Archive for October, 2007

Witch Hunt

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 11 October 2007 in History. 1 Comment

North East England, like the rest of Europe in the 17th Century, has a shameful history that it would like to hide. But with Halloween just a short broomstick ride away I’ve started hunting for the old witches of Northumbria and found a cauldron-full of dirty secrets.

If you’re out Riding Mill way and decide to take a walk over the old bridge, make sure you’re not alone. And if it’s a clear night with a full moon think twice about going out at all lest you stumble across a coven of witches dancing naked to Diana’s light. But if you insist, don’t blame us if you fall under their evil spell, and do things you would not normally do. Continue reading ‘Witch Hunt’

Children’s Literature and the Quest for the Divine

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 8 October 2007 in Christianity and Writing. 2 Comments

Children’s books are often the battle ground of religious zealots with many Christians boycotting the likes of JK Rowling and Philip Pullman. In this article I argue that spiritual themes can be found in the most unlikely of places.

Once upon a time there was a father with many, many children. He had so many children that if you counted every grain of sand on every beach in every country in every century throughout time, you might, just might, remember them all. But unlike what you or I might do, this father did not forget his children’s names. He didn’t think Billy was Brian or Carolyn Kate; he knew them all by name. But more than that, he knew their secret names, the names that they should have been and perhaps might still hope to be. So he wrote these names on pretty white stones and kept them in a jar beside his bed, hoping for the day when each of his children would come and ask for theirs.

Continue reading ‘Children’s Literature and the Quest for the Divine’