Wedding Number Three – The Pagan Maypole Fiasco

As it was May 1^st and Liz’s twenty first birthday we decided to get a Maypole fertility symbol and do our own Woodstock gathering/pagan ceremony.

We invited all our friends and family.

Liz’s parents boycotted it.

Richmond Park would not let us put up a Maypole.

We couldn’t get a Maypole.

We had no money, food, drink or sounds.

So we sent out an invite (a photo of us with handwritten invite on the back) all our friends to a Pagan wedding ceremony in Oxshot Woods.

Everyone had to bring food and drink to share and perform something – A poem, song, mime, dance – we got the lot.

We found a clearing in among the trees, a friend set up a sound system from his van and everyone gathered- they somehow found us.

We had been a little concerned as the week before the heavens had opened and it had snowed. But it shined on us and was warm and pleasant. We set the woods alight with laughter, dancing, guitars, Rock, mime (? – yes mime), drama, singing and had fun. There was food and drink aplenty.

We’d collected these ice-cream tubs from cinemas which were like Greek goblets. They worked well.

It went like magic. It was magic. My parents sat serenely in the middle while everyone, long-haired and in the brightest colours, cavorted around. I have a mental picture of them sitting there enjoying it – my Dad with pipe in mouth and my Mum smiling.

Instead of a maypole we had a living tree. We had a big circle dance. It was crazy and mad. It was a fiasco that all went to plan!

That was the best Wedding of the three!