Imbolc

[lizwilliams]

T and I went up to the local druidic ceremony today: this is one of the public ones, at Stanton Drew (http://www.stonepages.com/england/stantondrew.html). It's the second largest English stone circle, after Avebury (Stonehenge is huge, but not wide, if that makes sense). It was a good, brisk ritual, not quite as brisk as Anderida's legendary 6 minute Imbolc ritual some years ago, which took place in heavy rain and was conducted rather like speed-Shakespeare. And even on a raw February day, it's a lovely site; the stones are kept on farmland and we were surrounded by lambs. We drove there and back through Cheddar Gorge, which is spectacular, though the base of it is pretty tacky - it's very odd, seeing a whole tourist industry dedicated to cheese.