We know you missed the communal fires this year. We missed them too.
Had we lit them, we probably wouldn't have burned down Sir Fynwy (Monmouthshire), but with so much of Europe ablaze, taking that risk seemed like an indulgence too far. With advisories in place from the Fire Service, the land-owners ultimately took the decision out of our hands -- but we'd likely have reached the same conclusion ourselves anyway.
For many of us in northerly latitudes this was likely one of the first times we felt climate change really bite. It may have been HOT, but without campfires at night we were COLD, and the chilling reasons for our discomfort are directly traceable to global heating.
Whilst the current period of drought is unprecedented, it is unlikely to be the last time we find ourselves under these conditions. We cannot be wilfully blind to the ways our world is changing. Now is the time to come together, with open hearts and minds, to acknowledge that our relationship with the land is going to have to change too, and that we have the creativity and determination to make a go of it.
Many conversations unfolded around Green Gathering's Unfires, as we held both dismay at the lack of flames and joy at the elemental alternatives which manifested instead. We began to talk about strategies for adaptation and resilience from visceral, personal perspectives. And we thought about the need for real systemic change. Let's do more of this.
To all of those who came to the hearths to sing and to stargaze, to talk nonsense and think deep, to take a moment of quiet contemplation... Thank you for bringing the Fire. See you next year.
