Kirks, Saints & Autumn
October's Newsletter
September conjured autumn in a flurry of deep red leaves from the ornamental cherry trees to accompany misty mornings and cold north westerlies. Those of us who love this season (and there are many, I know) wait impatiently as the nights draw in, the fires are lit and the storytelling begins.
There is something about the anticipation of any seasonal shift that inspires creativity in me, but the cusp of autumn is particularly so. This year the storytelling schedule is jammed packed with schools visits, book festivals, castles, cottages and commons. I can’t wait, although I am well aware that November is going to require a healthy chunk of rest carved out of it if I am to enjoy Yule.
September has been full of abundance and October will continue in this vein, and I am so very grateful for that but I know I must be careful not to overcommit, burn out and slide into a heap on the sofa come the solstice.
Work continues on The Little History Of Storytelling and I have made it to the Classical Era full of Greek myths, emerging religions, overlapping languages, Roman scribes and the Indian Puranas. I suspect the writing will take a back seat for October and I will be striving to catch up with my schedule in November, such is the ebb and flow of freelancing.
October’s stories are of ghostly kings, haunted castles, water witches and wandering trees and you can find a list of my events further down the newsletter. This month, landing in inboxes for all, there will be the usual book review, events and updates. I plan to be back with Season 5 of the podcast in November, work load allowing.
This month, for paid subscribers, I’m launching a new bonus podcast called ‘The Story Forecast’. This will be a short podcast that takes a moment to pause, look ahead at the month to come and suggest stories that will help you to weather the storms. I am aiming to have the first episode ready for you very soon.
There will also be a new audio story for Samhain available via The Village and I will stop by with a link to it when it’s available.
In the meantime, I hope your October is full of magic!
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Plant Of The Month
Turnip
The original hallow’s eve lantern, the turnip is often sidelined at this time of year for the showier, flouncy and frankly sometimes enormous pumpkin. In other halloween traditions, slices of turnip are used as a replacement for apples in the game of apple bobbing in the Shetland Islands.
The turnip started its life as a perennial herb but has long been prized for its root and has often been used as a cure for coughs and colds.
In America there are a couple of rituals of note when sowing turnip seed in the summer. In Kentucky a rhyme is used:
‘One for the fly, one for the devil and one for I’
This is very similar to the English rhyme when planting corn:
‘One for the rook, One for the crow, One to rot and One to grow’
A way of ensuring the ratio of seed planted is enough to ensure a good crop. In Missouri a family was reported to be stark naked, dancing in the fields in order to plant their turnips but it was noted that they had a bountiful crop each year. Perhaps this is the part of the story of The Enormous Turnip that is missed out these days. Filtered for modern sensibilities?
Finally if you steal a turnip, probably in the dead of night although this is not specified, peel it in one piece, bury the peel deep in the earth and then hang the rest of the turnip behind the door, you will discover your true love in the form of the next person to walk through the door - this could get awkward if you live with a lot of people.
October’s Listen :
I know I’ve mentioned Alice Robert’s books before but this one is a cracker too. I prefer to listen to these on Spotify as they are available if you have a premium subscription but i ended up getting this one in paperback too there were a couple of chapters that I really found fascinating and wanted to have them on my shelf for reference.
If you enjoy history, sociology and heritage then this one’s for you.
Upcoming Events For October/November :
4th October - Storytelling Workshop at Meoncross School - Private Event
19th October - Stories Of The Sun talk and book signing at Butser Book Festival - Book Tickets Here
26th & 27th, October - Spooky Woodland Walk - Walmer Castle - Book Tickets Here
28th, October - Spooky Folktales - Weald & Downland - included in admission to the museum - Book Here
29th October - Storytelling Workshop Iping Common - Private Event
30th October - Spooky Folktales - Weald & Downland - included in admission to the museum - Book Here
31st October - Spooky Woodland Walk - Walmer Castle - Book Tickets Here
1st November - Spooky Folktales - Weald & Downland - included in admission to the museum - Book Here
14th November - Folktales & Cocktails - Slake Spirits
Portsmouth Pupil Laureate Project - Words From The Sea - First video released to participating schools
For more information and to book me for your event, visit my events page using the button below.
Thank you for supporting this newsletter through September. Supporting my work in this way allows me to continue to find new stories and research the old ways, and I thank you from the bottom of my storytelling heart.
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October’s Read:
Nothing can quite beat Storyland but there’s no way I’m not reading Amy Jeff’s latest anthology of kooky Saints and miraculous happenings. This one was a preorder and yet again bypassed all other books on the TBR pile. Review coming soon.
