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...
"The Storyteller" Book Cover The Storyteller by Chris Trotter " It's just another summer holiday at the caravan park, and thirteen-year-old Jamie is feeling unloved, unwanted and thoroughly confused. With a recovering alcoholic mother, unresponsive sister Lauren, and aggressive father, he has little to celebrate. But at the park's funfair, a hidden secret comes to light which will change his and Lauren's lives forever. Reeling from this disclosure, Jamie stumbles into a never-explored area of the park. Here he meets a gypsy whose gift in storytelling might give him the insight to support his sister when she most needs it and help the teenager make sense of his life. Or is that lives? In this innovative first novel by Chris Trotter, The Storyteller explores the poignancy of friendship and love, and how in the cycle of life, there may be more than one chance to make things right. Using a unique blend of traditional fiction and fantasy, Chri...