this post for people who know both know the owl impression trend and like the Mabinogion. it's a niche audience #folklore #mythology #mabinogion #owl #owlimpression🦉

Just made a little noise of delight in finding an in story justification as to why one person alone has to fight the dragon in this 17th c version of Guy of Warwick. Feel a kinship with the author who was clearly just as bothered as I usually am by the question "why don't they just send an army?"

A great bit in this legend is when the hero enters a tournament to win the hand of the emperor's daughter He viciously slaughters every single other entrant Having won her hand tells her and her dad he can't possibly take it cos he's loyal to his true love in England Leaves. What a dick. Love it

Working on the next episode today. Here's a hint. A picture of some Guy in armour rudely interrupting a tender moment between a lion and dragon. What a jerk.

When researching Elliot O'Donnell I came across this picture which I particularly enjoy. This is a Canadian ghost, and seems to have been the kind of thing O'Donnell encountered regularly, or was at least told about by others. His world was absolutely chock full of supernatural horrors it seems.

Brit pop demon hunters where the barrier that prevents the demons coming through is called the wonderwall. And one of the Gallaghers and Damon Albarn fall in love. Is this a thing?

The festive season is pretty much over so with trademark promptness it's time for my Christmas bonus episode. From the pen of Ghost Hunter Elliott O'Donnell my telling of the very definitely true: The Ghosts of Donaldgowerie house. Find wherever you get podcasts or on my website.

This spelling mistake cracked me up somewhat. Talk about one foot in the grave.. (New bonus Christmas episode coming this week)

Appreciated this George and the dragon woodcut at Chester cathedral. So often the dragon in religious depictions is a poor tiny little iguana size thing I feel sorry for it. Here while not exactly huge it's a decent size and looks helluva fierce. Also appreciate the skull detail in its lair.

One of the things I love about England is how you can stop in a little town and discover something like this. Not just a greasy pole that people used shin up to win a prize as part of the annual crab fair (decorated for Christmas) but also a notice board explaining it. Perfect (Egremont Cumbria)

Stunning sunset at the fort of Mediobogdum. Deep in the mountains at Hardknott pass it is here the Cumbrian faery King Eveling holds his court.

Standard English day out

In the Lakes for a holiday and picked up this little wonder by @stephengrae.bsky.social at the lovely @samreadbookseller.bsky.social in Grasmere. Really looking forward to reading some local tales on a wet December night.

A new episode out now. 55: Peak Mermaid Mermaids far from the sea, also with sailors, witches and watches a diiscussion of mermaid biology and my longest discussion section. If you like muddy holes and fishy women this is the episode for you! talesofbritainandireland.com/episode-56-p...

A new episode out now. 55: Peak Mermaid Mermaids far from the sea, also with sailors, witches and watches a diiscussion of mermaid biology and my longest discussion section. If you like muddy holes and fishy women this is the episode for you! talesofbritainandireland.com/episode-56-p...

Really looking forward to this talk in Sheffield @nfsengland.bsky.social

Happy Mabon everyone 🍂 Why don't you celebrate in the traditional Welsh way by taking a ride with your friends on a giant fish?

New Patreon ep. out now! This one is all about St Twrog, a work a day saint on a perfectly normal day. If you want to join the pateon- you only ever pay when I do an episode: patreon.com/BritIrelTales And now I'm dropping on to the next main feed episode: time to get this podcast back on track.

Just got some absolutely superb pictures of one of my Sheffield Cemetery gigs. These make it look far cooler than it actually was! I'm back on podcast now - a patreon episode almost ready and main feed episodes to follow. But will be back live telling sometime in the not too distant as I love it!

Doing an interview for BBC Radio Leeds tomorrow before my (sold out) gig, talking a bit about the popularity of folklore. Find myself wondering how much of it is due to folklore being a rich repository of culture that creatives of all types can draw on for inspiration that isn't copyrighted?

Found what looks like a medieval owl bear in Bath Abbey. Adorable little fella who'll definitely have a finger off if you're not careful.

Found what looks like a medieval owl bear in Bath Abbey. Adorable little fella who'll definitely have it finger off if you're not careful.

Making the final edits before my forest event tomorrow. Sadly had to drop the section where all the woodland supernatural beings are forced out of their homes and team up on an animal of farthing woodesque adventure.

Everytime I chance upon the story of Val Sans Retour (Morgan Le Fay traps unfaithful knights in a forest, but it's sort of nice, they can basically do anything but leave)... I am struck by it's unfulfilled potential for some unhinged homoerotic fanfiction. Brocéliande.. more like BROcéliande

A week to go to my next event. First ever with live music! In my rehersals I'm struggling to remember exactly which trees do what in Cad Goddeu and keep saying Willy light hand instead of lily white hand. Which is a problem. Excited and a little bit nervous but I do love doing these shows!

Parish council noticeboards would be a lot more interesting if they had local quests on them.

Once again reflecting just how good a rental deal "all of fairy land for one soul every seven years" is. These days you'd struggle to get a one bed flat in zone 4 for anything less than a soul a year.

The only other political takes I can think of might have been that climate change is happening and is bad or that imposing beauty standards on women might be bad actually, in a snow white like tale.

English heritage saw me coming! Enjoyed doing this trail. (No I have no children)

Should be a kids show called something like Vinegar Tom and Friends. Each episode the gang get into scrapes and mischief, but always come out improved and with a once agin beaten Matthew Hopkins shaking his fist in the air. There'd be a moral like "We're not just familiars - we're a Familyiar"

On holiday in Whitby. My two person holiday cottage has THREE copies of dracula. Which seems excessive. How do I know? I Counted.

New episode out now! A Scottish story featuring a locked room mystery, something fishy, unusual naming conventions (women only), and a little ENM to top it off. A fairy tale: Which therefore gets the special fairy tale level CW for extreme bloodiness. talesofbritainandireland.com/episode-55-g...

New episode out now! A Scottish story featuring a locked room mystery, something fishy, unusual naming conventions (women only), and a little ENM to top it off. A fairy tale: Which therefore gets the special fairy tale level CW for extreme bloodiness. talesofbritainandireland.com/episode-55-g...

Fairy tale nerd post: The more I encounter it and use it the less I am convinced that the ATU Index is accurate or useful. The stories just don't seem to be similair enough or consistent enough to justify the groupings - very vibe based. Now the Thompson motif index I can get behind though!

If I see one more wikipedia page for a fairy story that claims "collected by Joseph Jacobs" when all he actually did was copy someone else's collected tale word for word* then I'll... well I'll... I'll certainly be very cross.. *Tbf he gives credit - this is a wikipedia issue

Happy May Day and Beltane all! I had a wonderful time at the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh last night. A staggeringly impressive performance blending lots of different traditions some old, some recent to create a modern Beltane celebration, with all the magic left in.

I've got a new live event: this time in a forest! As always with live events I know this only applies to a small amount of my listeners but if you are in Nottinghamshire or nearby and are free on June 14th it would be great to see you. Looking forward to this one: doing something a bit different!

A key theme modern sanatised fairy tales miss is the violent hatred of the young by the old. Very common plots are some variation of: your dad wants to rape you and your mum wants to kill and eat you. It's a particular shame that this is omitted, as looking at the world it seems somewhat relevant.

I was lucky enough to be a deouty loreperson on @loremen.bsky.social, telling one of my favourite stories about Britain's dim and distant past when it was a lot nicer really.

Oh I do love the twee tricks, japes and jests of the fairies! For instance I'm reading a medieval account of how a group of beautifully fairy woman tortured and flayed a man, removed his brain, and then put him back on his horse and sent him on his way. How whimsical! Invite them to your garden!

Quick update: A good day today as I got a nice comment and a new up to date picture of me I'll get to using on my website etc. soon. As always doing stuff slowly but excited to say that barring catastrophe there's going to be another episode this month (2 in 2 months, don't expect it to continue!)

Us city folks on holiday in a remote village Pull up to see stuffed animals tied to fences opposite our cottage Interesting. What's that in the field? Just a bonfire the locals are building? Those quaint rural pastimes! What an uneventful and relaxing and survivable few days this promises to be.

My own (slightly) more folklore accurate take on the charming fairy butter meme

Beauty is subjective. There is no definitive most beautiful So is the magic mirror just lying? Or is it just answering the question using the Queen's own standards: reflected back at her? Really it feels like it should just be a metaphor for her own insecurities, except it knows about the dwarfs

There really is a lot of cannibalism in fairy stories. Even compared to like other kinds of violence it seems like an outlier. (I'm not counting giants eating people here. Giants aren't cannibals unless they eat other giants.. I'll fight you on this)

Got my very own copy of these stamps thanks to a friend! I realised none of them have featured except for Fionn (and only sort of then as Giant's Causeway Fionn is different.) In focusing on less known I have left out some big hitters! Though Blodeuwedd may make an appearance later this year....

Writing the next episode in the glorious surrounds of Airy Fairy - my lovely locam pagan bookshop and café . My favourite place to write.

Love Irish mythology: reading a story where a pregnant woman passes an ale house and her unborn child wants a drink so much he knocks her to the floor from in the womb, till she gets a beer When the owner refuses to serve her the fetus uses telekinetic poetry to explode the beer kegs. Great stuff