Wild tales and woody stories

Creeping Toad on tour

August 2015

 
 

days begin with beautiful sunrises

the Newtonmore Goblins

a tropical sea, a lost treasure and a desert island:  perfect ingredients for an adventure

I’m not going to try to tell the stories behind these pictures - decide for yourself what is going on if you feel so inclined. That way if you get a horrible fright, you’ll have no-one to blame but yourself!

At Ledmore and Migdale on Saturday with the Woodland Trust, we braved midges and ticks to reveal the hitherto unknown tales of the Migdale Worm and the Spinningdale Ghost Train. There was the Caterpillar Fairy, issues about tooth-fairies for trolls, friendships between kelpies and wolves and a few stray zombies. One of my toad cousins wandered through for a visit and various beetles dropped in and trundled through…..

 

a fairy and her caterpillers

caterpiller closeup

fairy-teller in action

James Bond in Spinningdale

not quite sure who this is.....

Thanks to the audiences and story makers of my first schools on this autumn tour!
Auldearn Primary School
Dalneigh Primary School
Newtonmore Primary School
the lovely puppeteers and story makers of Ledmore and Migdale Woods

the midges are coming!

 

a bold storyteller in action!

Hen Harrier Day 2015

 

above the Dale of Goyt

Hen Harrier Day 2015

9th August

In an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of, and protest against, the illegal killing of Hen Harriers largely on Grouse Moors in England, HHD, in just 2 years, has become a rallying and renewing day. A day to set people fuming again but also to inspire and empower them

Watch the video: HHD2015

More of a weekend than a day (pitched in August to clash with the (in)Glorious 12th when certain people (I’m being very restrained, aren't I) take guns and go and blast the life out of lots of Red Grouse who never did them any harm
 

There's one thing more needing mention

The ghosts in the grey skies above

The heather-brown harriers floating

The loss of these birds that we love 

(a Calling-on Song for Hen Harriers)

banners in Pavilion Gardens

(I ended up running around too much to take many photos so will start with these few and hope to add more....anyone got some to recommend?)

I have been involved in both of the Peak District HHDs. This year my wonderful friend Susan Cross and I recited poems as part of an evening entertainment on Saturday night - c300 folk in the Palace Hotel! Exciting speakers: Mark Avery, Mark Cocker, Chris Packham, Jeremy Deller - and us! Thanks to the RSPB for an inspiring presentation and the Wilde family for strong young voices and magnificent constructions. There was almost too much going on to capture the moments: an evening of richness on all sorts of levels and unexpected generosities - Jeremy Deller being stampeded when he offered to print and sign pieces of work there and then. I don't think anyone anticipated a bigger queue for Jeremy's work than for the bar!

our Harriers were evocative if not exactly accurate

Susan and I offered a poetic introduction to the Peak District with the Calling-on Song for Hen Harriers quoted here and extracts from Gawain and the Green Knight as a poem that evokes our rocky landscapes and the value of the noble quest - in the original Middle English. My tongue is still relishing   

rughe knokled knarrez with knorned stonez

On Sunday, while some 500 people were gathering the Goyt Valley, Sarah Males and I were down in Buxton's Pavilion Gardens as part of the "what is all this?" team - making finger puppet hen harriers, talking to people, raising awareness…..There was also a "thunderclap tweet" on Sunday morning: 5.7 million tweets

This isn't a campaigning blog and the unfolding of these issues could spin on over days….

Harrier country

Find out more:

Act: sign the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting if nothing else

Act again: if you are feeling motivated, aggravated and possibly angry, why not write 

• to your local MP - what is being done to protect such precious animals and their associated habitats
• to your Local and County Councillors - are they supporting or endorsing Grouse Moors and alleged continued illegal management practices?
• to local landowners - you do hope, most sincerely, that they are not supporting such practices and that there are more ecologically sensible ways of working with the land
• If local landowners are titled, and have seats in the House of Lords, write to them there, copy in your MP. 

Act even more: stir things up and keep the cauldron simmering

Act even more than that: talk to people

Hen Harrier country is also good for bumblebees

And then: just get out there and look, listen, touch and sniff: enjoy the landscapes around us - our active appreciation is important - remind yourself that we live in a world worth celebrating - and fighting for

Explore and support: there are T-shirts to buy (and wear), mugs to drink out of, badges to emblazon your lapels with - visit some of the links on this post, or spread your fine long wings and go gliding across the web-worldThere are too many people to thank for the heroic work that put these events together but thanks to all of them anyway! 

And take a look at Birders Against Wildlife Crime!

Coming soon:

a set of posts with our various Hen Harrier activities: finger puppets, origami, flags, kites, standards, and skydancer mobiles

Public event: Wild woodland life

 

Wild Woodland Life

Ledmore & Migdale Woods, Spinningdale

Saturday 29^th August 2015

who knows who - or what - will be waiting for us?

telling stories, making up new stories and building puppets of the characters who now, once or just simply should live in the beautiful ancient woods of Migdale

Where: Ledmore and Migdale Woods .

These are Woodland Trust woods nor far off the A9 near Dornoch

Meeting place: meet at Torroy car park. From the A949 in Spinningdale, turn onto the minor road sign posted to Migdale.  Parking is 0.6 miles on the right (IV24 3AD).

When: there will be two sessions during the day: 10.30 - 12.30 and 1.30 - 3.30

a woodland full of wonders

Bookings: the event is free but please book so we can keep track of numbers (the afternoon is a repeat of the morning so you don't need to do both!)

To book a place, contact Juliet on 07810 027556 or ledmoremigdale@woodlandtrust.org.uk

An event for Woodland Trust (Scotland)

Holiday event: A morning for dragons

 

A morning for dragons

Dragon Days at the Green Man Gallery

Tuesday 11th August

11am - 1pm

we will make dragons that shimmer and glitter

Join me on a journey to discover the last dragons of Derbyshire with stories and puppet-making. Make your own dragon as big as your hand with its own nest or cave and collection of treasure.

Will your dragon glitter and shine, 

Or slide into darkness as deep as night, 

Lit only by the stars of its eyes?

Will your dragon laugh or growl

Or smile a smile as wide as a river and deep as a cave?

Will your dragon carry you home on its back

Or will you nestle it into your pocket and keep it warm and safe?

Where: Green Man Gallery, Buxton

Who: ideal for: 8-12 years (6-7 year olds welcome accompanied by an adult.), older folk are welcome too!
Cost: tickets are £6 a dragon-maker, materials are provided, (supporting adults are free)

To reserve a place, call 01298 937375 or 07940 333352.

Email hello@thegreenmangallery.com

Part of the Buxton Family Festival. There will be events 1 - 16th August. Download the programme

The Green Man Gallery is hosting all sorts of events so you could go direct to their site….

dragon planning

a hand-dragon