Cider Festivals and Cadar Idris!!

The arrival of the Summer Season at the Workshop saw us all working to full capacity.

Furniture was built and sold, pyrography blocks made in the morning were sold by late afternoon. 

Taran Eco Designs was officially a success with our Facebook page getting more and more 'like's each day.

We held dinner parties for our friends sitting around the huge tables John had built.

We had walks along the beaches in the evenings, collecting more wood to make into interesting creations back in the workshop.

With the success of my Festival stall I also needed to create and make things in my own time and so after a day of pyrography at the Workshop, I now filled my evenings making things for my stall.

By the time the Cider Festival arrived in September, I was restocked and ready for another weekend of merriment and Storytelling.

I had been booked to tell Stories for only an hour on the Saturday but I set up the Story Hall amongst the trees next to our base camp in the orchard just for the practice.

The shop positively over flowed with stock 

and bit by bit people wandered down to have a look or to listen to a story.

We introduced David and Linda to the joys of cider drinking and having now become a regular at the Cider Festival for the past few years, there was also plenty of time for cider drinking and dancing.

Fairy wings were worn,

Pirate hats were donned

Elbows were licked

the cure for cider hic-cups was tested

repeatedly....

and a good time was had by all.

My Saturday Story telling took place under the parachute covered children’s area and I was amazed at the response.

With so many other activities going on it was a pleasure to see so many smiling faces waiting to be entertained.

We told stories about pirates, stories from the jungle,

stories of fairies and of course Jack and the Beanstalk as re written by the Giants wife.

At the end of the weekend I sat down and did the maths.

Once again the stall and the stories had been a huge success and I was now confident that Storytelling for a living needed to be tried for at least one year!

I returned to the Workshop and sat down with John to tell him that next year I wouldn't be returning to the Shop.

Our usual End of Season Party was held on the Wednesday after the October half Term but it now had an added feature of being my leaving Party.

People were invited food was prepared and the workshop was cleaned from top to toe. I don't think I have ever seen so many people in the Workshop before.

Some arrived early, others drifted in after work, others arrived quite late and stayed the night. (Although none of us thought to take any photos!!)

Food was eaten and there was still loads left for lunch the next day.

Although the Workshop doors were open the next morning to the public, we didn't do much work on the Thursday and by 3pm we all called it quits and went home.

Friday, it was decided would be our last day and any clearing up could wait until then.

I arrived Friday morning rested and ready for work. I had mentally worked out all the things that needed doing as I had driven the winding road to the Workshop and was ready for action. 

But as I arrived I found not only John and Sanne waiting for me but Scott, Sophia and two of our volunteers?

“Get in the car and don't ask questions!” John smiled as I drove up.

Bewildered I did as I was asked. Sanne distracted me with questions about work and projects I had done as we drove through the countryside until, driving up a narrow lane I spotted a sign.

Cader Idris!!!

We were going to climb Cader Idris!!!!

For the past 17 years I had wanted to climb this mountain on my door step. For 17 years I had found excuses.

Today, surrounded by friends carrying food and refreshments from the leaving party, I was going to make it to the top!!

At the bottom of the mountain we posed for photos, wrapped against the elements and in drizzling rain we started up the track.

“I have never seen the top”, John remarked as we walked, “It always clouds over before I get there.”

“Ah but you have the weather guru with you today”, I countered, “If it is sunshine you want, it is sunshine we shall manifest!”

Bit by bit the drizzle cleared until by the time we rested at the half way mark beautiful sunshine bathed the hillside.

I laughed and asked what other weather they all wanted, a bit of hail perhaps?

No sooner had I said it a huge black cloud raced across the sky and deposited a shower of painful hail onto our heads!!!

“OK enough hail,” I cried, “something else please!!”

The cloud was blown away by a huge gust of wind that continued to blow with force as we climbed to the summit pushing us as we went.

At the summit the view was amazing. 

A near clear sky revealed the sea in the distance, farms looked minuscule, sheep became flecks of white in green fuzzy felt fields.

I sat for a while alone at the top of my hill as the others set up our picnic in the storm shelter a few meters from the summit. 

A raven (or crow I can never tell the difference) hovered right above me riding the gale force wind as if it were just a gentle breeze. 

We watched each other for a minute or two, me marvelling at his skill and wondering if he had been sent to teach me something, him just hovering and probably wondering if I had any food hidden about my person.

As the raven gave up his visit, dipping one wing to hurtle down the mountain side and out of sight, I joined my friends for chocolate cake, breads of various kinds and cheeses. 

A mist descended onto the summit and then snow began to fall!!

Not just little bits either but a full scale blizzard of swirling wing blown snow that drifted into the doorway of the shelter! How easy it was to be caught by the weather!

We finished off the food and cleared away our mess before venturing out once more into thick swirling cloud. Visibility was down to maybe 20 foot as we gingerly picked our way through the boulders searching for the path.

The wind dropped and about 30m from the top we suddenly stepped out from beneath the cloud and into crystal clear air. Another 50m and the sun was back.

We rested half way down again as clouds gathered around us once more to discussed how fickle our mountain had been today.

Still she had blessed us all with the most wonderful experience, sun, hail, rain snow and gales, we had reached the top and returned with full bellies and tales to tell.

Back at the Workshop we hugged and said goodbye for the winter. 

I felt a huge sadness that a stage of my life was now coming to an end.

I voiced my concerns only to have everyone reassure me that the Workshop and their friendship was always going to be here for me,

"Go and enjoy your new adventure," they smiled, "then come back and tell us all about it!!"

I smiled back and drove home to a silent house. 

I had four weeks until I left the country for the winter. 

Four weeks until I stepped onto a plane that would take me first to India, then Singapore and finally the Philippines …. a lot could happen in four weeks!

So I packed some food into Lady Sage and headed to Scotland!!!!

Summer 2016 Kaya Festival

Summer was now fully upon us. 

The shop was busy, evenings were long and with much anticipation I packed my new stall into Lady Sage and headed to Margam Park for my first official Festival booking.

The stall had arrived a full month previously and knowing the confusion involved in putting up a biggish structure I had asked Peter and Tommy to spray paint a colour code onto them to save me time and embarrassment in public.

I had also had a practice run at Lou's field just to see if I could manage it alone.

The newly coloured poles were placed in their approximate location.

Then bit by bit I joined them together.

With the aid of a slight breeze I got the roof on,

then the walls,

then I sort of made up a front!

During our adventure in Shell Island in 2015, I had skip raided with amazing results. 

Two full tents, some body boards, enough broken tent fabric to fill a car plus various poles and strings had been collected and stored for 'A Rainy Day'!!.

The front of my shop needed a closing strip but I had only bought enough canvas to cover the roof and three sides.

In fact there was even a gap at the back.

One of my many fabric finds was cut and hung into place, 

......... with a bit of stitching it would work fabulously!

I left the stall stand for the night to see if the breeze would show any problems I may encounter. 

I machined the front strip and returned to the stall to find it thankfully still standing where I'd left it.

I hung throws around the Story Room.

I built a shop and hung the flowers I had brought back form Little India in Malaysia.

I played with ideas and designs.

I attached, adjusted and reattached the newly sewn front strip,

opening and closing various doorway combinations until I was happy I could make the place secure.....

and then I packed the shop away,

folded all the throws,

took the whole thing down and packed everything into Lady Sage ready for Kaya Festival.

Even with everything in, there was still plenty of space for me!

I was as ready as I ever was going to be!

I had applied to Kaya the year before and at the time I had received an enthusiastic reply. 

Since then however I had heard nothing despite my two attempts to contact someone.

It was only when Rob and Dee, who were actually going to the Festival showed me the Official Poster with my name on that I felt I had a comfortably confirmed booking.

I turned up to Margam Park a day early just to make sure I really was expected and was welcomed, apologised to, welcomed again and told to go and pitch myself anywhere I wanted in the children's area!

I was the only one there so I set up next to the position they had told me was reserved for the circus but that also lay next to the main walk way in. 

As pitches went, it was perfect.

I put the frame up and cover on in wind and rain!

To be fair it wasn't raining when I started but as the roof sheet and I battled the wind gusting across Port Talbot from the sea, this amazing squall flew in, dropped its entire contents on my head in the space on a minute, and then left.

I held on the the half flapping, half secured roof canvas for dear life asking myself if I had truly thought this out, as alone in the field the elements had tried their best to destroy and battered me.

But then the wind dropped, the sun returned and twenty minutes later my entire stock of throws, wood craft, jewellery and beads was neatly stacked inside a wind proof, rain proof structure that I had built alone!!!

The next morning, having only woken twice to make sure my newly build structure was still standing as rain and wind lashed the countryside, I began work on my interior design!

Although I had done a practice run in Lou's field, I had now made even more stock to arrange.

Throws were hung, changed, then put back to the original designs.

Boxes of stock were unstacked and displayed.

Jagannath was hung to watch over us all, along with some extra bunting to hang necklaces on!

By the time Rob and Dee arrived I was just about ready for a break! 

They were given tasks to do as I fine tuned a few bits, arranging and rearranging!

By late afternoon I decided I was at last ready!!!

Kaya was truly amazing! 

I was nervous at first but then the children arrived and the hugs and the smiles and the one more story please!

I discovered set times for stories don't work with so many activities going on.

I also discovered stories on demand doesn't work either as I just got exhausted and began to run out of stories.

A mixture between the two eventually seemed to be the answer.

With the arrival of the circus (who had not turned up until the Saturday morning!!) who were now doing a half hour show each afternoon, I at least got a good break each day!

Rob and Dee became my official photographers, as I couldn't take any pictures while I worked.

We all shared a night of merriment with supper in the shop.

They helped me sell things while I told stories.

In fact I couldn't have done it without them!

Once the Festival was underway and we had settled into a sort of routine, there was also enough down time for me to enjoy myself.

There were beautiful flowers and bees that paraded the grounds.

There was time for Hoola Hooping with the circus, and in the evenings, when the children's area closed down there was time to wander, listen to music and meet fascinating people.

Victoria arrived on the Saturday evening in preparation to work the Sunday as Rob and Dee had to leave and to help me pack down.

We worked the day selling and story telling and then two days of preparation, three days of trading was packed back into Lady Sage in just under 3 hours!

I was tired, I was muddy but my First 'Big Festival' had worked.

I had had an amazing time, had received amazing feed back plus I was over £300 richer!

This I had to do again!!!!