Author: basgallop

hawthorn tincture

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hawthorn tincture day!

froth of white blossoms galore on the hillside, sacred to venus aphrodite, i’ve been thinking to garner them for the last week… but was waiting until the moon was waxing rather than waning… when you don’t know what your doing always helps to make it up

broadly take some scissors and snippety snip the flowers and tender young leaves, above the woody bit basically, i was nibbling blossoms non stop and such a refulgent pong!

shove flowers into a demi john, souse with the cheapest wodka lidl can provide… hide in a dark cupboard for a month (tincture not me!)

Rachmaninov! you know its going to be good when named after a melodramatic Russian piano noodler!

ah i love writing the same post every year! seasonal circular… but hawthorn, may, member of the Rose family, the best medicine for a broken heart and most other cardiovascular conundrums!

oh listening to this its got that ‘all by myself’ melody, blooming Rachmaninoff ripping off 1970’s soppy ballads

grab a goth

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its international grab a goth day (in my head if nowhere else)… what better for a sunny morning!?
to celebrate buying a new as yet unworn t-shirt (£3) in tk maxx several months ago… its like scribbled on in purple smoke!
i raided the kids wardrobes trying to find suitable blackness… astonishingly i have nowt myself.. this look is slightly podgy Robert Smith… tho must buy face whitener and mascara
my main experience of being a goth was running around Napoli with jane and the italian ‘darks’ back in the late 80’s… all night clubs and funniculars, eye liner and lion statues
anyway the morning ‘updating cv’ going well so far… suspect i may be bored
i’m off with a Raven to loiter in a graveyard, practicing my cheek bone sharpening exercises… anyone got any sanctuary to sell?

smOOthe ZOOOOming

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enuff of that walking trudge nonsense… neo-plod-olithic! back to the smOOthe ZOOOOming
Finn and I out for a training ride with London to Brighton coming up… a sunny may day and work a little quiet (hmm)
we both made it up Seaford head… Finn flew, oh to be 21, whilst i dropped into granny gear and grim ground it out… impressive bit of puff!
could probs both make L2B without too much practice, but training ride a fun thing to do on when both at a lull
coming back down was a cheerful hurtle!!

ha! looking at snaps side by side he’s twice the size of me… what do they feed these whippersnappers nowadays! x

buddhafield yatra

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buddhafield yatra, a collated smattering of pics borrowed from wren, kamalashila, nigel, lokabhandu and khemashalini… thanks
last weeks pilgrimage walk along the Ridgeway to the sacred stones at Avebury… walking in single file, in silence
a beautiful heart opening week of camping with some lovely people in the full abundance of spring
amongst many things… hmmm swimming in father thames, waking up 10ft away from iron age long barrows, metta bhavna meditation outside for an hour before breakfast,
guzzling porridge… a huge lightning flash fest, thunder earth rumble storm… whilst overhead the fizz of fresh beech leaves thrashed in the gale….
delish vegan grub, sore feet, campfires, endless cheerful natter, horses, sheep, cows… golden glow of dandelions at avebury, skipping along the sanctuary awash with the simplicity of love
… arriving at uffington white horse (dragon!) on the eve of St Georges for a glorious sunset ritual, wild fierce wind, red flag against the sky, transforming delight of dragon energy
… myriad blackthorn blossom, their white 5 petalled flowers, sacred to venus aphrodite, the subtle fractal filligree of unfurling ash leaves
the weather generally benign, one day of endless rain, me wind hurtle joyfully running around the earthen ramparts of barbury castle, soaked to the skin, with still a few hours left to walk!
ah, a happy and garbled jumble of memory and sensation… my most powerful time was probably the morning from uffington to the amazing neolithic chamber tomb at waylands smithy, standing at the chalken eye, then plodding onwards in solemn silence
suprisingly strong feelings of sorrow, so much lost, to mourn, yet much that still remains. how to allow this? to be easy with loss, sadness and yearning?
well as i tried to articulate in the closing circle… what better than the support of friendship and community, gratitude for the compassion of our fellow walkers, thanks…
but also, nearly beltane blessings, this sorrow held, mitigated, transformed by the beauty and abundance of this sacred country, our land, here in the full power of spring, each leaf bud bursts with the gentle tenderness of heart. love x


comment to wren: ha! thanks love xx
DRAGON! Sunset, before the flag puja ritual, uffington white horse, dragons knoll, buddhafield yatra, eve of St Georges, 2018
lurid beautiful hues of amitabha and the setting sun, wild, wild fierce wind, sore feet, fervour and love in the heart

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blissful! tho if had been as soggy as today probs would have been a smidgin gruelling! xx

indeed, a fierce beauty in our souls and this astonishing land… tho do wish kipping in a tent was a bit more comfy, ha xx

ooh no… just the walking! and up till breakfast (after meditation)… i’m not the most impressive conversationalist before porridge anyway! was plenty of pleasant idle nattering rest of time xx

thanks! being outside, in good company, during an intoxicatingly beautiful british spring, is a boon and a blessing… hope all be grand down in oz xx

ha! noooo… spring rules ok… as i peer out the window at teeming rain and a howling gale… british winter tho, that can bog off!… watch out for a somewhat wrinkled and dishrevelled rapscallion turning up on your doorstep one january xx

bay willow

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tree of the day… bay willow… i’ve been enjoying it’s beautiful hedgehog spike spiral sputnik spunk flower/catkins over the last few weeks
lots of willow around on the vast marshland near my home, but only finally worked out which type this was on my pedal back from tide mills… after an early evening sea bathe (delish!)
buckthorn has of course been the star of the show, it’s rich refulgent pong, five petaled florid venusian(!), but good to highlight a different member of the cast
my tree knowledge is reasonable… but much of it puzzled through as an adult… i was lucky to have a quasi rural childhood… woods and stuff… but back then my interests were butetrflies, birds, footie and, of course, dragons!
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oh and the slow drip drip hectoring of facebook does work… i picked up some other folks left over plastic off the beach!
always astonished that anybody would choose to leave rubbish on the beach? not that i’m in anyway virtuous, far too many wonderful long haul flights in my life
Rubbish should be tackled by a combination of individual, corporate and governmental responsibility… it’s amazing useful stuff, but less is best
till then best we all womble womble away
anyway a home for home made nettle pesto and congo natty on me headphones
hmm just rambling, haven’t spoken to anybody much all day… really i should be packing! sun hat AND thermal long johns! a winning combo! hurrah x

not congo natty, but there was a cover of this mighty song..