Bluebells Blossom & Beltain

I once before wrote a post here called Blossom, Beltain and a beautiful game. That was quite a while ago and then Saint's were moving from the Championship into the Premiership. Since that time they have just about stayed up.

The Bluebells are looking magnificent this year and it's well worth taking a lovely, long walk through a local wood, simply for the pleasure of gazing on this wonder.

I have spotted early Elderflowers, waving their blousy, citrus blooms to herald the onset of Summer. Yes, that's right, the warm season will soon be upon us and I'm already wearing my shorts in preparation.

Plums are gradually fattening on the branches, Hawthorn is flowering in the hedgerows and everything is growing like crazy.

This year, as normal, I will be visiting Butser Ancient Hill Farm, with the children for Beltain. The celebration culminates with burning of their truly massive Wicker Man; the kids have been, quite literally, looking forward to it all year.

Butser, Beltain and the Wicker Man

Butser hill is the highest point in Hampshire, it was also an Iron Age hill fort. It is a fantastic spot for a wild walk or picnic. Nearby, on the other side of the A3 main road, lies Butser Ancient Farm, an experimental, archaeologically accurate farmstead.

Butser is an interesting place for school children to visit and experience what it might have been like to live under the conditions of ancient man (without any screens).

Each year around the beginning of May Butser hosts a Beltain festival, to celebrate the lengthening of the days in a suitable May fayre style.

There is lots of daytime entertainment, including flint napping (creating Stone Age tools and weapons), bronze smelting, weapon training, Roman soldiers, wood crafting, story telling, astronomy, live folk music, Maypole dancing, food and drink, drumming, fancy dress and, as the dusk draws in, the burning of an enormous Wicker Man.

We always try to get along and we always have a fantastic time, this year was no exception. Since that day, I have seen swifts, swallows and house martins, so the warmer weather is definitely on the way.

Immature Fruit, Blossom and Wild Garlic

Bluebells and Wild Garlic are flooding the woodland borders with colour and pungent aromas, Apple and Pear blossom is filling the trees. If you pop down to the Mansbridge Community Orchard, you will be able to see where all the trees are located.

The weather has changed here; we have even had flurries of snow and nights of frost, which has been a shock because of the unseasonably warm March that this year brought us.

Regardless of the chill that has been in the air, the early blossom is now developing into immature fruit. However, you will will be unlikely to notice this ripening bounty unless you are actively looking for it.

Even though the Plum flowers first, the Cherries will win the race to maturity and they will normally be the first fresh fruit that we pick in June, followed by the Plums in July. Needless to say, we will be keeping an eye on the progress of our favourite trees.

This weekend we will visit Butser Ancient Farm to enjoy a Beltain celebration and help burn a gigantic wicker man. I cannot think of a better way to welcome in May. Soon we will be spotting Elderflower and the sun will be warming our faces.

In the meantime, we have been reminding ourselves of last year's glorious Summer sunshine by making hot Mulberry compote, using our frozen stash, and drizzling it over ice cream!

Beltain and a Blossom Walk

It looks like the Summer is finally getting a grip here in the south UK and everyone should soon be making Elderflower Cordial. I prefer Elderflower Champagne but you need to take a few elementary precautions.

I believe the warm weather may have been encouraged as a result of the recent Beltain celebrations at Butser Ancient Farm. Beltain is an ancient tradition to bring on the summer, to celebrate the drawing back of the night and lengthening of the days.

We often visit this wonderful place for this extraordinary event; there is always lots of interesting things to explore and do. The evening always culminates with the very dramatic burning of the colossal Wickerman.

This year  the 10m hight shape-shifting Wickerman took the form of a human body, with the head of a badger, and antlers sprouting out from behind its ears. You can write down your wishes on paper scraps and stuff them into his legs, to be burned and sent into the night sky as red hot sparks later in the evening.

It was a chilly day and we were prepared for rain (though it never came), you can always hide in a round house and sit by an open fire listening to stories, if you get too cold. My daughter and I kept warm by walking about all the various activities, drinking hot cocoa and by dancing to a band playing sea shanties.

Toward the end of the evening, as darkness fell, everyone was entranced by a team of rhythmic drummers marching out toward our towering statuesque bonfire, which was lit by a lucky young lad with a flaming torch.

While the flames licked ever upwards and our wishes joined the stars glimmering in the darkness, there was a constant chorus of ooh!s,  ah!s and cheers to supplement the drummers, who had now retreated to a safer distance, as various parts joined the conflagration or exploded after crashing to the ground.

Finally, we tramped back over the fields, tired and weary but still awed by a night of wonder, our path lit by the flaming torches we carried.

There will be a Blossom Walk on Saturday May 14th at the Mansbridge Community Orchard. We will meet at 04:00pm on the old stone bridge over the Itchen, regardless of the weather. The bridge is at the end of the Pitch and Putt course and near the White Swan pub/restaurant on the A27. 
The walk is free and volunteer led but you will be traversing rough ground and fields, so dress appropriately and everyone is responsible for their own health and safety.
If anyone wants to buy copies of my lovely book, let me know in advance and they will be available for the totally fantastic price of just £10.00.

The Wicker Man

After one of the coldest and wettest bank holidays I can recall in recent times, I’m pleased to announce that we did our bit toward tempting the summer to show its sunny face.

We visited Butser Ancient Farm to celebrate Beltane (I guess you could describe it as an Iron Age May fair); the culmination of which was the burning of an absolutely huge Wicker Man. The Gods must have smiled on our antics because astonishingly, it failed to rain on our bonfire.

There was lots to see and do, including a Morris dancing troop, Celtic and Roman weaponry and dress, falconry, storytelling by Red Phoenix, traditional crafts, a tasty hog roast, making for the children to partake in, bands, cider, fudge and of course – the Wicker Man...

We made our way straight over to see the main attraction and scrawled our wishes and dreams down on small wraps of paper – these were then posted into the Wicker Man's legs to be burned in the eventual fire. This was a modern day replacement for sacrifices, which would have been traditional apparently. He was taller than the trees and a grown man could easily walk under his legs.

We had a fantastic time but everything paled in comparison to what was to come. As darkness fell everyone gathered in anticipation, a safe distance away from the massive wooden sculpture; until finally, someone approached with a burning torch.

Once his legs were burning, our wishes went up in smoke and it was only a short time before his torso, which was stuffed with straw was blazing away. Finally, to a chorus of Ahhhhs and Oohhs the Wicker Man’s blazing head fell to the ground, sending a huge shower of red embers into the night.

As we trudged back over the hill to our vehicles, we were cold, tired and hungry but very excited; our heads were still filled with images of that hot, firey giant. Our wishes that may yet come true, were now far off sparks, sailing like shooting stars into the dark sky...

Tales of Winter Magic

If someone asked you, What came before Christmas?  You might respond, Christmas Eve. But I would answer, the Winter Solstice! The Winter Solstice (aka Yule) was here well before any humans let alone Jesus. It is the shortest day and the longest night and in the Northern hemisphere it marks the first day of Winter. It falls on or near the 21^st of December.



Butser Ancient Farm on the South Downs



Pagan Winter Solstice festivities are among the oldest seasonal celebrations in the world. Celtic priests would cut special mistletoe that grew on oak trees and give it as a blessing. Oaks were sacred and the fruit of the mistletoe, a symbol of life in the cold Winter-dark months.



Teazles in Front Of the Roundhouse



Many prehistoric stone circles in Britain, align themselves with the sun on the shortest day; the Celts even believed that the sun stood still for twelve days in Midwinter. Yule logs are traditionally burned during the Solstice to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year. They burn throughout the night as a symbol of hope that the sun will return.



Something Wicker This Way Comes



Last year we visited Butser Ancient Farm on the South Downs and listened to mesmeric story telling by Red Phoenix around the fire in an Iron Age roundhouse; snow was thick on the ground, the atmosphere was intoxicating and the snowballs plentiful. We returned this year, there was no snow but we had just as much fun.



Baaaaa Humbug!



We started by exploring the traditionally built roundhouses and admiring the livestock; my daughter insisted that she has a singular affinity with the sheep! Then we trooped into the Roman villa for some making. As our eyes grew accustomed to the dingy light we found our way into a room, which thankfully had a fire burning in the hearth.



Nice Making by the Children



The children made their own mystic story-telling staves and rustic table decorations. The smoky room was soon bustling with well wrapped families but as we were first in, we could afford to be first out and soon squatted a spare roundhouse to eat our picnic.



Word-Weaver Red Phoenix in all Her Glory

Then the bell rang - it was time for the main event! We all sat on bales of hay, roughhewn seats or animal skins, gathered around the central fire in the largest roundhouse; the thin light and fire-smoke hung in the cold air, adding to the potent atmosphere.

Inside the Large Roundhouse

Red Phoenix is a word-weaver of many remarkable talents, she carefully settled everyone down before proceeding to involve us all in her entrancing tales of the Winter Queen & Holly King, travellers, warriors, foxes, imps, hunters, heroes, bears, robins, hobgoblins and Jack Frost. It was all quite enthralling and the children enjoyed it just as much as the adults did, they even got an age appropriate present as they left.

Red Phoenix Spins Her Captivating Tales

For me though, the highlight was Red Phoenix and her Tales of Winter Magic!



Boo!
It's Only Me - Looking Slightly Demonic
Have a Very Merry Yule all of you!
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