Backward and Forward

Swinging on a star

I’m told the village is a lot tamer than it was in the 1970s. In the good, old days there were swingers and sinners having discreet fun in all four corners. It could even be true! Nowadays, entertainment is offered by the church (bell ringing and choir), the Women’s Institute (jam and Jerusalem) and the book club. The average age for all groups is sixty plus, which might explain the decline in opportunities for misbehaviour.

David and I fit snugly in the age demographic, so he sings in the church choir and we belong to the book club. I was a member of the Women’s Institute for around five years and was Secretary for two, but it wasn’t sufficiently dynamic for me, since the programme consisted of standing activities, such as craft nights and wildlife talks augmented by scarf tying tutorials and local history lectures.

We both sing in non-religious choir, called Every Voice, which doesn’t charge for it’s services, leading to flurries of demand for fundraising events. At the weekend we sung in Maldon Town Hall in aid of Marie Curie, where we raised £850, including the Mayor waiving the venue hire fee and a generous donation by a local businessman. The choir’s next event is our biggest yet. It is in Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday 1^st August during the afternoon. We are hoping for a full house, so if you can make it, please come along.

On the subject of houses, we have erected a house sign for the new build, so we maintain a feeling of momentum, despite not being able to move yet. In case you wondering whether my ego is so big that I named a whole house after myself, it’s not the case. I took my name and, indeed, we named the new house from local references to the remnants of an ancient forest that are in our garden, specifically Hawks Wood. The other name for the same thing is the King’s Wood, which isn’t nearly as romantic in my opinion. David opted for Hawkswood as well, but I think he would claim that his reasons are more prosaic.

Another activity to keep us pushing ahead is the fencing contractor starting next week on installing the back and side fences to the plot. He hasn’t said how long it will take his team, but we anticipate them being there for three or four days. I have a carpenter coming out, too. He is measuring up to install a ‘fairy tale’ stairway to the treehouse. It’s going to be magic to look out and see it.

I am still struck by the synchronicity of Linda Gemmill’s astrological reading and her follow up about Draconis, Hathor and Jupiter, which has been compounded by the current book I’m reading, which is still Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock (it’s a big book, even in paperback format). In part V he says that alpha Draconis occupied celestial pole position, in relation to Earth’s processional cycle, in 3,000 BC. For me, it is a magical cosmic gift from the universe, whose meaning I hope to unpack one day.

A friend had a consultation recently with Jo Wesch, who advertises her services as an Aura Healer, but the consultation my friend had was about past lives and karmic relationships. The feedback about Jo was very positive, which leaves me wondering if she can reach back to 3,000BC to help me resolve the puzzle left by a trail of stardust.

In one of those odd twists of Fate, I meet a friend of friend last week. Now, we have booked to go away together to Blackpool in November for an event, which seems like Hogwarts transported to the North. I’m looking forward to where this takes me.

I am in a reflective mood that has me drifting off to count the stars, so my poem this week is also reflective. It comes from my seventh collection entitled “Light on Water”:

A DREAM OF UNKNOWING
I once heard there was a dream
of unknowing,
a realm for letting go.
Sometimes I wonder
who I would be
if I went there and forgot.