I have a quick update for you on my plans for content on this site for the remainder of 2023 and beyond. Up until now, I’ve focussed on writing long-form pieces that tell particular tales, highlight some of my favourite journeys, or deliver ideas I feel to be particularly important. I will continue to publish pieces like this – and I have one brewing on Edinburgh legends that I am particularly eager to share soon. They will, however, be less frequent over the next little while than heretofore.
Instead, I’ll be focussing on delivering shorter pieces covering different aspects of Celtic culture. These will be grouped in four branches, arranged as follows:
- Branch 1 – Places
- Branch 2 – Stories
- Branch 3 – Songs
- Branch 4 – People
Places will cover some of the places I know best, detailing their highlights and explaining how best to reach them. I will start with the two parts of the world I know best; southern Scotland, centring on Edinburgh, and southern Brittany, centring on Vannes. I’ll aim to give material that is practically useful, and provides a Celtic slant on experiencing both of these regions.
Stories will provide modern-English versions of traditional Celtic tales, helping make more accessible some wonderful narratives that have slipped from the public eye. These will focus on the legends of the Anglo-Scottish Borderland, and Breton/Breton-influenced tales that connect to them; there’s a huge amount that’s shared between the two cultures, and I’ll try to explain how and why that came to be as we go along.
Songs will highlight some of my favourite tracks from the traditional music of Scotland and Brittany; old folksongs, modern tracks from the traditional genre, and some more avant-garde pieces from the Celtic fusion genre too. Music is a huge part of Celtic culture, and a massive part of the culture in modern Scotland and Brittany both; I look forward to showcasing some beautiful tracks that deserve wider exposure.
Lastly, people will deliver interviews with people involved in exploring the lands and cultures highlighted on this site. There are a great many creators, tradition-bearers, researchers and outdoor explorers who do a wonderful job of nurturing and evolving the traditions of these lands; it will be a pleasure and a privilege for me to give some coverage to their work. If you feel you’d have something interesting to say, do feel free to get in touch!
I hope these pieces will prove engaging, and that they’ll provide a greater, more regular stream of content for readers visiting this site. The lay-out of the site will steadily adjust to reflect the new content divisions.
Beyond these articles, I will also soon start to share some photos from the journeys contained in my book via my social feeds. For those who have read the book already, these should provide an exciting new window into the landscapes it describes – and if you haven’t yet given it a read, seeing the quality of places included may well encourage you to do so! To see these, and to be notified of the latest website articles, do give me a follow on Facebook, X or Instagram.
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