One Year of the Story

This is the tale of Robin Hood
And of his merry men........

And with Alan a Dale’s opening song from Walt Disney’s ‘Story of Robin Hood’ I began my first posting a year ago. I would like to thank all those that have left their kind words of encouragement in my message book or on the site over this period. There are two people in particular who have added links to this site from their web pages who I would like to thank. Anna Fraser on the ‘Robin Hood Appreciation Society’ site and ‘Robin Hood’ on his ‘Robin Hood 2007.’ Both of these sites are incredibly informative and well worth regular visits (links to their sites can be found in the right-hand column).

During the past 123 postings we have had a look at Denham Studios, some of the lives of the stars of the movie, including James Robertson Justice, Bill Owen, Joan Rice, Peter Finch and others. Also featured was the genius behind the movie, Walt Disney, and the amazing talents of Carmen Dillon, Ken Annakin and Peter Ellenshaw.

Other topics in the years postings, have included the release of the Story of Robin Hood on 8mm Disney Home Movies and the film’s showing on the luxurious cruise ship Caronia.

But this blog is also about the fascinating legend of Robin Hood. So we have examined a couple of the early ballads about the outlaw, the original size of Sherwood Forest, the ruthless rules of medieval forest law and its penalties, Friar Tuck, archery, the quarter-staff and the mystery surrounding the legends of Will Scarlet’s and Little John’s graves. All these posts are labelled in the right hand column where they can be easily accessed.

I am taking a short break, but will be back soon. In the meantime it would be great to hear from some of you. Your comments are always very welcome and encouraging, so please, if you are a first time visitor, or one of my regulars, please drop a line! When did you first hear the story of Robin Hood? Why do you think an English medieval outlaw with a wooden bow and arrow is still popular all over the world in the twenty-first century? Have you seen the new BBC series of Robin Hood and how does it compare to past productions?

See you in about a week!