Angels, The Devil & A Mermaid | Life update from The Old Shop

Making a Celestial Relic | Seashore stroll | Crow Wood walk and talk | First hellebores | Back garden tour |Straw from the Bear (and its fate)| | A Fenland mermaid pilgrimage | A snippet of song On a quiet lane winding down to the heath lies a Norfolk cobbled cottage with a dragon on the porch roof. This is The Old Shop; a place where I have worked to create a slow simple life with an open heart. Join me as I attempt to build a sustainable and creative life on a shoestring, looking after my little corner of the planet with its myriad wild creatures as best I can and hopefully inspiring others in a similar boat. This update covers the middle part of February; still wintry, true, but providing a glimpse of a bridge between the seasons. The heath is laid low, more so than at any other point in the year. Its bleached and crumbling bracken-bones and tangles of twigs offer tantalising glimpses of unfamiliar vistas. As well as joining me for a walk through a very wet Crow Wood, you’ll find yourself on a wintry beach in the company of a fishing boat, on a pilgrimage from a stronghold of the Devil to a Mermaid, taking a look at what happened to those wheat grains we gathered from the Straw Bear, and seeing what’s new in the garden. And, I’ve been busy making something with no practical use whatever, and I’ll share that with you too :-) If you’d like to connect on Instagram or Facebook you’ll find me @theoldshopnorfolk. I’d especially love to welcome you to my Substack family! I’ve been sending out Bracken & Wrack - a magazine-style seasonal newsletter - around every new and full moon since November 2022. If you’d like to subscribe to Bracken & Wrack (it’s free), the address is imogenashwin.substack.com And please spread the word to anyone you know who’s interested in seasonal customs, feasts, folklore, art, magic and nature writing. There’s usually a recipe in there somewhere too. The next edition will be in subscribers’ inboxes within the next few days. There’s a paid option too, with extra offerings, so please take a look at that if you would like to support my work further and help me to bring it all to you. Finally, if you enjoy these videos (or indeed Bracken & Wrack) and feel you would like to buy me a coffee, I would be incredibly grateful. Thank you! The link is: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/imogenashwt