Walking with my Goddess

Kits Coty From the West So, here we are Kits Coty.  Or Kits Coty House to give the site it’s official title. Over the last 46 years I have been up here probably nearly 100 times. W hat is it? Who built it and Why is it here? Are just a few of the questions that have puzzled me over the years…. In a nutshell it’s the remains of a Neolithic Chambered Tomb, built between 3500-2800 BC during the Neolithic or New Stone age so it’s about 5000- 5500 years old. So what does that mean? Well about 10,000 years ago Britain was still attached to mainland Europe – albeit just as a funky little peninsula on the western edge roughly where Dover and Folkestone are today extending up to the Norfolk Coast. Herds of reindeer and mammoth would migrate back and forth looking for grazing land and better climes, in their wake our ancestors followed them leading a nomadic hunter- gatherer lifestyle. For centuries, even millennia they pursued this route forging ancient trackways on a natural rou

Happy, Happy Summer Solstice Everyone!  Summer Sunwheel Blessings of love to you all! What a wonderful week I have had celebrating and spending time with some of my favourite people doing things I love. When I last wrote, Summer Camp beckoned - an annual treat at the nearby Kits Coty Glamping Site a few minutes walking from the remains of our local long barrow that I love so much. Arriving on what felt like the hottest day ever, I was greeted like an old friend by the lovely Steve, the very same first person I had spoken to last year. Expertly setting up my home for the nest two nights, all was going well until a brief electric pump disaster where my batteries somehow got wedged in, then it wouldn't turn off and was getting hotter and hotter before we finally managed to prise them out with a kitchen knife (don't try this at home Girls and Boys) which left me with a half inflated mattress and a surrounding aura of chaos... 'I'm here everyone!'  Sunset Ov

Well that's come round quick again, Litha Sun I can't believe that Litha - Summer Solstice is nearly here again.  As we take time to honour the longest day, we see the Goddess ripe and fertile as the land is abundant with crops and flowers, before She becomes the Mother at harvest. The sun is high and strong in the sky, particularly so these last couple of weeks!  After my walking exertions of the last few months I planned a few more chilled out activities to celebrate midsummer. Rounding up my oldest friend Lu - I hasten to add that I mean longevity of friendship not that she is ancient, just to clarify - I persuaded her that she really did want to go camping for the night at small Solstice event at Eastbourne. East bourne - I just can't seem to stay away at the moment, no walking though this week! Looking Glorious Ladies! Rounding up enough gear for a small army not just two crazy pagan hippy friends away for a night, we pitched up our tents on a blindingly

OMG It's Real!! All this last week my thoughts have been totally dominated by my upcoming marathon hike. When my alarm went off Saturday morning, despite all my hard work I'd put into training and preparation I was thinking I need a few more weeks for this, I need more practice, what if all the practice wasn't enough? Arriving at the starting point alone to register, the nerves surfaced again when I saw lots of slim, fit looking groups of people laughing and joking, my urge was to tell the taxi driver who had picked me up from the hostel to drive on and take me to the train station. He must have sensed my fears as he proceeded to tell me what an amazing thing I was doing and shook my hand wishing me well as he got my overnight bag out of the boot.  Deep breath, I can do this I told myself and headed inside. Originally there had been 7 people doing this, it had dropped to 3 of us, 1 whom I'd met once and one person I'd never met. A A Flowery Message quick

Footpath Just Off Our Lane All I seem to have done this week is walk and work, work and walk, even walk to work and next week will be much the same, though I'm sure it will be worth it come next weekend when I complete (Goddess willing) my walking marathon!  That said, I did manage a cheeky mid week night out with some friends from school - how wonderful to meet up with some of the people who shaped and coloured my youth, to revisit the pub we frequented to celebrate our O and A Levels, the place of many break up getting over it drinks as well being the place of many birthday celebrations and the start of several romances!  It was both weird and lovely to see that we were still in essence the same girls that studied and partied together in our teens, borne out the photos of us that Sarah brought, proof of our super poodle style hair do's and blue eyeliner and mascara!  Gleaned Wheat! Every group has someone who takes the time to record everything, to remember who mov