that’s the kind of serious incompatibility I can’t overlook or put aside.”

To others considering sologamy, she said: “I suggest that you read up about it, then go for it.

“I suggest sologamy for people who simply want to commit to self-love with a ritual. Self-marriage ultimately represents treating yourself with the same level of love, respect, and care you’d give to a significant other.

“I especially suggest sologamy if you, too, are autosexual or autoromantic.

“Marrying myself made me feel validated and complete in a way I never thought possible until I actually did it.”

1 / 1 Witch achieves ‘heightened sense of fulfilment’ after self-marriage

Witch achieves ‘heightened sense of fulfilment’ after self-marriage

Ghia said she now feels ‘a heightened sense of fulfilment, peace, and security’ within herself (Collect/PA Real Life)

Diamond Painting is easy and fun!

Relax and unwind as you seamlessly create your own stunning diamond art.

The construction of the Kidney Hill Watch began in 1936, prior to the outbreak of the war. It was part of a series of military defenses built by the British in response to the increasing threat of invasion from Japan. The watchtower was specifically designed to house a searchlight, a searchlamp, and a machine gun, giving the British forces the ability to detect intruders and respond with firepower if necessary.

Featured Kits

Cosmic Trip

ELLIE MAY – Be You!

Peace River Cabin

Rainbow Flower Power

Marine to Life

MAE MAE - don't give me no sass!

PURNELL - light's on. but the bulb is definitely loose!

Red Moon

Within the watchtower, soldiers were stationed around the clock, observing and reporting any suspicious activity. The location of the Kidney Hill Watch provided an excellent vantage point, as it was positioned at a higher elevation than the surrounding areas. This allowed the soldiers to have a clear line of sight and effectively monitor the surrounding territory. The Kidney Hill Watch played a crucial role in the defense of Hong Kong during the war. It enabled the British forces to gather vital information about the movements and positioning of the Japanese forces, allowing for better coordination and strategizing. The watchtower also served as a deterrent, as the presence of British soldiers on the hill demonstrated their readiness to defend Hong Kong against any enemy attack. Today, the Kidney Hill Watch stands as a historical site and a reminder of Hong Kong's wartime past. It serves as a memorial to the brave soldiers who defended the city during World War II. The watchtower and its surrounding area are now open to the public, allowing visitors to learn about the history of the site and appreciate its significance in Hong Kong's military heritage..

Reviews for "Simplifying Kidney Health Monitoring with Kidney Hill Watch"

1. Sarah - 1 star - I couldn't stand "Kidney Hill Watch". The storyline was extremely confusing and disjointed, making it hard to follow or connect with the characters. The pacing was also off, with slow and dragging scenes that seemed to go on forever, while the potentially exciting moments were rushed through without any depth or development. Overall, the film lacked cohesiveness and failed to engage me as a viewer. I would not recommend wasting your time on this one.

2. John - 2 stars - "Kidney Hill Watch" had an interesting concept, but it was executed poorly. The acting was subpar and lacked believability, making it hard to emotionally invest in any of the characters. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making the interactions between the characters feel awkward and contrived. The soundtrack also felt out of place, occasionally overpowering important scenes. While the film had some potential, it fell short of delivering an enjoyable experience.

3. Emily - 1 star - I found "Kidney Hill Watch" to be extremely boring and tedious. The plot was uninteresting and predictable, offering no surprises or exciting moments. The cinematography and editing were lackluster, failing to create any visually compelling scenes. The characters were forgettable and lacked depth, making it hard to care about their journey or the events unfolding on screen. Overall, I was thoroughly disappointed with this film and would not recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and entertaining watch.

4. Michael - 2 stars - "Kidney Hill Watch" had some potential, but ultimately failed to deliver a satisfying experience. The dialogue was cliche and uninspired, with characters spouting off cheesy lines that felt out of touch with reality. The plot was convoluted and difficult to follow, leaving me feeling confused and disinterested. The pacing was also off, with slow and dragging scenes that made the film feel much longer than it actually was. While the concept was intriguing, the execution fell flat, resulting in a lackluster film.

Kidney Hill Watch: The Next Generation Health Monitoring Device for Kidney Health