We had a fantastic meet up yesterday at The Alroy in Plumpton. It’s a quaint little pub, which I suspect was an original farm house in the region, built in the late 1880’s.
After arriving at the designated time, the staff realised that there had been a miscommunication in the booking and they’d taken note that we’d be arriving an hour later than I’d planned. The staff were immediately apologetic and very helpful to pull together some space for us. We ended up with a space inside, which became a room just for us.
After general introductions and a bite to eat, we discussed what we’re looking to do over the course of the year with The Pagan Fringe. I explained my own level of interest and what I’d like to achieve, which is essentially creating a vibrant little community in the western suburbs because, let’s face it, not everyone wants to travel into the city to attend pagan events. Even if it wasn’t an hour’s drive away (which for those of us who drive, that’s not too bad) however it’s often the parking nightmare when we get to the other end that we have to contend with!
We’ve come up with some loose ideas and guiding principles of what we’re going to do:
- Local – let’s keep our events locally focused in the West and associated areas where we live.
- Celebrations – seasonal wheel of the year rituals – yes! Ritual circles for full moons are well serviced by more established groups, so we’ll stick to seasonal celebrations and other styles of circles if looking for a lunar working, perhaps a dark moon now and then?
- Close to the land – farm gate visits and shopping at farmers markets. We have some individuals, (me included) who are passionate about food and cooking and getting closer to our food sources is of interest (either growing food ourselves or buying direct from the producer) We’ll arrange events around this theme.
- Family friendly – some of us have kids and it’d be helpful to know if planned events are kid friendly or not. We’ll try to keep a balance of things where kids are welcome venue wise, however whilst we didn’t cover it in the conversation yesterday, we’re not looking to run events specifically *for* children at this stage. Our approach will at times make it more accessible for care givers to join in, without the need for a babysitter at home.
- Discussion topics – greater structure around the pub meet ups so there is a theme for discussion – this will be taken on board for future Sunday Lunches.
- Social – outings, events and activities – there were some great suggestions around different events we could host – picnics, visits to local history museums and the like in the region.
- Teaching – we have some experienced practitioners and teachers amongst us and there is an interest in offering further study opportunities for those just starting out on their magical path. This may be offered on a strictly invite-only basis and will potentially be considered for the 2nd half of the year, depending on level of interest/numbers.
I’m very encouraged to see such a supportive and active little group forming, only after two catch ups face to face. To me, this indicates a healthy interest in events in the region and future success.
Want to find out more? Connect with us on Facebook under The Pagan Fringe.
