Around the cookfire...

The friendships formed through the shared creative celebration of Wild Women are very important to us. In this transient, disjointed world, it is all too easy to lose touch with the value of simply sharing with other women. The sharing of creativity, stories, songs, poems, tears and laughter around the fire has been a deep female tradition for thousands of years, and yet, we are strangely disconnected from that community nowadays. One of the things that felt very important in starting Wild Women, was the creation of that shared supportive space. Not in the sense of a therapy group, but in the sense of a life sharing circle. And it was very apparent right from the start, that the old traditions were alive and well within us.

One of those was food - the sharing of and eating. I asked every participant to bring something to share for lunch. Right from the first session, this wonderful parade of dishes appeared, and as Adam prepared them in the kitchen, we shared our stories, wrote our poems and travelled our journeys. On return, we joined for a feast and there was certainly no mention of dieting! Infact, it was obviously such a central part of our union, that I extended the workshop time by an hour to give time for the eating! Eventually, this sharing of cooking and eating filtered into our writing, and became our second anthology "Hot Pot of Passion: A Sensual Celebration of Food" The book was written from a series of workshops that I lead, and edited by a group member Julie Stebbings. It was completely vegetarian, even the poems, and combined poems, recipes and love spells, celebrating the nourishment and sensuality of the Wild Women - and the first of its kind to be published - but here I am jumping ahead of ourselves!

On that subject though, one of our later members, Yvonne, has agreed to share with us her memories of Wild Women. Yvonne joined Wild Women on our 1 year anniversary, and it seemed as though she had always been with us! Although she did not take part in the first journey, the timing seemed just right, and she was soon a fully fledged 'wildie'. A dedicated healer and spiritual woman, Yvonne also has a passionate and wild side that I think is evident in her early poetry - and certainly in her dancing! She now lives in Scotland, and is a Reiki and crystal healer and Nia dance guide, but we meet for our annual retreats and at other gatherings. Here is her story, in her words...

Yvonne (left) and I at the launch of Hot Pot of Passion,
held at the Penrith Ballroom.
My favourite was the notice downstairs that read
"Wild Women in the Ball Room"!

'I joined Wild Women a number of months after it had first started, invited by Sal and Vikki who I already knew. I can remember setting off from Northumberland where I lived at that time in glorious sunshine and feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension at joining an already established (indeed published!) group of women, when I had never done any creative writing myself. I needn’t have worried about not being accepted as everyone was really friendly and welcoming, and as interested in the gorgeous food for lunch as much as writing! I felt a bit out of depth as far as the writing went, as they were just starting work on the anthology ‘Hot Pot of Passion’, but felt incredibly proud at having a poem or two published (even if I didn’t think they were as good as the rest!) – Self-criticism was never allowed, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Vik prints this on her blog . . . . ☺ (I don't agree with Yvonne, but in the interest of honesty - yes, I have left that bit in!!! Vik) I still have some wonderful friends from the group and experienced their love and support when things were rough. In fact I know I can always count on their loving support if I hit the rocks again, which makes my heart smile in gratitude.'

And here is one of the poems from Yvonne, published in Hot Pot of Passion (the line layout has been affected by blog contraints and does not appear as it does in the book!):

If I Were a Three Course Meal

To start, I shall enliven your taste buds,
a variety of crisp green and red lettuce and rocket,
roughly chopped with tender tendrils of spring onion,
sweet and pungent, and a sprinkling of
dark earthy pumpkin seeds to add crunch.
Now comes the sensuous creamy slices of avocado
slithering around the glass bowl.
Next, toss in splashes of olive oil, tamari and lemon juice.
Serve, and enjoy the contrast of crunchy and smooth.

Now your taste buds have been jangled and are ready for the
feast.
Succulent vegetables grilled in olive oil
and shards of black peppercorns,
served with hot jersey pots glistening as the butter tumbles
slowly at first, then like an avalanche towards the base of the
dish.
Titbits of freshly picked chives garnish the top like confetti.
Then the spears, with their green and purple tips,
languishing seductively in the pool of melted juices.

Feeling sated? But we're not finished yet!
Here is my bowl of temptress fruits.
Cherries red and plump, soft pink raspberries brimming with
juice.
Red grapes, tart on the outside but surprisingly sweet within.
And the lovers' fruit, strawberries,
already dipped in sugar and cream
and licked clean before tasting their sweet red juices!

CREATIVE EXERCISE
Now your turn...the creative exploration was to imagine yourself as a food or a meal - what would you be, what food or meal could describe the person you are? Now, write yourself from that perspective... and see what you cook up!