Bright blessings to all you lovely Stonewylders on this, my favourite
festival of all! Welcome to all new subscribers - I hope you enjoy the
newsletter and pass it on to a friend.
I shall be in Dorset (yay!!) for Beltane. On Saturday night Mr B and I
shall be joining the Dolmen and friends at their gig, deep in the wilds of
Dorset, and watching the Wicker Man burning. I’m really looking
forward to this. Afterwards we’re staying at Monkton Wyld and will be
there all day Sunday at their May Fair, watching Morris Dancers and
other performers and signing copies of Stonewylde from our stall. I
hope you can join us - more details below. On the Monday we’ll be
walking in the magical landscape of the Isle of Purbeck, one of my
very favourite places on this Earth. I hope the weather improves - the
glorious warm weather has broken into cold rain and heavy clouds.
Last weekend Mr B and I travelled to the Netherlands to take part in
the totally amazing Elf Fantasy Fair at Haarzuilens. We had a truly
wonderful time. If you enjoy extravagent costume of all types, this is
the festival to attend. The weather was brilliant - I even got sunburnt -
and thanks to Renate, one of the organisers, we had a lovely pavilion
all decorated in Stonewylde green. One of the very loyal
Stonewylders, Sorcha, helped us all weekend and worked so hard.
She looked like a true Villager, whilst Mr B and I were dressed as the
Green Man and May Queen. My dress had been made by Sam of
Goddess Equation in Cornwall, and I also wore a stunning silver
necklace made of real hawthorn (ouch!) by Where the Wild Roses
Grow. We met so many readers and had a fantastically successful
time, and really enjoyed seeing Linda Ravenscroft and Josephine Wall
again. You can read more on my blog, and if you’re a member of our
commmunity you’ll find lots of photos posted in various albums there.
I gave three talks on the Green Man at Beltane (one in the chapel!)
and signed a vast number of books. Mr B was photographed by so
many people in his green tattered cloak (a testament to my numb
fingers) and enjoyed basking in the limelight for a change. We both
came home exhausted but very happy indeed.
I do hope that anyone living in or near Dorset will be able to come to
Charborough Park on Saturday May 15th. This is the country estate
with the long boundary walls that first got me thinking of the idea for
Stonewylde many years ago. It’s normally closed to the public, but this
is a special charity event in aid of Life Education Wessex (a brilliant
organisation providing health education for school children) and I’m
the special guest. It’s such an honour to be invited and I can’t wait to
go behind those Boundary Walls and see what it’s like there. Imagine if
Stonewylde really does exist! Please come along if you can.
I’ve been asked by a new reader how best to celebrate Beltane - my
advice was “Go outside!” Woods, fields, moors, hills - soak up the
magical growing spirit of Beltane and the Green Man, feel nature and
the Earth coming alive by the minute. Have fun!
Breaking Stonewylde
news
I told you at the Spring Equinox of my
signing with literary agent Piers Russell-
Cobb. I can now tell you that this wonderful
man has secured an excellent offer from a
major publisher and as I write, we’re
working through the draft publishing
contract with them. This is the most
exciting news ever - Stonewylde will finally
reach the masses and be given the
marketing and publicity it’s never had
before. Mr B and I, through Moongazy
Publishing, have worked so hard in the past
few years to get the three Stonewylde
books to as wide an audience as possible,
but we lack the clout and expertise of a
major publisher. Now at last Stonewylde
will be sold throughout the world, and Book
Four will get the massive launch we’d
always hoped for.
I can’t tell anyone the details until the
contract is signed (oh, oh, it’s so tempting!)
but by the time the Summer Solstice
newsletter is published, I’ll have blogged
about it. So do keep an eye on my blog in
the next couple of weeks - it’s that close! I
must thank ALL OF YOU for your constant
support for both me and Stonewylde. It
would never have got this far without you
loyal readers and your help.
My sister at Helixtree has worked with me
to produce a beautiful Stonewylde logo,
now that we’re a registered trademark. Rob
at Big Blu Design is now completing the
design, which will appear on all Stonewylde
merchandise in the future. The silver
pendants are in design, and a new T-shirt is
imminent. Meanwhile we’ve had more of
the Labyrinth T-shirts made with the design
in silver on black. Click here.
We’re still running our successful special
offer in the Stonewylde Store. You can buy
the trilogy of Stonewylde books, personally
dedicated and signed by me, and also a
beautiful Stonewylde Wheel of the Year
greetings card (blank for you to write in) for
Stonewylde Newsletter 28
May 1st 2010
Bright blessings at
to all Stonewylders
What’s been going on ...
Beltane is the old name for May
Day, the first day in May, and
Beltane Eve is celebrated on April
30th. Beltane is one of the few
pagan festivals that has not
been Christianised or altered to
fit into modern society. Today
in many parts of the world,
traditional May Day customs
are still practised. Beltane
comes from the Old Irish
meaning "bright fire", and in old times fires would be lit
and the cattle driven through them.
This festival is the most joyous of them all, celebrating
the incredible vitality of the earth at this time of year.
The days are longer and warmer, the sap has risen
and everything alive seems to be just bursting with
energy and growth.
Beltane is the first day of
summer.
The symbol of Beltane is
the ancient Green Man, to
be found all over the
country in the most
unlikely of places. Many
churches have a green
man hidden in ceiling
bosses or peering down
from a dark corner. When
Christianity superceded
paganism in Europe, the
image of the Green Man
Dates for your diary ...
SUNDAY MAY 2nd - May Fair, Monkton Wyld, Dorset
The Green Man weekend has been cancelled as numbers weren’t high
enough (sorry to all those disappointed) but Mr B and I will still be there at
the lovely May Fair, which starts at 10am and goes on until the evening.
Entry is free - cakes, lunches etc available, fun for all the family and
children are particularly welcome. There’s a full programme planned
including Morris Dancers, children’s activities and maypole dancing, live
music, craft stalls, pottery, games, a fire-pit in the evening, and I’ll have a
stall Stonewylde selling books, T-shirts and greetings cards. Please come
along and support Monkton Wyld - it’s a magical place to spend Beltane Sunday, and now’s the time to visit if
you haven’t before. B&B is available too. More details here.
SATURDAY MAY 15th - Charity Day at Charborough Park, Wimborne, Dorset
I’m honoured and extremely excited to be invited to the Drax Estate near
Wimborne in Dorset to take part in a day's fundraising event in aid of Life
Education Wessex. This is the estate with the long boundary wall (and five-
legged stag over the gate) which first inspired me with ideas for Stonewylde.
This estate is rarely open to the public so this is a very special event, and I
hope many of you will join me. On this day, the grounds will be open from 2.30
- 6.00, and you can drive through the estate to Highwood. This is a magical
woodland walk, particularly beautiful in May with rhodedendrons and azaleas.
There’ll be a treasure hunt, the Life Education bus, and of course Mr B and me
with lots of Stonewylde books and cards. Do come and see us - teas will be
available and it’s a rare chance to go inside Charborough Park grounds. Price
on gate: £4 adults, £2 children (all to the charity). Spooky thought - what if
Stonewylde really does exist behind those boundary walls???
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY JULY 10th and 11th - Quest at Newton Abbot, Devon
I’m delighted to be running two big workshops at this event,
including a guided Stonewylde meditation. I will be with Mercury
Rising Books, who’ve supported Stonewylde from the start, and
signing books. This is a wonderful event with a very special
atmosphere, and there’s camping available too. Visit the Quest
SATURDAY OCTOBER 30th - Poole Literary Festival, Poole, Dorset
I’ve been invited to speak and do a signing at this brilliant new literary festval, along with other fab names
such as Michael Morpurgo, Carol Ann Duffy and Gervaise Phinn - what a great honour! More details to follow
but click here to read more about the festival (I’m not on the website yet having only just been invited). The
organisers are keen to have a Dorset theme, and also Hallowe’en - perfect for me then!
Please note: Regretfully I have been turning down many invitations for events this summer and autumn due
to mywriting commitments. There’s now a very pressing need to get the manuscripts for Books Four and Five
to the publisher - I’m sure you all understand!
Stonewylde Community news ...
The weekend of May 22nd and 23rd sees a massive gathering of Stonewylders at
Avebury! This was originally a small trip planned by one of our community members,
Natureman. Once a couple of other members asked if they could join him, the whole
thing snowballed beyond recognition. To date there are well over 50 people, old and
young, due to meet up on Saturday morning for a wylde weekend! The actual figure
could end up being much higher. Nothing formal has been planned other than a wander
around the stones (and we have a few local experts coming who’ll give us an interesting
tour) and then a longer walk to take in Silbury Hill and West Kennet longbarrow too.
The Barge Inn has had to close bookings for the meal on Saturday night as they’re now
at maximum capacity, although a barbeque will be available for anyone who can’t book
a place for the meal.
Many members are camping (with a planned knees-up on the Friday
evening) in nearby campsites, and those more inclined to creature
comforts are staying in B&Bs and hotels. Beantighe has made a
Stonewylde banner which I can’t wait to see, and Mr B and I will be
offering refreshments to all during Saturday daytime. It promises to be
a really exciting event and lovely for all the loyal Stonewylders to get
together. Many will be meeting for the first time as they arrive from all
corners of the UK. I’m so looking forward to this! If you’d like to join
us, please become part of the Stonewylde Community here, and then
you’ll be able to access full details.
The Green Labyrinth T-shirts are now only available in small size, but we’ve had more printed in the same
design but this time silver on black. To order your Silver Labyrinth T-shirt for only £9.99 plus P&P, please click
here. We’re currently working on a completely new design for summer using the brand new Stonewylde logo,
and also hope to bring out some cotton eco-bags and badges, also with the new logo. Keep checking the
website!
Wild Roses is still working on the beautiful silver Stonewylde pendants and we hope to have these available
sometime during the summer.
Our online community goes from strength to strength - do join us and receive a lovely Stonewylde welcome.
.
was impossible to
eradicate as it
represented such
a powerful force -
that of virility and
growth.
Other ancient
customs from
Beltane still
survive, such as
Maypole dancing,
well-dressing and electing a May Queen. These
customs are part of our folklore heritage, and have
been revived in many parts of the country. Of course at
Stonewylde they have never been supressed!
Beltane
features in the
first title of the
series, Magus
of Stonewylde,
and is the time
when Sylvie
and Miranda
are initiated into
the community.
It's a major
festival,
representing
the union between the Earth Goddess and the Green
Man - the female and male elements of life. Fecundity
and virility - what life's all about.
I hope you all have a magical Beltane wherever and
however you celebrate. But if you go down to the
woods today ... watch out for that Green Man!
©Steve Perry
There’s no escape
