Last night I got back from a short, sudden trip to England with my son, Aidan. What a great trip. We flew in and out of lesser used Manchester Airport in Northern England rather than London to visit new friends and my sister and her family in the North. We took all necessary precautions, and some extras, wiping down seats, arms, and seat backs on the plane with antiseptic wipes, not touching hand-rails, or if we caught each other doing that, immediately washing our hands with bleach and alcohol swabs. And we are self-isolating and monitoring ourselves now we are back.

As the Coronavirus (CORVID-19) spreads I am thinking about canceled gigs, lost revenue, people who need stories whether they are in schools, community centers (or centres as we write in the UK), or libraries, I am thinking of doing some sort of live FB gigs/presentations, or extend my podcast over the next few weeks, maybe months. If I were to do this, what, if you are a home-schooler or educator, would you like to see, or hear? What would possibly help you through isolation, self-family-quarantine? Subjects, topics, myths, legends? This would be something anyone can access at anytime, and would not be fee-based, but ‘donations’ could be made through my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/simonbrooks)

Write me back and let me know. If this is going to happen, I want to get on this sooner rather than later and would like to make it something that works for YOU.

Anyway, my last Friday my son and I got on a plane to Manchester, England. When we landed on Saturday morning we got in our hired car and I drove up to the Lake District. I went there once when I was a young child and remember the stunning hills, but I was close to being in awe at what we saw as we went to meet Taffy Thomas and his wife and partner Christine.

Taffy is the first Storytelling Laureate in the UK. From the story about how it happened one could say the position was created FOR Taffy. He has also been awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire, although jokingly when compared with the OBE - Order of the British Empire - it is said to mean My Blooming Efforts, instead of Other Bugger’s Efforts) along with many other great achievements and awards. I was interviewing Taffy for my Conversations with Storytellers podcast. I thought Aidan might sneak off and explore the town, but he stayed around and listened to this remarkable and generous man and his wife.

We got to do a little hiking in the Lake District, staying at Ambleside Youth Hostel. This was the beginning of the trip. But at the end of the trip (after all the family stuff) Aidan and I plugged into Google, castles near me. If we had been in Wales I would have picked a road and just driven, knowing I would find one within an hour, but we were in Hereford, where I went to Art School. We followed the directions to Kilpeck Castle. There’s not much left - just two walls, and next to it, we found an amazing church built on what is thought to be a pagan worshiping ground. The church was built in the 1100’s, close to nine hundred years ago. The door (at top) would inspire any quest, pilgrimage or high adventure. The sandstone decorations around the church are the originals, protected by the roof from acid rain. The craftsmanship and detail is amazing, and to think it was done by hand with mallet and chisel is, to me, mind blowing.

Aidan and I loved this place, with the castle with two walls, moat, fish pond and a church with eighty five corbels (those gargoyle type things) - six fewer than when it was built - carvings both inside and out, with it’s perfect and tiny size. In the 14th Century it used to be a walled town with a thriving market place, but now it is just these two buildings and a farm across the road, pretty much. it was a gem of a find. I wish we knew the stories of all those corbels, and what the missing six were of. We would have spent longer there if it were not the end of the day.

Oh, and after the second round-a-bout (rotary for my Mass. friends), the driving was as normal as it was when I left the UK twenty five years ago. And I stayed on the right side of the road - that being the left-hand side!

Have you found any new cool places you would want to share? Stories? Shoot me a line, and let me know your thoughts on what you would to see or hear on FB live or on my podcast as we step cautiously through this CORVID-19 nightmare.

Peace,

Simon