Now, On A Happier Note, The Better News... Eastbourne Lammas Festival

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Mixed emotions at this juncture in my life, I'm afraid. It's been a bad year, but I'm not going to dwell on the negatives in my life any longer. I have done a lot of soul searching over the Lammas weekend, and I feel I've finally pieced the signs and the events together. The good news is that the Lammas Festival and the few hours immediately after have shown me the light and I now know what's needed to reap the harvest I require to see me through the darker, unproductive months of winter. Next year, my direction will change some. I will have shed the negatives, adopted the positive energies and regained my strength, which has been greatly reduced this year. The Lammas Festival is held over the weekend closest to the Sabbat every year, in Eastbourne, on England's south coast. I wanted to go last year, but was prevented from doing so by certain situations. So, this year, I was determined to get there by hook or by crook. After my initial arrangements fell through, I contacted my sister, who said yes, she would like a "different" day out. She picked me up at 9.30 a.m. when the weather was cloudy but dry. As we drove down, the rain started, and it was quite windy. Arriving on Eastbourne Sea Front, we found a parking space right outside the West Lawns where the main part of the festival was to take place. So, that was a bonus. We encountered one of the Pentacle Drummers on the lawns and asked him what time the parade started from the pier. It was only just about eleven o'clock then, and he said that they were congregating, playing and dancing in town first at 11.30, then the parade would come down to the pier at one o'clock in the afternoon, before setting off along the seafront towards the lawns. A long walk, we thought, so we decided to walk to the pier, then back over to Harry Ramsden's fish 'n chip restaurant on the other side of the road. We ate lunch, and then decided to go back towards the lawns, and by then, the rain had stopped and the sun was filtering through the clouds before coming out full strength later. After walking back along the seafront, we climbed the hill to Wish Tower and took places on a bench there, from which we could see right along to the pier and beyond. We settled here and waited for the parade. We could hear the drummers but no sign of the Morris dancers or Giants. Soon a crowd gathered on the benches and hillside around us, and finally, at a quarter past two, the drums became louder and the giants and parade came into view. Parade and ritual over, we all followed them back into the lawns area. Firstly, we walked around the various craft tents on the lawns. We decided what we might come back and buy, and stood in awe at the beautiful robes and dresses which were on display. In the first tent was a storyteller, dressed as a court jester. Music played on a stage across the way beneath a gazebo type structure, where various pagan bands and artists entertained right through the afternoon and early evening. Next to this stage was the beer tent. So we grabbed a pint of cider for me and a half for my sister, and wandered over to one of the benches where we sat with the sound of the sea dragging on the beach's pebbles behind us and the Hunter's Moon Morris's clacking of sticks and strains of accordians in front of us... the strains of pagan folk music on the air in the distance. We sat there and watched the Morris sides for ages before going to make our intended purchases and getting another cider. All this time, the music could constantly be heard on the other side of the lawns, as we went back to the bench to watch a new Morris side called Bacchus. They were dressed in purple and black tattered jackets and top hats, and their musician played a mandolin, and was dressed as a Green Man. They were a new side, with only four dancers as yet, but afterwards, I went and had a word with them, with a view to them gracing my Grail Quest. They're not busy apparently, and the likelihood of them dancing for us sounds great at the moment but she's going to confirm on Wednesday. All afternoon, I had watched people, dancers, singers and I'd struck up conversations with some of the craftworkers and pagans there, whom I'd never met before. The combination of the magnetic drag of the sea on pebbles, the dancers the atmosphere and the conversations, helped me to understand where I was going and what this year had meant to my path. Finally, a Lammas Blessing ceremony was staged in the centre of the lawn. I partook in the ceremony, the feasted on bread and ale, and I was slowly brought to realisation. We set off home after the Blessing, and I contemplated my direction between now and Imbolc, and what negatives I should be discarding and seeds I should be sowing for next year's harvest. I felt at peace at last... everything linked you see. My soul felt lighter and I'd felt a tingling sensation, perhaps of renewed energies, during the rite. I'm going to be pretty busy up until Samhain to ensure my harvest is good enough, but I'm happy in the thought that from then on, my life will change for the better, and big time. I can't post any pics in here because I forgot my camera, and although my sister took all the pics I asked, I don't have them yet. Her hubby's going to copy them to a disc for me. So... if you click on the link, you can see last year's YouTube version of what I saw this year, where I'm sure you can soak up the atmosphere and magick of the day. I didn't go back Sunday because I'd found my direction, and the weather was dreadful anyway, with heavy showers and later, prolonged rain. But all in all it was a very productive exercise for me both mentally and spiritually. I have grown over the weekend!How do you celebrate your harvest and when? What do you draw from your ceremonies? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opnym6NiwY0&feature=related