Samhain Blessings.

Tree and I have just come back from a lovely weekend in Wales spent with our friends Shaun, Jane, Katie, Phil and Laura. We stopped at Jane's Aunties bungalow, just outside of Tawyn in North Wales.

Friday night was spent overeating and playing Halloween games, quizzes and telling the inevitable lame ghost stories. We all dressed up in Halloween costume with the cliche witches, vampires and ghouls making an appearance. Pumpkin carving was attacked with gusto and I was pleased to win "Best Pumpkin award" with my flying bats and signature paw prints. Other designs included Pumpkin Jack, A vomiting head, a cat and ghouls flying.

On Saturday we went into Aberdovey for a walk around the town, harbour and beach. The weather was cool and crisp and the colours in the hills were gentle pastels of heather and dried grass. In the evening we went to a bistro and had a pleasant time before retiring back to the cottage for more chocolate consumption. On the way back we stopped at the beach and let off fireworks.

On Sunday we rose later and had a lazy breakfast followed by a board game and then decided we should go out for a walk. Tree was not feeling too well and so we left her to sleep while we went out. The time seem to whizz by and, before we knew it, the time to leave came along.

All in all a lovely weekend and we have decided to do it all again next year.

Into the Dragon's mouth.

I recently heard this time of year being described as "entering into the dragon's mouth" which I thought was quite a good description for the darkening months until we come out again in the spring. It was also a coincidence that, while we were staying at Perranporth this week, we decided to venture onto the beach and explore a side that is only exposed when the tide goes out fully. We found loads of caves and cut away old tin mine shafts. One cave even resembled a dragons mouth !! Some caves had little pools of water in them and you expected Gollum to be sitting beside one. The largest cave had amazing acoustics but we couldn't stay long as the tide comes in quite quickly and we couldn't risk getting trapped.

We spent time exploring North Cornwall and have ruled out moving there as it is too exposed and barren. On the way home we went via Totnes and stopped for the afternoon. There is still a possibility that we move to Devon instead and it would be better for me with regards to the workshop and sourcing timber.

Stuff the recession !!

While everyone else is worrying about the recession (you know, the one were not supposed to be in, but are), Tree and I are feeling quite relaxed. After an interview or two I have got a job working at the Worcester Royal Hospital as a Ward clerk/Hospital auditor. Okay, put the cross down, auditors aren't that bad (unless you have something to hide). There is shed loads of training I can do as well, at the training centre on campus, thereby furthering my job prospects. It has been hard finding a job that wasn't going to give any money to "The Man" and we are both relieved how it has worked out. This of course means that we have a reasonable increase to our income so they can stick their credit crunch for all I care.

Job hunting has meant I haven't had much time to do anything else, including blogging, and any spare time has been eaten up by all the jobs I have neglected on the house. Frantic amounts of decorating, wallpapering and plastering have been a daily event, these past few weeks. Along with this, I have also managed to fit in converting a horrible old wall mounted gas fire into an open hearth with a beam for my mate Sarah. Nice !

Surprisingly, we have also found time to go and stay with Joy and Nige and are off again soon for another week before I start work. The advantage of my new job is that I will be able to transfer to Truro Hospital quite easily when we move to Cornwall, giving me and Tree some flexibility before we set up a business there. However, we won't be moving until the housing market has settled a bit.

As for the festivals, we are still going to work a select few like Nozstock, Bliss, Beautiful Days and Rock N Roots (if they honour their agreement re this years fiasco) and we will be able to enjoy them more knowing that we aren't depending on the income.

And now all that remains is to look ahead to the end of the month and Sahmain. Tree and I are off to stay in a cottage in Aberdovey to celebrate with a few friends. My mind is already turned to thinking about what we can get up to like Pumpkin carving, story telling in the dark and a big Sahmain fire to celebrate! Can't wait.

Sun, glorious Sun.

Well how lucky can you get? Tree and I just had a weekend in Cornwall, catching up with Joy and Nige, and what glorious weather. We went down on Friday and arrived late after traffic was bad, as usual, through Avonmouth and the weather did not look promising, but Saturday morning and the sun was shining and couldn't have been better. We spent the day in St Ives and had a beautiful lunch at a new veggie restaurant we found on the harbour front. The best bit was that all the other eateries were packed but this one was empty. One up for the veggies I say!

When we got back to Perrancombe, Joy roped me into acting as a marshall for the Perranporth Surf Challenge Junior Biathlon which Asher had entered. The entrants were split into two age groups with differing lengths to the course. They had to run into the sea, swim out and around two buoys, run across the beach and then around the town before coming to the finish line. I was stationed half way round the course and pointed them in the right direction. Near the end of the challenge the stragglers got slower and slower and Tree and I gave loads of encouragement. It is surprising how they pick up with a bit of cheering on. The last runner had a stitch and the other marshalls were closing up the course behind her so Tree and I ran the course with her, pushing her on to the finish. Asher came 10th and was well chuffed.

Sunday was so sunny we decided to go to Trevone with Joy, Marley and Asher and take the boards. The sea was flat as a pancake when we got there but we still went in and had a laugh. Surprisingly, the sea was warmer than when we came down in August!

We set off on early on Monday and took a detour through Bude and stopped at Clovelly. I have been there before but Tree hadn't and, like me, thought it was too commercial and the idea of living there, "romantic but impractical". It is one of those places that is nice to visit once but doesn't merit a return. We stopped at Barnstaple for lunch and then headed back to, by now, rainy Worcester. All in all a good break.

Mabon greetings !!

Today is the Autumn Equinox or Mabon. Mabon is the second festival of the season of harvest - at the beginning of the harvest, at Lammas, winter retreated to his underworld, now at the Autumn equinox he comes back to earth. This is a time to reflect on the past season and celebrate nature's bounty and accept that summer is now over. Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work, and a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of nature.This is the time to look back on the past year and what you have achieved and learnt, and to plan for the future.

Tree and I celebrated with the first harvest of apples from our own trees, planted a couple of years ago. What better example of the relationship between us and Mother Earth can be found. Slice an apple width ways and see the pentacle, symbolising the elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. Eat one half and share the other with your partner, joining in a blessed union of old.

Linda and Nathan get hitched.

With all of the miserable weather of late, it was lovely to see the sun come out for the occasion of Linda and Nathan's wedding. A modest gathering of about a hundred of us descended on Puckrup Hall for the day and it was most enjoyable. Linda and Nathan looked so good together and the day was punctuated with memorable moments. The speech from Nathan's father, Tony, was brilliant. He welled up with emotion to the point of not being able to speak and left half the room in tears. The following morning we took advantage of the hotels pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi before meeting everyone for breakfast. Michael, however, sat quietly, looking very green as the full effect of the night before washed over him, and I remembered how I felt the first time I drank a bottle of wine in one go. I was given the task of filming the day and will spend quite a time editing the hours of tape to make a presentable DVD. There will also be a very large section of outtakes as well!!

Barry Trotter, Bacon and the Big Smoke.

Tree and I have just returned from a few days in the Big Smoke (a.k.a London) and ,to be honest, I could do with a rest. Tree was on a course so I had the daytime to myself and filled most of it with time in the galleries.

My first stop had to be the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Tate Britain. Bacon has been a major influence in my life since the age of six when I was shown "Study for three figures at the base of a crucifixion". I have been to many exhibitions of his work since then and still feel the same way as when I first saw it.

The next day I spent in the British library, Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. An interesting exhibit in the Science Museum was called "The Bridge". The bridge was constructed of glass with wires fixed, radially outwards, to sound amplifiers. As you walk on the bridge, the distortion is amplified into a weird chime-like music. The glass was clear enabling one to look downwards to the floor 60 feet below. This would be Tree's nightmare as bridges are not her favourite, let alone glass ones!! I was surprised how empty the museums were and remember that, as a child, they were always packed. I went into the Vault, to try and identify a couple of gemstones I have, and was the only person in there for about an hour!! I blame PS3's, TV, etc,etc. It is easy to see where J.K.Rowling got the idea for the staircases in Barry Trotter just by looking at the architecture, which I must say is worth a trip to see on its own.

The highlight of the day had to be the slice of a Sequoia tree that is 1300 years old. Each ring is marked to illustrate a point in our history and you cannot feel anything but humbled by the scale of ones life in comparison.

Out on the street there were a few interesting things to see as well, including an installation by Thomas Schutte in Trafalgar Square and a Banksy artwork on a wall outside Tescos in Highbury.

Blow that trumpet!

I know it is wrong to blow your own trumpet but sometimes its got to be done. I was surfing the net, as you do, and being bored, I decided to put in a search for Staves. Well what do you think popped up in images? Only one of my staves that I sold at the 3 Wishes Fairy Festival. The site was actually more interested in the model and her image as a whole but, all the same, that's one of my staves she's holding. Hmmm... I should have charged more thinking about it.

Worcester Farmers Market Guild

Moving away from the festival side of things for a bit, Tree and I decided to apply for membership of the WFMG and I am happy to say we were successful ! Our first market was on the August Bank Holiday Monday and we were blessed with slightly better weather. Attendance was down a little as there was a lot on elsewhere in Worcester, like the river festival, but we still sold an Oak mirror and some of Tree's weaving sticks and lavender bags. I am sure nearer Xmas the markets will be a lot busier but I am not so sure about the weather !

Rock N Roots cancelled.

Just a quickie to say that the Rock N Roots Festival has become another casualty of small minded council bureaucracy and has been cancelled on a legal technicality. We give out all our support to Mike and Rob and The R n R crew who have worked tirelessly to try and keep it alive.
Here's to next year.