The tradition of Donegal fiddle is populated with giants, including the hidden ones who kept the tradition alive at any given time over the past century or so. At the turn of the last millennium, it could be argued that the patriarchs of Donegal fiddle were the Campbell brothers, Jimmy and Vincent. They related to […]
Ballygally Castle Hotel: The knock at the door isn’t room service, and a last dash across northern Ireland to home
It’s been almost 25 years since I visited the haunted Ballygally Castle Hotel, in Ballygally, Northern Ireland. Often named when listing the most haunted sites in the north, and occasionally at the top of the list, I can vouch for that I think. I experienced the most reported aspect of the haunting, though it had […]
A search for my ancestors’ beliefs about witches and witchcraft in the witch hunts of county Kent, England
Elizabeth Anna Halke married John Bull II on October 30, 1620 in Brabourne, county of Kent, England. John was twenty years old, Elizabeth was a few days shy of sixteen. They were eight generations of my grandparents ago. Elizabeth was a popular name at the time. Our Elizabeth was named after her mother, and it turns […]
Pagan holidays: Litha … On summer solstice celebrations, and the dangerous similarities between modern paganism and evangelical Christianity
On the wheel of the year listing pagan holidays, Litha is perhaps the most problematic. This hit home to me when I read a blog post recently, from someone who was going to Stonehenge on Midsummer’s morning, to celebrate Litha in the manner of their celtic ancestors. Bloggers aren’t known for accuracy, but what really stuck […]
Pondering why landscapes become sacred and the mysteries of the Uffington White Horse, Uffington Castle and White Horse Hill
A month ago I stood atop a long barrow on White Horse Hill, with the grass covered chalk walls of Uffington Castle behind me, the galloping Uffington White Horse below me, and pondered a question for which there is no answer. What makes a landscape sacred? Is sacred the right word? Mystic perhaps. What makes […]
The hammer of the gods still ring out at Wayland’s Smithy, a long barrow chamber tomb nestled in a secluded grove in Oxfordshire
The chambered tombs and long barrows of Britain have long tickled the imagination, and perhaps none more so than Wayland’s Smithy. Perhaps it’s the stand of beech trees enclosing it which makes it feel more intimate, more hushed. Unlike West Kennet Long Barrow near Avebury, sitting exposed to the wind and the rain, high on […]
