Heartsfelled is a storyteller, as old as time and as wise as any story.
This blog captures our adventure whilst filming "The Identity Stealer", an Anglo-Saxon Saga style story told by Heartsfelled with brilliant live action demon slaying and more .....
Follow our blog to see what we get up to!
The crew, Zak Wylde Productions, are getting the equipment ready;
the staff (that's me and Richard aka Brother Scuttle) are setting out the catering and comfort facilities; the artiste Heartsfelled (Nigel Gant) and his amanuensis (Julia) are preparing to fill the Museum of Stories with myth and magic ...
the next round of filming starts tomorrow and it's going to be fun.
Zak and a random Dalek check out new camera equipment.
Storyboards - the director and cinematographer create these and then either totally ignore them or use them as working guides to the shoot.
It's been a little while since my last post as I have been busy set-building and writing.
Whilst I've been busy doing that, the rest of the crew have been busy filming elsewhere as well as practising their martial arts skills and winning wonderful medals. Well done to all the Aisle O'Var Backsworders, Old Gamesters, and Team TE-MA Combat folks.
Yes, that's Zak Wylde Holland, our Director of Photography in the middle with some of his trophies and medals from this season. His radiant smile even more handsome in the sunshine at the Oyster Fayre.
And despite the bruises, oh yes, they have the bruises "the Kiss of The Ash" it is all done with an admirable spirit of sportsmanship, fair play and gentlemanly conduct. So proud to know them.
But, coming back to my main item for today, as I said I have been set building here in Lincolnshire along with my partner and Ghost from Times Past, Brother Scuttle (aka Richard Buck). As we have been building we've also been writing, Scuttle and I ... you see it wasn't until we stood inside the Museum of Stories that we realised what a mystical, magical place it really is. When you find your way there - and you have to remember to go through the "long forgotten door" with your heart and your mind open to the stories and the magic that lie beyond - when you find your way there you find that you are standing among a myriad of portals. Each portal leads to more than one other place where stories have been born and, if you know how, each story can be visited . . . But that's as much as I can tell you for now. I can sense Heartsfelled the Storyteller putting down the lap dogs and coming to put me in my place (gently of course) if I give away too much.
The film and the accompanying Special Edition Book will tell all, all in good time :)
Today I went into the studio and listened to Nigel Gant, Heartsfelled himself, read the story of The Identity Stealer. I knew it would be good, but I hadn't appreciated just how beautifully captivating he would make it. What a wonderful and gifted storyteller we really do have. I can hardly wait until I can share it with you so that you can sit, spellbound, as we did. This was storytelling at its best. Apart from anything else the lines in Anglo-Saxon were delivered so very beautifully, lyrically and with perfect rhythm and pronunciation. And the switches from enthralling storytelling to verse are done so well that it is all pure pleasure to listen to.
My thanks go out to Carl Frearson at Solo Studios near Spalding too. A talented and gifted producer-editor and, as I discovered, an award-winning filmmaker himself. I am just knocked out by the wonderful people this project brings me into contact with.
Thanks, everybody.
PB (Writer)
One of our Ghosts from Times Past is just loving the opportunities to visit with us and have a look around . . . .
Hello again ghost watchers,
Richard had to return to his Dentist to have a rather large tooth removed, so had not the motivation to evoke my spirit from the depths... but here I am a wandering ghost, once again free from the Netherworld and able walk quietly amongst the living.
As you know the Priory was my home for many years and was a big feature on the landscape of Spalding. It was demolished well after my death... yet today, feeling melancholy and having a need to reunite myself with my former home, I am searching modern Spalding for traces of the former Priory.
From talking to Richard recently (in between bouts of toothache!) he was telling me what survives of our order's holy places in the area. Peterborough still has Abbey remains near the Cathedral, Crowland is still used as a Church and has recognisable remains from its time as an Abbey scattered 'round and about...
Even dear old Thorney has a few remnants left, used today as a fine Church. But alas Spalding's magnificent construction is ne'er to be seen evermore... Heartsfelled remembers it well, and the stories we both could tell... But look a little deeper and you shall find pieces...
As I wandered along Spalding high street I saw a strange looking building that drew memories long distant... It has been a forge and a bakery, a hostelry and a shop that sells those square things you modern people like to talk into... It is still known affectionately as 'The Prior's Oven' and I love it! From the oddly shaped exterior to the vaulted ceiling.
In my day it boasted another story and was used as a sort of prison for Monks not keen on moral behaviour... Brother David for example who couldn't keep his hands off the local girls of ill repute, and impregnated one of them! He was sorry after that I can tell you and Brother Ignatius who put his hand into the poor box...
There was a bell tower on that second level that, when tolling, told of imminent execution, usually some poor Saxon who had fallen foul of the Normans, who was hung from a gibbet in the Market Place. It sent a shiver along my ghostly spine just thinking about it I can tell you! Sadly the grand entrance no longer exists, but as you walk into the area known as 'The Crescent' it all began to feel very familiar...
I was excited to discover a row of houses at the back of what Richard describes 'his favourite charity bookshop'. It was not known if they were from the Priory or not, but I was sure they were what was left of the Monk's sleeping dorms...
Inside they had changed much but little hints still showed through the fabric... I was sure I had found the old block again!
As I travelled I saw little hints remaining in walls and in other buildings. Stone blocks that were recognisable from my time at the Priory.
I am settled again now. My beloved Priory still exists in some form or another and I am content to return to my domain happy...
Richard has kindly allowed me some time once again to put my ghostly memory to work and take a trip back into the past...
I must say I'm getting used to your way of life here in the future... Even though my beloved Priory is no more! Still I can wander the Streets of Spalding as a ghost and observe what I can of humanity, which I find very entertaining...
Horseless carts, boxes you speak into, boxes that copy your every movement and utterance, boxes that generate visions from other realms... This 'Web' people speak of? That is the most terrifying thing of all, and once again I observe Richard and his wife spending hours pouring over this 'Web' from yet another box... I don't believe in Magic... never have, there is a reason for all this as Richard has tried to explain... I think my time is not ready for all this jiggery pokery!
Today Richard had to go to the 'Dentist' or tooth Doctor as I discovered. He seemed to feel no pain or discomfort through the ordeal... Good for him!
I remember Brother Simeon at the Priory... He pulled out bad teeth and enjoyed every moment of the suffering of others. Mercifully I only ever had to have him pull one of my teeth, but it is said my cries could be heard all over Spalding and beyond into the very fens! I was told that his predecessor, Brother Maurice actually kept the teeth he removed! Even in God's good name could he be that foul? But it appears that you have drugs and medicines to reduce pain in your time, which can only be good. Richard says he's a martyr to his teeth... I never quite understand what that man is on about half the time!
Anyway it's raining today and quite miserable... I think I'll nip back to the netherworld or go and see Heartsfelled to swap a yarn or two... Pity I can't drink ale anymore, you should have seen me and him back in the day! Ha ha ha...
Oh, due to 'human error' in the last blog I just wish to confirm that I was born in 1068 the son of a Norman and a high ranking Saxon and went into the Priory at 15 to study and prepare for my vows.
The opening sequence of our film is designed to introduce you to the setting within which storyteller Heartsfelled exists. You'll see the ghosts of times past going about their business because every life is a potential story and each one has, in some way, influence the storyteller in his trade.
Our ghosts span some 1300 years. The building of Ayscoughfee Hall was completed around the year 1451. It sits, grandly, in the town of Spalding, alongside the River Welland which runs through town. Of course, the site was occupied before this hall was started, although it is hard to say exactly who or what was there. The important Spalding Priory was across the river opposite Ayscoughfee and was there at the time the hall was built.
Heartsfelled the storyteller occupies his “Museum of Stories” in a magical, slightly secret place which can, if you know how to look for it, be accessed through Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens … but only if you know how to look!
So, when we created “The Ghosts of Times Past” to introduce our ageless, timeless storyteller Heartsfelled, the people who have lived their lives in this place readily represent a goodly, broad, cross-section of those who might have influenced stories and storytellers across time. Anywhere you go in this human world, If you step through the right gateway, at the right moment in time, and if you keep your eyes and your mind open to all of life’s rich possibilities, if you let yourself see the rich reflections of the layers of lives past, and the ghosts of different times . . . The first ghost we see in the sequence is the scampering Brother Scuttle (watch this blog for little posts from the ghost of Brother Scuttle - he’s quite a character and full of interesting information). Brother Scuttle was born in 1068 and entered the Priory of Spalding when he was 15 years old. And what about that elegant lady in her cream lace gown with parasol, strolling and reading among the ancient yews? Well, she is almost certainly a ghost from the turn of the 20th century - late Victorian to early Edwardian. Don’t you love her summer hat? The next we see is a beautiful, flaxen-haired lady that we would most likely describe as “Viking” although her heritage could actually be Anglo-Saxon … as she would have been running her errands during the time of the Danelaw sometime between the mid-ninth and the mid-tenth century.
Aaah, Sense and Sensibility! See those two Regency coquettes running and giggling through the grounds! They will have had their fun around the beginning of the 1800s at the time when people like Sir Christopher Wren, Capability Brown, Wedgewood, and Chippendale were shaping things.
And keep an eye on the background - see our Edwardian Gentleman, Mr. Seaton, stroll along a rather poignant path in front of the spot where a war memorial now stands to commemorate the bravery of those involved in WWI and WWII - perhaps even his own son or grandsons. What a handsome ghost he is.
Back in time next, to some time around 1540 where we see the ghosts of two golden haired Tudor children scampering through the maze with their handsome m’ma in the background to the left and a very elegant young tudor lady strolling along behind in the far background.
Our next ghost, from around 1910 - Just look at that sumptuous Edwardian walking suit and hat (all hand stitched). What a purposeful walk she is on. I wonder where she was going . . .
My how I love the Victorian gardeners of 1890, Tom and Dan. If ever there was a story being told, I think they really appreciated the grounds around the lovely Hall and were proud to be looking after it. I wonder what they were saying?
Next . . . a little glimpse of the Victorian cook making her way to the kitchens at the back of the Hall.
It’s 1710 at the front entrance of the Hall and we see, perhaps that’s Maurice and Elizabeth Johnson sweeping through the door in their finery. Maurice was a famous antiquarian and the founder of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society. If you don’t know about the SGS do look it up.
And finally, from around the 1860s, we see a young Isabella Johnson seeming to approve her own portrait in the library area of the Hall. She seems a little shy - for a ghost!
There were other ghosts but if we’d filmed them all then you never would get to meet Heartsfelled!! So this is our selection - people from times past. Every time has its stories and storytellers. Maybe next time!
As the film narrator says:
Anywhere you might go in this human world, If you step through the right gateway, at the right moment in time, and if you keep your eyes and your mind open to all of life’s rich possibilities, if you let yourself see the rich reflections of the layers of lives past and the ghosts of different times - then you might just come across a little bit of magic that has been spinning around our world since the very beginnings of time.
Because when time began – the Storytellers were born!
And the Story Tellers are ancient, traversing time and space and in an intricate dance all of their own. They are the keepers of Fīfmægen (fif-meyhan), that’s magical power!
The Storytellers are the keepers of fīfmægen, and it is their place in this world, to this very day, to be weaving the secrets of men and telling the magical, mythical tales of mankind.
But will you look?
Are you prepared to see into the shadows that run deep under the trappings of our modern society?
Are you prepared to listen with your heart for the voice that goes unheard?
Richard here, focus of 'Brother Scuttle' our resident ghostly, but very friendly and jolly
Heartsfelled Monk... Scuttle is a bit confused by the 21st Century, so I better pass over to him before he gets a bit grumpy! Over to you Brother!
What? Oh yes... What ever is this Blogging? Sounds more like flogging to me! Those Normans were good at that I can tell you! I saw a few floggings in my time... The old Priory Bell would sound and a crowd would gather, no moving pictures or books then to entertain us! Then the Normans would severely flog the miscreant outside the Priory gates...
But my beloved Priory has gone! Nothing much left at all now, just noise, hustle and bustle from horseless carts and too many people rushing about... Horrible!!!
I say those Normans... I'm half Norman myself and was two years after the conquest. By the time I entered the Priory King William I was still on the throne and Ivo Tailbois was looking after the interests of Spalding. His wife took much interest in our order and as a result the Priory grew into quite a powerful concern, far outgrowing those dunderheads at Croyland! Ha, they never got over that, and never allowed us to gain status as an Abbey...
As a cleric I was here, there and everywhere, so I was given the nickname 'Scuttle' which has stuck like fresh cow dung to thatch... Oh well, I have certain advantages and am treated very well, so I can't complain.
Then I suddenly find that I'm not only dead, but alive and well as a ghost channelled by this Richard fellow...
And I'm starring in a 'moving picture' called Heartsfelled! Actually I'm pleased. I knew old Heartsfelled back in the day and he can spin a good yarn or two I can tell you. You never know I might be brought back to star in a few more of these things... Who would have thought it?
Here's my role, scuttling into Ayscoughfee Hall with an urgent message...
Anyway I'm off back to the Netherworld to get a bit of sleep... I'll flog, er sorry, blog you again later!
Erm... yes, Thank you Brother Scuttle. More from him soon...
