(Un)Naming of Parts

Send us Fan MailHow did the willow threaten a powerful king? What has bloody fingers to do with St Withburga? How much does our knowledge of the world dictate the way you see it? The names we give things are useful (vital even), but they are not passive. Names frame the way we view the world. In this week’s episode (with apologies to Henry Reed) we ‘unname the parts’ to find how rediscovering local names and stories can connect us in new (or older) ways with our environment. Journal entry:“3rd September, FridayThe night’s tide is flowing back into the mornings Darkness drifts on the down of thistle and ragwort.Penny and I will soon be needing bat’s eyes. And each morning     We walk out of the friendly darkness Into the cold light      And the one tree that has become my pole star.”         Episode InformationIn this episode I read a short extract from E Temple Thurston’s (1911) The Flower of Gloster. For more details see Episode 38: Temple Thurston’s ‘Flower of Gloster’ (Summer readings 2).The lock keeper’s cottage at Lowsonford, mentioned in the extract, is now owned by the Landmark Trust and can be hired out for holidays. Details and booking can be found here: ‘Lengthman’s Cottage’ at Lowsonford. You can read the story of King Labhraidh Loingseach and his horses ears in (among many other places) Niall Mac Coitir’s (2016) Ireland’s Trees: Myths, legends and folklore published by The Collins Press. I also refer to Roy Vickery’s (2019) magnificent Vickery’s Folk Flora: An A-Z of the folklore and uses of British and Irish plants published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.You can find more information on the plant cuckoo-pint or lords and ladies at: wildfooduk:lordsandladiesI conclude this episode by reading RS Thomas’ poem ‘The Bright Field’ from his () Later Poems 1972-1982 published by Papermac. You can read it here: The Bright Field. You can also hear RS Thomas reading it here: RS Thomas reads ‘The Bright Field’. General DetailsIn the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org. Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.All other audio recorded on site. ContactFor pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPodI would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.ContactFacebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw  I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon. For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.