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.

 My reading of the fifth and final stave of Charles Dickens' delightful "A Christmas Carol". In the final chapter, Scrooge is redeemed of his wicked ways.

 My reading of the fifth stave of Charles Dickens' classic tale "A Christmas Carol". In which the horrifying spectre of the Ghost of Christmas yet To Come appears before Scrooge and torments him with visions of the future (including one of the most evocative scenes in the book, Old Joe's business premises).

 My reading of the third stave of Charles Dickens' classic tale "A Christmas Carol". Scrooge meets with the bountiful Ghost of Christmas Present, learns about the happiness of others... but also if left with a dire warning.

 My reading of the second stave of Charles Dickens 1843 classic "A Christmas Carol". In this chapter, Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Past and relieves the highs and lows of his earlier life.

 My reading of the first stave of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic story "A Christmas Carol", I hope to get the other four staves recorded and up before the 25th rolls around. Seasons greetings ones and all.

 To celebrate Halloween 2025, here's a recording of Shane Leslie's 1931 short story (or, really, two stories glued together) about spooky goings on. The weather is looking a bit high risk for anyone contemplating a besom ride later tonight.

  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...

 There are quite a few stories told of the legendary Rabbi Loeb who lived in Prague during the 1500s. Several of them centre around his creation of a golem, an animated clay servant possessed of supernatural strength but unable to speak. This was recorded partly because my Jewish friends are celebrating Yom Kippur and partly because of the horrible terrorist attack on the Manchester Synagogue. I've always found the Jewish people I have known to be positive and supportive towards pagans, perhaps because they recognise a fellow minority religion that has often come in for violent suppression.  The nauseating level of anti-Semitism that has been building in this country for some years is deeply worrying. Not only do I worry about what will happen to the people I know (not to mention the much larger numbers of people I don't know), but I am also minded of what someone so famous I have forgotten their name called the Canary in the Mineshaft. When authoritarians get away with attack...

  My version of the story of Adonis' birth (be warned, it involves very adult themes and might upset some people) and the conflict between Persephone and Aphrodite over him. Persephone herself is the subject of near identical dispute between her mother and husband and to who she spends time with, and becomes a possessive (adoptive) mother in her turn, resentful of what loosely be called her daughter-in-law. The Adonia festival was held for three days at the summer solstice, marking the death, funeral, and hoped-for resurrection of the handsome god. The lengthening nights are the time spent with his adoptive mother Persephone but could also be considered indicative of the sadness felt by Aphrodite when he is no longer in her bed. The winter solstice marks Adonis' return to her Olympian boudoir. The Greeks described him as androgynous, a word whose meaning has somewhat shifted over the centuries. Back in the day, it meant that he took the macho, manly role when with Aphrodite (an...

 All five parts of my reading of Forrest Reid's supernatural teen romance "The Garden God" (1905). This is a somewhat controversial work, when it was published same-sex romances were illegal and, whilst there is no sex and it is all sighing and gazing rather than anything else, it was still incendiary ground for any author to tread upon. Even today the work is challenging, given that the main characters in the flashback sequences are about 16-years old. Teen romance novels have become very popular of late, but some of us are sufficiently old and crusty that we would sooner ignore adolescent crushes! However, this work follows the same intensely lyrical style that Oscar Wilde adopted, including the same great love of Greek mythology that weaves throughout this short story, and the vivid embrace of nature imagery. Reid, like his fellow Irishman Wilde, was clearly deeply wedded to the countryside. The supernatural elements are low-key, mostly centred around the possibility t...

 My reading of a children's story by Anna Wahlenberg (1910) from the lovely book  "Swedish Folk and Fairy Tales" (with delightful illustrations by the Swedish artist John Bauer). With Yuletide on the horizon, it's well worth tracking down a copy - would make for a lovely gift. Apologies for the unspeakable attempt at an accent for young Peder Lars, but I couldn't resist the lure of hamming it up. I might do some of the other stories at a later date, if I get the time.

 It was International Dog Day recently (who on earth actually decides these things?) and I was going to record a story, but work got in the way. So here is a belated account, my version of the final Labour of Herakles where he must acquire the giant dog Cerberus and bring him to the court of his mealy-mouthed cousin King Eurystheus. For the literary among you this is a katabasis tale (the journey into Hades) followed by an anabasis one (the return to the living). I'm sure you are glad to know that.

 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 recording of H P Lovecraft's (1920) short story " Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family", a tale which suggests that it is sometimes better not to delve too deeply into one's genealogy. This story is from the same collection that I have previously recorded other Lovecraft tales from.

 It is harvest time in Britain, so thought I would record a story connected to agriculture. This is part of the myth cycle of Demeter and how she forms an association with the kingdom of Eleusis and the birth of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Disguised as a mortal woman, Doso, she looks after the baby Demophon and his older brother Triptolemus, There are close parallels between this story and one told of Aset (Isis) when she too is wandering the land in search of a lost loved one and ends up taking care of a royal baby. One story may have inspired the other, or both may reflect a universal truth.

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.