“Come over here, gentlemen,
And put your hands on my sword again.
Swear by my sword;
You’ll never mention what you've heard.”
HAMLET: ACT 1 SCENE 5.
All pictures copyright D.B.Griffith 2013.
Saturday, 28 June 2014
A WONDER IN HEAVEN
Behold a great wonder in heaven;
A woman clothed with the sun,
And the moon under her feet,
And upon her head,
A crown of twelve stars.
Paraphrased from Revelation Chapter 12 Verse
1 KJV.
All pictures © D.B.Griffith the Chattering
Magpie 2014.
Detail of a stained glass window within the Church
of Saint Giles, Cheadle Staffordshire England.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
DRACULA IN DERBY
Poster advertising the latest production of the Locko Amateur Dramatic Society
The
City of Derby has long had an unofficial love affair with Bram Stoker and
arguably his most famous work, Dracula. It was Stoker’s
fifth and most successful work, first published on the 26th of May 1897 by Archibald Constable and Company, Westminster.
In
the same year as publication on the 18th of May and therefore only
days before publication, ‘Dracula’ or ‘The Undead’ a stage play by Stoker
himself and based obviously upon his own novel, was performed for one night
only at the Lyceum Theatre in London. It was a disaster; at over four hours
long and with an unnecessarily plodding plot, it genuinely felt like it took
all night to perform. The acclaimed actor Sir Henry Irving, believed by some to
have been the actual inspiration for Dracula, dismissed the play as ‘dreadful.’
The
book was a success, Stoker’s career as a novelist remained untarnished, the
play however died or perhaps it would more appropriate to call it undead. It
was many years later when an Irishman like Stoker, had the idea of a revival. In
1923 Hamilton Deane a successful stage actor and manager, secured permission
from Stoker’s widow to adapt the script for the theatre. Failing to find a
playwright willing to do the job, this remarkable theatre producer, turned
playwright and did the job himself.
The
play was an enormous success and a month later in the June of that year;
Deane’s play was after having used Derby as his testing ground, thrilling
audiences on a full tour of the country, with Deane himself playing Van Helsing
and Edmund Blake the Count.
By
1927 the ‘Derby’ version of Dracula had been edited with the aid of John
Balderston and was now thrilling audiences in the capital. The play went on to
become one of the most successful and frequently performed of the Twentieth
century. It was no longer a dead play, even if it was a story of the undead.
This
highly successful testing of the new stage play in 1924 has led many to claim
that Derby was the first to see the play performed. Not technically correct as
there was the earlier performance. However, the later performance was truly
public and rather better received by the critics. This correctly places Derby
at the historic centre of the Dracula story as a theatrical production and it
was Deane’s adaptation that became the template for later stage and film. This
includes that famous and early screen interpretation of the Count by Bela
Lugosi.
Béla
Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was amazingly born in the province of Translvania in
Hungary and took his stage name from his birth place, the village of Lugos
which is now Lugoj in modern Romania. After serving in the Great War and rising
to the rank of Captain in the Austrian-Hungary Army, Lugosi emigrated to the
USA.
He
eventually went on to play Dracula on Broadway in a version of the
Deane-Balderston play. In 1931 it was Lugosi who became the first Dracula in a ‘talkie,’
a role he remained famous for and type cast by, for the rest of his life.
In
the early 1950’s at the age seventy and only a few years before his death,
Lugosi was playing the Prince of Vampires on stage in Derby. Not at the Grand
Theatre sadly, what an amazing happening that would have been but at the
Hippodrome on Green Lane, which today is a burnt out ruin awaiting demolition.
Sadly
at seventy his performance was somewhat lack lustre, the company were jaded,
trading on the name of a world famous actor past his prime and ill. Yet this
was only one of many times that Dracula, a now perennial theatre favourite had
been performed in Derby and it has been performed many times since.
The
latest performance, not actually the world famous Deane- Balderston ‘Derby’
version but a Ted Tiller play, was performed by the Locko Amateur Dramatic
Society. The ‘LADS’ as they are called are a well known and well respected
amateur company with a reputation for enthusiasm and professionalism.
Their
own performance ran on three nights, the 29th, the 30th
and the 31st of May 2014. So it was that ninety years after the
preview of the Deane adaptation of the story, Dracula returned to Derby and I
went to see it.
The
story is a much truncated version when compared to a more traditional telling
but bearing in mind that Stoker’s original play lasted four and half hours; who
is going to complain that this play only lasted an hour and half? It was seven
quid a ticket!
Directed
by my friends (so yes I am biased) Janine Getty and Claire Ryder, the cast of
local actors threw themselves into a retelling of a story most of us know back
to front. A difficult situation because there are always changes that although
necessary, will not themselves please the purist.
The
play was primarily set in the drawing room of the private apartments of Doctor Seward,
in his lunatic asylum. A balcony in the centre of the backdrop and opening upon
a distant view of Carfax house, the new home of a foreign gentleman of
nocturnal social habits, provided the suggestion of menace.
Outstanding
performances of note were several. These included Marie Stone as Sybil the
sister of Doctor Seward. A totally new character and played by Miss Stone with
more than a touch of the comic relief, as a type of alcoholic Joyce Grenfell.
A
young man by the name of Ciaran Hammond played the patient Renfield. Energetic
and lovable rather than repulsive, his highly expressive eyes and body language;
truly captured the sense of internal torment and confusion of this misunderstood
tragic character.
The
heroine Mina Murray, was played with charm and style by the beautiful Jenni
Wildman. Contrasting a demure sensitivity and delicate nature, with an
energetic almost violent confusion, Miss Wildman portrayed a woman trapped by
circumstance beyond her understanding.
Mark
Tunstall was a more than competent Dracula, menacing and necessarily melodramatic,
with both an accent and a kind of unpleasant suave that even Lugosi would have
approved off.
So
it is that the City of Derby continues this love affair with one of the great
gothic horror stories of all time. It is a story that is melodrama, fanciful
and ridiculous in its superstition, yet menacing, dark and frightening. Dracula
remains a favourite and an inspiration to writers, performers and the audience.
Dracula is a deeply complex amalgamation of human emotions, yet it is
simplistic in its intuitive measure of the human wish to be thrilled.
Locko
Amateur Dramatic Society
http://www.theladsdrama.co.uk/
Sunday, 18 May 2014
MYTHIC SYMBOLISM
“Mythic symbolism will speak to us via our subconscious,
there finding a deep resonance within on a primeval level. The intuitive
recognition that the Hunted is one with the Hunter, being a manifestation of
one facet of the Divine Masculine as the Antlered God, is a philosophical
concept of such great complexity that many, including myself, will struggle
continually to fully understand. That is the nature of the Mysteries; a life
long quest for personal gnosis that may prove ultimately, to be beyond our
reach this side of the river.”
Chattering Magpie (D.B.Griffith) (2013) Excerpt from: The stag as a
totemic manifestation of the divine masculine. Deosil Dance. issue 58
Yule 2013.
Detail of a replica of the Gundestrup Cauldron. Exhibit on display at the National Museum of Ireland –
Archaeology. Picture ©D.B.Griffith 2012
ANGELS ARE BRIGHT STILL
"Angels are bright still, though the brightest
fell." Macbeth.
.jpg)
"I charge thee; fling away ambition, by that sin fell
the angels. How can man, then, the image of his Maker, hope to win by it? Love
thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee; corruption wins not more
than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, to silence envious
tongues."
King Henry VIII: Cardinal Wolsey addressing Cromwell in Act
3, scene 2. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616).
Image by Pieter Brueghel the Elder c.1530 - 1569.
The Fall of the Rebel Angels. Painted 1562.Thursday, 3 April 2014
The Winter Solstice 2013
Within the Hearth
of the Turning Wheel it has become something of a tradition as with many, to
make a pilgrimage to a particular sacred site or place on one or other of the
Solstices. This pilgrimage which has taken the form of camping trips, short breaks
or simply a one day trip; is sometimes to a local site and sometimes to one of
some notable distance. These trips have happened so often and it is with a nod
to Professor Hutton; that we often referred to them as 'something we have
always done.'
So it was that in
the early hours of the 21st of December 2013 a small number of us
journeyed to Stonehenge by car with the aim of meeting friends and watching the
sunrise. As usual we travelled in hopeful expectation of a visible sunrise, in
the full knowledge that such an occurrence is rare. The further south we
travelled, the heavier the rain appeared to become and we were forced not
unexpectedly, to accept that our hope was a vain one.
Parking up at
about six we found ourselves directed to a lane reasonably close to the stones,
joining a single file of parked vehicles that extended behind us as more joined
the line. This gave us almost an hour before the police would allow access and
so we settled down for a nap, it had been a long enough journey with only one
'refreshment' stop and our designated driver appreciated the break.
During this time
we had a telephone call from the friends we were expecting to meet and were
pleased to discover, that they had parked up only a few cars behind. So it was
that once the all clear was given by the Police, some half dozen of us made our
way along the lane to the gate and our entry into the site.
The weather did
not really improve and I was grateful that I had come in my heavier winter
cloak, as it kept me quite warm and importantly dry, underneath. Standing on
the bank we awaited the dawn, if one can call it that and had a moment of
peace, amongst the grey clouds and the increasingly heavy rain.
We walked our way
around the circle, preferring in my case to keep to the perimeter and avoid the
crowd in the centre. I was rather slower in my perambulatory circumnavigation,
as I kept bumping into people I knew or being asked to stop and pose for a photograph.
You would think people had never seen a man in a woollen green cloak carrying a
horn before.
Amongst these
friendly enquirers was the usual grouping of journalists and semi-professional photographers,
including a young lady by the name of Emma Wood who took the picture I use on
this BLOG post. By the time I had finished playing the part of a media tart,
posing with and for various curious solstice attendees and blowing my horn for
the professionals, my friends had not only completed their own circuit but
started a second.
Photograph of the Summoner at Stonehenge on
the 21st December 2013.
Picture copyright Emma Wood photography
2013: http://www.emmawoodphotos.co.uk/blog/
Post this wet,
grey dawn we travelled on to Woodhenge, so that those members of the Most
Ancient and Venerable Order of the Skylark and Hawthorne, could claim another
mark towards their eventual chivalric knighthoods. Here too the wind and the
rain continued and we were eager to return to the cars and depart for Avebury.
At Avebury as
per our wants and obviously it is something we have always done, our own
tradition as it were, we lunched at the Red Lion before taking our walk around
the stones. Once again we bumped into one or two people we knew, including Bill
Willth Thorpe, a Druid from Swindon. Indeed in the Venerable Order of the
Skylark and Hawthorne, Bill is titled as a Knight of Swindon.
Our walk about
the Avebury Stones themselves, in continuing heavy rain was also subject to
strong gusts of wind. So strong and bearing in mind that many of us had cloaks,
that part of the walk along the bank was at times dangerous. It was however, a
very pleasant and worthwhile day.
On the 22nd
of December and allowing a day for recovery, the Hearth of the Turning Wheel
met at Caer Bran for our Yuletide observance and our usual exchange of gifts. Our
Yuletide ritual includes our version of the Secret Santa, which we like to refer
to as the Secret Odin. This once again has become something we have always
done. This year the ritual was written by Lady Jane, an invited guest who renamed
the ritual as Rudolphmas.
Yuletide is a
celebration and the exchange of gifts, coupled with a little humour, can lift
our spirits in the depth of winter, which is obviously an important element of
any mid-winter festival.
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
FRANK EARP AND THE SURVIVAL OF PAGANISM IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
On Wednesday the 5th of March 2014 I travelled
over to Nottingham to attend an informal lecture at the Theosophical Hall on Maid
Marion Way. This hall plays host to several community groups, although it is
itself owned and run by the Theosophical Society in England. That particular organisation
was founded in New York City by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott,
William Quan Judge, and several others in 1875.
Tonight however, I was attending a meeting of the Empyrean
Pagan Interest Group, an independent community group that has been in existence
over a quarter of a century. The speaker for the monthly lecture in March was the
eminent local historian and folklorist Frank Earp, who planned to discuss
survivals of Paganism in the County of Nottinghamshire.
Mr Earp, a gentleman of learning and considerable mental
astuteness; chose to speak without notes, to field questions as they arose and
to focus primarily on two particular examples of local Nottinghamshire
Folklore. Mr Earp’s primary hypothesis is that oral tradition is preserved
within season festivals, which in turn provide a basis for a belief system. The
two examples that he eventually chose to focus upon being the Wise men of
Gotham and the Fair Maid of Clifton.
To begin with Mr Earp gave a general overview of
mythological symbolism, from national to regional, before focusing on the local
county level. The introduction was therefore
a brief journey from a macrocosmic overview to a microcosmic one.
So from mentioning
Heathfield in Sussex and linking that area to Dame Hethel, he was able to move
to an old Nottinghamshire place name such as Vernometon. By linking this Roman name
with that of nemeton, we are able to surmise that this was once the site of a
sacred grove or spring
Frank Earp is therefore looking for clues found
within the place names of villages, natural objects, rivers and hills. Two particular
local examples being Breedon on the Hill, which literally means Hill-hill on
the Hill having been named ‘the hill’ by three different groups of tribal settlers
and the River Trent. He further noted that research postulated by the
University of Wales, now suggests that the name of the river translates as ‘Great
Feminine Highway.’ A suggestion that will be of obvious interest to contemporary
Pagans, as it suggests that this great river is a physical link with the
Goddess of the land.
Linking in fluid manner suggestions of the Genus
Loci manifesting in hauntings and other paranormal events,
Mr Earp further explored an international phenomenon called the ‘Hat Man.’ Seen
in Nottinghamshire as a dark hooded figure near George’s Hill, off the Arnold
to Calverton Road over Grimsmoor. The name Grim, the hood and the hat in this
example, suggest the presence of the Saxon God, Woden.
The audience sat enthralled, whilst the brilliance of this scholarly
mind, presented the mythological exegesis of local folklore. To speak for
ninety minutes without notes, it is necessary to know one’s subject in-depth.
True when fielding questions Mr Earp would occasionally lose his mark and have
to take a step back, this is expected and quite common.
In examining more closely the two local legends of
chosen focus, the Fair Maid of Clifton and the Wise Men of Gotham, Mr Earp was
able to further postulate that Nottinghamshire has a particular venerative focus on spring.
In the story of the Fair maid, the main character
whose name may be Margaret as a modernised form of a Spring
Goddess, is courted by two men, one young and one old. The older man is given
locally the name Farmer Germaine, his surname being Old English for old man. The
younger man in some versions is called Bateman, which may mean boatman and may
therefore suggest the liminal period of the spring equinox. Therefore we have in
this local legend, a story of the Spring Goddess being courted by the Gods of
Summer and Winter respectively.
The Wise Men of Gotham is a better known series of
tales but it is suggested, totally misunderstood. The key here in the opinion
of Mr Earp is the Cuckoo as a symbol of spring. Here he draws comparison with
Callanish (the shining one is heralded by cuckoos), Cuckoo Pen in Cumbria and another in Cornwall, together with the numerous Cuckoo Mounds of
Britain. Noting that on a hill above Gotham stands a Cuckoo Mound tumulus.
The significant elements of this story are King John
riding in a chariot and being held up for three days on Gotham Moor, together
with the tale of the people of Gotham attempting to pen in the Cuckoo. King
John is the Sun in Splendour riding a solar chariot. The
three days held up on the moor represent the three days of the Summer and
Winter Solstices. The attempted capture of the Cuckoo is, it is suggested, a
veneration of Spring and an attempt to extend the growing season.
Mr Earp took the audience on a journey linking hypotheses and
exploring the primordial links if not the archetypal symbolism of these oft
ignored local legends. To have done so without notes and without losing his
thread, was truly impressive.
During a break in
the proceedings, Frank politely consented to a photograph of the two of us
together and we were joined by another local author, Karl Hernesson. Both of these two gentlemen are over six feet
tall and I am only three inches over five feet. Although it is a lovely
snapshot, which I include in this BLOG; I do rather look like the missing eighth
dwarf.
I was pleasantly
surprised to discover that Frank and I share a similar sartorial taste including
jumpers, slacks and neckerchiefs. This has led me to suspect that we share the
same tailor.
Picture of Frank Earp, the BLOG author and Karl Hernesson
Picture ©Donna Towsey
2014.
ABOUT EMPYREAN
EMPYREAN is a Pagan and alternative spirituality interest
group open to Pagans of all paths and non Pagans equally. The meeting is
monthly and usually on the first Wednesday of every month in the Theosophical
Hall, next to the Salutation Inn on Maid Marion Way in Nottingham.
The guest speakers come from varied backgrounds and
represent a diverse area of expertise to discuss subjects that although not necessarily
Pagan are of interest to Pagans and similar.
WEBSITES
EMPYREAN on the Internet
EMPYREAN on Facebook
NOTTINGHAM HIDDEN HISTORY TEAM
THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
SOURCES OF INSPIRATION
THE CUNNING MAN’S JOURNEY BY VICTORIA MACLEOD
People say that we should ‘count our blessings’ more that we
perhaps do. Reflecting upon the positive elements of our existence, those
treasured moments of memory and experience.
What is a blessing? How can we define such and is a blessing
different for each of us? If one is a parent then it is likely that you will
regard your children as your blessings. Others may have other special parts of
their lives that are regarded as a blessing.
ENGRAVED TUMBLERS BEARING THE BADGE OF THE HEARTH OF THE
TURNING WHEEL
My blessings are my family and my friendships. I count
amongst these friendships treasured individuals, supportive, loving and very often
inspiring. This latter group of friends are often so inspiring, that at times I
am left in awe of their talent, their skill, their learning and quite often;
their total lack of faith in their own abilities.
LOGO OF THE DERBY
WITAN BY ZHAKRISSTOL
On this last point I can at least enjoy some part of a
mutual and equal experience of self doubt. I write but I do not actually think
I am any good. I mess about with a camera but I know what is wrong with my pictures,
even if others do not notice the flaws.
So when I look at my amazing friends who are actors, artists,
writers and craftspeople, I am awed because I am not an artist. I cannot touch
them emotionally as a peer but stand transfixed and often mesmerised like a
child, by their display of self-effacing skill.
THE RUT BY J. PALFREYMAN
I have pictures, prints given me by the artists, in which a
few brush strokes or a line of pen and ink, create images of beauty and motion.
I have books, signed by authors whose skill I can never hope to equal. I have
clothes made by a friend, who is so talented with a needle that it is beyond
expression, yet whose talent is undervalued. I have glasses engraved with the
badge of the Hearth of the Turning Wheel, by a dear boy who is embarrassed when
asked to undertake a commission, because he has no appreciation of his own
talent.
COMMISSIONED TALISMAN BY TVEIR HRAFNAR
I have jewellery that is hand crafted by a talented lady in
London and more by an equally talented silversmith in the USA, whose imagination and
skill is beyond words. These people, these wonderful, talented friendships are
my blessings and I have not mentioned them all.
HOOD LAMP MADE BY MR JOHNSON OF DERBYSHIRE
If these friendships are my blessings what are theirs? Is
whatever inspires them their own blessing? That indefinable spark, that divine
muse that burns inside an artist or artisan, is that their blessing? Perhaps it
is but my blessing is the knowing of these people and the being able to share
in some small way, their own inspiration because it does inspire me.
CEREMONIAL ROBES BY THE DRAGON ARTISAN
SELECTED
RECOMMENDATIONS
SIBEAL'S CAVE: THE OCCULT ARTWORK OF ISABELLE GABORIT
https://www.facebook.com/sibealscave
STEVE THE GREEN MAN POTTER
https://www.facebook.com/SteveTheGreenManPotter?fref=ts
TVEIR HRAFNAR: MAGICKAL TALISMANS CRAFTED BY HAND IN
STERLING SILVER http://tveirhrafnar.com/blog/
ZhaKrisstol: Chaos in motion
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)