Category Archives: Folklore

The Shrieking Pits

Posted on July 7, 2020 by East of Elveden

Tucked away in the north Norfolk coastal hinterland, close to the villages of Overstrand and Northrepps, is a group of small ponds known as the Shrieking Pits. More of the same can also be found a few miles further west … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, Norfolk | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Shirley Collins and the fall of Eden

Posted on January 12, 2018 by East of Elveden

In 1969 an album was released entitled Anthems in Eden. Its creators were sisters Shirley and Dolly Collins, folk musicians who hailed from Sussex in southern England. Released on the newly created Harvest label, and much lauded by the likes … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, music | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Under the Greenwood Tree – Forest Bathing in the Deep, Deep Woods of Coed Felinrhyd

Posted on September 5, 2017 by East of Elveden

The Japanese have an expression – shirin-yoku (‘forest bathing’) — which refers to time spent in a wood or forest for purposes of health and relaxation. Scientific field studies have demonstrated that spending even a short time among trees promotes … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, Travel, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hethel Old Thorn

Posted on December 16, 2016 by East of Elveden

If trees could only speak. If they had some semblance of sentience and memory, and a means of communication, what would they tell us? Ancient trees – or at least those we suspect to be very old – are usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, History, Norfolk, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lunar Sun (Ra)

Posted on June 10, 2015 by East of Elveden

This post comes not from Elveden or points east but from Arden, as in Tanworth-in-Arden; from the lush green countryside between Redditch and Solihull in northwest Warwickshire, that rolling bucolic Eden that lies just south of the diesel-rank treadmill that … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, music | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Easter Eggs

Posted on April 3, 2015 by East of Elveden

Easter, as well as its obvious Christian association, has strong connections with the giving and receiving of eggs in one form or another. In Britain, and in no doubt much of Western Europe and North America, we give chocolate eggs … Continue reading →

Posted in Eastern Europe, Folklore, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Whittlesea Straw Bear

Posted on January 12, 2015 by East of Elveden

If you venture to Whittlesea, at the edge of the Fens near Peterborough, during the second weekend in January you cannot help but notice that strange straw animals and oddly attired people have taken over the streets of this small market … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, History | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments