Chanelling Tinkerbell

It's lovely the perception of fairies that children have, and how we as Pagans communicate with them - note conversation with my 7yr old daughter...
Daughter - 'mum, you know you believe in fairies...?
Me - 'yes...but they're not like you see on Disney, they can be very large, although some can be small...'
Daughter - 'yes, but how do you talk to them?'
Me - 'Well, like Christians go to church, Pagans talk to them in woods or near waterfalls..'
Daughter - 'Do they talk on their mobiles? Tinkerbell has a mobile.'

Bless Disney - and that can be interpreted either way!

TV Pagans

Settling down with a glass of wine to watch feature length drama Marple with the brilliant Julia McKenzie playing the sleuth.  Lovely.  What have we here?  A story line about death and witches in rural Hampshire - gawd....  I am trying to remember when a fictional show ever portrayed witches, druids and pagans as just NORMAL people - with jobs, with families, shopping at the supermarket, as well as the esoteric side.  We are either portrayed as just sinister, or plain old well meaning but barmy.  Marple, Midsummer Murders and Wycliffe have all had pagans in the story line fitting this description.  It gets a bit annoying as well as tiring after a while.  Is it fear, apprehension, misunderstanding, or that fact that 'we' present easy pickings, and our society has a love of putting people into boxes and labelling them, as it's easier than truly accepting a diverse community?  I suppose the 'truth' would make far too boring a story line!  It's the inner journey where the magic is, not the outer representation!  Off to have my second morning cup of constitutional henbane - sorry, coffee.

Fruits of summer

Blackberry picking yesterday in Isleworth (great tasting ones from the local church grounds).  Something really satisfying about picking fruit and then eating it over the following few days.  Few scratches from thorns until I remembered to 'ask and listen' for permission to pick, and the blackberries then just popped off the stalk into my bucket.  Later that evening, made Spanish tortilla omelette with potatoes and courgettes from Sarah's allotment, topped with basil from Dan's garden, (eggs, mushrooms & ham courtesy of Morrisons).  Made quite a few dishes, and then took them around to different neighbours who have been so lovely to us over the years (we're due to move on Wednesday).  Who says nature and community doesn't exist in London?!!!

Water water everywhere

What a treat this evening after one of THOSE days at work (lost purse, subsequently found at EAT and saved by lovely manager for my return, corrupted file containing all of day's work, walking back through the rain to tube without coat, without brolly...)

Anyway, girls had run me a beautiful bath with candles and classical music - bliss. Steam rising, scents of rose geranium and lavender inside and the sound of rain outside...

Dilemmas & Shanties

Relaxing after hard day - do I go for fun & frippery 'The September Issue', and watch fashionistas or do I go to BBC Four and a programme about sea songs and sea shanties of this land? I lasted five minutes of fashionland before switching into rooted music and melody of fishermen. Here's two shanties from Port Isaac in Cornwall. Music connecting to the land and sea.