It’s difficult to share
how much we enjoyed this year’s festival. We think it was the best so far.
Putting on your own event can be daunting. Will anyone come? Will the donations
be sufficient to fund the cost of the marquee and toilets? Will there be enough
cake?
I don’t worry about speakers,
apart from myself. I mean, why would anyone want to listen to my contribution
or follow my instructions? They did, they came, they wrote, they giggled (a
lot) and everyone laughed when the resulting “stories with ten authors” were
finally read out and enjoyed. It was a good exercise and I’m pleased it came to
mind five minutes before we started the second creative writing workshop. Only
a few people were up in time to gather herbs on the Sunday morning and the
vinegar workshop was rushed. I’ll try to stretch the time slots next year.
Speakers are funny
things. I decide on a possible theme for the weekend and people “pop up” out of
the ether. There’s no funds to offer fees or expenses but they come anyway.
One year I wanted
someone to talk about men’s herbal health. I didn’t know any male herbalists
but I found a name from Henriette’s list in the UK who talked sense. I emailed
him and asked the question. The lovely man travelled all the way from Cornwall
with his family, gave a fabulously informative talk whilst holding several
stuffed toy animals and left us with gifts of honey as he returned home.
This year, Sharon
Ingram was the newcomer, recommended by one of my apprentices. She’s a soul
midwife and talked passionately on Saturday about her work with the dying.
Everyone in the audience connected with her words and many tears were shed.
Good tears. Cleansing. Lynne Tynan Cashmore followed on with a talk about herbs
for chronic and life-limiting conditions. So much knowledge and experience. Now
I know another use for marshmallow in bringing moisture to dry and cracked
mouths in their final days.
I also know not to use
mint as it dries lips even more. It brought back memories of Solihull’s first
community Macmillan nurse excitedly showing me the new mouth swabs she’d been
given to use with clients when I was engaged in carrying out an audit of
terminal care for the health authority. They were flavoured with mint. I didn’t
know anything about herbs at that time. How we all change!
Sharon also offered to
provide us with a “sound bath” at the end of the day. Together with her friend,
Kuma, they provided an amazing assortment of gongs, Tibetan singing bowls and other
instruments which flooded the tent and its surrounds with a blanket of
different sounds.
Our intensive this year
was run by Charlie Farrow, ably assisted by her daughter, Rhianna Yates. Her
subject was the use of herbal smoke, drawing on centuries of European
knowledge, rather than the imported practice of smudging which really only
appeared in the middle 20th century.
Most people assume
smoking started when Columbus brought tobacco from North America. In fact,
sitting over a pan of hot coals so herbal smoke could be directed internally
either through vagina or rectum was common since Greek and Roman times. How
else did the priestesses in the temple of Apollo in Ephesus come up with their
prophecies? My father designed and made a complete birthing stool so anyone
could try out this practice but although they loved the stool, no-one used it
clinically.
Coltsfoot has always
been recommended as a smoke for pulmonary issues and straw left after the
cereal harvest was used to draw the smoke up into the lungs. In time, pipes
developed or funnels were used to direct smoke into the mouth.
Apparently “snake oil
salesmen” would travel the country showing people how they could draw out the
“worms” from any teeth which were aching. The “worms” were actually henbane
seeds, which resembled tiny worms when dropped into water after they had been
heated in a chafing pan.
The smoke from the
henbane anaesthetised the toothache bringing temporary relief to the sufferer.
Given the toxicity of henbane, this was one practice Charlie didn’t demonstrate!
We were able to experience smoke from coltsfoot, wild lettuce, mugwort and
other resins thanks to the bongs, Shisha pipes and incense burners.
Ali English returned to
update us on her research into UK’s forgotten herbs. We see these familiar
wildflowers growing in hedgerows and meadows but we’ve lost the memory of their
value as medicinal herbs. This may have been because they were too common or
had a very narrow spectrum of historical use. Some of these treasures are now
being re-evaluated as herbalists seek to establish a locally grown Pharmacia.
She talked about using
yellow hedgerow honeysuckle to balance earth and sky. Full of vitamin C, it
could be used for viruses or as an immune tonic if added to self-heal. It can
be given for heat headaches or to those who suffering with a short temper. It
cools and calms the nervous system and acts as an anti-inflammatory for
rheumatism or inflamed joints. It is also an expectorant and helpful with
throat and upper respiratory tract issues. It shouldn’t be given to those with
a cold constitution and care should be taken with anyone allergic to salicylic
acid.
Toadflax is another
powerful herb working with liver and gallbladder issues. It tasted bitter,
earthy and astringent, working on the solar plexus. Used as a drop dose, it
could act as a blood alterative and improves tissue nutrition. Toadflax is a
warming herb for those with cold constitutions. If using for kidney gravel, Ali
advised making a tea rather than a tincture.
Lady’s smock is a sweet
nervine, the tincture presenting at the tip of the tongue when tasted.
Historically it was used for convulsive disorders but it has the ability to
clear the head. It should be gathered in May. Like honeysuckle it is an anti-rheumatic
and anti-spasmodic, relieving cramp, pain and helping the liver and spleen. It
can also be used for stubborn coughs and chronic skin conditions but a healing
crisis should be anticipated because such skin conditions usually have an anger
element associated with them which must be expressed appropriately.
The other two herbs Ali
mentioned were crosswort and sweet woodruff. Her talk was captivating and it
was frustrating how time ran away before she could complete the range of
tinctures she brought with her. We look forward to learning more next year.
Sunday saw the kites
back in action having been drowned out by Saturday’s rain. Chris and Dave
Salmon produced two memorable displays showing everyone how to fly a trick kite
safely then demonstrating how one man can fly two kites at once followed by a
choreographed display with three kites and two people. The tails on the pair
were especially enthralling.
For the first time in
festival history, the kite field swarmed with children and adults learning how
to fly the sport kites or enjoying the feel of a string in their hand. Thanks
to both Dave and Ivan, each child was given their own kite to take home and
have fun with another day.
We finished with Fred
Gillam’s wonderful talk on the various medicinal mushrooms available in our
woods and fields. Most herbalists are aware of reishi’s use as an immune tonic
but it was only this year we realised how prolific the St George’s mushrooms
were on our local fields. To find they can be used to fight other fungal
infections was an added bonus. The tent was full with an enthusiastic audience.
So, what did we learn
and what might we do differently next year?
Saturday’s rain meant
there were no activities for children and the talks were inappropriate for a
young audience. We’d also like to increase the size of the main and craft
marquees which would free the small tent to be used elsewhere as a designated
children’s area. We’ll now be seeking suitable people to take charge of this
side of the festival.
Several ideas have been
put forward for possible subjects. I suspect at least one day will be dedicated
to getting to know our forgotten herbs at a deeper level. It’s an exciting time
to see our small festival begin to grow and flourish and know how much it is
valued by those who attend.
