Summer Solstice at Avebury Stone Circle - oh what a night! Fantastic. I managed to get today off work as time in lieu - I've been pretty busy of late and working extended hours so it's been a godsend to have a random day off.

We headed out to Avebury last night with our friends, camping gear and a sense of reverence and fun - ready to celebrate the summer solstice with the rest of the hippies, crusties and druids. Once alighting from the bus we were enveloped by a crowd of bikers, hippies and the od speckling of druids, 'fairies'and green men.

First stop, as per usual, was the pub. Quite conveniently right where the bus stopped. The Red Lion is the main (if not only) pub in Avebury (a small village surrounded by standing stones, not that dis-similar from Stonehenge)and is 'one of the most haunted pubs in Wiltshire'. There's a well in the front room where it's said at least one of the villagers from times long gone has met their demise. Apparently a woman by the name of Florie found herself in the arms of another while her husband was away for some months. On his return he found her in bed with this other man and in a fit of rage he killed her and dumped her body in the well which is now inside the pub and serves as a table with a glass top. The well is 83ft deep and even if she wasn't dead but just unconscious when thrown to her resting place she would've been no more when she got to the bottom. So now the ghost of Florie inhabits the Red Lion where she tampers with the beards of men who dare enter for a pint. It's said that her righteous husband had a beard (although the artists interpretation of the story by the well shows a man with a tach.) and this is why she particularly picks on the bearded among us.
From there we went and found a camp site - conveniently a short walk from the main stone circle - and pitched tents, or rather, watched the boys pitch the tents while we stood back with beers and words of encouragement!
It was still light until about 10pm and the sky stayed lovely and clear. I'm always enchanted by the sky, both here and at home in Aus, but here it seems much more crowded with stars. The cloudiness of the milky way was right above us scattered like fairy dust across the deep midnight blue of the heavenly vault. I can pick out Orion's Belt (which is the saucepan at home, but upside down/right way up) aside from that though I view with ignorance and wonder like someone from ancient times who saw the gods play and the turning of time acted out for them on a nightly basis. It's lovely when you get into the countryside, away from the large towns to be able to see the stars so clearly.
The camp site was full, but not too crowded. People from all parts of the country and walks of life wandered around wishing all a happy summer solstice, small groups of people sat around fires drumming, singing and drinking/smoking and a druid sat not far purveying the festivities with watchful eyes.
After relaxing, talking, drinking and passing around the od smoke Mark and I decided to head off for a walk around the area and to check out what was going on in the circles. There were cops everywhere but everyone was friendly and smiling, the cops were helpful rather than prescriptive and it was quite a peaceful and safe atmosphere. We made our way towards the avenue, which in turn takes you to the other end of site - the sanctuary - but as we neared our turning we were drawn the other way towards the sound of drumming. We climbed the bank which surrounds the main circle and sat watching the celebrations taking place inside the stones. A group of drummers kept the fire twirlers, glowing poi and jugglers in time and the spectacle was much like watching a firework in slow motion. When the drummers finished their set in the circle another group would take up where they left off, replying to the central group and encouraging them to continue.
After sitting for a while and quietly bopping to the drums Mark headed off to the 'inner circle' (a smaller circle of stone placed inside the larger stoned outside ring). Meaning to catch up with him there after a few more minutes of watching I remained there, mesmerised by the light show and the drums. How wonderful is it to have so many from differing backgrounds and areas come together to celebrate being alive, the gift of sunlight and the growth of crops planted in the spring - to give thanks for what is on a daily basis quite often taken for granted, and to revel in the wonderful freedom and energy of all this with your fellow beings.
After contemplating this for a while, I too made my way down the embankment towards the stones and into the clusters of revelers to be surrounded by the swirls of fire, undulating dancers, the rhythmic beating from the drummers and the haunting sounds of pipes. There were people everywhere either dancing to the music or lying quietly (I almost stood on one or two) contemplating the longest day, the festivities or maybe just taking store of the year past and making prayers for time ahead.
I wandered about taking it all in and then back up to the top of the embankment to see it from that perspective again. Whilst sat there I had the urge to write again - something I haven't done for a few months now aside from this blog. My short stories seem to have dried up and my inspiration quashed by other commitments. But I wrote without thinking and it seemed I was talking to a higher me. One that wasn't chastising me for not doing this or that, rather encouraging and inspiring me to take up my pen (or keyboard) again and continue on to follow my dreams... Not only in that area of my life, but others too. Being able to create is one of our greatest gifts and it's a shame not to use it.
After sitting there for however long I made my way to the inner circle and after a while realised there was no more chance of finding Mark there than there is of a needle in a haystack, so I headed back to base camp, pretty sure that the others would have stopped their dithering and made the way towards the drumming too. I was looking forward to a recoup and rest before the sunrise when everything would kick off again, with more rituals, drumming and celebration.
When I got there I found Mark at our tent and the others still sorting themselves out to go! It is lovely going somewhere like this with a group of mates, but so frustrating trying to decide things as a group - I'm so glad I hadn't waited for them to get themselves sorted! After deciding a meeting place for all they headed off the way we had come. Mark and I sat and chatted, played light sabers with the torches and hung out. Realising that we had no papers though Mark valiantly got up and wandered about the camp site to find some. He returned not only with papers but with some fantastic chocolate/guarana balls which were delicious and perked us both up a bit.
His feet getting itchy again Mark headed back to the circle for a while and I fell asleep watching the stars. Just before dawn the temperature really dropped and then my alarm went off and a little boys voice rang through the camp site telling us to wake up and see the beautiful rainbow formed over the fields. I simply snuggled deeper into my sleeping bag, dreaming of the beautiful rainbow we'd been told about.