The Figure of the Witch-Queen in Northern Mythology
“At length, when night was setting in, they saw a deep and unknown glen of joyless aspect before them; they descended into it, to avoid the bleak winds of … Continue reading
The Last Temple of the Celts
The west of Europe used to be full of Celtic temples. In every settlement, every holy grove, every mountain top and ring of stones that held any import for the … Continue reading
The Queen of the Snows
Scotland gets a wee bit magical this time of year, much of the time. When the snow falls on the mountains and the frost falls on the earth, everything seems … Continue reading
‘Merlin’s Valley’ on the Upper Tweed : Field-guide
In the course of my journeys around Britain and Ireland I’ve had the good fortune to come across some wonderful places that aren’t hugely well-known. I thought I’d start posting … Continue reading
Frost Flowers – Unfolding a New Project
“Let the lesson be – to be yourselves… And to make that worth being” Hugh MacDiarmid (translated from Old Scots into English) Most flowers blossom for weeks on end. The … Continue reading
Books- the Past & the Future
Something in honour of World Book Day. The painting shown is from the Shahnameh; the ‘Book of Kings’- you can click on the image to open it up and take a … Continue reading
Otherworlds #2- The Prisoner of the Tree
The first writers from the bright-lit lands of the Middle Sea, gazing north into a gloom of silver clouds and fog and endless trees, described how the peoples of the … Continue reading
Otherworlds #1 – The Son of the Dead Woman
It started with a book. I found it while returning from a trip to the peninsula of Knoydart on the northwest coast, where David Hine and I had spent a week … Continue reading
Feral Words 