by

Saffron Walden Maze Festival

If you are going to be in the UK 19 – 21  August, don’t miss the Saffron Walden Maze Festival!

SW minotaur

The Festival will be a whole weekend of celebration of the town’s historic turf labyrinth (known as the maze) on the common, and also of the Victorian hedge maze in Bridge End Gardens. Can you spot the two more modern labyrinths which have been constructed especially for the 2013 and 2016 festivals?

There will be an opportunity to hear Jan Sellers give a key note speech on labyrinths in education. She’ll be launching her new book and signing copies too. Jan is bringing her lovely Chartres style cloth labyrinth for a meditative labyrinth walk prior to the talk on Saturday evening, and I will be facilitating another chance to walk the labyrinth from 10.30 – 12.30 on Sunday morning 21st August. You will find us in the historic ‘Court House’ along with maze puzzles and games, and a display of school work from RA Butler and Dame Bradbury’s primary schools.

There will be food stalls, live music and plays, an amazing collection of community mazes on the common, and even a ‘night vision goggle’ maze. On Friday 19th there will be an evening comedy club on the theme of ‘I got lost’. On Sunday evening there will be a grand finale with fire jugglers. Also don’t miss the candlelit concert of labyrinth-inspired Indian classical music in St Mary’s Church at 9.15 on Saturday evening.

Find out more from the Maze Festival website by following the link below.

Saffron Walden Maze Festival website

by

A Suffolk journey into the labyrinth

Rosie AndersenAldeburgh author Rosie Andersen has written a beautiful book, ‘Songs of the Trees’ inspired by the woodlands of her Suffolk home.

Paul Jackson has supplied wonderful, intricate illustrations.

There is a labyrinth to find too!

Do follow the link below and take a look. Described as a ‘modern myth’ Rosie’s story is a treat for inquisitive labyrinth fans young and old.

Thank you Rosie for getting in touch. I’ve ordered myself a copy!

Songs of the trees: Aelfwynn’s journey into the labyrinth

 

by

Labyrinth Events in 2016

World Labyrinth Day – Saturday 7th May

‘Walk as One at One’

Another opportunity to walk the cloth ‘pebble’ labyrinth in the peaceful surroundings of the Friends Meeting House at Hartington Grove. We’ll join with other labyrinth walkers all over the globe who are walking at or around 1 o’clock. Please arrive between 12.30 and 1.30. Walk finishes at 2.30. Donations welcome to help cover the cost of the hall (Suggested donation £4/£3 concessions)CIMG7114 Resized

Weekend Labyrinth Retreat Friday June 3rd – Sunday June 5th

Quiet Waters Christian Retreat House, Bungay, Suffolk

We will enjoy good company and delicious home-cooked meals. Morning and evening worship will include Taize and Iona chants and will have a celtic flavour. We will make a labyrinth together on the front lawn, and light it up with candles on the Saturday evening. There will be time for quiet reflection, and opportunity to enjoy the riverside garden and explore the surrounding countryside. Kay will also bring a selection of wooden finger labyrinths made by the Rowan project in Cambridge.

Suggested donation for the weekend £140, or £130 if sharing a room. Day visitors also welcome on the Saturday, suggested donation £25.

Early booking advisable! See the Quiet Waters website or book via Kay: singing.kay@gmail.com

 

Rowan finger labyrinth with TS Eliot text

 

Ferrar House Labyrinth Day, Little Gidding

Thursday 30th June, 10.00 – 4.00
Little Gidding is famous for its connection with TS Eliot’s Four Quartets.

We’ll spend a summers day enjoying the garden and surrounding landscape at Ferrar House. We’ll make an outdoor labyrinth from corn (the sort you feed to chickens!) and we’ll take a short walk to a nearby chapel where we can lay out the cloth ‘pebble’ labyrinth.

We’ll explore the labyrinth as a tool for prayer. Kay will also bring wooden finger labyrinths made by Rowan Humberstone in Cambridge.

Please book via the Ferrar House website or email Kay: singing.kay@gmail.com

 

IMG_0158_2 Resized

Saffron Walden Maze Festival, 19 – 21 August

Brilliant family fun with mazes and labyrinths! See the maze festival website, http://www.saffronwaldenmazefestival.co.uk.

Hope to see you there!

by

Cambridge Pumpkinfest Candlelit Labyrinth

Can you see any pumpkins?

Can you see any pumpkins?

On 24th October we made a special candlelit labyrinth to help ‘Cambridge Sustainable Food’ raise awareness of the problem of food waste and other important food issues as part of their two week ‘Pumpkin Fest’. We had a lot of fun making a corn labyrinth, even though we had to put on waterproofs and work in the pouring rain! Lighting the tea lights in their jam jars was a challenge. Our candle lighters didn’t work properly in the wet weather and breezy conditions. But our fantastic team of volunteers came up with an innovative solution, lighting them indoors and carrying them out in a handy bucket!

Pumpkin lanterns ready for lighting

Pumpkin lanterns ready for lighting

If you look closely at the photos you might be able to see that we also used a few LED tea lights in amongst the real ones. The LEDs produced a more blueish light than the golden flames of the tea lights. After a lot of effort, finally the magical pathway was ready for our visitors, some of whom had come from quite far afield. Some lucky folk lived in the tall houses round about the community centre and had an excellent bird’s eye view from upstairs. Ann from Cambridge Sustainable Food brought delicious pumpkin themed refreshments, including hot pumpkin soup, and we also gave away orange balloons and leaflets about reducing food waste and becoming a more thoughtful cook and consumer. If you missed it this year, look out for us again next October!

Candlelit Pumpkin Labyrinth, Orchard Park Cambridge

Candlelit Pumpkin Labyrinth, Orchard Park Cambridge

by

Girton Equinox Labyrinth and Conker Cairn, 23 September 2015

DSCF4308

Following on the success of last year’s equinox labyrinth in Girton we decided to repeat the event again. A major attraction, especially for younger visitors, was the lovely location under the horse chestnut trees which border the main recreation ground. We set about collecting conkers and soon had a shining heap near the entrance of the labyrinth.  Everyone walking – or running – the labyrinth was invited to pick up a conker and take it into the centre. We thought the conker might symbolise something you are thankful for, or perhaps something you need to let go of. Or you might just enjoy the beauty of it and the feel of it in your hand.

DSCF4314

As dusk fell, we lit tea lights in jam jars to illuminate the pathway, and our equinox labyrinth was transformed into a magical pathway of light.

Thank you everyone who came and helped, especially Eve, who showed great skill at pouring the corn for the lines, and Rowan, who worked hard to keep the tea lights lit all through the evening. Brilliant!

Girton Labyrinth

DSCF4326

by

World Labyrinth Day Saturday 2nd May 2015

Join labyrinth walkers around the globe and ‘Walk as One at One’ on World Labyrinth Day here in Cambridge UK. The venue will be the peaceful main room of the Friends Meeting House in Hartington Grove. For Sat Navs and GPS devices the venue is 91 – 93 Hartington Grove, CB1 7UB. Time 12.30 – 2.30 pm. I’m very happy to be bringing the cloth ‘pebble labyrinth’ for our walk, and I hope some of the original team who helped paint the labyrinth will also come along, as well as friends old and new who would like to join with labyrinth walkers world-wide in sending a wave of peace and harmony around the globe. There is no charge for the event, but donations toward the hire of the room will be welcome. ‘World Labyrinth Day’ is an initiative of The Labyrinth Society, and you can find out more about them on their website, http://www.labyrinthsociety.org

CIMG7114 Resized

CIMG7104 Resized

by

Mill Road Winter Fair 2014

This year at Cambridge’s Mill Road Winter Fair we enjoyed a clear blue sky, bright winter sun, and crisp cold temperatures. Thanks to everyone who came and helped or just walked (or ran!) the labyrinth. It was lovely to see some people who visited the labyrinth last year return to enjoy it again. I loved walking to the beat of the Arco Iris Samba Band when they passed by in the late afternoon. If you missed it this time – there’s always next year! And do keep an eye on the ‘events’ page for other labyrinth happenings.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

by

Addenbrooke’s Mental Health Resilience Week 2014

A feather banner marks the site of the 'mindful labyrinth' for Addenbrooke's Hospital Mental Health Resilience Week

A feather banner marks the site of the ‘mindful labyrinth’ for Addenbrooke’s Hospital Mental Health Resilience Week

The temporary sand labyrinth was built on 'The Oval', the green space next to the Frank Lee Centre

The temporary sand labyrinth was built on ‘The Oval’, the green space next to the Frank Lee Centre

On the evening of Thursday 10th October we lit the labyrinth with LED tea lights

On the evening of Thursday 9th October we lit the labyrinth with LED tea lights

A charm of goldfinches made a very special ‘fly past’ of this year’s labyrinth at dusk on Thursday. As we watched from the top of the car park, at first they looked like Autumn leaves being blown from the trees. But then they turned and flew back, and we realised they were goldfinches.

This year we also held a labyrinth walk of the cloth ‘pebble’ labyrinth in the hospital chapel on Thursday afternoon. Thanks to everyone who came and helped, and to all the staff and visitors who joined us in walking the labyrinth or trying the wooden Rowan finger labyrinths. Some of these will continue to be available for patients to use on the wards. We hope they will bring a sense of peace and calm into the busy environment of the hospital.