Thursday 15 April 2010

Twice Told Tales

From ancient celtic sun worship to haunted country mansions, from the coming of the Roman Legions to the rule of the Welsh Kings, through a dark age of superstition to the red tides of war, the river has always run, bringing settlers, invaders and travellers to our shores.

Templar Knights, Irish immigrants, Nazi spies, sea serpents, exiled highlanders, Vikings, pirates, gypsies, warlocks, mystics, saints, witches, poets and revolutionaries; some passed through, some stayed forever, all of them left their mark on the Clyde and her people.

All of them have stories. Centuries of songs and stories.

And the stories never stop. Even now a black wildcat roams the hills behind our town, a semi-mythical wildman lives on the outskirts of the east end and strange lights are seen in the sky above Port Glasgow...you'll know stories of your own...or the stories your Gran told you.

Thats what this is. Somewhere to share those stories. Mainly stories about this wee corner of the world, but folktales, stories and urban legends from everywhere always find their way across cultural and geographic divides - even more so these days.

Here's the rule...its not history...its folklore. If people are genuinely telling and sharing a good story, we're only half interested in the facts.

Here's why...


"The legends represent the imagination of the country, they are the kind of history which a nation desires to possess. They betray the ambitions and ideals of the people, and in this respect, have a value far beyond the tale of actual events and duly recorded deeds which are no more history than a skeleton is a man."
Standish O'Grady

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