Barton Turf bio diversity event

Last Sunday I was telling at an annual environmental event run at Barton Turf in Norfolk by the Broads Authority and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It's an event that promotes not only the bio diversity of the Norfolk broads, but also local crafts and voluntary organisations who are committed to protecting the environment and wildlife. And on the advice of a friend in heritage I also suggest that you check out http://www.commonground.org.uk/ which celebrates both the heritage, the environment and local custom, which fits in very well with the subject of this post and many others!

There was plenty going on for both adults and kids, from tours of Barton Broad upon a state of the art solar powered catamaran/boat thingy (I know very little about boats!) Also pond dipping, ringing birds, making bat boxes, making wildlife sculptures out of recycled materials and one of my favourites; dissecting owl pellets. After the initial "uuuurgh" by some kids and the realisation that they were not dealing with poo, boys, girls and the occasional adult like me were more than happy to prod and poke about in the pellets to find all sorts of small animal bones. When I was a kid, I found a shrew's jawbone in a pellet. I took it into school, only to find that Jason Hatch who had been to Africa with his really rich parents, had brought in an elephant tooth. They made a great contrast to each other and our teacher's obvious pleasure in the comparison between shrew jaw and elephant tooth went a good way to alleviating my feelings of inadequacy and it didn't put me off owl pellets.

Dissecting owl pellets
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All of these very worthwhile activities were great, but to be honest the one that really caught my attention was the worm charming. It was a competition to see who could 'charm' or more precisely lure worms to the surface in allotted two meter square sections. Adults and kids alike spent 45 minutes using their own individual and sometimes bizarre techniques to encourage the worms upwards. Although most involved some kind of rhythmic banging and thumping which as one veteran worm charmer told me are meant to sound like rain, which encourages worms to the surface so that they don't drown! I'm not sure about that one, but one thing was for certain, every one had their work cut out because it was very hot and the ground was baked hard. None the less the final winners did manage a very respectable 27 worms, although last year the more moist conditions resulted in a winning amount of 50 worms. That's over one a minuet!

Worm Charmers charming

That's impressive, but not the reason I enjoyed it so much. For me it was the fact that everyone got involved and that for once health and safety was not top of the agenda. Kids were swinging garden forks about like no bodies business. I watched one girl stabbing the ground very close to her dad's hand, whilst at the same time gazing over her shoulder to her mum. Her dad didn't notice for he was just far too busy gently drumming the ground with his fingers. A different approach to worm charming and one I think that deserved a mention, but alas far to subtle when all about were jumping up and down and beating the earth with bits of two by two!

Worm Charmers using the traditional fork method...

The other reason I enjoyed it was because it fits in well with many of the other events and activities I stumble upon, from the Town Crier competition, to black faced boarder Morris Dancers. I can't help feeling that only in England could you find such an unusual mix of the silly and bizarre. It's a fact made all the more apparent by the bus load of Chinese tourists to Barton who couldn't quite understand what was going on. They certainly enjoyed the spectacle, although one of the organisers who tried to explain what was happening got the distinct feeling that they thought the worms were going to be eaten!

A combination of fork and drumming techniques

Thanks to Holly and the rest of the team who kept me in cold drinks on what was a very hot day...

Hear ye, hear ye...Town Crier competition at Ely Eel Day

After a great day of May Day storytelling at this years Ely Eel day festival I was happily ensconced in my tent taking down my bits and pieces and thinking about the various sights and sounds I had seen and heard that day. Sights like the dancing of the eel, which was like a Chinese dragon, but an eel propelled by schoolchildren in seventeenth century dress (Presumably in honour of Oliver Cromwell who had a house in the town, and which now houses a museum) There was also a local man still making traditional eel nets just like a roman one found in the fens near Ely. It should be hardly surprising really as it was of course eel day and so a celebration of Ely's link with the slippery fish (At least I think its a fish) Even the name Ely is said to derive from the words meaning island and eel. The importance of Eels to Ely is shown in the fact that even the monks of the City were said to have used eels to pay their taxes.

There was however much more going on than the worship of the eel and I was also remembering the fantastic and very loud local samba drumming group and the obligatory reenactment group, although I was a bit disappointed that they had come as Saracens and not not the local folk hero Hereward the Wake and his loyal band of Saxon Rebels. Not that it bothered most people and everyone seemed to have a good time. As did I, although now I was looking forward to packing up and getting home, when all of a sudden I heard a the ring of many a bell and the crisp, clear and loud cry of "Oyez, Oyez" coming from just outside my tent. As I peered out through a gap in the opening I saw that I had been surrounded by a a great mass of Town Criers. I suppose you might call them a 'Cry' or perhaps a 'Shout' of Criers and all were in there finest liveries. Some were accompanied by equally well dressed escorts, although women were not just present as mere window dressing, for there were at least three female Criers amongst the group.

The first of many town criers and his escort
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It turns out that I was trapped by the annual Ely Town crier competition, one of many that take place all over Britain at fairs, festivals and fetes. But don't get me wrong I was honored to have them doing their Crier thing outside my tent, for as one of them told me the first Town Crier competitions were held in Greece in 396 BC. to find the person who could best announce winners of the games. If its good enough for the Greeks, then its good enough for me!

That's what I like about what I do, for you never know quite what you are going to see and what unusual characters you will meet as you go about your business, telling tales. And certainly although like many I knew that there were the odd town crier doing their thing up and down the country, I didn't realise that there were so many of them and that they competed for titles. They had traveled from all over the UK and I'm told that in other competitions they come from as far a field as Australia and America and many of them although attracted by tradition are also happy to give some very modern performances.

A town crier in Early Police mans livery

Town crier in typical civic livery

Town crier and escort being judged by the great and the good of Ely

It was this that caught my interest, because on one level the criers simply look to be harking back to a now lost past, but that's not the case. Certainly all had a passion for history, not just for town criers. One contestant was an ex policeman and so had created a crier's livery based on the uniform of one of Robert Peel's early 'peelers'. Another had a passion for steam railways and so based his costume on the livery of one of the early railway companies. And even the more traditional Criers costumes of tricorne hat, frock coat etc were open to some very colorful interpretation!

There was also a great deal of variation in the performances. In the morning they had to 'cry' a message from their own town or city, but in the afternoon and outside my tent they could perform a 'cry' about a set theme, which at Ely was 'their perfect day'. As such all were judged on volume, diction, clarity etc and also on the content, which resulted in some of the criers being very creative. One of the female criers, who has been a carer for many years was waiting for the day when the government would care for carers. For another it was being out immersed in nature, whilst the winner, the town crier from Alnwick, 'cried' that any day was perfect when at the end of it he got to climb under the duvet with his wife. I liked that one best!

Town crier in early railway livery

The winning crier from Alnwick and his escort

Spot the criers relaxing with a pint!

It was good to see that such a traditional pursuit had been brought up to date and that these town criers were much like modern storytellers; willing to grow new corn from old fields. It was also good to see how much the audience enjoyed the performances especially when you consider that long ago and more often than not criers were not very popular, because they were of course in the pay of the civic elites and so often the bearers of bad news for the common people. But that was then and this is now and if I wasn't busy storytelling I'd probably have a go myself!

A 'shout' of criers and escorts giving a good 'bells-up'

Thanks to Aileen and her assistants for inviting me back!

Ickworth House-Below Stairs

On Good Friday I was telling again at Ickworth House in Suffolk. Its the third time I have told there and normally I wouldn't have written about it again, except that due to the poor weather I was forced to tell in an area where the public don't normally get to go. An area which for me is far more interesting than the main house.

I was put down in the servants tunnel that runs the full length of the building with stairs going up at certain points so that maids and footmen etc could suddenly appear as if by magic and very conveniently for the local posh types and also disappear as quickly from view when not needed! My photos taken from a mobile phone do not do this great tunnel justice, but it is vast and apparently the servants nicknamed it the 'bakerloo line' because of its resemblance to the London underground tunnel!

A very blurry 'bakerloo line'!
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Also coming off the tunnel are various storage rooms and many of the servants quarters including their dining room which I have to say with the heating range, rows of oak tables and benches feels very warm and convivial, although there are still a row of bells fixed just outside this room, which lead to the upper house. Fixed there to ensure that the servants didn't get too relaxed!

Entrance off the servants tunnel to one of the storage rooms



Inside the storage room

For me these rooms are far more interesting than the frilly, overblown and very uncomfortable spaces above stairs. although that's probably in part because many of my mothers family were in service. Her mother and father, my grandmother and grandfather both worked for a family out in the wilds of west Norfolk and prior to the great war they were supposed to go with the family to India. I think that it was a time when many of these families realised that the old traditional cap doffing days were on their way out over here. Thankfully for me my grandmother's mother wouldn't let her go, and if she had I would of course not be here!

The servants dining room

More of the servants dining room showing original tables and benches


The range in the servants dining room


The bells outside the servants dining room


More bells to keep the servants in their place!

I don't think that I would would have enjoyed being a servant in a house like Ickworth, bowing and scraping to others who were no better then me. But then again given the choice between the servants quarters and the rest of Ickworth house I know where I would have been. My pictures don't do it justice, but just imagine long ago at some Edwardian house party...

Above all was dull and formal. Refined with civility being the order of the day (At least in public anyway) But below stairs all would have been hustle and bustle. There were the house servants and also the maids and valets etc. brought along to serve their masters and mistresses every whim. The servants I think would have been kept very busy, but probably having a better time of it below ground, gossiping and singing and generally having a good laugh when time allowed!

That's why I like the 'bakerloo line' so much and soon every one will, for there are plans to renovate many of the servants rooms and open them up to the public. I know where I'll be!

Thanks again to Claire and all the volunteers at Ickworth.

The King of Hearts Arts Centre, Norwich

The King of Hearts Art Centre

Last Friday week I was telling the various tales of Agnes Leaman and others who were punished in Tudor Norwich in a renovated Tudor house; the King of Hearts Cafe and Centre for the Arts. The building stands next to Fye bridge where Agnes and many other women were ducked upon the cucking stool in the late fifteen and early sixteen hundreds. But when first you look at the outside facade of the King of Hearts you would think it no more than a nice example of a Georgian shop front like many others to be seen along the historic Magdalen street.

Original Tudor mullioned widow taken from inner courtyard

But as you can see from the photos, beneath the facade is hidden a fantastic example of a late medieval and early Tudor merchants house. One of many built at this time. For some Norwich is now a bit of a jokey place, a bit of a backwater, but in Tudor times it was second city in the kingdom whose wealth was built on textiles and reflected in the large number of merchant's houses built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although many of these were lost in two great fires during the 1500s and later 'improvements' to the city. That's why the King of Hearts is so important, because there are so few buildings like it left in the City. And like the other still remaining it has been home to Sheriffs and Mayors whose own fortunes and in some cases misfortunes reflected the turbulent history of Tudor times. These include Edmund Wood, a wealthy merchant grocer who became Sheriff, then Mayor of Norwich in 1548. His son Robert was also Mayor and in 1578 he received Queen Elizabeth I when she visited Norwich, entertaining her with "a Loyal Latin Oration", for which she knighted him. Also Thomas Toft who was also a grocer and Mayor (1654) and a man of extreme Puritan views who took an active part in the destruction of statues and "superstitious pictures and reliques of idolatry" in churches and in the Bishop's palace.

In truth I'm really into history from below, the history of everyday people like Agnes Leaman, but the fortunes and misfortunes of one group impacted on the other, especially when it came to the ideas and beliefs of extremists like Thomas Toft, for in his times the punishments for all sorts of petty crimes became all the more frequent and harsh. No more than you'd expect from any kind of intolerant regime!

The house does also has another link to the ordinary citizens of Norwich, for like a lot of large houses in Norwich as the City grew in population it rapidly became overcrowded and it was subdivided up into tenements and shops, whilst the 'great and the good' got fed up with living cheek by jowl with the rest of us and moved out to the grand houses on the outskirts of Norwich. And so it was by the the last quarter of the 20th century the street frontage was occupied by 3 shops, the upper level by small flats and the whole was described as being in a "dilapidated condition".

The Music Room
where many a storytelling performance also takes place

It was however completely renovated over a ten year period into the 1990s and transformed into the arts centre and cafe and I suspect that now it is a much more relaxed place than ever it was in Toft's day! It also includes a Contemporary Art Gallery, a Music Room, Craft Shop and four Meeting Rooms. And its one of the few venues regularly putting on storytelling performances in the city. Although sadly its underused by the locals and tends to be another of those hidden gems I've mentioned before.

Doorway into cafe from inner courtyard

Hidden both in terms of local community involvement, but also with regard to its history. For much was found during the renovation including many original mullioned windows. And in the Music Room where I was telling a painted ceiling with moulded beams was revealed that had been long hidden beneath a Georgian plaster ceiling. There was also a door from the inner courtyard blocked up long ago but now reopened for all to see. A doorway with a fine painted carving set over it. On one side are the initials TTS and on the other side a portrait of a lady. I'm assuming that the initials are linked to Thomas Toft, although the I can't be sure, for the lady on the other side with her long flowing and very loose locks looks far to racy for any self respecting puritan!

Rediscovered carving on top right of courtyard doorway

Many thanks to Anita and all the staff at the King of Hearts for a great evening...

Colchester Castle- The Very Merry Monk

I had said that I wouldn't blog about places that I had already told at last year, but although I have already blogged about Colchester Castle, I was taken by a temporary Medieval exhibition there. Most of it is taken up with religious items from stained glass and pilgrim badges to bibles and early private prayer books. But what really caught my eye was this wood carving that relates to many of the medieval tales I tell....

The Merry Monk
A wood corbel that once supported the roof at At Mary's Church Higham
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It is a corbel, a bracket that once helped support the roof of St Mary's church in Higham near Ipswich and it dates back to about 1450. It's that that really caught my interest, because this was a time when monks and other religious men and women were being attacked for their perceived greed and corrupt ways and many of the popular stories of this time played on that popular caricature of the gluttonous lazy monk or friar. Stories like the French tale, The Friar and the Butcher, a version of which can be found on my story blog by clicking here...

But although this monk is clearly well fed he is shown as a very happy and I think friendly fella whose love of food and perhaps also ale is something to be celebrated. In that respect he fits in with some of the stories of the day that were less critical of a well off church. Stories like Brother Jocundus in which the boozy Jocundus goes from being a monk reviled by his peers to finally becoming Prior of his monastery!

It's not clear in the picture, but the carved monk is also shown holding a book to emphasise that monasteries were also centers of learning and the dissemination of ancient knowledge and that fits in well with the stories that celebrated this fact. Stories like those of Friar Bacon, a real friar whose later fictional exploits include casting fortune telling heads, astronomy and astrology and much much more. In my version of his stories his head is so full of knowledge that if you were to stand close to him you might well hear his skull creaking and groaning as it worked hard to keep all that wisdom in his head!

This simple carving has then something to say about attitudes toward religion in late medieval England, although it is not surprising perhaps that it is a positive one when considering that it was carved for use in a church. That aside, I think it would have still caught my eye anyway, for its rare in medieval imagery to see such a happy, friendly and welcoming face!

Thanks to everyone at Colchester castle for once again making me feel so welcome.

Looking forward to 2010

2009 turned out to be a busy year for me. So busy in fact that I didn't have time to post about everywhere I told. For that reason this year I shall only blog about places I've not told at before, which is already considerable. I've new bookings at The King of Hearts Arts Centre in Norwich, The Bishops Palace in Wells, Devizes International Street Festival and some folk festivals like Folk by the Oak which takes place in the grounds of Hatfield House north of London. A full list of where I'm working this year can be found on the Diary page of my website and it's updated regularly.

That said I feel I should mention some of the places I did tell at this year but did not get a mention in 2009....

First there was the English Heritage Festival of History at Kelmarsh in July. To tell you the truth its not my favourite event, because it is huge. Too much going on for me, and the main focus is on warfare throughout the ages. If I were feeling uncharitable I might call it the Festival of Death! But that is a bit unfair for amidst the various armies that go from the Romans right through to the present, there are also dedicated living history groups that demonstrate everyday life from long ago. there are also a lot of female re-enactors who present what life was like for women who had to get on with life regardless of whether or not their husband was at home or fighting on a far off battlefield. I can't deny that the Festival offers something for every one and you can even talk to an early 2oth century Arctic explorer in full kit whilst the Kids are put through their paces by a second world war drill Sergeant, or have a go at medieval jousting, or even play some Roman games!

I also spent a week camping in Sherwood Forest whilst telling as part of Past-Imagined with Stewart Alexander.....

The Past-Imagined Storytelling tent in Sherwood Forest
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We have been telling at their annual Robin Hood Festival for the last five years now and its probably one of my favourite if also the most tiring events of the year. Not only does the festival have all sorts of great entertainment from jesters to dancing demons, but the emphasis is on fun and not authenticity. This gives you a bit of licence to be creative! There is also the dated but wonderful visitors centre which will be going soon. It will be a real loss because the exhibits do focus on the magic of Robin Hood and the Greenwood, which is something I think will be lost when the centre is rebuilt. I fear it will be all about the facts and doubt there will a place for Hearne the Hunter and the Green man! The other reason I enjoy Sherwood is the camping and the privilege of staying in the greenwood. I like being in any wood, but there is something quite dark, yet exhilarating about Sherwood, which I think has a lot to do with the huge amount of ancient Oaks that still survive in what is today a very small piece of woodland. And what makes them all the more spectacular is the fact that they show their age. Many are 'stag oaks' whose gnarled twisted branches make them look like boney old giants pushing aside everything in their way...

A very gnarled but still very alive veteran oak

One of many detailed interpretive panels in Sherwood

There are other places I missed posting about, but I'll finish with the Open Christmas event at St Andrews Hall in Norwich. Its been running on Christmas Day for many years now, but this is the first time I've told there. And its not just for the homeless either. Anyone who is feeling a bit lonely can come and I think I'm right in saying that whole families turn up! Certainly there is a great atmosphere and there are lots of activities from carole singing to bingo. Although what struck me most was that most people were just happy to chat and catch up with friends of old, which I suppose is what Christmas should be all about. I was also struck by the level of dedication by all the staff on site, for there are decorations which must have been done prior to the event, also cooking, collection of food for people to take home with them and also cars and taxis to ferry people to and from the event. It made my 30 minutes on stage look like nothing at all!

So here's to all of the volunteers at the Open Christmas event and also the staff and volunteers at many a museum, heritage site, festival and fair who helped make 2009 a great one for me. And here's to an even more eventful 2010!

Ludlow Castle, Shropshire

My storytelling tent in the inner bailey of Ludlow Castle
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Last weekend I was telling at Ludlow Castle Medieval Christmas Fayre. Its my second time there and one of my favourite events of the year. Not least because I love Christmas and the fayre has a wonderful Christmas feel. It's predominantly a craft market with all sorts of great gifts for all. Trust me when I say that I have told at many craft fairs and some can be very dodgy with little more than bread boards covered with poker work and cushions covered in cuddly kittens! But not Ludlow, for just about every stand had something both imaginative and well made being sold on it; from museum quality miniature interiors of castles to colourful felt hats and insect inspired jewelry. And the creative crafts spilt out of the fayre into Ludlow market where one trader was selling old coins and cutlery that he had cut and hammered into stunning bracelets and pendants.

The huge craft tents at Ludlow taken from the Keep

That's the thing about the Ludlow fayre is that it is very much a town event with market traders and local shops staying open late on the Saturday night with many getting dressed up in their most weird and wonderful fancy dress style 'medieval' costumes. Its not about reenactment style authenticity; its about taking part and having a good time. The whole town seems to join in and maybe that has something to do with the old fashioned air about the place. Many of the shops are very traditional in their displays, including the butchers with their produce still hanging outside their widows. There are old timber framed buildings dotted about all over the place that show Ludlow to have been a prosperous place. It must have been full of rich merchants who clearly liked to show their wealth in the excessive decorative woodwork in their houses; much more than was really needed to make them structurally sound. Our ancestors were into showing off just as much as we are today!

The conspicuous consumption of wood!

More showing off


Yet more over the top yet beautiful wood framing

One of a number of butchers in Ludlow with pheasants for sale

The castle also demonstrates our ancestors need to keep up with the latest fashions and fads and its walls are covered in doors and windows from many different periods. Some are now walled up or the heavy wooden doors bolted shut, which all adds to the mystery of the place.

One of many mullioned windows

There may be some cynics out there who just see it as yet another example of the over commercialisation of Christmas, but I don't think it is. Firstly the crafts on sale are all virtually unique and so show some thought has gone into them. Its not just a case of thumbing through the Argos catalogue or doing your shopping on line. I like that! And even though the fayre is predominately about spending money, many people come for the great festive entertainment.. There is of course storytelling and also archery, falconry and all the other things you'd expect at an historic fayre. But there is also lots of festive music, especially bagpipes. Now if you're like me your early experience of bagpipes was the endless screeching of many a Scotsman on the TV on New Years eve, but these are different. They include Northumbrian and various German pipes which are much softer sounding and are great when played with other medieval style instruments and a big drum! I defy anyone not to be drawn in.

The bagpipe festivities well under way

People were dancing and singing along to the various Christmas choirs on site as well as eating and drinking and being very merry. Unfortunately the weather was not that good and there was plenty of rain, but what stood out to me is that it didn't get people down. Thousands turned up over the two days and every one was smiling. I'm not into the religious aspects of Christmas and prefer to treat it as a winter festival, a time of feasting and fun at the coldest and darkest time of the year and that's exactly how many of the visitors to the fayre seemed to treat it as well. A time to forget about credit crunches and wet weekends and to eat, drink and be very, very merry!

Thanks to Wynndbag and all the other entertainers and volunteers.