Another of our members and a regular giver of talks, Rob always has an interesting slant on his subjects and they are well illustrated with pictures, it will be an interesting talk “We are often been surprised by the apparent ability of many animals to sense things like unseen dangers, often in advance of  some event. What is going on? During the evening we will look at some of the very surprising aspects of thisinstinctive behaviour.”

Guests are welcome at the two above talks above and if you are interested why not join us for a couple of meetings, there is no obligation to join until you have been at least three times and after that we are sure that you will like to become a member.

November 4th         AGM

The usual format, a short interesting talk, the AGM and then nibbles, drinks and socialising we had new younger members join the committee last year and we would like this to continue. This meeting is for members only, there is no admission charge but we do have a collection which is given to water related charities every year.

December 2nd

Christmas Meal, at Aston Ingham Village Hall, similar format to last year and will be a pleasant evening

Trip to Cumbria

September 14th to 17th

Isobel has worked hard to provide us with an interesting trip in the autumn to Cumbria where there are a mass of interesting sites to visit,

Three Summer Outings

Isobel Willmott

On 19th June we were invited by Janet Nicholls for a picnic at her farm near Abergavenny. Her house is very old and there are interesting things to dowse in both the house and grounds. We had a very happy time, fortunately with good weather, and found a burial ground, perhaps associated with a former chapel, lines, energy or ley, a spiral – perhaps a well - and sensed various different energies in the house. Our thanks go to Janet for her hospitality (we had a very good tea) and generosity in allowing us to roam free where our dowsing rods took us.

Trellech

Crop Circles

On 14th July a group of nine members went to Wiltshire in search of crop circles. We were not very lucky with finding the circles, but nevertheless had a very enjoyable day. We had a coffee break in Marlborough in Polly’s, and someone said it was worth coming just for that! (The cakes were very good.) We then dowsed inside and outside the Saxon church at Alton Barnes. Afterwards we had lunch at the Barge Inn where we gleaned information as to where there were any crop circles. We were told of three. The first we couldn’t find, the second was by Wilton Windmill in a field of rape, and couldn’t be viewed from a distance to get an idea of the layout. There was an aerial photograph on the gate to the field. The design was like a musical box template and at the time we felt it was man-made. However, since coming home I have received the latest edition of The Spiral, which is the journal of the Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group, and after reading their report on this crop circle I find it is thought to outline Leonard Euler’s formula of one of the most profound and complex equations of the last 2,000 years! (Euler was an 18th century Swiss mathematician.) I came to the conclusion that the reason we thought it was man-made was because it was reported on 22nd May and therefore not very recent by the time we saw it, and devoid of any energies. We then went to the West Kennet Longbarrow, which I found magical, and when standing on the roof of the barrow saw part of a circle in the distance, opposite Silbury Hill. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a sense of the design, as only part of it was visible. It was 5.30 pm by this time so we made for home. Many thanks to Glan for driving the mini bus so expertly and safely, and to Rob (Gillmor) for organising the hire of the bus and the pick-up times.

Since writing the above a crop circle appeared on the banks of the Severn Estuary at Woolaston Grange on 19th July. Diana Bollen kindly told me about it and I was all set to go and find it, but unfortunately the farmer had already harvested the crop. However, it is exciting that a crop circle appeared so close to us.

Isobel Willmott

On a sadly wet evening in July we visited Trellech, among its many mysterious interests are the Harold Stones .............. These large monoliths of conglomerate stone, commonly referred to as pudding stone, are situated in a field to the south of the village. They date back to the Bronze Age - much earlier than King Harold. It is supposed that they were dragged to the site on logs and levered into position, probably either for seasonal information or for use at religious ceremonies. Some believe that they were aligned with the winter solstice on with the Skirrid mountain, also known as the "Holy Mountain of Gwent". A fourth stone, on nearby common land, was destroyed in the 18th century. The Standing Stones are the property of the Davies Family of Crosshands Farm in Trellech. (wikipedia)

I would like to go back and have longer to dowse at this site , because while we were there I asked several questions - how many stones? answer 22, were they part of a circle? No, were they in a row? no, were they in rows? Yes How many? 2, They could be part of an avenue.and still align with the Skirrid Mountain. The next newsletter will be before the AGM, and will be posted to all members as there will be voting papers and booking forms for the Christmas Dinner to send out.