Where is the spring that rose where St. Alban’s blood fell? Who cares for Cuddy Ducks? Can we see Enoch and Elijah? When the Virgin fell in labour, was Romani St. Sarah at her side? How did St. Sebastian become a gay icon? Who were the Twin Saints, the Three Pure Ones, the Four Friends and the Five Major Prophets? What goes into a Dumb Cake for St. Agnes’ Eve? Does a wet St. Swithun’s day really foretell forty days of rain? Do girls still appeal to St. Andrew of the fishermen for a good catch in marriage? Can we still hear Old Clem at the hammer and the thunders of St. Barbara? Whether you weave a cross of reeds for Lá Féile Bríde, wear a daff for Dewi Sant, or bear a rose for St. George, come and join our day or we may have to call on St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes.

A two-day conference on Saints and Mystics in Legend and Tradition will be held on Saturday 2nd (St. Justus of Lyons) and Sunday 3rd (St. Gregory the Great) September 2023 at the Chapter House, St. Albans Cathedral. Anyone can join us – scholars, storytellers, hermits and hagiographers. We invite proposals about any saint, mystic, martyr or prophet. Presentations, which should be 20 minutes long, can take the form of talks, performances, or film. For more information, see https://folklore-society.com/events.

The conference fee is £35 for speakers, £70 for others attending. If you would like to attend or to present a paper or performance, please contact, by 1st July: Jeremy Harte, Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell, Surrey KT17 1UF. Telephone: 020 8394 1734. Email: jrmharte@gmail.com