Julian May
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Articles by Julian May
Julian May | Budget 2026: Stability, but where is the social compact?
0:00 Subscribers can listen to this article Jobs are the most crucial way to lift people out of poverty. Fani Mahuntsi/Gallo Images via Getty Images Read this for free Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once. Start your FREE trial now Already a subscriber?
FolkEast Festival 2025: innovation, tradition and midsummer magic in perfect harmony
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 By Julian May Julian May heads to a pop-up village of midsummer rituals, famous guitars and sighing oaks Kathryn Tickell (photo: SJG FolkEast 2025) Thanks for visiting the Songlines website, your guide to an extraordinary world of music and culture.
A learning journey approach to food security in a South African foodshed
Abstract Despite South Africa’s relative wealth and positive food balance at a national level, the consequences of the food system include severe malnutrition, unviable agricultural production methods, and stark disparities. Resolving this paradox cannot be accomplished through conventional top-down policymaking, planning and scientific inquiry, because there is no agreement on the cause of the problem, there are no clear solutions, and there are multiple stakeholders and conflicting interests.
Review | Songlines
Rating: ★★★★ View album and artist details Artist/band: Dreamers’ Circus Label: Vertical Records June/2025 During the COVID-19 pandemic Danish trio Dreamers’ Circus couldn’t perform – so they composed, drawing inspiration from traditional Nordic music.
South Africa’s Malnutrition Crisis: Why A Cheaper Basket Of Healthy Food Is The Answer
The death in early February of a 9-year-old South African boy, Alti Willard, who drank poison while scavenging for food in rubbish bins with his father, is a tragic reflection of the persistent food insecurity crisis in the country. A child dying while trying to avert starvation is hard to comprehend, given the country’s economic and natural resources. South African has the capability to feed the entire nation.
South Africa’s malnutrition crisis: why a cheaper basket of healthy food is the answer
The death in early February of a 9-year-old South African boy, Alti Willard, who drank poison while scavenging for food in rubbish bins with his father, is a tragic reflection of the persistent food insecurity crisis in the country. A child dying while trying to avert starvation is hard to comprehend, given the country’s economic and natural resources. South African has the capability to feed the entire nation.
Ecology & Society: Diverse actor perspectives on African urban food systems: lessons from participatory food system modeling in Worcester, South Africa
Research ABSTRACT Successful management of complex food systems inherently requires societal engagement. A major barrier is the misalignment between high-level generalized scientific representations of the urban food system and the varying practical perspectives of the actors embedded within it. To bridge this gap, participatory approaches can help in collecting and structuring knowledge from food system actors in a way that is understood by people with a diversity of experiences.
Review | Songlines
Rating: ★★★ View album and artist details Artist/band: VARIOUS ARTISTS Label: Sing Yonder December/2023 In 2021 graphic designer Karl Sinfield began putting simple arrangements of traditional songs online, with basic chords and audio guidance for beginners. Soon Sinfield was producing printed collections of the music – the Sing Yonder books.
From Local Initiatives to Coalitions for an Effective Agroecology Strategy: Lessons from South Africa
1. Introduction 1.1. Introduction This paper emerges from a study conducted under the auspices of the Transitions to Agroecological Food Systems (TAFS) project, a multi-country research project launched in 2020 [,]. The main objective of the overall project was to provide policy makers and stakeholders with convincing arguments about the importance and adapted ways of promoting agroecological transitions in order to address current and coming sustainability challenges.
David Attenborough - The World Music Collector
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 By Julian May To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the release, Julian May, producer of 'David Attenborough – My Field Recordings from Across the Planet', explains how this extraordinary album came about, with photos courtesy of David Attenborough This September Sir David Attenborough admonished the BBC – it should make more arts and culture programmes, he suggested. ‘I don’t think the BBC does enough,’ he told the Radio Times.
Review | Songlines
Rating: ★★★★ Author: Julian May View album and artist details With the title of his third album Matti Kallio playfully honours his origins while tipping his hat to a long love affair. He's a Finnish accordion player, now based in Iceland. A classically trained pianist, Kallio has written and arranged jazz pieces and film music and appeared on more than 200 albums. But all the while he has nurtured his love for Irish music.
Review | Songlines
Rating: ★★ Author: Julian May View album and artist details J R Coote trained as a classical guitarist at Cambridge University, and spent time in southern Spain studying flamenco. These two musical vines twist around one another in his first album, their plangency tempered by his affinity for the streams and floods of his native Oxford as the title, Waterways, makes clear. ‘Branches’ sounds at first as if it could have been written for the lute; as does ‘Strength to Remain’.
BIG READ: Predicting the impact of climate change on food security in Worcester
12 July 2022 - 05:00 The extreme heatwaves that recently swept across Europe, the US and Japan are a reminder that climate change is upon us. The chronic flooding events in KwaZulu-Natal in April and May, and the drought in the Eastern Cape, following so recently after the Western Cape drought between 2015-17, are indications that SA is also experiencing the destructive force of climate change... Commenting is subject to our house rules.
Sir David Attenborough reveals his musical inspirations
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 By Julian May The legendary broadcaster revisits the sounds of his early career on a recent BBC programme that reveals a little-known side to the beloved naturalist – that of a world music collector. He shares his favourite tracks with producer Julian May David Attenborough has been making natural history programmes for 60 years.
Squeezebox Albums | The Essential 10
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 By Julian May Piano accordions, melodeons, concertinas, bandoneóns – squeezeboxes come in many forms, and have spread all over the globe, adapting to all kinds of traditions.
Martin Carthy | A Beginner's Guide
Monday, October 25, 2021 By Julian May One of British folk music’s most influential figures is marking his 80th birthday. Julian May delves into his prolific and remarkable recordings Thanks for visiting the Songlines website, your guide to an extraordinary world of music and culture.
Review | Songlines
COB is the abbreviation of Clive’s Original Band though Cob, as the trio was sometimes called, is apt. Cob is the mud, straw, gravel and dung mix from which old dwellings in the south-west of Britain are made; this music is as rough, earthy, unpredictable and homely as the building material. Clive was Clive Palmer, founding member of the Incredible String Band, who left after they made their first album and wound up in Cornwall.
Review | Songlines
Rambunctious folk big band Bellowhead enjoyed a whirlwind career – playing Glastonbury Festival, winning umpteen awards and occupying London’s Southbank Centre as artists in residence. So much happened, so fast, that in a flash a dozen years had passed. Time enough, and with a concert at the London Palladium in 2016 the 11 members bid their adoring admirers farewell, and went their separate ways.
Peggy Seeger on the art of songwriting: “Make them laugh before you make them cry”
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 By Julian May The irrepressible Peggy Seeger talks to Julian May about dealing with the inevitability of ageing and her unique and very candid approach to songwriting ‘When I wake up in the morning I’m a hundred years old...’ is the first line of the last song on Peggy Seeger’s new album, First Farewell. She continues, ‘my feet on the floor and I’m 99…’ and as her day passes time unwinds.
Stewart Lee interview: “Stand-up is a duet with the audience. It doesn’t mean anything unless people are laughing. Or booing”
The comedian and writer tells Julian May about a childhood fascination with the past and the parallels between stand-up and the music he loves “When I was six,” Stewart Lee remembers, “I was given a copy of Mysterious Britain by Janet and Colin Bord.” It’s a book about the ancient sites of Britain. “My gran brought me up and whenever we’d be going somewhere, I’d ask to stop because we were near the Rollright Stones or somewhere.
Stewart Lee interview: “Stand-up is a duet with the audience. It doesn’t mean anything unless people are laughing. Or booing”
The comedian and writer tells Julian May about a childhood fascination with the past and the parallels between stand-up and the music he loves “When I was six,” Stewart Lee remembers, “I was given a copy of Mysterious Britain by Janet and Colin Bord.” It’s a book about the ancient sites of Britain. “My gran brought me up and whenever we’d be going somewhere, I’d ask to stop because we were near the Rollright Stones or somewhere.
OPINION | Investment in child nutrition key to productivity gains
Good nutrition for children is the bedrock for learning, and therefore fundamental for productivity and growth. This should reflect in our economic priorities and fiscal allocations, say the authors It seems counter-intuitive that the richest province in South Africa, Gauteng, has the highest rate of stunting in children under five. After all, stunting (short-for-age) is a measure of chronic malnutrition, which one might expect to be more associated with the poverty of the former homelands.
David Attenborough - The World Music Collector
To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the release, Julian May, producer of 'David Attenborough – My Field Recordings from Across the Planet', explains how this extraordinary album came about, with photos courtesy of David Attenborough This September Sir David Attenborough admonished the BBC – it should make more arts and culture programmes, he suggested. ‘I don’t think the BBC does enough,’ he told the Radio Times. ‘It’s not enough simply to say: ‘Well, it doesn’t get a big enough audience.
South African policy isn't connecting child nutrition and sanitation
When faced with complex problems that require coordination and collaboration, government departments almost instinctively retreat to their silos and predetermined responses. As a result, workable solutions often fall through the cracks and citizens pay the price. The same may be true in the case of childhood malnutrition in South Africa. Undernutrition is a particularly worrying aspect of this, because of its association with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
SA needs a place-based approach to restarting the economy
On April 21, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an extraordinary coronavirus budget of about R500bn to deal with the huge economic and social impact of the lockdown. He is expected address the nation again on April 23 to provide further details.
Why extra care is needed for your child's nutrition during lockdown
By Coretta Jonah, Julian May and Winnie Sambu 13h ago Data from two years ago shows that close to 60 percent of children in South Africa lived below the poverty line, while a third were below the food poverty line. Statistics also show that households with children are more likely to experience hunger than those without. This will be aggravated by any loss of jobs or livelihoods that have resulted from the measures to control Covid-19.
Lockdowns threaten childrens' nutrition: why extra care is needed
The nutritional shocks on young children whose families have lost their income as a result of the lockdown may have long lasting effects. Credit: Shutterstock Data from two years ago shows that close to 60% of children in South Africa lived below the poverty line, while a third were below the food poverty line. Statistics also show that households with children are more likely to experience hunger than those without.
South Africa: Lockdowns Threaten Childrens' Nutrition - Why Extra Care Is Needed
Data from two years ago shows that close to 60% of children in South Africa lived below the poverty line, while a third were below the food poverty line. Statistics also show that households with children are more likely to experience hunger than those without. This will be aggravated by any loss of jobs or livelihoods that have resulted from the measures to control COVID-19.
why extra care is needed
Data from two years ago shows that close to 60% of children in South Africa lived below the poverty line, while a third were below the food poverty line. Statistics also show that households with children are more likely to experience hunger than those without. This will be aggravated by any loss of jobs or livelihoods that have resulted from the measures to control COVID-19.
Lockdowns threaten childrens' nutrition: why extra care is needed
Data from two years ago shows that close to 60% of children in South Africa lived below the poverty line, while a third were below the food poverty line. Statistics also show that households with children are more likely to experience hunger than those without. This will be aggravated by any loss of jobs or livelihoods that have resulted from the measures to control COVID-19 .
Steal the Stars
On a top secret military base, Dak Prentiss spends her days guarding Moss, an alien that crash-landed on Earth more than a decade ago. But everything changes when Matt Salem joins her team — and proposes a daring heist… An audio play read by a full cast, this “attention-grabbing” sci-fi adventure delivers a “listening feast” (AudioFile).
Op-Ed: Land reform in South Africa can be smart public policy
Photo by Delyth Angharad via Flickr. Mahmood Mamdani’s recent article about land reform in South Africa correctly states the importance of righting historical wrongs and creating a vibrant economy that works for its population. In contrast to what some writers have argued, including US President Donald Trump, the government of South Africa has not been seizing land from white farmers, nor is there a programme of genocide against the white farming community.
A comparative analysis of socioeconomic inequities in stunting: a case of three middle-income African countries
Globally, countries may be classified into three-income groups - low, middle or high - based on per capita Gross National Income (GNI). Though this classification has been criticised as being narrow [1], the achievement of middle-income status is often seen as an outcome of sustained economic growth fuelled by increased investment in all sectors, including human capital, and improvements in productivity.
Land reform in South Africa can be smart public policy || The Southern Times
By Michael R. Carter and Julian May Mahmood Mamdani’s recent article about land reform in South Africa correctly states the importance of righting historical wrongs and creating a vibrant economy that works for its population. In contrast to what some writers have argued, including US President Donald Trump, the government of South Africa has not been seizing land from white farmers, nor is there a programme of genocide against the white farming community.
Belt-tightening can hurt health
When responding to food price increases, households adjust their consumption patterns in a number of ways by scrimping and saving. They decrease caloric intake at each meal, decrease the number of meals a day, decrease the diversity of foods they consume, or substitute with less preferred foods. These temporary disruptions in food access can entail long-term, often irreversible nutritional damage, especially among infants and young children.
Higher food costs feed ‘hidden hunger’ of poor dietary diversity
Belt tightening has become common practice for South African consumers who have, again, been accosted with steep food price increases. The situation is grim for homes but a bigger threat of food insecurity is lurking in the shadows. When responding to food price increases, households adjust their consumption patterns in a number of ways by scrimping and saving.
WWE: Wrestlemania 2018 Special
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Sir David Attenborough reveals his musical inspirations
The legendary broadcaster revisits the sounds of his early career on a recent BBC programme that reveals a little-known side to the beloved naturalist – that of a world music collector. He shares his favourite tracks with producer Julian May David Attenborough has been making natural history programmes for 60 years. He is held in such high regard that when he went to the White House, it was the president of the US who interviewed him rather than the other way around.
PREVIEW: WWE #13 | CBR
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PREVIEW: WWE #12 | CBR
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South Africa: How South Africa Can Fix the Fact That One in Four of Its Children Go Hungry
analysis By Julian May, University of Sussex and Stephen Devereux, University of the Western CapeThe most recent data shows that 27.4% of South African children under the age of five are too short for their age or suffer from stunting. Children are stunted when they don't grow at an adequate rate. The World Health Organisation has height standards for various age cohorts and defines stunting as a "height for age" value which is less than two notches below the norm.
How South Africa can fix the fact that one in four of its children go hungry
The most recent data shows that 27.4% of South African children under the age of five are too short for their age or suffer from stunting. Children are stunted when they don’t grow at an adequate rate. The World Health Organisation has height standards for various age cohorts and defines stunting as a “height for age” value which is less than two notches below the norm. Stunting is a measure of chronic hunger and is a long-term indicator of under-nutrition.
How Vitamin A, iodine and iron play a part in beating malnutrition
As incomes in developing countries rise people have moved towards eating food that is easy and fast to prepare – convenience foods. This processed food is often energy-dense and high in saturated and trans fats, sugars, salt and cholesterol. This change in eating habits is known as a nutrition transition and it’s leading to increased health challenges, particularly in developed countries.
Why child malnutrition is still a problem in South Africa 22 years into democracy
High rates of malnutrition translate into poor child outcomes. Preventing this should start early: good nutrition and health of mothers and their children during the first 1,000 days – from conception to about two years – is described as a unique window of opportunity for later human development. By the age of five years the outcomes of any deprivation experienced during this stage of growth may be irreversible.
Throwback Thursday: Julian May's The Pliocene Exile Is Greater Than A Game of Thrones
At a time when a lot of fantasy and sci-fi was regurgitating stock characters seemingly generated from a throw of a role-playing die, May offered up characters who arrive on the scene damaged and complex.
The Many-Coloured Land book by Julian May
Tanu, Firvulag & Humans Disputing the Pliocene! Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago Ms. May (b. 1931) started her writer career in the early `50s writing two sci-fi short stories. Immediately she changed to writing scientific articles, YA and children literature. In 1981 she made a dramatic return to sci-fi genre with this book, starting the Pliocene Exile Saga, earning the Locus Award. The author greatly profit from her scientific background.
“Looking for material during the lockdown we were drawn to happy songs, as a sort of tonic” | Spiers & Boden interview
Lockdown offered folk duo Jon Boden and John Spiers time to revisit some of the more joyful corners of the traditional English canon. They speak to Julian May about the resulting album and the process of working together again “I didn’t realise until we started recording,” Jon Boden says, “that there are no deaths on this album. That’s extraordinary for a traditional folk album.” It is indeed, given the body count due to accident, murder and mayhem of the folk song canon.
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