Gargoyles takes you on a journey into a mysterious world, through bestiaries and traveling menageries, past grotesques and chimeras, through medieval cities and guilds and into huge stone buildings. Gargoyles are an embodiment of form and function—serving a clear architectural purpose but, also, symbolically important. Whether warding off evil, frightening away fear or showcasing human foibles, when a gargoyle was placed on a building, people noticed. The book delves into historic models of arcane craftsmanship and architecture, considering the reasons for gargoyles coming into being and hearing the legends of the gargoyle, both mythic and modern. It, also, covers the emergence of stone creatures into popular culture. For modern magick users, Gargoyles explores the role of the gargoyle in magickal practice, including gargoyle use in elemental correspondences, stone magick, protection, warding, egregores, talismans, animal associations, ritual and spell work.

The symbols and strange images that we find in our cemeteries, religious structures, banks and in our parks are the same symbols that have been part of the framework of the human psyche for thousands of years. While contemporary man may think that they are simply decorative manifestations of a by-gone era, they represent the fears, dreams, ideas, beliefs and struggles that humankind has endured since we began to walk upright. This book surveys many of these icons and will give a meaning for them both in the context of ancient history and folklore as well as a meaning that is suitable for our contemporary times. Illustrated with dozens of photographs, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in historic preservation, ancient symbolism, the Green Man and the universal application of imagery. Gary R. Varner has written numerous books on ancient traditions, folklore, the environment and contemporary issues. He is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.

A guide to the quirky gems hidden across Britain and the weird and wacky things the British do, from bog snorkelling and chimney peeping, to mud marathons and cheese rolling.

This new edition of Ben le Vay's irrepressible and irreverent guide to one of the greatest of English cities has been updated and expanded to include even more entertaining tales. There are more civilian/non-academic eccentrics, there is more local history, and there's a particularly fascinating bit of military history about Oxford that even many locals have never heard of. Dreaming spires, honeyed stone, cycling dons ... forget all that tourist twaddle, says Benedict le Vay. Find out the secrets the colleges don't want you to know, the inside track on the best pubs and eating places, the scandal and gossip about nutty professors and disgraceful students past and present, the brilliant stories about the great, the good and the bad. With 30 maps and a mix of colour and black and white illustrations and photographs, this is the essential guide to take you beyond the normal sights. William Morris called Oxford 'a perfect jewel' of a city; Benedict le Vay goes in search of the quirkier gems among its medieval back alleys. Here roam batty dons, daft students, barmy aristocrats and political firebrands. Who does that gargoyle remind you of? Why is a shark plunging into that man's house? When do students jump naked into the River Cherwell as Latin hymns are sung? What powers the 'Cosmic Triangle' of vibrant East Oxford? How do you control a punt without looking like a plonker? . The pubs where Inspector Morse and Bill Clinton enjoyed a pint . Where to eat a great fry-up in a unique setting . Where to find a weird museum . Calendar of annual eccentric events Press acclaim for le Vay's previous Bradt Eccentric guides: 'Wonderfully barmy', 'The ultimate guide', 'A must', 'Endlessly fascinating', 'One of the best'

A delightful romp around the British Isles searching out the mad marquess, the eccentric earl, the barmy baron, and the daft duke and gathering a fair collection of crackpot inventors, weird adventurers and fascinatingly and not to mention insanely curious customs along the way. All of which make this rainy little island home to that remarkable breed of individual - the British eccentric.This expanded book still doesn't tell you where Stonehenge is, but it does tell you where ten spookier stone circles are where there will be no crowds, no admission charges and no parking problems... This is a book for the intelligent, humorous, curious tourist who doesn't go with the crowd. It is also a great armchair read that has been known to have readers weeping with mirth at the weird ways of the British.

This autobiography traces the authors tempestuous 22-year marriage to an undiagnosed manic depressive (Bipolar Affective Disorder) with whom she raised two children. Throughout the years, the emotional and geographical ground under the authors feet kept shifting, There were travels, adventures, job changes and financial disasters, love and fun, but also violence and pain. Throughout this story, the benchmarks of manic depression can be clearly identified as can the repercussions on relationships and family life. Two years in Guyana, South America, provided memories no one else could share and kept the couple close when circumstances tended to separate them. They camped and canoed in isolated regions of Algonquin Park, Ontario, explored the streets of London, England and beach-combed on Vancouver Islands west coast. In addition to the unhappy and perplexing aspects of marriage to a manic depressive, this book illustrates the positive side of life with a partner who does not fear consequences, who is adventurous and willing to risk.