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And a big hello to all the druids out there. If you're at Stonehenge this morning, you're 6 months early (or late).

It's all down hill to Christmas now.

Oh, I dunno. The dark nights closing in frightens people, and that's interesting. Muahahahaaaaah!

Tomo, Lord of Darkness... Has a nice ring to it, I'd say :p

Report and video are online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... henge.html

Mandrake wrote:Report and video are online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... henge.html

Neo-druids are a funny bunch. Unfortunately, Druidry is a 19th century romantic invention; a bit of a grab bag of spirituality. Nowt wrong with that, I suppose, but looking through the wrong end of the telescope, so to speak, does look a little silly.

News reports every year seem to concentrate on the fringe elements and, until recently, the clash between those who wanted to be in the Circle versus the boys in blue who were charged with preventing them from doing so. These days it seems to be the quirky aspects and, inevitably, the instances of 'wacky baccy' etc discovered.

There is a massive stone circle at Lough Gur, not far from me, that is bigger (though the individual stones are smaller) than Stonehenge, and in many ways more impressive. At dawn on the longest day the sun shines down an avenue of trees and straight through the two biggest stones of the circle. There are always sixty or seventy locals there to witness the sight, which is a beautiful way to mark the turning of the year.

The event has been christianised here, with St John's Eve being celebrated on Thursday night, with bonfires. I will be performing around one of them, which makes a lovely way to mark the turning of the season.

themagicwand wrote:It's all down hill to Christmas now.

Shame on you. How can you forget Halloween?

I live right next to Hampstead Heath, and would often take walks through the Heath at night (because I'm all spiritual and deep and s***), and there's this Druid lodge that meets by this white standing stone. There's nothing mystical about the stone it was originally used as a landmark to measure the Heath, but you can't be a real druid lodge unless you meet around a stone so I guess they had to make do.

My point is that you don't know fear until until you're walking through the woods alone at night and stumble upon a group of people in pointy white robes.

There is a standing stone on a hill overlooking the sea near where I grew up. An archeologist was sent during the late seventies to examine the stone. He spoke to a farmer and told him that the stone could be more than a thousand years old, could predate the Vikings and the christianisation of Ireland.
"Or it could be a cattle scratching post," replied the farmer.
"What makes you say that?" asked the archeologist.
"Because I remember helping my father erect it more than forty years ago," said the farmer.