This weekend was a busy but fab weekend spent at two lovely events – the Leaping Hare Pagan Convention and the Woodbridge Mind Body Spirit Festival.

Leaping Hare was a packed day-long event on Saturday, 2 April in Colchester, Essex.  It began with Derek Starkswood’s talk Paganism in the Old Testament, which was rather enlightening. Then followed Robin Herne’s brilliant Celtic Poetry and Magic, delivered with his usual flair and wit that had the whole room engaged.  Robin also ran a Celtic Poetry workshop  and Samantha Elen Marks did her drumming workshop, which is always a high point for me each year.  We then had Oscar Kolkowski talk about Finnish mythology and poetry based on the Kalevala, looking at shamanism, magic and the art of storytelling.  Though I missed it, it was then followed by Nick Ford’s talk On the Death of the Gods.

The stalls were really good this year, with great diversity. Mike Carrington’s King of Cups stall had a busy trade, and he assured me that he had brought extra mead so as not to run out this year!  There was also a lovely soap stall that was new, by Bewitched Botanicals. Hedingham Fair were there as well, alongside a number of old and new faces trading second hand books, hand-crafted items and more.

It was a great day, made even more special by all the people that came up to me to congratulate me on my work, sharing their stories of how it has influenced their lives. I am so thankful to everyone for their continuing support, and I am humbled by the vast changes that people are able to make to their lives thanks to the sharing of inspiration. May we be the awen!

Sunday 3 April was the Woodbridge Mind Body Spirit Festival, which was a huge success thanks to the many people who pitched in when Chris Cozens, the organiser, was unable to attend due to health difficulties. He managed to come by on Saturday and was so delighted to see how everyone stepped up to the plate; it truly shows what people can do when they put their minds to it! We all wish Chris a speedy recovery.

The workshops on the Sunday were brilliant: I attended Secrets of Sound, Spelling and the Mind, which looked at words as spells: words do have power.  It was about healing your world and learning to use sound towards ‘heal-thy-living”. It was then followed by Greenstead Living Foods‘ workshop on how to turn your vegetables into probiotics to benefit the whole family, complete with demonstration. I’m now going to go through my fridge and find the old veg to prep for some yummy delights next week! Rami showed us some instruments for healing in the next workshop, and after trying a Sansula I just had to get one! After four hours spent in workshops and roaming the many stalls (including the Chakra Project, do check them out!) it was time to head home and flop on the sofa in the conservatory for a nice cup of tea and some time out.