| About Morag of the Marsh | Picture Morag abides in the marshlands of Avalon in view of the Tor beneath which Gwyn ap Nudd rules his dark domain. On the slope of Wearyall Hill, Joseph of Arimethea's thorn tree grows and in the Abbey tales of Arthur still drift. This landscape is woven through with threads of myth and history impossible to separate. Morag draws upon an extensive range of songs and stories. The songs include traditional material from the islands of Erin and Albion and early America as well as her own pieces. The particular favourite though is ballads. She loves them. They are the stories that the ordinary folk of the land have told to each other for the years and years when people sat around fires on long dark evenings. In fact, Morag still does quite a lot of sitting around fires during long dark evenings and recommends you do the same! Without being exactly sure how many songs are at her command, Morag reckons it's probably some hundreds. Some of them don't make very regular appearences but when just the right moment comes for them they resurface to do their thing. With stories from all over the world ranging from two minute wisdom tales to lengthy epic myths, Morag can find a yarn for any occasion. The myth and history of the islands of Erin and Albion is her particular interest. The story of Bran and Branwen is a current favourite. Morag visits Active Living groups in Glastonbury and the surrounding area to share stories and songs with the elders of our community. Its is a commonly held belief that, in the present day, our elders are not given the respect and attention that they so richly deserve and Morag does what little she can to correct this. Morag is abundantly happy to report that one of the things that has united nearly all of the groups of elders that she has met is their open mindedness and eagerness for new ideas. As well as sharing her repertoire of stories and songs, Morag has had the great honour of hearing these peoples own life stories. No matter if one has been around the world and seen all manner of strange and wonderful things, or else lived in one village for a whole life without leaving, it can be guaranteed that there will be a rich and fascinating story scattered with joys, tradgedies, births, deaths, marriages and all the minutiae of so-called ordinary life. |
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