The Adventures of Kerriann: Summer 2015 Part 1

Eight Months!!!

Eight whole months have passed since my last Blog and I am back in Singapore already!

Emelia is not only crawling but pulling herself up on the furniture and finger feeding herself!!

Plus so much has happened since day one of my arrival back in the UK, that even after just two months of being home, apart from finishing my Adventures in Singapore, writing an updated Blog has seemed totaly overwhelming!

But, as they say, the easiest way to get things done is simple to begin and so we begin ….............

March 2015,

I arrived back in the UK and with John and Sanne reopened Taran Eco Designs ready for another season.

I dyed my entire head bright red – which turned the blue area done in Singapore a fabulous purple colour and with the shop all looking ship shape, the pyro block shelf filled to overflowing I set about getting my BOOK together.

My Story Telling has been going so well in the shop over the past few years that people have begun asking me if my work is available in a book.

Over the winter months, apart from everything else I got up to, I had also sorted all my poems into what I felt was some sort of order. I was yet to write something to link then all together but I had made a start.

By mid April I at last approached Cambrian Printers who, for a price would publish any book ….. as long as it was in a PDF format!

As all my work to date was in Word format and the five minutes of conversation between us had made them realise they were dealing with a complete PC ignoramus, they suggested I found myself a Designer and recommended a guy called Jenks who lived in Machynlleth.

That weekend, in the space of three hours, I finally sat down and wrote the links between the poems and stories in anticipation of my meeting with Jenks on the Wednesday.

Jenks turned out to be the designer of something more magical and amazing than my wildest dreams had envisioned.

E-mails flew through the ether as we consulted, I corrected, re-wrote, fine tuned, added drawings and eventually OK'd all the work and designs. Jenks suggested I get a quote from Y Lolfa Printers in Tal Y Bont before finally deciding on a printer so sending the final proof off to both in a joint e-mail I asked for said quotes.

Cambrian came back the clear winners so I sent a thank you but no thank you to Y Lolfa and got ready to OK Cambrian but before I could press the button an e-mail from Y Lolfa popped up on my PC!

“Would you mind telling us what Cambrian quoted you?” the e-mail read, “It is always good to see how we are comparing in the market.” they finished.

I forwarded the entire e-mail Cambrian had sent me and sat back.

One hour later a revise quote appeared from Y Lolfa offering their highest quality paper and finish for the same price Cambrian Printers had quoted plus free delivery.

I sent an e-mail to Cambrian saying thank you but no thank you and waited ….. they didn't write back so I called Y Lolfa.

Printing and delivery could be completed in two weeks, they said, by now it was the beginning of May and I was off to the Fire in the Mountain Festival in 10 days.

“Could it be done in 10 days?” I asked …. “Probably not,” they replied, “They were quite a small printing agency with not many staff and quite a few orders waiting to be done.”.

I thanked them for their honesty, told them not to rush and assured them that delivery after the festival would be fine!

10 days later I loaded Lady Sage with all I needed

(16 bottles of Bulmers)

plus reserves

(6x 1ltr bottles of sparkling water)

and headed off to Cwmnewidion Isaf, in my blue ski suit to help out at the 2015 Fire in the Mountain Festival.

I had been invited to the festival back in April when during a chance meeting with Megan I had mentioned my intent to try to take the Story Telling out of the shop and into the world of Festivals.

She had told ChaNan and within the week I had received the invitation to help out in the healing field, booking people in to see the various healers and generally helping out, in exchange for free entry plus daily meals.

There would be plenty of time spare for me to enjoy the festival plus I had been told they had a Bardic Fire every evening where people came to recite stories and poems.

Lady Sage was parked carefully in the crew camping ground, basics were unpacked and I was ready!

The Healing Field was a short walk away from the main field, down a track and across a narrow wooden bridge that crossed a tiny brook.

Nestled beneath some ancient standing oaks with blue bells dotted throughout the grass covered floor beside lichen and moss coved the stones, the place had a magical ethereal feel to it.

A willow arch had been constructed, through which people were guided into and out of the area.

Yurts and tent structures dotted the circumference while an open covered area welcomed people and held the basic kitchen area.

Having introduced myself I was shown how the booking system that myself and Paul were in charge of, worked.

The Healing spaces were shared by two healers, one working the mornings, the other working the afternoons. Each had their own unique field of expertise covering Holistic massage, Tarot Reading, Astrology Forecasting, Energy work, Shiatsu massage, Thai Massage, Chair Massage and others.

Each Healer had three or four hourly slots that people would book for a treatment.

A name plus deposit was taken at the time of booking with the balance being paid to the healer at the time of treatment. It all seemed pretty straight forward ….. once I learnt what all these different treatments involved!!

Friday morning saw a queue of people waiting to book appointments with the various Healers and by Saturday lunch time every space was filled!!!!

If there had been another day I am sure I could have filled that too.

With the main work out of the way, all that was needed now was someone to man the desk while directing customers in the right direction at the appointed times.

Paul and I split the day according to the activities we wished to do and had a ball!

I attended a poetry performance session where we group discussed the problems and experiences of would be Story Tellers.

I spent a fascinating hour listening to and discussing the female cycle!

At 53 and half way through the menopause I thought I had read every book and knew it all …. how wrong was I!

In such a safe space I learnt more in that hour that I had learnt through a life time of personal experience and study!

In the evenings I listened to great folk, acoustic, jazz and band music not only on the main stage but at the other various meeting places.

I sat around both the Communial fire and the Bardic fire until the wee hours listening and telling my poems while drinking my stock of Bulmers.

The festival was started after the lady of the Farm struggled to keep the place in working order alone.

As things began to fall into disrepair the neighbours decided to get together to help, not in a charitable way but in a business orientated way.

They asked if the farm could be used as a Festival venue. They would of course make all the safety arrangements themselves and return the farm to is original status once the Festival was over and so the first Fire in the Mountain Festival as held in 2010.

Bridges were built across the brook,

the retaining mound that ran around the front yard was made safe and a dragons head was added to give character.

Barn doors were fixed, a main stage was built, fabulous wooden compost loos were dug, trees were coppiced and managed.

When the Festival was over the compost loos were filled in but the fixed doors remained as did the various bridges.

All profit was paid to the Farm for the use of the area and so successful was the event that the following year Fire in the Mountain made an even bigger foot print.

The Healing Field was added as were various free workshops.

More repair work and added attractions were completed and at the end of that year the farm as looking good.

Each year the profit from the Festival is ploughed back into the Farm.

Each year more improvements are made to the event.

Glamping Yurts now cover the lower fields, free singing workshops allow newly formed choirs to sing beneath the trees, Gong baths resonate over the rolling hills.

With no main road, no internet and no phone signal it is a place to talk, to listen, to share, to learn and to grow.

At the end of the three days I had no cider and five bottles of sparkling water left (the intention had been good!) plus so many contact details my phone battery was drained each afternoon!

I had made friends in realms I had never had thought to explore.

I had had massages, astrology readings, eaten fabulous food and listened to great music.

I had sat around the Bardic Fire, being kissed by the smoke, having my words stolen by the Fire Goblin, who sometimes couldn't wait for a story to be told so he would steal the words from your mouth.

Sometimes he would give them back after a moment or two but sometimes he would keep them all night.

I had watched effigies burn deep into the night,

I had danced in the courtyard

and had my dress sense (the blue ski suit which just happened to be the same colour as their lucky tie, scarf, flower and hat band) complimented by the band!

Festivals are definitely the way for me and as I returned to the world of internet and phone signal I began to research the various festivals around.