A Week of Horror

Monday; May Day. A day in the Pagan Year called Beltane, meaning 'day of fire'. Maypole dancing and wicker men all over the country.
As Lord Summerisle sang 'Summer is icumen in, loudly sing cuckoo. Grows the seed and blows the mead, and springs the wood anew. Sing, cuckoo! Ewe bleats harshly after lamb, cows after calves make moo.'

Here's a fine example of a Wicker Man

Anyway, as a family of pagans, off we went to sacrifice a goat and dance around the maypole. Naturally Highgate village is the centre of this kind of activity in North London, and we caught the bus to Waterlow Park in order to join in. Well 50% ain't bad and so we got to enjoy the Maypole dancing.


We looked everywhere for a wicker man, but this is the closest we found. We got asked to leave when we set fire to it and a got a goat out of my backback. I've no idea why.

Wednesday. Two days after Mayday. A day in the Pagan Year called Cavledar, meaning the 'Day of Horrors'. Vile and terrifying stories being told regaled across the land. The Big Green Bookshop boasted some of the finest of that horror as 3 exciting, talented and chilling writers came to the shop to entertain us.
Joseph D'Lacey, author of the magnificent Meat, and his newly published disturbing beast of a book Garbage Man (to be reviewed very soon), Bill Hussey, author of Through a Glass Darkly, and his newly published atmospheric masterpiece The Absence (to be reviewed very soon), and Mathew F Riley, winner of the British Fantasy Society's Short Story 2008 competition, and fellow West Country boy.
They each read extracts of stories and answered far too many questions than they had to. from L-R. Lee Casey (who designed the wonderful Limited Edition chapbook that was available to all those who turned up), Joseph, Mathew and Bill.
It was a brilliant night and both books have been flying out of the door since we got them (it's the devil's work I tell you).

No more horror since then, except our business rates bill...