Jack Shalatain's breathtaking visionary artwork is a feast for the eyes and brings joy to the spirit. Jack is an artist who has been especially influenced by the era he experienced and loved in the 60’s and 70’s, giving us a fantastic window into his world at that unique time. I have loved Jack’s paintings since I was really young as my sister loved his unicorns (many of you may also already be familiar with his work) and knowing more about Jack’s thought processes brings us all fresh insight. Interviewing him for Faerie Magazine International (Summer 2007 issue) was such a fascinating process, I learnt so much and have since discovered that some of the early writers whom he admires, are revered by many other highly regarded artistic folk.  Jack is a wonderful, gentle man and we are honoured to have known him these past few years. His new web site is www.shalatain.co.uk take a peek!



Early this summer, we were thrilled to discover that a magnificent Barn owl was regularly hunting in our garden each night and you could set your clock by the fly past at 9.20pm. I found out that the owlets must be nested in a barn on one of the surrounding farms as, sensibly, the adults gather food away from where their young will fledge, so that the babies themselves don’t have to venture far for the first few weeks, cool huh! We always looked forward to these awesome displays of soaring, swooping and diving, it was a breathtaking site watching this big beautiful bird and the highlight of our evenings and for anyone else if they were visiting! As the nights grew lighter, our view became clearer and our presence outside was tolerated too. We did have real concerns on the endless wet days though, as they proved impossible flying conditions and we hope all the family made it through against those tough odds. As you can imagine, we took many pictures, but this was not an easy task. The very best result was of course, by the professional photographer Charlotte Bird, who was staying with us briefly, and I am delighted to share her one here for you as we treasure it so much. Thank you dear friend, for managing to capture a very special memory for our family.

Magical Blessings, Be

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only at night.” – Edgar Alan Poe