Vicki Steward's Blog, page 6

Glastonbury Town – My Happy Place

A chat with a regular visitor to Glastonbury, Activity Coordinator and artist Emma WaltersEmma and Huw – photo by Stewart Wellar

One of my favourite things about Normal For Glastonbury is it gives me the chance to meet and chat with people and make new friends. Everyone has their own story and relationship with the town and I find it all fascinating. One of my (relatively ) new friends is Emma Walters, who visits Glastonbury with her husband Huw. I first contacted Emma after she made a co...

Wyrdraven, for all things Viking

I’ve often thought that Glastonbury has the most varied and interesting independent shops in the country. I recently spent a morning chatting with Stuart and Fiona Brogan in their Viking-themed shop ‘Wyrdraven’ on Benedict Street, where they talked about their passion for bringing the Viking era alive. It all started when Stuart and Fiona met seventeen years ago when Stuart moved to the Isle of Lewis in Scotland with his Dad. He was already a follower of Heathenry and Fiona was an SSPCA inspect...

A Nighttime Cycle on the Somerset Levels

We escape the heat to enjoy a pint in the Railway Inn and the sounds of an amphibian orgy

Glastonbury is a laid-back town at the best of times but this heatwave has laid all but the hardiest horizontal. Yesterday saw the temperature rise to 35 degrees. Town was quiet, except for some European visitors who couldn’t understand what the fuss was about. There was not a soul to be seen on the benches in the High Street, but a few people were recumbent under the trees in the Churchyard. The only s...

Glastonbury Past and Present Film Centenary

The Glastonbury Past and Present Film

One hundred years ago Glastonbury was the first UK town to have its history recorded in film. ‘Glastonbury Past and Present’ was made by the Avalonian poet Alice Buckton, featured local people as the cast and was released in 1922. The same year saw the premiere of Nosferatu in Germany and the release of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, it was the era of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. 

“In the shadow of the Glastonbury Tor, locals re-enact th...

Beltane 2022 in Glastonbury

It might not have been quite the weather we were hoping for, but the 2022 Beltane procession through the Town and gathering around the May Pole were a fantastic visual spectacle. There were green men, goddesses, a dragon, druids, lots of umbrellas, stilt-walkers, banner bearers, kids on shoulders, staffs and beards and dreadlocks, Vikings, fauns and fairies. The crowds gathered, horns were blown and drums beaten in a great cacophony of sound and colour.

There was a huge amount going on thro...

Normal for Glastonbury Six Years On

My 150th published post to mark the sixth birthday of Normal For Glastonbury

It’s ironic that Normal For Glastonbury only came about because I’d decided to leave Glastonbury, quite possibly for good. I’d had a pretty rubbish year in 2015, half of which I spent organising a festival that got cancelled at the last possible minute, leaving me skint and homeless. It seemed that after 22 years in the town I’d exhausted all the possibilities that Glastonbury had to offer me in terms of work and ac...

The Adventures of Miss Smith

An interview with Glastonbury artist Diana Milstein

I recently met up with Glastonbury artist Diana Milstein to talk about her art and her new book ‘The Almost Complete Works of Miss Smith’. This beautiful, large-format hardback is full of gloriously colourful reproductions of Diana’s prints, painting and mixed media work from the last 27 years, all featuring her adventurous alter-ego Miss Smith.

As soon as we sit down in Di’s artwork filled kitchen I realise this interview is going t...

Glastonbury Tor Trademarked

You’ll have to pay to photograph the Iconic landmark

One of the things I really enjoy about this blog and the Normal For Glastonbury Facebook page is sharing beautiful views of the Tor taken by the many talented local and visiting photographers. This iconic landmark has been captured in images taken throughout the day, through the seasons and from every viewpoint. Sadly, it seems the days of being able to freely photograph the Tor will soon be over.

I had no idea of what was planned until...

Nearly Normal in Glastonbury

He’s back!

I’ve noticed a definite shift in the vibe over the last couple of weeks. The sun is out, the daffodils are up and the Town Crier has made an appearance in Glastonbury for the first time in two years. I followed him around town, like some weird middle-aged stalker, and got these lovely pictures of him doing his thing. He didn’t seem to mind, he even let me hold his bell. Thank you David Greenway for everything you do for the town and for your unfailing cheerfulness and kindness.

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Bride’s Mound in Glastonbury

Bride’s Mound

Bride’s Mound (or Hill) is one of Glastonbury’s less known special places, yet it is a site of great archaeological interest and spiritual significance, a haven for wildlife and protected green space that is much loved by many in the town. An organisation called The Friends of Bride’s Mound was set up in 1996 to look after the site as it was threatened by development.

Bride’s Mound is on the Glastonbury Pilgrimage route and an article detailing its history and significance i...