Today, in Caithness, the sun is shining and the air is clear. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that, certain weathers and certain times of the year ignite certain music in me. And, on late winter days which are filled with sunshine, I am usually to be found singing the songs of The Spinners . Inevitably, I start humming different ones of their songs (and of course adapting them to be about Orlando and Jess) as I go around doing different things. But I remember almost all the words to them. I haven't heard a lot of them in years, but they are all there, rooted in my memory. It is truly fascinating to think about how these songs have passed through history. They are part of my own nostalgia, which is why crisp sunny mornings make me incapable of ignoring the temptation to sing them, but they are part of something much bigger. There are songs amongst them which are a newer step in the folk music movement. Songs like Silver in the Stubble are amongs...
Today I just want to take the opportunity to wish you and your family and friends a very merry Christmas! I love writing Christmas from the past. There is something simultaneously simplistic and exuberant about earlier Christmases, and it is a great opportunity to look into the emotive side of personal history. You can tell a lot about an historical person by looking at how they regarded Christmas. So here is a couple of snippets from Beneath Black Clouds and White which show two very different Christmases: https://www.stompermcewan.com/beneath-black-clouds-and-white-christmas And, if it catches your eye, the eBook is currently free on Smashwords . Have a Very Merry Christmas, Historical Fiction Fans!