The Druid Camp 15 - 18 July 2004

Some pictures and poetry from the camp:

Mark and Bobcat in the Opening Rite

Mark and Bobcat in the Opening Rite - Photo: Little Mouse

The Tribe

We drift in slowly,
In ones and two’s,
Small groups and families,
Slowly we come together,
Creating small circles of extended family
Contained within the whole of the Tribe of the Valley.
Like Nomads of past times,
We come,
Renewing old acquaintances,
Re-forgeing friendships and Love,
Re-affirming our Loyalty to one another;
Spending time together, making time to sit and relax in the warmth of friendship,
Protected within the Haven of the Tribe.
A few days,
Too little time,
But then,
that is the way it is now;

Then on the final day
We step back from those we love,
Separate ourselves from our physical connections.
Slowly with sorrowful goodbyes,
We make our way back out of this valley of friendship,
Away from the security of our Tribe,
Journeying back into the harshness of the World,
Leaving behind nothing,
But circles in the grass to say we have been there.

Danefox

The Litter Guardians

The Litter Guardians - Photo Hawkwind

The Litter Arriving

The Litter Arriving - Photo Little Mouse

From an email...

I have some pictures of the guardians in armour but none of the actual procession, but I hope someone has an actual picture of the litter being carried by the Druidic Sword Guardians including their newest recruit (me) (who are the "litter guardians"? Is that some kind of anti-pollution group or rubbish disposal team? LOL ; )

But seriously I can comment that we felt that it was a great honour to serve in carrying the litter (hard work, but very good fun). In my mind it now seems like a dream sequence. I felt transported back in time (or to a time outside time) and it seemed that we were really carrying the chief or the High Priestess of the tribe up to the Sacred Grove with the whole tribe following and watching us. Something that probably has not been done for publicly for perhaps two thousand years? Whoever had the idea of doing the litter thing and who put the litter chair together did a marvellous job too.

We are also glad it served a practical purpose of getting Bobcat up and down the hill. I hope she had a relatively comfortable journey. I think I have rarely been so focussed as when helping to carry that litter - we were trying really hard not to fall over! I am also not that fit, but I also had an almost supernatural burst of energy to do the job. The blessings and power of the ancestral spirits perhaps? It was, as they say, something of a 'peak experience' - a great time.

Bright Blessings

White Horse /|\