As you might imagine, dear reader, Saturday was a slow one. Ben certainly helped lighten things up for me, waking me up by bringing me a copy of The Elephant Man and telling me that I might find a kindred spirit in it. I'm grateful to have been able to contribute fodder for so much humor during the rest of my stay. I think we all were a little wrecked after our night of catch up, and I was delighted when Ben chuffed up a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast with tea - just about exactly what I needed at that moment. As the alcohol poisoning began to ware off, we talked about building for a bit and he showed me Lloyd Kahn's newest book - Buildings of the Pacific Northwest - something that had been an inspiration to him in his roundwood construction innovation. We sat fixated on some of Sun Ray Kelley's designs and words of wisdom and the whole things made me feel a whole lot more competent (though not nearly as creative).
Ben was to give a tour of his place to a permaculture design course from Brighton that afternoon and he wanted to pick up a few supplies beforehand so we headed back to the Larder (right next to the Hollist - scene of the 'crime') so that I could scour the place for my glasses. Not remembering what happened to you the night before really doesn't help you find things you lost and that was probably the most disturbing part of the whole thing - realizing I had no idea what had happened where. After wandering around the rough area for a bit, asking if anyone had returned any glasses in the pub and being shown a half dozen or so that weren't mine (and comtemplating trying each of them on and hopefully finding a pair that fit), I finally found mine just along the edge of the road. A bit dirty and a tiny bit bent, they were otherwise as perfectly scratched as they were before. Whew!! I would've made it without them though I wouldn't have appreciated the trip nearly as much.
When we got back home, we started to clean up a bit for the impending tour group. Not too long thereafter, Kris headed down to the outdoor kitchen and remarked something about his head which I assumed was a sarcastic comment about mine. I then noticed that he had a nice little scabbed wound above his eye that he didn't have before. I'm not sure what was in those 'Hip Hop's but I guess I wasn't the only one that met their match (though his paled in comparison to mine- not to brag).
The design course arrived and I quickly learned that I was going to need to come up with some explanation as to what had happened to my head because it was going to be a common question for some time to come. Never did come up with anything good except that 'I fell'. I'm not very good at lying.
We enjoyed a pot luck lunch and I got a chance to meet several of the students as we sat around the outdoor kitchen fire enjoying a cup of tea. It started pouring rain for about 30 minutes or so and then things died down a bit - a great time for us to get out if we were going to try. Ben led us on an excellent tour of his place, showing various examples of managed and unmanaged woods, talking about how his lifestyle revolves around his livelihood, showing us the innovative roundwood structures he's built, the renewable energy system and finally his house. It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon with blue skies, lovely clouds and even a rainbow! None of us wanted to go anywhere but it was time for Brighton Permaculture to go.
With them gone, Ben, myself and Bea and Ruth hung around chatting on Ben's verandah, enjoying - guess what? More tea! - and some leftover biscuits (cookies). I truly relished the moment - hanging in such a relaxed environment - no cell phone to not be called by anyone on, no internet to constantly scan for e-mails, and no memory of the past 24 hours (just joking - only about 2-3 of them). We had a great conversation talking about the role of the arts in transition culture and looking at how to motivate people who may not feel like their voice is valued or heard. No resolutions but a good discussion nonetheless.
We soon retreated inside and Ben delivered with an incredible meal - grilled veggies, creamed something that I've forgotten and something else too - whatever it was, it was off the hook. We shared stories of some of our less than best decisions and having already planned to head to the Lickfold for an evening walk and a drink, set off.
The night was lit with a beautiful near-full moon and our walk along the woodland ride was truly memorable. I'd made that walk many a time in the old days and I was so happy to be doing it once again. About 20 minutes from Ben's place, over half is spent walking on a public right of way through is property, which is bounded by a Batman-like electronic gate, leading you to a narrow country lane lined with some beautiful and ancient timber framed houses (some as old as 15th century!).
Another motivation for us going to the Lickfold was that it gave me an opportunity to search my travel options to Greece - I needed to arrive there by Thursday the 1st. We promptly took up residence in the four stuffed chairs around the massive Inglenook fireplace and couldn't have been cozier. It was another lovely moment and a level headed and even keeled night out at the pub. After 14 beers each (just kidding)... I did some net surfing and found that it was going to be either more difficult or more expensive getting to Athens than I'd thought. I couldn't seem to find an overland route that wasn't impossibly inconvenient and the plane tickets would run nearly $400. I didn't end up doing anything about it but complain.
We walked back home in the moonlight and then engaged in an engrossing discussion about our respective need for (and the incredible market for) personal clones, cause there's just too many incredible things to do in life. Fully conscious of the moral implications of our discussion, we explored clone rights and duties, etc. And then it was definitely time for bed.
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