"...somewhere, in almost any church in the land, you can see that impish grinning ancient face with leaves and branches spewing and flowing out of his mouth and whirling round his head, or sprouting from his cheeks and eyebrows like mad leafy whiskers. Sometimes the whole head is made of leaves; sometimes it's as if a puckish face is peering out through a dense net of foliage. He can be sinister, he can be rather cuddly-looking. He was also called Jack o' the Green or Jack o' the Woods: he is the spirit of the wildwoods, the Panic elemental force. He is the King of the May; lord of misrule: some say he's the origin of Robin Hood. Whatever: he is definitely nothing to do with being pious on Sundays.
We looked up the mighty, intricate, dinner-plate sized Green Men in Winchester and Norwich, St Giles in Edinburgh, Southwell Minster... He's all over Europe; you can find him in India. We discovered a researcher who claims that in Exeter cathedral there are more images of the Green Man than there are of Jesus (he has counted)..."
Jean in sunny but chilly Glasgow
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