On the eastern edge of the picturesque Lincolnshire Wolds is the charming market town of Louth, where legend states there once lived a man named John Smith, more commonly known as Six-Pint Smith. He acquired this curious nickname because everyday at noon twelve half-pints of beer were lined up on the pub bar, and on each stroke of the church clock he drank one half-pint, consuming all twelve within the time it took the church bell to stop chiming. 

Well dressing (sometimes referred to as well flowering) is an ancient custom, in which sources of water, such as wells and springs, are decorated with natural materials: petals, mosses, grasses, berries, twigs cones, and seeds.

With the summer solstice just behind us, and in honour of a recently passed aunt, who identified closely in paganism, this blog post is a little different. I am going to tell you a little bit about Nordic Runes, which are an ancient writing system, used by Germanic tribes in Scandinavia.

Were you aware bunnies didn't always have cute cotton ball tails? No! Well it is true. Once upon a time, longer than most can remember, rabbits had long tails like cats, and cats had no tail at all.

"The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry" is a traditional folk ballad from Orkney. I was recently lucky enough to hear a retelling of the embellished version: "The Play of the Lady Odivere". Native Orcadian, Tom Muir wove the tale so beautifully, impressing his listeners with his knowledge of the poems history.

I've been on the search for stories, from Worcester, England. My brother, recently had a very enjoyable day trip there, and he kindly offered his photographs for my blog; always keen for content, I snatched them up. 

I spent the weekend in Macclesfield, where a friend, who I met at university lives. When I arrived after work on the Friday evening, she had cooked a delicious meal of chicken and vegetables in red wine. Desert was fresh mango, with rum and raisin ice-cream. We chatted over coffee, before freshening up, and taking an evening walk.

The weather this winter has been one of two things: wet and windy, or cold and bright. It is mid-January, the sky over Britain is either the deepest blue, or ash grey.

On April 17th 1951, Britain's first national park was designated to the Peak District, an upland area of outstanding beauty in England. Today, tourism dominates the area, alongside agriculture. Traditionally, people in the area, made a living from grazing livestock and dairy farming. 

A long time ago, God was coming to visit Adam and Eve. A proud woman, Eve wanted all her children to be clean and well presented, when they met God. However, when God arrived, some of the children were still dirty and unkempt. Eve felt so ashamed, she decided to hide them. God asked Eve "do you have more children," and Eve replied "no".  God is of course omniscient (all seeing), and said "what's hidden to me shall be hidden to humans". The children became invisible, and started to live in rocks and hills. Known as the Huldufólk or hidden people, they are the same shape, size and form as humans. Be warned, if you damage or destroy their homes misfortune will come your way. 

It was a Friday on the first day in December. The temperature had plummeted, and the mercury had not risen above zero for a week or more. As darkness fell dense, freezing fog descended upon the crystal, white touch of Jack Frosts fingertips. In my parents red, Nissan campervan we slowly trundled towards Matlock, Derbyshire.