Tag: folklore
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Wade’s Mighty Hand in the Formation of the Bride Stones
Some say that these sturdy sandstone tors, protruding from a sea of bracken, were deposited in the ancient seas of an era when dinosaurs reigned supreme, some 150 million years ago. The ebb and flow of the Jurassic tides as they advanced and receded, left behind stratified rocks of various densities. A layer of resilient…
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Quiraing
After a solid 20 days devoid of any drop of rain, except for a quick overnight sprinkle at Dunvegan, it looks like we’re in for a change in the weather. So, we thought we had better head for the hills, because who knows if we’ll even catch a glimpse of them tomorrow. The Trotternish Ridge…
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Macleod’s Tables
Once the ridge of the Black Cullin is behind you, your eyes are drawn to Macleod’s Tables, Healabhal Mhor and Healabhal Bheag. These distinctive peaks stand as isolated remnants of the vast basalt plateau that once covered the isle of Skye. The name “Healabhal” is believed to originate from the Scandinavian term “helgi fjall,” meaning…
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Shig-shags
While cutting back the bracken in Newton Wood today, I was taken by surprise when I stumbled upon what seemed to be miniature apples. Of course, these were not genuine apples, but rather galls created by insects as excrescences. And as it dawned on me that they were attached to a small oak sapling instead…
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St. Helen’s Day, the Rowan tree, and their connection to warding off witches
Wikipedia says St Helen’s Day — Helena, mother of Constantine I — is honoured in the Church of England on 21st May but in the Episcopal Church on 22nd May. The Rev. R.C. Atkinson, however, suggests it falls on the 2nd May. So who’s right? Yer pays yer money … It matters if you wish…
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The Delicate Greggles of Newton Wood
I make no apologies for yet another posting featuring the greggles of Newton Wood. In a mere couple of weeks, they will have surpassed their peak, and the woods will be stripped of their intoxicating hue of violet blue. Thomas Hardy employed the term “greggles” in his book, The Mayor of Casterbridge, ingeniously portraying the…
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From Sores to Toothaches: remedies with Wild Garlic
Another dreich morning with poor visibility. So my eyes were drawn to the abundance of flowers blooming in Newton Woods. Ramsons, also known as Wild Garlic, are plentiful in the damper areas of the wood. Personally, I find their display equally impressive as the Bluebells, although some may dislike their scent. Throughout history, plants from…
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The Kildale Spectres
Another one of the old folk tales collected by Richard Blakeborough and published in the Northern Weekly Gazette in July 1901. THE KILDALE SPECTRES. By RICHARD BLAKEBOROUGH. The first part of this story, so far as the source from which it sprang is concerned, has not passed through many lips, seeing that the father of…
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The Falconer and the Whorlton Elves
Prepare to be delighted and delectated by another tale from that master wordsmith of the North Riding of Yorkshire: Richard Blakeborough (1850-1918), writer, poet, and dramatist. Now, I did have a notion to modernise this story for you, but I quickly found myself struggling by how to handle some of the terms, such as “dark-faced”…
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The Rose of Rosebery
In this delightful piece written back in 1900, Richard Blakeborough recounts the peculiar practice of ‘Standing the Church.’ Now, this particular punishment bears an uncanny resemblance to the tradition of ‘Charivari,’ ‘Rough Music,’ or, as Northerners called it, ‘Riding the Stang.’ Since the late 17th century, the terms have commonly been employed to describe a…