AN award-winning West Somerset journalist who has spent his life writing newspaper stories on everything from royal visits to murders, has celebrated his 65th birthday by penning...a fairy-story!
“But now the project, which was meant to be non-commercial and just something for future generations of my family, seems to have gathered a momentum of its own.”
The book is available on Amazon and has sold hundreds of copies within just a week.
With a cover and illustrations by Sue Onley, Martin’s partner and a well-known local artist, the story follows the mid-winter adventures of a brother and sister whose father has gone off to war. They become lost in the deer park but soon discover mysterious ancient denizens exist in the woods and who can be called upon for help should the need arise.
“The tale includes a memorable Christmas dinner in Dunster Castle which looms over the village and even a giant, a - nice - witch and a hobby horse.
“I loved such stories when I was a kid and the magical woodlands above Dunster remind me of some of those old Grimm’s fairy-tales. All these stories began to swirl around in my mind as I thought about how a modern fairy-tale could be developed.
“There are also a great many legends based in and around Dunster, which, of course, is one of the most historic villages in the South-West. For example, I seem to remember reporting on a story once after archaeologists had found the skeleton of an exceptionally large man buried in some nether region of Dunster Castle.
“He died centuries ago in the days when people were a good deal shorter than they are now. I think this guy was something like seven feet tall - so he really must have been a giant back in the day.
“This tied in with what I remember being told of a legend about a giant living at Dunster. He was so big he kept knocking into things around the village - so they banned him from the place and made him live just outside up on the hill named Grabbist where there was apparently a place called The Giant’s Seat.
“The part of the legend that sticks in my memory was that the villagers were kind to him and brought him food, which resulted in his doing favours around the place - like blowing down from his high seat at the washing on washing-day when there wasn’t enough wind to dry the clothes. A tall order even for a giant, but a good story nevertheless.”
Martin added: “So you can see, there was plenty of material available when the Covid lockdown kicked in and I had time on my hands at home.
“I don’t really know if today’s children will enjoy the story - it’s admittedly a bit old-fashioned - but it really is the sort of thing I liked to read when I was a kid.”
The Deer Park by Martin Hesp, illustrated by Sue Onley (£6.99), is available on Amazon now and from the Churchgate Gallery in Porlock, Home Coming in Dunster and the Courtyard Gallery in Minehead.