Some will know I have given much time to locating the works of W.H. Auden in the North Pennines. The process of uncovering cultural links so easily forgotten is far from just about Auden. A notable example is Jock O' Hazeldean. Is it simply a Scottish song? No it is a Border song about an English lady eloping across the Border. Irthington and Langleydale are not too difficult to place. It becomes clearer in
"Though Scottish, written by Walter Scott, this song is set in Northumberland where a lady, betrothed to a local Lord, is in love with another with whom she elopes over the border into Scotland. Brian Watson found the small farmhouse of Hazeldean on the Ordnance Survey map situated just north of Hexham, my home town." Those are not my words but come from https://mainlynorfolk.info/steeleye.span/songs/johnofhazelgreen.html (!!) and refer to Carolyn Robson. This link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqi4ROJckzE&list=RDSqi4ROJckzE&start_radio=1 is the Tommy Makem version with film. But where has the film come from? I feel I should recognise many of the locations.Wednesday, 3 December 2025
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