Stonehenge revisited

I did some film extra work last year for the BBC production "The Hollow Crown" and I couldn't resist the temptation to photoshop myself into the cosmic setting of Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain. Red Beat, one of my early bands played there in 1981 at a free festival held at the solstice. We came on stage at 3am in the morning just as the moon became full on the eve of midsummer. what a gig that was, most of the unexpectedly large audience were on substances and the vibe was amazing!

I have always been a lover of stone circles, they transport me back to an ancient place, but the stones at Stonehenge really are magic especially around midsummer. that year, the druids held a ceremony as the sun rose for midsummer and I remember Aswad doing an amazing set around 4 pm.I now live in Pembrokeshie, whose Preseli Mountains were the source of the original bluestone circle which stood for hundreds of years before the iconic sarson stone circle was erected. There are two local stone circles in the Preselis, one Bedd Arthur (Authur's grave) which overlooks the original bluestone quarry at Carn Meini, and another at Maenclochog which is larger and rimmed around by the Preseli ridge.

I get the feeling these places were really powerful in their day, places to gather at important times like funerals and festivals to bond together as communities. They say that people came to Stonehenge from all over Britain from as far north as the Orkneys to celebrate the eternal rhythms of life.

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