One Wild Ruckus of a Time

What a way to bring in the New Year 2005. This last extended weekend starting Thursday and ending Monday we spent camping, dancing and playing music. We were invited to an annual Folk Festival/New Years Party at a farm about an hour north of Napier. The farm was just off the Mohaka River, which lent to steep, dramatic terrain. The first night we stayed up into the wee hours playing music and listening to people share songs that they knew. The next night was the Ceili dance, a very high-energy large group dance, which also went on into the late hours of the night. While the dance went on Glenn joined in a search and rescue for a camper who went off by himself and hadn’t returned. It was in scary terrain with goat’s paths and steep cliffs to explore in the late evening. Glenn with all his bravery was the one to encourage them to call it off because of the real possibility of someone else getting hurt. The next day the camper was OK, found in the middle of a waterfall by the search and rescue helicopter.
Needless to say we were pretty lazy through out the day but always saved up our energy for the night’s events. The third night was a night of sharing. All that attended this gathering had an opportunity to share whether it were a song, a poem, a story or a dance. What a marvelous evening and such a large wave of emotions from hilarity to seriousness leaving you with pure joy once the evening was through. Glenn shared a couple of his favorites, and Kjelsty got the kids to do a great percussion routine that entertained the crowd. Tony did an incredible Barnacle the Bill imitation, which was just hilarious.
We were told that these sorts of gatherings happen all over New Zealand. Our gathering place was the wool shed. The farm no longer raises sheep but the wool shed is still standing and is the largest building on the land. The shed is where we gathered to share music and fill ourselves on a freshly BBQ pork, chicken and delicious salads every night. One night there was a ceremonial slicing of the haggis, a strange graining pâté like substance that is boiled for many hours inside a sheep stomach. Glenn’s unpleasant scrunched up nose was not at all encouraging so I chose not to taste this strange concoction. Besides it looked like a hairy butt to me.
On the fourth day there was a battle. Dinah and Tony, both TV actors and real characters, had attended this gathering for the least 18 and established a tradition of organizing a reenactment of a battle between the Scottish and the English. Glenn joined in the mayhem whole heartedly leading the Scottish Army into battle as Brian the Brave, and of course the Scottish won by flinging cow pies and surprising the English in the complete chaos. After the battle we had a great final feast more salads and a giant BBQ and I had my first taste of goat. It was soooo good. Our final evening we were treated to another true character. Also an actor, Robin, called himself an interactive comedian and in pure form that night he sang and played the tambourine. With such inflection he gave old rock songs from the 50’s and 70’s new breath. I was full of giggles. Glenn thought Robin looked familiar, and we found out late he was in the main court in the Lord of the Rings. What a way to bring in the New Year with new friends and the joy for life these folk musicians seemed to have.