From the Blog of Ann W.:

The 'Ancestor', a massive 20ft steel sculpture, was the guest of honour at Stonehenge, marking a significant change - a statement that the future and the now is just as important as the celebration of the summer solstice and the past, the ancient megaliths and the remembering of ancestors.

The modern-day ancestor is welcoming all, regardless of their reason for gathering at Stonehenge for the solstice - from celebrating their beliefs to the sake of gathering, or a mixture of both - as was probably the case in ancient times.

My picture report of the Summer Solstice does not start at Stonehenge (spoiler alert: nor will it end), but at the car park, where this 'gatherer' started her journey. This pink lady was standing on top of a caravan doing a lovely dance with her white scarf, and making all of us stop and stare. I have not the slightest clue why she'd do this (yikes, heights!) but I assume it must have been important to her, part of her Solstice celebration.

It was my second year round, and I finally came to realise most of the people are their for their own special reasons. At last I'd see the light/sunrise? ;)

After a pause at the caravan, and two bag checks, we arrived at Stonehenge. Though we had to wait another seven hours for the solstice, Rollo (correct? regardless, my apologies for the Arthur mix-up) seemed to be 'Chief Druid in Charge of Ceremony' , and had Morris dancers already lined up. Although the group claims the stage wasn't so excellent (apparently grass bounces better, more about that later/scroll down), the performance was excellent, and the merry bells created an atmosphere of celebration. And yes, they make those lovely hats themselves.

Definitely not a bad way to start your Summer Solstice! (Although I did feel envious of their hats! ;))

Next up was an interview with King Arthur Pendragon (did I forget to take pictures?!) and then a live performance of my favourite Druidicca song 'What shall we do with a drunken Druid?'

Many more great songs followed, and led to a finale with the 'Battle of the Beanfield' cover from the Levellers. I believe I actually shouted 'Woot!', 'Bis!', as well as 'Zugabe!'

An interesting equation is that if you point a film camera light at a live music performance at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice, the audience triples!

And then it was time - wow, does time move that quickly? - for a delicious vegetarian hamburger and the Heelstone.

Less 'gatherers' than last year's 36,000 showed up, but still, the ancient stone circle is quite (overly) crowded, so King Arthur Pendragon and his Druids - as well as the Widders Morris dancers - gathered at the heelstone.

The heelstone - according to Arthur it derives its name from 'helios', sun - is one of the original two stones between which the sun rises on the 21th of June, midsummer's day.

There was singing by a Druid-bard , and a ceremony in which the Druids made sure to mention not only the remains of their ancestors, but the request for a solution for the oil disaster in America and the ongoing inhumanity at Palestine.

I guess the gods figured they'd give us simpler answers (and probably, we'll have to work on the more massive issues ourselves) as they rendered us a beautiful, almost cloudless sky. An offering - or thanks, to the goddess? - was made, and the ceremony was over.

Figuring I'd better leave Arthur and the other Druids in peace (and without flash) to enjoy the sunrise and start of the longest day of the year, I made may way to the stone circle. Inside? Crowded, noisy, celebratory as well as a dangerous for my - much stepped upon - toes.

On to The Ancestor, and his greeting of the sun. His shininess looked quite magnificent, basking in the light of the rising sun, and joyous that so many attended again without any promotion or encouragement.

It makes me wonder: what is it that draws so many to the Stonehenge celebrations? Is it indeed - as some claim - just a good reason to get wasted? Quite frankly, that is something you can do in your local pub, or even at home.

Stonehenge - and it's solstices and equinoxes, and probably, if English Heritage would deem it possible, every day of its existence - is a massive reminder of our link to the past, and with what - thanks to the Ancestor - we've become.

It is not just Britons visiting the megaliths for the summer solstice. Stonehenge and its visitor base is universal, a symbol of what we were always - and will always - be capable of, and evidence of the mysterious ways in which we reason. Because if there were absolute reason we could stop guessing what Stonehenge was all about!

Stonehenge is to Britain - and even far beyond - what the Acropolis is for Athens: a symbol of its greatness and civilisation. Far more than red phone booths, black cabs and - RIP - Harrods. In my opinion, it is a major part of Britain's identity, an important part of the world's identity (obviously, UNESCO agrees), rather than something expendable. The stones are ancient, but does that really need to go for the visitor centre as well? ;) 

Our little Brugges risks losing its UNESCO status for bad management, making it a less valuable place. What if UNESCO were to decide that 'to not make Stonehenge a better place' (when you know how to), could be considered an offense just as well? And should they? Is neglecting to develop an area to make it better as bad as letting it deteriorate? Or is there still a huge difference? And should past 'deteriorations' (the road, the car par, ..) not be corrected?

When I became overly reflective, it was obviously time to slowly return to the car park cold, exhausted, but quite happy about the whole gathering. A lovely walk to end a lovely night, and from which to start an adventurous day: onwards to Silbury Hill, Avebury and the West Kennet Long Barrow.

I must say it was great to see a more 'modern' solstice celebration at Stonehenge, one where the Ancestor was a massive and ever-present reminder that 'modern' has its place at the world's most famous stone circle as well. It was also great meeting you all*, and hopefully we'll see you again at Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2011, or maybe even an Equinox or Winter Solstice. I feel temped to try one a bit less crowded (which does not need to mean less 'gathering').

 

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