It is possible to have too much trust in a marriage. The mythic Welsh warrior Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who appears to have been bigger on brawn than brain, once came home to find his wife, the flower-maiden Blodeuwedd, weeping with fear over premonitions of his death. She begged Lleu to prove that he was, as rumoured, invincible.

Lleu, who had clearly not read the story of Delilah, thought it was a good idea to reveal to his wife each of the unlikely and incongruous conditions that would make it possible for a rival to kill him: among other kinks, they required him to be caught outdoors on a riverbank with one foot straddling a thatched cauldron and one on a wriggling goat. Lo and behold, in one year’s time Lleu found himself being struck down in exactly that pose by Blodeuwedd and her lover, the hunter Gronw Pebr. The story is still told to explain the peculiar shape of the Stone of Gronw, sitting to this day on the banks of the River Cynfal in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Blodeuwedd may have been a tricksy wife, but she is one of eight magical creatures celebrated on Royal Mail’s collection of stamps, which revive folkloric traditions from regions across the UK. None is fully human: Blodeuwedd herself was reportedly moulded from flowers by two magicians for their friend, Lleu, after a curse doomed him never to find a bride from among his own people.

The subjects of these stamps are all deeply rooted in regional landscape. They include Cornish Piskies (not to be confused with Devonian Pixies); the shapeshifting selkies of Orkney and Shetland (part seal, part woman); and of course, Loch Ness’ most famous resident, Nessie. They provide a rare reminder that England has magical creatures to match the smaller home nations.........

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