Events in Britain and Europe November 2009
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Summary - click on links to go to full details:
- Living in Love and Honour, Thu 29 Oct-Sun 1 Nov, near Glastonbury, Somerset
- Garden of Awen, Sun 1 Nov, Bath
- The Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri, Sun 1 Nov, Avebury, Wiltshire
- Anderida Gorsedd – Samhain Ritual, Sun 1 Nov, Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex
- Sacred Landscapes of the Peaks, Sat 7 Nov, Minninglow Barrow, Derbyshire
- Edward Kelley: Elizabethan Alchemist and Hell-Raiser, Thu 12 Nov, London
- Some Secret Place: Pagan Ceremony Evening, Fri 13 Nov, London
- Stav for Health & Wellbeing, Sat 14 Nov, Glastonbury
- Staff Benda Bilili, Fri 20 Nov, Oxford
- Stav for Health and Axe Training, Sat 21 Nov, Horspath, Oxford
- The Merlin Shepherd Quartet, Sat 21 Nov, Wolvercote, Oxford
- Book Launch: Odin's Gateway - Runes, Sun 22 Nov, London
- Kenneth Grant's Magic: Lecture Four in the Typhonian Series, Thu 26 Nov, London
- Dion Fortune Seminar 2009 - The Magical Heritage of Dion Fortune, Sat 28 Nov, Glastonbury
- Faerie and Fantasy Masquerade Ball, Sat 28 Nov, Dartmouth, Devon
- Faerie, Fantasy, Mythology Arts and Crafts Event, Sun 29 Nov, Dartmouth, Devon
Sunday 1 November 2009
THE GORSEDD OF BARDS OF CAER ABIRI
Samhain Gathering
Avebury, Wiltshire
Muster at Noon beside the Café before making the God and Goddess walks to the Sun Circle.
This is an open Gorsedd that welcomes all who come with good intent whatever their personal path.
Do feel free to bring your songs and poetry, as well as contributions of bread and mead if you wish. But most of all bring your heart.
Please contact Morgan 01458 835518 if you have any queries.
For further details see our Caer Abiri page.
For information about accommodation around Avebury see our Accomodation page.
Sunday 1 November 2009
GARDEN OF AWEN
An enchanting evening of the finest poetry, storytelling,
monologue, song, acoustic music and other Arcadian delights!
Featuring Awen authors and special guests: this month, performing
work inspired by the theme of Death & Rebirth - guitar-shaman and
sublime songsmith James Hollingsworth; ecobard Anthony Nanson;
poets Nikki Bennett, Marion Fawlk & Richard Austin; and balladeer
David Metcalfe (Fire Springs). Welcome to the garden...
Sunday, 1st of November's theme: death & rebirth
Head Gardeners: Kevan Manwaring & Svanur Gisli Thorkelsson
Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls, Bath
www.chapelarts.org www.awenpublications.co.uk
7.30pm doors 8.00pm start
£5 opening night
Tel: 01225 334204
Sunday 1 November 2009
ANDERIDA GORSEDD – SAMHAIN RITUAL
The Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex
The Anderida Gorsedd is a Druid group, facilitated by Damh the Bard and Cerri Lee, that has been holding regular open rituals at the Long Man of Wilmington since Spring Equinox 2000.
Anderida Gorsedd open Samhain ritual. Meet 1.30-2pm near the Long Man of Wilmington car park, for a walk up the hill at 2pm. Then after retire to the Giants Rest pub for a social drink.
FFI anderida [at] BardicArts [dot] com( Email)
See also our Directory entry.
Saturday 7 November 2009
SACRED LANDSCAPES OF THE PEAKS
Minninglow Barrow, Derbyshire
A workshop with Glennie Kindred for Samhain - working with the energy of the cross quarter festivals - with Rosemary Greenwood and Carolyn Brown.
Half the day will be spent outside in a special and sacred place in the Peak District. Be prepared to dress up well and enjoy being out in the Elements, whatever the day brings! The places we have chosen are easy to get to and involve a 10 -15 minute walk, which we will do in the spirit of a pilgrimage. Once there we will create Sacred Space and do a variety of things to help us connect to the land, our selves, the Elements and the season. We will then go to the nearest village hall for a shared lunch and an afternoon of craft work, drumming, storytelling, singing, ceremony and general wonderfulness.
10am to 5pm. Cost £35.
Please send a SAE for booking forms and further info to:
Glennie Kindred, Lea Moor, Derby Rd, Wirksworth, Derbyshire DE4 4AR
Tel: 01629 825 675 or glenniekindred [at] w3z [dot] co [dot] uk( Email).
Thursday 12 November 2009
EDWARD KELLEY: Elizabethan Alchemist and Hell-Raiser
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Robin Cousins
7.15 arrival for 7. 30 start. £5.00 in advance.
Famous for his magical partnership with John Dee and the resulting Enochian system of magic, Edward Kelley is always controversial. Details of his life are sketchy and confusing. Most of the information comes from Dee's diaries, but the association lasted barely seven years. An alchemist or a charlatan? A wife-swapper or a devoted parent? The master magician behind the angel magic accredited to Dee? These are a few of the questions littering Kelley's journey from riches to rags. This illustrated talk presents facts and legends, both old and new and the obscure, to help us make up our minds about this enigmatic figure. Robin Cousins has studied John Dee and Edward Kelley and their magic for over 20 years and has an exceptionally intimate knowledge of their angelic system and its working methods. He has published and lectured variously on the subject and visited a great many of the places across Britain and Europe associated wi th them.
To sign up for an event, ring with card details, 020 7240 8906. Payment in person to the shop in opening hours also welcome. All evening talks are followed by drinks. info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( Email). More events and shop info on Website.
Friday 13 November 2009
SOME SECRET PLACE: Pagan Ceremony Evening
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Gemma Jones, Peter James and Friends
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5 in advance.
Monthly beginner's pagan ritual evenings, perfect for those starting out on the pagan path, or as solitary witches. Some Secret Place is made up of some talk, some small group discussion on devotion, ceremony, spirituality, and relationship with deity. Most of all, though, it is experiential. It's about doing and feeling rather than theorising. We hope that people who come along will deepen their personal relationship with the pagan gods. This is for people who have done some reading on witchcraft, Wicca and/or paganism, and who are familiar with at least its general theological tenets. We assume you are pagan and want to practice it, but we don't presume you are experienced. Group size is small - maximum 17 people. The organisers want this to be a gentle, intimate and thoughtful experience. You can come once, come regularly, or come intermittently - whatever suits you best.
To sign up for an event, ring with card details, 020 7240 8906. Payment in person to the shop in opening hours also welcome. All evening talks are followed by drinks. info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( Email). More events and shop info on Website.
Saturday 14 November 2009
STAV FOR HEALTH & WELL-BEING
St Mary's Church Hall, Magdalene Street, Glastonbury BA6 9EJ
10am to 5pm. One of the main benefits of practicing Stav is enhanced health and well-being and raised energy levels. This course will look at: Working with stances to improve posture, breathing and energy. Diet principles in Stav. Relaxation and releasing stress and anxiety. Simple healing skills through the healing bind rune. Managing your energy and the implications of energy management when practicing any kind of healing skills.
Cost and Booking Information:
Day courses cost £25 or £20 for Ice and Fire Members. Concessions £20 (I&F members £15), for those in full time education £15 (I&F members £10). You can join or renew membership at the same time as booking and claim the members discount. Please book/join using the form online where you can pay using Pay Pal. You can also join Ice and Fire or renew your membership by following links from the same page. You may turn up and pay on the day although we would appreciate your letting us know you intend to come by phone or email. However, if you prebook we will send you travel instructions by email or post as required. (If you leave email box blank we will send joining instructions by post.) In the event of your cancellation we will carry the course fee over to another event but we will only refund in exceptional circumstances. In the event of the course being cancelled by Ice and Fire a full refund will be made.
Please bring own food for lunch, refreshments will be provided before the course, at breaks and at lunchtime.
Friday 20 November 2009
STAFF BENDA BILILI
The 02 Academy, Oxford, 190 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UE
Ticket info tbc. Watch Big Village Website.
Staff Benda Bilili are like nothing you have ever seen or heard before. Their name translates as "look beyond the apperarances" or literally to “put forward what is hidden.” They make music of astonishing power and beauty. The mesmerising rumba-rooted grooves, overlaid with vibrant vocals, remind you at times of Cuban nonchalance, at other times of the Godfather of Soul himself.
The band’s core members are street-musicians, who drive custom-built motorised tricycles, and live in the grounds of Kinshasa Zoo in the Congo. They are backed by a younger, all acoustic rhythm section pounding out tight beats. Over the top of this are infectious guitar-like solos performed by a 17 year-old prodigy on a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.
Staff Benda Bilili have a strong following on YouTube and have performed alongside Damon Albarn and Massive Attack. Robert del Naja (Massive Attack) was visibly moved and said at the end ‘That was beautiful. It was worth coming all this way just to hear that’.
Their acclaimed debut album Très Très Fort was produced by Vincent Kenis, who was responsible for introducing and producing Konono N°1, Kasaï Allstars and the Congotronics series. The songs were recorded out in the open using a dozen microphones, a MacBook laptop and a mains cable connected to a deserted refreshment bar nearby.
“Heart-tugging melodies ride on sweetly ragged vocal harmonies; the rhythm section and guitar work sway between rumba, soul, funk and blues. Extraordinary story, extraordinary music. (Independent — Tim Cummings)
“Dreamy, joyful and full of delicious melodies.” (Songlines)
“Staff Benda Bilili are a really, really good band” (Sunday Times)
Saturday 21 November 2009
STAV FOR HEALTH AND AXE TRAINING
Horspath Chapel, Horspath, Oxford OX33 1RT
10am to 5pm. Martial arts training is good exercise and very good for focusing the mind and releasing stress and tension. Axe training is a particularly good and easy to learn form of martial training. The health aspect will be specifically covered with an exploration of, and teaching on, the healing bind rune but, as the course will reveal, healing and martial skills are very much two sides of the same coin.
Cost and Booking Information:
Day courses cost £25 or £20 for Ice and Fire Members. Concessions £20 (I&F members £15), for those in full time education £15 (I&F members £10). You can join or renew membership at the same time as booking and claim the members discount. Please book/join using the form online where you can pay using Pay Pal. You can also join Ice and Fire or renew your membership by following links from the same page. You may turn up and pay on the day although we would appreciate your letting us know you intend to come by phone or email. However, if you prebook we will send you travel instructions by email or post as required. (If you leave email box blank we will send joining instructions by post.) In the event of your cancellation we will carry the course fee over to another event but we will only refund in exceptional circumstances. In the event of the course being cancelled by Ice and Fire a full refund will be made.
Please bring own food for lunch, refreshments will be provided before the course, at breaks and at lunchtime.
Saturday 21 November 2009
THE MERLIN SHEPHERD QUARTET
Wolvercote Village Hall, Wolvercote Green, OX2 8BD
Buy Tickets: £14 (£11 concessions) from the Big Village Website.
“Merlin Shepherd is Britain’s finest Klezmer clarinetist” Songlines
"A force to be reckoned with" TimeOut
"He colours and shapes every phrase ... providing spiritual & emotional heart" London Evening Standard.
Merlin Shepherd's music draws one in in a remarkable way, containing elements of meditation, tradition, modernity, gentle but with rhythmic power, his playing throughout both commanding and jovial.
His Quartet play new music incorporating elements of Klezmer, Fasil and Demotika and accompanied by rhythms and grooves both reminiscent of the shtetl and the souk. These four musicians entice and seduce us with irresistible music for dancing and listening.
Bringing together the music of Jewish eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey, The Merlin Shepherd Quartet takes us on a journey that not only crosses continents but also takes us deep into ourselves. "When I play, my experience is one of letting go, not holding on. Sometimes it’s as though I have no choice, and I’m taken over...as though I were a channel for something far greater”.
Merlin Shepherd's clarinet provides the perfect foil for his deep musicality. Whether he's playing traditional Klezmer with the Sound&Light Cinematic Duo or wild ecstatic music with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars and Boban Marcovic, or free-form wailing with Aaron Alexander’s Midrash Mish-Mosh or playing with his own quartet, his music is a powerful and emotional force that redefines the instrument.
His unique musical voice can be experienced on his debut solo CD of original material, “Intimate Hopes & Terrors”, (released on Oriente Musik) a unique collaboration with 10 of the top Klezmer musicians from the former Soviet Union. This recording was given a 5 star rating and also a “Top of the World” track on the cover CD of Songlines.
For the Traditionalist and Modernist alike, The Merlin Shepherd Quartet has something to offer all.
22 November 09 (Sunday)
Book Launch: Odin's Gateway - Runes
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Avalonia Press
Katie Gerrard's title on the runes, proudly launched at this afternoon party by Avalonia Press.
Time: 2.00 - 4.00 pm
To sign up for an event, ring with card details, 020 7240 8906. Payment in person to the shop in opening hours also welcome. All evening talks are followed by drinks. info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( Email). More events and shop info on Website.
26 November 09 (Thursday)
Kenneth Grant's Magic: Lecture Four in the Typhonian Series
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Michael Staley (Typhonian Order)
Tonight is the fourth lecture in the series by Michael Staley on the work of magician and author Kenneth Grant (b. 1924). This lecture goes into angles of the Typhonian mythos and magical system that has been seminal for magical culture of the 2oth century after Crowley. Michael Staley has been a member of the Typhonian Order for more than thirty years now. He is the editor and publisher of Starfire, an occasional Thelemic journal which first appeared in 1986. The founder of Starfire Publishing, he has been for many years the publisher of Kenneth Grant.
Price: £5.00
Time: 7.15 for 7.30 start
To sign up for an event, ring with card details, 020 7240 8906. Payment in person to the shop in opening hours also welcome. All evening talks are followed by drinks. info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( Email). More events and shop info on Website.
Dion Fortune Seminar 2009 - The Magical Heritage of Dion Fortune
Glastonbury Town Hall
Time: 9:15am
Speakers: R J Stewart ( magical work with W G Gray and the Dion Fortune lineage from 1969 - 1974 ),
Prf. Ronald Hutton, Steve Blamires,
Wendy Berg, and Mike Harris
Tickets £26 from www.companyofavalon.net.
Saturday 28 November 2009
FAERIE AND FANTASY MASQUERADE BALL
The Flavel, Dartmouth, Devon
Sunday 29 November 2009
FAERIE, FANTASY MYTHOLOGY ARTS AND CRAFTS EVENT
The Flavel, Dartmouth, Devon
