her delicate face; her silvery eyes seemed far away and dreamy. When he saw her like this, alone in the woods, he felt a strange and almost painful sensation inside. He wanted to protect her, although from what he didn’t know. But he didn’t dare even show himself, let alone talk to her.
Yul was digging when he heard the front gate creak open. He looked up, thinking it was Sylvie returning, but saw through the windows of the sitting room that it was Magus. Luckily he was here and hard at work. He glanced again and saw the silhouette of Magus inside the sitting room. The great man came to stand by the window and watched for a moment. Yul nodded respectfully and put his back into the digging. Inside the cottage Magus sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs whilst Miranda made coffee.
‘I came to invite you and Sylvie down to the Village this evening. We have these wonderful storytelling events every so often and they’re great fun. I know you’ll both enjoy it tonight, even though it’s not really a Hallfolk thing.’
‘Storytelling? That does sound fun, and very traditional too,’ said Miranda warmly.
‘Well, the Villagers don’t have television or film, so this is something special for them. Everyone needs the power and magic of story in their lives. It’s a very basic human need.’
‘Oh yes, absolutely! But I hadn’t realised the Villagers don’t have television. Isn’t there an uproar?’
‘Not at all. You don’t miss what you’ve never had and, believe me, their lives are the better for it.’
‘But isn’t that terribly elitist? You have television at the Hall,after all. Is it fair to deny the Villagers something which is such a crucial part of our culture? Shouldn’t they at least have the choice?’
Magus smiled as he sipped the coffee, his eyes appraising her in a way that made her feel like a schoolgirl again. She remembered that they were alone in the cottage, and found the coffee cup trembling slightly in her hand.
‘You’re very refreshing, Miranda,’ he said. ‘I’m not used to being challenged by anyone at Stonewylde. The point is that television may be crucial to your culture, or indeed, Outside World culture, but it’s irrelevant at Stonewylde. I explained the day you arrived that we’ve had to cut ourselves off in order to preserve our community. Television, radio, film, newspapers – they’re all modern media that have no place here. It would be an invasion, a threat, to bring such things into the Village. Can you imagine what it would do to our way of life?’
‘No, of course I can see that modern media wouldn’t fit in here,’ she said. ‘I can honestly say I haven’t missed any of it since we arrived. But I just thought the people in the Village should have a choice.’
‘It wouldn’t work. Simply by giving them access to the contemporary world with its rampant consumerism, we’d shatter the simplicity and harmony of their lives irrevocably.’
‘I suppose …’
‘You don’t know how our society works here, Miranda. The Villagers live the lives of their mediaeval ancestors, but without the negative aspects like disease, hunger and exploitation. They’re in touch with the natural world in a way that’s virtually unheard of nowadays in western civilization. They’re productive and creative, and not materialistic or avaricious in any sense. Television – and all the other stuff – would destroy that.’
‘Yes, I can see what you mean, but what about the Hallfolk? It doesn’t really seem fair. They visit the Outside World you said, and there’s television and the Internet at the Hall. They have a choice.’
‘Yes, they do, and many of them choose to leave Stonewyldefor good. They hanker for the modern world and find it stifling and slow here. Likewise, many leave, then become disillusioned and want to come back again. And most of them flit between the two worlds, spending time in both. But they’re educated differently to the Villagers.
Yul was digging when he heard the front gate creak open. He looked up, thinking it was Sylvie returning, but saw through the windows of the sitting room that it was Magus. Luckily he was here and hard at work. He glanced again and saw the silhouette of Magus inside the sitting room. The great man came to stand by the window and watched for a moment. Yul nodded respectfully and put his back into the digging. Inside the cottage Magus sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs whilst Miranda made coffee.
‘I came to invite you and Sylvie down to the Village this evening. We have these wonderful storytelling events every so often and they’re great fun. I know you’ll both enjoy it tonight, even though it’s not really a Hallfolk thing.’
‘Storytelling? That does sound fun, and very traditional too,’ said Miranda warmly.
‘Well, the Villagers don’t have television or film, so this is something special for them. Everyone needs the power and magic of story in their lives. It’s a very basic human need.’
‘Oh yes, absolutely! But I hadn’t realised the Villagers don’t have television. Isn’t there an uproar?’
‘Not at all. You don’t miss what you’ve never had and, believe me, their lives are the better for it.’
‘But isn’t that terribly elitist? You have television at the Hall,after all. Is it fair to deny the Villagers something which is such a crucial part of our culture? Shouldn’t they at least have the choice?’
Magus smiled as he sipped the coffee, his eyes appraising her in a way that made her feel like a schoolgirl again. She remembered that they were alone in the cottage, and found the coffee cup trembling slightly in her hand.
‘You’re very refreshing, Miranda,’ he said. ‘I’m not used to being challenged by anyone at Stonewylde. The point is that television may be crucial to your culture, or indeed, Outside World culture, but it’s irrelevant at Stonewylde. I explained the day you arrived that we’ve had to cut ourselves off in order to preserve our community. Television, radio, film, newspapers – they’re all modern media that have no place here. It would be an invasion, a threat, to bring such things into the Village. Can you imagine what it would do to our way of life?’
‘No, of course I can see that modern media wouldn’t fit in here,’ she said. ‘I can honestly say I haven’t missed any of it since we arrived. But I just thought the people in the Village should have a choice.’
‘It wouldn’t work. Simply by giving them access to the contemporary world with its rampant consumerism, we’d shatter the simplicity and harmony of their lives irrevocably.’
‘I suppose …’
‘You don’t know how our society works here, Miranda. The Villagers live the lives of their mediaeval ancestors, but without the negative aspects like disease, hunger and exploitation. They’re in touch with the natural world in a way that’s virtually unheard of nowadays in western civilization. They’re productive and creative, and not materialistic or avaricious in any sense. Television – and all the other stuff – would destroy that.’
‘Yes, I can see what you mean, but what about the Hallfolk? It doesn’t really seem fair. They visit the Outside World you said, and there’s television and the Internet at the Hall. They have a choice.’
‘Yes, they do, and many of them choose to leave Stonewyldefor good. They hanker for the modern world and find it stifling and slow here. Likewise, many leave, then become disillusioned and want to come back again. And most of them flit between the two worlds, spending time in both. But they’re educated differently to the Villagers.
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