Mabon or the Autumn Equinox occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday 22nd September. Day and night will be of equal length for the second time in the Wheel of the Year (the first time was at Ostara, the Spring Equinox). The Equinox also marks the official start of autumn, although with some of the … Continue reading Mabon – Celebrating Harvest
Stromness – town of the sea (and home of a storm witch)
I fell in love with the tiny town of Stromness the first time I visited back in 2010. I’d read the books of Orcadian poet, George Mackay Brown (who lived all his life in Stromness) long before my first trip to the islands and I have this slightly whimsical idea that, through his words, the … Continue reading Stromness – town of the sea (and home of a storm witch)
Five things I learnt from Spellbound
On Saturday I went to the Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The tag line for the exhibition is ‘Magic, ritual and witchcraft’ and it certainly covers all of those areas but it also looks more deeply at what it means to ‘think magically’. I originally wrote this post as a kind of … Continue reading Five things I learnt from Spellbound
Summer Solstice – Celebrating Light
In the Northern hemisphere the summer solstice occurs on Thursday 21st June this year when the sun will be at its furthest point north in its annual cycle around the Earth. In the UK, that will actually be at 11:07. It’s the time of the longest day and the shortest night but it’s also one … Continue reading Summer Solstice – Celebrating Light
Of Saints & Pilgrims: A Journey to St. David’s
Pope Calixtus II declared that two pilgrimages to St. David’s were equal to one to Rome. If he’d travelled, like I did, by the tiny stopping train that trundles through the Welsh marshes and then for hours along the South Wales Coast I think he might have revised that to a one:one ratio. St. David’s … Continue reading Of Saints & Pilgrims: A Journey to St. David’s
Five things I’ve learnt about writing from reading Dorothy Dunnett #IDDD
Back in April this year, my friend Lucy recommended the Lymond Chronicles to me. I’d been moaning to her about how hard it is to plot a series of books and she recommended that I learn from the expert and read Dorothy Dunnett. I went home, downloaded Game of Kings to my Kindle and started … Continue reading Five things I’ve learnt about writing from reading Dorothy Dunnett #IDDD
Celebrating autumn
Is it just me or does the run up to Christmas seemed to have started even earlier this year? It was mid-September when I saw the first Christmas books released and Christmas gifts appearing in the shops. It’s as if the world’s forgotten there’s a whole season in between. A season that’s particularly lovely and … Continue reading Celebrating autumn
Stopping to take stock
For the past few years I’ve had what people call a ‘portfolio career’. As well as writing, I’m a consultant, an external examiner and a creative writing tutor. That takes a lot of swapping of hats and this week has been particularly hectic. Monday morning saw me at an important meeting in York, Monday afternoon … Continue reading Stopping to take stock
Going Back to Find Something New
I’ve been coming to Glastonbury (the town not the festival, as I’ve explained a lot in the past few weeks) every year or so since I started writing Beltane six years ago. It’s become a kind of spiritual second home and I love it for its quirkiness, its willingness to embrace the alternative and the … Continue reading Going Back to Find Something New
Ness of Brodgar – Uncovering #Orkney’s Neolithic past
I’ve been fascinated by the Neolithic period in a very unscientific kind of way for years. Stones circles are a bit of an obsession of mine and I’ve driven down many tiny lanes in search of sites that are marked on OS maps but don’t have a single sign post. I love the mystery of … Continue reading Ness of Brodgar – Uncovering #Orkney’s Neolithic past
Alys West 