Three Kings: Kingfisher, King Arthur and the King of Fuh

Kingfisher

There have been three kings in my life, and all have a strong connection to the natural world. The Kingfisher, of course, is a well known and colourful bird that fishes like its name suggests. Kingfisher is also the title of a song of mine I wrote many years ago after seeing one of these birds whilst walking by the Glamorgan canal that runs from Whitchurch to Tongwynlais. My song has nothing to do with that experience really but it was the inspiration for the title. Kingfisher has proved very popular and shows what can be done with as few as two chords. I play it in E and A major. Back in the early 1990s I remember hearing it blaring out the doorway of a chip shop in Cardiff’s Caroline Street, and thought, wow, that is my song, I am hearing! It was being aired on Red Dragon FM, a local radio station, by my friend radio host Steve Johnson. Another time I was in the city centre when I heard the unmistakable voice of my friend the late Pixi Morgan, who was a fellow singer-songwriter and busker, singing “Kingfisher’s green, kingfisher’s blue, he’s so lovely but I love you, I’ll be your kingfisher.” Pixi often included my song in his set and must have entertained people with it in many towns and cities. It is a mark of success having a song of yours covered by another artist. Kingfisher is popular with Druids and pagans too and has the line, “Queen of the summer, Queen of the May,” making it an ideal song for Beltane celebrations, and I have often performed it at the Gorsedd circle at Avebury.

King Arthur

Speaking of Druids brings me to the next King. In 1996 I met and was knighted by King Arthur Uther Pendragon, who is a Druid and who believes he is the reincarnation of the legendary Celtic chieftain. King Arthur leads a Druid Order known as the Loyal Arthurian Warband and members are sworn to uphold the Ancient Virtues of Truth, Honour and Justice. I am a Quest Knight and Bard of the order. Once again Steve Johnson and Red Dragon Radio plays a big part in my story. I had been on Steve’s Round Table radio show on the 23 December and we had been talking about what I achieved by writing letters. Little was I to know then that the following morning was not to bring me more Christmas cards or presents but a single letter. It was a reply to me from King Arthur, in response to mail I had sent some time ago to his AWEN Newsletter. Arthur told me a bit about his Druid Order and suggested that to find out more I tuned into a Radio 4 show that was being broadcast in the New Year about him. I did so and was amazed to hear in an early part of the programme the voice of Pixi Morgan wishing people a “Happy Beltane.” It turned out that Pixi had been Arthur’s Herald at the Twyford Down protest camp. So that was how my introduction to King Arthur came about and it continued with my actual meeting with him in person when he travelled to Cardiff with a crew from Sky TV to make a documentary about reincarnation. I had agreed to be knighted in this at Tinkinswood Burial Chambers just outside Cardiff. Arthur extended the invitation to Pixi to be knighted there too and this happened for the TV cameras. Amongst the proceedings that got filmed was me singing Kingfisher. Some time after all this I wrote a song entitled King Arthur’s Coming and it got used by a number of TV shows. The Slate on BBC Wales included me singing a live version, a documentary on eccentrics on Meridian TV used a recording of the song, and so did another documentary on the German ZDF TV. King Arthur, besides being well known in the media as a Druid, is also famous for his work as an ecowarrior, who has been arrested many times at protest camps where he has been trying his best to protect the land. He is fulfilling the prophecy that King Arthur would return when the land was in its greatest need.

The King of Fuh

The third King is the King of Fuh. This King is a fictional character in a song of the same name by American singer-songwriter and actor, Stephen Friedland, who is also known as Brute Force. He and I became known to each other this year because we are both regular performers on the online show ReW and WhO? from New York. The show is hosted by singer, musician and actress Rew Starr and Green Party candidate James Lane. Brute Force has performed the King of Fuh on ReW and WhO? I was not surprised when I discovered that this amazing song had given Brute the nearest he got to his “big break.” In 1969, Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon were so impressed with Brute’s song and songwriting talent that they wanted him released on Apple. And so it was that a limited edition of 1,000 singles of the King of Fuh were pressed on the Apple label. Everything looked as if this was going to be a massive success for Brute but sadly EMI/Capitol Records and the BBC soon put a stop on this happening. It was thought by them that lyrics in the song that use the words “Fuh king” were not suitable for public airplay and so no radio station would play it either. Brute discovered that the taboo about using the F-word on the media at the time was so powerful that his song got pulled from the distribution it should have had. This is so sad because it does not actually use the F-word. The King of Fuh is a song with lyrics that for me make reference to the crazy world we are in, in which the beauty of nature has not been seen as vital to our lives. Lyrics of the song go: “You look up high and you see the sky so big and blue and you wonder why people don't worship beauty, You look down on the ground, you see the flowers there red and blue and brown, And you wonder why people don't worship beauty. There was a beautiful land, There was a beautiful land, There was a beautiful land called Fuh, And in this land there was a king and everybody called him the Fuh King.”

I am happy to say that I have been able to help Brute get some more publicity for his music because I introduced him to Michael Kennedy who runs the SWND magazine in Wales, and who is now interviewing Brute for the November edition. In conclusion, I’d just like to add that I saw a Kingfisher, wrote a song saying “I’ll be your Kingfisher, “ and then went on to befriend two kings! Make of that whatever you will!

Salisbury Wildlife and the Avon Valley Nature Reserve

Visiting Salisbury

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire for a few days and fell in love with the place. I was happy to see that wildlife is thriving here, despite increasing declines in species throughout much of the UK.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Even in the heart of the city I spotted Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars on Ragwort. There were plenty of these brightly-coloured caterpillars on plants growing on the riverbank right by the Waitrose supermarket. These larvae have orange bodies, banded with black rings. The adult moth is also a very pretty creature with red and black wings. It flies by day and could easily be thought to be a butterfly. This moths caterpillars eat various species of Ragwort and Groundsel (Senecio species). Although these plants are classed as weeds they are very important sources of life for many additional species, in addition to the caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth. The Buglife charity, which is concerned with the conservation of invertebrates, has reported that over 30 other species of insect depend on Ragwort alone.

Avon Valley Local Nature Reserve

King Arthur Pendragon, Kazz and Chris Stone (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I was in Britain for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge and also visiting my friends, author Chris Stone, and Druid and eco-warrior King Arthur Pendragon and his partner Kazz. Arthur and Kazz live locally and they suggested we could go on a walk in the nature reserve that is on the banks of the River Avon. I love nature, so was happy to agree to their suggestion, and was very highly impressed with what I saw.

River Avon (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The River Avon looked really clean and there were very many fish that could easily be seen swimming in the current. I spotted Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus), and what looked like Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus).

A Shoal of Fish (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Meadowsweet (Photo: Steve Andrews)

There are extensive water meadows bordering the river too, and in the marshy ground was plenty of Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) in bloom. It has a most amazing perfume that reminds of summer meadows and freshly mown grass, and is a most beautiful herb that is actually in the rose family (Rosaceae).

As well as Meadowsweet, there  were plenty of Creeping Thistles (Cirsium arvense) in flower, and also the very poisonous, but attractive to insect pollinators, Hemlock Water Dropwort (Oenanthe crocata). Kazz spotted a colourful moth feeding on the nectar from this dangerous plant, and she asked me what it was. It was a Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula), a pretty moth that flies by day, and is of interest because it is unusual for being able to feed. Most other species of tiger moths have no mouth-parts and do all their feeding as larvae.

Scarlet Tiger Moth (Photo: Steve Andrews)

On the thistles I saw several Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) butterflies. This was a good sign because this once common species has been declining fast in the UK over the past few years. There were plenty of clumps of Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) growing nearby, and this is its main food-plant for its caterpillars.

Small Tortoiseshell on Thistle (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Water Voles 

Avon Valley Info Board (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Near a bridge over the Avon there was an information board showing species of wildlife that can be found on the reserve. I was happy to see the Water Vole (Arvicola amphibious) included. This is a British mammal that has become increasingly rare, so it was very good news to see that it is holding its own here. Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) too frequent the area I learned, and I was not surprised, because it is an ideal habitat with plenty of small fish they can hunt.

Elsewhere in Salisbury

Steve Andrews in Salisbury

 I also went for an evening stroll with Chris around Salisbury and around the area outside Salisbury Cathedral. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful and it was a glorious summer evening. I was really impressed with how there was no litter to be seen, no graffiti, and no damage to trees of the city, unlike elsewhere in the UK, where trees are being felled with the support of local councils. How is it that Salisbury doesn’t appear to have the problems other towns and cities have I wondered? “I would love to live in Salisbury,” I told Chris. “I think you will find properties here are very expensive,” he told me. He also pointed out that Salisbury is a Tory stronghold, and suggested that might have something to do with how it is there. He was right that houses and flats in the city are very expensive to buy and rent, and also that the Conservative party is in power there.

In no way do I support the Tories, but it got me thinking about how it seems that it is mostly Labour councils that are behind the destruction of so many city trees in Britain. For example, this is the case in Sheffield, a city that has made world news with regard to the thousands of trees that have been felled there by Amey Plc with the support of Labour politicians. I haven’t done the research yet but I wonder how many cities have lost their street trees due to corrupt Labour councillors?