Robin Hood Model

 

Laurence has made many valuable contributions to this website over the years. Who can forget the popular comic strip he created using images from the film and the of course the amazing banner for this blog!

 Last week he sent me an email:

"Hi, I don't think I have shown you these before. It's a model I made in the 1970s. It was a conversion from a 1/32 scale Airfix (remember them!!) World War 2 soldier. Then another which is a 1/12 scale conversion from an Airfix, if I remember correctly, Bengal Lancer which I did about ten years later. 

Anyhow, just thought I would show them to you.

Best regards,

Laurence."

 

I think my readers will agree with me when I say Laurence has an amazing talent.

The detail of these models is truly amazing and would enhance any collection. Many thanks, Laurence for sharing these with us.

Sons of the Wolf & Films of the Fifties

Occasionally I like to review the work of my regular readers, known as The Whistling Arrows. In the past we have looked at Albie's web site Albie on Tour, the beautiful artwork of Mike and Laurence and the haunting music of Adele with Wren Song.

Recently Paula Lofting has had her first novel published, Son's of the Wolf. With her vast knowledge of the times, Paula has weaved a wonderful tale of life prior to the Norman Conquest of England. Amidst those growing storm clouds, we meet Wulfhere and his dysfunctional Saxon family living against a backdrop of a simmering blood feud with a neighboring thegn.

Set in Horstede, a Saxon site mention in the Domesday Book, she vividly describes how Wulfhere’s family gradually become ripped apart by personal issues that eventually boil over and affect all members of the community and beyond. With strong, believable characters and great attention to detail Paula soon hooks you with all the colourful imagery and emotional trauma.

Gradually the canvas widens as Wulhere has to serve his lord, Harold Godwinsson. It is here that I confess to becoming slightly lost with some of the political detail, but her depiction of the Battle of Hereford is fantastic. Her expertise in historical warfare shines through and leaves you gripped.

This was a very enjoyable read and I thoroughly recommend it. I am looking forward to her follow-up!

Most of my readers will have seen Neil's interesting comments on the blog. His regular input and research have been invaluable. So I was pleased to find that he now has his own blog dedicated to the Films of the Fifties.

Packed with his expertise of the era, together with stills and posters of some of the classic movies, Neil's site is well worth a visit. Unfortunately, because it is not a Google blog I am unable to produce a direct link with updated images to his website. But a link to his blog is available here and alongside this page. Also you can access Paula's Sons of the Wolf in the task bar.

Some Images of Sherwood Forest

                                                                                     

Albie is a regular contributor to this blog and is lucky enough to live near legendary Sherwood Forest. He regularly cycles along the paths of that beautiful woodland and often sends in stunning pictures and information.  Here are two links to his popular Youtube pages, ‘Albie in the Woods’ and ‘Albie on Tour. ’

Here are just a few of his recent snaps, including a carpet of bluebells amongst the ancient trees and two experimental panoramic shots (3 shots stitched together), which gives the viewer a  feeling of actually being on the forest path. I am sure you will agree that these are fantastic images and certainly make me want to visit Sherwood very soon.

Here is a link to a lot more images and history of Sherwood Forest.

Herne the Hunter

Spring is my favourite time of year and over the last few weeks we have been blessed with some lovely warm weather. The cold grey cloak of winter has at last been finally lifted and gentle blossom is at last decorating the branches of the trees and hedgerows.

As I walk down my garden and admire the bluebells and the magnolia, it often reminds me of scenes in that excellent series ‘Robin of Sherwood’ of the 1980’s. The award winning writer Richard Carpenter very cleverly created a link in the screen play between Herne the Hunter, the mysterious Green Man and the Celtic fertility god, Cernunnos.

The shamanic figure of Herne the Hunter (John Abineri) featured in 17 of the 26 episodes and one particular story, ‘Lord of the Trees’ (31st December 1984) often reminds me of this time of year. In that wonderful episode the villagers set aside a ‘Time for the Blessing,’ a forest tradition held in the spring when no blood can be shed to guarantee a good harvest.

Many of my blog readers are familiar with the art work of Mike Giddens. A while ago I featured his version of Herne the Hunter from ‘Robin of Sherwood’ and along with his art work I did a short history of the mysterious legend of Herne the Hunter.

Above is Mike’s most recent painting of Herne and I am sure you will agree that this version is absolutely stunning. His fabulous artwork can be seen on his Facebook site and also throughout this website, including his beautiful interpretation of Maid Marian.

Thoresby Hall

Albie was at Thoresby visiting an exhibition recently and took some  snaps of the magnificent hall for the blog. He also very kindly wrote a quick history of the place below:

"Thoresby Hall and Park are situated on the eastern flank of Sherwood Forest, close to the Nottingham - York road. The first hall was built during the reign of Charles I in the 1600's, but burnt down in 1745. The Earl of Kingston had the hall rebuilt in 1767. This lasted for 100 years before being replaced by the present hall though in a location about 500 metres north of the old. By this time the Kingstons had become the Earls Manvers and amongst their other properties was Pierrepont Hall in Nottingham.

The Manvers continued to occupy the hall until the late 20th Century when it was acquired by the National Coal Board (so that they didn't have to repeatedly pay for coal mining subsidence). After several other owners, it was bought by Time Warner and converted to a spa hotel complex which opened in 2000. The park covered around 2000 acres in area and was said to have a circumference of 10 miles. Most of this is still owned by the Manvers family with just the grounds near the hall being owned by the hotel. The stables and courtyard are now a craft centre which is also separate from the hotel. The lake was used by the owner in the late 18th century to re-enact naval battles. Like many aristocrats of that period, he had miniature sailing ships to play with. There was a full time naval captain who maintained them from an estate house now known as Budby Castle (though it was never a real castle).”

Albie

The statue of Robin Hood is by Tussaud-Birt (November 1948) a grandson of Madame Tussaud (famous for her London wax works) and can be seen in the Stables Gallery (above) at Thoresby Hall. It once stood in the centre of the courtyard (below).

Waiting for Robin

I just had to share this masterpiece with you all. Mike never ceases to amaze me with his wonderful talent as an artist, and his painting entitled ‘Waiting for Robin,’ in my opinion is one of his best!

You can see more of his work here: Mike's Paintings

Azul Maria

I always like to feature the talents of my regular visitors to this blog and this particular member of The Whistling Arrows has a special place in my heart, as she has helped me through some very rough times recently. Maria, who some will know as Azul Maria, visited this site a couple of years ago, when she translated a Spanish Robin Hood poster for me. She is a keen photographer and a lot of her stunning work can be seen here: http://www.fotolog.com/blue_mary/53222272.

Maria, or Montse as she is known on Facebook, also has her own interesting blog at http://tierradelasmildanzas.blogspot.com/, which often has a mixture of historical, musical and artistic features. She also has a love of the Robin Hood legend and hopes to visit England and in particular, Sherwood Forest very soon.

It must have been those artistic eyes of hers that noticed a blooper in the Whistle My Love sequence from Disney’s Story of Robin Hood. Something I had never seen before! But if you watch as Robin (Richard Todd) starts to carry Marian (Joan Rice) across the stream, the camera angle behind them shows Marian’s arms around Robin’s neck, but when it switches to the front Joan has her arm hanging down. This is now the second blooper discovered, thank you Maria!

 One of the many interesting pictures that Maria has taken is this image of a gigantic Ceiba. The tree is growing near Maria’s hometown of Tapachula in Mexico, in the backyard of someone’s house! She had to struggle through the undergrowth and extreme heat to be able to capture this amazing image. We don't get these in Sherwood Forest!

Albie On Tour

Regular visitors to this blog will be familiar with Albie. In the past he has sent in some fantastic video clips, pictures and information on Nottinghamshire’s traditions and famous landmarks. Well now Albie has set up an account with You Tube and has uploaded 16 video documentaries of his visits around the world. They are extremely interesting. Albie says:

“I have put 2 clips of Newark Castle at the 'albieinthewoods' channel too - with some commentary from me to describe the place.”

I thoroughly recommend both Albie's sites on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Albieinthewoods

www.youtube.com/user/albieontour

There is now a growing section in the right hand panel of this blog, showing links to the sites of our multi talented band of Whistling Arrows!

Richard Todd as Robin Hood by Laurence

I am sure you will agree that this is yet another stunning piece of artwork by Laurence.  The light and the colour are beautiful and the tension, as Robin (Richard Todd) draws his bow, is captured superbly. I do hope he can share some more paintings with us in the future.

Hubert Gregg by Laurence

This is another work of art by Laurence, who says:

"I was up in the loft earlier, and dug out some of my movie actors drawings. Thought you might like to see this pencil drawing that I made of Hubert Gregg back in the seventies; plus the accompanying letter with his very kind comments. I do have one or two others from The Story of Robin Hood. (I think I may have mentioned this before.)"

We look forward to seeing some more of your fine artwork, Laurence!

Albie's Videos of Sherwood Forest, Wellow May Day and Haughton Chapel.

Above is a picture I took of an ancient tree in Sherwood Forest a few weeks back. I can see the face and horns of Herne the Hunter amongst its gnarled bark and his arms seemed to be streched right out, almost protecting the woodland behind him!

If you would like to see more of Sherwood Forest, Wellow May Day and the old ruins of Haughton Chapel in Nottinghamshire, Albie has very kindly sent in a link to his video chanel on YouTube.

It can be found at:http://www.youtube.com/user/Albieinthewoods

Wellow May Day

Robin Hood is inextricably linked with the May and Summer Games performed throughout England and Scotland during the 16th century. The surviving church wardens accounts reveal that Robin along with the ‘Maid’ Marian often took on the role of ‘King and Queen’ of the revels accompanied by Friar Tuck and the rest of the gang of merry men.

Sadly these traditional celebrations have been on the decline for many years, so I was thrilled to receive these pictures from Albie of the ‘May Day’ festival in his village of Wellow in Nottinghamshire. I feel it is very important that these ancient traditions survive.

Albie said:

“Basically, today was the 60th anniversary of the dancing returning after WW2. The old May queens were from 1950 through to last year’s representing each decade. The youngsters are all from the village I believe.

This tradition of the May Queen and dancing would have been well known to Robin Hood. There was a similar scene from the Robin of Sherwood TV series I believe. It is a tradition we must keep. So much has been lost, this cannot be left to fade into history, although I live 3 miles from Wellow this is the first time I have been to May Day since 1978 (I think). There were a massive number of people there today, more than is normal/ don’t know whether this is due to the Crowe film but good to see so many there.”

I travelled through Wellow quite recently, but alas didn’t have time to look around. The name Wellow is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Wehag’ which means ‘enclosure by a well or spring’ and this idyllic village has many connections with Robin Hood.
 

According to the book 'Robin Hood and the Lords of Wellow'  by Tony Molyneux-Smith, its unusually shaped village green holds more secrets than would appear at first glance. Although the green has changed over the centuries, as houses were built and the road to Eakring constructed, his book says that it is still possible to see that its original shape would have formed a perfect triangle - the shape of an arrow head - which points directly at the castle of the Sheriff of Nottingham!

Wellow was given permission to hold a market in 1268 and has one of only three permanent maypoles in England. Surviving records show that a maypole stood on the green in 1856 but the village tradition goes back much earlier and the local 12th century church celebrated this fact, when it recently commissioned a beautiful stained glass window of the Wellow maypole.

The Giant

The biggest bonus of running this blog is getting to know some of my regular visitors and discovering their marvellous array of interests and hobbies. To say that I am extremely privileged to have such a fantastically talented group visit my blog is an understatement. One of the members of this group, that I fondly call ‘The Whistling Arrows,’ is Mike. We have already heard some of his childhood memories and recently Avalon has made him a Blogger Buddy and featured his many talents on her website at Avalon's Blog.

Mike is not only a brilliant artist and illustrator but also a film maker with his new western movie ‘Circle of Death,’ hopefully released in December. But did you know he also writes short stories?

Here is his latest composition that he sent in a few weeks ago:

The Giant

From deep in Sherwood Forest among fallen leafs something stirs, a small squirrel carries an acorn that through instinct he buries in the forest floor and promptly forgets about it.

Nine hundred years had passed since that day, now from that tiny acorn a magnificent oak, a giant of the forest had grown, majestic, towering above all others in the forest. Beneath its leafy boughs Robin had pledged his love to Marian, minstrels had sang of their love beneath the tree, and Robin's band often took refuge among its branches. The giant oak had given shade, shelter and comfort to generations of people and animals, the stag, the badger, the fox, the birds of the forest and insects of all kinds. Kings and queens had come and gone and many battles had been won and lost, still the tree stood tall.

Surviving lightning strikes, drought, and even fire, it had seen love, life, and death. The rising and setting of the sun thousands of times and it seemed it would go on for ever. But now the giant was old, its magnificent trunk was gnarled and twisted, and its topmost branches were withering and bare of leaf, the great oak was beginning slowly, to die.

The sun rose as it always did, but now, there was a new sound in the forests, an unfamiliar sound, loud, grinding, closer and closer it came and then stopped, the whirring sound of a chainsaw suddenly filled the air sending birds flying in all directions. The razor sharp blade cut deep into the trees aging branches sending them crashing to the forest floor. In the end just the great trunk, stood alone, time and time again the blade broke as it sliced away at the trunk, then finally with a deep grown the massive trunk leaned slowly then crashed to the forest floor with a sound like thunder that echoed through Sherwood Forest.

The Sun streamed down and lit the place where the tree had stood the giant was no more, all that remained were leafs and branches, all fell quiet once more in the forest, then scampering from the giants leafs came a squirrel carrying an acorn which he buried nearby and promptly forgot about.

(Mike Giddens)

I would like to say a special thank you to Maria (Azul Maria) who very kindly allowed me to use one of her atmospheric pictures to accompany Mike’s story. To see more of her stunning photography please click here: Maria's Photographs.

Richard Todd and Burnham Beeches

Recently, Laurence thrilled us all, when he very kindly sent in a picture of his copy of the stunning original premier programme of Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood from 1952. Well, I am sure you will all be amazed by this fantastic painting (above) by Laurence of Burnham Beeches in Buckinhamshire, which he created over thirty years ago.

Laurence told me:

“It is of one of my favourite places, Burnham Beeches (not least because of its connection with Robin Hood). In point of fact, it was Mr. Todd who told me that this was the location for Sherwood Forest. Up to that point I never knew. The spot depicted doesn't actually exist - it is a kind of composite of the place I know and how it is in the movie. I even painted my, then, two young sons into the scene, though they are quite well hidden.

Below is Laurence with the late great Richard Todd, backstage at the Theatre Royal in Brighton in 1980. Laurence and his wife had just seen the legendary star in the excellent stage version of ‘This Happy Breed.’

Laurence says:

“Richard Todd had always been my boyhood hero (Robin Hood, Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy etc.) and when I met him I told him so. He replied that he assumed Richard Greene was every ones idea of Robin Hood - I corrected him- "Oh no, Mr. Todd, you are!"


Many thanks Laurence; I am sure my blog readers will be keen to see some more of your wonderful artwork.

An Interview with Avalon

Avalon has visited my blog several times and has recently allowed me to use some of her research on the American place-names that are linked with the legend of Robin Hood. I know that some of my regular readers were keen to know a little more about Avalon and her fascinating culture, so she has kindly let me reproduce part of an interview she had on the ‘Fly High’ blog run by Maria Grazia. This was posted on the 7th June and the full interview can be found at: http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspot.com/

Avalon says:

“My family is from the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, which is sovereign nation. I have a shop there but I live in North Georgia which is about 3 hours from our Cherokee home.

I am the mother of two little boys who are pow wow dancers and historical re-enactors, which means we get to travel frequently. We are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. I have a degree in American History and work in Native American Preservation. I am also a volunteer genealogist and the owner of a quaint antique shop located in The Great Smoky Mountains. I have a very large close-knit family. My mother is an anthropologist, my father is a large animal veterinary, and I have five siblings, seven nieces and nephews, two great nieces, and over thirty cousins. I like to hike, river raft, and hang-glide. I also love reading and history. I am interested in the Medieval Era, America's Civil War, and Native American History. And I like Ben Barnes and Richard Armitage.

My parents are history fanatics and named each of us after an historical person or place. I was named for Avalon and Michelle for Michele De Nostredame. My brothers are Tsali (Cherokee Warrior) Lancelot (Arthurian), Aramis (Musketeer) Victorio (Apache Chief), Ottawa (Native Tribe) Capulet (Shakespeare's Juliet's last name). My sisters are Nazareth (biblical) Isis (Egyptian Goddess), and Scarlett (Gone with the Wind) Josephine (for Napoleon's Josephine). And yes everyone teases us.

I am in no way an expert of the legend of Robin Hood. I think I like it because I am a dreamer, silly-hearted as some has so amply put it. I love heroes; Robin Hood, King Arthur, Jesse James, Crazy Horse; small people who sacrificed themselves to stand up against powerful tyranny.

I think I studied the legend for so long because I want proof that he existed. Native people use oral stories to tell history and I would like to think that Europeans are not that much different than us and that the legends of King Arthur and the ballads of Robin Hood originated from truth. It is sad when I hear people say they are fables used to entertain children and it is even sadder when those same people exploit Native Lore.

I have seen probably seen every version of Hood and I did not approve of the 1992 version of Robin Hood (with Kevin Costner). I am excited about Robin Hood 2010 and hope to see it soon.”

Avalon’s blog is at: http://avalon-medieval.blogspot.com/


Thank you very much Avalon, for allowing me to share this. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Old Friends

Mike has recently sent me a rather heartwarming account of how Walt Disney’s motion picture the ‘Story of Robin Hood,’ helped him get through the trauma of moving to new surroundings:

“Hi Clement,

I thought I would tell you how the film helped me. Back in 1958 living in Plaistow, East London, an old EastEnders type house is all I knew, we were happy there, my brother, Mum and step dad. All at once life changed, Mum was given notice to quit the house after living there for 32 years, I was 17, and a non driver (still am). We searched and searched but had no luck in finding a new home, so we tried for an exchange to Basildon, Essex. To me at that time it was deep in the country. So it happened I had to leave my friends and my familiar surroundings, places I had known all my life.

Basildon then was a new town; there was nothing as far as entertainment goes not even a cinema at that time. I soon became unhappy but just struggled on, I missed Wanstead Park where we played at Robin Hood years earlier, all my memories were back there in Plaistow, and Basildon had none. One day in the local paper I saw the magic words “The Story of Robin Hood," it was showing at nearby Stanford Le Hope, it was a summer’s day when I caught the train and arrived two hours before the film started, I was excited to see it after what were quite a few years. No videos then of course, I walked the town streets trying to kill time, eventually I got in the cinema.

It was wonderful, like all my old friends were back, as fresh and colourful as ever, I felt so much better, and although my life had changed it made me realize that no matter where you are, you can still enjoy the things you love, things got better for me from then on and I thank our film for that, it was the turning point for me. And now all these years later it is shining brighter than ever, thanks in no small part to you my friend and Neil of course.

Best regards, Mike.”

When I asked Mike if he minded me posting his letter, he replied:

“ Go ahead by all means, I too would like to see how our film as affected others lives, there’s a sadness there as well , knowing that these people who gave us and continue to give us pleasure are no longer around, they live in our hearts and minds, that 90 minutes or so is kind of our Holy Grail.”

Many thanks Mike for sharing this with us. I’m sure we all agree with those sentiments. If you have fond memories of seeing any Robin Hood productions like this, please get in touch at: disneysrobin@googlemail.com

The 'Carps' and the Ghosts

Albie is lucky enough to live, in what is known as ‘Robin Hood Country’-Nottinghamshire. He has recently provided some stunning pictures of Sherwood Forest which were very popular with my readers. This time Albie has very kindly sent in a fascinating history of two of his local taverns in the Nottinghamshire village of Walesby, The Carpenters Arms and The Red Lion.

"The old and new pictures show the Carpenters Arms public house in Walesby. The older picture was taken in the early years of the 20th century and was copied from one of a series of post cards popular in that era. The pub was built in 1830 and is currently owned by the Everard’s brewery of Leicester. The interior has been re-styled over the years with the accommodation for the landlord now being upstairs, previously being downstairs around the current fireplace on the right of the building.

The man standing at the top of the stairs was possibly the landlord at the time. The cottage to the right (furthest cottage) was the original Methodist chapel in the village. It is known that the son of the founder of Methodism, Charles Wesley, preached there, and possibly Charles himself. The chapel now forms part of the house living area. The house in the right foreground is of a similar date (1770’s) or slightly later. Behind the pub, but obscured by it, near the top of the hill was the bakery which is also from the same era.

  

As can be seen by the new photo the cottage in the middle of what is now the road from Ollerton to Retford, is gone, and the road goes over its foundations. The building was demolished in the late 1950’s or early 60’s and residents can still remember it well. The signpost can be seen in both old & new photo’s and indicates that Perlethorpe is 2.5 miles down Brake Road and Budby some 4 miles distant. This road leads due-west past Boughton Brake and onwards to the A614 which is 2 miles away. Directly across this road on the A614 a minor road passes through Thoresby Hall land and onwards to Budby, Perlethorpe being near to the Hall and effectively is the estate village for it. The sign that is seen in the new photos is the original one; it was renovated by Walesby Parish Council around 2002.


The Carpenters is not the only pub in the village, the other being the Red Lion situated 400 yards down Main Street, which starts where the now demolished cottage is to the left of the pictures. The Lion has a large portion of the building dating to some 400 years ago and is near the heart of the old village.

Although only 180 years old at the time of writing, the Carps (as it is known locally) main claim to fame is its resident ghosts. The most seen one is that of the Grey Lady. She has been seen by many people (including this author!) and wears a Victorian style bonnet and long dress. Often seen upstairs in the landlords apartment, she has also been seen by regulars in the bar area. It is unknown who she was but is a ‘friendly’ ghost. A second ‘visitor’ is a gentleman wearing tweed clothing with a red complexion. He is thought to be a former landlord who was accidentally killed when a shot gun went off in his kitchen area, in front of the fireplace in the current bar area. This happened in 1947.

A third reported ghost is to be found in the cellar situated below the steps where the landlord stands in the old picture. The cellar is low, cramped and eerie as there is no natural light. A rumour persists that a previous landlord hung himself down there but no proof of this exists. The stories could have more to do with the fact the pub is built on an old crossroads. In medieval times, criminals were hanged and executed at crossroads outside of inhabited areas (the old village centre being 400 yards away at that time). Once dead, the bodies would be buried at the crossroad so their spirits would not know which way to wander and hence enter the village to haunt the locals! It is likely this crossroad was used for such purposes in the distant past.

Another legend of a 4th spectre is that of the White Lady. She reputedly walks from Rufford Abbey into Edwinstowe. There she turns right and heads towards the current junction of the A614 and the A616 Sheffield – Newark road and onwards to the carps at Walesby. She then turns back to return to Rufford, thus completing a triangle of around 12 miles distance in total. Theory is she was a lover of a monk from the Abbey (dissolved with the other entire Abbeys by Henry VIII in the 1540’s). Why she would come from Edwinstowe to Walesby is confusing but when the Abbey was shut down by Henry, one of the monks from there became the vicar of St Edmunds Church in Walesby. No one has seen this ghost for a number of years.”


I recently asked Albie where he saw ‘The White Lady?’


“I saw the  ghost whilst sitting at the bar one evening. I'd only just sat down and when I looked up something caught my eye. This grey figure glided from the right of the bar from the eating area and dissolved by the front door. I have also seen another figure sat on one of the bench seats inside which stayed a few moments before fading away. A number of times items on the back of the bar have either moved or flown across the serving area - a pen did so when I was there when no one was stood anywhere near the bar. Nothing malevolent, just strange things and I can add that a previous landlord saw the ‘Grey Lady’ and ‘Tweed Man’ standing at the foot of the accommodation stairs together. His father also the Grey Lady but never said anything about. When he did (rather sheepishly) his son said, 'yeah many have see it, you are not on your own'.

Terry (father) was a university lecturer so a fairly sober and learned man. Take this one with a pinch of salt, the current landlords partner (who is from Thailand) has both seen and talked to the Grey Lady. She apparently came and sat down at the end of her bed and talked with his partner.

Not so sure how valid the last story is (though Neil, our current mine host says it is true and he is not one for telling tall stories) but the others are!”


Albie-May 2010


Albie has very kindly sent in more details about the local history and countryside around Sherwood and Nottinghamshire, which I will post very soon.

Sherwood Forest in October

Robin Hood is here again: all his merry thieves

Here a ghostly bugle-note shivering through the leaves,

Calling as he used to call, faint and far away,

In Sherwood, in Sherwood, about the break of day.

It is always a great pleasure to gain a new member of our merrie band. So I would like to introduce Albie to all my blog readers.

"Friends call me Albie,” he explains,” which was a term of endearment used by local miners to each other. But I have never work down a coal mine though!

He lives near one of my favourite places-Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire-and has very kindly sent in some of the pictures he took of the forest in October last year. Sherwood is a beautiful place at any time of the year, but in autumn it is particularly stunning and he has captured the colours and atmosphere magnificently.

Albie is very knowledgeable about the history of Sherwood Forest and Nottinghamshire and has promised to share some of this information with us in the future.

So welcome to the greenwood Albie!

Mike's Matte

After seeing my recent post about Peter Ellenshaw, Mike has sent in a fine example of his very own matte work, for the western movie ‘Circle of Death,’ which he is currently making with his brother-in law. Mike produced the painting on a sheet of glass which was only 3 inches wide, and says it took him ages!

The scene was shot in his back garden, with the camera aimed at the sky and - just to add to the realism- a flock of birds conveniently flew by during filming.

I am sure you will agree with me, that it is very effective.

Greenwood Gone by Wren Song

Tired of the rat race, the hustle and bustle of living in the modern world? Then take a gentle stroll through the mists of time into the mystical world of Wren Song and open your ears to the beautiful sound of Celtic Folk Music. Their stunning new album ‘Greenwood Gone’ has just been released and is available for download at: http://www.wrensong.org/Greenwood_Gone/Album.htm

Regular readers of this blog will know Adele Treskillard. She has many ‘strings to her bow’ and is a member of our merrie band of Whistling Arrows. Not only is Adele a talented author, a traditional harpist and a vocalist in many Celtic languages, she is also currently researching the legend of Robin Hood through the ancient traditions of the ballads and performing them with Wren Song.

Adele formed Wren Song together with her sister Ness, her brother Leighton and her father Robert. They regularly perform traditional Scottish, Irish and Manx music, combined with Gaelic stories and legends accompanied by harp, tin whistle, fiddle, bagpipe and mandolin.

You might recognise the cover of their newly released album ‘Greenwood Gone,’ it was one of the many pictures I took of Burnham Beeches during my visit last year. Adele thought the picture would be perfect for the concept of the album.

Adele said, “It almost looks like a doorway! So the concept would be that Robin & Little John are to the 'greenwood gone' to hunt the wren, or that there is a path that leads to the greenwood, through which others can go. Or that we speak of the "Greenwood Gone" by, in terms of, the ancient legend of Robin Hood ... or that the Greenwood has gone. So there would be multiple interpretations.”

Their new album is described as a unique collection of songs, some of them based on the almost unknown Celtic tradition of Robin Hood. This is where Adele’s extensive research and reconstruction comes in. So for the first time in many centuries the listener can experience the hauntingly beautiful tracks, King Robin (Robin Y Righ) , We'll Go to the Wood (Imigh Gys Y Coille), I Hunt the Wren (Shelg Mi An Dreathan), and Shaunnie o' Braidalaw.

On her blog, Adele translated the 5th track on the album, the beautiful Scottish song ‘Iain Ghlinn Cuaich’ from Gaelic into English:

"Oh! Iain of Glen Cuaich, it is not often that one encounters you’re like,
That ringletted head of hair tight curled to the roots.
It was your beautiful handsome appearance that left me love-sick,
And there is no fault to be noted about you from head to toe.

I can’t begin to express a third of your worth,
Better to catch a glimpse of your face,
Than the new grown dew laden forest in sun.
The desire of my eyes is to catch close sight of you,
My love deserves a crowned heiress under him.

Iain, Iain, my love, why did you turn your back on me?
Without a thought for the love we once had?
I never gave my respect to any other man under the sun but you,
And neither will I, until my body is under the ground…."

The wonderfully evocative tracks on Wren Song's new album Greenwood Gone are:

1. Mountain Dew
2. Be Thou My Vision
3. Mo Thruaigh Léir
4. Coisich A Rùin
5. Iain Ghlinn Cuaich
6. Sí Do Mhaimeó í
7. I Hunt The Wren
8. Casadh an tSúgáin
9. Stitches and Britches
10. Shaunnie o’ Braidalaw
11. Robin Y Righ
12. Scotland The Brave

More details of Wren Song’s new album ‘Greenwood Gone' can be found at http://www.wrensong.org/Greenwood_Gone/Album.htm

I am sure we will be hearing a lot more from Adele and Wren Song in the future!