Pagans are alive and well here in London

Aline writes: Last week was the October Plenty Festival in London, a harvest fair with a wonderful pagan procession and entertainments. We went with my brother Kevin.

The parade gathered outside of Shakespeare Globe, and we all processed down to London’s Borough market (see earlier blog for details) together.


In the procession was the Berry Man (an Autumn version of the Green man)


and the Corn Queen, mentioned in 16th C literature.


The company performed many songs, comprised of many colorful charaters


They also performed a wonderful short 16th C German play, The Calf Hatching, which was hilarious. The plot? A doltish husband, a scolding wife. His fault the cow dies. How to get a new one before the shrew gets home? Hmm, sitting on that big piece of cheese and clucking like a hen should hatch a new calf. (Well, this is from the same country that brought you the Ring cycle).



The result? He’s accussed of being possessed, since he will only cluck like a hen. But all’s well that ends well, in a way that's much too complicated to describe, but it was very entertaining.


Then we had a picnic by the Thames. Yum.