New Plone-specific blog
A stranger at Green Knowe
From the train’s misted windows we see fields still covered with snow, rooks perching on skeletal trees, the wide sky clouded grey. It’s noticeably colder than London as we leave the train at Huntingdon; coats and scarves are wrapped tighter as we scan the map looking for the quickest route to the bus station. Failing to find this we meander into Huntingdon under the path of a circling raptor.
We’ve missed the bus to Hemingford by ten minutes; the next one is not due for another hour and a half. We dismiss getting a taxi and instead decide to investigate the sites of Huntingdon which it would seem, number very few. A noticeable exception to this is the wonderful one-room Cromwell Museum with its assortment of portraits, artefacts, standards and other Cromwelliana.
We arrive in Hemingford Grey just before five o’clock, the light fast disappearing. Bring a torch we were warned but only now I remember as we make our way to the Willow Guest House. We’re here for the Nunkie Theatre Company’s performance of two M.R. James stories: “Lost Hearts” and “A Warning to the Curious” at Hemingford Grey Manor, Lucy Boston’s Green Knowe in her series of stories written between 1954 and 1976.
“Lost Hearts” is one of my favourite of James’ stories but perhaps an unusual one in its dealings with folklore and pagan ritual; subjects which the writer of ghost stories would do well to treat with caution James warned. Both stories presented tonight are to an extent coloured by my memories of the 1970s film adaptations; in themselves suitably chilling but missing some of the elements of the originals: in the case of “A Warning…” not only its building sense of tension as Paxton becomes aware of his fate but also its violence:
“His mouth was full of sand and stones, and his teeth and jaws were broken to bits. I only glanced once at his face.”
During the interval we’re provided with glasses of mulled wine and chat with other James aficionados in our host’s bedroom adjoining the performance room.
Chilled by both the stories and the temperature in our temporary Norman theatre we head back into the dark, stopping off for drinks and a few more James-related discussions with two members of a Ghostly Company in the nearby Cock pub. They are staying for tomorrow’s performance of “The Ash Tree” and “Oh Whistle…” which sadly we don’t have tickets for. However we hope to return for the next round of performances; Hemingford Grey is Nunkie’s favourite venue and after tonight it’s easy to see why.
Retreating into the darkness
A year from winter has retreated into the darkness for a little bit due to a whole great slew of other commitments. But, it’s sleeping, not dead (it might growl and curl up tighter into a ball if you poke it with a stick).
Hopefully, we shall return before too long.