The Winter Solstice is a time to connect with people and nature. During the winter solstice, the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year. But it is also the return of light, as days start to get longer. The December-solstice solar year is the solar year based on the December solstice, which this year, 2023, is 22nd Dec at 03:28 (the video below was scheduled for release then!). I had my Son and Daughter around last night to celebrate (pictures to follow) and we will drink coffee at sunrise (8:14 here).
The mobile phone photos in the video below are from a work trip to Isle of Lewis in December 2011 (I was external examiner for a PhD viva). A colleague took me to the Calanais Standing Stones, which were erected roughly 5,000 years ago, pre-dating Stonehenge. In folklore, the Callanish Stones were petrified giants who would not convert to Christianity. Another legend is that early on midsummer morning an entity known as the "Shining One" walks the length of the avenue, his coming heralded by the call of the cuckoo. The last photo shows ivy gathered last week with a friend Carolyn at Uley Long Barrow, a partially reconstructed Neolithic chambered mound. It is 37 metres long and overlooks the Severn Valley. Music composed by, and played by, myself (John) with performance help from Three Bop.
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My kids grew up listening to Afro Celt Sound System and we will celebrated Simon Emmerson when we gathered last night for the Solstice; my first choice for our joint playlist was Whirl-Y-Reel 1. Our Spotify Playlist is called 'Celtic, Viking and Afro Celt music'. When the sad news about Simon came through via my Son in the Spring, at the time I did a short Reel about my fleeting time with Simon in Strawberry Switchblade. Simon left an amazing legacy. See also my photo story about this: Episode 6. Stint with Strawberry Switchblade.