The arts remain one of the best ways to preserve culture in a way that people can interact with. Literature, folk music, and art, among others, allow us to experience culture, even secondhand, using tangible sources. Even better, we can create our own responses to this culture using our chosen cultural medium.

Painter Ralph Hedley captured ordinary, working-class life around Tyneside and Northumberland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We’ll explore how he captured scenes of ritual, tradition, and custom in his beautiful paintings, and investigate what they can tell us about the way folklore shows up, primarily in cities.

But we're also focusing on his work as an example of how much community rituals mattered in the past as a way of bringing people together. We need that now, more than ever.

Let’s go and explore the work of Ralph Hedley in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore.

Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/ralph-hedley/

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The Newcastle Castle occupies a strange position in the city centre. So strange that some people can’t believe we have a castle in town at all!

Various buildings have stood on the site for centuries, dating back to the Romans and their Pons Aelius fort. Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, originally founded Newcastle Castle in 1080.

This early castle was made from wood, and builders rebuilt the castle in stone between 1168 and 1178. It has been a castle, a prison, a beer cellar and Civil War stronghold. Now, it’s a visitor attraction, and one that I highly recommend seeing if you can.

But as with any English castle, stories both sad and strange abound within Newcastle Castle. Let’s examine three of its legends as part of our exploration of folklore found within cities in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore.

Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/newcastle-castle/

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Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

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Walk along Stowell Street in Newcastle upon Tyne and turn into St Andrew’s Street, and you might notice a plaque on the wall. It marks the site of the house where Tyneside bard Joe Wilson was born - though it’s unclear how many people know who Joe Wilson is.

There was a resurgence of interest in the 19th-century songwriter a few years ago, particularly thanks to the musical play, The Great Joe Wilson, that toured the north east in 2018. It was a rousing, whistle-stop tour of the bard’s short life and songs.

But who was he, and why is he important if we’re looking at a city through a folklore lens? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore.

Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/joe-wilson

Hear 'Keep Yor Feet Still, Geordie Hinny': https://youtu.be/W4BBDu8pd7s?si=MYyov6vkqNjYpvRV

Share your Children's Folklore here: https://forms.gle/D8mLW7q2um5ZYiTD9

Find the links to the writing workshops here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/start-here/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/