In these daft days between the Yule and Hogmanay celebrations it’s easy to lose track of time, as Fergusson suggests. He also claims this is the time to enjoy ourselves in all the usual ways: Let mirth abound, let social cheerInvest the dawning of the year;Let blithesome innocence appearTo crown our joy;Nor envy wi sarcastic…
Tag: humour
Dark Moon, Dark Goddess
As the dark moon is upon us this month and the winter solstice approaches, naturally thoughts turn to the Cailleach here in Scotland. The Crone of Winter some call her; she is the one who made the landscape as the old tales tell. She shoes up in the romantic poetry of the eighteenth century, such…
The Devil’s Manacles!
THE DEVIL’S MANACLES! There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think socks are fluffy and cosy — and those who know the truth! They are a trap of the dark satanic forces! When you walk through the door, do you kick off your shoes and peel off those diabolical skins? Then…
The Eyes Follow You Around the Room
I’d not been to the National in some time and it was hot and I was tired from running around London already that day so after a nice lunch (peh!) in the crypt at St Martin’s I crossed the road to see some old favourites. Title many of you will know was taken from this…
Matinee: A Damsel in Distress
Sometimes you need to cheer yourself up with a little hoofin’ and laughing and ingenue romance. As I did the other day thanks to iPlayer. A Damsel in Distress was just what the day needed: Fred Astaire, George and Gracie in London where a most youthful Joan Fontaine has fallen for an American and of…
Irreverent Tarot 11: Etteilla’s Creation
ETTEILLA & CREATION The Grand #Etteilla, featuring his thematic desire to encode the creation story into the opening sequence of cards — and why his Fool and Magician are in such unexpected locations. Also a bit about the astrological associations he gives the cards. If you’re unfamiliar with the first professional cartomancer from the 18th…
Play Reading: BELL
This special HVWG event will be a live, “radio play” style performance of two plays written by local playwrights. This live performance will not include any sets, costumes, or frills – just actors on stage, reading the parts, breathing life into our playwrights’ words. The first play, “Bell” is a short, humorous, single-scene play written…
Irreverent Tarot Ep 1
Because having eleventy million things to do is not much different than doing eleventy million and one, I decided to start a micro-podcast to share weird tarot things that have been obsessing me as I dive deeper into the history. The first one has to do with this nineteenth century deck — so-called Egyptian, as…
Is It Funny? Ep 4 on YT – Beyond the Fringe
Episode 4 is up! This one mostly covers Beyond the Fringe, especially the records. I don’t even mention getting my program signed by Jonathan Miller when he spoke at Skidmore! Original airdate Sep 2020. Now with added images but no Ken Burns effect because I am trying not to add to my workload (and yet…another…