This is a bit back-handed because the festival has finished.
I had forgotten all about it but it was this last week end. Gill reminded me and we went to our Herbwife Friend's festival at her Sanctuary near Shipston on Stour where we had a super day.
The festival was held over three days but we just went on Saturday.
We arrived at about 10.30am and left at about 10.30pm.
We had a talk on preparing your own herbal preparations, from a lovely (and surprisingly young) girl called Lucinda Walker followed by a forraging food-gathering walk in the fields finding Clover, sorrell, plantain, Hawthorn and dandelion as well as discussing the use of dandelion root (for coffee) and nettle seeds as a condiment and Himalayan Balsam (aka Jumping Jack) seeds as a food enhancer and how to prepare acorns for coffee substitute and flour substiute. we learnt a lot.
We all made Rowan Crosses as amulets (but as there were no rowan berries on the tree we had to use Hawthorn berries which weren't so good and very fiddly.
We had a talk frorm a Medical Herbalist who came from Lincoln to be there which was extremely educational.
Over lunch we had an excellent classical concert from a young soprano from Sussex. She had all her music recorded on her I-pod which was played through the PA sytem.
We made tinctures and potions in the afternoon mainly for protection from and treatment for colds. There is a lovely elder flower and Brandy cold treatment with honey, cloves and rose hipps and a chest-buster of Garlic, horseradish root, Ginger root, turmeric, chilli powder, Paprika powder and apple cide vinegar both of which are infusing as I type.
There were demonstrations in the field from a semi-professional kite flying team all day although the wind was just a bit too strong for them.
Then there was a vegetarian dinner served in the tent (small marquee) followed by everyone doing their party pieces on the small dais.
We left before the evening had finished because most people were camping in the field and we had to get home. We had to fight our way home because the road was blocked in Moreton in Marsh due to road works and we just had to find a way round it across country. (A lot of fun in the dark
)