Category Archives: Stories

What’s New for the 29th of December: New Riders of The Purple Sage, Beatrix Potter’s gardens, German chocolate bars, Anime, Northumbrian music, Garner’s The Owl Service, Welsh mythology and quite a bit more!

Posted on 29th December 2019 by Iain Nicholas Mackenzie

That Blod-woman was pretty poor,” said Roger, “however you look at it.” “No,” said Huw. “She was made for her lord. Nobody is asking her if she wants him. It is bitter twisting to be shut up with a person … Continue reading →

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A Travels Abroad story: Reykjavik, or busking in the cold

Posted on 15th December 2019 by Jack Merry

One of the finest ales I’ve ever encountered was while I was busking in Reykjavik one cold November day when it getting far too cold to make a profit. I looked around and saw a pub near the corner where … Continue reading →

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A Kinrowan Estate story: Bloody bones, and not much else

Posted on 10th December 2019 by Diverse Voices

Like visiting musicians who get food, drink, and a place to sleep, storytellers are treated in the same manner. So it was that a storyteller looking a lot like John Hurt’s character in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller came to be … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 1st of December: An Irish Music guide, Gingerbread, Amano Artisan Chocolate, Frank Zappa live, de Lint’s Crow Girls, Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, two live music cuts, a guide to Irish music and much more

Posted on 1st December 2019 by Iain Nicholas Mackenzie

  We keep our cats as happy as we can. — Anna Nimmhaus Remember I mentioned recently that we got snow? Well now it’s quite different, as it’s a steady, icy rain and a gusting wind which has kept every … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 29th of September: A Glen Cook series, a novel that comes with its own soundtrack, people with ‘special powers,’ … and Maddy Dances, Danish jazz, the folklore of bees, and other bits and bobs as well

Posted on 29th September 2019 by Iain Nicholas Mackenzie

The novel should be understood as a structure built to accommodate the greatest possible amount of cool stuff. — Steven Brust in this Strange Horizons interview The Huddled Masses Ensemble just sent us several cases of Pendle Witches Brew, an ale with a thick, malty, … Continue reading →

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A Kinrowan Estate story: Waltzing Matilda

Posted on 22nd September 2019 by Reynard

Her full name was Matilda Anna Grace O’Reilly. Her friends called her Maddie, but many knew her simply as a fiddler named Waltzing Matilda. Her passion was waltzes, both playing existing ones and composing new ones. Her tale is like so … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 24th of September: Traffic’s version of ‘John Barleycorn’, Dissing neo-paganism, Vess’ Book of Ballads and Sagas and other matters

Posted on 15th September 2019 by Reynard

If I told you the whole story, your head would burst. There is no one story, there are branches, rooms… corridors, dead ends. — The Storyteller as played by a John Hurt in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller It’s definitely not Summer here … Continue reading →

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A Kinrowan Estate story: Elven Contradance Band

Posted on 11th September 2019 by Gus the Estate Head Gardener

It was one of the oddest contradance bands I had the privilege to call for, as it was comprised solely of musicians from across the Border. Now the Elves tell us next to nothing about their culture, so what we … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 1st of September: June Tabor does grim ballads, a Latina rocker named Cecilia Villar Eljuri, Lucky Peach’s guide to cider, a Breton peasant’s memoir, music by Guy Clark, a film from Guillermo del Toro, a noir comic, and other matters…

Posted on 1st September 2019 by Reynard

Only thin, weak thinkers despise fairy stories. Each one has a true, strange fact hidden in it, you know, which you can find if you look. — Diana Wynne Jones in Fire and Hemlock Now it is by some storytellers said … Continue reading →

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What’s New for the 1st of September: A Firefly novel, our most criticised review, a pair of dark mangas, recreating Medieval English Ales, Balkan music history, ‘Excitable Boy’ in Bluegrass style, Emma Bull’s favourite tune, on blackberries and less tart matters…

Posted on 1st September 2019 by Iain Nicholas Mackenzie

“Stories,” he’d said, his voice low and almost husky, “we are made up of stories. And even the one’s that seem the most like lies can be our deepest hidden truths.” — Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose We raise a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Commentary, Film, Food and Drink, Graphic Literature, Music, Stories | Comments Off on What’s New for the 1st of September: A Firefly novel, our most criticised review, a pair of dark mangas, recreating Medieval English Ales, Balkan music history, ‘Excitable Boy’ in Bluegrass style, Emma Bull’s favourite tune, on blackberries and less tart matters…