June
Throughout
Downshire and the Finchbottom Vale there is an abundance of quaint and
picturesque villages and hamlets, but Pepperstock Green is particularly
picturesque, with evidence of the thousand years since it was first settled
everywhere.
Notably its
12th century Church, two Tudor Inn’s, a Victorian Schoolhouse and Cottages
representing every era, spread almost haphazardly, amidst the craggy woodland,
around the green that gives the village its name and running through the center
of the large rambling village was the River Oxley.
The river, like
so many in Downshire, was the life blood of the Vale and as such it had
particular significance to the spiritual well-being of the land and its people.
Because of
that, for generations the Wiccan community had held a secret ceremony at the
time of the Summer Solstice, where they would make offerings to the river
goddess, chant incantations and then bathe naked in the waters.
By the 21st
century however they were no longer having to perform the ceremonies in secret,
as a result the St Adelaide’s Reflection and Healing Retreat played host to a
small group of visiting Wiccans, even though they weren’t officially open until
July 1st, and they were joined by some locals.
Afterwards when
the sun had set on the longest day, 28-year-old Gillian Lawrence had to rush
home and change as she was expected to attend her Cousin Sara’s 21st Birthday
Party at the Village Hall.
She didn’t
particularly want to go, it wasn’t her kind of thing, and as she was
unattached, and content to be so, she didn’t really think there was much point,
but her mother wouldn’t have let her hear the end of it if she’d stayed away.
When she
finally arrived at the party she was instantly urged to get up on the dance
floor, which was where her life changed forever.
Gillian had
never been the most coordinated girl, in fact she was inclined to be clumsy, so
it was no surprise to anyone that after a matter of minutes she had tripped
over her own two feet.
As a result,
she fell headlong into the arms of Scott Newman, at which point her flailing
arms instantly went round the neck of her saviour like a sprung trap and then
she kissed him wetly on the mouth, which he reciprocated, and that was a
surprise to all assembled including the couple themselves.
From that
moment on they were inseparable, and they danced the night away and when the
night was over he walked her home, and they shared a passionate good night kiss
on the doorstep.
The following
year Gillian didn’t participate in the Wiccan ceremony in the River Oxley as
they had a different kind of ceremony to attend when they were married at St
Agatha’s Church.
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