Round the Herne

 My favourite non-ghostly Dickensian story, which I listen to in the run-up to Christmas every year for about a decade now, is Simon Callow's abbreviated reading of "Doctor Marigold". For the unfamiliar, Simon Callow is a theatrical luminary and an expert on Dickens who had a whole series of shows (some televised) performing from Dickens' repertoire. Whilst this story takes place over a considerable length of time, the conclusion has a very Christmassy feel to it. Rather than a conventional story, this is a monologue about the colourful life of a travelling trader designed to be performed by Dickens himself on his enormously popular tours of the country where he would read both sections of his novels and also do these monologues. He made far more money from acting out these scenes than he ever did as an author (a lesson there for us all, perhaps). Having enjoyed it for all these years, I thought I'd finally have a crack at reciting it myself. This is the full vers...

 According to Greek tradition, the very first truly theatrical performance was that of the poet Thespis at the first Dionysia to be held in Athens. Part of the celebration in honour of the god Dionysus, spread over several days, was a set of performances with a prize going to the best (yes, actors were hungry for Award Ceremonies from the get-go). Thespis stood up as the first act at the first such festival and recited a dithyrambic poem of his own composition. This style of poem recounted a myth, though it is unknown to all except a certain time travelling Doctor which sacred drama Thespis based his work on (though I have suggested a likely possibility in the story recorded below). There was nothing unusual in reciting poetry, but the innovation that Thespis brought was to have sections of his opus magnum written in the voices of the various figures in the myth and then don suitable masks and costumes to act out the parts. Thespis speaks to the power of masks - as Jung said, give ...

 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...

This year's Pageant, celebrating pagan mythology through the performing arts, has had to go virtual due to the wretched pandemic and rules that make public gatherings nigh on impossible. Thankfully we have had willing volunteers offering their skills at storytelling, poetry, and song (namely Carys, Nick Ford, Greg McDowell, and Rob Lummis). The links to the YouTube playlist are below -  Welcome – https://youtu.be/mnNNHR3xLK4 Opening talk on shapeshifting in storytelling - https://youtu.be/sf_tJi3RtBU The Indian Boy, the Witch, and the Wolf (Rob Lummis) – https://youtu.be/HqUVfeJslqo Pagan songs from Carys – https://youtu.be/_IYlzjqaRBo Tide of Words (poems about oceanic myths) - https://youtu.be/Pny4LsEwOW4 Arcadian Werewolf Rap (Nick Ford) – https://youtu.be/71m1-wDg3J0 Shifty Sagas (stories about shapeshifting) - https://youtu.be/0Bl7JzSODi4 Reflections on the Golden Bower (poems by Greg McDowell) – https://youtu.be/VGSCBwcUSQc Farewell - https://youtu.be/I...

Reading poetry to revive what's left of my brain after a few weeks of relentless work (which the lock-down seems to have made more intense rather than easier!) These short poems are The Stolen Child and The Song of the Wandering Aengus, both by W B Yeats, and The West Wind by John Masefield. Should anyone know if there is indeed an adjective (akin to petrichor for rain) to describe the aroma of old books, please let me know. As you can see I am in full lock-down shaggy beard and hair! I count the days till the barber shop reopens, as does Mrs Lovett.

Here are the links to the Virtual version of the Leaping Hare pagan convention, featuring the talents of Nick Ford, Carys, Jonathan Boddam-Whethers and myself. In theory one should play on automatically from the previous, but in case there are problems with list I have pasted each link individually below. INTRODUCTION SHEEP POEM (NICK FORD) UNDERWORLD INITIATION (DR J. B. WETHAM) CALL MY BLUFF MINI-QUIZ CARYS'S SONG (GAIA) BEAR TRIBE POEM (NICK FORD) BROTHERHOOD OF THE SHADOWS STORY EPOMEDUOS AND THE MARE ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD TALK

This Saturday evening from 7.30pm onwards at the Oddfellows Hall on the High Street, December 14th, I'll be dressing up like a loon (an 18th century loon, to be precise) to regale people with Suffolk stories and legends whilst in the persona of the mysterious Old Winter, the cunning man of Ipswich mentioned in a number of historical texts. Tickets are £5, with profits going to the Dogs Trust. Mike, owner of King of Cups brewery, will be retailing wines, mead, and other beverages for the discerning imbiber. There will be a mince pie or two as well. You can pay on the door or order your tickets in advance. Feel free to circulate the details to anyone you think may enjoy attending.

This Saturday evening, 21st September, I am hosting a storytelling event in Ipswich at the Oddfellows Hall as a fundraiser for Age Concern. Tickets are £5 (you can pay on the door) for an evening of myths and legends centred on old women, be they sweet grandmothers or flesh-eating hags that are mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Stories may not be suitable for young children, so parental discretion advised. The programme of international stories for the evening is as below, running from 7.30pm to roughly 10pm (car parking is available a few minutes walk away) - The Cauldron of Ceridwen The Witch of the Woods INTERVAL Frau Holde’s House The Old Woman of Winter Anansi and Enum Refreshments will be provided, but feel free to bring a bottle and chuck a few coins in the charity tin and get use of the glasses and suchlike in the hall. Spread the word to anyone you think would enjoy attending! As an update, we raised just over £25 for Age Concern. Not a huge turn out, but ...

This poem comes from the Ingoldsby Legends collection, and exists as a somewhat odd counterpoint to the mournful Power of the Dog poem by Rudyard Kipling. Like that, this is inspired by the death of a dog but takes a comedic route and provides the poet with the opportunity to take a swipe at the funeral practices of the great and good.

A few somewhat incoherent thoughts about some of the ethical issues that arise for traditional storytellers and the sorts of things that people might want to think about when choosing and performing stories. If I get some constructive feedback then that will help shape which topics to examine in any future podcasts about the philosophies and issues underpinning storytelling.

On December 1st Pooka's Pageant (a celebration of mythology and folk lore through the performing arts) will be held at Oddfellows Hall in Ipswich. The programme is shown below, with more details here . Tickets are £5 on the door (£3 in advance) with any profits being split between Husky Rescue and the Hare Preservation Trust. This year we also have three trade stalls - Robert Lummis jewellery, incense and crafts; Whispering Eofor's jewellery (see more details here ); and Michele Bo Boyd's felt ornaments. Please feel free to circulate details to any people you think would enjoy attending. The Pageant s family-friendly with refreshments available on the day (feel free to bring your own sandwiches if staying all day!) PROGRAMME 1 0.00am ~ Welcome and a toast to the Pooka 10.15am ~  'Weaving Wyrd Words',  poetry & song with Sheila Haskins 11.00am ~  'Wolf Song ',  music with Carys Singer 11.45am ~  'Flower Power ',  plant imagery in po...

This Saturday, 18th November, will be the annual celebration of mythology through storytelling, song, and poetry. Doors at Oddfellows Hall open at 10am (close at 4pm), and tickets are £4 with any profits going to animal charities. A link to the programme can be found here with performances from Fiona Dowson, Shaun Ibbs, and Robert Lummis, plus music from Carys and two story sessions with me (one about underwater deities and the other about the spectral doings of dark and deadly entities). Hope to see plenty of people there.

I will be taking part in an event on November 25th to raise money for The Dogs Trust, held at Cockfield Village Hall (Church Lane, IP30 OLA in deepest Suffolk) from 7pm to approximately 9pm (storytelling standard time). I will be recounting canine myths and legends from around the world. Tickets are £4 in advance, £5 on the door (contact Kathryn Vernon 01284 827553 to book). Refreshments and a raffle will be available. Do pass the invite on to anyone from the area who might be interested.

Today is National Poetry Day. I was invited to attend an event, but got home late and missed the start - so this is my contribution by way of getting my finger out and making more of an effort. The recording features two of my own poems appearing in the collection Moon Poets - The Song of Mr Tumnus & Setka Waits. I was hoping to write something new for today, but I left my brain on the train so the inspiration may be as erratic as our erstwhile transport network (I still blame Dr Beeching) in terms of when it arrives. The last poem is by Hilary Llewellyn-Williams, who lives in Wales and writes quite a few poems inspired by the folklore and magical landscapes of the country. Her poem is called Changeling and appears in her 1997 collection Animaculture. She is a great poet and I recommend her work. I'll be including at least one of her compositions in the talk I am giving in December on Celtic poetry at West Suffolk College for the series of Edmunds Lectures.

Should have posted here earlier, but work has been manic.... On Saturday 17th June, 7.30pm at the Ipswich Oddfellows hall on the High Street I will be telling myths and legends involving wolves as a means of fundraising for the UK Wolf Trust (which looks after a number of wolves in their sanctuary and does a lot of educational and environmental work as well). Turn up, bring alcohol if you want it (I will provide tea/coffee) and make a donation to the charity tin. Stories are drawn from various cultures and sources - Roman, Irish, Greek, and assorted others.

Due to an unexpected event, this storytelling session is being postpone - I will post the new date when I have confirmation from the venue. If you fancy an evening of canine storytelling - myths. legends, and tales involving dogs of various breeds - then on Wednesday 24th May I will be in the upstairs room of McGinty's Pub in Ipswich (right next to the bus station in the town centre) from 8pm till roughly 10pm. The nearest car park to the pub is on William Street (IP1 3JA) which is about a three minute walk away, if that. The car park is free after 8pm. Unfortunately there is no wheelchair access to the room, it being a very old building, but if there's interest from people with mobility issues then I'll stage a similar event in a downstairs room once I've found an appropriate venue (suggestions of free/cheap ground floor rooms in Ipswich are welcome - it's difficult to know quite where to book). Donations to the Dogs Trust will be collected at the end - it...

I had been planning on marking Halloween with a somewhat ambitious storytelling performance based around the Seven Deadly Sins, drawing on world mythology for an appropriate story for each sin. However, lack of time to properly promote such an event (in all honesty, I am dismally bad at publicising much of anything) and a general feeling of being a bit frazzled has led me to postpone this till early next year. It was going to be a fund raiser for the UK Wolf Trust, so I shall have to come up with some alternative option for that. I may upload some stories and see if I can work out a way for viewers to donate to  the charity accordingly (though it sounds all a bit technical... I miss the days when you could just pass the hat round at the end of the evening). In the meantime, here is a prattle I recorded about the Seven Sins for the PF virtual moot. Not a subject that many would regard as overly relevant to pagan viewers, but this is my spin on the matter.

On November 7th, 10am to 5pm at Oddfellows Hall, I will be coordinating our annual performing arts gathering - Pooka's Pageant. As in previous years there will be a full programme of speakers, performers and workshops to entertain people with (all for a mere £4, with any profits being split between animal charities). We will be opening at... 10am - a talk on Narrative Psychology and its applications within paganism 11.15 - choose between Songs of the Sea with Terry Smith, or Welsh Mythology with Beverley Price We break for lunch at 12.15 and a chance to share some poetry. 1.15 - Japanese mythology in Lady of the Mirror with Marion Leeper, or alternately a workshop for aspiring storytellers 2.15 - Joshua Harris will be telling myths of the Norse Gods, or if you prefer listen to some pagan themed poetry for disturbed and disturbing children with Robin Herne (i.e. me) 3.15 - Carys Deverell will be regaling us with pagan songs and music 4.15 - Emmalena Louise Ellis will be t...

It has been a while since I last posted properly. Life has been busy, in a good way - with an amazing new job, a lovely new partner (who is introducing me to Sicilian folklore), a short holiday away at Grey Mare Camp, and various chapters for anthologies. Grey Mare is a very relaxing pagan camp, and a good chance to tell some stories - one or two of which I may record and upload here. Alongside my own contributions, several other people told stories - it is intriguing to not only hear new stories (some of which I am "acquiring" for my own repertoire) but to also see different styles of telling. Story acquisition can be a slow process at times. Books are excellent, and there are many collections on my shelves of stories from all different parts of the world. The Net also has some excellent story resources, though also a great many badly organised ones. However, one of the best ways remains listening to other tellers and gaining not only the bare bones of th...

In previous years we have held Pooka's Pageant (a celebration of polytheism through the performing arts) in August. Due to an excess of events in that month, this year we have transferred it to November 7th - still in it's usual Ipswich venue. I am currently scouting for polytheist storytellers, poets, singers, puppeteers, or other performers who want to celebrate the Old Gods and spirits through their performances. Each year we try to get a good mix of cultures ~ previous years have included Irish, Welsh, Greek, Germanic, Scandinavian, African, Arabic, Native American, Chinese, Indian, and Inuit tales. If you are a polytheist performer (or know someone who is) within easy travelling distance of Ipswich, do get in touch via robinherne@hotmail.com