Candlemas 2010
Hi everyone,
Sorry about the delay in sending off the newsletter this month. I have been very busy with Open University work these last few months and other things have taken a bit of a back seat. I have been quite keen to break the back of this academic year’s study to free up time for training.
It looks like the tide has finally turned, despite a flurry of snow this morning. As it is now half term I have just got back from a midday run and ignoring the odd cloud in the sky the sun is out. It is such a relief to see the evenings getting lighter; I am now driving home from work it the daylight (more or less). The days are growing longer and as they do so do our hopes for the year. After being trapped inside for much of this splendidly wintery winter, saving the walks in the snow, it is with a sense of new freedom that I have been able to get out into the countryside to enjoy and wonder at the new growth. The catkins, like lamb’s tails, are out on the hazels, the primroses have just started to unfurl in the ditches at Otley and snowdrops have been flowering for a while now by the sides of the road. There are also signs of things to come, daffodils have poked their heads above the soil and I look forward to seeing their sun trumpets in three or four weeks time. Buds have started appearing on the oak and ash and the birds are singing among their branches- what could be better?
We have had a busy time since Halloween. The first year of training is done, giving the trainees and myself a much needed break for reflection over the winter months. I would just like to say a big thank you to the guys for the bottle of Talisker, it went down a treat- purely medicinal of course. We are due to start up again on the first Wednesday in March for year 2. So make sure the homework is ready.
At the beginning of December we had our annual Witches party. We had a lovely evening and members of the current training group met up with people from previous training groups, members of the coven and members of other local covens such as the Carlford Coven. It was a good fun evening and lovely to see everyone. We have decided that in 2010 we will celebrate the second years training with a party at the end of November rather than at the start of December so that it does not clash with people’s birthdays.
Tiks and myself have paid a visit to Holland to stay with some of my relatives. We went just before Christmas when much of Europe was gripped in the throes of a snowy winter. Holland was no different and our flights back the UK were cancelled and we were stranded for a couple of extra days. Fortunately we were staying with my cousin and so we had a roof over our head and food (Indonesian) in our bellies. On one or two days it was so snowy that we were stuck in doors. We did have a lovely canal trip round Amsterdam and Tiks got some shopping done.
We have also been down to RSPB Minsmere reserve with Kevin and Lisa at the end of January. The weather was much better than we expected though much of the water was still frozen. There was still plenty to see especially various species of ducks such as shovellers, teal, tufted ducks, shelduck and mallards. We were also lucky in that we saw smew, a marsh harrier and red and muntjac deer. We are planning to make a wildlife excursion a regular occurrence at least once a month and we are off again on the 28th Feb.
There are a lot of things coming up in the next few months. We are off to Minsmere again on the 28th Feb. Also there is Leaping Hare Pagan Conference in Colchester on Saturday 27th March. There are several talks including, ‘The Myth of Merlin’, ‘The Astrology of Pan’, ‘The Gods of Lustanaia’, ‘Cernunnos the Antlered God’ and storytelling with Robin Herne. It is great fun and always lovely to meet up with old friends and to have dinner at the Rover’s Tye.
On the 12th April I am down to do a talk on Myth and the Wheel of the Year at the Colchester Moot which I am looking forward to.
On the 24th April we shall be going to the Leechcraft lecture with Steve Pollington at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.
As for the training group for 2011 we have to people who are interested already, which is great. Sadly, the only interest we are getting from men are weak candidates who either live a long way off to make attendance impractical or from dope smoking doley types. Guys if you fall into any of these categories please don’t bother to apply. We are looking for well grounded coping adults with a genuine interest in practising the Craft. It would be great to get some genuine male interest in the training group as well as female.
Hope to see you all soon,
Rhys