I really enjoyed this piece - not just because I love folklore in general! It was absolutely fascinating to learn about goodman’s crofts, and see it as another example of suppressed pagan beliefs resurfacing as we seek (or remember) ways to connect with nature.
Sadly I can’t remember details offhand, nor the council involved, but John Rogers posted a video on YouTube fairly recently about a London river being allowed to revert to its natural course within a local green space. Whether pagan-inspired or not, I’m taking it as a small sign of hope that - maybe - people are beginning to stop making enemies of the land.
Thank you Meg, thank you Sui. And a happy new year to you both 💐
Thank you for writing such a wonderful article, it made me think of my grandmother's farm in the northwest of Ireland, where in the centre of the field closest to the house grows a thick old copse of Hawthorne trees. The land has been tended by our ancestors for generations and no one has touched this small wild area out of respect, if not fear for the fairies....
I really enjoyed this piece - not just because I love folklore in general! It was absolutely fascinating to learn about goodman’s crofts, and see it as another example of suppressed pagan beliefs resurfacing as we seek (or remember) ways to connect with nature.
Sadly I can’t remember details offhand, nor the council involved, but John Rogers posted a video on YouTube fairly recently about a London river being allowed to revert to its natural course within a local green space. Whether pagan-inspired or not, I’m taking it as a small sign of hope that - maybe - people are beginning to stop making enemies of the land.
Thank you Meg, thank you Sui. And a happy new year to you both 💐
Thank you for writing such a wonderful article, it made me think of my grandmother's farm in the northwest of Ireland, where in the centre of the field closest to the house grows a thick old copse of Hawthorne trees. The land has been tended by our ancestors for generations and no one has touched this small wild area out of respect, if not fear for the fairies....