Latest news with #Witches
The Courier
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Witches of Scotland: On 'viral' tartan and How to Kill a Witch
Dr Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell KC are known to many in Dundee as teacher and a human rights lawyer, respectively. They are also the founders of the Witches of Scotland, who in 2022 persuaded then Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon to formally apologise for the injustice of the country's witch trials between the 16th and 18th centuries. And this Saturday, the two self-avowed 'quarrelsome dames' will take their place on the Royal Mile for the capital's inaugural Tartan Parade, to promote a crowdfunded Witches of Scotland tartan, devised as a living memorial for those persecuted over that time. On an evening video call following the duo's Highlands trip to see the Witches of Scotland tartan start rolling off looms at the Prickly Thistle mill near Alness, Zoe admits that seeing the tartan come alive was 'wild'. 'Seeing it actually getting made was just mind-boggling,' she says. The tartan itself has gone viral, taking off across the pond as well as here in Scotland, with fans even getting the pattern painted on their nails. 'We knew it would be popular,' says Zoe. Witches of Scotland tartan. Image: Supplied. 'A lot of people follow what we do, especially in the US and Canada, they're really behind the campaign. 'But I don't think we had any real sense of how genuinely viral it had gone.' Claire, who was based in Dundee until recently, but now lives between Edinburgh and London, adds: 'Even now we're getting several messages a day asking where can I get the tartan, what's going on? Every time you pick up your phone, there are emails and Instagram and TikToks. You're like, 'Ahhhh!'' New book is 'accessible' non-fiction The tartan's popularity is no doubt in part due to the success of Zoe and Clarie's Witches of Scotland podcast, which has seen them gain hundreds of listeners around the world. And the duo are also gearing up to release a book on the subject of Scottish witches – the anticipated How To Kill A Witch – with a special edition decorated in their striking black-and-red tartan. More important, though, is the book's content – a clearly written breakdown of why Scotland's church and state hunted witches and so many women were persecuted. Both campaigners were keen on a non-fiction work, as they were already writers in different ways, Zoe explains. In 2012, the Newport-on-Tay-based teacher published a novel Anywhere's Better Than Here, while her collaborator's career involves what Claire describes as 'very dull' writing. The limited edition tartan cover for How to Kill a Witch. Image: Supplied. Zoe replies: 'But it's factual writing, not made-up, whereas my stuff usually is. 'I've always thought it would be nice to have another source of information people can pick up. It's an artifact that can galvanise readers in a different way.' 'To be a woman, you need a sense of humour' The book's many chilling descriptions of torture and executions, such as that of Girzell Simpson in Forfar, are balanced by the authors' dry wit – an important touch, Zoe believes, not least for themselves. She says: 'To survive being a woman, you need a sense of humour, cause otherwise you would just implode with rage.' Claire adds: 'Eminent experts have written about the Witchcraft Act and the trials, but because they're proper historians, some of their books are very big academic tomes and very dense. 'Our campaign is about making things as accessible as possible. 'We hope somebody that might not pick up an academic book picks this up and learns broadly about who brought the act in, how trials took place and their relevance today.' 'We have to be on our guard' says Zoe Zoe points out their work is not just a factual retelling, but 'a rallying cry' for contemporary women, as persecution against 'witches' still occurs in parts of Africa, including Nigeria, Malawi and Ghana. 'Our book is overtly feminist – it's a call to arms,' she says. 'The point is to say 'this is what happens and it's starting to happen again in different ways'. 'In the States, women's rights are under attack and everywhere humans try and find vulnerable people to blame when things go wrong, like immigrants in boats. 'We have to be on our guard.' How To Kill A Witch by Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell is published on May 15 2025. The authors appear at Toppings, St Andrews on May 16, and as part of Dundee Book Festival on June 14.
South China Morning Post
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Authenticity checks and balances help writers stay within fine lines
Published: 11:00am, 22 Feb 2025 In 2023, British children's publisher Puffin updated the work of author Roald Dahl to exorcise perceptions of bias and prejudice. Their goal was to retrofit the work for new generations of global readers. Out went the casual name calling, fat-shaming, othering and general linguistic cruelty. Witches were no longer 'old hags', but rather, 'old crows'. The terrifying Twits were still 'beastly', but no longer deemed 'ugly'. The work of Dahl, long criticised for his antisemitic views , was considered ripe for review. 'Of course they're real people,' he wrote about the Oompa-Loompas, arguably enslaved and trafficked workers who staffed Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, originally conceived as African pygmies. 'Imported direct from Loompaland … And oh, what a terrible country it is!' Textual adjustments were not merely altruistic. With a sale of Dahl's catalogue to Netflix in 2021 for a reported £500 million (then around US$685 million), preserving the value of the IP portfolio also meant heading off any future possibility of 'cancellation' amid the ongoing culture wars. The backlash that followed changes to Dahl's work , however, was swift and clear: don't mess with our stories. For American filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the writer's original work should be considered 'sacrosanct', and the edits tantamount to 'censorship'. Oompa-Loompas on the set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), a film based on Roald Dahl's 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then-British prime minister Rishi Sunak asserted that literature should be 'preserved and not airbrushed'. Even Britain's Queen Camilla appeared to weigh in, imploring authors to 'please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to […] impose limits on your imagination'. Criticism of the tampering was far from unanimous, however. Writers including Philip Pullman , the prize-winning author of fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials (1995-2000), spoke up in defence of cancellation, asserting on BBC Radio 4 that if Dahl's writing is indeed offensive, 'let him go out of print' and make space for the new generations of writers who are more relevant to today's readers.
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Reformed 1980s group Zenana dedicate single to LGBT+ community
A trailblazing band that reformed after a chance discovery of their 1980s record in a second-hand shop have released a new single to celebrate the LGBT+ made up of Anita Gabrielle Tedder, Penny Griffiths and Ruth Elder, formed in Milton Keynes in 1983 and first disbanded in Tedder said that when she originally penned Touch of a Woman in 1985 it was a "scary and secretive" time to be openly gay, but it proved how "ahead of our time" the group said they felt inspired to release the track on Valentine's Day as it included the lyrics: "Give me some love of a different kind." Ms Tedder said when she was being interviewed for a heritage project in Milton Keynes on queer history, "a young woman said to me '40 years before Chappell Roan there was Zenana' and I thought that was wonderful." Ms Tedder has been with her partner Steph Daniels, the band's manager, for 44 years. They live in Wootton, Bedfordshire. The former teachers, who never came out at work, "campaigned politically and in London, where we felt safe", she said."Old fans are now coming out of the woodwork to tell us we were very important in providing a positive image for gay people back in the day, we were ahead of our time." Ms Tedder said Touch of a Woman would be released on all streaming platforms on 14 February and was "courageously sung by Penny, and at the time, as a straight woman it was a revelation to me". "It was a big deal at the time," she added. "I've always said how grateful I am for their support - as Ruth has always said, love is love, it still touches me now."The band is hoping the track is as successful as their single, Witches - that has built up 31,000 streams on Spotify after its re-release in hundred copies of the vinyl remix of Witches, that was released by Rush Hour Records in September 2024 sold out, so a second print is being made, she said. Ms Tedder said of the 1980s: "When the lyrics 'give me some love of a different kind' were played, people would launch into the air in gay clubs, it was a bit of an anthem. "The world is a completely different place now, we did have double lives back then, it's humbling how far we've come." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
