Fire, Birdsong & Blossom
May Newsletter
With the fires of Beltane still glowing in the pale light of sunrise, May arrives. The cherry petals fall like snow to douse the emberred balefires. In the orchards and gardens, the apple takes over, reaching for the sun that has so far proved elusive this spring.
It is about this time of year that the dawn chorus is at its most glorious. The birds have started nesting, some of them already have hungry mouths to feed, and the male song birds make the business of territorial assertion from the roofs, chimneys and guttering of neighbouring buildings, their first priority. If you’ve never experienced it before I urge you to set your alarm and creep out into the garden or just open your door in the first light, around half an hour before sunrise, and immerse yourself in the music of the morning.
Sunrise in the UK at this time of year is around 530am, so you are going to need to be up around 5am, but wow is it worth it!
Stories Of The Sun, is due at the end of next month and I have illustrations and edits to finish so most of May will be head down getting the manuscript tidied up and sent off to the publishers.
With my temporary contract coming to an end mid July my thoughts are turning to the summer storytelling season and beyond. There are many irons in the fire and I will share those will you as soon as I can but safe to say I have lots of plans for storytelling shows and beyond. With this in mind I have updated my website and you can take a little look here: www.ddstoryteller.co.uk
I specialise in heritage, nature and landscape interpretation. If you think there is somewhere or someone, (there's a song in there somewhere), who might like to work with me, if you have a project you think we could collaborate on, or a special event you’d like me to tell at then please do get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
I hope you all have a magnificent May. Read on to find out what stories, events and recommended reads I have for this month.
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May's Track:
Upcoming Events For Spring/Summer :
3rd May - Birds Of The Heath, Story Walk, Shortheath Common
20th May - Battle For Britannia, evening event, Butser Ancient Farm
9th June - Stories For The Sun - The Wild Nest Yoga Studio, Petersfield - More Info coming soon
16th June - Folktales & Cocktails - Slake Spirits, Worthing - More info coming soon
30th June - Stories Of Light & Stone - Gather around Butser’s very own standing stones for stories of the sun and ancient megaliths - Live, in person, tickets available here
For more information and booking links visit my events page using the button below.
April’s Paid Subscriber Content, Available In The Archive:
The Batty Mouse - Joy of bats and the folklore of these mouse-birds- Read Here
Red Flag Stories - Why We Still tell ‘Those’ Tales - Read Here
Fae Folk Survival Guide - 10 Ways To Survive A Meeting With The Other Crowd This Beltane - Read Here
Beltane Celebration Sheet - A collaboration with Tiffany Francis-Baker - Download Here
Thank you for supporting this newsletter through April. Supporting my work in this way allows me to continue to write freely and authentically and I thank you from the bottom of my storytelling heart.
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May's Read:
I listened to this audio book on my daily commute. There are some little gems in it and some truly unique ways of looking at birdsong and bird communication. I’ll be reviewing this in full later in the month.
Your Beltane celebration sheet looks lovely. I've got mine sorted for this year but will have to look at yours for next year! I'm getting out to listen to the dawn chorus next weekend. Can't wait! Thanks for sharing!