I’ve been meaning to do a post all week and tell you about the wonderful Lammas Fair in Eastbourne. But Mr B has been very ill all week (admitted to hospital, in and out of doctor’s, rushed to A &E, etc etc before they discovered what was wrong – the dreaded shingles!) and I’ve been just running around frantically backwards and forwards to the pharmacy as they kept upping his dose of painkillers etc. What a terrible thing shingles is! I’d never realised. He doesn’t have any of the nasty open sores (which is why six doctors missed the diagnosis!) but is in reallly severe pain. He’s on so many tablets I have a special timetable to ensure all are taken at the correct time and in the right quantity. And I’m trying to work on Book Three!
Anyway, the Lammas Fair in Eastbourne was wonderful. We arrived quite late due to the awful traffic, but as we walked in I heard my name being announced on the sound system and felt quite important and famous!! I spent the next hour trying to eat a Cornish (or perhaps East Sussex) pasty that Mr B had bought me. Every time I took a bite, another person came to the Green Man Bookstall to talk to me about Stonewylde. I really enjoy these sort of events, and this one was very well organised. The morris dancing was fantastic. Hunter’s Moon Morris Dancers with their blackened faces and black and silver tatters are amazing! And I heard Jerry Bird play for the first time – wow!!! He is such a very talented man (and looks so like Alan Rickman too – lucky Diane!).
We sold loads of books, and it was fantastic to meet with old fans who came up to say how much they’d enjoyed the books, and … WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE OUT? Why don’t people check my website and then they’d KNOW when it’s out! Samhain, for those who don’t know. It’s a bit disappointing because Rob, my jacket designer from Big Blu in Bristol (and the most gorgeous hunk of a chap you could imagine) finally finished the design for Solstice at Stonewylde on Monday. I was dying to put it up on the website in that spot that at present looks like a gravestone. But with Mr B so ill … I’m not a feeble woman at all when it comes to computers (absolutely love ’em) but I have no idea how to access the website – nor indeed any of our system here. It’s all very complicated with a server and stuff, and having always been pretty computer literate and self-sufficient, I find now that I can’t do anything without asking him to help. Or maybe it’s just part of his dastardly plan … But the cover for Solstice is fantastic. I do hope you all like it. Rather scary – in fact, very disturbing. But then so’s the book. I had nightmares when I wrote the opening chapters!
Back to the Lammas Fair in Eastbourne. We met a beautiful generic phentermine pictures lady who was to me the embodiment of the Corn Mother, or Lammas Queen. She wore a wreath of woven corn on her head, was dressed in golds and earthy colours, was stunningly pretty and best of all – she had brilliant red hair in great tresses of curls. She obligingly posed for a photo with me (was I mad? who in their right mind would pose next to such a woman?) and for some more photos outside for Mr B (yes, I am mad) and I’d hoped to put a photo on the website as she gave us permission. But of course I can’t do that until he’s a bit better. I’m going to put her in the Green Magic section under Lammas. More than anything, she reminded me of Miranda.
The highlight of the Lammas event for me was finally getting to hear The Dolmen play. They were fantastic! Nothing like I’d imagined (mystical and soulful – although maybe they do this as well when appropriate) but instead wild and raunchy and very lively indeed. It was great to meet Keri and Star afterwards, having conversed with them both on MySpace, and by e mail with Keri for well over a year now I think. Ridiculous when you think they’re from Dorchester and I lived in Weymouth up until January. I hope to see them again soon – maybe at the Witches’ Ball in Dorchester in September. I also had a long chat with their manager, Chris, who admitted sheepishly (with all sorts of lame excuses like never reading books, having too much work and too many children, etc etc) to not having read Stonewylde. NOT READ STONEWYLDE!!! I shrieked in horror. And you a local man interested in paganism!!! Fortunately he didn’t point out to me that I’d never heard The Dolmen play even though I’d been a local woman for so long. But he’s promised to read at least Magus, so let’s hope he enjoys it.
At the fair, I bought a beautiful corn dolly which now hangs on the beam of our ingle-nook fireplace. We live in a very old cottage and the corn dolly is entirely in keeping. We went down to the beach afterwards to watch the closing ceremony. It looked good, but unfortunately the lady performing it didn’t really raise her voice at all, so nobody including the slightly bemused tourists, had a clue what was going on. The man with the brilliant orange body paint was quite spectacular. At one point a trio of young yuppie type tennis players came up to me and asked, “What’s all this then?”
I told them it was the Lammas Fair, and explained that Lammas was an ancient festival celebrated in pagan times. “What, so it’s like … for old hippies then?” Well, yes, I suppose you could say that. I can think of worse things to be!
Kit xxx
PS Next blog I shall tell you about the lovely postcard I had from JACQUELINE WILSON!! And the possible Channel 4 appearance later this year.
Anyway, the Lammas Fair in Eastbourne was wonderful. We arrived quite late due to the awful traffic, but as we walked in I heard my name being announced on the sound system and felt quite important and famous!! I spent the next hour trying to eat a Cornish (or perhaps East Sussex) pasty that Mr B had bought me. Every time I took a bite, another person came to the Green Man Bookstall to talk to me about Stonewylde. I really enjoy these sort of events, and this one was very well organised. The morris dancing was fantastic. Hunter’s Moon Morris Dancers with their blackened faces and black and silver tatters are amazing! And I heard Jerry Bird play for the first time – wow!!! He is such a very talented man (and looks so like Alan Rickman too – lucky Diane!).
We sold loads of books, and it was fantastic to meet with old fans who came up to say how much they’d enjoyed the books, and … WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE OUT? Why don’t people check my website and then they’d KNOW when it’s out! Samhain, for those who don’t know. It’s a bit disappointing because Rob, my jacket designer from Big Blu in Bristol (and the most gorgeous hunk of a chap you could imagine) finally finished the design for Solstice at Stonewylde on Monday. I was dying to put it up on the website in that spot that at present looks like a gravestone. But with Mr B so ill … I’m not a feeble woman at all when it comes to computers (absolutely love ’em) but I have no idea how to access the website – nor indeed any of our system here. It’s all very complicated with a server and stuff, and having always been pretty computer literate and self-sufficient, I find now that I can’t do anything without asking him to help. Or maybe it’s just part of his dastardly plan … But the cover for Solstice is fantastic. I do hope you all like it. Rather scary – in fact, very disturbing. But then so’s the book. I had nightmares when I wrote the opening chapters!
Back to the Lammas Fair in Eastbourne. We met a beautiful generic phentermine pictures lady who was to me the embodiment of the Corn Mother, or Lammas Queen. She wore a wreath of woven corn on her head, was dressed in golds and earthy colours, was stunningly pretty and best of all – she had brilliant red hair in great tresses of curls. She obligingly posed for a photo with me (was I mad? who in their right mind would pose next to such a woman?) and for some more photos outside for Mr B (yes, I am mad) and I’d hoped to put a photo on the website as she gave us permission. But of course I can’t do that until he’s a bit better. I’m going to put her in the Green Magic section under Lammas. More than anything, she reminded me of Miranda.
The highlight of the Lammas event for me was finally getting to hear The Dolmen play. They were fantastic! Nothing like I’d imagined (mystical and soulful – although maybe they do this as well when appropriate) but instead wild and raunchy and very lively indeed. It was great to meet Keri and Star afterwards, having conversed with them both on MySpace, and by e mail with Keri for well over a year now I think. Ridiculous when you think they’re from Dorchester and I lived in Weymouth up until January. I hope to see them again soon – maybe at the Witches’ Ball in Dorchester in September. I also had a long chat with their manager, Chris, who admitted sheepishly (with all sorts of lame excuses like never reading books, having too much work and too many children, etc etc) to not having read Stonewylde. NOT READ STONEWYLDE!!! I shrieked in horror. And you a local man interested in paganism!!! Fortunately he didn’t point out to me that I’d never heard The Dolmen play even though I’d been a local woman for so long. But he’s promised to read at least Magus, so let’s hope he enjoys it.
At the fair, I bought a beautiful corn dolly which now hangs on the beam of our ingle-nook fireplace. We live in a very old cottage and the corn dolly is entirely in keeping. We went down to the beach afterwards to watch the closing ceremony. It looked good, but unfortunately the lady performing it didn’t really raise her voice at all, so nobody including the slightly bemused tourists, had a clue what was going on. The man with the brilliant orange body paint was quite spectacular. At one point a trio of young yuppie type tennis players came up to me and asked, “What’s all this then?”
I told them it was the Lammas Fair, and explained that Lammas was an ancient festival celebrated in pagan times. “What, so it’s like … for old hippies then?” Well, yes, I suppose you could say that. I can think of worse things to be!
Kit xxx
PS Next blog I shall tell you about the lovely postcard I had from JACQUELINE WILSON!! And the possible Channel 4 appearance later this year.
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