Part 1: Starting Out
Part 1 : Starting Out – Following on from Sunwheel Grove’s welcome, now follows the first part of our journey
So, in Scotland we have indeed started a journey different to the one in England, a journey not dissimilar to freezing rushing water. It’s beautiful but has it become normal?
About 6 months have passed and arising is a strong sense of ‘we are where we are meant to be’. The serious work is fading and the new bathroom, now more or less complete, has lost its power to overflow our wits.
So if moving was like going into tumbling waters, we have tumbled out and are here to stay. As well as all the changes and work effort that moving requires, we have managed to have 3 ceremonies to mark the arriving and passing of the year, when the gradual changes in nature, flow along in their cyclic paths.
The first ceremony, MABON…….. was held at a secluded and most beautiful place close to an inspiring Loch, amidst lush forests. The sun shone overhead, a few scattered white clouds stood out against a blue sky, making our first Water Wheel Grove ceremony rather special.
(Photos WW001 to WW007 show location and setting)
The second & third ceremonies, SAMHAIN & WINTER SOLSTICE,…….were held in our garden, on the piece of land being allocated for the Roundhouse. Unfortunately we cannot share any photos of these ceremonies due to technical problems (the photos have disappeared!). However, the confines of the area have benefitted us in understanding how the roundhouse should be constructed, in order to make the most of a small space.
We are aware that we are taking ‘baby steps’ towards getting our Grove established practically. But then, nothing worthwhile is built in a day, and we do have the help and support of the Sunwheel Grove (our parent Grove) to be with us and delight in our journey. We, with appreciation, learn from the purity of their Druidism.
Now we are in January, amid the green shoots of spring flowers and Snowdrops visible. We appreciate our first spring in Scotland and delight in the budding and timid green of growing things.
Once upon a day, it was said, “I’ll build a Roundhouse”. It will have the roof secured in time for OMBLEC. The story of that is now fittingly taken on by the ‘builder’:-……..
Arriving at our new home in summer of 2019, and looking towards creating a suitable Grove, the question was…how to adhere to ceremony days when accompanied by typical inclement weather here in Scotland? Obviously a Roundhouse, although due to our chosen garden area constraints the ‘Round’ would have to be more ‘Rectangular’, with perhaps additional small extension areas to accommodate the requisite spaces around the Central Table etc.
(Photos WW008 & WW009 show the chosen site, in July and later in early September)
Undaunted by this enforced deviation from the norm, we first set about deciding how to fit the floor within a short area of gravelled hard-standing which, being fire-proof, self-draining and attractive, was an immediate step forward and reduced the need to manufacture a wooden platform floor.
The tin garden shed, sited after the cherry tree had finished blossoming, had to be moved, which it duly was. The 8ft wooden garden fence posts were prepared, as the 4 main corner supports, accurately positioned to receive a ‘single moulded glass-fibre roof’, at the time fitted to what turned out to be an ancient, if rather dilapidated, truck body which was gradually unearthed, as the weeds and other greenery on our land died away, to reveal its potential as a worthy waterproof donor.
(Photos WW010 –WW013 show frame prep & build. WW014 & WW015 show the discovered truck body)
The build continues and, unless the next set of photos also mysteriously disappear, we will bring you more news before the 3rd February deadline, in preparation for the ceremony.
