Wessex Hag

As crowds descend upon Stonehenge in their thousands, the Tor offers a more intimate but equally spiritual site to welcome in the solstice sunrise. Join me (and my dog) on a ten mile ramble from Glastonbury to the Ham Wall wetlands, a route that's perfect for these long summer days. Along the way, we'll explore Shakepearean themes, hazardous badger setts, dragonflies and ancient sites of Western mythology.

Stay tuned to the end to hear a live recording of an original song written in reverence of the timeless eye of the Tor, watching over the changing Somerset landscape.

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Here is the saved route on Komoot if you fancy following our loop:

https://www.komoot.com/tour/2949594273?share_token=aeA1HYGNHaeb7rQ82RgoICTYhgZGsvcmHrxWANqmbnx2C1kCM8&ref=wtd&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=3003329839780

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Hop aboard the horsebox to come carolling round a Somerset parish. Trundling along the lanes, we'll share superstitions tied up in evergreens and how the customs of the Twelve Days has evolved since Dickens changed the spirit of Christmas forever.

Written and produced by Rosie May

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We're in the season of illuminations! From the failed gunpowder plot of 1605 to the dazzling processions of Bridgwater carnival, Somerset has developed a dazzling inheritance of wielding light in the encroaching darkness of November.

Many thanks to my friend Ben Johnson and his brilliant production students for assisting me in making some gorgeously weird and beautiful music for this episode.

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Written and produced by Rosie May

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A history of Bridgwater Carnival 

Timelapse of carnival procession

Squibbing at Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival 2013

A history of the squibbing tradition

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The glorious arc of autumn tends to bring up complex emotions in us. On one hand, we're desperate to make the most of the awe and splendour of the changing colours, loading up our camera rolls with the same orange canopies. On the other, it's a sobering reminder of the passing of time and the inevitable decay of life. I invite you on a reflective stroll through the linguistic roots of some autumnal words that may help to cast new light on the cycle of the earth, one which can reassure us that death and decay are not necessarily the same thing.

(My apologies for the belatedness of this instalment; Covid and a new puppy got in the way!)

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Lucy Wright discusses 'Dusking' - The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast

The Dusking ethos - 2024

'Decadence and the Phenomenon of Generations’ - Julien Freund

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There is cosmic alignment in the heavens and ovens this time of year. The autumn equinox is a moment of perfect balance between light and dark, and this gentle ramble along the hedgerow reveals secrets that connect the Anglo-Saxon coin purse to the Libra constellation. And jam.

Written and produced by Rosie May

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Patsy's blackberry vinegar recipe

'Sauerkraut' comic, Jayde Perkin

BS3 Jammin', Bristol

History of Jam (National Geographic)

Virgo constellation (NASA)

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Who is the Green Man? This mysterious figure has a history soaked in speculation and misinterpretation. Today he is broadly recognised as a neo-Pagan icon and a modern symbol for environmentalism. However, his mythology is surpisingly modern and I invite you on a weird and winding trail that connects him to the biggest land grab in human history. Let the Green Man guide us along an astonishing ramble through endangered woodlands, Victorian journals, Christian scripture, Right to Roam, the Witch Trials and a royal coronation.

Is he truly worthy of his green deity status?

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Written and produced by Rosie May. You can support my work by leaving a lovely review, donating at the Wessex Hag Bandcamp and telling a hag-minded mate about the show!

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My recommended places and materials for tracing the Green Man:

VISIT:

Cothelstone church (Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Quantock Hills)

Crowcombe church (Church of the Holy Ghost, Quantock Hills)

Broomfield church (Church of St Mary & All Saints, Quantock Hills)

Hatch Beauchamp parish church (St John the Baptist, nr Taunton)

St Mary Redcliffe parish church (Bristol)

READ:

The "Green Man" in Church Architecture - Lady Raglan (aka Julia Somerset) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1257090?seq=1

Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You - Nick Hayes & Jon Moses (2024)

Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe - Ronald Hutton (2022)

Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm - Isabella Tree (2018)

WATCH:

The Wicker Man (1973) - obv!

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Autumn begins on 1st August (if you're Anglo Saxon), marked by The Feast of the First Fruits. Harvest time must be the most bucolic time in the rural landscape, but let me tell you about the gruesome ritual sacrifice of poor old John Barleycorn that ensures we get a tot of whiskey and a nice loaf of bread.

Show announcement! Live Wessex Hag storytelling + Blabbermouth: Sunday 26th October - Cafe Kino, Bristol.

Tickets and info here: https://hdfst.uk/e133077

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The perfect Lammas soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkRiKeg7TPg

Robert Burns's 'John Barleycorn' poem in full:

http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/john_barleycorn.htm

Running through the fields of wheat (lest we forget):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNQE4bzFkyU

Find me on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/wessex_hag

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Roadside memorials are a form of folk ritual. We leave offerings and messages for the dead wherever we feel closest to them, and the gifts and imagery we leave in these places are both deeply personal and strangely universal; plastic flowers on an A-road; memorial plaques on the fringes of nowhere. Join me and rambling artist Man in the Woods on a gentle stroll through a diverse landscape of ancient battlegrounds, a public swimming pool, a boyband music video and the eerie expanse of Sedgemoor.

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Links to work by Man in the Woods:

https://www.maninthewoods.co.uk/about

https://www.instagram.com/man.in.the.woods/?hl=en

Articles about Somerset memorials for Princess Diana and Liam Payne:

https://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/14335229.celebrity-look-back-princess-diana-opens-sedgemoor-splash-in-bridgwater/ 

https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/15506691.how-somerset-was-united-by-grief-following-the-tragic-death-of-princess-diana-20-years-on/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5yxw6el05o 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c99yyjd7jddo

Account of the Battle of Sedgemoor/Monmouth Rebellion:

https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/sedgemoor/ 

Swan Mussels:

https://mussel-project.uwsp.edu/motm/2004/04-12.html

Weird Somerset:

https://www.instagram.com/weird_somerset/ 

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Maybe you've experienced Glastonbury Festival, but do you know the strange origins of this iconic event? It's weirder than you might think. Follow me on a ramble through Worthy Farm to discover how Somerset came to host one of the world's biggest festivals, unearthing stories of ley lines, wartime Britain, spirit seekers and rebel aristocrats. Reflecting on the month of June, we also observe the cosmic importance of the summer solstice and why midsummer is inherently woven into the history of Glastonbury.

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Written and produced by Rosie May

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Book recommendations:

Electric Eden - Rob Young

Glastonbury Festival Tales - Crispin Aubrey, John Shearlaw

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The origins of the word 'hag' wends its way along ancient hedgerows and exists as a living memento of Old English. From the Anglo-Saxons, to witchcraft, to capitalism: follow me on a linguistic ramble to unveil the political and folkloric meanings behind this word that has long been wielded as a tool for sexism and ageism. In our era of climate crisis, we may observe how it is the perfect time to reclaim the word as a potent symbol of reconnection with the natural world.

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Lucy Wright - Hedge Morris:

https://www.lucywright.art/works/hedgemorris

Icy Sedgwick - hawthorn mythology

https://www.icysedgwick.com/hawthorn-folklore/

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