Samhain in Fife

Happy New Year!

[This was my first blog post after returning from Rwanda.]

Well, I had a lovely weekend up in the middle of the Scottish hills. Started out on Thursday in Auchtermuchty with Andy, who hosts both the Deaf Association and Single Parents Network websites. Hadn't seen him since the music festival back in August '07, shortly before I went to Rwanda.

After a six-hour drive, in which I only tried to pull out into oncoming traffic once, I got there and promptly sobbed on the sofa! Pumped full of antibiotics, absolutely knackered, and missing home like a homesick thing - all a bit pants. But I soon perked up, and he fed me lots of nice pasta, cheese and biscuits :op

The next day we drove over to John & Kitty's farmstead out near Crail, Fife, with a beautiful view of the North Sea. Spent Friday night relaxing with Andy, Peggy, John, Kitty, Free and friends, including a lovely guy from Belgium called Thorsten who flew over specially for the occasion.

[NB 2013: And later rescued me when I was grounded by snow at Schiphol!]

John made a wonderful smoked mackerel and leek soup and we ate and drank merrily - I finished my antibiotics (from the monkey bite) that day, so started on the wine.

On the Saturday I had a bit of a lie-in, a warm bath, and went for a wee wander. About three miles down the road I suddenly found myself staring at a Sam2 surface-to-air missile, a Green Goddess, and a secret Cold War bunker. If you happen to be passing, you might like to pop in to Scotland's Secret Bunker. I didn't have any cash, so I didn't go in, but it was a bit eerie and, as I was walking up the drive, the siren you hear on the website went off - extremely disconcerting.

I wandered back and people started to arrive. Lots of people! The house was full of Pagans in the festive spirit, with oodles more food, and booze and cloaks and staffs aplenty.

The ritual itself was lovely. There was a labyrinth in the garden for meditation and we formed a procession from the front of the house to the back where the Samhain fire was lit and the quarters called. Many of us had drawn sigils which, after remembrance of the dead and welcoming in of new life (Samhain is both for those who have passed and those who have just arrived), we burned along with last year's corn dolly. Then there was an alter in the house for candles and individual remembrance.

After the ritual, we set about the serious business of feasting: venison stew, pies, sauces and dessert coming out our ears. The chocolate mousse cake was almost as good as the one at Giudi's hen party, but certainly nowhere near as appreciated.

It was a surreal experience. Going from goat brochettes and one solid meal a day to being surrounded by people discussing what to dip in a white-chocolate fondue, amidst bowls and bowls of food with ingredients from all over the world.

Strange.

Made me a little sad when I thought about all the people who wouldn't be eating that night. All the kids that belong to our single parents. I thought what Emmanuelle’s face would look like if she saw all those iced cupcakes and chocolate brownies. I thought about how fast the sweets disappeared at my work leaving do; even how my colleague pounced on the chocolate éclairs and locked them in a draw the first Christmas I was there, announcing that he'd finish them off when he got back (they were meant for everybody!) ;)

So, it was a bit odd seeing this huge pile of food and knowing that everyone around the table did this on a regular basis. Lot of people I would have liked to have seen there, hands full of scotch eggs and mouths covered in chocolate sauce.

After most of the guests had left, came the most wonderful experience of all. John & Kitty have a hot tub in the garden. It was a perfectly clear night with the moon and stars out, and crisp wintery air. Perfect for immersing ourselves in the warm, bubbly waters. There were even rubber ducks and squirty creatures, so a water-fight ensued.

When we were finally too wrinkled to float anymore, we got out, toweled down and took our turns in Kitty's 'rainbow shower'. BUY ONE! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!! Oh, it's so much fun - pretty lights. That's something I've missed actually: totally random and silly inventions that contribute very little to world progress but are joyful to existence non-the-less. The rainbow shower rocks.

Then hot chocolate with Amarula before bed. A taste of home: 'The Spirit of Africa'.

Errr, talking of home, just talked to my baby on the telephone, long distance. The boy one is in Kampala! He's gone to pick up a passport!! Minor issue, he needs a birth certificate and the hospital he was born in was demolished, so he's got to spend tomorrow trying to tackle the administrative system. But I'm amazed. He's actually got on a bus and gone there and is doing all this and everything because... nkwagala nyo.

I've currently got Andy Gold's classic on repeat *blush*

Ermn, anyway, side-tracked. Got up late on Sunday and had a bacon and egg fry-up. Headed over to drop a friend off in Saline, then over to Glasgow to see my extremely good friend Tas and her family.

Tas is the most amazing artist.

We had a great night and ended up with the vodka until 4am. Drive back was long, but I stayed awake and got back twenty minutes before dark, which was ace. Took a hot shower and caught up on e-mails - and D.

Feeling good, actually. Really enjoyed the ritual and the hospitality of Fife and Glasgow. Still a bit rocky, somewhere in between places: heart over there, head over here, and frequently swapping places. Miss everyone crazy big time, but knowing D's out there feeling the same and having the wonder that is the Magic Number(tm) which lets me call everyone for 6p per minute, is really helping.

Some mighty strange news regarding Rwanda and the Green Party by the way. I know someone via Sign Language who is a friend of one of the people involved in setting up the party. She says every time they try to get enough signatures to register as a political party it gets sabotaged. She's expressed her concerns over Rwanda's claim to democracy due to this. Does seem a bit heavy-handed to be beating up Greenies. Watch this space and see what happens, I suppose, but it's interesting to know that they're giving it a go. With 99% destruction of the rainforest in Rwanda, I think it would be an excellent party to have on the ballot papers.

Right. Tomorrow I begin the soul-destroying routine which is 'signing on'. Amazing that we have it - that people who don't work also don't starve. That's great. But it's still mortifying.

Food and an early night :)