Workhouse Party and Buddhafield Festival 2017

The Workhouse Party 2017 was my first festival of the season as a Story teller.

In Fire in the Mountain I had a practice run at the building and taking down my stall/shop but the only stories I had told were around the Bardic Fire each evening.

Workhouse was also pretty local being situated in Llanfyllin, only 30 miles from home.

I had been asked to arrive early on the Wednesday as they planned to build a bar in the only entrance my van would fit through to the Children's area.

The location was wonderful and after the rain of Fire in the Mountain the sun luckily shone for the entire time I was there.

I took my time building up my stall, on one half placing the cushions and rugs to create the space for my story telling and on the other I created my shop.

The backgammon games were set up as was the Bean bag game I had designed and even though we were not officially open people started to gather to play.

Over the next three days I learnt a lot about telling stories to children, especially boys!!

I had filled the sitting area with cushions and bolsters but where as the girls would curl up, the boys just launched into attack mode!!!

With so much ammunition my wonderful sprawling cushions were thrown through the air, or better yet, used as building blocks as they piled everything into enormous mounds only to launch themselves on top.

Within 24 hours every none essential cushion was hidden back in Lady Sage and a calm had returned.

The shop did well but it was the backgammon that was the real hit!

Security guards spent their off duty time sitting a relaxing, teenagers once the rules had been explained spent hours playing each morning much to the amusement to their parents who had never seen them sit so still for so long without a mobile phone in sight.

The stories I told were enjoyed but I found that people didn't wander in as much as I had hoped.

On the Saturday they had a Special Guest Storyteller arrive for an hour of Stories and I wandered over to watch, hoping for some tips.

The area where the Storytelling took place was open on all sides and the crowd that had gathered was large. 

After the first story most of the boys wandered off, much like they did when I told my stories, and by the final tale only three girls remained.

Feeling a bit better about the way my stories had been received I took note of the way they had set up their space.

The main difference was that the space I created was closed. 

At the time I had thought that this would lead to a more intimate and private feeling but as the children and adults alike had wandered in and out I realised that if I opened my space, more people would be able to see what was going on and might join in.

I quickly returned to my stall to redesign my space.

Whether it was the new set up or the fact that by the Sunday more people were in search of something relaxing to do I do not know but the amount of stories, poems and interaction I had on the Sunday was amazing.

The entire stall now looked open and inviting and many more people wandered around it looking and buying my stock.

Children, even the boys, sat on the rugged floor without the distraction of all the cushions and listened intently.

By the time I left on the Monday I was feeling confident with my abilities and ready for Buddhafield!

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As Angharad had been so helpful at Fire in the Mountain it was decided that she alone would join me to work Buddhafield as Peter and Cian had too many school commitments. 

With Lady Sage loaded to the roof with stock and supplies to last us the week, I set off to pick her up from Abergavenny as rain poured down all around me.

Unfortunately with Lady Sage so heavily packed plus the weather conditions it took me three hours to make the usual hour and a half journey and we STILL had three hours of driving to go to get to Taunton!

The rain eased a little and then poured down as we trundled along the motorway. 

Our going was slow but at one time Lady Sage actually reached the speed of 60 miles an hour on a down hill stretch of the motorway!!! .......... but then with a sudden and definite crunch, the driver windscreen wiper dislocated itself and refused to move.

Rain continued to pour as the passenger wiper did its best to clear a path. We stopped at the first services we came to to look at the damage. 

Peter via the phone got me to check what I could but the poor thing couldn't be fixed. 

I looked at Angharad, I looked at the map. We had about an hour to go to get to site or five hours with a rescue vehicle if we went back.

“We can do this!” I stated and carefully pulled back onto the motorway. 

To be fair each wiper on Lady Sage covers a rather big area and with the promise of clearer sky ahead we made it to Taunton where miraculously the rain stopped long enough for us to make it to site!

Because of all the rain however, no live in vehicles were being allowed to the lower field site until the morning!! 

I pointed to all the stock piled as high as the roof and tried to explain there was no way we could sleep in the van unless I had unloaded onto site.

Compromising in light of this, they told me to 'walk' down to find where my pitch was and once I had worked out the best route I could drive down. 

Relieved, we parked up and walked the site.

Our pitch was situated not far from the Solar Stage and was next door to three large interconnected tipis that served hot chocolate and home made cakes! 

As evening approached Angharad and I quickly built the shell of the stall and, placing all the stock in the centre, we climbed into bed. 

Rain had begun to fall once more and I remember thinking that I should wake in an hour to check the roof but with all the drama of the day I was soon fast asleep!

At 3am the biggest crash woke me from my slumber! 

I staggered from my bed to see what had happened. 

The roof had collapsed once again but this time all the rain water had been caught in the tarpaulin I had placed on the floor to keep everything dry!! 

All the boxes of stock now stood in at least three inches of water that lay on top of the rugs!!!!

As quickly as I could I rescued, emptied and moved all the stock to drier areas emptying the roof space as it collected more and more rain. I used every one of my clips to secure the roof as the wind blew the rain into my eyes and down my body. 

For over an hour I battled against the odds until at last I looked around the destruction unable to do anything else until morning. 

For another hour I sat pushing gathered rain from the roof wondering what on earth I was doing here!

For the past five years I had had a great job, that was still there for me if I wanted it, at the Workshop, I could drive taxi's or work the bar, why, Oh why had I decided I wanted to work Festivals?? 

As the rain finally abated I changed my sodden clothes and climbed back into bed glad that Angharad had managed to sleep through it all.

The next morning at Buddhafield the sun shone down and the air was still. 

Wet rugs and stock were pulled into the sun, felt inlays were hung to drip dry and the job of building a Story Hall began.

With most of the display things still too wet to use a new designs was needed within the shop area and I must admit it worked better!

The mushroom boxes that I usually used were turned over to dry, I draped spare material over their forms to make them into a shelf and then covered them with the drying stock.

By late afternoon even the rugs had dried and by evening I had once again forgotten the dramas of Britain's inclement weather and was ready for business!

Buddhafield is a drug and alcohol free five day event set of the grounds of a Buddhist retreat just below an aerodrome on possibly the only hill in Taunton.

Three huge fields slope their way down the incline with other fields to the sides designated for van camping and motor homes.

A large white statue of Buddha in meditation sat surrounded by a wide water area and it was there that each night a ceremony took place.

As I manned the Story Hall Angharad raced off to the opening ceremony with one of the friends she had made that day, only to return with stories of wonder to how big this place was.

There was a dance tent, a sauna and showers area three times as big as Fire in the Mountain, there were stalls, permiculture area, structures to meditate in or just to sit in, play area, four large workshops, a theatre plus more and more!

Having checked that I didn't need any help she then raced off to the Teenage area and I didn't see her again until it was time for food!

As Buddhafield was a five day event meaning that with the build and pack down we were going to be there for over a week, the whole event took on a different tone to what I had done before.

No longer was this just a few days of trading and stories, this now felt a bit like a way of life.

Home base had been established, a routine was found and as the days past I realised that this was truly what I wanted to do.

Despite the weather, despite the work involved getting there and back, festival life and I are perfect for each other. 

Shoes were abandoned within ten minutes of arrival, dressing up clothes were unpacked and worn for the duration, food was cooked, washing up was in a trug and the evenings were spent listening to some of the most amazing people around.

In the three tipis beside me a Kirtan began each evening at 7pm continuing quietly until the wee hours.

In the Solar Stage, sitar players took their turn beside jazz bands, who sat back to allow gifted solo artists to entrance us all.

As evening fell fires were lit as people gathered and not a piece of litter touched the floor. 

Recycle units worked around the clock emptying and sorting the collection drums, compost loos and male as well as female urinals were washed down and restocked.

At the Story Hall people wandered in, looked and sat down.

I told story after story, poem upon poem to smiles, words of gratitude and hugs of warmth.

People played games, bought my book, my CD, took my details recommending other like minded Festivals.

By the end of the week I was more determined than ever to make a living out of this way of life, but first I would have to do something about the roof!!!