A Green Man Review

Let’s discuss fireplaces. Or more precisely why there’re only scattered open fireplaces left in all of Kinrowan Hall these days: one in the Library, one in the Pub and in the senior staff residences (RHIP).  Why this is so is what led to us getting rid of open fireplaces save these ones.

Centuries ago, there were more fireplaces here than I’d care to detail. Suffice it to say that it was a major undertaking to cut the firewood, chop it into the proper sizes and dry it properly, haul it in to be used, remove and dispose of the ashes properly, and keep fireplaces and chimneys cleaned right.

Now understand I like an open, roaring fireplace crackling and warming the room with both its light and heat. Well forget the last part — fireplaces lose at least ninety percent of their heat up the chimney! That’s why Kinrowan Hall, like similar buildings of its age and size, was cold in the winter even with all the fireplaces roaring away. Even the sleeping rooms that had fireplaces in them, and not all of them did so, would have their inhabitants wake in the morning to really cold rooms and a thick coating of ice on their wash basins. Only the landed gentry (which we are most decidedly not) who could afford servants could expect to have hot water delivered to their rooms. And even their bedrooms were fucking cold most of the year. So in the Sixties, we started to install a central hot water heating system here that ran off a boiler in the basement.  Yes, it was costly to purchase and extremely difficult to install but it made an amazing change for the better in the comfort of everyone here. We use the latest wall mounted flat heating units and, at the same time, installed triple glazed windows. We’ve since updated the system, again with noticeable improvements.

There’s still the really big fireplace in the Pub, though there’s an ingenious flue system there that recovers eighty percent of the heat that usually goes up the flue; and there’s the one in the Robert Graves Memorial Reading Room in the Library that also uses the same technology.

There’s a few other places we use wood such as in the Kitchen for fueling one of the ranges, for heating the saunas, and even in smoking salmon and pork, and drying fruit for winter use though the latter’s now done using solar driers more and more.

Fortunately the new electrical heating system runs on a combination of low-head hydro, Mill Pond turbo wheels, and, on sunny days, solar power, and on windy days, wind power using low-impact turbines up in the High Meadow where the wind I swear is always really strong.

So if you want the ambiance of a fireplace roaring strong, have a drink in our Pub while you enjoy listening to the Neverending Session, or go read a book in one of the comfy chairs in our Reading Room. Otherwise just enjoy that this centuries old building is actually warm this time of year!

The voices of cold reason were talking, as usual, to deaf ears. — Brother Cadfael’s Penance (Ellis Peter’s Chronicles of Brother Cadfael series)

That lovely aroma is the smell of apple pumpkin tarts baking in the Kitchen a few hundred or so feet down this floor from the Pub. That spicing? Cinnamon and nutmeg of course. And lots of butter of course. One of the perks of being the Pub Manager is that it is quite close to the Estate Kitchens so that no matter when the sudden urge to grab a bite occurs I can head that way quickly and procure something delicious. And of course I can smell every one of those ever so tasty things being conjured up there which is another great perk indeed!

Indeed Mrs. Ware and her oh so talented Kitchen staff spend much of  the period from late November right through to lambing season providing lots of edible treats that are placed around Kinrowan Hall and the grounds as well, such as peanut butter dark chocolate fudge behind the bar in the Pub; s’mores ready for roasting in the warming hut out by the Mill Pond; and carefully wrapped clay pots of smoked turkey, rice  and veggie soup in the Barn for those doing outdoor chores in this cold weather, to name but a few of them.

Now let’s see what I’ve got for you in this edition….

Cat says ‘Politics are always a bitch. And Murder in the Cathedral demonstrates this reality quite well. Generally thought to be the best of T.S. Eliot’s five plays, Murder in the Cathedral is about the murder of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas à Beckett in 1170 in his cathedral. But it’s really about the now long-concluded struggle in Britain between secular and religious authorities that was still raging at that point in time. It is a dramatization in verse of the murder of Thomas Beckett at Canterbury, which over the years has become more important than it really was.’

Elizabeth looked at a unique shared story narrative: ‘The Medieval Murderers (authors actually: Michael Jecks, Susanna Gregory, Bernard Knight, Ian Morson and Phillip Gooden), after pooling their talents on The Tainted Relic, have done so again with The Sword of Shame. As in Relic, each author contributes their own murder mystery, written within the time period of their choice and with their own characters, with the only catch being that each story revolves around the same object.’

Mia says ‘Since Ellis Peters started it all with her Brother Cadfael series, the medieval mystery genre has exploded in popularity: Candace Robb’s Owen Archer series; Margaret Frazer’s Sister Frevisse mysteries; Edward Marston’s Norman Domesday tales. Noted for her historical novels, such as the marvelous The Sunne in Splendour, Sharon Kay Penman entered  the fray in 1996 with The Queen’s Man, a murder mystery centered around Justin de Quincy.

The unacknowledged bastard son of a bishop, Justin stumbles across a dying man with an important message for the queen — none other than Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of the reigning King Richard and the scheming Prince John — and is drawn into the intrigue of Eleanor’s court at Winchester. Becoming the queen’s man, Justin is charged with solving the murder, which, with the help of a motley crew of sheriffs, innkeepers, and lovely double agents, he does.’

And speaking of Cadfael, she looked at that series as well: ‘The unacknowledged bastard son of a bishop, Justin stumbles across a dying man with an important message for the queen — none other than Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of the reigning King Richard and the scheming Prince John — and is drawn into the intrigue of Eleanor’s court at Winchester. Becoming the queen’s man, Justin is charged with solving the murder, which, with the help of a motley crew of sheriffs, innkeepers, and lovely double agents, he does.’’

Mucking about the net one quiet afternoon, I chanced upon an interesting sounding article, Tofi Kerthjalfadsson’s Recreating Medieval English Ales, (a recreation of late 13th – 14th c. unhopped English ales). The author says that ‘These recipes are a modest attempt to recreate ales that are not only “period”, i.e. pre-17th century, but is actually medieval. These ales are based on newly available evidence from the late 13th and early 14th centuries.’ It’s an entertaining look at just what it takes to replicate these  ales.

Richard looks at what is a now a “best beloved”for many here: ‘For those who haven’t seen the filmed version of the play (and shame on you if you haven’t), stop reading right now and go watch the bloody thing), The Lion In Winter details one rather dysfunctional family’s Christmas gathering in France. Of course, the family is that of Henry II of England (including Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionhearted and the future King John, among others); the invited guest is Philip Capet of France, and the holiday gathering takes place at Henry’s castle of Chinon.’

No, not medieval but the setting and even the characters though they be wee mouses are set then and are a version of that time, so April reviews the first volume in an ongoing series by David Petersen: ‘The year is 1152, treachery is afoot, and the Mouse Guard, defenders of all mice, must suss out the traitor in their midst before the Guard is destroyed. So goes the basic plot of Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, a graphic novel collection of Petersen’s award-winning comic. And just so there’s no confusion, Mouse Guard isn’t a nickname or colloquialism — the protagonists really are mice, the small, furry rodent kind.’

In new music, Gary reviews two new albums of traditional Norwegian winter holiday music. ‘If you’re looking for some winter holiday music that almost totally avoids the familiar and yet is still recognizable as yuletide music, here are two that fit the bill, one by a longstanding Norwegian folk trio, the other by a Nordic supergroup of sorts.’ Read his review of Berit Opheim’s Helgasong, and Gjermund Larsen Trio’s Christmas Sessions.

Gary is enthusiastic about two archival jazz releases coming out just in time for the holidays and your year-end lists: guitarist Emily Remler’s Cookin’ at the Queens, and pianist Bill Evans’s Live in Norway. Of the former, he says, ‘Remler is such a joy to behold with her clear, classic tone, impeccable technique and creative soloing. In early listening, I find the quartet portion of this set the most inviting, but from first note to last Cookin’ at the Queens is essential.’ And of the latter, he notes, ‘This trio is focused and energetic, pushing each other to heights on a program of familiar Evans pieces.’

Who doesn’t like a good compilation? Gary reviews a new one that sounds very good. ‘The German label Folk Galore, part of the CPL-Music group, has put together this year’s compilation of top tracks from the group’s 2024 folk music releases. Folk and World Music Galore Vol. 3 is, as usual, a good way to sample some of the excellent and exciting folk and world music releases. A fine way to introduce yourself to this varied music coming mostly out of central and northern Europe that doesn’t get much exposure in the Americas.

Gary also reviews two albums that blend European and Middle Eastern instruments and styles. First up is Wishamalii’s Al-Bahr: ‘World renowned Finnish pianist Kari Ikonen joins with Palestinian-Jordanian singer, composer and oud virtuoso Nemat Battah, and Ethopian percussionist Abdissa “Mamba” Assefa on this soulful collection of songs that center ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts and the plight of refugees and immigrants.’ Next is Aylin’s Soulgarden’s Bu Bir Demdir: ‘ I’m a big fan of Turkish psychedelia, and Aylin’s Soulgarden shares some of that music’s DNA, particularly the liberal use of analog synthesizers, but overall it has more of a feel of pop and indie folk-rock tossed in a blender with melodic Turkish songcraft.’

From the archives, Brendan delved into a sampler of World music: ‘The Music of Nubenegra showcases the achievements of these remarkable artists. There are a total of twenty tracks from almost as many releases. Individually, each of these songs seem to illustrate a particular tradition. Yet, taken together, there seems to be a common thread of Mediterannean — and especially Spanish — culture and its influence on the Americas.’

David appreciated Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Sandeep Das’s Indian Delta: ‘It is not danceable, you will not be whistling the tunes, or snapping your fingers even though a maestro of percussion is present. It is meditative, beautiful, challenging and the mohan veena cuts through like a sabre. World music for people looking to experience something new!’

Gary found a lot to like on John Prine’s post-throat-surgery album Fair & Square. ‘The songs are prime Prine. Featuring strongly are tales of lovable losers like the guy in “Long Monday,” “sittin’ all alone on a mountain / by a river that has no end” pining over a lost love; or the fellow in “I Hate It When That Happens To Me,” who gets arrested for climbing a tree naked because his girl left him; or the codger who has learned to take a little mental vacation to the “Other Side of Town” when his wife starts criticizing him.’

Gary also was impressed by the reissue of the debut album of American folk icon Odetta. ‘Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues reveals Odetta’s influence on the second generation of folk singers, particularly Joan Baez (in choice of material and approach to singing it) and Bob Dylan (in the recognition of the blues as a timeless and boundaryless folk art form). I daresay this recording holds up better than the early efforts of those two.’

Pat enjoyed the self-titled album from Halali, which consists of fiddlers Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cotese and Lissa Schneckenburger. ‘The influences are evident here in the tune selection. For the most part, traditional standards like “Paddy’s Trip to Scotland” and “The Humours of Westport” are thrown in with tunes from Brian Pickell, John Morris Rankin, Michel Bordeleau and Jerry Holland, all played in a style reminiscent of the big Scottish fiddle bands popular in recent years.’

‘Habib Koite’s rich guitar playing and complex, poetic lyrics make Muso Ko an album of literary proportions,’ Patrick says. ‘Throughout the 16 tracks, the immensely talented Koite tackles prostitution, work ethics and morals, politics, the dangers of cigarettes, and the respect and welfare of children. A Herculean effort, but one that the Senegal native tackles with ease, all the while making music that’s as listenable as it is danceable.’

And Patrick had mixed feelings about Lama Gyurme and Jean-Philippe Rykiel’s Rain of Blessings: Vajra Chants. ‘I don’t think this is a bad CD at all. I do think you need to be in the right frame of mind to listen — or have the patience to let the music take you there. Since that is a part of what meditation — and Buddhism — are all about, I would have to say this work serves its purpose quite well.’

Peter has turned in a lot of Celtic music omnibus reviews, and they always cover a lot of ground and are very informative. Says Peter: ‘I don’t think it is either right or fair to file Celtic music all under one hat, as the variety in these albums illustrates. In this review I look at a double handful of them, all different in their own way.’ Read his review of Carreg Lafar’s Profiad, Robin Flower & Libby McLaren’s Steelhead in the Riffles, Ken Kolodner’s Journey to the Heartland, Various artists’ The Independence Suite, Brendan Begley’s We Won’t Go Home Til Morning, Rosie Shipley and Matt Mulqueen with Peter and Trevor Shipley’s At Home, Rosheen’s Musique Celtique, Dochas’s The Second Glance, Iain MacKintosh’s Gentle Persuasion, Jim Reid’s Yont the Tay, and Finlay MacDonald, Simon McKerrell, & Chris Gibb’s Highland Games.

Our What Not is of a Dragonish manner which is fitting as medieval lore is full of the creatures, so let’s have Camille start off for us: ‘Like every Folkmanis puppet I’ve so far seen, the Baby Dragon Puppet is a marvel of workmanship for the price: carefully stitched seams, articulated wings, darts along the inside of the limbs and belly to allow for movement and keep shape. The tag tells us it’s made in China, so we know who to thank.’

Mia finishes off with a look at four of Folkmanis’s creations, to wit Blue Dragon, Green Dragon, Three Headed Dragon, and Phoenix and she says, ‘Oooooh, shiny! I have a box of dragons here! Folkmanis makes the best puppets ever, and their dragons are some of the finest of their puppets.’

It’s not medieval really but it’s sort of.  Or least it could be sometimes. The band’s Malicorne, which Gabriel and Marie Yacoub formed in the fall of ’73.

Gabriel had been a member of Alan Stivell’s band, playing folk-rock based on Breton music such as ‘Kost Ar C´hoat’ which was performed Germany on the 11th of May 1975, but Gabriel and his wife decided to focus more broadly on French trad music, which is why Steeleye Eye Span’s the most apt comparison in British folk music to them, as both are decidedly electric folk. Well sometimes again.

So let’s now hear ‘Pierre De Grenoble’ which is also the name of what I consider their best album. It was recorded at Hunter College in New York State on the 21st of July ’84.

Her name was Bronwyn ap Tewdwr and she was our guest judge for the annual pudding contest. ‘A pudding contest?’ you ask. And I say, ‘Why not?’ Real pudding, like real ale, is a long way from the packaged puddings that litter grocery stores. And watching a group of talented folk making tasty food is something I always appreciate!

The contest, which covers both sweet and savoury puddings, is held annually in the Fall. So Mrs. Ware and her Kitchen staff start planning for this by finding interesting ingredients and picking the judge from among the culinarily inclined people that she knows. That person gets a week here gratis and a generous stipend as well.

(You cannot pitch yourself as a judge, as that gets you disqualified. And Mrs. Ware is quite above being bribed even if she has a weakness for Turkish Delight ever since she was a wee girl and read the Narnia books for the first time.)

Now I’ll admit that my only pudding of interest is a dark chocolate one made with bittersweet chocolate. But then I like a dark chocolate bread pudding as well. Maybe even better. The only thing I’ve ever tasted better than that pudding was a dark chocolate bread pudding infused with Madagascar vanilla and a hint of cardamom. Ymmm!

We Swedes have a long tradition of making puddings from scratch. My momor, my maternal grandmother, every Autumn made an apple and almond pudding using a tart apple variety with just vanilla and cinnamon for spicing. Served with warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was quite wonderful.

Bronwyn decided that though she officially is the arbiter for this contest, anyone interested should have a say. The actual contest took place in what’s called the canning and drying kitchen, as it’s set up exclusively for that purpose. It’s in a building that’s strictly two-season use only as we drain the water before the first real freeze takes place. It’s got two Viking gas stoves, each with eight burners, two sinks for water and cleaning up, and lots of work space.

We started in late morning with sets of four pudding makers, each given ample time to create their pudding from scratch. That group created a pudding using our pear cider; a blackberry and graham cracker pudding, as those bushes were still bearing; a breakfast pudding with bacon, cheddar cheese and mushrooms; and what the Yanks call an Indian pudding which is made with cornmeal and molasses.

Before we wrapped it up many hours later, we’d seen made and had sampled puddings such as black pudding and haggis pudding, groaty pudding (soaked groats, beef, leeks, onion and beef stock), kugel, a Yorkshire pudding, steak and kidney pudding, and several spotted dick and a suet and fruit based concoction. There was even a stellar Christmas pudding that Mrs. Ware said she’d be making for our Christmas eventide meal.

There was a three-way tie for best pudding between the breakfast pudding, the pudding using pear cider and the kugel, which was the work of Rebekah, a Several Annie, one of Iain’s Library Apprentices, from Israel.

All in all everyone was happy with both the food and the comfortable companionship in a contest no one took too seriously. Most of us went for a long walk afterwards to work off the feeling of needing a good nap this engendered.

He tried to reconstruct the story in his mind, but it kept getting confused, bleeding into itself like watercolors.― Catherynne M. Valente’s The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden

I’m in the Kitchen enjoying a very late evening snack of hot cider and a just-baked apple and Riverrun cheddar cheese tart. A member of our staff’s playing music by piper Kathryn Tickell and right now it’s the set of ‘The Magpie’, ‘Rothbury Road’ and ‘The Cold Shoulder’ which Memoria, our Library app, tells me was recorded at the Washington, D.C., Irish Folk Fest on the second of September, fourteen years ago.

I always enjoy Kinrowan Hall best when it’s at its quietest, which is why I’m oftimes down in the kitchen late in the evening, or walking outside just after dawn breaks. And now I see my mug needs refilling before I finish off this edition… Now let’s see what I’ve got for you…

Gary says he liked Per Pettersen’s Out Stealing Horses even better the second time around. ‘At its most basic Out Stealing Horses is a story of war-induced trauma and its generational effects on society, families and individuals. Petterson is a highly skilled writer, and the translation by Anne Born captures the story’s nuances quite well. Petterson’s spare prose style perfectly matches Trond’s dry, buttoned-up personality and the difficulties he has in coping with unfamiliar emotions and situations.’

Gary liked Arkady Martine’s A Desolation Called Peace even better than its prequel, A Memory Called Empire, which he reviewed last time. ‘With her first two novels, Arkady Martine has emerged as the author of some of the best military/political science fiction of the era. Her memorable and not always likable characters capture and hold our imaginations as they navigate a host of big meaning-of-life questions in life-or-death situations. This is space opera for the ages. I have high expectations and many questions that I hope are met in the next installment. Like, I wonder if I’m right about the kittens?’

Charles de Lint’s Yarrow: An Autumn Tale gets a loving look by Grey: ‘Cat Midhir has stopped dreaming. People assure her that it isn’t possible, that she just doesn’t remember her dreams, but Cat knows they’re wrong. Where her dreams have been, there is only heaviness and loss. For Cat, this loss means more than it would to most of us, because she is that rarest of all dreamers, a person who returns to the same dream every time she sleeps. In her dream world live her truest friends and her only source of inspiration for the books and stories that have won her acclaim in her waking life…’

Jennifer loves the new Daniel Pinkwater from Tachyon, Jules, Penny & the Rooster, another goofy and comforting middle-grade chapter book about the enchanted forest in Jules’ back yard. And yes, there is a magic turtle!

Leona gives an incisive review of Black Is the Colour of My True-Love’s Heart, an Ellis Peters novel: ‘Originally published in 1967, ‘this is a book of music, of silence, of words; it has love, hate, and all their analogues. Myths and facts combine to wrap the storyline in a heavy cloak of authenticity. This is a story of high passion and cool deliberation; it dances through the morals and minds of another age and gives the reader a wide window into the world of folk music and ballad-singers.’

Emma Bull’s War for The Oaks with a battle between the Fey and some of we mortal humans that is settled using music on Midsummers Eve. It also features music from Cats Laughing, or perhaps Cats Laughing plays music from the novel. I’ll need to ask Will which it is… Ahhh he says the band comes after the novel. Oh and we’ve got the trailer made for a film version of the novel didn’t happen which has some of the music in the novel. Michael has a lovingly detailed review of it here.

Steven Brust, a musician himself, brings us, in collaboration with Megan Lindholm, The Gypsy, which — well, as Robert puts it: ‘There are three brothers who have become separated. They are the Raven, the Owl, and the Dove. Or perhaps they are Raymond, Daniel, and Charlie. They are probably Baroly, Hollo, and Csucskari. One plays the fiddle, one plays tambourine, and one has a knife with a purpose.’

Down the decades, we’ve reviewed most everything Patricia McKillip has published, so it’s only fitting that we finish off this time with a review by Richard of her latest book: ‘With Dreams of Distant Shores, Patricia A. McKillip delivers something that is not quite your typical short story collection. While the point of entry is a series of shorter pieces, the collection builds to and is anchored by the lengthy novella “Something Rich and Strange”, with an essay on writing high fantasy orthogonal to the usual tropes. The book then ends with appreciation of McKillip’s work (and the stories in the collection) by Peter S. Beagle, an elegant coda to a warm, thought-provoking collection.’

Richard looks at a novel from a beloved writer: ‘Peter S. Beagle’s latest, Summerlong is an exercise in masterful, hopeful heartbreak. Deeply steeped in mythology yet relentlessly modern (if a bit sentimental), it tackles the big questions of love, compromise, dreams, and what you might do – or forgive – in the face of the sublime.’

Zina ends our book reviews with Charles de Lint’s What the Mouse Found and Other Stories: ‘Ah — two of my favorite things, paired in one slim volume. (Sorry, I’ve always wanted to use the phrase “slim volume” somewhere.) Fairy tales and Charles de Lint. The postman dropped the package through the door this afternoon. Just a bit later, here I am at my computer. I couldn’t not read it right away, could I?’

We asked a number of folk we know what is your comfort food? Is it a bowl of your mother’s fish chowder Or a warm doughnut dusted with powdered sugar? Comfort food is as individual as each of us. And here is Deborah Grabien‘s reply:

Well, it’s an odd thing: as a cook, I think all food is comfort food.

No, I’m not being difficult. It’s just that I love to cook, and I don’t cook anything I don’t also love to eat, unless I’m cooking for a large crowd. The whole thing about food is that — like air and water — it’s one of the great imperatives. Sex is brilliant, but you can go without it your entire life with no ill effects, and in fact, many do. Try going without food, air or water, though, and you’re in serious trouble.

Gary was quite taken with the DVD of The Richard Thompson Band’s Live At Celtic Connections, from that Glasgow festival in 2011. It featured a big band doing numbers from Thompson’s 2010 release Dream Attic plus a second set drawn from his 40-some-year career solo and with former wife Linda. ‘This was not an average night, with a good crowd of Glaswegians, a road-tested band and the charged atmosphere of Celtic Connections. This one is a must-have for any Thompson fan,’ Gary says.

A labor of love is how Gary describes the making of the DVD about the great jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century. The film purportedly contains all known footage of Grappelli’s partner Django Reinhardt, as well as footage of Grappelli ‘making music with the likes of Yehudi Menuhin, George Shearing, Duke Ellington and others. Many other figures from his life contribute interviews, and rare clips of Art Tatum, Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, and Gregor and the Gregoriens are included.’

In new music, Gary had high praise for Trendafilka’s For the Olives: ‘Trendafilka is an 11-piece women’s vocal ensemble singing a repertoire based on traditional folk songs of Eastern Europe — the Balkans, the Baltics, the Caucasus, and the Eurasian Steppe — all places with rich traditions of polyphonic singing.’

From the Archives, Craig said The Saw Doctors’ first album after a long pause reflects the band members’ maturity: ‘But The Cure is not a big mope fest. As people grow and mature so should their songwriting. The same band that embraced the “Where’s the Party?” (another cut from <i>Sham</i>) attitude are now embracing concepts like fatherhood (“Your Guitar”), which in turn reminds them of the “Wisdom of Youth” in the form of a power ballad that contains some of the album’s best guitar work.’

David reviewed two albums featuring lots of fiddling, Lissa Schneckenburger’s Dance, and Oliver Schroer and the Stewed Tomatoes’ Freedom Row. Of the former, he says, ‘I found my feet tapping, my fingers popping as I listened. The music is subtle, essentially acoustic, just guitar and fiddle for the most part.’ And of the latter, ‘The sound is virtually seamless but the fiddle is the driver here. The music is played by a band in the same way that Duke Ellington’s Orchestra played. Duke might have played the piano but the orchestra was his main instrument, and that could be the best way to describe what happens with the Stewed Tomatoes.’

David also got a kick out of John Stewart’s Havana. ‘The songs are vintage Stewart, simple chord structures, catchy but subtle melodies, and lyrics both straitforward and honest. Stewart is singing more like recent Johnny Cash these days. A bit breathy, deep and a little wobbly…but true and captivating.’

Judith found lots to like in a various artists album with lots of guitar: Six Strings North Of The Border is an instrumental collection of tunes from Canadian guitarists. Often record companies compile showcases of their own artist, but some of the guitarists here record via Borealis and some don’t. All the selections are good, and range from Celtic to World Fusion to Old Time, plenty of variety: something for everyone.’

She also enjoyed 3 Ravens by a Scottish group: ‘Malinky’s style is contemporary traditional and carries whatever power it has in strings and bellows and flat goatskin. Though not as loud and driving as some bands (particularly those with pipes or bass) it is a solid band with great musicians and an interesting menu, and 3 Ravens is a sure bet for almost any reasonable Scottish music enthusiast.’

Later on, I was entertaining myself this afternoon by doing searches for music on the Infinite Jukebox, our Media server, and decided to see if we had anything by Procol Harum. To my considerable delight, I found a bootleg of them called Transmissions ’69 (live) though that was all I could find out about it when I went online. Delightfully, it had their “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” on it.

From The Sleeping Hedgehog, date unknown. No idea if it’s a story retold there, or a true story transcribed into written form. Not that it really matters, does it?

There, my friend. I am not good company tonight, but if you can stand the long face, I’ll buy the rounds, all right? Here, Reynard — a pint for this compassionate one, the poor bastard…

No, sure it will be all right. Surely. It is just that…you know they say that the world is a stage, yes? Vesti la giubba, vesti la giubba! The sad fruit of hate, the agonies of grief, the cries of rage, the bitter laughter. We breathe the air of this lonely world along with everyone else, and we hold up a mirror — but which is the reflection?

The stage and the world. As Signor Shakespeare said — are they not the same thing? We think, no! they are not, surely they cannot be…yet disaster strikesin a mockery of our mockeries, like mirrors reflecting mirrors over and over again, until you cannot tell where life starts and then art continues on, or perhaps it’s the other way around. Which is art? Which is life? Reynard, give me another? No, it’s all right, you know I can hold my drink, I’ve been drinking since before you were whelped! Another for you, my friend?

Ah, don’t look so worried, you. Surely it will be all right. Our company…we follow the grand tradition, the great art, yes…we are one of the few companies left of the Commedia dell’Arte, we are! Each performance different, the story the same, but everything fresh, each night new… We each have our roles, our specialty, each of us has studied long and hard.

Yes, I am Arlecchino, sometimes I am Truffeldino. Someday when I am a bit older I will master Pedrolino as well, or perhaps he will master me — but Arlecchino, he is my favorite and always has been. Troublemaker, servant, go-between, clever boots…that’s me! Your servant, my master!

Ah, my master. Well, he is our director, he is a great clown, a subtle actor, a genius of improvisation! And a good businessman as well; he owns our company. Ah, my friend, I am worried. We came to this great city, was it years ago now? Surely not…but now, they shout for us as the kings and queens of the stage!

Tragedy and comedy, both the mirror image of the other… He has a terrible temper, but he is honest, my master is, you can trust him.

She is beautiful, you know, my master’s wife. She is much admired. Much admired. She is sometimes my Columbina, sometimes she is Isabella. She is very clever as Columbina, her improvisations are very good.

Look at the time. I will have to be at the theatre soon. Reynard, one last one for the night. Perhaps just a bit of that whiskey. A sniff of water.

Yes, I am worried. It is this damned place, it turns everything around. Do we become our roles, or do they become us?

But surely it will be all right.

Come down later to see the performance tonight, the? For some reason, I’m actually dreading tonight, I don’t know why. I will feel better if you are there in the audience, my friend. I must go, for, as they say, the show must go on, no matter how we feel, the?

Ridi, Pagliaccio!

Nothing happened. We stitched in silence. At least we stitched without words. Having nothing else to listen to, I began to hear needle points puncturing cloth, threads drawn through, again and again, as rhythmically as breathing. Our breaths mingled with the sound, as though breath became thread, air became fabric. I stitched another corner carefully, thinking of other corners: in doorways, at field gates, walls joining at the edges of a house. My stitches pulling them together, reinforcing them… knowing how it was done, whatever it was they were doing, would be knowing how it could be undone… — Patricia A. McKillip’s Solstice Wood

Finch ‘ere. I’m filling in as Reynard, our Barkeep, is off travelling with his wife Ingrid, our Estate Steward, this week.

Care to have a pint of our new All Hallows Eve Ale? It’s quite good. I’ve been getting stellar comments about it from those who’ve had a few pints. Bjorn, our Brewmaster, always seems to enjoy creating new Autumn libations more than those he does for the other seasons. And he’s hinting that he’ll be doing an authentic Octoberfest beer very soon but he’s kept everything a secret from even me.

Iain is running through the tunes that Red Robin will be playing later this evening in the Sanctuary as he’s the caller. Two violinists, one smallpiper plus a mountain dulcimer player — all from Ashville, North Carolina — and it should be quite tasty to dance to.

So here’s some genre and mystery novels of set in India.

Cat also looks at a rather interesting audiobook: ‘Golden Age is the story of Torchwood India and what happened to it. It is my belief that the best of all the Torchwood were the audio dramas made by BBC during the run of the series. Please note that it was BBC and not Big Finish that produced these despite the fact that latter produces most of the Doctor Who and spinoff dramas. This is so because the new Doctor Who audio dramas were kept in-house and these productions were kept there as well, though Big Finish is now producing the new Doctor Who adventures as well.’

Gary now looks at a story by a master storyteller: ‘The world is groping for a new mythology, one that makes sense in a world that has seen nuclear devastation and sent humans to the moon; a world that encompasses both communications satellites and children starving to death in the midst of plenty. Perhaps the new mythology will be found in the multiple collisions of cultures, histories, arts and religions; maybe it will be birthed through the agency of pop culture, which has supplanted classical music and art. Or so Salman Rushdie seems to be saying in his sprawling, entertaining and challenging novel, The Ground Beneath Her Feet.’ 

Richard brings us Bend It Like Beckham,  a film about ‘…Indian cooking, cultural absurdity, family love, and an abiding desire to play what the English call ‘the beautiful game’…’ That game, of course, would be football; what we in the States call soccer. What happens when a young Indian girl dreams of playing football like English football star David Beckham? Culture clash, among other things — but Nathan says that ‘[t]he underlying theme of culture clash is better because it is underlying, rather than politicised and angry. Instead of favouring either the Indian or the English culture, the writer shows how the two manage their uneasy coexistence.’