Michael Bott writes to tell me about a new dvd, Standing With Stones. It’s a personal journey starting at Ballowall Barrow in Cornwall and taking in more than a hundred megalithic sites across England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, finishing at The Tomb of the Eagles on South Ronaldsay, Orkney.

Michael is a film-maker of some experience, and his partner in this project, Rupert Soskin, has been an expedition leader to various sites around the world, including a trip to the Colombian jungles to visit the Kogi Indians.

The original plan was to turn this into a TV series, but when that didn’t happen Michael and Rupert decided they were so in love with the project they wanted to produce it themselves. Filming began in November 2006 for four months, and the edit was completed in November.

Michael says, “In brief: we both have a love for standing stones and all things megalithic. This was a journey of a lifetime and we had the best time ever!”

I haven’t seen the dvd so I can’t recommend it, but you can check it out and order it at www.standingwithstones.com.

The film will get its premiere at Chipping Norton Theatre, Oxfordshire, on April 15th in aid of the Rollrights Trust. Rupert and Michael will be attending. Tickets are £10.00 from the theatre box office Tel: 01608 642350.

“Archaeologists say they have found a huge ancient settlement used by the people who built Stonehenge.”

Developments at Stonehenge are proving more fascinating with each year. It appears to be unfolding in the shape of an enormous ritual site like the one at nearby Avebury. There’s still a great deal of work going on there so expect a few more text books to be ripped up in the coming months…

“THE NEWTON stone is a small, rather unassuming pillar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. On one side is faded, ancient writing, on the other a curling snake and cylindrical patterning. Many would say that it is a typical example of a Scottish standing stone.”

One, shall we say, creative opinion, for the meaning behind the designs is detailed here. The truth, of course, is being defined in The Kingdom of the Serpent.

Just wanted to direct your attention to Heart of Albion Press as Breakfast raised them in one of the comments below.

Heart of Albion publishes books on many of the things referenced in my stories - from standing stones to fairy lore - and are well worth checking out if you want to investigate some of the background to my work.