Close to the A303, this magnificent crop circle arrived. I am delighted to be able to send you a lovely report I received:
“Recently I was blessed to visit a crop circle ? ⭕️ “ went to work out on the road with my partner for the day and had learned about the crop circle 2 days before. We knew we would be near it so left it open that we will visit if it’s meant to be. We were a little against the time, so decided to head home but the road we needed to go on was closed, the road we had to take…..the one with the crop circle. We also made it home in time to collect my daughter. The energy was so powerful and I could hear Sirius high council calling within the space and light language moving through me. As we left the circle all of a sudden my entire body felt heavy. The only other time I’d felt this was after getting out of a swimming pool when I was pregnant ?♀️ ?? I felt like I’d come back into a denser space for sure. There happened to be two other people there, one man and one woman plus my partner and I. We all sat in the centre of the circle together and tuned in to the frequency, the sound of the traffic disappeared and I felt waves of energy moving up and down through me. The 4 of us – the two masculine and two feminine felt so relevant to the pattern of the circle. Balance. Duality blending. New Earth emerging. Sirius Gateway opening. This really was a magical experience.”
Yet again the area around Hackpen was chosen. This area was an area selected by the Knights Templars as one of their strongholds.
Situated close to the famous 5000 year old Ridgeway that stretches from Avebury in Wiltshire to the Chiltons in Hertfordshire, and reaching the end of its journey at Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring, lies the Hackpen chalk White Horse. Thought to have its origin in 1883 to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Victoria, it stands proud on the edge of the Marlborough Downs overlooking the countryside below.
Many of you will be familiar with the belief that Hackpen Hill has long been associated with the faery folk and legend has it that on certain nights of the year, the top of the hill rises up. Wonderful music is heard and those who venture in to join in the song, the wine and the dance may never be seen again, or if they do reappear it is said they are never the same again after their time with the inhabitants of the hill.
The Pilgrims’ Way is an ancient 141 mile route from the shrine of Swithun at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire to Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. Canterbury Cathedral houses the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett, who was murdered by knights loyal to Henry II in 1170 after a major and very public split with the king.
The trail further follows in the footsteps of the Miquelots, pilgrims who made the long journey to worship in Normandy.
For everyone who is a Pam Gregory follower, I include two astrological interpretations regarding the present planetary positions and resulting worldwide chaos, which indeed seems to be materialising and challenging us. Whether we see this as a time of re-growth, that ultimately brings positive change – or as a negative change of order – remains to be seen.
Just as I was about to sign off, lo and behold, news came through of another circle.
Lay Wood, Nr Devizes, Wiltshire. Reported 14th July
14th July 2022. Wheat. C.200 feet (61m)
The first crop circle in barley has arrived! It was reported yesterday. Barley is quite my favourite crop. As you walk down the tramline the barley stalks softly caress your legs and if you let the crop run softly through your fingers you will never get cut as you would with the sharper stemmed crop of wheat.
This circle lies at the Chute Causeway, in between Vernham Dene and Collingborne Dulcis overlooking Hippenscombe Bottom on the Wiltshire/Hampshire borders.
Its sharp and concise geometry consists of a saw-form motif containing a sun and four planet motif, all contained within an octagon.
It is intriguing to note that the crop circle in which we conducted our scientific tests in 2010 lay in an area known as the Hippenscombe Bottom. Several of us reported diverse and strange effects whilst inside or approaching the circle. The new 2022 crop circle also lies in the vicinity of Hippenscombe Bottom but instead of lying in the amphitheatre below, it overlooks it.
This area is an area of great antiquity. A Roman road running from Winchester to Cirencester runs alongside part of the amphitheatre and is of interest because unlike the legendary theory that most Roman roads run straight, this one, due to the lay of the land, is curved - otherwise the track would have run straight across Hippenscombe Bottom.
We are told that “The steep gradients caused by this alignment would have denied access to heavy wagons, so the road skirted the 'hole' by using nine short straight sections to form an irregular semi-circle. In the event, Chute Causeway is almost level for its entire length. Occasionally, even the Roman engineers went around an obstacle. Here the road - the Chute Causeway - deviated around the Hippenscombe valley, which falls 70 metres in 550 metres.”
In the middle of the ring lies a saucer barrow and there are two old ponds within the camp itself.
My eldest son is over from Sydney and I cannot tell you the joy of seeing him again after over two years of Covid restrictions. We are trying to catch up, and every day seems to go in a flash.
It has arrived - the first crop circle of 2022. At this time of year the circle presents itself in the startlingly vibrant yellow flowered crop, oil seed rape (canola), much used for cooking and in health products.
Enmill Barn, near Crabwood, Winchester, Hampshire. Reported 24th April 2022
Oil Seed Rape (Canola) 85 feet (25.9m) overall.
The term "rape" derives from the Latin word for turnip, rapa or rapum, cognate with the Greek word rhapys.
Wikipedia tells us that 'Crops from the genus Brassica, including rapeseed, were among the earliest plants to be widely cultivated by mankind as early as 10,000 years ago. Rapeseed was being cultivated in India as early as 4000 B.C. and it spread to China and Japan 2000 years ago.'
'One of the most versatile of all plants, oil seed rape is also used as diesel fuel, either as biodiesel in heated fuel systems, or blended with petroleum distillates for powering motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form in newer engines without engine damage and is frequently combined with fossil-fuels. Historically it was used in limited quantities due to high levels of erucic acid. Processing of rapeseed for oil production produces rapeseed meal as a by-product. This by-product is a high-protein animal feed - competitive with soybean. The feed is employed mostly for cattle feeding, but is also used for pigs and poultry. However, natural rapeseed oil contains 50% erucic acid and high levels of glucosinolates that significantly lowers the nutritional value of rapeseed press cakes for animal feed.'
Oil seed rape flower
The flowers have a most pungent smell and if you walk through it, you will find it is hard to get the pollen off your hair or clothes.
As regards detective work, it is the easiest crop for sussing out the Goodies or Baddies.
In 2010 a most glorious formation arrived during a week-end just below Winton windmill in Wiltshire. It contained the most complex geometry, almost exactly bearing a likeness to Russian born physicist Leonard Euler's equation said to be one of the most complex, and indeed, possibly not fully understood by Euler himself. See diagram below.
Winton Windmill ~ Wiltshire
Left: Base of undamaged stalk.
Right: Root of undamaged stalk twisted by the `force`
'Having woken at 4am one morning and unable to get back to sleep I decided to drive down to Wiltshire and see the formation for myself. It had been raining heavily overnight and despite having stopped by the time I arrived, I had forgotten how much water the yellow petals retain. The crop stood about 5 ft tall and in no time at all I was drenched from head to toe and my Wellington boots were full of water that had trickled relentlessly downwards. In addition I had forgotten to bring my aerial photograph and as the formation could not be seen from the ground - only from the air or the windmill and this had been closed the week-end the formation appeared - I simply could not find it and was getting wetter and wetter. Not surprisingly not many people were happy to answer my early morning mobile telephone calls until Julian Gibsone nobly answered his and gave me the necessary directions. The outer ring was much trampled and did not provide me with the information I needed. However, the lay of the crop was remarkable, lying in a criss-crossing herring bone manner. I made my way inwards to areas that had been untouched and found what I was looking for; an unbroken stem without any cracks above or below. In order to ascertain this properly, it is necessary to dig away the soil from some way down around the stem. Holding my camera with soil covered, wet and slippery hands, I managed to get a photograph. Now soaked to the skin, and hoping that no-one was around, I did a quick strip, discarding first my sweater, replacing it with a jacket that came down to my knees and hid the fact that I had also discarded my jeans. Luckily I did not have to stop for anything on my way home so modesty was preserved! Definitely worth the effort!'
The whole article can be found on my web site under Articles Worth The Effort (2010)
So, what will this summer bring us? This is one of the reasons that croppies start to get excited at this time of year, wondering when the first circle will arrive and what will follow and when!
Now that travellers are free to come and go as they like, we welcome our overseas visitors once again. Just one caveat, PLEASE treat the circles with respect; the fields are the livelihood of the farmers who own them.
Many of them have unfortunately had bad experiences with visitors trampling and destroying their crops and as a result have now decided to mow out any circle immediately it appears; whilst a few others are still happy for people to visit and enjoy them, whilst taking the utmost care not to damage them. Please always get in touch with the farmer on to whose land you wish to visit (one time it took me half a day to find the farmer).Walk down the tramlines (lines in the fields used by farmers for sowing, reaping etc.), taking care to walk down the correct tramline which will take you straight into the field, thus making sure you have not had to trample over any crop to reach the circle. The easiest way to discover the correct tramline is to find a vantage point from which you can see the circle and then count the number of tramlines needed to take you directly into the circle.
I am sure many of you do this already, so good on you!
Just as the phoenix rose from the ashes, so it seems as though we too are rising from a state of Covid inertia into a world of renewed activity as we shrug off the shackles of a world of half existence into 'one that once was' yet doesn’t seem quite the same. Each generation brings with it new thoughts, new ideas, new energy. Though disturbing to those who find some aspects of change difficult, a move forward into a new and more expansive way of thinking about where we are at present and how we should go about moving forward is a positive step.
Knowledge of history gives us the basic understanding of the past and helps us advance into the future of a truly global democratic world. Sometimes this happens slowly, on other occasions it may be a more rapid shift. As I write I 'feel' this need all around me. Could it be that the terrible suffering of the brave, valiant and noble people of Ukraine under Putin’s terrible, inhuman and ruthless attack be the catalyst we needed in order to wake the world from its slumber. The utter destruction of their way of life as their wonderful ancient buildings crash to the ground before them, regardless of human life.
All around they see horror upon horror; their way of life disappearing before their eyes, as they search for loved ones in the wreckage or bid farewell to those fleeing to safety in the west; or embracing their sons who they may never see again as they fight in defence of their country. The hearts of the Ukraine people beat with an inner fire as they fight against the invading Russians, many of whom are themselves driven on by lies from Putin.
When we reflect on their heroic defence of their mother country and homeland, many of us will ask the question that confronts us: how many countries would respond in such a manner? I have pondered this question and I do believe the answer probably is - very few.
The fact that there has been a steady migration westwards as people flee, trying desperately to escape the wars and turmoil in their own countries. Consequently, the west, having taken in refugees from these war torn areas, have become multinational countries. To many of these people, their hearts and loyalties are not with their newly adopted countries but still with the countries from which they fled.
This all comes at a time when many of us are recovering from the strictures of Covid. Masses of us fell into a sort of semi-toper like state and now we have to try and shake ourselves off and reconnect with the world and all its normal mundane demands. Has this state contributed to our already and increasingly impotent Western world rendering us progressively more vulnerable? Surely it is therefore no great surprise that Putin took advantage of our weakness.
Kiev history is of great interest showing us it has always been one of the most important cities and was at one time the centre of the East Slavic civilisation. It is over two centuries older than Moscow.
On a completely different subject, yet with an oblique connection, in the sense of people fleeing to so many different parts of the world and the fairly recent advanced concept of the holographic nature of our brain; an example given in the book describes how two pebbles when thrown into a pond or lake, interact with each other’s ripples spreading beyond their original entry into the water. Thus creating a Pattern of Interference as the ripples continue to intermingle outward away from their place of origin.
Much work and many experiments have described how the memory is spread around the brain in different locations. The brain with all its complexity, much of it still not yet fully understood, is of untold fascination to me, a complete novice. Once when I was in New York staying with my step sister, in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I happened to pick up a magazine in which I read an utterly fascinating article talking about the discovery of the holographic nature of our brains. I subsequently read an intriguing book by Malcom Talbot titled 'The Holographic Universe'. I have just been sent a copy of the same book and am about to re-read it.
It starts off by talking about the discovery describing the holographic nature of the brain in which it tells us that memory is no longer situated simply in one area of the brain but dispersed and scattered throughout. I am intrigued to read more. As the author Michael Talbot writes 'All you need is an open mind' as he takes us through the early work of Wilder Penfield, followed by Karl Lashley to Priam and others - each continuing and developing their work and finding new avenues of discovery and advancement. One of the most interesting and unusual aspects of the brain is the fact that it feels no pain. As a result complex operations can be conducted once the scull and scalp have been anaesthetised, even when the patient is awake.
Karl Priam started with an urge to examine to know and understand where our memories are stored in the brain and writes 'It isn’t that the world is wrong; it isn’t that there aren’t objects out there, at one level of reality. It’s that if you penetrate through and look at the universe with a holographic system, you arrive at a different view, a different reality. And that other reality can explain things that have hitherto remained inexplicable scientifically: paranormal phenomena, synchronicities, the apparently meaningful coincidence of events.'
I am not a scientist as when I went to school it was not considered necessary or appropriate to be taught science. (It was very old fashioned). However, on my father’s side there were brilliant scientists, one of whom had two articles in the 14th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica; so I feel that that my quest to know more about certain concepts and workings that seem to fall into the world of Physics, could be inherited.
In a lighter vein - now is the time when the birds are at their best, preening themselves as the take part in the ritual of attracting a female. The robin’s breast is a more brilliant red than ever as he flits around in quite a giddy fashion. The bull finches have already paired up again - they mate for life.
I have just read that research by the Norwegian naturalist, Professor Emeritus Hogstad of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology discovered after studying garden birds over a period of 24 years that he believed the reason was that it gave them an early breeding start in the year. The brightly coloured with his crimson chest, remains loyal to his rather drab female.
They are quite the messiest feeders of any bird I have photographed. They cram their beaks to overflowing, dropping bits of seeds below for the small birds and eager pigeons below. Try as I might I only managed to photograph a very few pictures when their beaks were empty!
Suzie Simpson sent me some beautiful words of wisdom
The universe is always communicating with us.
The language of the spirit is different to ours as it does not waste words that are often misconstrued, but instead, uses signs and symbols.
Even in our sleep state we receive messages via symbolic language and then it is up to us to interpret them according to our own understanding.
When a message is transmitted through form it holds the power within that form and so it becomes earthed, enabling the material world and the world of spirit to connect.
The two worlds are really one but mankind has become so used to the feeling of separation that we have descended further and further into materialism.
We have become Material Beings divorced from spiritual energy instead of Spiritual Beings having a human experience.
Those in the spirit world to whom we belong, strive to make us aware of their presence and long for us to know how much they love and care.
The everyday world alerts our attention so many times to little signs and symbols if we open our senses and our awareness.
The registration number on a car that connects to a certain person and there it is straight in front of us. A name on a building or a sign post. A song on the radio, a pattern on the ground, a scent, a colour, white feathers, a face in the clouds. All these are powerful connections.
Once we open our minds to the realisation that we are not alone and that we are only walking a parallel path for the moment, we feel the amazing connection and know that ALL IS ONE.
Dear Friend,
As snowdrops and crocuses start poking their heads through the soil, they remind me of one of David Attenborough’s recent programmes: The Green Planet - Series 1.
In this programme he tells us about some of nature’s unusual survival methods. Some of the most deadly and vicious plants survive due to certain outside help, which unwittingly, for the benefit of both, provide a lifeline for the plants' well-being and survival of each.
The 'Hedgehog' or Tristerix cactus is covered in many long pointed spines. One of the few birds able to perch on the spines and evade its defences, is a fruit eating mockingbird. The mockingbird’s droppings fall on the seeds of the cactus thereby fertilising them.
The parasite Tristerix
We see this kind of chain of events happening repeatedly in the natural world. In fact once we start to look at things and events more closely, we can begin to see a 'Chain of Events' existing everywhere.
I am sharing with you a selection of photographs of the Queen. On the 6th February, we were reminded of the sudden death of King George VI on the 6th February 1952, after a long illness. This chain of event 70 years ago, changed the status of the young Elizabeth from princess to that of queen.
At the time, Princess Elizabeth was on honeymoon with Prince Philip at Kenya's oldest safari lodge, Treetops - an elaborate treehouse on the edge of a watering hole in Aberdare National Park. There was a platform where you could climb up and watch the animals. Lady Pamela Hicks (1st cousin to Prince Philip) who was travelling with the Queen, tells us ‘she climbed up as a princess and climbed down as Queen’.
At her Coronation she pledged ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong’.
That was a promise she has kept for over 70 years. She is now the longest reigning monarch in British history. Bells will ring out as celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee will be held all over the country and Commonwealth.
We see the many changes that have happened during her long and wonderful reign. She has managed to bring the monarchy into the modern age and to keep it moving with, and abreast of, the times. She has dedicated herself to the promises she made at her Coronation.
This year, on the eve of the 6th February, the Queen wrote ‘Tomorrow, 6th February marks the anniversary of my Accession in 1952. It is a day that, even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George V1 as for the start of my reign.’
As we look back on the many chains of events that have happened during her reign, she has continued to look ahead. One of the most recent changes being her wish that the Duchess of Cornwall be crowned Queen Consort when Prince Charles ascends to the throne. This is principally due to: the Duchess’ quiet work and number of engagements she has carried out - often behind the scenes; her dedication to many of her favourite charities; and the support and love she has given Prince Charles over the years. Much water has passed under the bridge and all this has been closely observed by the Queen.
After having shown two quite different examples of ‘Chain of Events’ it got me thinking that indeed there was really nothing unusual or clever about a Change of Events. In fact the more I thought about it, I realised that just about everything is as a result of a chain of events! Why don’t you start by thinking about the chain of events that have happened in your lives, and then as you expand it, the more interesting it becomes. In history, in the natural world, science, the arts, religion... you can go on forever. What fun!
Weaving the Connection of Light Everything in the universe is connected by threads of light. A Divine network.
We are all responsible for how we weave these threads, for they are strands of light, colour, scent and sound.
We use them all, mostly unconsciously, every day. But when we start to CONSCIOUSLY weave these patterns, we become the artists of the higher realms.
Every thought is registered, every word and every movement are all collected to create the greater whole. What a responsibility!
We can either paint a dark, murky picture or a light filled, magical, colourful one.
We are all here for a significant purpose at this time. We deliberately chose this prosperous period of evolution to incarnate on earth. We are learning to overcome darkness and to vibrate to a higher frequency.
Everything is formed through the vibration of light, whether it is of a lower quality or higher and we blend in with it all the time.
If we are experiencing a lowness of spirit, try bringing in the Light by maybe going outside, listening to the birds or breathing in the energy of the trees, flowers, grass and air, or listening to music etc and by so doing, we automatically vibrate with the refreshed energy and consequently enhance the condition. We will resonate to the same frequency and through the law of attraction, attract more of the same quality.
The thread of light or darkness becomes stronger when we give it power through the direction of our thoughts.
Now is the time to weave the most colourful, beautiful threads of light so that the pattern around the earth becomes a network of Divine energy from which mankind can draw healing, love and transformation.
Suzan Simpson February 12th 2022
Crop Circle Tours
As bookings are coming in thick and fast and travel plans are being relaxed globally, I hope that many people from overseas will be free at last to join me on one of my wonderful crop circle tours this summer. I look forward to welcoming you to our sacred Isle of Albion and the magic of the circles.
The first crop circle tour on Wednesday 27th July 2022 will include an optional extra of a much sought after private entry to Stonehenge, right up to the stones. Only a few people are allowed in at any one time. It is a mystically wonderful experience to see the sun set over the stones and feel the magic of this ancient place. You will feel their powerful energy surround and embrace you.
The second crop circle tour on Tuesday 2nd August 2022, has an optional extra of an evening flight. This is an incredible way of seeing circles in all their majesty from the air, together with the surrounding countryside, which depending on where the circles are, might include flying over the famous stone complex at Avebury and the sacred Silbury Hill, the largest man-made hill in Europe.
I also take a few private tours by appointment
Lexophile
‘Lexophile’ describes those that love words, and sentences such as: ‘You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish,’ and, ‘To write with a broken pencil is pointless.’
An annual competition is held by the ‘New York Times’ to see who can create the best and most original lexophile:
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
This girl today said she recognised me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore.
I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A.
I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.
As usual I am sending you Pam Gregory’s forecast for February, and an astonishing piece of driving.
I wish you a wonderfully happy, uplifting and positive year ahead. Happy, happy New Year,
I wish you all the best.
Great work to reach your fondest goals
And when you have done, sweet rest.
I hope for you fulfilment
Contentment, peace and more
A brighter New Year than
You’ve ever had before.
With apologies to Joanna Fuchs
Now that we are starting a new year, I feel full of hope for the future. It is as though we have been given a clean sheet of paper to start afresh, with new opportunities to do with as we will - however our lives or present situations may be. The gift of friendship is a special gift which can make difficult situations more bearable for those whose lives are caught up in unavoidable problems.
As I walk round my garden, I see little green shoots poking their heads up through the soil, bringing with them the renewal of life. The wonder of nature as it comes out after its long sleep, gently at first as though it is testing the water and then, when the time is right, it will burst out with spring time magnificence. A feeling of exultation, magic and sheer excitement as it unfolds before my eyes. The birds, mainly robins, are starting to join in with their spring songs, as they too sense this magic. Winter, and its change to spring, is also the time when on some days the air feels so clean, and the skies are a strikingly bright blue as though untouched and new.?
I live in Hampshire on the borders of West Sussex and we are fortunate in having many small and very ancient churches. Many are called shepherd’s churches and are often found buried deep in the far reaches of the countryside. They are the Octagon Parish Churches and consist of eight churches to be found in villages and fields nestling in the hills of the South Downs National Park. These ancient churches have their homes in thriving villages and communities. I have visited most of them and they radiate a special peace and tranquillity. The walks around are wonderful, and views hidden from normal view open up before you to give a sense of antiquity as if you have gone back many hundreds of years. In mediaeval times, an octagon was considered to be halfway between a circle (God) and a square (earth). It was the place where heaven and earth came into contact. That is why pulpits and fonts are often octagonal in shape.
I am going to take you to three, each one has its own special energy - peace, hope, reassurance - and above all Love. Some are magnificent, others are bare and humble. All have their sense of tranquillity and closeness to the Divine.
One of my favourite churches is the Holy Trinity Church in West Sussex at Boxgrove - this church is not one of the Octagon Churches but in the same vicinity
Church of St Mary and St Blaise, Boxgrove with renovated ancient priory wall
As you enter the church, there is a sense of peace, calm and wonder at its magnificence. In order to walk down the aisle, one has to tread on a magnificent labyrinth. Walking round a labyrinth is a spiritual walk, each step a walk of prayer and meditation.
Labyrinth in the Church of St Mary and St Blaise, Boxgrove, West Sussex
One of its most striking assets is the wondrous ceiling with its magnificent Tudor painting
The ceiling of the Church of St Mary and St Blaise, Boxgrove, West Sussex. Foliage and heraldry painted in the mid-6C by Lambert Bernard
It lies on part of the old priory church about which we are told that ‘The Priory was founded in the reign of Henry I, about 1123 by Robert de Haia (or de la Haye), Lord of Halnacre by gift of the king. A Saxon church had existed on the site before the Conquest. The Priory was founded for three Benedictine monks, and was owned by the Lessay Abbey in Normandy.’ There is an even older church close by at Bosham about which we read `the Venerable ‘Bede wrote that Bishop Wilfrid, visiting Bosham in 681, found a small monastery with five or six brethren led by Dicul, an Irish monk.’
Boxgrove Priory Ruins
I live near an ancient village of South Harting, which lies snugly nesting under the South Downs hills. Listed in the Doomsday Book, it is a most charming village and is just over the border from Hampshire into West Sussex.
South Harting was listed under the ancient hundreds of Dumpford as the large Manor of Hertinges, which included 196 households encompassing South, West and East Harting. They were 134 villagers, 42 smallholders and 20 slaves. With resources including ploughing lands, meadows, woodland and nine mills, it had a value to the lords of the manor of £100. The joint lords were the church of St Nicholas, Arundel, and Earl Roger of Shrewsbury.
Apart from three generations of the Earls Montgomery the manor was in the possession of the Crown until 1610 when it was granted to the Caryll family. In 1746 the manor was purchased by the Featherstonhaugh family.
Last week, a friend kindly took me to lunch at the ancient 15c White Hart Pub in South Harting, West Sussex.
White Hart Pub
After enjoying an excellent meal, we walked along the street to the famous church of St Mary and St Gabriel. Situated on a slight rise, its green copper spire acts as a landmark for miles around. A whipping post and stocks placed by the church gate gives one a reminder of days gone by.
On entering the church, I was struck by such a feeling of calm and tranquillity but above all a sense of welcome - an invitation to proceed further. Most striking on entering was a suspended and inspirational statue of St Gabriel, glistening in the sunlight. Sculptured in resin by the worldwide notable sculptor Philip Jackson (who has more works, including the wonderful and moving stature of Bomber Command Memorial standing in Green Park) than any other sculptor.
I took several photographs of St Gabriel and could not believe my eyes when in one photograph St Gabriel’s feet were together as in crucifixion form and in the other photograph, were wide apart - was it a miracle caught by my camera. I stared and stared - could this be true - yes, a miracle. My heart pounded with excitement and wonder.
But no - the answer lay in the angle from which I had taken the images. I will always remember the moment of electrifying and breathless amazement.
Adjacent to St Gabriel is a most striking spiral staircase. There is a clock that needs to be wound daily and before the staircase was installed the only access was a ladder in order to gain access to reach and wind the clock. This was becoming a problem. However Uppark Estate kindly stepped in and this most beautiful stairway was carved from a single piece of oak.
The Oak Stairway
This is a church full of treasures, one of which is the Queen Post ceiling and the effigies of John Cooper and his wife Margaret plus his father John, dating back to 1580/90. The fact they are in colour depicts their standing and wealth.
I have only scratched the surface of this remarkable church and you may be sure that I will visit it again as it has made a deep impression by its energy and wonderful sense of embrace.
There was a fire in part of the church in 1576, destroying part of the church including a section of the ceiling which had been destroyed and rebuilt. there is so much more important information to be had, I recommend this website
Most of these villages are hundreds of years old, tucked away deep inside the countryside and sometimes under the folds of hills surrounded by verdant pasture land. And as you enter and stand or sit (depending on the weather) an image enters one’s mind of shepherds in their Sunday best smocks wending their way to these special places to speak to God. Or maybe at other times just for a moment of peace away from the hardships of daily life.
As you approach Up Marden’s St Michael’s, you can immediately ‘feel’ exactly when you have entered its energy field. An energy field of such love, peace and calm that one is loath to leave and return to the mundane problems of the outside world.
Up Marden in summer
Up Marden in summer
Simon Jenkins wrote:
“You can go to Iona or Jarrow, to Cornwall or the Welsh Marches, and you will not find a more moving witness to early Christianity than here in the uplands of West Sussex.
These churches are little more than hermitages, cells of piety amid poverty. Centuries of patronage passed them by without alteration or embellishment. Most are described as Saxon-Norman. I would call them English Early Christian. They are first cousins to the pagan wood shrines whose sites they probably occupy.”
“The Spirits of Downsmen past and present may haunt Up Marden. They may gasp up the hill, tramp through the wicket gate and kneel exhausted before their God. But more than the spirits seem to fill this clearing. More than dryads flit from tree to tree. The Downland churches have a stronger magic. The unbeliever departs them all ill at ease.”
As you may have gathered, I have a passion for small and ancient churches, for their energy and for their modesty - for their stark appearance and lack of ornamentation. Their starkness belies their strength, as they stand strong and proud, welcoming the stranger with open arms within their protective walls; a welcome abundantly rich in contrast to their humble appearance.
Crop Circle Tour Dates 2022
As we eagerly await the start of the crop circles, usually in April in oil seed rape, but more frequently in May, I am now able to give you my tour dates. I have had so many enquiries and I look forward to welcoming you.
The first crop circle tour on Wednesday 27th July 2022 will include an optional extra of a much sought after private entry visit right up to the stones. Only a few people are allowed in at any one time. It is a mystically wonderful experience to see the sun set over the stones and feel the magic of this ancient place. You will feel their powerful energy surround and embrace you.
The second crop circle tour on Tuesday 2nd August 2022, has an optional extra of an evening flight. This is an incredible way of seeing circles in all their majesty from the air, together with the surrounding countryside, which depending on where the circles are, might include flying over the famous stone complex at Avebury and the sacred Silbury Hill, the largest man-made hill in Europe.
I also take a few private tours by appointment
I know many of you are interested in astrology and this video is overall encouraging
May you tread safely and joyfully.
This is the time between seasons. As the evenings draw in, it gives us the impression of shorter days. This illusion often takes us by surprise and tricks us into summer time expectations. Unusually this autumn, those expectations were reinforced by the UK experiencing one of the warmest and sunniest Septembers on record. We are now in October and despite a noticeable chill in the mornings and evenings, those glorious and benign sunlit days continue, especially where I live in the south of England.
It seems that suddenly the sun slips away to rest leaving a marked nip in the air and sending us reaching for our jackets and warmer clothes.
I always find this an exciting time of year as the trees put on a new and vibrant set of clothes. Reds, oranges, yellows all join in the display. This year, because the heavy rain we had earlier left the soil moist, this splendid spectacle has been delayed. Each year, with my camera at the ready, I wander through woods surrounded by the towering beeches, oaks - all guardians of the wood, looking for the many mushrooms hiding under the fallen leaves or rotten wood, and all the other treasures with which nature provides us. The picture of acers below was taken by my sister Amanda Spence at Winkworth Arboretum, near Godalming, Surrey.
Looking at this image, it is hard to imagine and understand what is happening in the outside world all around us. Thankfully climate change is high on the agenda and I am praying that something concrete may come out of the Cop26 meeting in Glasgow at the end of this month. I have the feeling that we are all getting tired of talk without much action.
I know I am not alone in this dismay. When visiting Cardiff to open the Welsh parliament this week our Queen was overheard to say to her daughter in law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and the presiding officer Elin Jones: “I’ve been hearing all about COP … I still don’t know who’s coming.”
On the recording, parts of which are inaudible, the queen also appears to say it is “irritating” when “they talk, but they don’t do.”
The Queen, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, along with many world leaders will be attending the conference. This is an opportunity for real and well considered action. This action is needed for future generations and the many young people who are growing up really concerned and actively showing an interest and wanting to do something concrete about the current situation.
Earlier in the week, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, when speaking at the Youth4Climate conference in Milan, mocked the world leaders for their lack of action in doing nothing but ‘blah, blah, blah'.
How difficult it was for many people during the three lockdowns, but I do believe that they may have produced an unexpected and important wake-up call. For the first time, due to the lockdowns, many more people have become aware of the wildlife all around them and suddenly brought to mind the perilous situation in which many species are close to extinction or desperately striving to exist. The destruction of our precious Brazilian rainforests where many species of wild life once existed, in order to grow more and more palm oil for our greedy and ignorant consumption, seems to be ignored. If it continues it will cause the rapid disruption of our planet, accelerating the climate change it brings with it. We all need to start thinking seriously on a macro level. Perhaps just to start by not buying any goods containing palm oil would be a start.
Google tells us “Unbelievably, more than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. That is more than 150 acres lost every minute of every day, and 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues.”
The link below will show you how the world’s rain forests are being destroyed.
https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/palm-oil-deforestation
On a happier note, my sister and I give each other the choice of doing something or visiting somewhere of interest on our respective birthdays.
This time it was my sister’s choice, as her birthday was last month. Fortunately we both have very similar interests and this year she chose Ham House, near Richmond, London (which I had been hoping to visit). It was a balmy September day and we were in no hurry.
As we reached Ham House we drove through the village, passing some really splendidly large Queen Anne and classical Georgian houses. The village of Ham was first recorded around 1150 and the name was taken from the Old English hamm, which in this instance meant ‘land in a river bend’. Henry V acquired the manor of Hamme Upkyngeston in 1415, thus bringing the village into a closer relationship with the royal estate at Richmond upon Thames.
“Built in 1610 for Sir Thomas Vavasour, knight marshal to James VI and I. Said to present more aspects of 17th-century life than any other house in the country, it was the meeting place of the Cabal, Charles II’s leading advisers between 1667 and 1673. “
Situated close to the river Thames in Ham, south of Richmond, it seems to be placed in a rural village and not in the London Borough of Richmond a few miles away.
When originally built, Ham House would have been surrounded by meadows.
“From the 1870s the farms began to convert to market gardening, cultivating fruit, beans and cabbages. Near the end of the 19th century, the Dysarts began to sell their land for development and villas were built for the upper middle classes.
“The council built some ‘homes for heroes’ after the First World War, and gravel and grit extraction created large pits - which have since been filled. In 1922–3 the extraction company constructed a lock and a dock, where the Thames Young Mariners are now based.
Ham polo club was founded in 1926. Polo ceased at Hurlingham and Barn Elms in 1939 and at Roehampton in 1955, so Ham is now the only place in Greater London where the game is played.”
Ham House
We had all day to wander and this we did, starting with the garden as rain was forecast for later. The garden had fallen into disrepair until the National Trust took over the estate in 1948 and gradually set about bringing the garden back to its original glorious formal state. Long avenues down which one would parade with small paths leading off, allows one to capture glimpses of wonderfully enticing vistas.
Part of the garden has been laid out as the Union Jack but this would only be visible if seen from above. However the layout is clearly visible from this ground plan.
Resting house
The Cherry Garden, presided over by the statue of Bacchus
There were also enticing gaps cut out at regular places in the yew hedge surrounding the garden, though which one could catch a glimpse of the garden beyond.
A glimpse through the yew hedge.
The Hornbeam Tunnel
This is a garden of such peaceful excitement and inspiration that if I lived closer it would become a place to visit regularly; a place of magic, as excitement after excitement unfolds before one’s eyes as first one wanders down one path and then the next and the next; a place where dreams drift in and out and all woes and troubles disappear for just a precious moment.
The interior of Ham House was no less inspiring. It was created by William Murray. As a child he was educated with Charles 1. His daughter Elizabeth married the Earl of Lauderdale and they set about filling the house with treasures from around the world. Each generation added to its splendour.
As we walked round we both felt the sense of a family house. Despite its grandeur, it seemed more a used family home than a stately house. Ham House is known for its fine collection of cabinets - one of the most important in the country. Cabinets despite having been used in Roman times, in the 17th century they became more important and were an indication of wealth. They were brought to Ham House from all over the world, from countries such as China, Japan and Holland. The craftsmanship is of the very finest order. They are mainly kept closed in order to preserve the magnificent colours of the carved interiors and protect the original hinges.
I felt a sense of happiness and permanence as we wandered around, surrounded by family portraits by famous artists such as Peter Lely. Indeed on chatting to one of the guides, this was confirmed as the Tollemach and Dysart families, and descendants of the Murrays, often come and visit.
Tired and very happy, we drove home, comparing notes of our visit.
It is hard to believe that Christmas is not so far away. This has been drawn to my attention by the arrival of my 2022 calendar. A great friend helped me deal with almost 100 back orders. A great sense of relief as the last was safely tucked into its envelope. Taking them all to the Post Office the next day is always a bit of a worry, as laden with bags full of calendars to go all over the world means that the queue of people standing behind me grows longer and longer! Great apologies!
Having posted the backlog, I try to do the orders every day and then take them down to the Post Office on the same day if I possibly can. I have had some really lovely reports. I do so hope you will enjoy yours.
I know that Pam Gregory`s latest forecast is appreciated by many people:
I have seen this before but it remains unbelievably beautiful xxxx
After a quiet patch, the circles seem to have taken on a new lease of life and are galloping along, springing into action with renewed vigour and energy. Tra la, tra la.
With the dreadful fires threatening homes, lives, animals, flora and fauna, I realise how fortunate we are here in the UK. We may moan about the amount of rain we get, and for which we are notoriously famous - and indeed we are getting more and more - but there is no doubt about it, we are extremely lucky on the whole. However, there is much to do if we are to play our part in saving the planet.
As we live our daily lives we notice how different certain things have become over the years. For example, as I walk down the tramlines in the fields, it is a job to find any wildlife, whereas when I first started researching the crop circles, I used to find lots of little beetles and all manner of bugs and other wildlife. Nowadays the ground in the fields is bare. No secondary life, and it feels like concrete. I can only think that this situation is due to excessive agricultural spraying - fungicides, herbicides and pesticides - wildlife doesn’t stand a chance. I remember once a lark flew up just ahead of me as I was walking down a tramline. Clearly she must have been sitting on her nest tantalisingly close by. Sadly I did not have my camera with me. I seldom see a lark or hear their wonderfully melodious song in the fields any more.
The countryside is so wonderful. This has been brought home to us during the Covid pandemic when so many of us looked anew at the abundance of natural wonder around us. We need to concentrate the mind and body to embrace and nurture it with open arms. Talking about it is not enough.
After an unnaturally quiet period, the circles have sprung to life after their siesta. Flying is such a thrill, seeing the circles in all their wondrous glory and the surrounding countryside from above.
This year we had a spate of weather when Wellington boots and umbrellas were the order of the day, but quite miraculously I managed to take two tours. Both days were perfect and the sun shone throughout. The first tour ended with an optional extra of a private entry visit to Stonehenge. There is a special mysterious and spiritual quality of being so close to the stones. Witnessing the joy of those accompanying me lifted my spirits also.
Several people come with me year after year for their Stonehenge boost!
In the morning we visited the wondrous Avebury Circle. If ever you could have wished for a special circle, this was it. Despite being several weeks old, the energy was still palpable. It welcomed us with outstretched arms and, like Stonehenge, had a certain ineffable and compelling quality. On the first visit we stayed in it for one and half hours and for the second tour for two hours. The report I had from several people was ‘It only seemed like 10 minutes.’ To get bottoms off the ground and get going required a great deal of persuasion, such was their reluctance to leave!
I have only been in a very few circles with that special ineffable ‘je ne sais quoi.’ For a circle to remain relatively undamaged, even after four weeks, tells me that there is something very unusual and unique about it. It is almost as though visitors instinctively sense an unknown and distinctive quality. To have been lucky enough to experience this is indeed fortunate. You might think that having visited so many crop circles over the years, that my senses might have become dulled or blunted. Not at all! Ones like the Avebury circle leave me with a ‘feeling’ that stays upon and in me for some considerable time.
It is interesting to note that two people, separately and not in either of my groups, were both turned away by the circle. They never managed to get in!
We then had a delicious and relaxing lunch at the Honey Street Mill Café served by young and very happy, helpful staff.
As we were going to run out of time, we popped in and out of the marvellous and most illuminating and instructive crop Circle exhibition - well worth spending more time there - and on to our next circle at Hackpen.
Hackpen is one of my very favourite locations and the panoramic views are breathtaking. The circle we visited paled into insignificance compared to the Avebury event. However, it is good to have a comparison, and certainly I had no difficulty persuading people to leave! Some wanted to visit the Henge Shop, a most excellent place full of the most exciting and unusual things to buy. It is owned and run by a charming Belgian couple Phillipe and Dominique Ullens, under whose auspices it has flourished.
I took the rest of the group round part of Avebury Stone Complex, the most notable and exceptional location of its type in the world. All this area is part of UNESCO. Avebury is the only inhabited stone complex anywhere in the world. Six thousand years old and as you wander round the stones, you can feel part of history rubbing off on you.
And then to Stonehenge for our special private entry visit. English Heritage had slipped in an earlier tour, delaying ours, but once inside and within touching distance of the giant stones - though touching is not allowed - the majesty of the place overwhelms you, and if you are lucky and the light is good, to watch the shapes of the towering megaliths, standing proud like cathedral columns, fade majestically against the setting sun, is an experience not easily forgotten.
As the tours were only a few days apart, we followed the same crop circle visits as the first. The only difference, later in the evening, being the optional extra of the flight over the circles we had visited during the day, including other sacred places of interest such as Silbury Hill and the very ancient West Kennett Long Barrow which in itself is worth a visit. All these places are linked by earth energies in the sacred landscape. They are not placed randomly but by using precise megalithic yard measurements and knowledge of the heavens - wisdom inherent in our ancient forebears whose lives were governed by their astrological and astronomical knowledge.
This has been such a very strange year, I don’t quite know what to make of it - things seem all out of joint and not where they used to be. I know many people feel the same - all topsy turvy - and it is a struggle to get back to any sort of normal rhythm. Even the circles seem to be out of flow due to a very cold spring and then an up and down summer. As a result, they were abnormally slow to start, and then in the middle, they seemed to run out of breath and went for a siesta before waking up again.
We have had some lovely ones recently, but certain unhappy farmers, rather than cutting them out, have flattened them instead.
One unflattened event appeared the other day about 20 minutes from where I live. It has a complex inner hexagram consisting of interlocking and overlapping equilateral triangles. It has excited various explanations from the biblical, astronomical and geometric related comments. As usual the crop circles are there for everyone, giving us the chance to enjoy them in any way we see them or as they speak to us individually.
On the same day a pleasingly simple circle arrived at Marten, Wiltshire.
We conducted our scientific research tests in the Avebury circle, led by advanced clinical physiologist Paul Gerry. I will write up the results in my annual report early next spring.
This summer the tests were conducted using a new and exciting programme.
“I would very much like to concentrate on one person of your choice, and with their permission use a brainwave assessment called the CAM - Client Assessment Module which measures the ratios of the various brainwave frequencies and produces a table highlighting such emotions as anxiety, panic levels, brain fog, clarity of thought and more. This is similar to the clinicalQ testing used in Neurofeedback. In summary it detects dysregulation of the EEG. It would be absolutely wonderful if the crop circle energy has an effect on these and can be scientifically documented. I hopefully will also have a prototype pair of glasses that have an array of LEDs that flash evoking a brain response. I aim to use 40 flashes per second and measure what is called the flash following response. It has been shown that 40 Hz brain activity is diminished in people with memory problems and by stimulating the brain at this frequency it improves memory. So by measuring the brainwaves at 40 Hz we can see if there are more within the circle.”.
Tremor tests were also conducted on people suffering from Essential Tremor.
Pam Gregory's latest video
This poem, Meg Merrilees, has long been one of my favourites. I was introduced to it when my younger son was given it to learn when he was very young.
Meg Merrilies
by John Keats
Old Meg she was a Gipsy,
And liv'd upon the Moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath turf,
And her house was out of doors.
Her apples were swart blackberries,
Her currants pods o' broom;
Her wine was dew of the wild white rose,
Her book a churchyard tomb.
Her Brothers were the craggy hills,
Her Sisters larchen trees—
Alone with her great family
She liv'd as she did please.
No breakfast had she many a morn,
No dinner many a noon,
And 'stead of supper she would stare
Full hard against the Moon.
But every morn of woodbine fresh
She made her garlanding,
And every night the dark glen Yew
She wove, and she would sing.
And with her fingers old and brown
She plaited Mats o' Rushes,
And gave them to the Cottagers
She met among the Bushes.
Old Meg was brave as Margaret Queen
And tall as Amazon:
An old red blanket cloak she wore;
A chip hat had she on.
God rest her aged bones somewhere—
She died full long agone!
I am greatly indebted to all those who have kindly made a donation in order to keep me up in the air. Thank you so much.
This is going to be another very short letter as there is little to report. This is one of the years when the circles have seemed most reluctant to appear. However, there is an easy explanation - the very cold weather we had in May was responsible for delaying the crops by almost a month.
Notwithstanding, the barley is now in full and wonderful growth, whereas the wheat, as usual, dawdles behind before coming into its glory.
As I write we have had two circles to date. The first to grace our fields appeared in my home county of Hampshire. This aerial picture shows a wonderfully clean impression in the crop, precise and sharply chiselled into the field like the work of some giant pastry cutter.
Many are the times when the phenomenon appears linked to celestial events, and on the 10th June 2021 an annular solar eclipse occurred. This happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby partly obscuring the Sun for a viewer on Earth. It seems that during the eclipse, the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, so it causes the Sun to look like an annulus. Indeed a formation resembling this event was reported to have appeared at Wooton Rivers on the 11th June.
It is my belief that when the number of circles gracing our fields at the end of the summer is totalled, they will be on a par with other years, and so we must try and be patient.
On a worldwide scale, our world leaders met at Carbis Bay in Cornwall to discuss problems facing the world – including economic issues, health emergencies and the climate crisis. They deliberated on how best to move forwards jointly to find solutions on many fronts. One of the foremost demands of their attention was how to distribute the Covid vaccine globally in order to attempt to achieve world-wide immunity. Equally pressing is climate change and what must happen to bring our planet back into balance.
How do crop circles play out on a global stage? Though they are summarily dismissed by many, little do people realise what they bring to mankind, and how they affect our thinking and bring about a general feeling of well-being and clarity of thought, often lasting for several weeks, as is frequently reported by those who have spent time in a crop circle .
They have enlisted some of the very finest minds in all areas of learning. Crop circles can calm and still the mind; bring clarity of thought and inner wisdom; a deeper understanding and greater knowledge; and a unity of mind and action. They open hearts and minds in ways we never expected. They bring down barriers of class, colour and creed and initiate discussion on a broad front.
Whether you like them or hate them, as many farmers do - with good reason when their fields are damaged - they present themselves to the world innocently, leaving it up to us as individuals to awaken - or not - to new ways of understanding the world in which we live. They are a clarion call to our changing world.
With my love and best wishes,
Lucy.
PS. As I go to post I have news of another circle.
Shaw Hill, near Ludgershall, Wiltshire. 14th June 2021 (Barley. 180 feet (54.5m) diameter.)