Thursday 26th May marked 125 Years since Bram Stoker’s famous novel ‘Dracula’ came out. At Whitby Abbey they held an event to get as many people dressed as vampires as possible together…. There were 1369 of them!
Sadly, Devi and I couldn’t make it, but we did get to visit Whitby one weekend in early May.
The photos below may look like there was no one around, but let’s just say I took these at the right times (early morning and a couple of evening shots)- especially on the infamous 199 steps and Henrietta Street, seconds later both were swarmed with tourists and school children. Sadly, it was because of the popularity of this town I wasn’t able to get photos of The Dracula Experience or Arguments Yard, or even Justin’s Fudge Shop.
I won’t be giving any in depth posts, even bloggers need a holiday. 😉
For all of you, enjoy:
The infamous Whalebone Arch, the original ones were erected in 1853, replaced in 1963 and again in 2003- these are the jaw bones from a bowhead whale killed by Alaskan Inuits. Rather than displayed for sport, this is a commemoration for Whitby’s whaling past as it was a dangerous business. Sunset of our first night here. Same view (sort of) of the above pic on the morning we left for home. Within the harbour. The east and west piers, the east one’s said to be haunted….Emma Stothard’s sculptures of ‘The Herring Girls’. Very hard to photograph without the bins in the background though! Early part of our 5 mile walk. I do miss the Yorkshire bluntness, Bollocking translation: “A VERY heated telling off!”Oh my gorse! …. I’ll get my coat….View from the east coast. Couldn’t resist a couple of photos of the Abbey! Caedmon memorial cross, St Mary’s Church. Caedmon was England’s first recorded poet. He was a monk of the Abbey, which was then called ‘Streaneshalch’. Supposedly he wasn’t in anyway artistic until he had a dream telling him to sing of the creation of all things. One local author describes these as ‘The jaws of the harbour’. The 199 steps! I recall a vague memory about the steps and if you count them and find there are less than 199, then that means you’ll die soon! Or something like that. Henrietta Street, further up is a traditional smoked kipper shop. Classic good old fashioned fish ‘n’ chips. Or, if you really want to know: traditional battered cod, beef dripping fried chips and mushy peas. Beautiful!
Praise we the fashioner now of Heaven’s fabric, The majesty of his might and his mind’s wisdom, Work of the world-warden, worker of all wonders, How he the Lord of Glory everlasting Wrought first for the race of men Heaven as a roof-tree, Then made he Middle Earth to be their mansion.
1st Waxing Crescent ♉️ (It still counts as a New Moon….. kinda…..)
Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining an online Zoom gathering of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). There were limited spaces and I was fortunate enough to not only be off on the day it was planned, but early enough to secure my place in the meeting.
I met with other fellow members and we discussed two questions:
1, How did you come to Druidry?
2, How does being a Druid affect your life?
With over 250 members on the Zoom meeting, we were split into rooms of five members each so we could meet, interact and discuss these questions.
In the first group, I met with newer members of the Bardic Grade, one from Canada, one from France, one from the USA and another from Argentina! We all shared our experiences of how we came into Druidry and what it meant for us: connection, finding our place in the world and finding our roots.
My journey with Druidry began back in 2006 when I found a copy of ‘A Brief History of The Druids’ by Peter Berresford-Ellis. Growing up in Sheffield, I found that the River Don may have been named after the Brythonic goddess , Don, who was cognate with the watery Mother-Goddess Danu from Irish mythology. This is what led me into looking into Celtic mythology and history, especially that of Britain before it became Romanised, and later Anglicised. From Ellis, I learned that the Druids didn’t die out, they adapted to survive in the new dawning religion of the Christus, yet some of their practices were indeed recorded (the Tarbh-Feis, for example in seeking dreams of prophecy), or how their philosophy flavoured early Christianity: Pelagius teaching that we were responsible for our own salvation and that we didn’t need the forgiveness of Divinity to find absolution…. Leading to what was called the Pelagian Heresy. Also, as far as Ellis was concerned, there are no such things as modern day Druids and that if anyone claims themselves such, they are following 18th century “balderdash”…..
In the arrogance of my ignorance, for a while, I too followed this train of thought.
It wasn’t until 2010 when I found a book in a charity shop (thrift store) called ‘The Druid Renaissance’ which was a collection of essays by members of OBOD and printed as a book, I bought it and was glued to it: learning from at least one essay about seeking not a connection with the past but with the land itself. From another, I learned that whilst Stonehenge was being built, Britain was as warm as the south of France…. No wonder things were done outdoors! I recall finding these very profound yet wasn’t sure how to proceed: despite there being information of contacting OBOD, I didn’t feel comfortable in reaching out to some “wannabe” organisation.
Yes, the arrogance of ignorance was strong with this one!
About a month or two later I met with my (then) new friend Kelly who was a Bard of the Order. She told me what it was like and even lent me her introduction package to see if I could find use of it…. I was hooked! Being a former actor and wanting to explore my spirituality as well as look into the facts of such things, I joined the Order and have never looked back. Ellis be damned! Although his book is still my go-to for authenticating anything Druid-wise, despite his obvious hubris, Ellis still explored the facts although he did dismiss the Celtic system of elements as though the reader already knew what they were (No! What WERE they!?).
Kelly and I are good friends still and even though Kelly has stepped back from Druidry (it’s no longer her way), we still text, call each other and both join in on our fortnightly D&D nights…. Snickering like children at any given innuendo. My sister from another mister, that one.
The second question was discussed in another zoom room, these were more my ilk: experienced in the field, yet still approaching with a sense of wonder and learning. We had two guys from Kentucky, one Australian and the newest member (joined this February) from Ireland. Whereas the first group was discovering Druidry and eager to share what it meant for them, this group was a lot more talkative: we could compare things we had found, even if the oldest guy with us had been doing it for 30 years, it was still a wonderful thing to share and how our lives had changed in terms of time and with Druidry through it.
It was when one of the guys from Kentucky, USA described about his Druidry being one of looking back on his life since finding Druidry and finding events and projects he had sown and developed as “acorns planted on my journey” I thought to myself: I have over thought everything! This is something I have found on my Ovate grade, I look at something and think “what is that? What are its origins? What does it mean? What did it mean to the Celtic peoples? What is its form now?” And have found that instead of trying to find the “purity” of something, accept it and take in its facets. The Irish Ogham for example is a system of writing based on Primitive Irish sounds. Yet even though the “tree” associations are medieval, there are more interpretations and assignments of meaning based on warriors or concepts….. even though I am currently studying the arboreal interpretations of the Ogham, I acknowledge and accept these aren’t the full story and there are much more chapters to the script. And me ramming my head against the idea of “true meaning” isn’t going to get any answers.
I know I have written previously of how my Druidry affects my day-to-day-life, but I found myself giving slightly different answers as I have changed since then: Not only am I more eco-minded, but it’s about respect. Respect of another person and their spirit, but respect of other cultures and their ways. Respect of other beings (Trees and plants for example!) and when to leave them alone: if I encounter a Robin say, whilst gardening, or a black bird crossing my path on the way to work, or even a fox! There is some part of me that wants to pet them and try to reach out and connect with them- but I know this is wrong. I respect that animal enough to leave it alone. Not only would I be marking them with my presence, but if I made them dependent on me somehow….. the damage would be devastating.
So what is MY Druidry? It is of seeking what the ancestors sought, honouring and learning from the past, giving respect to all and trying to make the world a better place no matter how small the influence. Most of all, it is of living in the present and trying not to overthink things: some things are, some things are not, some things are what we make them.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable event and I’m glad to have been able to be part of it. If there’s one thing I learned from talking with other Druids, it is this: Look back on where I came from…. And see how many acorns have planted on the way.
On another subject entirely, last night, Devi and I attended a family member’s 50th birthday party. He wanted a barn dance and that’s exactly what we did, dancing in circles and all! We even saw a fox running on the way home, yes we left it alone.
So, all in all a very festive May-Eve!
Did I mention I wrote this whilst finishing off a bottle of wine? No? Then Merry May, Blessed Bealtaine and a cracking Calan Mai to you!
A Wise Fool 