The delightful Katy Marchant is the director and founding member of this wonderful group of medieval musicians and theatre players who are a visual treat and capture what it must have been like so many years ago when this kind of entertainment was our way of storytelling. Their amazing music is played on authentic instruments and this troupe mix together their great musical talent with drama, dance and old fashioned stilt walking skills, using hand made masks and traditional costuming to fantastic effect – these original entertainers take us back into our past and a time when humour and interactive story telling was the only way to hold a crowd’s attention and of course nowadays hold us transfixed! Their attention to detail and authentic reproduction of their sound from the Middle Ages and visual effects are astonishing, together with their understanding of how folk used to celebrate festivals intertwined with the natural rhythms of the year. Daughters of Elvin are such a treat in this modern high tech world and reverently carry with them a tribute to our folklore heritage, the keepers of the old magical treasures. As their web site is being redeveloped at the moment, you can learn more and hear them at http://www.myspace.com/daughtersofelvin

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(photos here) When you were little, did you ever hold a buttercup underneath someone’s chin to see if the delicious colour reflected in their skin, knowing that if it did, then they liked butter? I love it that every new generation of kids think they’re the first to figure this out, I was asked to partake in this experiment many times when I was a teacher on playground duty. I still adore these bright, deep yellow, wildflowers that creep and grow profusely in our garden and bring a welcome warm feeling on gloomy days. I know that buttercups are thought of as weeds, but how can one be offended by something so happy looking, they’re like little suns dotted all over the grass and along the hedgerows!

Magical Blessings, Be

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” – Maori proverb

I just have to share with you one of my favourite bands from the enchanted world, The Gypsy Nomads. This vibrant duo, are a joy to behold, not only talented but humorous with their original music too. I was lucky enough to catch them at the Spoutwood Fairie Festival, and they had me transfixed. Their mixture of genius musicality together with an obvious enjoyment in what they do, is a delight. Scott Helland and Samantha Stevenson have such energy you cannot believe that there are only two of them on stage, playing guitar, drums, percussion, with great vocals! My feet were tapping from the minute I heard them, swirling dance moves were in my heart (and are what I do at home to their unique sound), such fantastic rhythms! Having had the pleasure of also chatting with them, they are really lovely folk too, and so happy that we appreciated their music. Scott is also an artist and you can see more on their site www.thegypsynomads.com

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(photos here) A few years ago in the summer, we rescued a baby bat from our garage floor. It was a tiny, perfect Pipistrelle, complete with minute fangs! This was the first time that I had been so close to a bat, let alone had to care for one around the clock. As dusk falls here the air is alive with these amazing creatures, flitting and sweeping through the air, right near to the house but using their echolocation of course to avoid collision. We took advice from our local Animal Rescue Centre who told us what to do and they did warn us that if the bat was too young to have prematurely left the maternity roost, then the chances of him being able to build his body weight quickly enough to be able to fly back into the wild were pretty slim. We, of course, still wanted to try, and fed him mashed up dog food and droplets of water from the tip of a fine paintbrush (see how useful these can be!) This was a regime I stuck to with great devotion as he clambered over my hand and arm using his little wing hooks. When he opened his mouth wide, like any baby expecting food would, he actually had a pointed tongue – no wonder these creatures have become so mythical! After a few days we were then advised to try to encourage him to fly. So as evening came, we climbed up high onto the tree deck and, while holding a blanket underneath in case he fell, we held out our hands with batty upside down, holding onto a pencil, in the hope that he would sense the night air and his fellow beings, and take off. Sadly, although we tried this for several days, he only ever began to fall and after a week in all, we found him dead in the shoebox that had become his temporary home. We were all devastated as he’d become like part of the family and we felt as though we’d failed him. But the Rescue Centre explained that his chances had always been extremely doubtful and one doesn’t normally ever see these babies if they fall from their roosts, as predators usually find them, it was a fluke that we’d even got to him first. That week will always remain special to me as I felt deeply privileged to have been able to give that little guy at least a fighting chance, and so honoured to have shared those days with such an interesting creature. This precious protected species, with his big ears and tiny clicking noises, quite audible to us, was such a gift and although he just couldn’t manage to build up his body mass enough, even with our help, we have wonderful memories of that time. Let’s hear it for batty bat!

Magical Blessings, Be

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

As I said in my blog yesterday, now it is Allen’s sister-in-law's turn. Ruth Thompson gets the award for the most energy and biggest grin Ever! One cannot help but be totally and literally swept up into this very special lady’s world. Ruth’s artwork is astounding, her dragons and horses, mythical creatures, knights and angels and all forms of fantasy are so distinctive and beautiful – painted from her heart. (Ruth is also a passionate horsewoman and adores her horses in her real life!) A true sci-fi, fantasy enthusiast, Ruth began her career as an illustrator for gaming companies, but she soon took courage and began to promote herself as an independent artist, her story is so inspirational and great fun to read. This wonderful woman has such a fantastic sense of humour and desire to take us all with her on her fantasy journey - there is a wealth of interesting information on her web site www.tarnishedimages.com including her personal story that is as inspiring as the lovely lady herself. When you meet her, you feel like you’ve know Ruth for years as she has such a warm welcoming way about her and I laugh continuously when I’m with her, she’s gorgeous! This is the kind of person who makes you proud to be a fantasy fan and spends time at the convention and Renasissance Fairs meeting everyone and delighting everybody. With Ruth, you will always find a friendly hello, but be careful, as she may get you hooked on WoW too…

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photos here) Across from our house to the east, is a hill that is home to a group of wild horses. Although from our distance I have never actually seen them up close, from our window I can see them grazing and enjoying the delights that their freedom obviously brings them. When they have foals you can just make them out, keeping so close to their mothers, but occasionally leaping about with the joy that so many young animals have at that age. I have so much respect for these magnificent beasts and, a few years ago, was extremely privileged to be able to watch an amazing Horse Whisperer at work. It was such an important event for me that I even took the boys out of school and together we truly witnessed magic happening. This gentle chap worked with this poor, damaged horse for days and I realised the similarities between what he was doing and the way we all try to bring up our children with respect, trust, firm but fair holding, eye to eye contact, rewarding and praising, being the leader of the pack so that the pressure is not theirs to bear and so on. The transformation in that wonderful horse - rescued from not being allowed outside of his stable for all of his six years - once so wild and hysterical that he used to hurt himself as much as others, was remarkable and breathtaking. A mutual respect was already forming between them and I began to understand some of these miraculous methods and a little of what maybe goes on in their minds. I have looked at horses in a very different way ever since and realise how privileged we are to share this life with them.

Magical Blessings, Be

“Serenity isn’t freedom from the storm, but peace within the storm.”

Lawrence A. Williams, known to many as Allen, gets the prize for being the most charming artist I have ever met, oh and his work is gorgeous too!  I was blown away when I first saw Allen’s beautiful original art a few years ago as there was a majesty about his paintings of myths and legends that left me awestruck. Allen has also published a wonderful book with his sister-in-law (who I’ll blog about tomorrow) of Angels with some of the most fantastic angelic art I’ve ever seen. He has worked in fantasy, horror and role-playing game illustration and, possibly due to the influence of his young son, paints the cutest children’s dragons ever! You can see what I mean on his web site  www.lawilliams.com  Allen is an extremely popular figure on the convention and festival circuit where one is always assured of a warm welcome and a big grin - just say Be sent you!!
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(photos here) As a child, one of my clearest memories as I lay in bed on light summer nights, was being serenaded by a blackbird at the top of our neighbour’s willow tree singing his evening song. It is a very special memory that is instantly evoked when, all through my life, I have heard that distinctive rich and varied melody at dusk, wherever we have lived in England (except on the Mendips, but I’ll post about that another day). This amazing bird with his bright yellow beak and beady eyes has such a delightful way of securing his territory and I am even more blessed where we live now, as we often have two different males staking their tuneful claim, one at each edge of the garden! When our children were young, and I’d be tucking them up when it wasn’t yet dark, I truly gave thanks that they too were falling asleep to these musical notes and although they are probably not aware of it consciously, maybe they will one day be transported back to their childhood bedtimes as they hear that distinctive refrain. Thank you Mr Blackbird for your evening song.
 
Magical Blessings, Be

“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp and peace in your heart.” – Eskimo proverb    

This lovely chap’s work has a quality that is so beautiful, one feels as though you could be looking at paintings from long ago. There’s a romantic and feminine thread here where one is rather inclined to wish to get to know those figures in the frames. Ian Daniels detail of the female form is delightful, his male characters have a great strength and there’s a story woven through it all, myths, legends and faerie tales. His rich colours use light as a magical quality and are so luxurious, contrasted with his immensely detailed black and white studies that cross to the darker side of fantasy art with a more pagan style. Ian has been extremely popular as a book illustrator for many years with some impressive authors! A more gentle soul you could not wish to meet though, so many of these awesome artists are so humble and such a delight to talk with. There’s a feature on Ian’s wonderful work in Faerie Magazine International coming up soon, what a joy - http://hometown.aol.co.uk/iandanielsart/home.html

(photos here) Well, what can I say here, we’re in Bunny heaven. Our favourite time of the year though is in the spring after the kits are born and venturing out for the first time. I’m not ashamed to say, I think they’re really cute. The only problem is when it gets to the summer and they’re a bit braver, and play ‘chicken’ with each other across the lane in front of the car… Why is it that instead of just jumping into the bank, that they insist on running down the road in front of you for ages, I’m sure they’re laughing their heads off! Some larger ones are brave enough to come up near to the back door to nibble at the more tender shoots and I’m sure that if our garden hadn’t fallen into a wilderness these past years working in faerie (I’m beginning to see a suspicious pattern here) then I’d be cursing them if I’d got vegetables planted. As it is, they’re most welcome to my weeds and I am always thrilled to see these shy wild creatures with their white behinds bounding about the garden.

Magical Blessings, Be

“Create your own myth.” - Rumi