There’s nothing quite so peculiarly English as Morris dancing. Only in this island kingdom could the populace collectively decide that the best way to summon spring, frighten away demons, and cheer up the neighbours was to strap bells to one’s shins, wave hankies in the air, and smack one another with sticks. It’s both sublime … Continue reading The Jangle of Bells and the Old Dame of Music Halls
Tag: Writing
The Wooden Shadow: Laura Purcell’s Silent Companions and the Gothic of Hollow Lives
Laura Purcell’s The Silent Companions - a book which proves, if nothing else, that the Victorians couldn’t leave well enough alone. If it wasn’t séances or table-tipping, it was cardboard aristocrats painted to look like Aunt Mildred, propped up in drawing rooms like the world’s most unnerving IKEA mannequins. History assures us they were ‘decorative,’ … Continue reading The Wooden Shadow: Laura Purcell’s Silent Companions and the Gothic of Hollow Lives
The Repudiators and the Inheritance of the West
“A culture of repudiation has taken hold among our elites, who will celebrate every culture but their own, and who see in the inheritance of the West not an achievement to be cherished but a crime to be atoned for.” - Sir Roger Scruton There’s something eerily biblical about Scruton’s lament. I think of the … Continue reading The Repudiators and the Inheritance of the West
The Fires That Cleanse: On Purgatory, Scripture, and the Uneasy Middle
On the back of a rotten dream and a few following unsettled nights, I dragged just about every scriptural reference book I own out, blew off the dust, and began scratching out the following. It’s heavy but it’s worth the toil. I think. The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory has always been a scandal to the … Continue reading The Fires That Cleanse: On Purgatory, Scripture, and the Uneasy Middle
The Petty Jealousy of a Pretender: George R. R. Martin vs. Tolkien
I recently stumbled across a post taking shots at Tolkien, quoting George R. R. Martin’s usual grumblings about The Lord of the Rings - no tax policies for Aragorn, evil vanquished too ‘neatly’ when the Ring was destroyed, destiny over realism, and so on. The more I read, the more it irritated me. Tolkien wasn’t … Continue reading The Petty Jealousy of a Pretender: George R. R. Martin vs. Tolkien
Wording 