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Tales of Geek, Music, Media, Urban Myths, Folklore & the Weird by Charles Christian
​includes Weird Tales Radio Show podcast

What! That single was a Number One hit?

30/9/2018

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Diary Date: 2pm til 5pm this Sunday on Smart Radio GY – Charles Christian hosts the Chart Toppers show – nothing but No #1 singles from the UK Official Charts from the 1950s to the present day + a few No #2s that should have made it! See sidebar for links
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Weird Tales Radio Show #35: Michaelmas plus the Patron Saint of Sorcerers and Viking squirrels - 27th September 2018

28/9/2018

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Episode #35 - 27th September of the Weird Tales Radio Show podcast (available on iTunes, Spotify etc) looks at the folklore surrounding Michaelmas – did you know it was once known as "Pack Rag Day"? Plus we meet St Cyprian, the patron saint of sorcerers and witches – and ask how did he get that gig? We also remember the TV series Bewitched and learn why the Vikings’ squirrels were to be avoided.
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#Geek. . . Fascinating BBC story on the saga of the Instant Ramen/Pot Noodle

28/9/2018

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And to think I spent my formative years living on baked beans on toast!

The Eternal Life of the Instant Noodle

Basic instant noodles are the cheapest thing on sale in most prison stores, where three packs cost about a dollar. They've replaced cigarettes as the most traded item inside American prisons. They're so important, inmates use them as money.

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The Patron Saint of Sorcerers!?!

26/9/2018

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The 26th of September! Why that's the Feast of St Cyprian of Antioch, the Patron Saint of witches, magicians, sorcerers, occultists, demonologists and necromancers. Wait... run that one by me again! 

I was so intrigued I wrote this article for Ancient Origins – see link to preview.

From Sorcerer to Saint: The Arcane Life and Magickal Times of Saint Cyprian

Of all the saints of the Christian church, one of the most anomalous must surely be St Cyprian who, after his martyrdom in the early 4th century AD, became known as the patron saint of sorcerers.

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Scrying? There's a diploma for that!

25/9/2018

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I noticed there's quite a few scrying cabinets, crystal balls and mirrors for sale online – did you know you can now take an online diploma course in scrying? See link - no personal connection, I'm just intrigued by the concept. There's also a Wicca diploma course that apparently 6000 would-be witches have already signed up for at £127 a pop. Make way, make way, witch with a diploma coming through...

Scrying Diploma Course - Centre of Excellence

The Scrying Diploma Course teaches you how scrying works, the different tools used in its practice, and how to scry yourself. The Scrying Diploma Course introduces you to the subject by explaining what scrying is and describes theories relating to how it works, including information about scientific studies.

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AmWriting? More like Am Starving according to the Society of Authors!

24/9/2018

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The latest research data from the UK's Society of Authors does not make for happy reading if you a writer.

According to the results of their 2018 survey of author incomes (there were similar surveys in 2005 and 2013) the median annual income of a professional author is now £10,500 – well below the minimum wage in the UK. In real terms, taking inflation into account, this represents a fall in writing income of 42% since since 2005, and 15% since 2013.

Not surprisingly, just 13.7% of authors now earn their income solely from writing, compared with 40% in 2005. The term "professional" writer is defined as those for whom writing forms the major part of their working life – as distinct from people who earn something from their writing along with another main career.

The median annual writing income for all authors, professional or otherwise, was £3000 – a fall of almost 50% in real terms since 2005. There is also a growing gender gap, with women's average earnings from writing being about 75% of men's earnings. The SoA also cites an EU study which found that a professional author could, on average, expect to earn £6000 from the lifetime sales of each book. Considering how long it can take to research and write some books, you'd be better off stacking shelves in a supermarket!

What SoA chief executive Nicola Solomon says is the most disturbing aspect of these findings is that during the same period "large publishers are seeing their profits rocket". Data provided the Publishers Association themselves in 2016 showed authors received a total of £161 million in advances, royalties, and secondary rights revenue – which sounds a lot until you realise it represents just 3% of the publishing industry's turnover. 

In fact the profit margins of large publishers are currently running at about 13% and a shareholder in one of the big five publishers can expect to receive up to three times the amount paid to authors.

Authors are clearly the "product" – and if you want to make money out of books today, let some other mug do the writing while you buy shares in a publisher.
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Lonely Graveyards...

22/9/2018

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The ruined church of St Saviour's Surlingham (at the Norwich end of the Norfolk Broads). Although the church has been abandoned for over 300 years, the Norfolk naturalist Ted Ellis (1909-1986) and his wife are buried in the graveyard. Picture taken earlier this year while on a walkabout with Jane Christian. Surlingham Broad is known as "the wherry graveyard" as at least 13 wherry hulls have been scuttled there.
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Weird Tales Radio Show #34: Celtic Revivalism & Harvest Festival Folklore - 20th September 2018

21/9/2018

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Episode #34 of the Weird Tales Radio Show podcast (available on iTunes, Spotify etc) contains part two of our interview with Brendan Keane on Celtic Revivalism, the Occult & the Irish Dimension. Janie Christian looks at the surprisingly recent origins of English church Harvest Festivals and the curious folklore of Chalk Back Thursday. And Inanna Arthen offers a handy guide to North American Neo-Pagan & Wiccan resources, including books and websites.
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The perfect loo door sign for a Folklore Thursday

20/9/2018

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Avast me hearties!

19/9/2018

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Avast me hearties!

2pm - 4pm (BST) today (Wednesday) The Midweek Late Lunch on Smart Radio with Charles Christian. My featured artist is David Bowie and we'll be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (No, it really is a thing.)

Listen on:
Desktop/laptop: http://www.smartradio.org.uk
Apple iOS App: Smart Radio GY
Android App: Smart Radio GY
TuneIn Radio App: Smart Radio GY
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    This is Urban Fantasist

    Barrister and Reuters correspondent turned writer, award-winning tech journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, blogger, storyteller, and sometime werewolf-hunter Charles Christian is here to inform and entertain you with tales of writing, radio, geek, tech, media, music, urban myths, folklore, the weird​ and anything else that intrigues him. The site also has links to all Charles Christian's books including fiction, nonfiction, and the latest reviews. Plus links to his weekly Weird Tales and Smart Radio shows.

    The Latest Podcast

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    In Episode 52 of the Weird Tales Radio Show podcast... Janie looks at legends of healing lochs and haunted pits + we’ve witchcraft in caves and in Essex + we look at the folklore and origins of the fairy tale Bluebeard + and we talk to Moscow about Bonnie & Clyde! 

    ​Follow this link to access episodes of the Weird Tales Radio Show podcast. The page contains links to all our other podcast platforms. Click the player button below to hear latest show.
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    Hear Charles Christian on Smart Radio 
    The Midweek Late Lunch
    Wednesdays 2:00pm to 4:00pm (UK)

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    Sundays 2:00pm to 5:00pm (UK)

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Tel: 44(0)1986 788666
Tel/Txt: 44(0)7786738172

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  • Home
  • Weird Tales Radio
  • Charles Christian Bio
  • Charles Christian Books & Reviews
  • * Fiction
  • * Non Fiction
  • * Poetry
  • The Grievous Angel