Celtic myths
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♫♫ “Oh, the holly blooms in summer, as white as any snow….”♫♫
Celtic myths, Christmas carols, crafts, crown of thorns, dioecious, duke of argyll, fairies, foretelling, Halloween, holly, James II holly, Midsummer Day, New Year, Norse gods, plants, preston candover, robins, Roman culture, Saturnalia, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Holly and the Ivy, thor, thunderToday, 24 July, is my granddaughter’s birthday, and her name is Holly. Why was she given that particular name? Because her existence was first anticipated at Christmas. So my Holly is linked to both Christmas and Summer. She, like the holly in the above photograph, first actually bloomed at the height of summer. And her…
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Before I go any further, let me say that the above image is more or less the first view I had back in the 1970s of the Romano-British temple of Nodens, at Lydney Park near the town of Lydney in Gloucestershire. The temple is on a hillfort site on a bluff where the River Severn…
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The new raven at the Tower of London is to be called Branwen! According to Wikipedia : “….The earliest legend that connects the Tower with a raven is the euhemerised Welsh tale of the war against the Irish leader Matholwch who had mistreated the princess Branwen. Branwen’s brother Brân the Blessed (King of the Britons)…
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Herne and his oak tree seem to have been associated with Windsor Castle Great Park for a very long time. The Sun “….Meanwhile, in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, it has been said you can sometimes spot the ghost of Herne, who was a huntsman for Richard III….” Really? Methinks the newspaper is mistaken,…
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For many people, seeing a picture of a boar means just seeing a wild animal or a very good meat to eat but for Ricardians it is totally different. The white boar is the emblem of King Richard III, who chose it at some point after he became Duke of Gloucester, when he was able…