I like walking. I walk several days a week. I don’t mind familiar walks as there is always something new and unexpected to find out. One day I might be trying to sort out the wild angelica from the cow parsnip. No. neither are giant hogweed! Another time I might just admire the profusion of wild garlic and keep hoping for bluebells.
I also like books. It may sound a bit odd, but my walks are when I get to read. Audio books are the best! I can fully concentrate while I am walking, take in so much more than if I were sitting, and, if something curious catches my ear, I can always note down the time frame for later.
I like walking. I am not ambling, marching, or hiking. I am just out on a ramble. And when I ramble, I get to find new views to absorb, new paths to follow, new connections to make. Being a storyteller, I also like metaphors. Oh well!
Each month (or thereabouts) , look out for a new ‘Chris’ Ramble‘ audio post. Join me as I explore, unexpected story landscapes, with the occasional surprising hills, and plenty of hidden connecting paths. Feel free to join me. Let me know what you think and add your own thoughts and ideas. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Chris’ Rambles so far.
- Chris’ Ramble 1: Mercator the map maker and the Tuatha Dé Danann: What might a sixteenth century map, maker, an excentric English polymath and a medieval Irish monk, have in common?
- Chris’ Ramble 2: David and Goliath, meet Lugh and Balor?: Chris explores Irish oral story transmission and wonders if stories sometimes need map makers to stop them getting lost.
- Chris Ramble 3: Is This Not A Story Worth The Telling?: Discover why many of the best stories contain the environmental messages which are still highly relevant today.
- Chris’ Ramble 4: Walking with Sheela-na-gigs SacrumProfanum by Benjamin Dwyer is an exploration of the Sheela-Na-gig through music. This ramble explores its deep poetic qualities.
- Chris’ Ramble 5: The Landscape of Stories: Join Chris and explore just how much the environment in which the stories were imaginged mayalter the way they are told..
- Chris’ Ramble 6: So Just How Old are the Irish Stories? What evidence is there for early dates for the Irish mythological texts?
- Chris’ Ramble 7. What’s in a Name? : Culture heroes, ancestor figures, genii loci, gods and godesses Can all, or any of these terms be useful in defining some favourite characters in Irish mythology,
- Chris’ Ramble 8: A Story for our Times: The Táin Bó Cúailnge is an dramatic epic well worth the telling. Chris explores the telling of the tales and encounters a fresh resonance for our times.
- Chris’Ramble 9: An Irish Winter Solstice Journey: An exploration of Solstice sites and stories.
- Chris’s Ramble 10: Stories to Remember: A new Schools Folklore project. The National Folklore Schools Collection was compiled in 1937. What might a similarly gathered collecton look like today?
- Chris’s Ramble 11: Romancing the Neolithic Stone: New and fascinating evidence on connections between some important sites in Neolithic times.
- Chris’ Ramble 12: The Rider on the River: An exploration of three geat rivers inspired by the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics.
- Chris Ramble’13: Exploring Samhain: A glimpse into the past. A ‘deep dive’ into the Schools’ collection as a source for Halloween customs and activities.
- Chris Ramble 14: Introducing Banbha. This explores a very early trio of sisters and discovers that one of them, Banbha, has a much older pedigree. This episode is dedicated to ny new granddaughter born on 23rd October 2024 and named Banbha.
- Chris’s Ramble 15: Lament for the Ash. The effects of the die-back disease are slowly destroying most of Ireland’s beautiful ash trees. Join Chris as she explores the sad story of this tree-tragedy that began in Leitrim more than a decade ago now and why it is important that everyone should know what is happening to our woodlands.
- Chris’ Ramble 16: Oíche na Gaoithe Móire ~The Night of the Big Wind. Stories of The Big Wind of 1839 have been told and retold in Ireland for all of 186 years. Join Chris as she explores what makes weather events such as Oíche na Gaoithe Móire so memorable and considers whether Storm Eowyn, a storm of a similar destructive nature, will still be remembered so far into the future.