Round the Herne

 This is my reading of the prolific novelist E F Benson's beautiful short story "The Man Who Went Too Far", in which an artist shares his philosophy about the pursuit of joy and the worship of Pan as the embodiment of all that is wondrous and free in the world. The inset photo shows the author as a young man - maybe this is what the fictional character of Frank would look rather like.  Benson is better know these days for his comedic novels about the rivalry between two wealthy society matrons, Mapp and Lucia, forever feuding for social status in the market town of Tilling and beyond. You can enjoy the story in and of itself, or take it in conjunction with the philosophical waffle below the video link.... This story exists in an intertextual network of other works of fiction featuring the Greek deity Pan. There are definite echoes here of "Wind n the Willows" (published a couple of years earlier than the anthology in which this tale first appears) with the wonde...

 Here are the video links to Leaping Hare 2021, which is virtual due to the pandemic. The initial video should automatically lead to the next recording, but in case there are any gremlins I have included the rest of the URLs below. “Introduction” - https://youtu.be/7sY2Hi6mSWA “Altered States” talk by Jo van der Hoeven - https://youtu.be/D7-SLafLIdA “Wolf Song” music by Carys - https://youtu.be/_DKslE4Z_uQ “Too Jung to Die” talk by Robin Herne - https://youtu.be/OacH-dS4DQk “Gods Just Wanna Have Fun” talk by Nick Ford - https://youtu.be/r3qEmwRTPQ4 “Pathways to Initiation” talk by Johnathan Boddam-Whetham - https://youtu.be/jJDNap8cqOI “The Dagda’s Harp” storytelling with Clan Ogma - https://youtu.be/XaNzUY40CIc “Thanks and Farewell” - https://youtu.be/JaB3CwfgFus   Please make a donation to one or more of our good causes: Hedgehog Havens - http://www.hedgehoghavenessex.co.uk/pages/ East Anglian Children's Hospice - https://www.each.org.uk/ Colchest...

 It's World Book Day so I have plucked some books off the shelves to share a few stories and a poem with you. In order of appearance they are: "King of Lies" from an anthology called Children of the Salmon, by Eileen O'Faolain (a collection of Irish legends and folk tales. "River God", a poem by Stevie Smith in the Penguin Poetry collection. "The Widow's Son" from an anthology called Twenty Folk and Fairy Tales from East to West, collated by Charles Folkard (this one would give a Jungian a field day in analysing its symbolism, and probably give a feminist apoplexy). The story is originally Greek, though the setting  does not make this obvious. "The Tale of the Parasite", from The Book of the Thousand Nights and One - the stories of Shahrazad. This version is translated by Powys Mathers from an earlier version by J C Mardrus.

 It's St David's day, so here is a short tale about another saint with Welsh connections. Collen was a warrior-monk who served as abbot of Glastonbury for some years before getting tired of it and seeking the solace of hermitage in a cavern partway up the Tor. This did not last long as he had failed to ask permission of Gwynn app Nudd who held court at the top of the famous mound. It all came to a head and Collen decided that Glastonbury was no longer for him. This story picks up from that juncture, where God guides the hermit to find a new sanctuary after a long pilgrimage on foot and then by horse. The meandering equine takes him to Bwlch Rhiwfelen, which would eventually be renamed after its new resident at Llangollen, not far from Wrexham. All would have been fine had Collen learned his lesson and actually asked permission of the resident Presence - in this case a carnivorous giantess, Cares (which translates as Dear One, an unusual epithet for so frightening a being - thou...