Blogs from Glastonbury, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury July 19th 2009

Hello, It has been a while since we have blogged so this one goes back to June in the middle of the summer (which seems such a long time ago now). We made the journey for our first summer music festival and what better than braving the elements in the lush fields at Glastonbury. We started off on the Wednesday for the 3 day music festival in order to get a spot in the fields to camp. The journey that was meant to be 3 hours started off okay with the great news that Kate was accepted for a new job that she had applied for. The job is a full time position at the Haringey Integrated Community Therapy Team. From there she has also successfully been accepted to do her masters degree which is for ... read more
tent city
A view from the top of Green Fields
Ready and rearing for a great 5 days, taking it all in on night 1

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury July 2nd 2009

Lets make no mistake about it - both Jen and I are festival junkies, and Glastonbury ('Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts'or just 'glasto') is the Mecca of festivals - this is gonna be good! The adventure starts in Herne Hill - where Tom lives- collecting the essential supplies. This includes as much booze as we figure we can physically carry, plenty of toilet paper, and whatever foods you can cook up in a tiny little camp stove. Sorted, ready to go, but where is Rich (Tom's workmate who's picking us up)??. Well he got stuck at work for a bit longer than expected and then caught in London afternoon traffic. Oh well, it looks like we might be pitching tents in the dark! So we put the movie 'This is Spinal Tap' on in preparation ... read more
jeff and his festival beer cooler
tom and rich dig in to a wet 'pie minister'
way down south!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury June 26th 2009

Glastonbury 26th - 28th June, 2009 Glastonbury is the biggest music and performing arts festival in the world held outdoors at Worthy Farm, Glastonbury in Somerset. This years attendance was 134,000. Rupesh and I travelled down to Somerset on Friday afternoon after seeing Erin & Mark off at Kings Cross (they were to fly back to Melbourne after an 8 week honeymoon) but keen festival goes started bagging their pieces of grass from Wednesday afternoon. The big acts of the festival didn't come on stage until Friday night and the last of the music finished on Sunday evening with some people travelling back on Sunday evening and others staying until Monday. When we arrived I rang a friend who had taken our tent and set it up. She asked where we were and I said we ... read more
Rupesh - 'Who's Idea Was It To Bring a Wheely Bag In The Mud??!'
Team Effort!
A Muddy Start to Glastonbury, 2009

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury June 21st 2009

We left Canterbury and made our way to Winchester. When we set the sat nav for the new route to Winchester, we realised the reason we were having trouble yesterday was because it was set for walking routes and not for driving. We encountered some difficulty on our way as there were road closures along the motorways, which set us back by about an hour, limiting our time in Winchester if we wanted to make it to Glastonbury by the end of the day. When we arrived at Winchester we explored the Cathedral and briefly looked at the Castle. We then drove on to Salisbury. We went to the Cathedral as explored some of the surrounding district. The next stop was Stonehenge. We were informed earlier that because it was the summer solstice, there had been ... read more
Inside the Cathedral.
Salisbury Cathedral.
Stonehenge.

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury May 8th 2009

After the asceticism and equanimity of the Vipassana experience, I make my way to Glastonbury to celebrate one of the most important festivals in the Celtic calendar: Beltane. Beltane is the festival of love, of fertility, of sexuality and the sacred marriage: it is a time when the God and Goddess meet in sacred union and dance the wild sensual dance of creation. Flowers and trees are blossoming, there’s a heady beguiling scent in the air, and young animals abound. It’s a wonderfully exuberant time that celebrates life and growth. I am not sure what exactly I am going to do to on Beltane Eve, but there is always something interesting happening in Glastonbury. I envisage a fire ceremony on the land, maybe by the Tor. The night before, I walk down Glastonbury High Street and ... read more
Lighting the Beltane Fire
A Druid in the flames
Jai Agni Devi!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury December 31st 2008

11 days to go!!... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury November 10th 2008

Krishna has never been a God I could easily relate to. Out of all the Indian Gods and Goddesses, he was the one I never paid much attention to. Partially, this had to do with over-exposure through the Krishna movement in the UK. Taking it down to the most basic (and biased) level, I always thought that the Hare Krishna movement, and in particular the 'Hare Krishna' chant you'd hear on a Sunday in towns across this country, was a bit ‘naff’. Quite irrationally, my sense of irritation towards Krishna-related places, and resistance to Krishna the God, accompanied me throughout my stay in India, although I hardly knew anything about him. It went so far that, on an ashram outing to a big Krishna temple in Rishikesh, I was close to walking out during the evening ... read more
The Divine Lovers
Shakti Dancer Anjali
Krishna & Radha on the altar

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury November 1st 2008

It’s Samhain morning. Tonight is the most important night in the Pagan calendar, when the veils between the worlds are extra-ordinarily thin. The Celts celebrated ‘All Hallowtide’, known as Halloween in the modern world, as the ‘Feast of the Dead’, when the dead revisited the mortal world. The festival marks the end of summer and the start of the winter months, and the Celtic New Year traditionally begins on 1st November. It’s a time to let go of the old and invite in new energies, as well as an opportunity to connect with our ancestors. This time last year, I was in Beijing, at the Temple of Heaven, coming close to joining my ancestors by cycling through the Chinese traffic. Today, I am on a train from Totnes to Bristol - somewhat less exotic and glamorous, ... read more
The decorated Wellhead on Samhain Eve
The Divine Mother & Child at Chalice Well
The Tor at Sunset

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury July 11th 2008

Have visions of King Arthur, Gueneviere & Merlin swimming in my head. Am dreaming of a time long past which was brought vividly to life yesterday in Glastonbury by Professor Ronald Hutton, the world's leading historian and authority on King Arthur & the area. We walked 350 metres straight up the side of a hill to reach Glastonbury Tor which was rumored to have housed Gueneviere who was kidnapped. Legs are still shaking. From the Tor the 360 degree view was amazing. From here you could see how the land becomes cut off by lakes which surround the base as in the Mists of Avalon. Drank water from the Chalice Well & have some to bring home. I no longer have leprosy. Glastonbury town is like Byron Bay on steroids. Known for its attraction of alternative ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Glastonbury July 8th 2008

After Wimbledon we set off the next day for the world famous Glastonbury Music and Arts festival. The festival takes place on a working dairy farm, a little way out of Glastonbury. The music spans over almost 4 days and multiple stages but the festival actually goes a day or so either side. It would have to be one of if not the largest music festival in the world. We arrived alongside the thousands of other people after several hours queing in traffic, for tickets and for inspections for glass. Finally got into the jam packed campervan area to be welcomed to the typical Glastonbury weather of pissing rain. We managed to get Karen's tent up and covered with extra rain protection and were suitably soaked. After a big day yesterday at the tennis we decided ... read more
Catching Crowded House
Finally got around to seeing some London sights.
Bodiam castle




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