All Is Well

Just wanted to thank everyone for the emails of support & good wishes after the recent flood. Everything is back to normal & business is as usual. The media did tend to over hype the issue somewhat. It was rather scary at the time but things got under control very quickly thanks to the swift action of the Fire Brigade & local Coast Guards. The shops near the main bridge had about 3 feet of water in & spent yesterday cleaning up but are open today. A couple of private properties near the main bridge also had water damage but things were nowhere near as bad as the 2004 flood. So please don't let this stop you from visiting Boscastle as everything is up & running as normal. We had the quietest day of the year yesterday & it's still rather quiet today. On the reail side of things, Graham has some fab new dark mirrors for sale in the museum. The obsidian ones are available through The Occult Art Company website and the black glass ones will be going on next week. If you're visiting the museum, look out for back issues of Pentacle magazine which have been donated by the editor. The new Summer 2007 Merry Meet magazine is out & available next door at The Boscastle Trading Co. There is a great review of the museum's 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic' in it as well.

Some Flood Pics

The flood seems to be abating at the moment -touch wood. Graham has been on Coastguard Duty throughout the incident & is just about to step down for some well earned warmth & food. Although not as bad as last time it's still a tad stressful. Here are a few pics. At least it looks like the ducks are having a good time. Remember you can check the Webcam for on the spot views outside the museum to see if the river is rising. Thanks to those who've sent good wishes already.

Flood News

Some of you may have heard on the news that Boscastle is experiencing another severe flood. Just to make people aware that as of this time the museum & staff are all safe. The flood is not nearly as bad as last time but several of the shops near the other bridge were under around 3 feet of water. I will put some pics on later but now must dash. Will keep updating the blog with any news.

Kerriann

Welcome Jack-Farewell Carole

A bit belated but I thought I'd mention that this year we have had a change of staff. Many of you will remember Carole who worked in the booth & did many of the displays in the museum. Well this year she has left to go travelling so we have Jack from local B & B Pencarmol doing a few days a week. So welcome to Jack & Good Luck to Carole. Woo oo!!

Dennis Wheatley rides into the museum

We've recently had the most wonderful donation of a complete set of hardback Dennis Wheatley books. Thanks to the donor!! Good fun for Joyce to catalogue. A petrified teddy from Mother Shipton's cave arrived a week or so ago as well. No, not terrified just calcified from hanging in the petrifying well. Very cute.

The Boscastle Trading Co

Many of you have asked for pics of the The Boscastle Trading Co which we've taken over for the season. It's located next door to the museum at the old Cornish Goodies site. for those who don't know the story, the National Trust bought the shop last year to turn it into a teashop. Unfortunately they didn't manage to get it up & running in time so were going to leave it empty for the year. Not a great look for the village & not great for business in the museum. So we've taken it over for the year, doing local crafts, Fairtrade items & some museum retail. Here's a composite piccy for those who can't get down to see us in person.

BBC 2's Mike Harding plays museum CD

Excitement reigned on Wednesday night this week when we heard a track from 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic' played on Mike Harding's programme 'Folk on 2' on BBC Radio 2 along with a mention of the museum. He played Malinky's version of 'Alison Cross' which is one of my favourites. Remember you can get a copy at the online store associated with the museum www.theoccultartcompany.co.uk or at the museum itself.

Beltane Bash

Hi to everyone we met at the London 'Beltane Bash' last weekend. We had a great time and met some fab people who are strong supporters of the museum. One group is even hiring a coach to make a trip down here. It's a great idea as public transport is quite sporadic in these parts.

Our best sellers at the Bash were the ever popular museum t shirts and the new CD 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic.' I shared the stand with Steve Patterson, our favorite woodcarver who had a fab selection of dark mirrors and athames. We hope to be there again next year.

Have a Listen to Radio Shropshire

We've been getting a lot of radio play for the new CD 'Songs of Witchcraft & magic'.The latest is Genevieve Tudor's show on Radio Shropshire. Here's a link so you can keep an eye on her programme: Radio Shropshire - Genevieve Tudor

Thanks Johnny

Thanks to Johnny Coppin who gave 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic' and the museum a great plug on his excellent Folk Roots program on Radio Glousteshire. We are really happy with the response it's getting so far. We've sent copies to Australia, Canada, The USA and Hong Kong so far which is rather fab.

Review from 'Meyn Mavro' magazine

Another review of the 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic' CD by Meyn Mavro magazine - "a beautifully produced CD with 15 songs....all of which have elements of strange witchcraft and magic in them...... highly recommended, both for its songs and its detailed sleeve notes." Thanks guys.

Latest News on 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic'

For those interested in the progress of the CD, it is selling really well since its launch on May 1st.
We know it has been played on:
Radio Scotland
Radio Wales
Radio Derby
Radio Glastonbury
We have also been reliably informed that Mike Harding of BBC's Folk on 2 will be playing a track from the album in the near future.
If you've heard the CD played on any other station, please let us know.

Pete Jennings has given the CD a glowing review in Pentacle Magazine “I have long lectured on the delights of references to magic and witchcraft within British folksong, so this album comes as a treat” ... “Not since the issue of ‘Frost and Fire’ by the Watersons on vinyl has there been such a collection…..” “ The quality of the recordings are excellent, as is the packaging and accompanying booklet of lyrics and notes.”

Mike Howard, of ‘The Cauldron’ said "A fantastic collection of magical and witchy British folk songs...Very highly recommended."

The Hedge Wytch Magazine said “:….great presentation packaging….the songs and ballads are all traditional and are simply and beautifully sung…” “It is a very professional product ….A worthy addition to any witch’s music collection.”

We know that White Dragon have also reviewed the album – we would love it if someone could send us a copy of the review?

A further 30 or so magazines have promised to review the CD – lets hope they are all as good as those received so far!

T Shirts online

Just to let you know the Museum of Witchcraft t shirts are now available on The Occult Art Company website in an array of sizes including XXL in the ladies v neck.

We will also be at The Beltane Bash on May 27 & 28. I will be sharing a stand with Steve Patterson, woodcarver. Steve is responsible for the carvings on display outside the museum and bull roarers and dark mirrors on sale in the shop. Hopefully we will see some of you there. We will be taking along the new CDs so you can buy one there as well as online or at the museum.

Far From the Sodding Crowd

I sit here in our rather customer free shop with the rain pouring down outside, having just read a fabulous piece on the museum in the rather wonderful new book 'Far From The Sodding Crowd'. It's the latest outing from Robin Halstead, Jason Hazely, Alex Morris & Joel Morris who were responsible for 'Bollocks To Alton Towers' which was on The Sunday Times Top Ten list in 2006. This is their follow up with more amazing & unique places to visit in Britain. As well as featuring the museum it looks at The Shell Grotto in Margate (definitely worth a visit), the Bakelite Museum in Somerset, and The BubbleCar Museum in Cranwell. An extremely varied array of outings indeed. So if anyone is into spending time visiting interesting & unusual places this is the book for you. We met a couple of the authors when they came down last year & what pleasant chaps they were too-obviously very enthusiastic about their subject & rather keen on a pint (which always goes down well in Boscastle). So keep an eye out for the book. Always good to see the museum portrayed positively - hopefully it will improve visitor numbers too.

Quiet week

Things have definitely quietened down after the Easter rush. Traders in Boscastle are saying this is the quietest they have seen it for some years. I must say the car park does look hideous with a huge monstrosity sitting by the entrance. A new toilet block is being built but unfortunately they got the plans a little wrong & it looks more like a half built skyscraper than anything else. Needless to say work has stopped on it while they (NCDC) try to sort the problem out so it looks extremely ugly. Maybe that's putting people off coming, who knows.

Despite this, museum visitors have been fairly steady and the retail side is not too bad. The new fridge magnets are proving a popular addition and I do believe some fun witchy key rings could be making an appearance soon. We've had some fabulous new books donated to the library so we're making the most of this quiet period with a lot of cataloguing and covering. Joyce has also been busy cataloguing some Egyptian artifacts which we've found in the store room. They will be displayed shortly.

The Boscastle Trading Co. is selling the museum t shirts and, by popular demand, we'll be adding some XXL ladies v necks to the mix. The small red v necks with black hazel pentacle are also available again. We'll be up at the Beltane Bash with the new CDs and t shirts so we might see you there.

Cauldron Review

First official review:
"A fantastic collection of magical and witchy British folk songs...Very highly recommended."
The Cauldron magazine

CD Selling Well

The new 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic CD is selling really well so far. Orders have been flooding in www.theoccultartcompany.co.uk website from both the UK & the USA. Great to see our American fans have picked up on the CD so quickly.

New CD

The eagerly awaited new Museum of Witchcraft CD "Songs of Witchcraft and Magic" ( a collection of traditional British folk songs relating to witchcraft and magic) has arrived. The official launch is the 1st May but you can get a copy now in the museum, The Boscastle Trading Co. Store next door, or online at www.theoccultartcompany.co.uk

The CD is already selling well with many pre orders going out in the post. Watch out for news on reviews coming up in relevant magazines. It's a classy production with the words of each song included, as well as carefully researched notes.

A Bit of Fun

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that our New Yorker friend, Roger Pratt, would be appearing on The Dave Letterman Show. Here is the link to the YouTube site so you can have a watch - Roger on Letterman. He's on near the end. Handy for Portuguese readers that it has Portuguese subtitles.

New Shop

Well apologies for the break in transmission over the past couple of weeks. We've been totally frantic with some sudden developments. Those of you who have visited may remember the Cornish Goodies store next door to the museum. The National Trust bought this store in October and had planned to turn it into a tea shop. Unfortunately they could not get it happening in time so the shop was going to remain an empty shell for the season. Never one to miss an opportunity, Graham has managed to persuade the NT to rent us the shop for the season so we have, in 12 days, turned an empty room into a gallery and shop displaying local artist's and craftspeople's work and Fairtrade goods.We also have some of the museum's retail items as the space in the museum is somewhat limited. Currently you can buy MOW t shirts and the Richel collection prints. More will be coming over time. The shop is called The Boscastle Trading Co. so pop in and visit if you're coming down. I'll try to pop a photo in soon.