Finding the Spark in the Dark Days: late autumn life at The Old Shop

Molly Dancing for Samhain | Little autumn tree revisited | Front garden tour | A new folk song

The days are short and there’s a mist in the air. But sparks abound; not only from the cosy wood stove inside the cottage and bonfires along the lane but in the many bright joys of the season. Brilliant autumn colours, the glow of fairy lights and the feeling of tapping into something ancient when you watch the Molly Dancers and musicians conjuring in the rich dark time between Samhain/Hallowtide and Imbolc/Candlemas. Then, Old Glory will hang up their red and white neckerchiefs for another year. After all, they are ‘strict and particular’.

For me though, the highlight is the ‘music video’ (humour me) I’ve put together to go with a brand new folk song that I wrote together with my co-adventurer. It celebrates the bravery of the peasants in the last stand of the Peasants’ Revolt. The Battle of North Walsham (1381) happens to have taken place just a few miles from The Old Shop. Three ancient stone crosses once marked the edges of the site, which seems little known locally. Two are now stumps, but one rises to its full height which is very unusual to see.

If you stand in those open fields that once were heathland, perhaps you will hear the cries, screams and clanging of pitchfork on sword. Now, while the veil is thin, feels exactly the right time of year to honour the many rebels who died that day. And I like to think that our song itself is a spark that they may relish.

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The story of the Green Children can be found in Green Children, Ancient Magic and an Old Country Cottage
   • Green Children, Ancient Magic and an Old C...  
and another version features in Old All Hallows’ Eve at The Old Shop
   • Old All Hallows’ Eve at The Old Shop | Cos...