Round the Herne

 Chapter the fourth in my serialised meander into the world of YA fantasy. I'm amusing myself if nobody else, so will write a little more before the q=burdens of the quotidian world get in the way, CHAPTER 4    “The Fourth House?” Dylan mouthed the words as if he were saying something obscene that he did not want overheard. “Who on earth told you about that?” Catriona recounted the scene she had witnessed in the bookshop. Her books were currently teetering on the dresser. She had opted to skip the hurley shop and acquired a sackful of herbs and a pocket-sized sickle at Demulcent’s Herbarium. The herbs were filling her room with a heady aroma. At Morwenna’s insistence she had gone into Stang and Treen’s stavewright shop to acquire a staff. A polished length of oak has caught her eye, engraved with a stag design. She felt rather silly carrying it home (catching herself already thinking of her dormitory room as home), but as all the others had staffs of their own she d...

 This is my recording if a 1918 short story, "Courage", by the talented but now rather neglected Irish author Forrest Reid. It is the tale of a lonely boy's sojourn in the Irish countryside and what happens when he explores an abandoned house. I find Reid's style very engaging and may well record other stories by him in the future, try and boost his profile to current audiences a little bit. Much of his work deals with supernatural and mythical themes.

Continuing the whimsy to a third chapter of this serialised (and outrageously derivative) YA fantasy, I am quite enjoying this even if nobody else is, so might go to at least a fourth chapter if I can settle on a name for the villain of the piece. CHAPTER 1 is here CHAPTER 2 is here  (if you haven't already read them) CHAPTER 3   Catriona sat at the long wooden table in the Refectory staring at the empty plate and wishing that her head would stop spinning. She didn’t think that she’d ever has to get used to so many shocks in a single day. She had screamed hysterically at the sight of Kai transforming into a dog, only stopping when he sauntered across and licked her face. After that the screaming had turned into equally hysterical giggling. Eventually Dylan explained that everyone is Kai’s family was capable of transforming into dogs. Whilst not common, he outlined how a fair number of people who lived within the Veil were able to shapeshift. The stories of selkies, werew...

 A reflection for the Suffolk Jungian Circle on the topic of Jung & Modernity (being discussed via Teams on the evening of March 26th - if you want the link to join in, please leave a message). Some of this also touches on postmodernity and the ideas of Elisabeth Eisenstein on types of culture and communication technology, though maybe each of those could be a separate discussion in their own right.

 Continuing the whimsy to a second chapter of this serialised (and shamelessly derivative) YA fantasy, I might go a third chapter, not sure whether to continue it beyond that. It gives me something more creative to do of an evening than just watch drivel on TV. CHAPTER 2   The bell started to toll as they exited the lift, Catriona still wondering what the Veil was and if she would look foolish by asking. By the third and final stroke Morwenna had shepherded them across to a stairway that wound down into the cellars beneath the Tower. Catriona’s momentary panic about her luggage was assuaged with the promise that the Porter would ferry everything off to the Halls of Residence. The others seemed quite blasé about not having seen the Halls and were confident that everything would be in place for them. Catriona’s past experience of educational administration had not left her as trusting, but she kept her fingers crossed and was swept along on the flight down to the Great Hall....

This is just a bit of whimsy to give my three remaining brain cells a bit of exercise (been under the weather lately and lacking creativity). I like the idea of a serialised story, so here is the first entry in a highly derivative YA fantasy, praise be to St Plagiarus. Not sure how much further, or how regularly, I will continue this but at least it has kickstarted the grey matter once again. CHAPTER 1    Catriona stood before the stone doorway, her fingers traced the triquetra carved into the ancient wooden door. It looked early medieval, ancient in a city where every other building seemed steeped in centuries. The carved symbol matched that on the letterhead that she had received back in March inviting her to study Celtic History at Gorsedd College, Cambridge. Catriona had applied to study in Cambridge, but at Peterhouse not at this college. She hadn’t even heard of Gorsedd College much less applied to it, but the offer was excellent and especially sweet with the bursary...