Northumberland Folk Tales by Malcolm Green
These folk tales reflect the wild and secret character of between two countries and two worlds. The book other magical characters such as the Netherwitton worm who guards a secret well and the Hedley Kow that plays audacious tricks on humans. Accompanying these, there is the sound of human feet; saints seek refuge, ancient kings fight for land and salvation, and border folk pit themselves against one another with both wit and sword. Illustrated with thirty beautiful and evocative drawings by Rachel Edwards, this panoply of characters, together with ghosts, witches and the land itself, is brought to life by professional storyteller Malcolm Green.
More HereDay out with The Conversation Class
On a surprisingly lovely bright sunny day we gathered together,28 of us from the conversation group in Newcastle and volunteers for our annual outing at Burnlaw.
What a gorgeous day we all had.We sang, told stories, walked, made prints and worked with willow. Wild garlic was picked, lambs stroked and as we explored more delights were discovered .. a tree house to climb up to and a pole to slide down!
Together we shared delicious food ,fun and laughter and many happy memories were made.
Thank you to everyone who made this special day happen .
We walked through the land, we sang in the temple in the woods, we circled the grandmother ash and wished her well. We made our way through flocks of recently-released pheasants and climbed high into the treehouse, from which those with lither bodies descended via a fireman’s pole.
We had stories of a woman becoming a leopard, a girl dancing with a tree, a boy who became a girl and bees literally buzzing. Two of the Burnlaw girls sang while we were entranced by the voice of the flute.
We finished tying ourselves in knots of friendship and laughing some more.
Thanks to everyone, the community and the beautiful land for a wonderful, heart-warming day.
May we meet again. 