Happy Solstice.

Tree and I were up at a sparrows chirp to watch the Solstice sunrise. We had planned to go to Avebury but Tree is still not right after her operation. Her stomach area is still very swollen and she is in a lot of discomfort. As it was, the sky was a little obscured by cloud so we got ourselves a couple of drinks and sat out in the garden and watched it from there. I love the calmness that only comes just before dawn and the madness of the birds as they all start twittering like mad idiots at the first glimpse of light.Tree and I have been a bit detached from the outside world, for one reason or another, over the last few weeks and it has been good to share the intimacy of this, at a time like this. All we need now is a good summer and a few festies and we will be made up.

Samhain blessings

Happy Samhain to one and all. Last Saturday we had the party, for Elliotts 21st, round at Sandra's house and decided to go down the horror route as a theme. I was surprised how well thought out some of the costumes were and full marks go to Elliott, Michael, Katie, Torzee and Jermaine. Elliott's mask had the ability to bleed but, due to a leak, managed to drop blood on the kitchen floor. Cool ! Tree cooked up a mean veggie hotdog and later Elliott and I put on a firework extravaganza. The highlight being the Catherine wheel that didn't go round ! All in all we had a good time and Elliott enjoyed himself, which is what it is all about.
Tree and I will be observing a more serious ceremony on Wednesday, but without the costume.
So blessings to everyone and remember to take time to think about what has passed and what will be. Make wishes for the future and honour those that have passed. Light a fire and make herald to the coming gathering in of the light.

Spirit of the Oak

I can only apologise for the lack of blogging but I have been busy, as the proverbial bee, getting ready for the plum fayre in Pershore. I have made about another half dozen mirrors and Tree is well on the way to making another batch of weaving sticks. One mirror, in particular, has fascinated me as I have worked on it. It is a piece of waney edged Oak about 2' high.As I cut and polished further into the surface, lo and behold, a face appeared. Could this be the Dryad spirit of the Oak itself..who knows! I have put the two photos just in case you can't see the face and think I'm mad!

Happy Lammas and Phew! What a smell.

Well the flood waters have finally receded and what have we got left..a great big stink! You know that smell that you get at a festival, when the grass has been trodden down after the rain, well magnify that by 300 and you might be close to what Pitchcroft racecourse smells like. A combination of dead fish and rotting vegetation. I am happy on two points. Firstly, Tree and I haven't got an allotment by the river anymore and, secondly, we don't live in a flood plain. What amazes me is that you still hear adverts on the radio saying "Come to Worcester racecourse and get your heart racing". Trust me, you'll be lucky if you can breath with that foul stench.

On a more cheery note, I have started doing house and name signs for people and the first attempt isn't too bad, if I say so myself. Business is better as well, partly due to punters arriving for The Big Chill at Eastnor this weekend.

And most certainly last but not least, Happy Lammas! time to gather in the harvest both literal and spiritual. Take time to see where you have been and where you are going. Goodbye to the Sun and welcome the coming change. Be thankful and celebrate the fruits of your labours.!

Beltane blessings

Just a quick one, to wish everyone a merry Beltane. The moon is full and the sap is rising! So get planting those seeds and jumping the fire!

I wanna stay in bed another hour !!

Tree and I were up and out, not too early, yesterday and made our way to Cirencester. It was good to see the circle has improved even more since we last came. We cleared some fallen branches and had a lovely celebration to mark the Spring Equinox. Afterwards we went on a walk to the farthest point of the woods to find the deer antlers I had spotted some time ago, but to no avail. We found the skeleton of the deer some way from where it had been originally and suppose that a fox had dragged it there. Sadly, we did not find the antlers. Nearby we found some large burrows in the ground which are either a fox or badger sett. Oh well, it was not meant to be. No doubt I shall find some others soon.
Today was difficult, as I always find the clocks going forward messes with my sleep, and it always takes a couple of weeks for me to adjust. At least the evenings are lighter, which is so much better!

Bright blessings for the Equinox celebrations

Yet again I have to offer belated greetings for the passing of the Spring Equinox. Most people we know are celebrating this Sunday, as indeed we are. Tree and I have been invited to a gathering at Mosely Bog but have decided to go to Cirencester to celebrate. I spent most of yesterday writing the form of the ceremony and I look forward to getting there. The weather looks promising as well, not that it matters too much but I do like to be dry. I may get a chance to use my new stethoscope that Tree got me and listen to the trees talking in the wind. Anyway, have a good celebration, however you mark it, and be full of cheer for the herald of Spring! Bright Blessings!!

Merry Beltain !!!!!!

I've loads to tell about, but little time to do it. Firstly, a Merry Beltain to everyone we know. Tree and I took some time out, at the beginning of Tiddesley Wood open day, to celebrate everything spring. The weather stayed dry for us and we had a very good day. Jenny and Rob, who organized the event, were very helpful and seemed delighted with the tent, mirrors and everything. We have been invited back next year and we have suggested that we should introduce the May Queen and a Maypole dance to the proceedings. Jenny was very keen ! By far we were the most successful there and slightly surprised how many people turned up (approx 3000). We were so tired the next day we didn't bother to do the Green Man at Clun. We drove out there, but looking at the weather and carrying the stock over the bridge and how well we did previously (sorry to say it again) we decided we would be wasting our time. Anyway, enough of blowing my own trumpet, I now need to make more mirrors and catch up with everything I have neglected. So I would like to apologize to anyone who may feel I a little neglected, I am sorry. Oh and by the way, the name change to the blog is to prevent confusion between the website and here !! We had a few comments !!!

Spring has sprung. Happy Eostre

Oh well a little early on the Beltain side, but I couldn't resist after Tree, San and I went for a lovely walk in Tiddesley Wood. We actually were there on a fact finding mission in preparation for the Tiddesly Wood spring open Day . I have become a bit more chilled about the whole thing, now I have completed most of the work needed for the "season". One of the good bits of the walk was listening to the trees. A good wind is needed to really hear them talk, but we still heard a few murmurs. Don't know what I mean ? Just find a tall tree, stick your ear up against it and you will soon understand.

Imbolc, Cirencester and "How close do you wanna get"

Tree and I got up early, a significant event in itself considering it was Saturday, and having eaten a full breakfast to surpass all others, got the car ready to go to Ragged Hedge Wood in Cirencester. As we set off towards the motorway I remarked to Tree that the car sounded a little different. This, somehow, seemed familiar !?! Anyway, we put it down to the wind whistling through the bars on the roof rack. Oh Oh !! Yep it's just like No Brakes back in December, except this time it was the exhaust. We got about as far as The Balloon pub when the exhaust starts to get louder and louder. Determined not to be beaten, we carried on to the wood where we would make a decision what to do. As you can see from the photos a lot has changed. There is now a cool sculpture of a dragon at the entrance to the wood and the circle is guarded by an Oak dragon, on the West quarter of the circle. We coppiced the wood we needed, thanking mother wood for her bounty, and performed a short ritual for Imbolc, laying wild flower seed around the circle. We got back to the car and decided to have a coffee at the little mortgage and let Green flag sort out the car. True to their word they were there within the hour and we soon set off for home. All the way home I kept forgetting about the car and, on turning round, would think someone was driving right behind us. "How close do you wanna get ?". Oh well, apologies for the long blog and maybe next time we will be able to get wood and not break down on the Cirencester road. Anyone would think we were jinxed !!!
Blessings to one and all.

It's 6 o'clock in the morning and I have woken to see the moonlight flooding in through the window. A wonderful start to the day for two reasons. Firstly, I have finally shrugged off the cold I have had for the last week or so (hence no blog !) and secondly, it's only two days until Imbolc. The added bonus is that the full moon has happened over a weekend, so no rushing about. Tree and I have decided to visit the wood at Cirencester, where we were handfasted, and spread some wild flower seed to mark the first day of spring and the fertile earth. It will be good to ground ourselves in a special place. In addition, we are hoping to coppice some wood to make stands for the new mirrors I have made. We have now been invited to do Beautiful Days Festival in August, subject to pitch availability, and along with about five more events, have a full calendar for the year. Other events include, Spring open day at Tiddesley Wood, Eastnor Castle Steam and Woodland fair, Green man Festival at Clun, Blissfields Festival and hopefully loads more !!
Anyway, a merry Imbolc to one and all. Spread some seed, celebrate the hopes and wishes for the year ahead, feel the sun on your face and bathe in the light of the moon !!!

Malvern Hills Yuletide Walk

Just a quick entry to share what a wonderful day it has been. After three days trapped indoors with all its over-indulgences, Tree and I chose a walk on the Malverns as suitable therapeutic recovery. Inappropriately dressed for the cold and feeling tiredness overtaking us, we set off from the Malvern Hills hotel car park on a steep ascent to British camp. Although you might feel steep is a slight exaggeration, trust me, it felt as it sounds. It was bitterly cold in the wind but so worth the struggle to reach the top.The sun broke through and hit the hills in blazing shards of radiant light. Quite magical !! We also found some weird indents in the ground that looked like footprints created by some long legged beasty !!!

Winter Solstice celebrations

Whoah !!! where did this year go to. It seems like only yesterday that Tree and I were waiting all night for the sun over the heal stone at Stonehenge. After much debate, on whether we should celebrate sunrise or sunset, we chose to have a fire ceremony on solstice night. We were to, originally, have gone down to Avebury circle to perform our rite but Tree had a very bad back and it was the best she could do to go into the garden. We set up the fire pan and tripod and, after opening the quarters, we lit three candles and expressed our thanks for the year gone and hopes for the year ahead.Tree read a lovely poem by Brian Boothby.

Standing in the circle

Beneath the web of light

Dancing in the moonlight

On a cold new years night

and it seemed that we were lifted

flown across the years

power-circle shifted, by power-circle seers.

And the Goddess and John Barleycorn

will put flesh upon the bones

Fly ribbons round the barrows

plant foot prints round the stones

The Goddess and John Barleycorn

will keep the spirit strong

for those who remember

for those who sing the song.

So stand in the circle,weave the web of light

dance in the moonlight

bring fire to the night

release the past that made us

release the fire within

revel in the mystery

and embrace your sacred kin.

We then extinguished all three candles, casting us back into the darkness. A fire was lit and a Yule log burnt along with some Yew, Elm, Oak (of course) and Ash. We closed the quarters and watched the fire burn down whilst the smell of cloves and cinnamon filled our nostrils. It was lovely to welcome the new year with Tree beside me and look back on the old.

Happy Solstice to everyone we know and a Happy New Year.

The Green Man at Clun Fayre

I finally found time to update and collate all the photos from when we did The Green Man at Clun Fayre on May bank holiday. Although we got the van stuck in mud and had to be towed out, carried everything across a muddy field, got rained on all day, practically, and took nearly three hours to pack away, it was a good day. This was also the first time we had put up the Haj tent, which had only arrived about two days previously. It was all part of the learning curve !
Thanks to everyone who came and helped us on the day, especially Sandra, Michael and Katie, and for all the support of family and friends.
When I get time I shall post the photos of Blissfields as well.

Clun

Clun

Clun

Clun

Clun

Clun