Author Archives: Reynard

About Reynard

I'm the Pub Manager for the Green Man Pub which is located at the KInrowan Estate. I'm married to Ingrid, our Steward who's also the Estate Buyer. If I'm off duty and in a mood for a drink, it'll be a single malt, either Irish or Scottish, no water or ice, or possibly an Estate ale or cider. I'm a concertina player, and unlike my wife who has a fine singing voice, I do not have anything of a singing voice anyone want to hear!

What’s New for 12th of June: Neal Stephenson, L.A. SF noir, return to Central Station, cozy mysteries, Holmes vampires; Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasies; Grateful Dead themed Weißbier; new music from Angel Olsen and Toot Monk, remembering Kelly Joe Phelps, all things Waterboys, and more

Posted on 12th June 2022 by Reynard

Any AI smart enough to pass a Turing test is smart enough to know to fail it. Ian McDonald’s River of Gods I woke well before dawn as I wanted to watch the Northern Lights, which have been particularly outstanding lately. … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 29th of May: Remembering Patricia A. McKillip along with Finnish and Swedish music

Posted on 29th May 2022 by Reynard

Patricia A. McKillip has left us.  One of the finest writers that has ever graced our presence having written The Forgotten Beasts of Eld which won a richly deserved World Fantasy Award nearly fifty years ago, and Solstice Wood, one of my favourite works by her … Continue reading →

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A Kinrowan Estate story: Hortobágyi Húsos Palacsinta (A Letter to Ingrid)

Posted on 22nd May 2022 by Reynard

Evening love, You missed a wonderful eventide meal here last night, as Mrs. Ware decided that it been too long since Béla had been treated to a full Hungarian meal. And indeed, it included Hortobágyi Húsos Palacsinta, meaty pancakes! It … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 1st of May: A Folkmanis Piglet puppet, Chocolate to nibble on, Classic SF on Mars; Music from Big Foot County, Finnish music, classical music, Ian Anderson and other music; Led Zep and Hawaiian cowboys on film; YA fantasy horror

Posted on 1st May 2022 by Reynard

She had not won a clean victory. Tinkering with time and history offended her political sensibilities. History was written in the stones. It was not a numinous thing to be tossed sparkling in the air to lie where it fell. … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 17th of April: Gods, goddesses and ghosts, Gaiman, Crumb and Sacco, June Millington, Celtic Harp, Catalan Jazz, Georgiann Choral Music, Slovenian post-rock, chocolate, and more

Posted on 17th April 2022 by Reynard

There are no happy endings. There are no endings, happy or otherwise. We all have our own stories which are just part of the one Story that binds both this world and Faerie. Sometimes we step into each others stories, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Comments Off on What’s New for the 17th of April: Gods, goddesses and ghosts, Gaiman, Crumb and Sacco, June Millington, Celtic Harp, Catalan Jazz, Georgiann Choral Music, Slovenian post-rock, chocolate, and more

What’s New for the 20th of March: Lots of Brian McNeill music, more UK TV, roots music from the US and Spain, some European jazz, Kim Stanley Robinson on the moon, Roger Zelazny, China Miéville, rowdy Americana, some boozy things, and more

Posted on 20th March 2022 by Reynard

Every good fiddler has a distinctive sound. No matter how many play the same tune, each can’t help but play it differently. Some might use an up stroke where another would a down. One might bow a series of quick … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Comments Off on What’s New for the 20th of March: Lots of Brian McNeill music, more UK TV, roots music from the US and Spain, some European jazz, Kim Stanley Robinson on the moon, Roger Zelazny, China Miéville, rowdy Americana, some boozy things, and more

What’s New for the 6th of March: lots of Ian McDonald, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, new Norwegian and Belgian music, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, and of course chocolate

Posted on 6th March 2022 by Reynard

That had been a little more than forty years past. Fatma was born into the world al-Jahiz left behind: a world transformed by magic and the supernatural.  ― P. Djèlí Clark’s A Dead Djinn in Cairo Cat says for some time … Continue reading →

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A Kinrowan Estate story: Porridge

Posted on 27th February 2022 by Reynard

Englishman Dr. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary once slammed porridge, defining oats as ‘a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.’ Obviously he never had a good bowl of hot porridge with applesauce mixed … Continue reading →

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What’s New for 20th of February: Bill Willingham’s Fables, world music guides, blues, jazz, British and Eurasian music, Joni Mitchell reading Yeats, radio plays, and of course chocolate

Posted on 20th February 2022 by Reynard

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 6th of February: Spices, Gypsies and Judith Tarr; Groundhog Day and Midsomer Murders; giants and old Jewish comedians; white moons, sad daddies, violet light and Yggdrasil music; Rodents of an Unusual Size, and of course chocolate

Posted on 6th February 2022 by Reynard

People need belief systems, Barnaby. Druidism is as good as any.― Caradoc Singer to Dectective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby in the Midsomer Murder’s “The Sleeper Under The Hill” episode I could smell  lamb being braised with garlic, cumin, ginger and butter as I approached our … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Comments Off on What’s New for the 6th of February: Spices, Gypsies and Judith Tarr; Groundhog Day and Midsomer Murders; giants and old Jewish comedians; white moons, sad daddies, violet light and Yggdrasil music; Rodents of an Unusual Size, and of course chocolate