Anderida Gorsedd Conference at Southwick

This was the Pentacle Drummers first appearance at a Druid Conference, and we had a wonderful time. The Community Centre where it was held was incredibly easy to find, we followed the A259 all the way from Eastbourne to Southwick, turned right under the railway bridge, and it was a few hundred yards up the road. If only all venues were that simple to locate.

The doors opened at 10.30, and we were due to perform on the lawn at 1o.45. As we gathered together, a few drops of rain fell. We edged closer to the building for a bit of shelter, and prepared to play in a downpour. It happens all the time. So we were pleasantly surprised when we were told we could play in the theatre instead.(It was a very up market community centre.) Not only in the dry, but also on a stage. Damh the Bard introduced us, and off we went. We only played a couple of tunes, but the audience definitely liked us.

Then we went off for a cup of tea, and a good look round. During the next few hours, there were interesting talks, by Philip Carr Gomm, Levanah Morgan, and Rae Beth, in the theatre. Mythago Morris danced their hearts out on the lawn, and then gave people the chance to try it themselves. While indoors there were lots of stalls, selling everything from jewellery and books, to pictures, and musical instruments. Everybody was friendly and having a good time, the Community Centre was beautiful, and there was plenty to do and see all day.


About 5.15 we went onto the lawn again, but this time it was warm and sunny. There was a large crowd who applauded loudly at the end of every tune, and then someone called out jokingly, "You call that drumming? I've heard grannies play louder than that!" That was all the encouragement we needed to let rip. We formed a tighter circle and called the audience to come closer. As they surrounded us we threw ourselves into the last number. People were dancing, and clapping, and bouncing around to our music, the energy poured out of everyone. It was fantastic, and by the time we finished, we were dripping with sweat and grinning from ear to ear. It was the best gig we have had so far this year. We are hoping to be invited back next year.

The day started very early for us all.
7am we had to be ready to go on the coach up to London.
With a couple of detours to pick up some other people we arrived at Red Lion Square at 10am.
As we approached London the rain started to fall...
The closer we got, the harder it was.
Luckily we actually found a parking space big enough for the coach in Red Lion Square.

We all bundled out of the coach, ran to get our drums and ran to Conway Hall to collect our wrist bands.
After we were all labelled up, as we have done the past few years, we stand outside the Hall to entertain those people who have arrived early to join the procession.
As the drums played, louder and louder, the clouds parted and the rain stopped.

After half an hour or so the procession was ready to go.
Unfortunately the Bogies were not able to make Beltane Bash 2008, so we were given the honour of taking pride of place behind the Jack.

Off we set, making our way through the streets to Russel Square, beating a path for all those behind us.
The Police were enlisted to stop the traffic along the way and performed wonderfully. Many thanks go to them.

Those that were driving through London at that time were all staring in awe and wonderment at the procession.
Busses full of tourists taking photos of us all were everywhere.
The march to Russel Square is not long at all and very soon we found ourselves at the fountain in the middle ot the park.

We gathered to one side of the fountain and began to set the rhythm. After a few minutes, One of the Ravens spoke and invited people to enter the fountain and go mad...
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, so in went Greg, drumming right through the middle! (luckily he had a spare set of clothes)
Soon after, many many people followed suit and got themselves soaked, revelling in the atmosphere, dancing and drumming.

We drummed for what seemed like hours until it was time to make our way back back to Conway Hall via the British Museum.

Arriving back at Conway hall, once again we gathered in front of the entrance to entertain the people while they waited.

Once we were inside Frank from The Dolmen approached us and pleaded with us to perform at their Stonehenge Ritual.
So keep your eyes and ears peeled...

After a few tunes we were all ready for a well earned break so we retired to our dressing room to relax for a while, and to get dry.

Our next performance was at 6pm, supporting The Dolmen.
As always happens the show was running about 5 mins late which in the greater scheme of things is not bad at all.

This year we decided to start our performance outside of the main hall and march into the hall to the thumping rhythm of 'Nines'

We lined up and gave it our best.
The audience seemed to love our drumming and soon people were dancing, taping their feet or playing along with us.

The power and resonance of the drums in the hall was truly awesome. The energy coming back to every one of us then being pumped out again like some primal feedback loop was fantastic.
Within a few tunes we were really going hell for leather, sweat dripping off of us but that just spurred us on more.

After another couple of tunes Adam shouted out 'Do you want some more' to which people shouted back 'Yesssss' I though the audience could do better though so I bellowed at the top of my voice 'He said, Do you want some more' to which the audience really out did themselves and screamed back at us.
They wanted more.

The reception and applause we received was truly fantastic, something we will remember for a long,long time to come.

We had wondered, from a personal point of view, if we could top last years performance at Beltane Bash, and I think we did.
Now we worry if we will top this years performance.

For the next hour we sat back and enjoyed The Dolmens set.
After The Dolmen set I popped down to say goodbye to a few people, when The Dolmen guys said how much they loved our drumming and it set the tone for their performance.
One of the best compliments we could have received.

So all in all, an awesome day at Beltane Bash 2008.
Many thanks to to those who facilitated the event.

Hengwah.

PF Conference in Brighton

On the way to Brighton this morning the rain was pouring down, and it looked like it would stay that way. However as soon as we got to our meeting place at the Unitarian Church, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day.

We had our photo taken on the steps of the church, and then began our first set at the foot of them. A small crowd soon gathered around us, and all enjoyed it, except for a lady from a nearby massage clinic who wanted us to stop. We played for about twenty minutes, then went into the building to look at the stalls. Some of our members had fun taking part in a poi workshop, while others went for a stroll in the warm sunshine.

Just before noon we met up by the steps again, crossed the road, then starting playing as we made our way to the King and Queen Pub to open the second part of the conference. The pavement wasn't very wide, but somehow we all fitted on and did about twenty minutes out the front of the pub. Cars honked their horns in support as they drove past, and the audience applauded at the end of every tune. Then we took off our drums, and went up to the room above the pub where the stalls were.

It was cramped in there, but there was lots of interesting stuff to look at, and the organisers had even allocated a table for us to leave our drums on. While we were mooching around and parting with our money, we were told that we could play on the green across the road for as long as we liked. Big smiles all around and five minutes later we were ready to go.

The grass area was huge, but we stayed opposite the pub and told people what was going on over there, while we were getting ready. The sun was shining, the drumming was great, and all was right with the world. It felt more like summer than spring. When we finished, Mythago Wood Morris took over entertaining the crowd. They were wonderful, and danced for ages.

It was a great start to the summer season, and now we are looking forward to Jack In The Green.