Dolmen Grove Tribal Dreams day 1

Toni and I packed up The Beast with all our camping stuff and headed off to West Knowles in Wiltshire for The Dolmen Grove Tribal Dreams. The journey was sheer hell. It took us hours and hours to get there with most of our time spent on the M25.

As we approached Stonehenge we practically reached a standstill as everyone wanted to catch a look. Can't fault them for that though as it is truly a sight to behold. Sadly my camera was at the back of The Beast but I did manage to grab a few pics on my phone. These aren't great but they are all I have!

We arrived much later than planned and once we had paid our membership and bought tickets we managed to get the tent up just before it got dark. It was nice though as we were right by the music tent so we constructed the tent accompanied by the acoustic sounds of Cliff Carr.

We then wandered off to the food tent for a quick bite to eat. Gluten free bratwurst, chips, mayo and genuine Senf mustard was our dinner! Washed down with some awesome coffee we dined like royalty! We then took in the magickal sounds of Spriggan Mist before retiring to our tent to enjoy a nice glass of wine and chill out.

Elysium

Toni and I continued to make good use of our Cineworld Unlimited cards as we headed to Bexleyheath to catch Elysium. In the year 2154 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.


Elysium is a good sci-fi yarn. The plot is good and there are some great visual effects. There are lots of passing nods to various other sci-fi films as it wears a lot of inflences on its sleeve but this doesn't detract from the film at all. It was very nice to see a film that has the bravery to not go with a typical Hollywood ending which gave it major plus points for me. Definitely worth a watch!

Off sick, Judge Dredd and Girl, Interrupted

Was off sick today which wasn't exactly a great deal of fun! We did have a little bit I excitement when Toni wanted to go out and some builders had blocked off our drive with their trucks. Apparently the neighbours had said it was OK as they'd checked with us! LOL Ten minutes she could at least get out.

Thanks to Sam we had to suffer the indignity of watching the dire version of Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stallone. The Year is 2139. The Planet Earth has changed into a virtually uninhabitable place called the "Cursed Earth". All of the Earth's population have crowded into the cities across the planet, now known as "Mega Cities". The crimes in these "Mega cities" became so violent and so powerful, that the regular justice system was powerless to contain, then it collapsed completely. But, a new Justice System came from the ashes, They were 3 justice systems in 1 (Police, Jury and executioner), they were called "Judges". In Mega City 1 (formarly, New York), There was a Judge, named Joseph Dredd, who was the toughest and most stringent Judge in history. One day, he was charged with murder. He was tried and sentenced to life in prison because of it. Then, Dredd found out that it was in fact a person who shares his DNA. Former Judge Rico. Now, Dredd has to find out what Rico is planning to do, and to discover about his past.


There is do much wrong with that film that I don't even know where to start complaining! I'd forgotten just how bad it was! Stallone, helmet off, ABC Warrior, Hershey kissing Dredd... and that's for just for starters with the wrongness of this film.

To wash away the badness of Judge Dredd we finished the night off with Girl, Interrupted. Susanna is rushed to the hospital. Afterwards she discusses this with a psychiatrist. She had been having some delusions. She had also been having an affair with the husband of her parents' friend. The doctor suggests that combining a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of vodka was a suicide attempt. This she denies. He recommends a short period of rest at Claymoore. Claymoore is a private mental hospital full of noisy, crazy people. Georgina is a pathological liar. Polly has been badly scarred by fire. Daisy won't eat in the presence of other people. Lisa is a sociopath, the biggest exasperation for the staff - like Nurse Valerie - and the biggest influence on the other girls in the hospital. Lisa has a history of escapes, so gaining access to personal medical files is not a problem... Susanna's boyfriend Toby is concerned that she seems too comfortable living with her institutionalized friends...


I really like this film. It's quite disturbing in places and was based on the memoirs of the real Susanna Kaysen who spent 18 months in a psychiatric hospital.It challenges our perception of mental illness that's for sure!




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Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Some time in the glory of a Full Moon

We had planned on attending a Full Moon Ritual in North London tonight but unfortunately Toni wasn't well at all today so that plan was cancelled. We did manage to take some time for quiet reflection under the glorious Full Moon in the back garden though! I managed to snap these wonderful images

Despite my excitement yesterday at managing to get Mountain Lion installed on my laptop I have now had to shoot it and it is no more. Seems that getting the necessary LAN and wi-fi drivers is nigh on impossible so I have now moved back to Windows 7 Ultimate once again. It was a nice thought but it seems Apple are just too specific when it comes to hardware compatibility.

Laptop transformed into a Mountain Lion!

So my laptop now looks like this, nice and shiny MacOS Mountain Lion....

As an experiment I removed Windows 7 and have installed MacOS Mountain Lion. I wasn't expecting it to work but so far so good. Well, when I say it works I mean I can boot into it and get access to all the apps. The only issue that I have at the moment is getting either the ethernet or wi-fi drivers working so I can't actually get the damn thing online. Linux is a breeze with drivers compared with Apple's OS! I reckon I'll give it about a day before I give up and end up putting Windows 7 back on it! If it's not online then it's of no use to me at alL! LOL


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Bexhill-on-Sea

Toni, mum, Aaron, Michaela and I popped over to Leanne's to pick up Pam as we were taking her back to Bexhill-on-Sea today. We had a good run down and the weather was nice and sunny. After a quick coffee we then all walked along the sea front to go and have lunch at La Trattoria. As usual it was delicious. We then took a slow amble back along the seafront to work off some of that food. Mum got adventurous and went for a wander to examine some rock pools. She's the one just right of centre!

After a nice chill out and a cuppa we then all climbed back into The Beast to drive back, drop Michaela off and then head home. We were treated to a glorious sky en route

It was a brilliant day which nicely rounded off a great weekend spent with family.
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BBQ for Jade & A Very British Witchcraft

It was an early-ish start today as mum, Toni and I popped over to Deptford market to pick up various noms for a BBQ that we were having for Jade today to celebrate her birthday. The boys stayed behind and did various jobs around the house.

It was a good day. Lots of family and Jade's friends came and enjoyed good food (mainly BBQd by Sam), good drink and great conversation. The weather wasn't brilliant sadly but our new gazebo took care of that problem. There were food babies all round especially after Sam's mega burgers.

After everyone had gone we settles down to watch A Very British Witchcraft on More4. This show was present by Professor Ronald Hutton who I had seen speak last weekend at The Artemis Gathering. It was a fascinating documentary on the formation of Wicca as a religion in Britain back in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner. I'm sure it will end up on 4OD if you want to check it out.



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Nemesis The Warlock: Termight Edition

I got home from work tonight to find a nice package waiting for me from Forbidden Planet. It was my limited hardcover edition of Nemesis The Warlock: Termight Edition. Nemesis The Warlock has always been one of my all time favourite characters from 2000AD. It came with two prints signed by both Kevin O'Neill and Pat Mills and was numbered 99 of 200. Score!

This will be read once and then out away for safe keeping!

In other news I met mum after work today and we travelled back home together and we went to Rishta with Toni and Sam for an love Indian dinner! A great way to end the day!

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

The Lone Ranger

Toni and I took advantage of our Cineworld Unlimited cards tonight and headed off to see The Lone Ranger. We've seen all the negative reviews and how the film is losing Disney money but quite frankly we didn't care. Going to see the film was a fantastic decision. It's actually really good. It would be doing it a gross disservice just dumbing it down to a Pirates Of The Wild West as it is so much more than that. It has a good story, great action, lots of emotion and a bucket load of humour thrown in for good measure. Depp makes a fantastic Tonto and creates a character that is so much more than a Native American Jack Sparrow. The Lone Ranger has a serious message but does not take itself seriously and is great fun.


We were really glad that we made the decision to go and would recommend the film to anybody looking for a whole bunch of harmless fun.

Two Spirits - The Dark Goddess and Butterfly Totem bring clarity

At The Artemis Gathering this weekend I received a lot of clarity about who I am and where I should be.

One thing that is clear is that my transgender journey is very unlikely to end with either of the following:

1) me returning and living completely as a male and identifying as such

2) me having gender reassignment surgery and living completely as a  female and identifying as such.

Neither side of the gender binary speaks to me fully. I am both male and female. I have two spirits within me. I walk the line between both binaries and can step from one side to the other. That's not to say that this didn't sometimes do my head in and left me almost as confused as the people who interact with me. People can handle me saying that I am a man. People can handle me saying that I am a woman (within the confines of their own prejudices of course). Saying that I am neither just causes mental chaos.

So, we went to The Artemis Gathering and I was feeling a little confused about things. I got up on Saturday morning and decided to dress for the occasion. Black tights, leggings, purple mini-tutu, converse and a Misfits t-shirt. All was good, I felt comfortable and was happy. The only thing of note about my image was a woman who came up to me and said, "I am confused...." I asked her, "Why are you confused?" She then asked, "Why are you wearing tights over the leggings?" I politely pointed out that I wasn't, they were under the leggings she just went, "Oh" and bounded off to her friend announcing that all was well in the world! That was surreal I can tell you....

Now a lot of pagan views seem to be based around the stereotypical gender binary. We have Gods and Goddesses. We have Priests and Priestesses. Strangely Witch seems to be a universal term with very few people declaring themselves as Wizards or Warlocks but that is more of an anomaly.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post I attended a Dark Goddess workshop run by Jane Meredith. It was quite an emotional session touching on areas of our lives where things have not gone well and then looking at what happened next. As part of the final ritual we had to ask a question of the Dark Goddess and then receive the answer. I asked if I would ever settle in and be comfortable with my Two Spirit nature (note that I used the term Two Spirit rather than transgender). The answer was a very resounding yes and at that moment I felt very much at peace with myself.

It IS OK to have a Two Spirit nature, to sit outside of the gender binary and be in touch with both the masculine and the feminine without having to identify as either. If only the world wasn't so gender specific and had a neutral marker!

Phase two of my Two Spirit confirmation and validation came in the Totems workshop. The initial analysis when my Totem was revealed as a butterfly was that  I need to accept change within myself and go with the flow which following on from the message that I got from the Dark Goddess session was perfect. I am certainly starting to feel like a butterfly that is emerging!

Just as we need balance in everything such as black/white and light/dark, and we have the true perfect balance of ying/yang with a bit of yang appearing in ying and vice versa, why should we not also have balance in beings on the planet. Two Spirit people carry that balance of male/female and can represent both sides equally without the need to be one or the other. That is well and truly where I know I fit.

The Artemis Gathering - day 2

Another early start and chilling with coffee in the fresh morning air.

We started the day off with a Dark Goddess workshop led by Jane Meredith which was quite intense but very useful. It covered aspects that I've never considered before and deals with the dark areas in life that we experience that nobody prepares is for.

After this we packed up our tent and loaded the car up as we decide to head off tonight rather than wait until tomorrow (plus we were taking advantage of the good weather). We then filled ourselves up on jacket potato ready for an afternoon of talks.

Wicca 101 was a brief insight into the Wicca path and being part of a coven. More good for thought going forwards from Tam Campbell.

It was back to Pandora's tutelage for a practical session on talismans, making them and charging them. This session also touched on sigil magick which I already practice so it was nice to be able to focus my energy rather than trying to learn at the same time. There was a very nice energy ritual at the end as we charged our talismans. Here is mine :o)

A Totems meditation session came courtesy of Pandora's husband Andy. I was surprised to find that the animal that manifested itself to me was a butterfly.

The closing ritual was absolutely amazing. So much positive energy was generated by all that participated.

It was such a shame to have to leave. We had such a brilliant time and it was so good to make new friends and spend time among a bunch of amazing people and kindred spirits. We'll definitely be going back again next year!

We made good time driving back and then were treated to a curry by Sam before we hit the comfort of our own beds for some lovely comfortable sleep!

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The Artemis Gathering - day 1

It was an early start today, not intentional but just the way it was. Toni got up around 5 and I was up around 6:20. Despite not having any mattresses I actually had a really restful night and woke up refreshed. Toni was busy cooking sausages and lots of coffee was made. It was a bit chilly but it was nice sitting outside, enjoying a peaceful atmosphere..... and here I am

Gemima went off to do a Muggle Magic session and Toni and I went to a talk on Essential Oils & Brews. This was a very interesting and practical session led by the slightly wacky Pandora (in a good way). She was very down to earth and kept things very real and personal.

Toni created a cleansing/purifying oil which smelled lovely. I went for a sensual oil (that I have named Bedroom Glitz!) containing:
2 drops patchouli
1 drop black pepper
4 drops orange
1 Blob benzoin (it was too thick to poor as drops)

Our next session was on Spellcraft and utilising energy. Again this was a practical session that was very useful and will enable me to channel what I already know.

What was supposed to then be an opening ceremony turned out to be the hand fasting of Merlyn and Cathbodva. Whilst containing some similarities to ours it was also wildly different. It was lovely to be involved in such a large open gathering to celebrate the love of two kindred spirits.

I then popped along to an excellent talk on Creative Visualisation with Kevin Groves. Once again there were lots of handy hints on building on I already know and do.

Next up for me was Professor Ronald Hutton with an excellent talk on The Return Of The Horned God. He'll be presenting a new series on Channel 4 this Saturday 17th that looks pretty good: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/a-very-british-witchcraft/episode-guide

Creating A Personal mythology was a fascinating talk by Tylluan Penry on the importance of history and stories. Nice to hear someone else that we have history inside us rather than us jut writing history. Some very poignant points about government censorship of words too!

Our final session of the day was Heka The Magic Of Ancient Egypt by James Bennett. This was an amazing talk that rekindled our love of Egyptian mythology and gives us something to explore on the magic front.

After this we took time out some excellent food from the Artemis Cafe before settling in for an evening of music.

Daughters Of Gaia were up first with some different realisations of classic witch chants. There can be up to six of then but today it was just the two founding members. It was good fun and they started to get everyone into the party spirit.

The night was danced away to the high energy pagan folk sounds of The Dolmen. This band have never disappointed live and always manage to get a venue cheering and dancing. Tonight was no exception everyone was dripping with sweat by the end of their set.

The day ended with a spectacular fire display, a burning dragon and some fireworks.

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Breakfast at Cafe Rouge and off to The Artemis Gathering

Not too early a start today which was nice! We got up and had a cup of tea before heading out to Cafe Rouge for breakfast. The perfect way to start the day.

We then went for a wander around the market. Saw this lovely statue as we walked around. It sent me a good vibe for things to come...

We picked up a nice selection of olives and garlic to munch while we are away. We then had one last cup of tea, said goodbye to mum before jumping in The Beast and heading off to Horley the start of The Artemis Gathering! This a weekend long pagan/wiccan festival in honour of the Goddess Artemis, patron of the Children Of Artemis to which we belong.

We arrived in good time and putting up the tent was a breeze. The only minor disaster was finding out that both of our inflatable mattresses were buggered so we had to set up the bedrooms with a load of blankets. That will teach us to not test them first! A nice cuppa was our reward.

...and here was the result of our efforts:

Wine and mead got us in a relaxed mood

After the chilling it was posing time!

We were treating a wonderful sky

We had a chat with some of our neighbours and just chilled out for the rest of the evening before having a reasonably early night ready for a busy day. The vibes were good.............






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Start of our holiday

Day off today, the start of a glorious long weekend! Toni, Gemima and I got up and packed our luggage, sorted out the tent and camping bits and loaded up The Beast (the boys are staying behind).

We headed out to Stratford-upon-Avon accompanied by lots of steampunk bands. Weather and traffic was good and we made reasonable time. Tea and cake started our chilling out and then we headed to Jimmy Spices for dinner!

Perfect way to start our holiday!


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