A Walk With A Red Cap

It being good day weather-wise and having very little to do or, to be more precise, having finished the tasks set for me by Mrs H, I decided to go for a stroll with my irascible friend Hazel (name changed to protect his real identity). He lives in the hedgerows for most of his time although he has been known to enter our home to use my computer causing me a few problems by leaving odd comments here and there on blogs and by trying to go further into the system and typing in the wrong passwords.

So I stepped across to his known sleeping place at this time of the year and found him amongst the blue flowers gently snoring away. The flash from my camera awoke him as 

I knew it would. 

Sleepily he said, 'What in ****'s name do you want ?'

'I thought you might like to go for a walk with me as it is a warm day.'

Hazel replied 'OK so, just give me a moment to wake up.'

Within the blink of a human eye Hazel was wide awake and looking for adventure. Together we went for our walk with him leading the way. 

You may well be familiar with Yeats' poem about walking with a faery hand in hand ? 

Let me assure you this is certainly not the case with Hazel and I, for as well acquainted as we are, neither he nor I would ever dream of holding hands as his skin is closer to that of an amphibian, quite cool to the touch and has a very different texture to ours.

I am sure he feels the same way about my skin as he shies away from all human contact. 

We had not walked more than two hundred yards when Hazel spotted this toadstool in the grass. He instantly decided that it would make a tasty snack so he plonked himself down giving me only a few seconds to take out my camera and take this photo which, I am sure you will agree, is a very rare shot.

With a great deal lip smacking, he devoured it within seconds as to him it was a great delicacy but very likely harmful to humans.

After his snack our journey together continued along the road uneventfully apart from Hazel jumping into the hedge every time the sound of a vehicle was heard. 

As he wisely said it would not bode well for him or me to be seen together. 

Our walk took us towards the entrance of a fine old house where Hazel stopped briefly to stroke a lantern dog 'for Luck' he told me. 

Here he is again within the meadow which his tribe have occupied for hundreds of generations or so said Hazel. To be honest I have no idea how old he is in human terms

and I would certainly not want to offend him by enquiring, for I have my own private thoughts about Themselves.

I can tell you this though, on the hillside above him is one of their cities and the field just behind him is where, on moonlit nights, they dance and make merry.

Our perambulation continued down a narrow road, a perfumed road, where the combined scents of wild honeysuckle and meadowsweet gave an aroma of honeyed toffee.

We both breathed in deeply and licked our lips. 

I could see that Hazel was just a little intoxicated as he jumped up to sit on a concrete stile and peering at the house beyond I heard him say 'I wonder if the woman of the house is baking today?' He hopped down and we continued along together in silence.

Our walk together ceased when Hazel lay down near a bed of richly scented roses saying

 'This will give you a fine picture and me a place to stay for the rest of the day.' 

So I left him and turned to head for home carrying about me a strong perfume of roses. Just as I went through our gateway, I glanced in my top pocket to see a rose head peeping out and this I gave to Mrs H.

A Bronze Award.

It is really good to be asked to do something which you enjoy and watch a project go forward to become a success. I was asked by Dr. Jenny Butler, a Folklorist at UCC, if I and my druid grove would be interested in taking part in a documentary film that Tile Films of Dublin were proposing to make. 

I sounded out the members of the Owl Grove for their views and a majority decision was made so we contacted the film company. 

About a month before the filming was to start two members were unable to take part. As I had set the number at twelve participants I approached an old friend of mine from years back who was living down in Co. Waterford, as I knew she was a druid. Fortunately for me she agreed to take part and bring along one of her sons who is a fluent Irish scholar. The rest is history.

Today, I am delighted to be able to congratulate the executives and staff of 

Tile Films who were awarded a Bronze World Medal for their 45 minute documentary film Sacred Sites: Ireland.

Not only is it a great achievement for Tile Films, based in Dublin, it is also great for Ireland.

****

The Owl Grove members who took part were:

Áine-Maire, Claire, Colin, Flynn, Fred, Jane, Majella, Mel, Patsy, Rita, Siobhán and Vinnie.

To view film Sacred Sites : Ireland

http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/2015/pieces.php?iid=478629&pid=1

You can read my posts about the filming HERE and HERE

Good News from Derry

Manannán Mac Lír

A Celtic sea god statue that was stolen from a County Derry mountainside is set to be replaced after councillors voted in support of its reinstatement. This is very welcome news.

The six-foot Manannán Mac Lir sculpture disappeared from Binevenagh Mountain, near Limavady, last month.

It was created by John Sutton, who worked on the Game of Thrones TV show.

At a meeting on Tuesday night, Limavady Borough Council voted to replace the stolen artwork with a sculpture "as similar to the original as possible".

'Worldwide response'
Its chief executive, Liam Flanigan, told elected members that he had received letters from across the world in the wake of the sculpture's theft.

"We've had offers of support from the States, Canada and New Zealand. The response has been worldwide, with many people offering to contribute to the replacement of the sculpture."

The council is set to approach the original artist to request financial quotes for the replacement and will seek estimated costs for reinforcing the new artwork, to ensure it is more difficult to remove from its mountainside perch in future.

Councillors also agreed to set up a fund to allow members of the public to make donations towards the cost of the reinstatement.

'Pagan'
Manannán Mac Lir is a sea god from Irish & Manx mythology and the statue had become a popular tourist attraction in the area.

Its disappearance remains a mystery, but police have said they are investigating a "religious aspect" to the theft.

Those who cut down the statue left a small wooden cross in its place, bearing the words 'You shall have no other gods before me'.

Mr Sutton has said he believes it would have taken a number of men with angle grinders several hours to remove the heavy, man-size figure from its base.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, Sinn Féin's Rory Donaghy proposed that the replacement be based as closely as possible on the original £10,000 sculpture.

Remaining plinth

Documentary - Lugh

Lugh

The illustration above can be purchased
as an A5 Art Card from
http://theeverlivingones.blogspot.ie

About two years ago I, along with my druid grove, took part in the making of a documentary film about Lugh, the Irish God Of Light, the theory being that he came as a comet appearing in the western sky. This concept is explored in the film made by Tile Films of Dublin.

                             You can watch the film Déithe na Spéire (OS & GS)

 on tg4.ie tonight at 21.30pm.

Enjoy !                              

© tg4

Plain Crazy

It never ceases to amaze me of how some peoples ridiculous actions can cause so much hurt in the community. Such as the destruction and removal of  a mythological statue of Mannanán Mac Lír over looking  Lough Foyle

It is probable that fundamental christians are to blame for the removal, given that a cross with the words of the first commandment on it was left behind. Shame on their ignorance for there is I believe another commandment about 'stealing'