Round the Herne

We held a day long seminar on Greek mythology and its continuing influence in literature, film, psychology, politics, medicine etc. at West Suffolk College today (part of the ongoing programme within the Religious Studies & Ethics department). It was an enjoyable day (for me, if not the people attending!) and to make the most of my good mood after a rather heavy week, I've recorded this Greek myth about the life and demise of Ixion. It's a somewhat lurid tale and not suitable for any younger viewers.

On Tuesday 16th May the Religious Studies & Ethics department have organised their annual conference, at which I will be one of the speakers (talking about Roman and Greek notions of sexuality). The theme for this year is Gender & Sexuality. It is a free event - contact me at robin.herne@wsc.ac.uk if you wish to attend. The programme of speakers is as follows: 10.00                Welcome and introduction to the day 10.15                Are there Only Two Sexes?; John Hadlow 11.00                Same Sex Marriage in Liberal Christianity; Reverend Matthew Smith 11.45                The Caring Sex?; Dr Will Thomas 12.30            ...

Two days ago the sad news was announced that British character actor Geoffrey Bayldon had died at the grand age of 93. Younger readers may not recognise the name, he having been retired for a while, but those old enough to remember Worzel Gummidge and Catweazle certainly will know him as the both the Crowman whose magic brought scarecrows to life, as well as the ancient time travelling wizard who landed in 1970s Britain to discover the perverse magic of electrickery and telling bones. He also appeared in a long old list of TV shows and films. His magical characters inspired me with the visual image of Doctor Winter, a real life Cunning Man who lived in the 1700s and early 1800s in Ipswich. When writing fiction I find it helps if I can put a face to my characters, so often draw on both celebrities, people I know, and random strangers I see whose faces interest me. I wanted to restore Winter to life as the sleuth in a short story called 'A Doctor Calls' (part of the crime anth...