Stonehenge News '98   MAR  APR  JUN  SEP  DEC     Year Index

SPRING EQUINOX 1998 Newsletter bits

ROMAN INVASION: In the last newsletter we mentioned that there is to be a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Stones on midsummer’s day (24th Jun, not the Solstice). English Heritage pointed out that the £300 tickets were for a two day holiday including the play, and that EH members would be offered some tickets at £15. Two months later they were, together with another two day holiday/play package for £250-300. Some say, -yeah, I’d like to have seen that-, others are concerned at the double standards operating around the time of the Solstice. The play is part of a trend. More and more, English Heritage is using its sites as venues for money-making historical theme events. Some of these seem harmless enough; at the Stones there will be, at normal prices: ‘Aubrey on Druids’ (May 16/17), ‘Stories and Mask Making’ (May 30/31), ‘Legends of King Arthur’ (Jul 4/5), and ‘The History Man’ (Sep 5/6). Then there are ‘opportunities’, at £12, to take photos in the Stones (been), or have a ‘Sundowner’ drink (May 20). Some sites, like Old Sarum a few miles away, are regularly used as an all-purpose historical backdrop to sell displays of soldiers, weapons and mock battles from Roman times to the First World War. Now English Heritage are inviting the public to ‘Witness Roman Invasions at EH properties around the country.’ At the Stones (Jun 27/28), you can ‘Meet Imperial legionnaires and watch as they shoot a “catapulta”.’ The Roman connection with Stonehenge is not immediately obvious, unless it is the fact that they are the most likely culprits for trashing the place, or their pogrom to exterminate the Druids, or that the modern survival of their methods of public control are more apparent here than elsewhere.
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We walked along the ancient droveway To Ditchling Beacon And Devil's Dyke Where 'the devil tried to flood the land By digging a trench through the Downs from the sea. he nearly succeeded in his fiendish plan when he was disturbed by an old woman carrying a candle, which he mistook for the dawn: since he could only operate in darkness he had to keep the job unfinished.' To Pycombe, Where the old shepherd's crooks were made Whyshe Lane where I made a wish Up and down hills and Past Jack and Jill windmills The sea blinking in the distance No pubs around to depress us Good cooking too.

Julia, Brighton Walk '96
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Hello there, Here's my SAE for spring equinox newsletter. In the last newsletter, I thought the letter from John Rety about building an eco-village style visitor's centre at the Stones a very good idea. At least that would serve a purpose as well -educational and interesting, not like the cheap + tacky souvenir shop that's there now. Has the suggestion been made to whoever pulls the strings? Take care, love Sarah.
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Children of hope and peace A big thankyou and warm wishes to you and all you speak for. Stonehenge Campaign will bear fruit, your work will help the fog lift Releasing the Sun to shine once more. Love and respect, Pablo
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Dear Stonehengers, First came the festival with food and drink and fires and drums and pipes and singing and dancing, then came the idea to build Stonehenge. So when at the Torriano met I heard that English Heriticage were selling theatre tickets for Midsummer Night's Dream in Stonehenge I thought yeah, and Thursday found their base in Oxford Street but they said they'd sold out - there were only 200 tickets... hmmm, maybe it'll be on telly one day. And hitching past the Stones I noticed that the A344/A303 junction is still open... (dice) george.

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Ali Glastafari died suddenly. We'll be remembering him at the Glastonbury Assembly Rooms on Sunday 22nd March. See his writings on page 26 of the Stonehenge VE Day book on the Web.

Natty Druids ina Stonehenge Stylee! Crucial Rainbow Vibration!

Totally magical! A beautiful sharing of voices in harmony, highly tuned exponents of the Muse, attuning with the harmony of the Spheres, sharing sacred bread, bananas, raisins, nuts, wine, benedictions, Holy Smoke! It was thoroughly the Stones loved it to pieces. By the end of the day they were glowing with joy and hugs. Yeah, man! I swear I saw the Stones HUGGING THEMSELVES! Or did someone spike the applejuice? It was a triumphant Rainbow One Love Vibration Across Creation! And had to be done! That on such a loaded day as VE Day that such a key power-centre as Stonehenge received such energy was indeed a great blessing. As much as all those folk out there who were similarly inspired, albeit by the War Machine, by all the activities happening globally that day, so we were linked up to that global heart-surge to celebrate such a day, and that's what we were all doing. The Rainbow Tribe can see that because they have the collective medicine of all the shamanic paths - it's the Rainbow Heritage that we talk in different tongues, live in unity within a diversity of paths. Love is the common ground. William Blake, who is said to have druidic connections, once wrote: "Where Mercy, Love and Pity dwell there God is dwelling too." The A ????? l of Love descended upon the Stones this day, and you can bet your boots Blake would have been there had he been in mortal form. He was for sure in spirit! From an hour before sunrise, until an hour after sunset it was a long long day, so sweet it have melted the heart of granite, seduced the very soul to sing. Yes thankyou Goddess, Jah, Radha-Krishna, sistren & brethren. IT'S TRUE - YES, WE ARE IN LOVE! PEACE, SHANTI, SHALOM! HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE & BEYOND. EVOLUTION KICKS IN '96! HANG ONTO YOUR SPACE BELTS!

ALI GLASTAFARI Peace, Shanti, Shalom!
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Phil Harvey white rabbit RIP- Lord Crusty from Brixton Vicarage RIP Phil woz long associated with the festival scene, having one of the first customised transit vans on the circuit, and involved with Hawkwind etc. And the last person to make a meal for Jimmy Hendrix (vegetarian rice and peas) Well known among early Stonehenge travellers etc Bon Voyage. WX
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Doug Read, an active supporter of the Campaign, died recently. A well known local socialist councillor and friend of the Stonehenge festival, he was always helpful as a representative of the older Wiltshire and Amesbury community, countering the bias in the media. While working for the MoD he used to walk the Plain with his dogs, reporting any damage by the Army he found, - and took part in Cruisewatch actions. In the grim summer of '88, when people gathered against all odds in the safe haven of Cholderton woods, the bemused authorities asked 'How on earth do these people find these out-of the-way places?' They should have asked Doug. He was one of those arrested for being a procession during a Solstice - on his own! Respectfully missed by the friends of Stonehenge.

{from Salisbury Journal Jun '96:- }

TIME FOR A CHANGE OF HEART ON LAND USE BY MOD?

JUDY GREVILLE is right, it is "time for the whole question of a Stonehenge Festival to be aired again"(Journal, June 13). There is no doubt that a large proportion of local people would favour renewal of such a festival. Ten years ago, three different opinion polls (those of the Festival '86 Campaign, Stonehenge School and the Journal) showed significant majorities in support. The F'86 petition, from people residing within 3 1/2 miles of Stonehenge, was presented to English Heritage and National Trust representatives, during three meetings held with festival representatives and other groups between October 1985 and January 1986. This petition included signatures of Ameshury business people who felt they were being denied the boost in trade, to which they had become accustomed each June. Other local traders in support were those who did a lot of business on the site, such as in dairy and food products, chips and burgers, hardware etc. They had all benefited considerably from the huge increase in spending money brought into the local economy. Most local people visited the festival at some time or other (even if only to gaze from the roadway), and a not inconsiderable number joined the campers on site for a free summer break, some taking their young families along. For several years the event filled a gap in Amesbury's entertainment caused by the temporary demise of its annual carnival. The need was there before the festival got underway in 1974, and the Amesbury group Never Bend Over can rightly claim to be the first to play amplified music on the site. In later years the festival provided the only chance, without large expense, for many people to see famous national groups playing. Today the overriding problem remains as it was a decade ago: there is no site available. The National Trust and English Heritage are adamant that a festival can not take place at Stonehenge itself, so local farmland owners would have to he persuaded to be cooperative to the idea of a festival. (In 1986, without exception, they indicated that under no circumstances would they be prepared to provide land for a site.) Now that Cruise missile units no longer exercise on the Plain, perhaps the MoD could be pressed for a change of heart.   DOUGLAS READ James Road Amesbury.

THE TIMES APRIL 15 1998 p9

DRUIDS ALLOWED BACK FOR SOLSTICE AT STONEHENGE

By Simon de Bruxelles

AS THE sun rises over the Heel Stone at Stonehenge on midsummer's day, white- robed Druid priests will be there to greet it for the first time in a decade. The Druids, who claim descent from Celtic priests who organised resistance to Caesar about 2,000 years ago, were banned along with other worshippers, including white witches and New Age travellers, in 1988. The ban followed clashes between police and crowds of up to 30,000 people who converged on the prehistoric site in an attempt to revive the annual Stonehenge free festival. The arrangement was proposed after Druids were allowed to perform rituals to mark the autumn and spring equinoxes and the winter solstice. At the winter solstice last December, nearly 40 people took part in a half-hour ceremony at the 5,000-year-old monument with a solitary policeman looking on. However, some local people are fearful that the Druids may bring camps of hippies in their wake. One local resident said: "We were all affected by the hippies coming through our village - we had a terrible time with them." On June 21 more than 100 Druids in white robes and carrying ceremonial swords are expected to be allowed to see in the summer solstice. At the first ray of the midsummer sun the Chief Druid, in a long robe with scarlet hood, will lead his followers on a procession. English Heritage intends to lift the four-mile exclusion zone for 100 Druids. The 10,000 other people ex- pected for the solstice will still be excluded. Rollo Maughfling, the Arch- Druid of Stonehenge and Glastonbury, gave a cautious welcome to the offer yesterday. He said: "Limited access is definitely better than no access at all but we will still be fighting on for free access." In a letter to Salisbury District Council, Elizabeth Neville, Wiltshire's Chief Constable, said: "I am pleased that we appear finally to be moving away from the `stalemate' position we found ourselves in following the massed protests of less than a decade ago." But she gave warning that there was still a need for the exclusion zone: "There is growing interest in the concept of a `Stonehenge free millennium megafest'." The proposal to allow the Druids on the site was agreed at a meeting last week between the various religious groups, the police and English Heritage. It will go before Salisbury District Council for approval but the Home Secretary has a final say. Other quasi-religious groups that claim access were disappointed. Kevin Carlyon, leader of the Covenant of Earth Magic, a group of white witches, said that exclusion could lead to a riot. He said: "There will definitely be trouble if they grant exclusive access to one group and not another. There are going to be 10,000 other worshippers turning up with just as much right to access as the Druids." Clews Everard, in charge of Stonehenge, appealed for all groups to accept the compro- mise. She said: "We are looking for a way in which we can allow access for all who want it."

[pic] Neville: said exclusion zone was still needed [pic] The Druids were banned from celebrating the solstice at Stonehenge by English Heritage in 1988 after a series of clashes with police.

New scheme Apr 98 

SUMMER SOLSTICE 1998 Newsletter bits

ACCESS: On 11th May English Heritage called a meeting of interested parties to discuss the possibility of a ticket only, limited access arrangement for the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge. This meeting followed on from a meeting they had on 9th April with representatives from a few Druid groups which had been widely reported in the press. English Heritage were keen to point out that they had never intended to offer access exclusively to Druid groups but would consider access to any group who would comply with a criteria of: a) Applying to E.H. by the end of May b) Supplying a list of names and addresses for all those attending c) Providing names for people within each group who would act as stewards and be willing to accept responsibility for the behaviour of their group. E.H stressed that this would be a trial arrangement and would be watched with interest by concerned parties (i.e police, locals, etc) and assessed before any promises of similar arrangements for future years could be made. The maximum number of people that E.H felt they could invite was 100. E.H said they would select as broad a group as they could from the applications before them. The ticket issue has arisen on a few occasions over the years of our exclusion from Stonehenge and therefore the Stonehenge Campaign has had many occasions on which to debate this at our open meetings and has always come to the same conclusion. This is that tickets will never be acceptable to the Campaign and we will never accept tickets on behalf of the Campaign. It is felt that tickets include those ‘in the know’ and exclude anyone who does not know the right people, didn’t know in time, aren’t together enough to apply, or simply got up that morning and decided to go to the Stones. Tickets by definition exclude people and the Campaign wants to see free access for all. We therefore felt that the Campaign had no part to play in discussions with E.H on ticket allocation. Two Campaign regulars attended the meeting without the Campaign ‘hat’ on and reported back the above. They felt that with so many groups and representatives at the meeting (approx 25) each group would be lucky to get half a dozen tickets. It was noticed that some of the groups represented had never, until tickets were offered, shown an interest in being at Henge for the Solstice. Police chiefs at the meeting stressed that a ban on assemblies would still be in force but did not clarify how they would be policing non-ticket holders except to say that this year they hoped that the situation could progress towards a scaling down of their involvement in the Summer Solstice. It will be interesting to see how 100 tickets can be made representative, and also how those of us heading to the Stones at sunrise without tickets will be greeted. Meanwhile we hope that future access arrangements will be inclusive rather than representative.
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The Electrification of Stonehenge.

for Trevor Grahamslaw

There is power everywhere. Druid-
Speak. Grown old before their time, trying to
Elevate the race. So the grid is built
And fairly hums with power, draws it up
And transmutes base Britain into precious
Logres. Plots the stars and planets too and
For a time at least, holds back the darkness,
So a boy-King can pass into legend.

Now. We burn and split and our cells revolt.
Acid pours from the sky and the Daily
News reads like the Book of Revelations.
Power is everywhere, channelled through
Fences, keeping us from our heritage.

JC Hartley
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Happy Solstice, one and all, Letter from Karelia:

March Equinox morning I bimbled into the Stones, talked with Skinny about old Welsh Free Festivals. When the druids had mumbo jumboed I tinwhistled for a minute with a random drummer - ah, great to be back home! Have you heard what the French are doing for the Millennium? Planting a million trees. The transport planners want to widen the A303 past Stonehenge so they’d have a dual carriageway all the way from London to Cornwall: let’s have a full and detailed archaeological survey of whatever land they’d plan to trash, and I bet something amazing would turn up - where did the builders of Stonehenge live? And if they blast a tunnel past the Stones surely the vibrations would destroy it - would they build us a new one? But close the A344 by the Helestone forthwith. ( I may not be able to get to the Stonehenge Walks this summer, I’ve had some trouble from a nutter spreading false rumours - phone me 07970-378572 )

diceGeorge
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TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR STONEHENGE =================================================================
Issues of peoples’ rights and responsibilities remain unresolved and there has been a troubled history of alienation and confrontation around this very ancient monument which is a World Heritage site and continues to resonate as a central point in the spiritual history and in the regional consciousness of identity for people in these islands. One only has to mention topics like The Stonehenge Peoples’ Free Festival, Religious Rights of Druids and Pagans, The Stonehenge Exclusion Zone, or New Age Travellers, to find oneself in a region of seemingly irreconcilable controversy. The Stonehenge Peace Process believes that a solution to the problems of the Solstice celebrations can be found in terms of a just compromise that recognises the legitimate needs of all parties. This can only happen if all parties take part in the process and if there is a real spirit of reconciliation between them. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission hopes to draw upon the experience and vision that guided the builders of the new South Africa by using a similar model in which everyone, residents, Druids, police, travellers, custodians, festival-goers and politicians and so on, are invited to tell their story in a public forum and have it recorded in a permanent archive. In order that the Process may be full and free and fair it is essential that the Commission itself is balanced and has representatives for all the people and areas of expertise that may be involved in this process. We propose to seek panel members from these areas: Police; The Churches; Pagans & Druids; Other faiths; The local Community; Landowners; Academia; the Media; The Law; festival-goers & travellers; Local Government; the Peace Movement; National Government; The M.O.D.; English Heritage & The National Trust. Different prominent individuals from these fields may fill these posts from time to time in practise, each acting to focus the contributions their colleagues can make to the process. Thomas Daffern, Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy is the instigator of the idea and has the experience and committment to lead the process through to completion as Chair of the Commission. George Firsoff, Secretary & instigator of the Stonehenge Peace Process, will act as Co-ordinator and Vice-Chair. Funding will be sought to pay for an Administrator, running costs and for the expenses of witnesses. The first meeting of the Commission will take place on June 1st 1998, the 13th anniversary of the Incident in the Beanfield. The Stonehenge Peace Process declares June 1st 1998 to be the first Day of Truth and Reconciliation at Stonehenge. We also recognise that Reconciliation is a work that takes longer than one day.
Thomas Daffern, 4 Woolas Hall, Bredon Hill, Nr Pershore, Worcs. WR10 3DY. tel: 01386-750965 email: TDaffern@bigfoot.com
George Firsoff, 96 Church Road, Redfield, Bristol, BS5 9LE. tel: 0117-9542273 email: george@greenleaf.demon.co.uk [Next meeting Sept 5th]
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VISITOR CENTRE: On April Fools day, Chris Smith (minister for Culture, Media and Sport), announced yet another plan for a Visitor Centre and road scheme for Stonehenge. The new site would be behind Fargo Woods, nearly a mile NW of the Stones, between the W. end of the Cursus and the road. This site has been rejected in the past as too archaeologically sensitive and having a less attractive approach to the Stones than others. However it is now the preferred site as potential local objectors to an access road all live east of the Stones, whereas access would be from the west in this scheme, with the A344 being closed where it passes the Helestone, from Fargo Woods to the A303. To gain further local support, English Heritage have now agreed that dualling of the A303 on its present route (on ‘inviolate’ National Trust land) across the World Heritage Site is ‘essential’. 2 km of the widened road past the Stones would be in a ‘cut and cover’ tunnel, some of the rest in cuttings. The covered tunnel would re-unite the severed landscape at surface level, with English Heritage saying they would like to remove all the fences, with visitors paying only to park. However the proposed tunnel is the size of a full six-lane underground motorway, and would require a huge trench to be dug close to the Stones. One or two burial mounds might have to go. The scheme may be included in the new roads programme to be announced in June/July. [it was]
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Dear friends, Sounds like a first breach in the wall that at least some of the Druids are being allowed in for summer solstice - hope first step to a real solution and that government in due course will act to respect the sacred nature of the place on a par with those of other beliefs. Best wishes, Steve.
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BEFORE THE SYSTEM’S SWALLOWING

Wordsworth’s night wanderer on the plain
sensed teachers of wisdom
and blood-sacrificers of men.

Later in same vastness met
woman who’d lost her family to colonial
war, mind to madness of government
altar of deadly power crowned London,
not Stonehenge.

Steve Sneyd.
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(photo by Alan Lodge - Tash)
John Pendragon’s death is a big sadness. I knew him for only a tiny slice of his life, but he remains to me a model of how to live. He was one of those who gave his time to come and help campaign against the eviction of the 160 strong Huntley Street squat, off Tottenham Court Road, London, in 1978. His warm, open friendliness, his tireless work, and his freedom from intrigue and malice are what I remember. His story of how he grazed his horse on Hampstead Heath ( whether it was true or not! ) makes me laugh even now. I met him only twice since then; the last time being two years ago at the Rainbow Centre at an aggregate meeting of “The Land is Ours”. His calm, friendly reasonableness, and unremitting world changing energy were with him still. My own tradition is Trotskyist; his own an unsectarian anarchism. His life proved that in comradely struggle these differences can melt away.
Best wishes, Dave Bangs.

John Pendragon was an inspirational character who believed that the core of the ‘peace and love’ ethic of the sixties contained practical ideals fundamental to the survival of a sustainable counter-culture. He passed his message on to succeeding decades at an individual level and through his magazine, ‘FREEDOM Festivals and Events’, which soon evolved into ‘Tribal Messenger’. He took part in all the Stonehenge Festivals, notably contributing to the magical solstice ceremonies in the Stones. Never one to go with the flow unless he was sure it was the right direction, he warned against increasing commercialism within the festival as it moved into the eighties. At the last event in 1984, he set up an 'Alternative Free Festival’ within the festival - a small stage in a dealer-free zone that recreated the spirit of the early festivals. He protested at the damage being caused to the nearby woods, becoming a founder member of ’Robins Greenwood Gang’, which was set up to deal with the problem. “The Stonehenge festival for myself and thousands of other people was about the opposite to commercialism and war. It was about love, peace, sharing, happiness, ecology, beauty, brotherhood and sisterhood, Yin and Yang, meditation and celebration, physical and spiritual awareness, Rock and Roll, music and theatre, sunshine and sun-bathing, alternative life-style and cosmic energy.” [JP, TM ‘89] In an attempt to avert what was to be the ‘Battle of the Beanfield’, John was involved in a last-minute effort in 1985 to persuade the National Trust that the problems they quoted as leading to the ban had already been addressed by the festival community. After some progress, ‘London’ said ‘no talking’, and the die was cast. He campaigned against the ensuing crackdown on the travelling lifestyle, but was dismayed at the way alternative communities began to mirror some of the greed and violence of mainstream society. John was among those who influenced the emergence of the current non-violent direct action movement, and for the last few years was an active eco-warrior, living out his ideals on protest sites around the country. In the end, John was a victim of the corrupt polluters he fought against. He worked with asbestos many years ago, when the dangers of the material were known but kept secret by the industry, and workers were unprotected. A few months ago he contracted mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer whose only known cause is asbestos. He died on 13th April, and was cremated at Yeovil on 29th. On Beltane eve his ashes were scattered at a wake on Glastonbury Tor.

“One Tribe, One Love, One People”

For details of a future commemoration of John’s life, write to ‘Pendragon event’, c/o Festival Eye, BCM 2002, London WC1 N 3XX.

Any writings, art etc by, about, or inspired by John, please to: John Pendragon project, c/o Assembly Rooms, High St. Glastonbury. BA6 9DU

A tape made at the wake on the Tor, with other material, will be available soon. For details, contact SHC, c/o 99 Torriano Ave, London NW5 2RX
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Autumn Equinox '98  Newsletter Bits

POLICE SETTLE TASH'S CLAIM

A Photographer wrongly accused in an internal police intelligence document of supplying drugs at festivals has been paid a substantial sum by the force concerned. Lawyers believe it to be the first case of its kind. Alan Lodge, aged 45, from Nottingham, has specialised in photographing free festivals and New Age travellers’ activities for many years. He has accepted “substantial” damages from Avon and Somerset police for malicious falsehood, it was confirmed yesterday. It is the first time a malicious falsehood case has been brought over internal police documents. In May 1991, Mr Lodge was stopped and searched on Sodbury common in Avon while on the way to the Inglestone free festival where he was acting as a trustee of the welfare services that assist at such events. He was also prevented, under threat of arrest, from photographing police activities at the festival. He complained and subsequently received an apology. The following year he was anonymously sent an internal police document entitled Nomad Bulletin 4. It contained a list of travellers and people who should be “handled with care”. The document wrongly suggested that Mr Lodge and three other named individuals were “instrumental in arranging the supply of controlled drugs at festivals”. The document, allegedly compiled by police officers, also gave the registration number of vehicles Mr Lodge had driven, his nickname (`Tash’), and suggested that he had worked for a magazine which promoted the use of drugs. The document added: “Beware - you have been warned!” On legal advice, Mr Lodge launched an action alleging malicious falsehood in July 1992. Avon and Somerset police deny the document’s contents amounted to malicious falsehood and do not accept liability, but have agreed to pay Mr Lodge in settlement of his claim, and also his costs. Mr Lodge, whose work has appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, Radio Times and i-D magazine, said yesterday that he was sorry the matter had taken so long to resolve. He said there had only been a handful of malicious falsehood claims this century, and only one involving the police in this way. “The entire process has taken over six years to get some kind of redress for the wrong done to me by the award of a substantial sum. “It is worth mentioning that this tale should not be viewed in isolation. “Police are increasingly using various legal devices to remove photographers from actions where they feel they may be portrayed in a less than flattering light. “I am hearing stories all the time of photographers and people using video cameras being hassled and intimidated by the police. It is increasingly prevalent.” Mr Lodge, who has worked for Release, the drugs advice agency, said in his action that the document had damaged his reputation as a negotiator between police and members of the travellers’ community and at free festivals. It had also affected his work as a photographer. Duncan Campbell, Guardian 2-9-98
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THE MASTER PLAN

In July, the DoT approved the £125m widening of the A303 past the Stones in the new roads programme, with £50m to come from unexplained ‘heritage sources’. 2km would be in a tunnel (a covered cutting), and the A344 past the Helestone removed. In September this was re-announced as ‘The Stonehenge Master Plan’ . In this the new visitor centre last planned for Fargo Woods would be moved back to Amesbury, with a park and ride bus scheme to take tourists nearer the Stones. The centre would be built “in partnership with a commercial operator”. This sounds rather similar to last year’s McHenge scheme which failed when it didn’t get lottery funding. More details should be known at the next ‘public consultation’ stage of the road/tunnel plan. A lengthy public enquiry is then expected as some archaeologists oppose the cut-and-cover road widening, preferring a longer, bored tunnel curving away from the Stones. Too expensive (less than half the cost of that dome), said Tony Blair to a Lord who called the plan ‘an abomination’. Work would not start for at least five years, but the visitor centre and closure of the A344 could happen earlier.
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=Letter from Karelia 21ix98=
Now close the hundred yards of A344 which beheads Stonehenge Avenue by the Helestone. Then consider the A303. www.dicegeorge.com (PS thanks for the dozens of letters and words of support - the truth’s emerging - I’m 99% free)

(Black) Luke died - OK, he wasn’t perfect, he’d get mad drunk and borrow cars and disappear... But in August 1995 he and Andy saved Kentish Town’s Rainbow Centre’s reputation by sorting out a misunderstanding. He was a drummer, I jammed with him and Paul2000DS at Pilton Festival one Tuesday dawn with Tofu Paddy’s squeeky wheelbarrows of beer and free acid. (Dice George).
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From the Website...

I came often on the 21 june to the Stones to watch the Solstice sunrise from Germany and love it. But I think they dont have to hold the People away from the Stones. Free the Stones and no Business with them.   Michael Erren

I just find it to distressing that were barred from such a spiritual place on our solstice, words now escape me..   Spokey

A free land, free love, free peace. WHY NOT?   Julian

dear hippies im a farmer and what with all the fuss and prices i was wondering if you’d all like to come down for some free milk.   Wally James Trippers

I attended the Free Festival from 1978 to 1981. I would love to go to the stones again but not under present circumstances. I want to be allowed to touch the stones again. The stones should be free.   Sue

I feel we all have the right to visit Stonehenge, to walk among the Stones and remember all those who have gone before. Stonehenge has so many qualities and I for one would like my own children Lisa and Jake to have the opportunity of touching, being at Stonehenge throughout their lifetime and for the generations to come. The Land is ours, lets not forget it!   Sheila

Stonehenge is more then rock in a formation, it is a compass to life.   Nip-Nip

I think Stonehenge SHOULD be freed. It’s a wonderful place full of energy and I think it would be better if there could be more free festivals.   merlynn

WHY do I feel so lost in this time, I haven’t managed to touch the Stones since 1985, I have lost the magic. Please FREE THE STONES-It will make it a better world.   Bill the Plumber
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10 August l998 The Director UNESCO PARIS FRANCE

I write to ask your help, the British government is prejudiced, agalnst myself and other Pagans.

Through its agency ‘English Heritage’ I and fellow Pagans are not allowed to use our traditional Sacred Sites. We need to be able to come and go when we have a need to commune with our Deities about our worries, sorrows and joys; and to celebrate our festivals and Sacred Days.

English Heritage gives money to the established church - for the upkeep of buildings. We have to pay £12 each and to book well in advance for one hour at Stonehenge.

The government also discriminate against us in that when we have an out door gathering, We have to give advanced notice to the Police and get their permission because of the Criminal Justice Act. Other religions are not harassed like this. I do not think this is fair. Do you?

As far as I know, no Pagan group has been consulted about the management plan for the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Again government discrimination against us.

These three examples I have brought to your notice are against The United Nations’ Charter.

Are you able to help in getting these matters put right? I do hope so. Signed Nora B.Morris
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Right to Roam

Silent rage chafes the tethered feet
of those who would reclaim their land
a right bequeathed
by men who roamed at will,
before the laws of wealth.

I stand barred
at the gate of privilege.
Confined to roads and towns,
forbidden the god-given land.
The way before me is usurped in selfish occupation

They say the land is theirs,
but surely I am part of all I see
from this forbidden stance.
Possessed as I am of sight and mind,
I cannot be severed from what belongs to me.
Peter Tomlinson
[from TLIO website]
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Hello Peace people, Just a short note to keep in touch... Many commiserations for the passing of John Pendragon, seen by us all who frequent areas of energy, missed by us all, yet remaining in our hearts, adding strength and conviction to our efforts and energy. A short verse for you:

As the veil around our hearts tightens
the waters rise to meet the onslaught
The Sun goes into hiding
Shying from our Gaze
The mystique of our Mother
draws the mass further confused

Our day will come
All that is tied... will be undone
As our thoughts join
we become
one

Love and respect, Pablo
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Epitaph for Andrew Weaver ( aka Weave or Weavil )Born 05/03/58 Died of cancer 15/07/98

Weave was perhaps best known to some of you through his work with the Stonehenge Campaign and the Festival Music Co-operative. He was also involved in relaunching the Musicians Network in the mid 90’s when that organisation hit the rocks. He got a few people together, got a few gigs going and then set about the task of launching the Musicians Network web site on the Internet. It is still there today. Perhaps less well known is his earlier involvement in a few campaigns that set the standard for many years to come. He was instrumental in co-ordinating some of the earliest ‘Stop the City’ demo’s in the early 80’s, a movement which was the precursor to today’s better known ‘Reclaim the Street’ direct action campaign. He was also an early advocate of the squatters rights/housing rights movement, and was involved in numerous short-time housing projects from the mid seventies until the late eighties, when his health started to slow him down. We also owe him a great debt of thanks for his unseen work as an archivist of the alternative culture. He has left a truly historic archive, including early copies ofSchnews, Tribal Messenger and Festival Eye magazine, as well as loads of old Stonehenge Campaign literature. This archive has been divided amongst people who worked with him on various projects. Weave has a sister in the States who wrote: “ Andy was an extraordinary man with exceptional talents, not least of which was his ability to relate to his fellow man. He had great vision and attempted throughout his life to alter the oppression we all sometimes feel. With his music, his dreams and his irrepressible energy he left this world a better place. He has left an indelible mark on the world and on the people who loved him. I believe his hopes, his dreams and his energy live on in all of us.” Thanks Weave. See you in the next world...Don’t be late...
Alex Clark, former co-ordinator with the Musicians Network. Sept 98.

What follows is an excerpt from of an old British pagan prayer called ‘The Weaver’s Prayer’ which was adapted for the occasion and read at Weave’s funeral as his casket was being lowered into the ground.

The Weaver’s Song

Weaver, Weaver, weave your thread, whole and strong inside your web
Healer, healer, heal your pain, so you may return again

We are the dark, we are the bright, we are formed of earth and light
from joy and pain our lives are spun, then all too soon the spell is done

No one knows why we are born, a web is made, a web is torn
like seabirds flying to the nest, taking flight to find our rest

So may you find the hidden way, beyond the gates of night and day
To that great land where freedom grows, to where the healing waters flow

Weaver, Weaver, weave your thread, whole and strong inside your web
Healer, healer, heal your pain, so that you may live again.

Rest in Peace old friend. Om Shiva - All is Love
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WINTER SOLSTICE '98  Newsletter bits

The appeal by the 'Stonehenge Two' (arrested for 'trespassory assembly' at the Beanfield 10th anniversary demo) was heard by the Law Lords in October. The judgement, which will decide what everyone can and can't do on the public highway, was expected last month, but perhaps they are rather busy with Pinochet.
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THE MASTER PLAN

[The map overleaf ] shows the main changes proposed in the current scheme called 'The Master Plan'. The double-dashed line would be a widened A303 put in a 2km length of cut-and-cover (not bored) tunnel. The A344 and the track that crosses it near the Stones (byway 12) would be removed. A new byway would be routed to the west, from where the Stones would not be visible. The road scheme has been approved, but £40m of the £125m cost is yet to be found. Some of this might come from the new visitor centre, which is now back where it was only two schemes ago, on a 20 acre site outside Amesbury. It would be built by a 'private sector developer' - last time it was to be Tussauds, and include "a range of tourism, leisure, recreation and service uses". Visitors would be taken by a park-and-ride route (thick dotted line) to a drop-off point behind Fargo Woods. In theory, access to Stonehenge itself would be free. There will be a public consultation period from 'early in the New Year' until March on the road widening, which would start "in the next seven years" if there is no opposition. But archaeologists are concerned at the potential loss of "only" five scheduled monuments, including three round barrows and a long barrow. A steering group of English Heritage, the National Trust etc, chaired by Chris Smith, will press ahead with the Master Plan. A management plan for the whole area will be drawn up by a second steering group chaired by Lady Gass, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, an EH Commissioner, Tory politician and magistrate. (One of her Norman ancestors was possibly involved in the propoganda campaign in 1278 to convince the British that King Arthur was really dead by claiming Edward 1 had dug up Arthur and Guinivere and reburied them on Glastonbury Tor.)
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The Campaign has not been involved in the dicussions between English Heritage and some groups about the Summer Solstice, but we have received this from one group that has:-

STONEHENGE - FUTURE ACCESS.

As is not widely known, English Heritage has spent the last couple of years in negotiation with various groups and organisations wishing to obtain access to Stonehenge at future summer solstices. A limited access event of 100 persons at the 1998 summer solstice was deemed by English Heritage and Wiltshire Constabulary to have been successful. As a result preliminary discussions are under way with the aim of being able to extend access further at the 1999 summer solstice, As yet no final figure has been set for this event, and it is still unclear whether or not the so-called "exclusion zone" will be applied for. However both English Heritage and Wiltshire Constabulary have made it clear that they are willing to pursue the eventual dismantling of the exclusion zone, "one step at a time". Much hard work by purely voluntary groups and individuals has gone into making things successful so far, and those involved in the process sincerely wish to see general access achieved as rapidly as possible. In order to help realise the next step, it was recently agreed by Mrs. Clews Everard, E.H. Stonehenge Director, that all those individuals wishing to be considered for access at the 1999 and subsequent summer solstices should write to her with their names and addresses so that she can begin to assess realistically what the actual level of demand for access is, and how many people wish to be there if possible, It was felt by all the participants at the discussions that this represented a much more definite way forward than has been possible up until now. It was also considered that this represented a much more positive approach to the whole question of access than vague threats of action which could only prove counter-productive to the mutually agreed aim of getting rid of the "exclusion zone" completely in due course. Those persons who would like to be considered for access should write only, with names, addresses and number of years they have been coming to Stonehenge, to:-

Mrs, Clews Everard E.H, Stonehenge Director, Abbey Square, Amesbury, Wilts,

Those who do not wish to write to English Heritage or "apply" for increased limited access spaces but wish to come as members of the general public, should not think that they have been forgotten, as general access negotiations are continuing as rapidly as possible.

Rollo Maughfling, 9/12/98. Stonehenge Officer, Council of British Druid Orders.
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~~~~~ Dear Stonehenge Campaignerists, ~~~~~
At Torriano I alleged that at Winter Solstice
from Stonehenge Avenue you'd see the sun set
behind the Stones: Mick said more westerly...
I may not be there to see - bustuckinmud
(I dont like hitching for hours in cold rain)
~~~ Since time immemorial people have come and
watched the midsummer sun rise over Hele Stone,
but what English Heriticage want is tame Druids
in chemical nuclear biological radon white. ~~
PS The Glastonbury meeting is in Greenline's
datelist: wouldn't it be empowering if a hundred
of us met in a talking circle and each spoke for
2ish minutes and listened with respect to 99ish
~~~ www.geocities.com/soho/9000/dicenews.htm ~~~
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SPELLS FOR A QUIET LIFE

hold up the dobbie stone
the hole clear through
that is what matters
bloodred sandstone
will suffice if the l
imestone is not yet
worn right through
hold up the dobbie stone
it holds down
ill luck we' re due
hold up bollan bane
the yellow ragwort
that grows through roofslates
hold up the raw ragwort
it holds the wild
witches down
hold up the oak cross
it holds down the reborn
hold up the houseleek
that grows shaped like star
hold up the house leek
it holds the lightning blast down
hold up the stone circle
it holds down the steel spaceships
forever trying to slime back
from their burrow to
start the Last
War again.

Steve Sneyd
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Message from will I am x
Dear reader, One of the things the winter solstice is about is death and respecting our ancestors. The winter solstice represents the end of the yearly cycle but everything doesn't really die, which is why we revere evergreen trees at Xmas. They represent continuity; we decorate them and make them a central feature of the celebrations. The spring equinox is about birth and life, and is represented by the egg. Over the years the Christians have mixed up these two dates so we get them around the wrong way: the birth should be at spring and the crucifixion at winter. In the middle ages new year was on the spring equinox. As the site where the leading British Christians met and decided to change the new year from spring to winter is now mostly fallen in the North Sea and "the walls turn to sand" (Lindisfarne). The spell of the landlord bishops could be at least partly broken. (while bashing the bishop lie back and enjoy). The early British Christians collaborated with the ancients agreeing that the Sun was the more important and put their own Saturn second, pushing the feminine moon into third place. Thus we have the Saturn-day, Sun-day and Moon-day. If the E E C is going to shorten the working week to ease unemployment then it shouldn't be the Friday we get off, but the Moon-day thus restoring the feminine balance. Happy Xmas/Solstice, love from Willy X
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For poster of back page or eclipse, SAE + 2 stamps to EFFIN, c/o 87 Debden, Gloucester Rd, London, N17 6LN.