Dear friend,
As you have noticed, Westacre’s Newsletter is a bit of a moveable feast. Most of the time (but not always) it will get to you on a Monday. Most of the time (but not always) it will come every other week. It’s just a matter of juggling it along with all the other balls in the air at Westacre.
In the last week, we have had some friends to stay who were waiting for their rented accommodation to become available. They have been very helpful, weeding a patio area and mowing the lawn. They also gave me some healing when my famous stomach ache took a serious turn for the worse. It was great to have them around. We love playing hosts here at Westacre.
We have finally broached our damson harvest. We picked 12kg of fruit, and turned it into 45 jars of damson jam. And that represents only a tiny proportion of the damsons still on the trees. We are thinking of putting out a ‘pick-your-own’ sign. If you would like some, come and help yourself. Bring a bag.
I have hooked up with my OBOD community in another way as well. Last Sunday, I took part in Cornovii Grove’s ceremony for the Autumn Equinox. Druids work together in Groves, and this is an old and established one. It was lovely to see some old friends and meet some new ones. I’m looking forward to the Samhain version already.
On Saturday, 28th September, a remarkable event in the history of British Paganism took place at Glastonbury. Alex and I both got involved. This Newsletter contains an impression of the day.
Blessings of the colouring leaves,
Hilde
## In this issue
– Interview with Carolyn, from Carolyn Mee Bendy Dolls
– Exclusive offer from Carolyn Mee Bendy Dolls
– An impression of the Warrior’s Call, a ritual to protect Albion against fracking.
– Ways to help Westacre spread its story.
## Carolyn Mee, pagan, craft maker and home educator: an interview
- What gave you the idea for the bendy dolls?
“Handmade by Mee” is the result of years of making things with the boys as part of our Home Education journey. I have always been a creator and crafter. As a child I loved to make things. I would make books to write in and draw in from scrap paper, I learnt to sew and knit with my mother, I made origami from Rupert annuals. I even tried quilling and fondant decorations for cakes!
I am very interested in the Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) style of education and although we have never followed its methods exactly, our autonomous style of education has allowed us to bring in many of its ideas. I was most interested in the nature appreciation and the simplicity of the toys, in line with my Pagan views.
We started a season table and along with the things we collected on our many dog walks, I made a Mother Nature, a Father Winter and some simple Flower girls. The patterns/ ideas came from some Waldorf books that I bought, along with some more complicated play dolls.
I love the colours and the quality of the 100% wool felt. I then found some bendy wooden figures and made clothes for them, but we didn’t like them as much as the dolls in ‘Felt Wee Folk’ by Sally Mavor. I used her book and my own ideas to make some Forest Folk, including Forest Elders which the boys loved.
I made them a forest setting with pine needles, fir cones and branches that we collected, and some simple wooden chairs for an exhibition that Rob was doing in our local library. I also made Faeries, witches, wizards and flower girls and packaged them up for sale.
From there I was invited to a local craft fayre and then Facebook brought requests for Mini Me’s, Harry Potter, Pink and Stuart costumed dolls with the Wedding Dolls in frames following soon after. I have also made flower girls and faeries in frames which can be personalised with names and dates of births for christenings.
- All this is part of a bigger business you run. Tell us a bit more about that.
My husband and I run ‘The Nook’, a small picture framing shop in the canalside village of Cropredy. Rob displays his artwork and framing skills on the walls, my dolls, fairy doors and felt creations on sale there along with some carefully selected crafters’ work….pottery, small leather goods, organic soaps , prints and cards.
My working life is threefold:
I have the day to day housework and mum hat,
I have the education facilitator hat,
And I have the creator/crafter/business woman hat.
But it doesn’t really get broken down in that way. It is more holistic than that. Our days are usually a combination of all three. If I tried to separate it, I don’t think myself or the boys would be happy. I’m not very good at compartmentalising things.
– Do you have a daily spiritual practice?
I guess it’s the same with my spirituality. I don’t see it as a separate thing. It is not an act of worship, as such, more a way that I live my life. My love of nature and the outdoors being the biggest part, with the people I see and communicate and surround myself by, being another. Like minded individuals and families are very important on our journey. Support from and for others is what it is all about.
– How did you come to live on a canal boat?
We have always spent a lot of time in the woods or along the canal, and always talked about living on a boat. We have come very close on several occasions, but this time we just had to seize the opportunity with both hands and see where it takes us!!
‘Warspite’ is a 60ft narrowboat that was commissioned by the Royal Navy in the 70’s I believe. It has been dressed up as a submarine and used as a training boat for the Sea Cadets when it had a total of 12 bunks! The present owner bought it about 8 years ago and converted it to a very basic live-aboard for himself and his partner.
Following a change of circumstances, we are now renting it with a view to buying it as soon as our house sells. It has given us the opportunity to try boat life before committing ourselves financially! As I said it is all very basic, and needs some TLC, but I love it.
- What does the Magic of Connection mean to you?
We are so close to nature on here. I hear woodpeckers drumming against the tree trunk early in the morning (I even managed to see him once!), ducks dabbling along the side of the boat, eating the algae, I guess. We see the bats and house martins swooping along the water at dusk, hear the owls at night, and the swans stick their heads in the side hatch for their bread crusts!
This is my daily practice. Listening to the sounds of nature; observing the seasonal changes; watching the moon phases; seeing the sun set and watching the mist creep across the water in the morning.
This is the Magic of Connection.
– You can find Carolyn’s work on her Facebook pages:
http://www.facebook.com/BendyDolls
http://www.facebook.com/HandmadebyMee
## Bendy Dolls exclusive offer
Carolyn’s little felt bendy dolls are delightful. She makes woodland people, fairies, brides and grooms and fairy tale creatures. She takes orders for ‘mini me’ dolls of yourself or your favourite film star or sports personality.
Especially for you, Carolyn is offering a reduced price of £15 for a Matching Door and Doll set, as well as a 10% reduction on individual dolls and doors. This does not include postage and packaging.
This offer is valid for the whole of October. Get your Christmas orders in early!
You can contact Carolyn via her Facebook pages. Please include the code WN6-B3ndy with your order.
## The Warrior’s Call – an impression
Glastonbury is known by some as the heart chakra of the world. It certainly is a powerful place. I think of myself as quite solid and grounded, but in Glastonbury, I float off into a state of otherworldliness.
The magic there is palpable. The Tor rises high over the town, and at its foot two springs discharge their water: the Red Spring, full of iron, in the Chalice Well Garden, and the White spring, coloured with chalk, just a few hundred yards away. To many people across the world, this place is deeply sacred.
But the very springs that make Glastonbury so special are threatened. The shale rock under Somerset, and many other parts of the UK, contains natural gas. Corporations are intent on harvesting this gas through the unconventional method of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking. The process involves many dangers, to our global climate, to the local environment, and to the wells of Glastonbury themselves.
Fracking involves forcing fresh water laced with many chemicals deep into the earth. This fractures the rock and lets the gas escape. The waste product produced by this process is very toxic and radioactive water. Methane also escapes during the process.
The chemicals pumped into the earth and the waste water can easily contaminate ground water sources, including the ones that feed Glastonbury’s wells. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas, and it will contribute to global warming before we even burn the gas extracted.
Because of the threat to this sacred site and our environment, a call went out to all pagans to gather for a ritual of protection at Glastonbury Tor at midday on 28th September. Many people answered the call. Satellite rituals sprang up across England and around the world. Pagans spoke with one voice to protect our land and our sacred sites from fracking.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Tor on Saturday, bringing drums, rattles, and their brave hearts. At the centre of the circle stood a group of friends, who through shared dreaming had prepared a ritual full of colour and sound.
After the Druid had called Peace to the quarters, the elements were honoured. For each element, a large dragon, carried by up to ten people, ran around the circle to the sound of cheering and drumming.
The God Gwyn ap Nudd, guardian of the Tor, and the Goddess Bridie, guardian of the sacred wells, were called into the circle. A Warrior spoke with passion about the sacred land. He called on Arthur, who sleeps in all of our hearts, to waken and protect the land in this time of need. He called for people to drum and focus the power of protection into the centre of the circle.
The power of the drumming rose and swelled. Representatives of the four elements directed it into a grid of protection that stretches across the land. As the work went on, a heart shaped cloud formed in the sky above the Glastonbury wells.
As the rite ended, the Warrior asked everyone to speak a pledge to keep working for the protection of the land. Individuals took their oaths, atop the Tor or as they left the field. These were the words many people used:
I swear
to work both practically and magically
for the protection of Albion against fracking.
Many wonders, some so unlikely that I hesitate to repeat them here, attended our ritual. A beautiful, heart-felt magic was worked. May it continue to spread across the land.
“A blessing on your heart. A blessing on your quest.”
## Stay in touch and help the Westacre Project
Please help us spread the word about the Westacre Project and the Spiritual Centre. The more people we find who are interested , the more we can inspire to take their own steps towards connected living.
Our contact details and our presence on social media can be found here:
http://www.westacre.org.uk/contact