Celebrate Beltane with Fairies, Music and Celtic traditions! Always great to hear from you! Email garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com, or Speakpipe Show Summary: We celebrate the ancient Celtic Fire Festival of Bealteinne with some pieces about Celtic and Fairy traditions, a fascinating short story set in ancient Cornwall and some wonderful Celtic music. Come join in the fun! More resources over at our main Website at http://celticmythpodshow.com Running Order: Intro 0:41 News & Views 2:50 Promo by Mary Jones 2:50 The May Festival by Lady Wilde 3:52 The Hills they are Hollow by Damh the Bard 19:27 The Lily by Simon Mitchell 12:08 Haghole by Culann's Hounds 46:52 May Day Superstitions by Lady Wilde 51:15 Outtakes 55:04 We hope you enjoy it! Gary & Ruthie x x x     News & Views We talk about the beauty of the season and explain that this episode is about an hour long being a special episode. We reassure new listeners that the normal episodes are only 25 minutes long. We also play a Promo for Mary Jones, whose amazing website provides much of the source material that we use in bringing you these stories: www.maryjones.us.   The May Festival by Lady Wilde from "Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland" We start with a brief biography of Lady Francesca 'Speranza' Wilde, who was born in 1821 and was the mother of the famous Oscar Wilde. We then read a section of her book, Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland about May Day festivities and beliefs.   Memorial to Lady Wilde and her husband located in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin   The Hills They Are Hollow by Damh the Bard Perhaps one of our all-time favourite tracks based in Celtic Mythology by Damh the Bard. Damh is a modern-day Bard whose spirituality, and love of folk tradition, is expressed through his music, storytelling and poetry. Drawing on the Bardic traditions his performances are both entertaining and educational, weaving a tapestry of myth, peace, and anthems that speak directly to the heart, but never without a good splash of humour. Damh is a musical storyteller who works within the world of myth that cannot be proved; where the Faerie really do dance on Midsummer's Eve, where the trees talk, and the Hollow Hills take you into the realms of Annwn. Where the Goddess rides her horse, guiding you to magic, and the Horned God of old calls us from the shadows of the Greenwood. You can find his music on iTunes, Woven Wheat Whispers or from his website, Pagan Music. He is also the voice behind Druidcast, the official podcast of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD, for short) - modern day Druids. You can find Druidcast here and find out more about OBOD here. You can find out more details about Damh on his Contributor Page on our website.   Castledore, 23 AD by Simon Mitchell from "Secrets of the Valley 1: The Lily" We start with a short biography of Simon Mitchell, whom we know as Simon the Scribe, a regular contributor to our website. We introduce to his ecologically based work and to Secrets of the Valley book 1: The Lily. We then read Chapter 2 to you to introduce you to the story. We'd like to give Simon special thanks for his permission to bring you this story and, if you enjoyed it, urge you to read his book. Secrets of the Valley, a Cornish trilogy. An ancient matrix of energy lies hidden in the earth, its existence and purpose all but forgotten. One strand, named 'The Dragon Line' passes through Cornwall, a land steeped in history and mystery since the dawn of time. Here the line passes through the valley of the River Fowey. A lone ghost, abandoned in the valley of his birth, tells how the line of energy has been usurped, unbalancing the whole planetary energy matrix. In 'The Lily', the first novel of this extraordinary trilogy, we share his lives as he tells his tale of 2000 years in the Fowey valley. He sets a crucial task, to mend the Dragon Line and restore the balance of power, before time itself runs out.