“If any of my stories succeed in causing their readers to feel pleasantly uncomfortable when walking along a solitary road at nightfall, or sitting over a dying fire in the small hours, my purpose in writing them will have been attained…”
Montague Rhodes James (1862 – 1936) more than succeeded in this modest ambition. Over a century after their first publication, his Ghost Stories of an Antiquary remain the most admired supernatural tales in the English language. James first performed them to friends at Christmas in King’s College, Cambridge in the year up to WW1. Since 2005 Robert Lloyd Parry has sought to bring this tradition back to life.
In A View from a Hill a pair of old binoculars reveal the grisly history of an idyllic stretch of English landscape. The story lasts about 40 mins. Afterwards, if you are good, this will be followed up by a reading of a bonus shorter work by M R James.
Storyteller: Robert Lloyd Parry has travelled widely in the UK and USA with his candlelit M R James performances, which have been covered by The New Yorker, The Fortean Times, The Spectator, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Morning Star. In 2014 he appeared as the author in Mark Gatiss’s BBC2 Documentary ‘M R James: Ghost Writer.’ For more details see www.nunkie.co.uk
“If any of my stories succeed in causing their readers to feel pleasantly uncomfortable when walking along a solitary road at nightfall, or sitting over a dying fire in the small hours, my purpose in writing them will have been attained…”
Montague Rhodes James (1862 – 1936) more than succeeded in this modest ambition. Over a century after their first publication, his Ghost Stories of an Antiquary remain the most admired supernatural tales in the English language. James first performed them to friends at Christmas in King’s College, Cambridge in the year up to WW1. Since 2005 Robert Lloyd Parry has sought to bring this tradition back to life.
In A View from a Hill a pair of old binoculars reveal the grisly history of an idyllic stretch of English landscape. The story lasts about 40 mins. Afterwards, if you are good, this will be followed up by a reading of a bonus shorter work by M R James.
Storyteller: Robert Lloyd Parry has travelled widely in the UK and USA with his candlelit M R James performances, which have been covered by The New Yorker, The Fortean Times, The Spectator, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Morning Star. In 2014 he appeared as the author in Mark Gatiss’s BBC2 Documentary ‘M R James: Ghost Writer.’ For more details see www.nunkie.co.uk
This winter let Viktor Wynd share a nightcap with you, tuck you into bed and tell you Fairy Tales to send you into a deep sleep of strange dreams. In this first session Mr.Wynd will tell you some of his very favourite fairy tales from Ireland, featuring a talking corpse, a Merrow (which is very similar to a mermaid, but not at all the same), the good people (who may be fairies, and may not be that good), a changeling child (or possibly two) and the very devil himself.
Viktor Wynd, proprietor of London’s eponymous (nay infamous) Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History has spent the last twenty five years telling stories to audiences across the globe. Fascinated by traditional fairy tales his repetoire includes tales from The Brothers Grimm, The Arabian Nights, Scandinavia, Russia, Italy, France, Irieland, Africa, Papua New Guinea & North America – so far.
Mr.Wynd will be drinking Malmsey Wine (Madeira) this Sunday evening and strongly recommends you do too – or perhaps a glass of Marsala Wine or even Whiskey. That said if you would rather have a cup of cocoa or chamomile tea that would also no doubt be delightful, though you may find that not only will an alcoholic drink help you enjoy the stories, but, certainly if you ahve enough, help you to slip into a deep sleep as well
Watch a recording of This Lecture, & 100s of others, for free when you join our Patreon www.patreon.com/theviktorwyndmuseum
Let Viktor Wynd share a nightcap with you, tuck you into bed and tell you Fairy Tales to send you into a deep sleep of strange dreams. Be warned these are not the Ladybird or Disney verisons and may not be suitable for the tenderist ears.
This evening Mr.Wynd will choose some of his favourite tales, Princesses will suffer strange enchantments, evil stepmothers will plot and scheme, shapes will change, magic, madness and evil beasts galore.
Viktor Wynd, proprietor of London’s eponymous (nay infamous) Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History has spent the last twenty five years telling stories to audiences across the globe. Fascinated by traditional fairy tales his repetoire includes tales from The Brothers Grimm, The Arabian Nights, Scandinavia, Russia, Italy, France, Ireland, Africa, Papua New Guinea & North America – so far.
Let Viktor Wynd share a nightcap with you, tuck you into bed and tell you Fairy Tales to send you into a deep sleep of strange dreams. Be warned these are not the Ladybird or Disney verisons and may not be suitable for the tenderist ears.
Ireland has some of the richest, most marvellous and most wonderful fairy tales – Viktor Wynd will tell you some more of his favourites, replete with supernatural beings and strange happenings.
Viktor Wynd, proprietor of London’s eponymous (nay infamous) Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History has spent the last twenty five years telling stories to audiences across the globe. Fascinated by traditional fairy tales his repetoire includes tales from The Brothers Grimm, The Arabian Nights, Scandinavia, Russia, Italy, France, Irieland, Africa, Papua New Guinea & North America – so far.
Watch a recording of This Lecture, & 100s of others, for free when you join our Patreon www.patreon.com/theviktorwyndmuseum
In March 2020 Viktor Wynd’s book The UnNatural History Museum was published by Prestel, after a brief spur of delight the world moved onto other things. This is the lecture that would have happened accross the country in 2020 & will be illustrated from Mr.Wynd’s home not only with photos but also with extraordinary objects
Viktor Wynd, master of the contemporary Wunderkabinett, is back with a collection of artifacts and curiosities that are more bizarre and wonderful than ever.
For over a decade, from a tiny storefront in east London, the artist Viktor Wynd has been reinventing the cabinet of curiosities for the 21st century. The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History is now one of the city’s most tantalizing tourist destinations. Wynd first introduced his worldview in the book Viktor Wynd’s Cabinet of Wonders, which John Waters called »an insanely delightful how-to guide . . . told with lunatic humor and absolute joy.« In this new volume, he takes readers on a tour inside his mildly-twisted mind, delving deeper into his philosophy of collecting, and describing personal connections to the objects he treasures. Written in his trademark charismatic style, which blends whimsical stories with odd facts and obscure references, this book is filled with lavish and theatrical photographs and drawings. Loosely organized into thematic chapters, it ponders the beauty of skulls and masks; explores beasts, freaks, monsters, fairies, and mermaids; covers magical plants, hallucinogens, erotica, and dandies; and dips into the world of the occult. This might not be a book for everyone. However, it is a book everyone interested in cabinets of curiosities should have on their shelf.
Every year, as darkness falls upon woodlands, the nightingale heralds the arrival of Spring. For thousands of years, its sweet song has inspired musicians, writers and artists around the world, from Germany, France and Italy to Greece, Ukraine and Korea.
Passionate conservationist, renowned musician and folk expert Sam Lee tells the story of the nightingale. This talk reveals in beautiful detail the bird’s song, habitat, characteristics and migration patterns, as well as the environmental issues that threaten its livelihood.
The Unnatural History of Cornwall – curated by Dr.Amy Hale brings stories of the weird and wonderful from Cornwall to a wider audience, with an emphasis on Cornish voices from the past and the present.
Traditional ballads and the tunes that go with them can be quite separate entities that connect and part company as they travel through time. There is a sense in which both carry the stories and interpretations of the people and communities with which they engage. Indeed, these stories and meanings will often tell us more about these people and their social milieu than the origins of the tradition. During the course of its travels the story of the Pencarrow Hunt and Black John has connected with some interesting characters and provides the perfect study for an “unnatural history”.
The Hanging of a Mouse
The Four Branches of the Mabinogi were set down on the page in the early thirteenth century. They are stories that had been told and sung by Welsh bards for centuries before they were written down.
One of the central concerns of the Mabinogi is the uneasy relationship between this world and Annwn, the Otherworld.
In this performance, drawing from the first and third branches, Hugh Lupton unravels a tale of violence, love, enchantment and revenge beginning with a badger in a bag and ending with a gallows for a mouse.
Hugh Lupton has been a professional storyteller since1981. He tells stories from all over the world, but his particular passion is for the hidden layers of the British landscape and the stories and ballads that give voice to them. He is also a lyricist and a novelist and has published many collections of traditional tales. His novel ‘The Assembly of the Severed Head’ explores the moment the Mabinogion moved from being part of a fluid oral culture to becoming a written text.
A recording will be sent to ticketholders who miss the event
Join artist Viktor Wynd for an intimate tour and walk through of his new Cornish Museum. enter inside his mind, a place peopled by Unicorns, Fairies, Giants, Mermaids, myths, legends and dreams. A voyage to the monsters that live in the depths of his subconscious, from a two headed kitten and a two headed teddy bear to a selkie’s foot, a baby’s caul and a magical jar of moles. Viktor Wynd is a ‘pataphysical artist who uses museum objects in the way that other artists use tubes of paint, a writer who presents his novel on hand written museum labels. Founder and proprietor, since 2009, of London’s infamous & eponymous Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History he invites you to come in, enjoy and exit through The Egress.
the evening will finish with a bedtime story – not necessarily suitable for the squeamish
Viktor Wynd’s UnNatural History Museum is at The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth until the end of 20
