The Summer Holidays are now over, routine returns to the house after what seems like a whirlwind summer of activities, work and weddings!!
After years of denying that I would Tie the Knot again I did just that with Peter on August 13th.
This was not just any ordinary wedding either, but a Celtic Handfast, as binding as any legal wedding yet made entirely by us, for us and to be honoured by us, for a Year and a Day.
The Date was chosen as it was the ONLY full moon this year that rose at an hour that was suitable to witness our promises.
The location was chosen as it belongs to a special friend of mine and it was only as the day arrived that I realised the specialness of the place. The field is bordered by two streams flowing in two different directions, Peter and I are also following different directions for part of the year but like the the two streams, we will meet up again and flow together from time to time.
Our witnesses were the children, the Spirits, the Elements, the Sun and the Moon plus a few friends and the day was perfect!
Upon my arrival home, as well as becoming a Taxi Driver for Peter's Taxi, I had borrowed Lisa's sewing machine and for a grand price of £6 for 3 second hand quilt covers from the local charity shop I had made meters and meters of bunting. These first got used to decorate Lisa's house for her 25th Birthday on July 13th . She had left for work that day leaving behind an ordinary house, she returned however to a home festooned with pink, purple, yellow, brown and blue!
That weekend Lisa and I made yet another weird and wonderful egg free Birthday Cake. This years creation was a Climbing wall complete with jelly-tot hand holds and liquorish ropes!
The table in the house was filled with goodies, friends arrived, ate, drank and then piled into cars for the hour journey to Play Zone, an amazing children play area filled with huge slides, net mazes, rope bridges, soft mats and obstacle courses plus an incredible 20 foot drop through 5 layers of strung elastic! We played Tag, Sardines, Stuck in the Mud, we got burns from the slides, bruises from the falls, exhaustion from the activities and had a thoroughly good time!
It is years since I last threw myself down slides and across rope swings and it will probably be years before I do it again but if anyone is in the Portsmouth area you really MUST check out Play Zone when they open it to Adults Only on a Friday night!!
The next airing for the bunting was at The Wedding. Lou's field was cut and decorated with flowers, ribbons and flags. The fire pit was loaded up with broken wood and off cuts from the pallet creations and at 6pm, as the moon arrived on the horizon, Peter and I began our ceremony.
The children invited the Elements and Directions to join us, the circle was formed and sealed, our promises were said and the symbolic tokens of our commitment and love were exchanged.
Our wrists were tied by all present
and together we lit a candle to signify the beginning of our new lives as one.
From this single flame our friends lit incense sticks, sharing the flame amongst them, as we share our lives among them.
Songs were sung, guitar playing was shared,
food was consumed and wine flowed! Well amongst our friends it did!
Unfortunately Saturday nights are busy nights for the business and by 9pm Peter and I were back on the Taxi's, our one tiny glass of wine a distant memory!
Three weeks later however we made up for it by handing over the Taxi phones to Toni and Julie and heading off to Ross on Wye for this years Cider Festival.
We arrived early and had a glass of wine. We put up the main tent and had another glass of wine!
Four tents later, with the corresponding amount of wine, we needed to eat! Peter lit this years addition to the camping equipment, an ingenious masterpiece inspired by our days of eating Pizza at Deep Blue Diving in Furteventura.
The kitchen at the back of the lounge was raided for food and supper was under-way. Having established the safety and heat radiation that came off our new oven, it was moved into the centre of the encampment and home was established.
Home work was completed, supper consumed, the dishes washed and it was time to join the dancing in the main barn.
The Cider Festival always begins with a good old fashioned Ceilidh or Twmpath as they call it in Wales. The instructions for the various folk dance steps begin slow and are relatively simple early in the evening but by the end of the night the entire congregation is throwing them selves around to foot stomping fiddle music of ever increasing tempo.
Partners are twirled, promenaded, swung and galloped as strangers and friends get to know each other on the snuggly filled dance floor.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, bodies were discovered under trees, heads were held and sunglasses were found as the sun climbed into the clear blue sky. By mid afternoon everyone was back on the cider, hangovers were forgotten as the bands arrived and took to the stage.
Out side alternative entertainment was available for a small donation, all proceeds going to charity.
It was only when a glass of refreshing Cider was passed to the unlucky occupant that one realised the full cruelty of the stocks!!
Pizza's, Jacket Potatoes, Beans and Salad stuffed Pitta Breads followed the mornings breakfast of bacon butties and cheese on toast. Heat radiated off the oven and we were quite grateful when the sun eventually set behind the trees of the orchard!
The evening's Headline Bands arrived and people took to the barn floor to dance, laugh and gyrate the night away once more.
By Sunday we were exhausted! A leisurely day was spent around the oven as more home made pizzas sizzled away. The Open Mic music played away soothingly in the main Barn, people bought and sold produce at the Farmers Market in the second Barn, children ran around the orchard playing games with their new found weekend friends and life was sunny and good.
It took an hour to pack down our encampment, the oven having been emptied and cooled for its journey home. We arrived back to rain! In fact we arrived back to what was the tail end of Kristofer's hurricane!
Hurricane Irene had arrived in the Bahamas on Tuesday forcing Kris to move home for its duration. He had dressed in his wet suit “just in case” as he put it, ordered in two cases of beer and was waiting with anticipation when I had spoken to him last. The hurricane had been dramatic and he had enjoyed every minute but as its remaining energy and rain lashed the hills of Wales I was so glad it had taken an extra few days to reach our shores!
The other excitement of the summer has been my 'swap of time' up at Sylvanflair in Corris Craft Centre.
The shop belongs to Megan and John and is a dream to work in, the aroma of wood fills the senses, ideas hang on the walls and adorn the shelves.
The work is incredibly social, people come and go, they touch and sit, they ask questions and leave inspired.
After my first day helping out I returned home bursting with ideas! A mirror was located at the local recycle centre, the pallet wood pile was raided and my first creation came into being
this was followed by a second and then I discovered Pyrography!!
Words and pictures flowed from my fingertips as every piece of wood I could find was embroidered with designs!
The kitchen at home was stripped, cupboards were removed and wood took over! My home in Cemmaes had been filled with wood and now that Peter's home was to be my home I wanted my wooden kitchen back!
With the cupboards removed the full extent of work needed became apparent and the 2 week estimation was changed to a month!
Plans for the next trip were also being finalised as routes were written onto the black board, visa forms were filled and sent and information books were read.
Today is September 13th. All of the above plus a lot more mundane stuff, like running a business and home, has happened in only 8 weeks!! In the next 8 weeks I will finalise my travel plans ready for my departure on November 14th. The kitchen will be finished, a new driver will be hired to replace me. Jec will re-sit his maths GCSE after a disastrous first try and my wood work course will help me to create two wonderful bar stools!
I can see now why I needed to leave Moorea, I thrive on 'doing'. Tranquillity has its place yet at this stage of my life 'Doing' is definitely the predominant force that drives me! I shall update you all on the next set of 'Doings' very soon!
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