Oberon, the Færie King :

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine :
 

Your Puck, a naughty imp :

I'll put a girdle round about the wood,
And make it thine, sweet womanhood.
 

GREAT
KNELLE
WOOD

Midsummer's Eve Party 2012

Midsummer’s Eve 2012 saw us celebrate our first year at Great Knelle with some old friends. What more can one do than celebrate Midsummer’s Eve in a wood called Titania’s Bower? You can read more about it below but please be patient : there are lots of pictures to be loaded. You might also want to be sure that your sound is on and the volume up.

We decided to try a pit roast and built a menu around that idea with Alex, the chef at the White Hart in Newenden :

Hors d'Oeuvres
Stream Crawfish
Wood Mushrooms
Wild Boar Sausages
Acorn-fed Iberico Ham
 
Main Course
Pit Roast Venison
Pit Roast Lamb
Midsummer Salad
 
Desserts
Wild Berry Cheese Cake
Black Forest Desert

As the day approached we suddenly realised that a pit roast meant digging a pit. Luckily Sarah, our trusty gardener, and Steve, her assistant, were at hand so we set about transforming the woodland glade...

A pit of perhaps 1500 by 500 mm was dug into the clay some 400 mm deep

The pit was bedded with broken pavers and lined with old bricks

Even the old car tyres which had been abandoned in the woods many years before were pressed into service [with a commode seat on top] to form the ladies’ loo

Midsummer’s Eve was, conveniently, a Saturday in 2012 and early morning saw us in the woods lighting a fire down in the pit. No magic was involved, just an ultra-modern spark ignition blow torch. But, as Shakespeare knew, this day is truly magical…. perhaps we would indeed meet Titania and Oberon?

The fire was soon settling in nicely ....

.... and the sun looked down on our endeavours

Breakfast - and a catering size thermos flask - came from the White Hart

After that everything went smoothly with Pimms set out at Five Bar Gate, a fully stocked bar set up in the glade [with local Rother Valley bitter] and our guests starting to arrive. There were even some faeries among the guests [and a Robin Hood : clearly hadn't read his script!].

Pimms to greet you at Five Bar Gate ....

.... and a well stocked bar in the glade

Reyes and Pierre from Sevilla - or is it Titania and Oberon?

It seemed wise to serve the canapés from an early hour, if only to absorb some of the alcohol! They soon worked their magic as elfin music was heard from among the trees : the trill of a flute from here, or there or is it over there? Before long the elf had been spotted and attracted an audience.

Are those wood mushrooms really magical?

Our very own elf playing across the stream in Bellhurst Wood - it is a pity that Pat and Mary missed the magic

The banks of Eastern Stream made a convenient bench seat for the audience

Helen, as is her name, played magnificently for us throughout the evening, hardly taking a break - quite a challenge for a solo flautist.

Before we knew it the main course was ready and people realised how hungry they were. The 'oven' had to be opened to allow discovery of the joints : no banana leaves, I am afraid to say, though.

It took several willing hands to open the oven ....

.... to reveal the meat which had been quietly cooking away down in the pit

Before long the food was flying off the table : enjoying yourself in the woods makes you hungry!

The fire pit was soon being pressed back into service, Titania's Bower yielding up its bounty to keep one and all warm.

There were also willing hands to stoke the fire ....

.... which was soon a delight to behold ....

although some people seemed to want to stay close to the bar rather than the fire

There is nothing better than gathering around a woodland fire with your friends

And so the sun sank slowly down to the horizon and the witching hour was upon us : Titania and Oberon would soon return to claim their Faerie Kingdom. It was time to pack up and wend our weary way [for some us with stamina, just as far as the White Hart!] with a smile in the heart.

With this field-dew consecrate, every fairy take his gait;
And every glade through this forest bless with sweet peace;
And the owner of it blest ever shall in safety rest.
Trip away; make no stay; meet me all by break of day

Always hang your meat to keep it away from marauding bears

If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended
That you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear
And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream

The Credits - and a Question

Like all good productions we cannot finish without the credits rolling and there are so many people to thank, from Ivan who runs The White Hart - a great village pub at Newenden - and Steve who runs an equally good brewery in the Rother Valley to the faeries who must have cleaned the glade that midsummer's night.

Worthy of special thanks and a photo call :

Alex, our Chef in Titania's Bower, ably assisted by Will his younger brother [who just happen to be chef and sous at the White Hart]

Helen Manente, Director of Music [and conductor and player!] in Titania's Bower

Kate [shown here with Wendy, one of our lovely faeries] the Director and Producer of Midsummer's Eve 2012 [and flower arranger and lead actress and ....]

Titania, loveliest of women and inspiration for it all

One person who deserves a photo call but cannot have one because she was behind the camera and took most of the photographs on the day : thank you very much Anita.

And the question, you ask :

If this was all about a Midsummer Night's Dream, how did the scene from Macbeth get in here?