In April 1977 after selling our houseboat in Norfolk and travelling north in our VW camper van, Harley and I, then called Maggie, arrived at Findhorn with our youngest daughter. We knew we were heading for community life after reading Peter Caddy’s ‘Work is Love in Action’ and Eileen Caddy’s ‘Be still and know that I am God’ brought me to Findhorn

                                 

Our first stop was the Iona Community in a snowstorm but we soon realised the island community was not for us so headed back across Mull under a full rainbow, which we took as a sign that the Findhorn Community would be our next stop.

After doing the Experience Week we joined Orientation. Sanctuary, Meditation, Attunement, Manifestation and the workshops became the centre of our lives. Promotion came quickly and I was soon focalising Cluny homecare and in 1978 joined the guest department. In the autumn of 1978, I met Peter Caddy in Cluny who told us that families would be going to live at Cluny Bank. I found myself saying ‘no, I am going to Newbold’. A few weeks later I was in an Ed Branch Meeting when Peter Caddy came into the room to announce that the Community had been offered Newbold House – he looked at me and said ‘ you’ve got your Newbold’ which sounded easy but Core Group had other ideas, we were too newly at Findhorn. After a 7-month process Harley and I together with our daughter finally moved into Newbold with Gene Fleet, Sue Parr and 84-year-old Augusta Lumley in May 1979. For the first six months Newbold was rented by the FF Community, The first workshop was ‘The Game of Transformation’, which blew out all the electricity!

Newbold became independent in November 1979 and ran a payment by donation system. In the early days of members did Orientation and I retained my Foundation membership co-focalizing the occasional experience week. At that time nearly all members focalized the Newbold workshop programmes. The main ones being ‘The Art of Community’ combining Harley’s art and my love of community and ‘New Creation’ initially inspired to help ‘ground’ the Findhorn Experience week.

Beyond doubt Peter Caddy was my greatest teacher and supporter at Cluny and of Newbold. Soon after we moved into the house he came to tea with Eileen, Dorothy, David Spangler and Myrtle Glynes – what a group of ‘heavy weights’ that was and what a blessing that was for the new project.

It is hard to pick out highlights but two that impressed me most in the late 1970s were the Foundation’s weekly Friday Night family member’s sharings both either in the Park CC or Cluny dining room and the monthly new moon community work projects followed by celebrations in the Hall. I loved Rocs audio visual and listening to Sir George Trevelyan and the Conferences. Findhorn gave us space to be ourselves and grow in confidence and loving both giving and receiving.

Rarely have I heard the voice of God – but one day a coach load of Americans arrived, about 20 of them with luggage that stretched from one end of the hall to the other – such quality as we rarely saw! As we had no advance warning of the visit they were surprised to be told that our rooms were communal and they would need to decide who slept where and with whom. Sanctuary time came and we squeezed into the meditation room which usually held about 15 people. There were not enough blankets so they huddled two to a blanket and I began the meditation. Suddenly the silence was broken from outside the room as two late comers roved around saying ‘ Walt, I know that it is somewhere up here’, the door burst open and the pair came in ‘Here it is’ and everyone shuffled around to make room. I began again thinking to myself ‘who on earth are these people’ and that was when God said ‘never question who I send to Newbold’. They stayed two nights, leaving a very generous donation! It was a major lesson and had a profound influence on our openness to welcoming people, irrespective of first appearances.

I left Newbold at the beginning of 1985 and moved into the Caravan Park. During the next four years, I co-focalised an Orientation and an Essence programme, focalized a Park based Guest Department and with Mari Hollander developed Family Experience Weeks. In l987 I joined Personnel working with Frances Edwards, Carol Riddell, Margret Hagman and Michael Dawson.

During this time Harley worked with others in Europe, particularly Berlin and Budapest, on finding ways to bring humanity together in peace across the iron curtain divide.

After leaving the community in l989 Harley and I designed and built a house in Roseisle with the help of many talented and wonderful friends. Harley become a professional artist working for Scottish Business portraying the spiritual essence of the company and together we wrote a book ‘Painting for your Living’ also running workshops for artists in the local area. At the same time I began my own counseling practice based on Phylis Krystal’s book ‘Cutting the ties that Bind’. I also maintained a close link with the Findhorn Foundation co-focalizing two Spring Conferences ‘Partnership and Family’ with Guy Thorvesen and ‘Conscious Living/Conscious Dying’ with Barbara Faro along with a wonderful team of helpers. I continued to help with the family weeks in the Park and at Newbold, co-focalising ‘Releasing into Life’ workshops with Tony Brown.

A couple of years after the house was completed, we felt life was becoming a bit boring, so we sold up, bought a 28’ Chevrolet Allegro Motorhome and travelled all around Great Britain, from Orkney to Landsend, giving workshops on ‘How to make a Living from your Art’. We met many lovey people during this time, but the day came when we felt we needed to be back in Scotland and settle down so in 2006 we gave up traveling and moved into Sluie Lodge, a tiny lodge house on the edge of the Earl of Moray’s estate. It really was our dream house. We created a garden, part-cultivated, part-wild which evolved during our time there and included a mini-loch hand built by Harley and friends. Harley spent his days painting, designing websites and working with local businesses on creative ways to promote themselves whilst and I spent many hours researching my Scottish ancestry, pottering in our garden and keeping in touch with so many wonderful friends, some still in the areas, from our time in the community.

Sadly, Harley passed away beside me, early one morning in Feb 2019 after a short illness. He was still paining right up to 2 weeks before he died. I miss him very much but know that he is waiting for me to join him when I’m ready.

Our four daughters have continued the family dynasty by giving us six grandchildren and now 12 great-grandchildren! I’m living in a beautiful care home in Ascot, very close to our youngest daughter. My memory is not so good these days, but I do still like to hear about the community and talk about the many happy years Harley and I spent there.