Beltain, May 3rd: Burning of the Wickerman [Pic heavy]

[THOaken]

My brother and I had a great time at the festival of Beltain yesterday. We especially enjoyed the Living History training sessions and the ancient music demonstrations. Here are some photos of the event. Apologies for the poor quality of some of them. They're actually screenshots of videos. We seem to have taken more videos of the demonstrations than photos.

And here is our video of the burning of the Wickerman, with music added for greater effect.

[video=youtube;XinpVIh0oSk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XinpVIh0oSk[/video]

Thanks for watching.

 

[Bartooon]

Looks fun! Is it at Butser Ancient Farm? If so, I used to go those festivals there about 20 years ago - they were a bit smaller scale then though.

 

[THOaken]

Looks fun! Is it at Butser Ancient Farm? If so, I used to go those festivals there about 20 years ago - they were a bit smaller scale then though.

It was indeed at Butser Ancient Farm. Thanks for looking.

 

[THOaken]

I wonder, were any BCUK members at this year's Beltain?

 

[Andy BB]

I wonder, were any BCUK members at this year's Beltain?

Yup - me & swmbo. Spent a lot of time queuing in the lines for coffee.... Not the best hog roast butty either. Nice and warm in the roundhouse, although they had a wood fire inside and no hole in the roof for smoke to escape. Looked like an army training room for squaddy tear-gas exposure.

The burning man took a long time to get going, didn't it? Should have let us and 5 litres of meths do it properly

 

[treadlightly]

That brings back memories. I was last there for Beltane, must be 15 years ago.

 

[THOaken]

Yup - me & swmbo. Spent a lot of time queuing in the lines for coffee.... Not the best hog roast butty either. Nice and warm in the roundhouse, although they had a wood fire inside and no hole in the roof for smoke to escape. Looked like an army training room for squaddy tear-gas exposure.

The burning man took a long time to get going, didn't it? Should have let us and 5 litres of meths do it properly

Well there's a couple of things there. Yes, it was busy, but I've been told that this was Butser's largest Beltain to date.

Also, concerning there not being a roof in the roundhouses, that's because of several reasons, mainly it seeps through the thatch and kills insects. It's a viable method. I believe they tried a hole in the roof originally, but there were many problems with it.

Being a volunteer helps. You get to ask a lot of questions

But yes, it took a fairly long while to light but once it did I'd say the Wickerman was pretty spectacular. It's a shame my rubbish camera couldn't capture it that well.

 

[Baelfore]

Looks like a fantastic day out mate. Thanks for sharing.

Are all the items in pic 3 musical instruments? Also, in pic four, what are the points of the spears made of? Are they metal? Looks like something else in the pic, or is that just me?

Sorry about the questions! I've never heard of this and it seems really interesting.

Ste

 

[THOaken]

Looks like a fantastic day out mate. Thanks for sharing.

Are all the items in pic 3 musical instruments? Also, in pic four, what are the points of the spears made of? Are they metal? Looks like something else in the pic, or is that just me?

Sorry about the questions! I've never heard of this and it seems really interesting.

Ste

Yes, they're all musical instruments. It was part of the ancient music demonstrations held in one of the Iron Age roundhouses. I spoke to them a little while, a couple who can apparently play all of the instruments combined. I was a bit disappointed however that they didn't do a joint performance. I thought they'd be up on the stage instead of the pop group or whatever it was. If they did a performance in the round house then I missed it.

If I have one complaint, it's probably the music festival part of it. The music had nothing to do with the theme of Butser Ancient Farm.

And I think the spear points are metal. I confess I never got hands on with the equipment, but it was fun to watch some of the kids laying into the shields and bags on the field.

 

[THOaken]

And if you're wondering, the whole event was 4pm-10pm.

 

[Andy BB]

Sorry - didn't mean to come across as a moaning minnie! Was an enjoyable time and well worth a trip to the next one. Must remember to bring warmer clothing next time, a large flask of coffee and a chair. Sadly, as designated driver, I was unable to participate in something a bit stronger

 

[THOaken]

Sorry - didn't mean to come across as a moaning minnie! Was an enjoyable time and well worth a trip to the next one. Must remember to bring warmer clothing next time, a large flask of coffee and a chair. Sadly, as designated driver, I was unable to participate in something a bit stronger

I echo that actually, it was colder than I thought. And standing around for so many hours wasn't so great. A chair needs to be brought next time! Were you there for the whole thing too?

 

[Andy BB]

I echo that actually, it was colder than I thought. And standing around for so many hours wasn't so great. A chair needs to be brought next time! Were you there for the whole thing too?

Yes. We brought a blanket to sit on, but not that comfy - a chair would have been so much better for my ancient carcase