The Silver Fox banished the night-dark wings of Crow and called forth flame from the night. Holding aloft the staff one final time, the fire leaped magically to light the banner…
The crowd came closer, seeking the light and warmth of the braziers, called by the music…and strangely garbed… And behind them, the victorious Giant… the Green Man…
As the flames grew, we saw that another of his kind held the banner…and in the shadows the Foxes prowled, waiting their chance to regain their place…
…for here, the snow-faced dogs of winter still held sway. But not for long… the drums and pipes called to the Foxes…
…and the battle was joined, red and white, as the flames leaped and the rain fell… But the Green Man looked on… his was the victory this night.
The drums marked their footsteps and every blow and feint… a deep heartbeat, the cadence of the earth itself…as the pipes played the dance…
Then came the challenge… As the Old Dog strutted in arrogance, a flash of green broke the night and, as if materialising from the hope of spring, Young Fox appeared…
Matched and mirrored they dance in the dark… the Dog tires, beaten by the youth of the Fox and the spring in his step… and the Dog slinks away to lick his wounds, which Young Fox claims his rightful place at the centre of the Foxes…
They dance the victory… a story mirrored in the land and the stars of the night sky.. a story older than time… danced to a tune forgotten by Man, yet which runs as deep in the blood as ever it did…
We watch, breathless… smiling… dancing with the beat of the drum…storing up the music to carry away with us as the dance ends with a final flourish and the Foxes fade into the night… Until next time….
Want to know more about Charles James Fox and the mysterious Red Book of Langsett? Visit Mr Fox’s Earth… or join us in April when it is rumoured that the Foxes will dance for the Foliate Man… or…
and Mister Fox and the Demon Dogs
available via Amazon worldwide
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Reblogged this on stevetanham.
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie and commented:
I will have to move this one up my TR pile…
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😉 it doesn’t take long… Though thi king about it might 🙂
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Love this, Sue. The production is so dramatic with the red fire and masks against the black of night. The pictures are mesmerizing and I can imagine the drumbeat. Is the event narrated or all in pantomime? It looks wonderful.
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It is all danced, Diana… and needs no narration, speaking, as it does, to an older understanding than logic. It is always a real joy when we get to see Mister Fox… and the long drive home is usually enlivened by two very bad singers trying to reproduce the music 🙂
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Wonderful, Sue. It looks spectacular.
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It is 🙂
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They also sometimes sing a song, usually at the Hunters Moon show… though I have never been able to decipher the words properly…
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Thanks, Stuart. I love this. We had the Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont that used similar masks and story-telling techniques. It was a mix of humans and puppets. Some of the puppets were twenty feet tall. It was always an event 🙂
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Sounds great, Diana… twenty foot tall puppets I approve of…
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You would 🙂
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Like a scene out of antiquity!
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It does feel completely timeless when you are there.
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Beautiful my heart was racing looking at the pics and reading the words.
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It is a superb event, Adele 🙂
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For more fox pics and words…check out the Graphic Novels…
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Reblogged this on Stuart France.
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