Real events in my time in the Ecovillage

Around 2001, I was looking for a writing idea so I could make regular contributions to the Rainbow Bridge – the community weekly magazine. My wife, Veralyn, and I had never had children so, as kind of a compensation, I’d been playing with an alter-ego – an imaginary 8 year old child called Violet for Veralyn’s amusement. Violet could reliably make Veralyn laugh (and how great is that in a marriage!) However, the more I inhabited Violet, the more real she became, and the easier it was to put her thoughts on paper. So from 2001 to the present day Violet has been an intermittent contributor to the Rainbow Bridge offering observations, help and solutions to community problems. One great thing about her is that she is only a little kid, so when she is a bit too outspoken or breaks community norms, no-one can really complain (although I do remember the Steiner School complaining when Violet said she came second in class in spelling – her spelling is atroshus!) Violet is the perfect vehicle for a Fool (and how great is that in a community setting!)

It’s the funny side of trying to live in a ‘spiritual’ community that always catches my attention. I vividly remember one ‘channeler’ coming to the Universal Hall. Apparently, according to his own claims, he could channel some Irish mystic from the past. He proceeded to speak as this Irish wise man and give us all spiritual advice. The big problem for me was his lousy Irish accent. It was terrible, cod-Irish with the whole works – begorrahs and to-be-sures thrown in. That killed it for me – if the guy could channel the man how come he couldn’t channel the accent? I’ve never been a big fan of channeling from that day on. If I want to contact some wise being, much better if I start by going inside as Eileen was always telling us to do.

Another funny story concerned the visit of an important Tibetan Lama who came to give a lecture in the Universal Hall. He was due to arrive by helicopter and we had heard that the best place to land the thing would be in the holiday park. Now, as any casual visitor to the Park will know, if you take a left from the main entrance, you are in community; if you take a right you are in the holiday park – run by NFD and catering to holiday makers who may have no interest whatsoever in a modern-day spiritual experiment. On this particular morning, the sun was shining and many holiday makers were outside breakfasting on wooden picnic benches or their own fold-up tables. One old couple were clearly enjoying their cornflakes when the purple helicopter containing the Lama dropped suddenly out of the sky and landed close to their table. They continued to eat breakfast and watch as a small people carrier pulled up and disgorged a bunch of devoted monks in full orange and purple robes. The monks formed a semi-circle round the emerging Lama (also fully robed) and prostrated themselves full length on the grass in front of him. Then they stood and used long alpen-horn type trumpets to blow a traditional greeting. The whole group including the Lama squeezed back into the people carrier and headed off to the Hall, the helicopter rose up and disappeared. The only proof of the visit was an indentation in the grass where the helicopter had been. And the old couple were still eating their cornflakes. To this day I regret not going over and asking them their opinion on what they had just seen. Anyhow, I doubt if the same thing will ever happen to them again, no matter how many caravan parks they visit on their holidays.

Dave Till