But that is the nature of grammar—it is always tense, like an instrument, aching for release, longing to transform present into past into future, is into was into will. — The River Has Roots
I’ve been listening to the Andy Serkis dramatisation of The Hobbit these past few days, as it seems a wonderful thing to do as I work in the Library while a not so gentle snow falls outside. I’ve read it often enough that I know it by heart so I don’t really need to pay that close attention to it as I can really absorb the story by oysmosis as I work here in the Estate Library. I really should write a review up of it as it is most decidedly deserves one.
So do you care to join me for elevenses? We’ve a tendency here at the Kinrowan Estate to snack a lot as it’s easy to do with our own ever so good Kitchen. And I oh so do like a late morning repast in the Winter of hot chocolate or maybe something stronger like hot butterscotch with a healthy splash of rum and something tasty, say that lovely dark chocolate rugelach made by Fatima, my former Several Annie, who now works in the Kitchen.
We have but two reviews this time, both of which involve the same writer, Amal El-Mohtar, the first being a splendid novella, How You Lose the Time War, that Paul says of that it ‘is a rivalry, a love story, a conflict, and a meeting of perspectives told through world-changing time travelers’ letters.’
Should you decide to listen to it, you’ll find it a quite different experience altogether from reading as our two narrators, both female of course as in the novel both of the characters are female, do an absolutely splendid job of being fuly true to the characters there and I highly recommend that even if you have read it in print that you also experience it in audio.
Her second work is a fantasy and it’s quite splendid as her first work which was obviously science-fiction. It’s a novel, a short one, a lovely one for reading on winter’s night I’d say as I’m writing in the deep of winter. Or anytime of year.
Again Paul does the reviewing honors and he really likes it: “Two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, the Hawthorns, devoted toward each other, living on the borderland of faerie. A love story, not so much as between Esther and her lover from faerie, but a love story of sisters whose bond cannot be denied. A retelling of a murder ballad, and rich and resonant resonances to stories of Faerie.This is the story of The River Has Roots.”
As I write this in January of 2026, some of her splendid short fiction has come out in The Honey Month and now Seasons of Glass and Iron will be out as well. As she of Lebanese descent, we’ll consider them halawet el jinn, a sort of sweet cheese roll, in story form, in other words very tasty.
Gary here with music. I do hope you’ll check out my review of Folk and World Music Galore Vol. 4. ‘I’ve come to look forward to the annual Folk and World Music Galore compilation from the German labels Nordic Notes and CPL-Music. The 2025 version of this comp, Vol. 4, is no exception, and even perhaps the best one yet, with 15 tracks from 15 acts, either culled from 2025 releases or advance singles from albums coming in 2026.’
From Barcelona comes the youthful folk quartet Trèvol’s live album La Gran Trevolada. ‘It’s at times a highly charged performance, with the band leaning into Catalonian politics on numbers like “Ni un pam de terra” (Not even an inch of land) with one of the women singing lead over a jazz-inflected arrangement. The satiric “Pasdoble dels Turistes” pokes fun at the tourists who invade Iberia every summer…’
Hungarian and Greek folk songs are the focus of a deeply personal debut album. ‘Veronika Varga is a seasoned performer of more than a decade, both solo and as a member of various ensembles (Babra, BudaPesme, VreMea Válkània, Epseria, and her a cappella project Lemonokipos). True Picture is the recording debut of the Hungarian folk singer and double bassist, presenting a program of traditional Hungarian and Greek songs.
A mashup of Swedish folk and Low Country Baroque music? That’s what Wör x Kongero’s Songbooks Live is all about. ‘The Belgian ensemble WÖR (pronounced “were”) plays new arrangements of 18th century Flemish melodies on a blend of old and modern instruments. The Swedish women’s folk quartet Kongero performs traditional Nordic songs in modern a capella arrangements, and composes new songs in the tradition. These two groups joined forces in 2025 to explore the spaces where these two traditions meet in a highly entertaining compare-and-contrast exercise that has gained them international acclaim.’
With news that Fairport Convention is going on tour again in 2026, I thought I’d post some live Fairport reviews I recently unearthed in the Archives. First up is this detailed review of two quite different gigs in The Netherlands, submitted by the Dutch musician, producer and artists Koen Hottentot. More along these lines to come!
let’s see what would be good to finish with for music this week… ‘Robbery With Violins’ is perhaps the finest example of the stellar work that violinist Peter Knight did in his long years with Steeleye Span. This is from their performance at My Father’s Place in Roslyn, New York on the 20th of April 1973. This was the third version of the band with a lineup of Peter Knight, Maddy Prior, Bob Johnson, Tim Hart and Rick Kemp which released two albums, Below the Salt in August of ’72 and Parcel of Rogues in June of next year.
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