Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I, chs. iii-xvi) the founder of Britain is Brutus, a great-grandson of Aeneas, outlawed after accidentally killing his father. The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember. But in the fields and villages around her beloved Wych Farm the Great War still casts a shadow over a community impoverished by economic depression, and threatened by change. Change, too, is coming to Edie, who at fourteen must soon face the unsettling pressures of adulthood. Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to document fading rural traditions and beliefs, urging all who will listen to resist progress and return to the old ways — but some wonder whether there might be more to the glamorous older woman than meets the eye. As harvest approaches and the future of Wych Farm itself grows uncertain, Edie must somehow find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster. OAT is based on the popular Rider, Waite, Smith format, making it easy for anyone familiar with Tarot to use, and you can use most Tarot books to help with understanding the cards and their meanings if needed. Reference Cards If you find this talk of little people and Hidden Folk rather off-putting and twee, don’t worry, these characters, along with all the other wild creatures, once played a key role as guardians of the Wild World and they are worthy of our appreciation and admiration. I was convinced that the secret world of wild creatures not only exists but that we need to understand and promote it if we are to survive. We must learn how to live together, the wild creatures know this, but mortals are still learning the essential lessons of harmony. In a book that nods to classic childrens fare, such as The Little Grey Men by “B.B.” and The Borrowers by Mary Norton, this is a story filled with natural history and wonder. Harrison doesn’t so much create a world as she does show us what it really there; what has always been there, if we have eyes to see. Lovingly painted characters and landscapes expose a world of tiny beings, the overlooked environment of our day-to-day life. As the Hidden Folk consider their own continued existence in the world, they ponder the behaviour of humans; why we do the things we do, what we consider important and everything we miss or ignore in the world. They want to understand why some humans (most usually children) can see and speak to them and others seem to forget. (There is a short, wonderful scene in the beginning when a young child, Ro discovers them and can even speak the language of natures’ creatures, the Wild Argot. Really makes you wonder!)
Chicken House Books - By Ash, Oak and Thorn
It's the kind of book that makes me want to go outside and try to notice and take care of every little thing surrounding me. I will send you Geoffrey of Monmouth where is a lot of names-might prove useful-rum names, Sir, as ever was. He’s a author as has been down in the market but is looking up now, and though his style is pomptious, being wrote in Latin he didn’t understand, scholars is beginning to depend on him a good deal, as having got his stories out of old books, and not making them up himself as was for a long time supposed. In her Note from the Author, she tells us that “ the only creature that’s forgotten how to communicate with the Wild World is we humans.” Thankfully her tone is never preachy or overtly political; she makes her views known clearly and firmly and you are never in doubt as to where she stands.
This is a lovely book exploring nature, protecting it and connecting with it, all told through an adventure by the Wild Folk- Moss, Burnet, Cumulus- who are similar to borrowers but who have protected nature from the beginning of time. But things are changing, and Cumulus and Burnet are beginning to disappear, and they set out of a quest to find more like them, to find out why. This harmony is realised beautifully when Melissa Harrison describes the relationships between the animals in the Wild World. Moss has gone missing and the others are frightened of meeting Vesper, a vixen enlisted to help them find their friend, but they are told that they can trust her and … “ the moment they were looking up at the vixen’s beautiful golden eyes, they found that they could communicate quite easily…..just as they had with all the other creatures they had met.” Andrews, W.(ed.)(1897) 'Antiquities and Curiosities of the Church, William Andrews & Co., London 1897; pp. 256-278: 'Amongst the ancients the yew, like the cypress, was regarded as the emblem of death. The poem was also later included in Songs from Books and DV. In both a head date of AD 1200 is added.
Books by Melissa – Melissa Harrison
Despite a few very dark moments, this was such a sweet story. I love a good animal adventure story, because it's usually got a lot of brilliant nature writing, strange but lovable characters and some form of ecological disaster looming. Obviously I don't love the last part, I just like reading about it and how the characters try to help. Friendship between species is also a recurring thing in these kinds of stories. By Ash, Oak and Thorn has all of this, in addition to a few inventive scenes straight out of The Wind in the Willows. All in all, I think the simple lessons and childlike nature of this book is not only relevant in our busy world, but are also extremely valuable lessons for all of humanity, if we only take the time to listen to them openly and non-judgementally. Shelley is a Canadian born Witch, from an old English family. I have been practicing my craft for over 30 years and come by it very naturally. My family has a long heritage of being witches. My grandmother in particular was very gifted. When she passed very suddenly and unexpectedly, the next day a bouquet of flowers arrived for me. They were from her with a note that said, “I have a feeling you are incredibly sad about something and I wanted to send all my love. Love Nan“. This was just one of many instances of my grandmothers incredible abilities. The oak tree features prominently in many Celtic cultures. The ancient geographer Strabo (1st century AD) reported that the important sacred grove and meeting-place of the Galatian Celts of Asia Minor, Drunemeton, was filled with oaks. In an often-cited passage from Historia Naturalis (1st century AD), Pliny the Elder describes a festival on the sixth day of the moon where the druids climbed an oak tree, cut a bough of mistletoe, and sacrificed two white bulls as part of a fertility rite. Britons under Roman occupation worshipped a goddess of the oak tree, Daron, whose name is commemorated in a rivulet in Gwynedd. According to the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála 'Book of Invasions', the sacred oak of early Ireland was that of Mugna, probably located at or near Dunmanogoe, south Co. Kildare. Sacred associations of oaks survived Christianization, so that St Brigit's monastic foundation was at Cill Dara, 'church of (the) oak', i.e. Kildare, and St Colum Cille favoured Doire Calgaich 'Calgach's oak grove', i.e. Derry; see also Durrow, darú, from dair magh, 'oak plain'. In Welsh tradition Gwydion and Math use the flower of oak with broom to fashion the beautiful Blodeuwedd. When Lleu Llaw Gyffes is about to be killed by Gronw Pebyr, his wife's lover, he escapes in eagle form onto a magic oak tree. In British fairy lore, the oak is one of three primary magical woods, along with ash and thorn.
Melissa Harrison
We follow Moss, Burnet and Cumulus, three little creatures known as Hidden Folk, who have started to become invisible. They decide to search for an answer to what's happening to them, while also looking for other Hidden Folk, as they haven't seen any in a long time. Positively soaking in flora and fauna with a host of wonderful creatures to guide the Hidden Folk on their way, Harrison presents a call to arms for the young reader to embrace the natural world whatever it looks like and wherever it may be found. There were times when I thought that the narrator trod close to 'telling' rather than 'showing' but the story, characters and sense of place were more than enough to find a balance between that sense of an invitation rather than being a guide who pointed ideologies out to the young reader.
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