Blog the First

 

That was a weekend and a half. I’d missed most of the Brockley Max festival because I’d been in Krakow, Poland so myself and young Andy Worthington had a quick meet up on Friday night, checking out Sabari, who were playing at  Moonbow Jakes, who play some fine (as far as I know) west African music. It was all good stuff but lots of percussion in a long, narrow, crowded bar did create the feeling that I was in a tin can, full of stones being thrown down a hill.

 

It turned out Andy had tried to check out the band for playing at Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice eve; the music they play has its root in Senegal which has its own megalithic tradition and, by happy coincidence, they were playing Brockley. This was the first coincidence of the night, the next being when Andy disappeared into the video shop next door to Moonbow Jakes to put a poster up for the SELFS / Brockley Max 'Magic, Mystery & Hidden History' event and the chap behind the counter, seeing that Andy was speaking on the Battle of the Beanfield, said “I was there!”.

 

Later, Andy and I went over to the Toad’s Mouth Two where Brockley Max Radio was taking place to try and plug our own event. We said a few things at about quarter to midnight while cheery singers giggled at us. Only when everything was over on Monday and I checked through my email I found that Sophie, a Goldsmith’s student who’s been to SELFS to interview the regulars on invisible entities, had emailed me in May to offer us an hour slot to plug the event. (Don’t tell the others.)

 

Magic, Mystery & Hidden History went really well, cheers to Alex, Neil, Steve, Chris and Andy for their talks, more on those in a moment, Kate was singing four of her Runa Megin, Karl for the use of the Brockley Jack and Neil for helping out at the desk a bit. Thanks too to everyone who came along.

 

We didn’t have any idea who’d come and, when it was getting to 2.50pm with two mates in the pub and one person sitting on the steps of the theatre outside the pub, I got a little jittery. When we got started, though, people suddenly appeared out of the ether and were ready for the talks, numbers peeked during Steve Wilson’s talk when people had to sit on the steps on the theatre seating.

 

There was a good mix between SELFS regulars and locals, from those who were clearly interested in paganism and earth mysteries to a few drinkers from the Brockley Jack pub who were curious about ghosts and the Kibbo Kift. I think this is the real success of the event, by getting ideas that are considered ‘pagan’ and ‘radical’ and presenting them to the public in an honest and open way.

 

Alex Hodsen started with a talk on the enclosure of land in south-London, partly in general and specifically about the enclosure and destruction of Sydenham Common and the saving of One Tree Hill. A great story ending with Alex reminding us to ‘protect the places you love’. A full pamphlet on the subject of protests against land enclosures in south London by Alex can be bought via SELFS or at Past Tense Books. 

 

Neil Gordon-Orr, one of our finest local historians, proposed that the Brockley footpath is an old pilgrim path that connects Ladywell, a sacred and healing well, to Camberwell. Neil pointed out that St Giles, whom the church is Camberwell is names after, was a woodwose-like character that would befriend animals and healed the poorly. This explains the name and pub-sign of the ‘Hermit’s Cave’ in Camberwell. Neil shall be walking the proposed route of this footpath from 2pm on Sunday 26th July from St. Giles Church, Camberwell Church Street. Check Transpontine for more details and come and feel the land under your feet.

 

Then I spoke on ‘Ghosts and Monsters of Brockley & Surrounds’, it went well, I think, I offered out the ghost at the Brockley Jack, who didn’t answer me despite being, apparently, particularly active in June and I may have fudged a few words but people clapped. A transcript will be up on this site soon so you can judge for yourself.

 

I am forever on the look-out for ghost stories and other fortean weirdness in south-east London so do, please, keep me posted. I had a quick chat with the landlord and landlady of the pub (who helped out greatly went we had power problems later on) and I shall be returning to find out more about he ghost (and maybe have a pint of beer).

 

Steve Wilson went through, very briefly, the story and mysticism of the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry and the Kibbo Kift, less a bunch of proto-scouts, more a bunch of pagan green-socialists. It’s an exciting story of an age and attitude that, hopefully, we can catch a spark off of and more of it shall be heard at SELFS either later this year or early next.

 

Chris Woods was then up to give a possible pre-history of the Deptford and Brockley area, including circumstantial evidence of there being a super-henge at Deptford, it’s outline is still visible at the bottom of Tanners Hill and archive evidence (old maps) of a standing-stone about where Brockley Station now stands. Chris suggested it’s under platform two. All the talks today were inspiring and this one really got Clare and I wanted to head out into the garden with our trowels (though we’ve probably got 2000 years worth of broken crockery, old linen, the remains of bonfires and dead dogs to get through).

 

Speakers so far had ranged from loopy-enthusiast (me) to informed-enthusiasts (Alex, Neil and Steve) and Chris’s presentation was a different again, he had a very precise delivery. We shall be hearing more of Chris’s research, if I can help it.

 

Andy Worthington was up next telling the story of the battle of the Beanfield, the bloody strike Thatcher’s government made against the peace convoy and Stonehenge festival twenty-years ago. Andy tells the story well and with passion and the power of telling the truth may just be starting to show. The Observer, on 12th June, the day after ‘Magic, Mystery & Hidden History’, published an article about the Battle of the Beanfield inspired by Andy’s release of transcripts with people who were there. Read the article here.

 

We finished up with Kate Waterfield performing four songs from her ‘Runa Megin’, music based on Scandinavian folk and the chanting of the Runes. It’s gripping, mesmerising stuff and I’m glad to have had it on for the second time. She’s playing again soon, watch out for her. On the way home Clare and I caught a few dub-Arabic tunes to calm us down for the night.

 

And so Sunday Clare and I woke up exhausted and looking forward to a day to ourselves when Rachel Carthy rang us up and told us we were on the guest-list at Waterson : Carthy at Blackheath Halls. Bloody good it was, too, thank's Rachel.

 

Monday as SELFS was a stimulating evenings discussion too, often with people from the crowd making suggestions to the speakers, which I how I like it. I’d be intrigued to hear what others thought of the evening, as I was pretty damn knacked by then and I think it passed me by, slightly.