A Green Man Review

Let’s discuss fireplaces. Or more precisely why there’s only scattered open fireplaces left in all  of Kinrowan Hall these days, one in the Library, the Library and 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 here. 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 both the 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 were 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) 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 nearly all of what usually goes up the flue, and there’s the one in the New Library that also uses the same technology.

There’s a few other places we use wood such as in the Kitchen for fueling ones of the ranges, for heating the saunas, and even in smoking salmon and pork, and even drying fruit for winter usage though the latter’s now 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!

So it was a long year. Looking forward to this one, though. All sorts of things I can stand seeing the back of, you can always hope, can’t you? You want another one of those, or do you want to try Bjorn’s new batch of Midwinter Ale? Right.

There you go, darlin’. I think you’ll like it. They certainly do, we’ll be lucky to see the back of them by dawn!

Ah, it was the annual New Year dinner for their local — they’d be the Ancients and Venerables of our local Guild of St. Nicholas. They always come in here from the Guild Hall after the dinner bit and keep the party going. They say they start with a toast to the Guildmaster, Lord Winter, and His Lady at the beginning of the dinner and pretty much plan to not stop ’til the next morning — the excuse, see, is that they pretty much don’t get to drink during practically all of December. Hey, you think drinking and driving is bad, you try it in a sledge with eight reindeer to control!

Well, no, not everyone, of course, just the Santas — the store elves and tree trimmers, candle lighters, gift wrappers, roast chestnut sellers, bell ringers, and professional carolers can usually get away with a tiddle here or there, but even so, it’s professional pride and custom that keeps most of them pretty much sober and working hard.

That entire guild doesn’t even bother with meetings or events from the end of November to after the New Year. I think they run around rescuing members from exhaustion and over-exertion, mainly.

Yeah, they spend most of the dinner laughing about things that happened, like the time Dan there on the end had two handfuls of his beard torn out by a kid who was sure it was fake, or the time Marta, the dark haired girl on the right, she’s a Christmas pudding maker, she discovered that her daughter had decided to store the salt in the sugar bin after she’d made three hundred puddings. Good thing winter puddings are made well before Christmas.

Nah, we don’t mind. They start off noisy and laughing, but sooner or later, they’ll go pretty quiet, once the toasts start, and once most of the other customers have left. Reynard usually sends us off-shift and stays at the bar himself. Oh, people sometimes stick around and try to listen, but weirdly, they don’t seem to remember much, other than getting this sort of, I don’t know, confused, solemn but peaceful look on their faces and saying that everyone just talked, but they can’t really remember any of it.

Even Spike, who’s usually impervious to just about anything. I once came in the morning after the dinner, and Spike was sleeping in the armchair there by the window. When I woke him up and gave him some ale for his breakfast, I asked him if he’d heard any good stories last night. He sort of screwed his face up in this confused kind of way, then smiled just like a little kid, and said, ‘bah, well maybe, I guess. . . only, jus’, you know, there’s still a real meaning behind Christmas, innit?’ Then afterwards, he didn’t remember saying it, looked at me like I was crazy when I said something about it ten minutes later.

What? No! Of course we don’t try to find out. They start keeping those naughty and nice lists as soon as Christmas is over, you know!

Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden. — Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

We’re really in the harshest part of Winter on this Scottish Estate, so the residents of Kinrowan Hall, save the staff of Gus, our Head Gardener, who have livestock and buildings to tend, are quite content to stay inside. There’s always something to stave off boredom, be it reading or needed Estate chores, at which everyone on this communitarian Estate lends a hand.

So it comes to pass that we’ve been cleaning out the under the eaves spaces and no, unlike at Evenmere Hall, we didn’t precisely find a dragon there – though we did find the plans for a rearly big stone one. There was a lot of stuff to be moved or discarded as The Steward has an intent to create more staff housing in part of it. The spaces are heated already to keep ice from building up on the slate roof, so extending plumbing and power will be no big deal.

What kind of stuff? A crate of botantical books that Gus claimed for his workshop; a model of Kinrowan Hall wonderfully detailed with real glass windows and tiny roof slates, that will be displayed in the Library for everyone to see; maps of the Estate dating back centuries, which went to our Steward; dark green glass pickling jars more than big enough for whole cabbages and which had something odd in them; hand written copies of The Sleeping Hedgehog from the mid-eighteenth century; a crate of whisky laid down centuries ago for later consumption and didn’t I as  Pub Manager claim that fast; and some seelie impression balls of Elven performances of Elizabethan music which the Winter Court left here very long ago; and so forth.

Now let’s see what I found for you this time …

Gary here. I finished reading Sue Burke’s latest SF novel a few weeks ago, but it didn’t fit with the themes of the past couple of Green Man issues, so I’m presenting it now, along with a roundup of other books I reviewed in 2024. Burke’s ‘Dual Memory is a tale of late stage capitalism continuing to run amok as the planet continues to drown and boil, and refugees and raiders wash up on all shores, stressing humans and systems both built and natural. Burke has crafted a fast-paced, entertaining tale with likeable characters and a twisty, action filled plot.’

I didn’t review a lot of books in 2024, although I probably read just as many as ever. Mostly I came home from the library with a big stack of science fiction and worked my way through it. But as with many of us, I found that books now have to compete with lots of other things for our attention, from streaming entertainment to podcasts to just the online world itself. And of course I also re-read some old favorites. For the past 10 years since I first encountered them, Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead books have become my most re-read books. In 2024 the only one I re-read was Lila, which is in keen competition with Jack for my favorite of the lot.

But I began my reviewing year by wrapping up Neal Stephenson’s nearly 1,000-page Baroque Trilogy with the third, The System of the World. It was a satisfying end to the trilogy, which grew out of Stephenson’s very popular Cryptonomicon. It’s a series of historical novels (beginning with Quicksilver and continuing in The Confusion) with some minor SFF elements, notably one particular character who somehow travels through time and acts as a bit of cement holding together the entire series. In my review I noted that the trilogy “…follows three disparate characters through the tumultuous period at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, when changes in politics, economics, and what we now call the sciences sent Europe careening toward the Enlightenment. It’s the final piece of the story of how the era’s “natural philosophers” slowly began to reject the accepted beliefs about how the universe was ordered, many of them based on classical Roman and Greek writings and others on the Bible. And of how the best thinkers of the day debated and fought – sometimes literally – over how to describe the new reality they were seeing through their telescopes and microscopes.”

I continued with the latest installment of what may be my favorite SF series of all time, Martha Wells’s The Murderbot Diaries. This one, System Collapse picks up right where the previous book Network Effect left off, with our friendly neighborhood rogue SecUnit, his human companions and his best frenemy the research transport ART trying to rescue a bunch of stranded colonists from their planet that’s trying to kill them. As I concluded, “Fast paced, darkly hilarious, and deeply humane as usual, Wells’s latest Murderbot story is just what the Med Unit prescribed to relieve your own boredom, trauma, or existential crises.” (I just discovered that I haven’t yet reviewed Network Effect, which I hope to remedy soon.

Even better news is that The Murderbot Diaries is coming to Apple TV+, and Martha Wells has been doing some interviews and social media postings around it including an interview in Locus, excerpted here. She’s posting frequently on Bluesky.

My only other review was a non genre book, Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses. ‘A bildungsroman set in rural Norway just three years after that country’s Nazi occupation ended with the War, the story is told in first person by Trond Sander,’ I explained in my review. ‘The narrative is split between late 1940s Trond and present-day (1999) Trond; he’s now in his 60s, retired, and setting up bachelor quarters in a remote cabin by a lake with only a dog for companionship. The surroundings and an encounter with a neighbor send his thoughts to things that happened in his youth that he apparently has not revisited in a half-century.’ This was a re-read for me, having first read and loved it shortly after its English publication in 2003. It’s an intimate psychological portrait of self-discovery, as young Trond loses the innocence of childhood and adult Trond deals with repressed memories and traumas.

Sue Burke’s Semiosis is currently on my pile of books awaiting my attention, so expect a review of that in the new year. Other than that, who knows? Perhaps even a cookbook or two …

Happy reading in the New Year!

Dark chocolate bread pudding… Cocoa in huge mugs with homemade marshmallows… Chocolate chip cookies… We here at the Kinrowan Estate love chocolate in all its guises, so it’s not surprising that we review chocolate bars here with this review being by Robert of three Ritter bars: ‘The bars in this case are all square and all weigh in at 100g (3.5 oz.), and all seem somehow weightier than an equivalent size of American chocolate — I suspect because of the shape and size: they’re all about 3 inches on a side and are actually very nice to hold in the hand (if you can restrain yourself from ripping off the wrapper and stuffing your face).’

Me again, Gary, back with some music reviews to start the New Year. But first, the Russian World Music Chart for 2024 is out, and one of my favorites, Vedan Kolod’s Birds, is perched atop the Top 20 for 2024.

In new music, I review a couple of related releases from Giant Step, The Fury’s Live In Brooklyn, and Jason Palmer’s The Cross Over: Live in Brooklyn. The common thread on both (besides great live modern jazz) is saxophonist Mark Turner, who I said ‘…stands out for me because of his generally restrained and lyrical approach. This is true whether on Brewer’s lovely ballad “Of Our Time,” Lund’s anthemic “Couch” or his own skittering “Ender’s Game.” ‘

I also review Scroggins & Rose’s Speranza: ‘Scroggins & Rose is an acoustic duo project of mandolinist Tristan Scroggins and fiddler Alisa Rose. Both are multiple award nominees including Grammys and IBMA, and Rose is a U.S. State Department Musical Ambassador. Their music slots right in with a lot of contemprary acoustic stringband music like Hawkwind, Tatiana Hargreaves, Alison DeGroot, Billy Strings, Oliver the Crow, Watchhouse, Bruce Molsky, Goat Rodeo, etc.’

There’s something about the Winter Solstice and the turn of the year that makes us want to sit by the fire and listen to some good Nordic music. Our reviewers have written about a lot of this music over the years; here are some of our favorites.

Cat reviewed a disc from Sweden’s Triakel. ‘Sånger från 63º N is probably one of the finest Nordic CDs I’ve had to pleasure to hear in quite some time. Triakel consists of Emma Härdelin (vocals), Kjell-Erik Eriksson, (fiddle), and Janne Strömstedt (harmonium) which makes them akin to what Våsen was like when I heard them play at Bowdoin College sans percussionist a few years ago.’

Donna offered up a retrospective of three discs involving one of the founders of the Swedish band Hedningarna: Anders Norudde’s Kan Själv!, Anders Norudde, Leo Svensson, and Goran ‘Freddy’
Fredericksson’s Med Hull Och Hår, and Lennart Gybrant and Anders Norudde’s Böndernas Underverk. ‘Anders Norudde, once known as Anders Stake, was a founding member of this band and is still a mainstay in their eclectic neo-traditional sound. We have had a copy of Kan Sjalv! (I can do it myself), his solo CD, since it was released. A few years later, we tracked down a copy of Med hull och hår (Line and Sinker).’

Jack looks at some of the early releases of the pan-Nordic trio Frifot, and Sweden’s dark folk rockers Garmarna. ‘Frifot bring together three superb musicians that create a truly unique sound: Per Gudmundson (fiddle and bagpipe), Ale Möller (mandola, hummared dulcimer, and flutes), and Lena Willemark (vocals and fiddle),’ he says. And of Garmarna: ‘This is serious, winterside music with Emma Härdelin’s deep, soaring vocals and violin forming the base sound of the group. Think dark when you try to picture what Garmarna sounds like.’

Relatedly, he also did an omni review of Lena Willemark’s När som gräset det vajar, Ale Möller Band’s Bodjal, and Maria Kalaniemi Trio’s Tokyo Concert. Of Willemark’s release, he says: ‘I’ve heard more Nordic neo-traditional CDs than I care to think of, and I can say that this is one of the very best I’ve heard!’

Jasmine turned in an in-depth review of three albums that blend Nordic jazz and folk elements: Morild’s Dromte Mig En Drom, BNB’s Ein Song Fra Dei Utsungne Stunder, and Poul Lendal’s Ønskebarn. Her favorite was the latter, of which she said, ‘All the tunes are quite short and mostly instrumental, which makes it easier to enjoy the entertaining, wildly diverse mecum of sound as individual gems. The liner notes at the end contain a blessedly useful and interesting English blurb for each track. The album is accomplished and diverse, and I have no caveats whatsoever: in fact, go ye and buy this frolic of an education.’

Judith had thoughts about Arctic Paradise, a promotional CD of Finnish music. ‘The CD has culled the best of “contemporary” Finnish folk music. Some artists, like Värttinä and Wimme, are fairly well known, but others will be familiar only to Nordophiles. Interestingly, only five of the tracks are traditional music, the rest for the most part are composed in a traditional style and many are transposed and fused freely.’

Kim liked the interpretation of the music of everyone’s favorite 12th century Abbess by Swedish folk rockers Garmarna, the aptly titled Hildegard von Bingen. ‘Hildegard’s music has been preserved with notations on melody, the lyrics, and some good (depending on the piece) guesses as to what she imagined for her compositions. I’ve heard other groups attempt to communicate her music, both in “medieval” form and adapted for modern instruments, but Garmarna’s effort is the only one that really works for me, so far. Garmarna bring something of the medieval into the now, seeming to tap into the nuances within the lyrics and melodies.’

She also heartily approved of a series of compilations from NorthSide called Nordic Roots, of which she reviewed the first three volumes. ‘Not only are the artists working here a great representation of some of the most creative artists in any traditional folk genre today, but the production values are extremely high, with sophisticated arrangements and judicious use of what the studio has to offer. As someone who listens to part or all of thousands of folk music CDs each year (no kidding!), these collections are more than a breath of fresh air, they are a comfort and a balm, and they create hope in even the most jaded listener.’

Lars took on the daunting task of reviewing all 28 CDs of the Folk Music In Sweden series, many of them taken from field recordings from the 1950s and ’60s. ‘In the middle of the 1990s the Swedish National Radio together with Caprice, a record company owned by Rikskonserter, a government agency aimed at supporting live music, started a project with the aims to present a broad selection of these recordings, arranged thematically, on CD. Up to date 28 CDs have been released, sometimes in boxes with two or three CDs in each.’

Our Summer Queen, ironically, reviewed Triakel’s Vintervisor, originally intended as a Christmas album. ‘… Triakel’s second release developed a broader theme while the trio was in the studio — winter. And not just any winter, a Swedish winter. This beautiful follow-up to 1998’s eponymous Triakel celebrates not just Yuletide, but Advent, St. Stephen’s Day, New Years and Epiphany with a glorious blend of tunes and words old and new, both joyous and somber.’

Our What Not comes courtesy of  the American Songwriter where Geoffrey Himes has an essay titled ‘Saying Something Human: A Look Back At The Child Ballads’ which has a lovely lead-in: ‘What do Bob Dylan’s “Barbara Allen,” Doc Watson’s “Matty Groves,” Fairport Convention’s “Tam Lin,” the Fleet Foxes’ “The False Knight On The Road,” Tom Waits’ “Two Sisters,” Sam Cooke’s “The Riddle Song,” Dr. John’s “Cabbage Head,” the Carter Family’s “Sinking In The Lonesome Sea,” Jerry Garcia’s “Dreadful Wind And Rain,” Joan Baez’s “The Greenwood Side,” John Wesley Harding’s “Little Musgrave,” Anais Mitchell’s “Sir Patrick Spens,” Sam Amidon’s “How Come That Blood” and Steeleye Span’s “Lord Randall” have in common?’

‘Nghtfaeries’, our coda music this time, comes courtesy of Paul Brandon,  author of one of my favorite novels, Swim The Moon. It’s by Sunas which is one of his bands which he founded in Brisbane, his home city. I do believe it’s a splendid note to end this edition on.

John: A knife! He’s got a knife!

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history’s forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little – that’s how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.

James Goldman’s Lion in Winter

One of our centuries old Estate traditions among the inhabitants here is to leave presents anonymously for each other in places where the intended will be likely to find them. I was the recipient a few years ago of a leather case with silver workings for my button concertina. I suspected Ingrid, my wife, was the gifter but she said no and gave me a lovely goat shearling lined leather duster. Some of the gifts are clearly intended for everyone here, such as the new stove in the sauna that appeared overnight.

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 sea salt 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 sausage and veggie soup in the Barn for those doing outdoor chores in this cold weather, to name but a few of them.

But I keep myself busy here in the Pub and elsewhere in this Hall as my aging bones no longer tolerate the cold all that well as they used to. We old foxes need our warmth in the winter.  Iain’s off with his wife Catherine  on a concert tour in Sweden which means that I’m doing this Edition, so let’s get started…

Cat delved into Paul Davis’s The Lives & Times of Ebenezer Scrooge, a semi-scholarly book that investigates the cultural significance of Ebenezer Scrooge. ‘A Christmas Carol and Scrooge remain meaningful, as Paul Davis points out again and again in The Lives and Times of Ebenezer Scrooge, because they have been revised, adapted, condensed, expanded, turned into an opera, and modernized more than any other work in the English language (A Muppet Christmas Carol, anyone?).’

What’s a murder mystery doing in a lineup of Christmas books?! Well, Eric came around to liking Karen Harper’s The Queene’s Christmas, set in Elizabeth I’s court. ‘Murders and attempted murders threaten to disrupt the court’s Christmas festivities, and only Queen Elizabeth and her trusted group of friends (nobles and commoners) can root out the murderer.’

Jack had slightly mixed feelings about a book called Celebrate the Winter: Winter Solstice Celebrations for Schools and Communities, put out by The Revels and authored by John Langstaff, George Emlen & Patrick Swanson. ‘Celebrate the Winter is Revels’ second volume of seasonal music, dance and participatory drama focused on helping schools and communities in presenting participatory winter solstice celebrations,’ he notes. ‘It’s quite good for what it does, but bloody ‘ell, Revels needs to be a bit more innovative than they apparently are!’

Is it even Christmas without a little Dylan Thomas? Mia was thrilled with the audiobook of A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Five Poems. ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales has always been one of my favorite pieces, but reading it on the page, even reading it aloud, is nothing — nothing — like hearing it read by Dylan Thomas himself. Though this recording was made in 1952, I had never heard the reading until the 50th anniversary CD release this past year.’

Rebecca reviewed Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, an audio book of playwright Tom Mula’s alternate take on A Christmas Carol, narrated by Mula himself. She explains: ‘A few years ago, Mula says, a friend’s daughter pointed out that Jacob Marley got a raw deal in Dickens’s Christmas Carol. Thanks to him, Scrooge was redeemed, but Marley stayed in chains. Mula agreed that this was grossly unfair, and wrote his version of the story, told from Marley’s point of view.’

Richard waxed elequently about James Goldman’s Lion in Winter which has of course been turned into two successful movies. ‘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 one’s mind is on presents; rather, everyone is thinking of provinces — who controls them, who gives up which in exchange for which concession, and so on. A merrier holiday gathering could hardly be imagined.’

I’ve been looking for an article I remember being in The Sleeping Hedgehog on eggnog on how it came to be a tradition here maybe forty years back but I can’t find it. What  I do have is Jennifer Stevenson’s recipe for eggnog for Stay Home Egg Nog Fluff as she calls it so you can try it out in your drink making.

I’m know it won’t surprise you that everyone has food traditions. Our Editor asked a number of folks about what Winter Holiday food and drink traditions they had. By the way Ellen Kushner,  a Winter Queen for us a few years back, answered concisely with ‘latkes and candle-lighting’.

Aurora compared and contrasted the two film versions of James Goldman’s Lion in Winter: Anthony Harvey’s 1968 version, and Andrei Konchalovsky’s from 2003. ‘Goldman’s story is a fictional account of the Christmas court held to determine the future king. A complicated story this is, and the wit in the script combined with the actors’ stellar timing make it worth watching again and again,’ she says of the earlier version. ‘I can fully recommend both versions to anyone who might be interested in this little bit of fictionalized history. In fact, watch them both, one after the other in either order; you won’t be sorry.’

For something a little lighter, Craig reviewed It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and he had some misgivings. ‘In fact, the main thing I noticed about It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie was the amount of sexual innuendo. Not only is the “Voulez vous coucher avec moi, c’est soir” line from Moulin Rouge featured (and given a funny twist) in the “Moulin Scrooge” centerpiece (the highlight of the feature), but lines about topless bars, ogling of cleavage, and a stereotypically “dramatic” gay character (who admires Kermit as he walks away) round out the mix.’

It’s not actually a graphic novel or comic, but The Polar Express is lavishly illustrated and Christopher just raved about the 20th anniversary edition. ‘A child on the cusp of losing their belief in Santa and the magic of Christmas is the protagonist of (and perfect target audience for) The Polar Express. This book brings that struggle into the light as it makes the case for believing and magic. Its potent magic lies in the utter simplicity and clarity of the story line combined with the phenomenal illustrations.’

In new music, Gary says “Put this one on your holiday party playlist,’ speaking of Tree Jazz: The Shape of Christmas to Come, a jazzy holiday album from Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O. ‘ mean, who else would mash up the syrupy modern Christmas classic “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with the Queen/Bowie megahit “Under Pressure.”?’

‘It’s quite wonderful actually,’ Donna said of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album. ‘The songs are interspersed with instrumentals, again based on traditional seasonal songs. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Pavanne,” and “Greensleeved” (Anderson’s interpretation of “Greensleeves”). The music is classic Tull, solid rock, with Celtic and classical flourishes.’

Gary found the music on Nils Økland & Sigbjørn Apeland’s Glimmer perfect for the Winter Solstice. ‘Smack in the middle of the tracklist are two traditional pieces that lighten the mood considerably. The transcription “O, venner” (Oh, Friends) is warm and uplifting, with both of the musicians providing lots of twinkly improvised grace notes. And even warmer is the lovely, hymnlike “Se solens skjønne lys og prakt” (See the beautiful light and splendor of the sun), which was a perfect listen on the evening of the solstice, I assure you.’

Jayme pulled out all the stops in his review of Smithfield Fair’s The Winter Kirk. ‘Don’t expect non-stop jingle bells and a happy brass section blowing away. What Smithfield Fair instead offers up are tracks built around vocals. Particularly striking are “The Lord’s My Shepherd” and “The Lord’s Prayer/What Child is This?” along with Dudley-Brian Smith’s recitation of the respective biblical passages in a gruff Scottish brogue prior to the beginning of the song. It simply feels like medieval Scotland.’

Kim had high praise for Christine Lavin and the Mistletones’ The Runaway Christmas Tree: ‘This is a refreshing change from those horrid holiday songs that blare out at folks in every public place here in North America, and a great choice for a family holiday soundtrack. The music is lovely choral arrangements that will not grate on adult ears, and will please those with chamber music leanings.’

A full 20 years ago now, Steeleye Span put out its first winter holiday album, appropriately titled Winter. Lars in his close review said it was ‘…not only the Christmas album of the year, but also proof that Steeleye Span is once again to be considered a major force in music.’

Our What Not this time starts off with a look at Charles de Lint’s Newford Stories: The Crow Girls. Of all the immortal shapeshifting being that inhabit the Newford stories, the most charming at least for me are Maida and Zia, the two crow girls, who look like pinkish teenagers all in black naturally. After you read Cat’s review, you can experience them first hand in A Crow Girls Christmas written by (obviously) Charles de Lint and charmingly illustrated by his late wife, MaryAnn Harris.

We all tell stories and Jennifer Stevenson tells a great one in ‘Solstice’ which Grey reviews for us here: ‘The reader somehow senses that everything Dawn sees, each action she takes, even her name, has a deeper significance. She’s not just playing for a great party, she’s playing to keep a shrinking, fading man alive on the longest night. And if it’s an over-the-top, splendid bash that keeps the sun alive for another year, well, human beings believed that for a very long time. Maybe this story will help us remember some of what we’ve forgotten.’

You can hear the author splendidly reading  ‘Solstice’ here. You can read the story thisaway.

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.