2019-07-01_Country_Homes_Interiors

OneofBritain’s

biggestenigmas,

Stonehengeis

steeped in legend

Live Life weLL

I’vealwayslovedfairytales.I was

givena copyofGrimm’sComplete

FairyTaleswhenI wasaroundnine

yearsoldandI rememberreading

it fromcovertocover,overandover

again–HanselandGretel,Rapunzel,

TheThreeSpinners...I lovedthem

all.Throughoutlife,themagicof

thosetaleshasstayedwithme.

Fleetingglimpsesofwhatmight

justbea fairyinthewoods,ora

giantpeeringthroughthecrevicein

therocks– forme,that’swhatfolklore

isallabout.Fairytales,traditionsand

littlesuperstitions,theystrikea chord.

Wesharethemwithourchildren,

sotheypassdownfromgeneration

togeneration.Communityis atthe

veryheartoffolkloreandI lovethat.

Despiteitsgroundinginthepast,

I find it fascinating how folklore is still

sorelevanttoday.Oldertalesare

beingreworkedtoreflectmodern

ideals,withwritersretellingtalesto

showcasestrongerfemalecharacters

thattakeactionforthemselves.It’s

greattoseehowtheycanstill

resonateintoday’ssociety.

I mustadmit,someofthemore

everydayoldwives’talesaremy

favourite.I trynottosteponcracks

inthepavementorwalkunder

ladders,butI dodrawthelineat

breakingthebottomofmyeggshells

tostopwitchessailingofftosea!

Whatweknowofearlyfolkloreis

piecedtogetherfromoldmanuscripts

andnotallofthesehavesurvived.

Buttoday,technologymakesit so

mucheasiertokeepthestoriesalive.

Istartedchattingwithfellowfolklore

enthusiast @WillowWinsham on

Twitterandwecameupwiththe

ideaofcreatinga weeklyhashtag,

#FolkloreThursday,whichpeople

couldusetofindandsharetales,

traditions,superstitionsandmore

fromanywhereintheworld.

I’dencourageanyonetojoin

in– eachweektherearenewposts

toreadonallsortsofinterests,

fromnatureandhomemakingto

witchcraftandlegends,andyoucan

addyourown,too.It’sa reallylovely

way of connecting with the past.

feATURe

TARA KING

PHOTOGRAPH

ENGlIsh hERITAGE

DiscoversomeofDee

Dee’sfavouritetales

andmythsinherbook

A TreasuryofBritish

Folklore(£12.99,

National Trust)

My country passion

Folklore and fairy tales

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