Round the Herne

 My version of the graphic and ghastly Greek myth of Polyphonte who made the fatal mistake of trying to exclude Aphrodite from her life (a lesson to everyone - let love in!). This is one of the more eye-watering myths and definitely not safe for work. There are a number of Greek myths in which people scorn Aphrodite and are cursed with various revolting forms of sexual obsession that invariably lead to carnage and suffering, which provides both a mythical and a Jungian explanation for deviant sexual fixations. There's probably a paper in that notion.

 A short story (almost an anecdote, really) to mark the Chinese Year of the Horse. The General Tian Ji yearns to win a horse race against King Wei. With the help of an aged sage, he finally comes up with a ruse.

  A story for Halloween about awakening the Beast Within and the dangers of having an insatiable appetite for revenge (it's a hard path to run back from). It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for...

 This is my version of the Greek myth of Perdix and his uncle Daedalus the inventor. This story reminds me of the Irish myth of Dian Cecht and his son Miach whose skill (in medicine rather than engineering) threatens to outstrip the master. Whilst both stories can be read as straightforward warnings about the dangers of envy, the Irish tale has subtext about the dangers of immortality which the Greek story does not have. 

My reading of the twelfth and final chapter of Kenneth Grahame's lovely children's classic, "The Wind in the Willows" (1908). The heroes besiege the Wild Wooders who have taken over Toad Hall - will they succeed in putting the world to rights? Well, duh! I rather enjoyed recording this (even if the listeners didn't!) and it's one off my bucket list. I'll give it a breather and do other things before I think about recording any more books.

 My reading of the penultimate chapter of Kenneth Grahame's classic story "The Wind in the Willows" (1908). Toad is reunited with his friends but finds that disaster has befallen his ancestral home during his incarceration. 

 My reading of the tenth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's delightful classic "The Wind in the Willows" (1908). Toad's flight to freedom continues, peppered with meetings with a variety of characters with highly unconvincing accents.

 My reading of the ninth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's beautifully lyrical "The Wind in the Willows" (1908). I love the sophistication of language, delivered confident in the assumption that children would understand it - back in the day when things were not dumbed down. Anyway, the story moves on to Mr Rat and his encounter with both the call of the seasons and a seafaring Rat filled with tales of the briny deep. Went for a wander down by the River Gipping this afternoon, just to get in the mood for Grahame's story.

 My reading of the eighth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's classic "The Wind in the Willows". Mr Toad makes a daring prison break in a scene guaranteed to inspire thoughts of criminality in anyone listening to it!

 My reading of my favourite chapter (the seventh one) of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's classic "The Wind in the Willows". Here a baby otter goes missing and, on the adventure to find him, the friends encounter Pan Himself - in a scene that still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up even after multiple readings. I do wonder if this scene came to Grahame as some kind of dream of visionary experience - to me it feels like a genuine spiritual encounter and it sits quite strangely in the wider story.

 My reading of the sixth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book "The Wind in the Willows". In this part of the story an intervention is staged to deal with Toad's obsession with cars - and the miscreant goes totally off the rails.

 My reading of the fifth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's fantasy "The Wind in the Willows". In this chapter, Mole experiences the irrevocable call of home, drawing him back to his tunnels and the gentle joys that they hold. Apologies for the execrable 'singing', but that's field mice for you.

 My reading of the fourth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's story "The Wind in the Willows". Mole finally gets to meet with Badger in his home deep in the Wild Woods.

 This is my reading of the third chapter of Kenneth Grahame's wonderful 1908 children's story "The Wind in the Willows". In this chapter Mole gets wanderlust and decides to brave the Wild Wood. I love the lyrical description of plants as the seasons change - very reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's nature poetry, filled with the same love of the green realms. 

 My reading of the second chapter of Kenneth Grahame's delightful 1908 story "The Wind in the Willows", in which Mole meets Toad and the all enjoy (for a very brief period) the joys of life on the open road.

 My reading of chapter one of Kenneth Grahame's wonderfully lyrical 1908 children's story, "The Wind in the Willow". Mr Mole awakens from his winter slumbers and encounters both the River itself, a central character in this semi-animistic tale, and Mr Rat who dwells beside the waters.

 This is a recording made today or a story that I told along with other members of Clan Ogma (druid group that also does annual storytelling) at the Leaping Hare pagan convention in Colchester. Hard to credit, I know, but the accents were even less convincing at the live performance than they are in this recording. Judging from the feedback for the convention, everyone seems to have had a good day and are all looking forward to next year's event.

  A second experiment with my new microphone, creating an audio recording (I know it's Halloween, but thought people would be relieved not to have the horror of my face). My recording of Saki's short story "The She-Wolf". For those of a nervous disposition, it owes more to Jeeves & Wooster than it does to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If anyone has preference for audio vs video, some feedback would be useful. I'll record an original audio within the next couple of days. The She-Wolf

 My telling of one of the stories about Melampos, an Ancient Greek healer who was almost as famous as Asclepios. The physician is summonsed to treat the son of King Phylacus of Argos to treat his son who has seemingly incurable impotence which even his beautiful wife has been unable to overcome. The treatment involves a consultation with the celestial realm and with a tree spirit who also requires healing. I like the underlying themes that the illness of one person can easily lead to health problems in others and that treatment can necessitate putting wrongs (however unintentional0 to right rather than just medication alone. As well as giving insight into animist notions of healing and illness, this tale also provides an account of the unusual rulership of Argos.

 There are a number of variations on the story of the Moon Rabbit in Chinese mythology. This is my take on how Yue-Tu came to live on the moon. Apologies to Chinese friends and listeners for the dire pronunciation of the names. Cannot help but feel sympathy for the rabbit when he is confronted by the Queen Mother of the West (whom I keep imagining as a Chinese equivalent to Lady Bracknell). I guess as the 12th Doctor said, sometimes there are no good choices - but you still have to choose.... and live with the consequences of that choice.   Video