The Power of Stories

Yesterday morning before eight the menfolk set off on a fishing trip armed with tea, Irish bread, and Mallory's Morte d'Arthur and two other books. It was a morning of sun and rain...in other words perfect fishing weather.

Once off Nare Head DS1 chucked a line overboard. DH poured the tea and DS2 commenced reading Mallory aloud (as one does early on a Sunday morning- who knows what the other boat fishing near by  made of the antics on Fenwick boat).

The fishermen returned triumphant with one large mackerel that caught itself...the men say that the fish was so either enchanted with the endless smoting and leapt it onto the hook and once in the boat hoped off the hook. Or said fish offered it's self as a sacrifice so that the Fenwick boat would depart and leave the sea untroubled taking the wrath and smoting with it.

DS2 is reading Mallory and Tennyson for his A level English. The third version of the Arthurian tale they are using is Monty Python's The Holy Grail. I wished this had been an option when I studied these texts in university....

The above illustrates the the power of stories...either in catching fish or recounting a tale many times told. Arthur's story draws us still and each generator is called to tell it's own version....or as we hear again and again as writers - every story has already been told...except maybe the fish smote by DS2 reading Mallory....that is certainly a new twist on the tale....