Lecture: British Folk Horror

 I was stuck for something to do today, until I remembered something I saw advertised on Facebook - there was a talk about British Folk Horror tonight! Courtesy of Seed Talks. I was too late to book an in-person ticket, so I booked one for the livestream - tickets from Eventbrite.

Work finished in nice time to get something to eat first - so I schlepped off to my local Wetherspoon's, the Pommeler's Rest! Damn cold out, too. Got a table without issue - except that it was a bit snug, and if I moved the table back enough so I could squeeze in without having to push the chair in the way of the stairs, then the gap between my table and the adjacent one would be challenging for anyone to squeeze through.. And I was in line with the door. Which wasn't actually a problem, I was far enough from it - just as well, considering the number of people who left it open..

Had my usual katsu, which was lovely, even the third day in a row - might have been my imagination, but I felt there was more chicken in this one. And I had time for a dessert - a couple of scoops of vanilla with both chocolate and toffee sauce.. and it was just divine. (Came with two spoons, interestingly, although there was no-one else at my table..) Nicely fed me for the walk home. Amid rampaging cyclists.. one middle-aged woman had to wait, at a zebra crossing, while they all sped past her. I really don't know why they bother putting zebra crossings on cycle lanes, most cyclists either don't know the rules of the road, or don't care..

Logged on for 7pm, the time I'd been given - only to discover the talk didn't start till 7:30. FFS.. at least that gave me time to run to the loo.

I wouldn't have chosen the graphic, but anyway. 

Honestly, I didn't learn much from this talk, which was on quite a basic level. It is interesting, however, to focus on knowledge we take for granted - danger lurks in dark places, such as forests or caves, and a lot of folk horror concerns urbanised, "civilised" people out of their depth in rural, "backwoods" communities - we can all come up with a list of stories of that kind. And I did think it was interesting that she chose the image from The Blair Witch Project - not British, as she pointed out, but such an iconic example of this kind of folklore.

The next slide was about the old tradition of storytelling - how it wasn't just for children, involved music, dance, acting.. well, of course, modern storytellers carry on that tradition just as it was ever done, and that's the storytelling I go to all the time. (That slide, in common with others, had glaring typos - this is a talk she's evidently given before.. considering she jumped past many slides.. surely she could proofread it! It matters, it's distracting.)

There was an interesting piece about "witches' marks" around deep, dark places - invocations against evil spirits. "V V" denotes the Virgin Mary (Virgin of Virgins) - "PM" stands for "Pace Maria". Stone Circles are a natural focal point for lore - also churches, graveyards.

She then went on to folkloric creatures - the "black dog" features prominently. Not werewolves though - apart from the Werewolves of Ossory, an Irish legend. (Never before heard of them, myself.) Shapeshifters, fairies.. not beings to be messed with, those: they might be tricksters, but they're not stupid or childish, and not to be crossed. Ghosts. Witches - she was apologetic about putting up that slide - and their familiars. And, of course, talking about dogs, you couldn't forget The Hound of the Baskervilles..

She had three whole slides about Dracula:

She moved on to a few classic films of the 60s and 70s - Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan's Claw, and - of course - The Wickerman. And finally, a fun Q+ A about what frightens us now.

I did get some references - did a lot of screenshotting of slides. We have been promised the recording - no sign yet - and some people wondered whether we'd get the slide deck. Probably not. As I say, a very entry-level talk, and a bit cobbled together - typos abounded, and she could have prepared a slide deck for this talk specifically, rather than zipping through slides she said she hadn't time for. Still, it's an interesting topic - pity about the delivery. I'll say this, it was nice not to have to travel across town for once - I feel like I managed to get a couple more things done this evening as a result!

Tomorrow, I'm thinking of heading to see Is This Thing On? A comedy about a guy who, having marital problems, heads to a bar - only to find it's open mic night, and he can't get a drink unless he does a turn on stage: so, for the first time ever, he attempts a bit of stand-up comedy. Directed and co-written by Bradley Cooper, it stars Laura Dern as the wife - and as told to me by someone at The Cartoon Museum, it's inspired by the story of John Bishop! Nearest showing to me is in the Curzon Aldgate.

Then it's two more days with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - on Wednesday, Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse (SP), booked on their excellent (but now, sadly, expired) PAYG offer, where you paid £60 for access to up to five productions. I made sure to book another set before they expired!

On Thursday, we're at Monstering the Rocketman, in the Arcola - the true story of the biggest libel suit in British history, with Sir Elton John suing The Sun for falsely claiming he'd used prostitutes. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend- good weekend not to be in London, with Valentine's Day in the middle..

And next Monday, back with UITCS again, at SP again, and again with PAYG, for Beautiful Little Fool, the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, as told by their daughter.