After Avebury, Stonehenge and Glastonbury, where next for the World Drum? Why to the town of Ironbridge in Shropshire of course! Why Ironbridge? Well, Ironbridge is widely credited with being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and it was the Industrial Revolution that led to so many of us being divorced from our Mother Earth. In 1760, some 80% of the population of Britain lived and worked on the land. By 1830, 80% of us lived in towns and cities and worked in factories. This process has been repeated across the world in other industrialised nations. As a result, much of the world's population has become cut off from the Earth as our source of food and of spiritual sustenance. Since the message of the World Drum is about re-connecting with our Mother Earth, what better place to bring it than Ironbridge, the very place where the great disconnection began?Lorraine, who lives nearby, offered to co-ordinate this event with us, working with the tireless Elaine Gregory, who cross-coordinated all of the World Drum events. Our profuse thanks and blessings to both and, of course, to everyone else who made our journeys and ceremonies possible and who took part in them.
We tried to contact the local council and the tourist board at Ironbridge to ask if what we were planning was OK with them. They failed to respond to repeated attempts so we assumed everything was OK. And it was.
Ironbridge came as a surprise to me. When it's spoken of as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, this instantly conjures images of coal-blackened factories, smoke-belching chimneys and polluted waterways. Ironbridge is beautiful. It nestles in a steep-sloped, wooded valley, the River Severn, sacred to the goddess Sabrina, flowing serenely beneath the bridge from which the town is named. The main street, shops and cafes are decked with flower baskets. It is clearly a place that is loved and cared for by those who live there. It is also a living testament to Mother Earth's ability to revitalise, restore and renew our built environment if we only give her a little help and encouragement and stop doing the things that hurt her and harm her creatures. So, an even more perfect venue for the World Drum to sound out the heartbeat of our Mother Earth.
On our exploratory visit to the town prior to the ceremony, we were struck by the presence of a memorial to the dead of the 1st World War that stands at one end of the bridge. Since the World Drum's secondary message is of peace between all peoples, it seemed right to honour this memorial to the destructive folly that is war.
Taking the World Drum to each of the previous venues, we had at least a sense that there would be other like-minded people ready to join us in our rites. Taking the Drum to Ironbridge, we had no such expectation. Indeed, for all we knew, we might be moved along for giving a public exhibition without a license or some such. In the event, our rite was attended by those we knew would be there with us plus just a few passers-by intrigued by our curious dress and behaviour. One delightful family ended up spending much of the afternoon with us as well as participating in the ceremony and playing the World Drum.
The ceremony was quietly energising, blessed once more by glorious sunshine and blue skies as the river flowed peacefully on below us. The goddess Sabrina was honoured, the Speech for Mother Earth spoken once more. We spoke for peace at the foot of the memorial to war. We formed our circle on the bridge the symbolises both the birth of the Industrial Revolution and, nowadays, the Earth's ability to recover from even the worst effects of industrial processes if we allow and encourage her to do so.
It was a good day...
Blessings to all,
Greywolf /|\
Photos by Elaine Wildways. Video footage to follow soon /|\