The 10-10-10 celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen continue this week with a festival on and under Alderley Edge.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, written by Alan Garner, has become a modern classic, highly rated by critics and read by generations of children. Many of the adults involved in the culture of Britain have been deeply influenced by the work of Alan Garner. And it all started with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.
During the last fifty years, the book has been published in several editions and languages. It has been adapted into a stage play, a radio play and is available as an audio book.
The celebrations for 10-10-10 in Alderley Edge this week include a talk by Alan Garner about his relationship with the Edge, the people of Alderley and their stories, which will take place at Alderley Edge Methodist Church on Thursday October 8th. The following day a medieval fair will take place in the field by the National Trust car park where visitors can discover some of the characters that bring the Legend of Alderley to life. Demonstrations include a potter, badge maker, wood carver along with storytelling, dressing a knight and displays of medieval food, herbs, yarns ad textiles.
Walking tours of the main landmarks of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen along with tours of the mines of Alderley Edge with the Derbyshire Caving Club will also be taking place throughout the day.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was the first of Alan Garner's novels, and, like most of his work, is underpinned by his knowledge of the landscape and lore of Cheshire. The story is based on the Legend of Alderley and turns on the role two children, Colin and Susan, play in a battle of good against evil. They discover a dangerous world of wizards and dwarfs and other strange beings inhabiting the beauty of the Edge.
Alan Garner was born in 1934 and grew up in Alderley Edge, where his family has lived for at least four hundred years. He has spent all his life in Cheshire, except for a brief spell at Oxford University and during National Service. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was written when he was in his early twenties and he has been writing ever since.
He moved to his present home near Jodrell Bank in 1957, and in 2004 co-founded The Blackden Trust to maintain, investigate and record the place where he has lived and worked for several decades but which has been inhabited for millennia.
A website has been set up to provide full information on 10-10-10, the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and further details on the Alderley Edge events can be found in our events calendar.
Image: 1960 cover.
