Celebration Time!

so here we are at Thornborough............... (continuing on from my last blog)... and the time of year is September........ the time of the Equinox.... 21st/22nd

as you might remember we were going to celebrate the Equinox and a friend's 50th birthday and then he and his wife were going to fly off to Amsterdam to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.  the celebration is a secret.... well a secret from him..... he thinks he is coming to the Henge just to celebrate the Equinox.  so we decided to decorate a marquee before he arrived on the Saturday morning.

decorated marquee

we put a chair in the marquee and decorated it with pretty fairy lights and balloons.  later we added a little table and placed his birthday cake on it and all of his presents.

the cake

here is the amazing cake made by MG...... in the centre is a little green man face but it doesn't show up on my photo.  hopefully someone else took photos of the cake and they are better than mine.

after all the decorating J and I went to listen to an archeologist give a really interesting talk about the history of the Henge.

we were mesmerised by his words and his lovely voice...... so much so that we both ended up having a mini snooze.  sorry to Jan who did the talk..... it was really interesting.... honest.

moon over camp

we were well blessed with fine weather and a gorgeous big moon hung over us to help light up the darkness of the Henge.  there is absolutely no light polution there so when I say it is dark... it is really dark!









below are some of our evening photos giving you a flavour of our party time

cutting the cake

dancing in the moonlight?

party time

chatting

birthday boy and his lovely wife

drumming

beautiful colours in the fire

our lovely fire was enhanced with some fairy magic brought by a lovely lady in the form of little silver packages which apparently you can buy on ebay lol.

some of our group got out guitars, banjos, and drums and played some amazing music.

toasting giant mallows

someone brought some giant marshmallows and so we toasted them on the BBQ and on the fire.

dawn over our 'village'

I'm very much a night person usually.  I hate mornings and take ages to wake up.  but when I'm away in Kitty I am awake at dawn and rewarded with views like this.............

sunset

Sunday was a lovely day of gently mooching around the lovely stalls.  people were selling so many different crafts.  there was a blessing for all the animals in a ceremony and people brought their dogs to be blessed.

L and B and I went for a walk to forage for fallen wood for our night-time fire and came back to the Henge just as the sun was setting.

monday morning quiet

as most of our group.... and also most of the campers in general had gone home on Sunday night I woke up on Monday morning to an almost empty campsite.  if you look closely you can see L and B's firepit sitting on bricks there on the right of the picture.






those of us who were left had a lazy breakfast and then started to pack up our campervans and tents.  by 11.30am we had done a 'sweep' of our area to check that nothing was left behind to harm the wildlife and the animals that the farmer may be putting in to graze.  and by noon we were all driving out of the Henge with a tear in our eye, as this is the last 'meet' of the year, and it is doubtful that we will meet up camping again before the spring.   all very sad :-((

but I'm sure I will get out and about in Kitty for day trips and I'll tell you about them and post pictures.

'til next time, blessings, Willow x

Kitty, Stephen, & Willow Lose Their Way

so.................. last time...........

"Kitty and I had hardly got home and got our jobs done when we were off again..... this time we were back to Thornborough Henge to celebrate the Autumn Equinox or Mabon".

..... and so we were off again, Kitty and I (and Stephen too) ..... this time heading up the A1 on a Friday lunchtime in September.  but Stephen SatNav didn't seem to know that the A1 has been altered several months ago even though I had uploaded new maps *groan*.

there we were.... driving along.... and I realise we are near junction 50 and thought that we should be coming off at J50.  but Stephen said that we had to go on another 4+ miles before coming off.  so...... being very dependent on the modern technology that is the SatNav to get me around, I listened.

the display on Stephen showed us grass-tracking and nowhere near the A1...... but obviously we were on the motorway (Kitty isn't really built for grass-tracking... and I'm not really brave enough to try it anyway).

'Stephen', I said, 'where are we going?'  ......

'in 100 yards turn right' said Stephen.   'we are on the motorway Stephen..... we can't turn right!!'  I replied.

'in 100 yards turn left' he said.  'there isn't a left turn Stephen we are on the motorway with no slip-road anywhere near never mind 100 yards away!'

 'turn around when possible' was his reply!   'TURN AROUND???   we are on a MOTORWAY!!!'  was my yell..... as if my shouting at a SatNav was going to make any difference whatsoever.

so...... what do you do when your SatNav gets all confused?  you have to make a decision.  but maybe I made the wrong one as I decided to come off at junction 51 and work my way back along the minor roads.  with hindsight I probably should have got myself back on the A1 going south and come off at junction 50.... but we make these decisions hoping that our intuition doesn't let us down like the SatNav just did.

so here we are with the A1 now on our left and trying to pick our way along the little country roads that are North Yorkshire at its best.  and now what does Stephen say?  'turn around when possible'.... 'turn right.... turn left'.  and what do I say?  'oh shut up Stephen!!!'  I was tempted to throw him out of the window .... but I thought he just might pick up a route to our destination.  "did he?"  I hear you ask.  NO...... he didn't...... so for miles I carried on along country roads trying to find a signpost for Thornborough Henge....(English Heritage seem to have abandoned the beautiful site in favour of more 'money-making' site such as Stonehenge.... *sigh*)..... so no signs will point you to Thornborough Henge.

after what seems like an eternity but was probably only 30 minutes Stephen finally picked up a route for me.  by now I am really panicking as I was meant to meet friends at 2pm so that we could save spaces for those who had to work Friday and couldn't come until late Friday night or Saturday morning.  not only were we celebrating the Equinox but we were celebrating someone's 50th birthday.... so it was a big occasion.  by now it was 2.30pm.  I began to recognise the scenery as I had been for the Beltane celebrations in May... so I started to relax and before I knew it I was greeted at the entrance to the Henge by a man with a long grey beard in a high-vis jacket (no.... not Father Time.... but Cat.... a lovely man who volunteers to greet people and show them where to park).

none of my friends had arrived so I waited by the gate talking to Cat and a lovely fae-like lady for around half an hour before I decided to park up and get the kettle on.  one by one friends started to arrive..... each one telling the story of being sent down to junction 51 by their SatNav instead of coming off at junction 50!!!

next time I'll make sure I write down travelling instructions and use a MAP.   in the words of Sir Alan............. Stephen!...... you're fired!!!!

more adventures soon :-)

blessings, Willow x

Kitty & I Meet Up With Friends

oh dear!  it has been so long since I last blogged that you have all probably forgotten me.

well.... just in case I've still got followers I'll try to update you on what has been happening in my world.

Kitty Campa and I have been travelling about quite a bit this year.  At the beginning of May we headed off for Thornborough Henge in North Yorkshire to celebrate Beltane.

We ended up meeting loads of wonderful new people with similar interests and have since become great friends and have met up several times during the year.  here is the English piper on the Henge piping down the sun.  we also had a Scottish piper who piped down the sun on the Saturday and the Sunday.

here are the drummers calling us to the ceremony.







After getting home and doing the washing Kitty and I headed off for our annual meet with our Stonewylde friends at Avebury in Wiltshire.




here they are getting dreads in their hair :-)

I've added a few new stickers to Kitty......

.... at the back and on her bonnet.  but I've loads more to add over the months.







Kitty and I spent a week at Moongazy Camp with our Stonewylde friends before heading home.


our next big outing was to Derbyshire to meet up with friends and celebrate Lammas at the beginning of August.





here is one of our group, exhausted after putting up her tent.  this is the reason I bought Kitty :-)   I just drive up to my pitch and park...... and switch on the gas and make a cuppa..... simple!










as you can see, our area of the campsite became very crowded!

the first night we were blessed with the most amazing sunset........

......  but the following night we got this!!!  (yes that is a colour photo!  the sky was black and we ended up with the most incredible storm with fork lightning giving us a spectacular show).  unfortunately many people got soaked wet through in their little tents :-((  although the bigger and better waterproofed tents stayed dry.




our next camping weekend was near Conisborough Castle in August.  we meet up for a picnic every year with our Stonewylde friends but this year some of us decided to camp the night before.

many of us were fascinated to watch two of our men put up a folding caravan.... before we all piled inside for afternoon tea and cakes.

the campsite was lovely and had plenty of space and electric hook-up (a luxury) and showers!!!  :-)













we held our picnic on the Sunday in sight of the castle.

the picnic table was huge.....
and filled with foods that everyone attending had brought to share.

some of us sat under the shade of the beautiful trees.... and some enjoyed the full sunshine.

Kitty and I had hardly got home and got our jobs done when we were off again..... this time we were back to Thornborough Henge to celebrate the Autumn Equinox or Mabon.   but I'll blog about that later.


hope you enjoyed catching up with travels with Kitty

with blessings, Willow x

A Good Spring Clean!

gosh!  it's been a long time since I posted.... sorry.

as you can see the blog page has had a Spring Clean.... a fresh new look ........ but I've had a different sort of Spring Clean for myself........

well.... I'm still having investigations into the pain I'm having in the same area as my gallbladder was in before I had it removed.  Since I last blogged I've changed consultants and had several more tests.  yesterday (Wednesday) I had a colonoscopy.

my appointment was for 2.45pm so I had to take a fast-acting laxative on Tuesday and also on the day of the proceedure and was allowed nothing at all to eat from 1pm on Tuesday.  

the proceedure wasn't pleasant but was tolerable.... and took 45 minutes.  I watched the whole thing on a big colour monitor.  I asked the doctor to tip the screen a bit my way as I was struggling to see it..... he replied that it was for his use and not mine and laughed.  I was really interested in the whole proceedure and the doctor was brilliant in answering my questions about where the camera was in my body and what he was doing.  

he removed a small polyp and took a biopsy or two.  totally fascinating!  watching it on the screen made it feel strangely not inside my body..... until he started to remove the polyp and told me I would feel a slight tug.  what a weird sensation that was!  not at all painful in any way.... but I just felt the tug and saw what he was doing at the same time lol.  

there was no sign of diverticulitis.......... so it seems that damage was done when I had my gallbladder out 18 months ago.  hopefully in time that will heal.... or perhaps I will have to live with it as it is now.

results will be sent to my GP in about two weeks, and will then see the consultant again.... but that could be a month or more away. 

anyway..... for now..... no more tests :-))

blessings to all of you, Willow xXx

Waiting for a Shaman

on Wednesday the 17th there was a knock at the door........... "Stonewylde!!  my new book!!!"  I thought. 

I opened the door and there stood my lovely neighbour 'B' with my copy of Magus of Stonewylde in her hands, the first in the Stonewylde series by Kit Berry. "I'm returning this...... I've just ordered the rest of them..... thanks" she said. "What have you done lending me that book?!?!?!..... I'm totally hooked!!!"  she continued.

I was really pleased that 'B' enjoyed the book enough to buy the other four .... but I was wanting Shaman of Stonewylde to arrive..... of course.... the last book in the series of five.  the postie arrived a little later with only a letter for me.  I was bitterly disappointed.

although I was out for the evening ... Wednesday night I returned and made a cuppa and sat down to finish my re-reading of  Shadows at Stonewylde in readiness for Shaman being delivered on the next day.

Thursday morning seemed to drag so much .... but at last there was a knock at the door and I could see the postie's red jacket through the glass in the door.  (little squeal of excitement)

I unlocked the door with a shaky hand and there stood our lovely lady postie with only a big pile of letters in her hand..... no Shaman.  for a second or two I wondered why she hadn't just put them through the letterbox and was so disappointed that my Shaman was still not to be in my hands.  

then she smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out this.....

I was all of a flutter.... and beamed like a crazy person and exclaimed "my BOOK!!!...... oh thank you thank you thank you!!!"  .... clutching it like a miser with his gold I closed the door and sat down and cuddled it ... rocking with glee

here is my first glimse of the book itself........

.... with little Leveret and Magpie just showing...............

............. and now here she is in all her glory.......... 

(not quite sure why I called the book 'she' but I'm going with it)

with the beloved book in my hands at last I hastily made myself  a cuppa and then sat and READ!

I read and read and read..... only coming up for air to make more tea, get a snack, or have a 'comfort' break. 

the tv wasn't turned on at all on Thursday night..... and I read until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

Friday morning I woke..... made some tea..... and picked up Shaman..... and read!

I finished at 11pm Friday night after the most amazing roller-coaster ride ever!

I laughed.... I cried my eyes out.... and held my hand to my mouth aghast.  that Kit Berry certainly knows how to tell a tale!!!  

I'm not giving away any of the plot..... you'll have to read it for yourself.  get ready for the roller-coaster :-)

until next time, blessings, Willow xXx

Five...... always Five!

just to remind all you lovely people that Kit Berry's Stonewylde Series of books comes to an end with the final book being published this week.

the fifth book in the series is out on the 18th October

if you haven't read the books yet please do get a copy of the first one, Magus of Stonewylde, and you will be hooked from the first page! 

there truely is 'no escape'

this is the new version of Magus of Stonewylde published by Gollancz

as the back cover on the original version of Magus says (below) "an enchanting yet disturbing tale of a hidden community in modern England"

here is the original Magus of Stonewylde which was self-published by Kit.  you may still be able to find these in shops or charity shops.



if you want to read more about the author Kit Berry

or about Stonewylde take a look here

I got an email from Amazon this morning to say that my copy of Shaman of Stonewylde has been dispatched!  I am sooooo excited I can hardly contain myself.  once it arrives I'm afraid I will have my nose inside the book until it is finished :-))

until next time....

blessings, Willow xXx

Willow and Kitty go Adventuring

sorry it has taken me so long to tell you about my adventures in Kitty Campa(van).  I have no excuses.  I just didn't get round to it.  shame on me!

as you know from other posts I bought Kitty on the Wednesday and washed out her cupboards and fridge and packed her up and set off for a campsite near Avebury over 200 miles away... the very next day... the Thursday lol.   I was meeting up with dozens of lovely Stonewylder friends.  we've all read the series of books by Kit Berry and we meet up at least once a year to camp and several times have local meet-ups for a picnic or a meal in a pub. (Kit's latest book about Stonewylde is about to be launched on 18th October.... and is number five in the series.... and the last one)

I set off from home and headed for the big Tescos 15 miles away (it is en-route... sort of).  I had a money-off voucher for fuel at Tescos so I thought I should fill Kitty up with cut-priced fuel for our journey down south.  I also bought a sandwich and put it in my fridge as I thought it would save time when I had 'comfort' stops.

so ..... I was ready to go.  nervous, because I'd just bought Kitty and was hoping all was well with her.  (I did buy her from a reputable garage so there shouldn't have been any problems but you just don't know with mechanical things).

anyway...... I set off from Tescos and got myself on the motorway and turned on the radio.  but all I could hear was static..... no radio..... and I hadn't brought any cds.  humph!  no music or chat then :-(     oh well.... I thought.... I'll just have to sing sing sing ..... and so I did.  and talked to Kitty... encouraging her.  and I also talked to Stephen.  I haven't introduced you to Stephen yet.  he is my SatNav which has the voice of Stephen Fry.  he is a great travelling companion and makes sure I stay on the right road and get to my destination.

I hadn't realised that old campervans go slowly coz they can't go fast!  that had not occured to me when driving my little car behind one especially on a hill.  but they do go slowly.  I thought that there was something wrong with Kitty when we were on the motorway but came to a slight incline and the speed slowed from 55mph to 45mph then to 40mph and then to 35mph.  "oh Kitty don't give out on me" I cried.  but sure enough as soon as we came back onto the flat my speed zoomed up to an exhillarating 50mph!!!

but then it is all about the journey..... not the destination isn't it?

after a couple of hours I would normally have stopped if I'd been in the car.... but I was enjoying tootling along in Kitty and having other campervans flash lights at me and wave (friendly lot).  so I carried on.  thinking I would stop at the next services and then the next and the next..... but never actually stopping.  but eventually after 4 hours of driving my bladder decided that I should stop.  by this time I'd left the motorway and was driving on A roads.  when suddenly it hit me like a cricket bat!  I didn't NEED a service station.... I had a toilet onboard..... and a sandwich in the fridge...... and a kettle and stove to make a cuppa.   so I stopped at the next layby ... closed all the back curtains and got the toilet out of it's little cupboard :-)  .... hands washed, I got my sandwich and put water in the kettle and put it on to boil.  wow!  this is the life!

suitably refreshed I carried on at speeds of up to 45mph...... just cruising :-)

I'd been travelling most of the day and the light was begining to fade.... but I was still 20 miles from the campsite.  I'd been using my indicators all day and assumed the headlights were on the same switch.... but .... panic.... no they weren't.  "how the heck do you turn the lights on?"  I wondered.  

no time to worry about that as I encountered a closed road.  "but I want to go down there" I almost wailed.  but obvously I couldn't so tried an alternative .... "turn around when possible" said Stephen.  "I can't" was my reply.  he'll pick it up I thought.  "turn around when possible" repeated Stephen.  I tried various roads only to be met with "turn around when possible"  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr shut up Stephen!!

eventually Stephen picked up a route for me and took me down a single-tracked road which looked like it led to a farm.  it was hardly wide enough for the campervan let alone anything I might meet coming the other way!!!  even a dog-walker would have had to scramble up the banking!

the track eventually led to a reasonable road and we were 'out of danger' .... but still no lights.  everyone coming towards me had their lights on.  just me with no illumination.  scarey.  but now I was less than 10 miles from the campsite.  I had visions of having to stop and camp beside the road only a few short miles from my destination.  but there was hope ... as it wasn't dark yet.... just getting dusk.

on and on I drove down leafy lanes and through tiny villages.... I was begining to think that Stephen was lost..... "in 300 yards turn left...... turn right...... turn left...... straight on!"   then............. I saw the campsite sign........... I was here!!!!  just a few yards more and I was safe from Mr Policeman stopping me for not having my lights on!  or worse still safe from having to stop by the roadside and camp all night because it was too dark to drive without lights!!!  I drove up to the barrier and it lifted.... thankfully and in I went.  we have camped here before so I knew where we would be... what field we were in.  but just before I parked up I just had to................................. stop for a tinkle at the 'facilities'. 

then on I drove to the camping field No.9.  "You've no lights on Willow"  I heard them cry.  Swampy plugged in my hookup...... Andy jumped into Kitty and found the light switch and everything was working fine... just me that couldn't see the switch .... the lovely SolsticeDreamer asked for my cup and made me a hot cuppa while Kit asked if I had a glass to put some wine into.  I was home! 

  

.... and here I am safely camped up for the night.  I wasn't on a slope, I think I had tilted the camera or had too much wine :-)

I slept like a log that night and didn't even realise I'd put the bed cushions together wrong, and was sleeping in the gap between them on the bare board lol.  everyone was already up having breakfast before I managed to even open my eyes.

I'm going to love this campervan life!

with blessings til next time, Willow xXx