Chevron Photos: Chevrons on sale in military stores These images were collected as part of The Chevrons Project. As I was volunteering in Ukraine at the time anyway, I started to take photos of chevrons as I saw them. Above photo taken in a military store in Lviv, February 2025 Above photo taken…

Chevron Photos: Chevrons on sale in souvenir stores These images were collected as part of The Chevrons Project. As I was volunteering in Ukraine at the time anyway, I started to take photos of chevrons as I saw them. Above photo taken in a street market in Kyiv, February 2025 Above photo taken in…

Ukraine Interviews: David Mitch My interview with Richard Mitch about Ukraine and chevrons

Ukraine Interviews: Roman My discussion of chevrons with Roman, a Kyiv resident

Ukraine Interviews: Aidan Lynch My conversation with Aidan, a volunteer from New Zealand

Ukraine Interviews: Andrey and Olha After their individual interviews, I asked Andrey and Olha some questions jointly.

Ukraine Interviews: Olha My interview with Olha, a Kyiv resident

Ukraine Interviews: Andrey Andrey is a Kyiv resident whom I met a couple of years ago. He is the founder of Rooftop Drones, a group which encourages his fellow Kyiv residents to learn to make drones.

Ukraine Interviews: Mary Heslin My interview with Mary, who worked in Ukraine as an official observer prior to the start of the full-scale invasion

Ukraine Interviews: Michelle Chatting chevrons with Michelle, including important cultural signifiers to keep in mind when designing them

Ukraine Interviews: Richard Woodruff An interview with Richard Woodruff of the Front Line Kit!

The meanings of my chevrons Some of the chevrons I've collected during my time in Ukraine, and why they're important to me

Ukraine Interviews: Tony Keane My interview with Tony, a fella forger for NAFO and volunteer in Ukraine

Chatting about chevron design with a NAFO Fella Forger Chatting chevron design with Tony, a NAFO fella forge

The practicalities of research in Ukraine Collecting primary sources is time-consuming at the best of times.  Add in the complexities of a language barrier and a war?  Even worse.  Here’s how the project went for me in practical terms.

The Chevrons Project An overview of my project collecting information about chevrons in Ukraine

Who’s Grim? A Proposed Name Change, and Conclusions The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Sometimes, name changes are clearly suggested. Grim’s Ditch, once known as Grim’s Dyke, sits in the London Borough of Harrow. The architect of the house built upon it…

Who’s Grim? The many names of the Antonine Wall The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Another famous example Grim as a personal name causing confusion can be found in Grim’s Dyke, also known as the Antonine Wall. Perhaps this is in part due to the large…

Who’s Grim? Grim the Fisherman The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The town of Grimsby in the north of England still bears the moniker Grim. It is locally accepted that the town is named after a fisherman named Grim (This is Grimsby, 2008). Grim was…

Who’s Grim? Grim as a Personal Name The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In 1896, Isaac Taylor published a compendium of placenames to preserve historical names, and to detail the origins of said names (Taylor, 1896). He notes that in England, personal…

Who’s Grim? Grim as the Devil The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The practice of naming awe-inspiring locations after Odin is also be applied to the Devil. Harte notes that many locations which are now named for the Devil were once named after other…

Who’s Grim? Grim as Odin The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction It has been proposed that Grim as a place name derives from Grim, Grimr or Grímnir as alternative names for Odin- with some claiming that Grimnir means “hooded or masked one” (Fateful Signs,…

Who’s Grim? The Grim Reaper The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Despite the obvious naming similarity, the Grim Reaper does not appear to have been seriously conflated with the Grim that earthworks have been named after. The closest relationship…

Who’s Grim? Grim as a Church Grim The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The name Grim appears within the world of folkloric creatures. The Church Grim is a creature which is said to protect churchyards from “thieves, vandals, witches, warlocks, and even…

Who’s Grim? Grim as a Dog The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In North Yorkshire sits the Kilgrim Birdge. The tale behind it is that bridges built by the local people were always washed away by floods. The Devil promised that he would build a…

Who’s Grim? Grim as the Sun The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In an 1839 book on modes of travel, J. W. Parker describes a location known as Grim’s Dyke, or as Devil’s Dyke by the local people (Parker, 1839). According to Parker “Grim may be only…

Who’s Grim? Grim the Giant The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In 1858 it was “known” that Grimsdyke in Chiltern was created by a wizard. Since then, the dyke has also come to be known as Grim’s Ditch, with a new set of folklore. The story presented by…

Who’s Grim? A Grim Magician The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Historical records for Buckinghamshire tell us the history of the Grimsdyke passing through the Chiltern Hills (Pickburn, 1858). The records report that the name is ancient, citing a…

Who’s Grim? An Introduction This essay was written as part of a university assignment. I've decided to break it up into chucks, as it's a pretty lengthy post! Introduction In his book Cloven Country, Jeremy Harte dedicates a chapter to describing how the Devil’s hands have shaped the British…

“In the eighteenth century, people believed cheese could cure leprosy.” I suspect I’m not going to change a lot of minds on this one, but one thing I’ve thought about a lot is how we discuss historical ‘beliefs’ like this more carefully. (1/n)

My translation of a Ukrainian fairy-tale about the Mara, a creature which comes in the night to steal your baby

Ever wanted to be surrounded by 20 ears of boiled corn? No? Good thing you live in the 21st century!

I've become a big fan of the tūī during my time in New Zealand, so I'm taking the opportunity to present the folklore associated with them whilst showing off some nice photos!

My translation of an explanation for where the legend of the werewolf originally came from

The tale of the Pendine Mermaid In 1603, a man only known as PG sent a letter to his cousin HP describing the curious events which had occurred on the 17th of February near Gylmanes Poynt (now Gilman Point/Pwynt Gilman) in Pendine, Carmarthen. Following the usual pleasantries, he told at…

This essay was written as part of my Folklore degree. The goal was to attend an event with cultural or folkloric significance, and observe.

I recently saw the 2024 remake of Nosferatu, and it got me thinking about what the depicted creature is

Ever wondered how big the Loch Ness Monster is? Duda has got you covered

Stories whispered in hushed tones. Tales told to children over campfires. Online creepypasta posts. Our interest in cryptids is enduring. But what even is a cryptid? And why do we find them so fascinating?

What's a Not Deer? Where do they come from? Are they a threat to me? Find out here!

My translation of the culturally important Ukrainian folk fairy tail, Kotyhoroshko

Had a play with Interactivity Studio to create an interactive map of the 1985 South American UFO flap I posted about on my blog, but unfortunately I'd need to pay for a the professional WordPress tier to embed it in my site directly :( interactivity.studio/ugc/vicsfolk...

A second update on the Chilean UFO flap: it spread to other countries in South America

Duda magazine published an expansion on their previous story about the 1985 Chile UFO flap- here's my translation of it

A case study of the folklore surrounding the church of St Michael atop Brent Tor in Dartmoor

A short account of the Masked Ghost of Bolivia, translated into English from the original Spanish

Christmas is a summertime activity in New Zealand. Here's my observations on what impact this has had on Christmas iconography

An essay written as part of my degree studies in which I discuss how folklore has historically had some negative connotations, but the term is now being reclaimed

In 1916, a geologist claimed to have discovered fossil evidence of a race of 4m tall giants who once lived in Florida. Read my translation of an article about the find here!