Round the Herne

 To mark Midsummer I decided to record a reading of Kenneth Grahame's children's story "The Reluctant Dragon". the first few attempts succumbed to technical problems (or possibly the ghost of the author trying to save his tale from being subjected to such ham butchery), but on the third attempt the recording worked.  Grahame was the author of one of my favourite books - Wind in the Willows - and this gentle tale sits within that same world with its love of the British countryside. The story doesn't actually mention midsummer, but it does have a feel about it that goes well with this season of the year. The villagers obsessed with imaginary grievances which they dream up to satiate their desire for a punch-up strikes me as strangely prophetic of the modern world of social media. The wonderful actor Anton Lesser has recorded a far superior version of this story which is well worth tracking down, should you get the chance.

 My new book "Pantheon - the Egyptians" arrived in bookshops in late May. Due to interminable covid restrictions the launch was virtual (though I hope to have a real world one at some stage - watch this space).  This link is for the talk give via Facebook Live, which includes a brief reading from the book and general description of what it is about, as well as a general chat about some of the dynamic tensions to be found with Egyptian mythology and how people in the 21st century can potentially understand them. There is a competition (of sorts) at the end for people who want a free copy. The deadline to get your answer in will be midnight on Sunday 6th June - I will then put all the names in a hat and draw a winner. If anyone is interested in future books, I am currently working on a novel and an idea for a book around philosophy and polytheism. There are also some anthologies which Moon Books is putting out later this year and early next year which include chapters by me - a

 The other week at work I ran a seminar on Jean Baudrillard's theories around the nature of hyper-reality in a world as immersed in mass media as ours is. Following a few questions and emails afterwards I started musing about how Baudrillard's ideas might apply within modern paganism. I've yet to more towards anything like a cohesive idea on this, but the podcast is part of the reflective process of toying with concepts. Hopefully viewers might provide some feedback and ideas of their own, which will help with reaching something a little more concrete. The French sociologist's ideas are merging in this meander with those of the Australian scholar of religion, Adam Possamai. He draws on a fair amount on Baudrillard and writes about hyper-real religions (ones heavily influenced or based entirely upon works of openly acknowledged fiction). Possamai regards paganism as decidedly hyper-real. On consideration I find myself rather agreeing with him (though I have hopes that th