In a new regular feature, Amanda Caswell-Robinson looks back at some of the events held at the Folklore Centre, starting with talk from veteran Folklorists John Billingsley and Andy Roberts.
Tales Along the Packhorse Way Part One - Johns Billingsley
20th January 2024
The first part of this informative, funny and illuminating lecture about the folklore of
the Calder valley was by the co-founder of Northern Earth Magazine, John
Billingsley. Expertly blended historical fact and myth gave us an extraordinary
insight into the lives, hopes and fears of the community from the ancient to the
contemporary.
Go Ask Alice - Andy Roberts
10th February 2024
Andy Roberts, one of the best psychedelic folk historians in the UK, gave a forensic
exploration of how the myths surrounding LSD became arguably more powerful
than the effects of the drug itself. LSD’s connection with counter culture and its
central role in The Satanic Panic’s of the 80s and 90s was conveyed with humour,
pragmatism and florid newspaper headlines.