Hello!
Today was very exciting, because I got to travel back in time! Along with Alberto, and Frances and Chris, we went to an Iron Age settlement where they were celebrating the Pagan festival of Beltain (also sometimes spelt Beltane).
So we didn't actually go back in time, but it felt like it! Beforehand, we went on Frances' laptop to find out what happens at Beltain. It's a fertility festival, where they do certain things like burning a huge Wicker Man (a man made out of bits of wood). Originally, he would have been filled with live sacrifices but the website assured us that they don't do that anymore!
At the festival, the first thing we did was an African drumming workshop which was really fun, but also very noisy! After that, we went to a roundhouse where we listened some storytellers. The stories were very exciting! We then had a picnic whilst listening to some live music (sea shanties and folk, mostly, but also Teenage Kicks was sung in a folk style), and then we went off to see some big birds such as owls and falcons, and then to watch a man casting an axe head. We finished off by returning to the storytelling hut, where we enjoyed some more stories before going to watch the burning of the Wicker Man.
The Wicker Man burnt quite spectacularly! Everyone cheered whenever a new part of him caught fire, and when he eventually collapsed. I hope this means we're going to have good weather this year!
Jessie & Bullseye xx
PS Frances is sorry you can't see us properly in the last photo. It was dark and we were too close for flash to work, and the Wicker Man was too far away!