Tom, one of the Group Organisers of the Beastie Drummers, shares a unique post-Samhuinn perspective…

“In the middle of the woods, leaves crunching beneath our feet, we stop and hold our breaths and listen… A strange kind of snoring, just on the edge of hearing is drifting between the trees. This is the sound we have been searching for, because although many animals snore, only Beasties snore in four four.

We approach the Beastie lair with caution, a forked stick at the ready and carefully lift a bit of bark to reveal the sleeping hedgehog…

‘Grunt, grrr, snort, sigh brrr Wht?’ it mumbles and shrugs itself deeper into the leaves. We gently poke the sleeping spikeball until suddenly it unfurls.

‘What in the name of the Goddess do you want?’ Its Grumbles, snapping at the stick.

‘Oh, err, we were just wondering about your experiences at Samhuinn?’

‘At what?’

‘Samhuinn, you know, the big festival thing,’

‘What?’

‘The party, you know, with the drumming and stuff.’

‘The witness?’ at last there is a gleam in the old animal’s eyes ‘Aye that was a good one.. You know she calls and they come? They just come together and form this mental structure and then melt away again, like slime mould, with the same purpose..’ its eyes start to glaze over again.

‘But how did you find it?’ We inquire urgently, ‘The costumes, the character, how did they come about?’

‘Just a wee dream..’ yawns the hedgehog ‘Just a fancy, a flight.. when you can see something so clearly in your mind that it.. just……’ The gentle rhythmic snore resumes and no amount of careful prodding will rouse the sleeping beast. We cover them in leaves and bark and head homewards, as its getting dark, and cold.”

Photo of Tom and the Beastie Drummers at Samhuinn 2014 by Gyorgy Papp.