Lynn Ashburner 

First Impressions – on meeting local writer, Michael Raven  

Which Michael Raven should I introduce you to? The poet, the decathlete, the flamenco guitar player, the collector, writer and performer of the folk music and folk lore of the West Midlands, or, as I first came across him, the writer of a fascinating guide to Staffordshire?

Living in Loggerheads, I was keen to find out more about its history, and that of Newcastle under Lyme. My first impressions had been that it was fairly anonymous, living as it did in the shadow of it more renowned neighbour, Stoke-on-Trent. In my local library I was directed to Michael’s book, ‘A Guide to Staffordshire & the Black Country, the Potteries & the Peak.’ I had expected to make a few notes and return the book, as the ‘guide genre’ has never featured on my list of favourite reads. however, I was in for a few surprises. One, that the book was entertaining as well as erudite and informative, two that Michael lived not half a mile away, and three, that he would be happy to meet me! 

How much better to gain an understanding of the area, from Michael himself. After placing an order for the volume on Amazon, I dared to phone Michael and after a circuitous conversation on the failings of Waterstone’s and mediaeval weapons, I was promptly invited to his home. 

After wending my way down a very narrow lane, I passed several small cottages and finally saw the white camper van.  No, that is not where he lived but with names not numbers, locating country cottages requires clues.  First impressions can be wonderfully rich and accurate.  One look at the study and I knew I needed to know more about the man rather than the area. Windows to three sides overlooking a crumpled mass of vegetation and trees, all remaining walls lined with books and tapes, and several large desks upon which sat small and large screens, black boxes and a mess of wires.  I took the sunken easy chair, thinking that I’d worry about getting out of it only when I had to. He warned me that I’d have trouble keeping him to the point, but by then I had realised that the need for questions would be very limited.  A cursory discussion began on the mystery of the castle that gave Newcastle its name, before it was decided that the best source of information on the area was his guide and the topic of conversation turned to Michael himself. 

Although born in south Wales, Michael has spent most of his life in Staffordshire, initially in Stafford itself and for the last twenty years or so in Ashley.  He had sought, and found an old cottage that would give him peace and tranquillity, with two acres of land to allow his beloved dogs to roam freely. His latest venture is a book of Staffordshire in pictures, carefully selected from the hundreds he has taken over the years. The quality of the volume is testament that this is clearly another labour of love. Yes, he admits, when he is working he can become obsessed with his topic, not pausing until it is complete.

The guide book that brought me here, had taken him over a year of travels to each town and village mentioned. Hence the camper van, I suggested. Oh no, it seems that was only bought to give the dogs plenty of room to move around in.  Wherever his travels took him he would always return home each evening… fourteen hour days were nothing in the summer months.  He would gain the background knowledge he required from books and old records, and armed with that he would visit every place mentioned to ensure the accuracy of what he wrote and to talk to locals about their customs and the past.

A brief dip into this book whets my appetite for more. I am tempted to begin a lengthy digression with a sub heading of ‘Did you know?’ Until relatively recently all that there had been at Loggerheads, was the inn, originally called the Three Loggerheads. Evidently, a loggerhead is a fool, and the original inn sign showed two fools’ heads, the third fool being the onlooker!  Part of the inn is 17th century and is a listed building. In one of its alcoves is a collection of documents relating to Buffalo Bill’s stay in 1904, when he wintered his men and horses for several months at three farms in the area.  One of these, Ivy House Farm, has an old railway carriage that reputedly belonged to him. The veterinary surgeries that were built to tend to the five hundred plus horses, stood until 1990. There is much more, but I must return to Michael. 

Once accumulated, it was another mammoth task, for Michael to decide what information to include, what to omit and how to present his findings. As publisher as well, every aspect of each book, the layout, indexing and photographs, were all his own work.  What of distribution, I asked… if nothing else this is usually what writers need from a publisher.  He handled that himself too, saying that with guide books it was relatively easy as sales would be limited to the area covered by the guide.  His books were welcomed by Webberleys and his powers of persuasion have seen them also stocked by W H Smith.  As a financial investment for him, breaking even is a welcome achievement. The inhabitants of Staffordshire, and also of Shropshire and Herefordshire, should be eternally grateful to Michael for cataloguing so completely, competently and compulsively, the ways and wonders of their counties. 

If these significant achievements have loomed large in what might euphemistically be called his ‘retirement years’, then what of before? He was Midlands Decathlon champion in 1956, did his National Service in Malaya and then became a student at Keele University, where he studied geology and political philosophy - an early indication of the diversity of his interests. No specific career beckoned, and after a series of manual jobs he went to Spain to fuel his interest in music by learning flamenco guitar. This he described as attacking the strings with an aggression and passion unlike any other style of guitar music. He would be a professional musician, but not for him the conformity and repetition of playing in an orchestra.  Instead he focused on the classical guitar and folk music that enabled him to express himself freely in every performance, to adapt and write songs as well as gathering, researching and cataloguing folk music and folk lore across the Midlands. There were frequent appearances on radio and TV, as part of the Black Country Three, Michael played guitar whilst his brother Jon sang and a friend accompanied them on the flute.

With over eighty books of arrangements, music and song collections, and over 50 CDs and LPs, Michael became a central pillar of the folk music community. There was no ‘end’ to the music phase and no ‘beginning’ to the writing, as they merged and alternated as the mood took him. Almost overwhelmed by all this there was the poet.  He has included poems at the back of his Staffordshire and Shropshire guide books and has published an additional book of poems, songs and ballads, called Song of the Fox. These are all very personal to him as he explains in the Foreword to this volume:

    ‘I once said in the notes to a CD that if you have to explain a poem it ceases to be one. This is of course, not entirely true but it gives me a good excuse not to have to bother with anything but minimal notes to the text. My creative juices are normally channelled into writing and arranging songs and solo guitar music. These I can craft, but poems come as and when they please. For the most part they are a melancholy lot. That is because if I’m in a jolly mood I’ll take the dogs for a run; but if I’m miserable or angry I console myself by writing verse. Then, if the muse consents, a poem may arrive and save the day.’

With failing eyesight, Michael continues to work long days bringing his final projects and books to fruition; from all his music, poetry and guides, there shines a reflection of his soul, a plain speaking honesty, that marks his life’s work and serves as the warmest of recommendations so that, in these, you too may find pleasure.