Crazy Clown in a Bowl of Hero Soup: a perspective

December 2, 2021

Crazy Clown, in a bowl of Hero soup: a perspective. Robbie Newton.

Yes it’s time for me to focus on my Hero’s, a celebration of some of the pleasures that Denman has offered me in the times that I’ve spent here.

So now for an easy Hero, Esther Muirhead, whose determination to save the trees of the Fairy Creek area is now‘legend’ for us on Denman. Her reporting of what she has seen and been involved with has promoted many others to join in that campaign.

Personally my disgust is at a new high for those who identify with that once respectable NDP label. And Teal-Jones. the logging company who say they are providing for a market of ‘cedar shakes’; a product that is easily available from any cedar tree; suggests an unhealthy lust for power, in a society which already overindulges in that same lust.

One of my might have been Heroes was Andrew Scruton. I’d watch him tangle in the DIRA ‘arena’ that I still like to call “Ratepayers”, where the ‘possessive’ natures of residents still stir strong emotions. He did well there, taking criticism and rising above it; and thoughts about running for the Trust became public. However an admiring Bill Engleson attached himself to that goal; which stirred up the satirical pen of Ron Sakolsky; and Engle/Scruton, linking their names together becoming the butt of this lively piece of writing. Bill was outraged but sensibly Andrew added nothing of his own; and Andrew wasn’t elected; so as an “unadorned Hero” he remains.

My heroes, yes, but who are yours? I’m just one observer, there are so many more of you.

Think of who you would choose, and why; there’s too much negativity, it surrounds us: make your own positive notions known; free yourself and feel the relief.

Grumpisms

December 2, 2021

Poor communication and mistrust of Islands Trust governance, new regional poll ﬁnds

December 2, 2021

MEDIA RELEASE

Poor communication and mistrust of Islands Trust governance, new regional poll finds

EMBARGOED UNTIL:

Monday, November 29, 2021 9am For immediate release

SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC — The Islands Trust Draft Policy Statement should be deferred until the next municipal election mandate in Oct. 2022, say 85% of those surveyed in a recent poll. Another 69.3% say “scrap it” entirely. These were among the main findings from a new Southern Gulf Islands resident and business poll held over two weeks in November. Approximately 450 locals who joined a public website, via flyers, word of mouth and social media, were invited to complete the survey. The survey had a 42% response rate, representing 189 individuals of diverse ages from Salt Spring, Galiano, Mayne, Pender, and others.

Strong opposition to the current draft stems from the belief the Islands Trust regional government used a top-down, secretive process to ram through the 51 new regulatory directives, everything from banning desalination despite chronic water shortages, prohibiting new docks in areas with poor ferry service, disallowing tiny homes during a housing crisis, limiting farming, retail options or even the ability to cut a single, diseased tree on your property. “The draft plan,

developed by consultants and bureaucrats who don’t even live here, was presented with little room for public engagement or recognition of the uniqueness of each island,” says Jamie Harris, 51, a forestry worker with three children and group spokesperson from Salt Spring Island.

An Indigenous resident and construction sector member, Ron Spencer says: “This unaccountable “big brother” governance model is broken. We’ve already seen spectacular fails by similarly appointed regional governments like Metro Vancouver’s billion-dollar sewage plant boondoggle, leaving taxpayers on the hook.” Although he noted 58.7% of respondents are demanding a grassroots consultation, an even greater number, 75.1%, “aren’t even confident the Trust will integrate community concerns into a new Draft Policy.”

Despite these apparent trust issues, poor communication or public engagement to date, Harris and Spencer still believe a new community-based plan can balance environmental protection and integrate Indigenous values while expanding fresh water supply & affordable housing options without harming the local economy or food sources.

POLL HIGHLIGHTS:

Island Trust Public Engagement to date has been “very poor” (78.3%) of respondents.

Majority of respondents learned about the new Islands Trust Draft Policy Statement from their neighbours through word of mouth (50.3%) or a neighbour email (43.4%), followed by social media (18%) or their local newspaper (16.9%). Only 15.3% identified the Islands Trust as their source of news on the proposed new mandate.

74.1% were “strongly opposed” to the new Draft Policy Statement after viewing its content.

Similar to other cities and regions in BC and Canada, Affordable or Workforce Housing was cited by 24.9% as one of the key challenges facing the Gulf Islands. However, that was surpassed by the 35.4% who

pointed to the Islands Trust, Regional Governance, Local Government, Capital Regional District as the “biggest challenge”.

People were most concerned with the Islands Trust Draft Policy Statement impacts on the following areas of their lives and livelihoods, in ranked order of importance. Multiple answers were permitted.

Tree Cutting: a new requirement for every landowner to pay for a permit to cut a tree on private property (84.1%)
Taxation: taxes on local residents and business will substantially rise to support this expanded Islands Trust mandate that is proposing to include climate change, affordable housing and Indigenous reconciliation normally addressed by higher levels of government (83.1%)
Top-down approach to engagement: presenting a fully baked plan with little opportunity for input/changes (82%)
Moratorium on new public docks despite the lack of or limited ferry service between islands. People rely on boats to buy groceries, visit hospitals, or evacuate in emergencies (76.7%)
Doesn’t recognize uniqueness of each island (75.1%)
Livelihood: restrict local businesses, retailers, tourism, hotels, short-term rentals, farming, artists/artisans (69.3%)
Prohibition of desalinization plants that would help increase freshwater supply (64%)
Housing: size limits would decrease seasonal housing & rental housing options (63%)
Farming & Agriculture Restrictions: Island communities rely on local farming produce for their livelihood and food, as well as tourism opportunities with farm-based B&B (62.4%)
Heritage and Sustainability Values Defined by the Islands Trust not individual Community Plans (49.7%)

BACKGROUND:

Survey collation by Google Forms Excel spreadsheet tabs, source data Social media graphic

INTERVIEWS:

Jamie Harris, Volunteer, Salt Spring forestry worker

oldstonessi@gmail.com Due to limited mobility service, please text his cell: 1-250-530-9663

1. Ron Spencer, Volunteer, Salt Spring, Excavating Contractor of Indigenous descent. Ancestor was Tlingit noblewoman Anisalaga (Mary Ebbets Hunt). ronspencer@shaw.ca cell: 1-250-537-7493
2. Mairead Boland, Saturna Island maireadgboland@gmail.com cell: 1-520-241-2954

SELECTION OF SURVEY COMMENTS

All comments may be viewed in the excel spreadsheet in backgrounder.

“I asked what was the cost of the implications of the trust’s decision…was promised an answer, never got it.”

“The Policy Revision places way too much control in the hands of the unelected and unaccountable staff in Victoria.”

“Islands Trust needs to stick with its original mandate of land use and not try and expand its purview into areas of jurisdiction of other government agencies.”

“This is big brother at its worst.”

“The Trust needs to decide if Salt Spring is to be a tourist destination and pro-business or a nature reserve. There is a middle way!”

“Banning of docks, for those who use boats for work, community and helping neighbours, is absurd.”

“If people need to build on their land, let them! People should be able to make housing to rent which in turn will give jobs.”

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN GULF ISLAND RESIDENT AND BUSINESS COALITION:

We are an apolitical group of residents & businesses advocating for a balanced regional plan that protects the environment, includes Indigenous communities, expands freshwater & affordable housing options without harming our local economy or food sources. We are the grassroots of this community, people who raise families here, breed livestock, grow food and operate retail stores or create artisan wares.

W: Southern Gulf Islands Coalition E: concernedssiresidents@gmail.com

Comme ailleurs

December 2, 2021

Comme ailleurs

par Thomas Provençal

À Denman ça jase comme

partout dans le monde,

toutes les mêmes peurs

rongées à la ronde.

Les êtres humains

comme on le sait bien

sont pas mal pareils,

or, jusqu’aux orteils.

On aime créer une belle histoire,

comment la vie se vit.

Chez la voisine où l’on se compare

on renforce notre avis.

Comme tout le monde

on crée des cliques,

une chaleur sociale.

Quand on se croise au centre,

l’échange est cordial.

Comme ailleurs, on veut de la paix,

que la vie se déroule bien.

Que notre coin de la planète

soit un paradis humain.

Vaccination letter

December 2, 2021

The fear and anger caused by misunderstandings about COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures is deeply regrettable.

Consider the multitude of inaccuracies in just one sentence from a recent letter to The Grapevine: “Consider how you will become subject to the same…punitive measures…when you perhaps refuse to be injected every 3 months, refusing to suffer the inevitable repercussions of cumulative toxins in your body.”

The vaccines don’t contain toxins and they don’t remain in the body – they “do their job” teaching cells how to respond to the COVID-19 virus and then are shed after a few days. They aren’t required every three months: two doses of the mRNA vaccines are required initially for maximum protection and then we’ll probably have to have booster shots once a year as we do to protect ourselves from the flu.

The idea that pandemic public health measures are punitive and encroaching on individual rights is another misunderstanding. Freedom and rights are not the same thing. Everyone has the freedom to decide to get vaccinated or not but no one has the right to place others at risk due to their choices.

Ironically, unvaccinated people are the ones best protected by pubic health measures requiring masking and – in some cases – proof of vaccination. The situations where proof is required – such as indoor dining, recreation and entertainment – are conditions in which unvaccinated people are at greatest risk.

Vaccination requirements for workers are in place where employees might put others at risk. Strange that the recent letter writer decried these requirements for Denman ferry workers when this group experienced the first outbreak of COVID-19 on the island. Their close indoor crew quarters put each other at risk – not ferry travelers.

Comparisons of public health measures to fascism, Nazism, and totalitarianism are as wrong as they are offensive. In response, I offer a one-word edit to the poster text quoted in the Nov. 18 letter: “Your ignorance is prolonging this nightmare.”

Or how about this one: “Freedom – how you can reject modern medicine and die like a medieval peasant”.

Stephanie Slater

Fuel Management and Ecological Restoration go Hand in Hand at Helliwell Provincial Park

December 2, 2021

Fuel Management and Ecological Restoration go Hand in Hand at Helliwell Provincial Park

By Chris Junck, Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project Team

Historically, First Nations used fire as a tool to maintain important plants and other species associated with open Garry oak woodlands and meadows. In the absence of First Nation’s land management practices, and decades of fire suppression in the area, the fuel hazard has increased within the park with the number of dead and dying shore pine along the coastline trail east towards St. Johns Point.

This fall, BC Parks is embarking on a multi-year project to meet fuel management and ecological restoration objectives in Helliwell. The project is guided by the Helliwell Provincial Park Ecosystem Based Plan (2001) and Helliwell Provincial Park Wildfire Threat Assessment and Fuel Management Prescription (2021). It was introduced to representatives of the Hornby Island Provincial Parks Committee, Conservancy Hornby Island and Hornby Island Natural History Centre during a public information session in October. “We’re taking a slow and gradual approach to ensure park values are maintained and will focus on high wildfire risk areas first”, said BC Parks senior ranger Heather Steere.

The proposed sites for selectively reducing fire fuels in 2021-22 are scattered throughout the areas within the red boundary lines on the map.

Heather Steere and conservation specialist Erica McClaren described other components of the plan:

Focus will be on reducing fine fuels and ladder fuels, while enhancing ecological values.
Selective, multi-year manual thinning and limbing of Douglas-fir and shore pine.
Iconic trees, Garry oak, juniper and arbutus trees will not be negatively impacted.
On site pile burning will be used to dispose of thinning debris along the coastal bluff trail area.
Continuous management of invasive species throughout the park.
Replanting and seeding of burn piles using native species.
This work will support and enhance the Garry oak and arbutus ecosystem.

Heather Steere invited the public to provide BC Parks with a list of locations within Helliwell that are significant for the community, and locals have flagged these areas to prevent unintentional damage during the project. A contractor has been hired and plans to begin limbing and thinning in mid-December and January with work completed by mid-February at the latest.

The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project Team and BC Parks thank the Cowichan Tribes, Halalt, Homalco, K’ómoks, Lake Cowichan, Lyackson, Penelakut, Qualicum, Snaw’Naw’As, Stz’uminus, Tla’amin, We Wai Kai, and We Wai Kum First Nations, for allowing us to restore ecosystems in their traditional territories. Thanks to Ilze Raudzins, Tina Wai, Neil Wilson, Rebecca Benjamin-Carey, and Serena Laskin for their insightful comments and questions during the October information session in Helliwell Provincial Park.

To find out more about fuel management or other aspects of the Helliwell Provincial Park Ecosystem Based Plan, visit https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/public/viewReport.do?reportId=17734

~30~

Photos by Chris Junck unless otherwise noted.

BC Parks area supervisor Derek Moore described the coastal bluff Garry oak ecosystem restoration work that has been carried out in Helliwell Provincial Park in recent years.

Erica McClaren, BC Parks conservation specialist, told the group about the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery project activities and a hydrology study that took place in the park in 2021.

BC Parks senior ranger Heather Steere discussed the various potential wildfire risks and the need to reduce the fuel load in the target areas while enhancing the ecological values.

Local community members contributed valuable comments about the fuel management plan during the public information session.

During a tour of the potential target fuel management sites, Heather Steere identified the kinds of fuels that need to be reduced and areas where ecological values will be enhanced. Photo by Erica McClaren.

Background Information

Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori)

Also known as Edith’s checkerspot.
Historical range was Hornby Island, southeastern Vancouver Island, Puget Trough and to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. In BC, they were once abundant at 10 sites in the Greater Victoria Area, one site each near Mill Bay and Comox, and sites on Hornby Island (including Helliwell Provincial Park).
They were thought to have been extirpated (became locally extinct) from Canada by 2000 when no Taylor’s checkerspots could be found in their last known sites on Hornby Island despite intensive searches. However, new populations were discovered on Denman Island in 2005 and near Campbell River in 2018.
It is federally listed as Endangered (COSEWIC, SARA Schedule 1), and is on the BC Red list of at-risk species.
Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies need open sunny meadows where they can find suitable host plants (food for larvae and nectar producing flowers for adults), such as woolly sunflower, common camas, small-flowered blue-eyed Mary, wild strawberry, sea blush, and yarrow.
Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are major factors in the species’ decline. For example, the meadows along the coastal bluffs in Helliwell Provincial Park became less suitable for butterflies due to invasions of non-native plants and encroaching forests.
Habitat enhancement work (weeding, selective limbing +/or removal of conifers, re-planting and seeding with native species) has been ongoing in Helliwell Provincial Park for several years.

The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project

The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project is an initiative of the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team’s Invertebrates at Risk Recovery Implementation Group and our partners. It is a collaborative effort to restore Taylor’s Checkerspot populations in British Columbia through habitat enhancement, captive butterfly rearing and release, monitoring, public outreach, and other activities.

Team Members

Jennifer Heron (Chair), BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Vancouver, BC

Erika Bland & Andrew Fyson, Denman Island Conservancy Association, Denman Island, BC

Deborah Bishop, Denman Island, BC

Menita Prasad, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Aldergrove, BC

Eric Gross & Kella Sadler, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Delta, BC

Crispin Guppy, Entomologist, Whitehorse, YT

Molly Hudson, Mosaic Forests, Nanaimo, BC

Chris Junck, Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team, Victoria, BC

Nicole Kroeker, Parks Canada Agency, Victoria, BC

Suzie Lavallee, University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry, Vancouver, BC

Patrick Lilley, Private Consultant, North Vancouver, BC

Erica McClaren, BC Parks, Black Creek, BC

Kristen Miskelly, Satinflower Nurseries, Victoria, BC

Derek Moore, Area Supervisor Von Donop Area, BC Parks, Black Creek, BC

Nick Page, Raincoast Applied Ecology, Vancouver, BC

Jessica Steiner, Andrea Gielens, Maja Hampson & Genevieve Rowe, Wildlife Preservation Canada, Toronto & Guelph, ON

Bonnie Zand, BC Conservation Foundation Fanny Bay, BC

Supporters

BC Conservation Foundation

BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

BC Parks

BC Parks License Plate Fund

BC Wildlife Federation

Denman Conservancy Association

Environment Canada Habitat Stewardship Fund

Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

Greater Vancouver Zoo

Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation

Hornby Island Community School

Hornby Island Natural History Centre

Mosaic Forests

University of British Columbia

Wildlife Preservation Canada

For more information about the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Project, visit: https://goert.ca/activities/taylors-checkerspot/

Or contact:

Project Lead/GOERT Invertebrates at Risk RIG Chair

Jennifer Heron

Invertebrate Conservation Specialist

BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

Office: 778-572-2273

Jennifer.Heron@gov.bc.ca

Public Outreach Coordinator

Taylor’s Checkerspot Recovery Project Team

Chris Junck

Mobile/text: 250-888-4086

chris_junck@hotmail.com

* More photos available by request

BC Parks

Heather Steere

Senior Park Ranger

Office: 250-331-9926

Heather.Steere@gov.bc.ca

Crazy Clown in a Bowl of Hero Soup: a perspective

December 2, 2021

Crazy Clown, in a bowl of Hero soup: a perspective. Robbie Newton.

Yes it’s time for me to focus on my Hero’s, a celebration of some of the pleasures that Denman has offered me in the times that I’ve spent here.

So now for an easy Hero, Esther Muirhead, whose determination to save the trees of the Fairy Creek area is now‘legend’ for us on Denman. Her reporting of what she has seen and been involved with has promoted many others to join in that campaign.

Personally my disgust is at a new high for those who identify with that once respectable NDP label. And Teal-Jones. the logging company who say they are providing for a market of ‘cedar shakes’; a product that is easily available from any cedar tree; suggests an unhealthy lust for power, in a society which already overindulges in that same lust.

One of my might have been Heroes was Andrew Scruton. I’d watch him tangle in the DIRA ‘arena’ that I still like to call “Ratepayers”, where the ‘possessive’ natures of residents still stir strong emotions. He did well there, taking criticism and rising above it; and thoughts about running for the Trust became public. However an admiring Bill Engleson attached himself to that goal; which stirred up the satirical pen of Ron Sakolsky; and Engle/Scruton, linking their names together becoming the butt of this lively piece of writing. Bill was outraged but sensibly Andrew added nothing of his own; and Andrew wasn’t elected; so as an “unadorned Hero” he remains.

My heroes, yes, but who are yours? I’m just one observer, there are so many more of you.

Think of who you would choose, and why; there’s too much negativity, it surrounds us: make your own positive notions known; free yourself and feel the relief.

Phoenix Riting! – December 2nd, 2021

December 2, 2021

I am sensing a disturbance in the Force. Since my last column on the subject, I’ve heard disturbing stories. Something is deeply wrong. The problem is that here on Hornby Island, vaccine passport requirements diverge significantly from official public health orders, and that is creating an unsustainable, potentially volatile situation.

The official public health guidelines can be seen at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/proof . In brief, gatherings, weddings, classes and organized events of all kinds in public spaces require vaccine passports for groups of fifty or more. But for some reason, our local venues have all implemented a zero-tolerance policy. Here on Hornby, all groups, classes and gatherings of any size require passports. No public discussion has taken place about this decision, which is unfortunate.

Now bands, for example, cannot practice in their accustomed venues if one or more members are unvaccinated. The same goes for dance groups, emotional support groups, board meetings, groups or classes of any sort or size. Our community is made up of such groups, some of which have been meeting for years. Groups may simply stop meeting, or struggle to find alternatives which don’t exist. As for those groups which choose to leave out their unvaccinated members, what rifts and emotional wounds are created? Feelings matter.

When people feel treated unfairly, hurts fester and that generates toxicity. A community of our size cannot afford to treat so many members as if they are disposable. I hear whispers of “they deserve it” and “people who don’t comply should be forced” and I shudder. This is not my Hornby. Our island culture has always tended towards tolerance and inclusion. How many of us moved to these islands in the first place for a more free-flowing way of life? When people feel pressured, they resist.

Resentments are building, and the worst of it is, such feelings are justified, because the public health orders are clear. It’s one thing to suffer lockdown along with everyone else by government order. It’s quite another to be unnecessarily locked out of the active life of the community. If the official order requiring passports for groups of fifty or more seems too frighteningly large for our small island, then let us set the limit at twenty, or even fifteen. Just, please, anything but zero.

The unvaccinated are not ciphers; they are friends and neighbours, essential to the life of our community. They volunteer, they contribute, they deserve to be treated like they matter. Beliefs aside, personal choices aside, whatever the rest of the world chooses to do, we need to remember who we are and what we value. We are a community, we are in this together. A healthy community seeks inclusive solutions and minimizes harms.

I am sure the decision to go above and beyond the public health order was made from care and concern, but now that a little time has passed, consequences are showing. I do understand the need to abide by the rules, but I fear we are strangling ourselves on them. Is this what we collectively want?

What do you think? I want to hear from you! Please send feedback, questions and suggestions to phoenixonhornby@gmail.com.

A Final Report on the Recent Internet Referendum

December 2, 2021

Here’s a final report on the internet referendum.

The referendum passed by a landslide vote – 1,192 voting “Yes” and 81 voting “No”.

There were 547 voters at the Denman polls, 439 at the Hornby polls
There were 287 ballots cast by mail-in vote or at the advance poll in Courtenay.

The indications are that the “Yes” vote was 96% on Denman, 90% on Hornby.

Thank you to everyone for voting.

We look forward to hearing when CityWest will install fibre-optic service along our roads, and when the capacity of the Connected Coast undersea cable project will reach our islands. Our communities eagerly await the benefits of high-speed internet, as well as a 300-channel television option and a hard-wired telephone service, all at more reasonable prices than our present providers offer.

Every household on our islands should know one vital bit of information before CityWest begins its installation. CityWest will install a connection from the road to the wall of our house (a “Drop”) without charge if the property owner has signed a “Drop Approval form”. In cases where the property has a long or otherwise difficult driveway, the owner must advise CityWest of the situation and the two will work out an installation arrangement. Signing a Drop Approval is not committing to subscribe to CItyWest services – it is just bringing the capacity to your house. Drop Approval forms are available at the Denman Store, Abraxas, the Hornby Co-op store, or online at https://www.citywest.ca/dropping-in.

If a property has not provided a signed Drop Approval before fibre is installed along its frontage, CItyWest will not install a Drop to that property. If, later on, that property decides that it does want to obtain service, a Drop will have a substantial cost (perhaps in the $000s) and there may be a delay of many months before installation can be arranged.

This is critical information that every household should know. It is estimated that about one-third of Denman properties have not signed Drop Approvals. If you know of someone, a neighbour, a friend, who you think has not signed a Drop Approval, please help to ensure that they understand the significance of not signing one of these forms.

People who don’t understand today may be very sorry later.

Hornby/Denman Internet Committee.

Green Wizardries, The Gift of Winter Holidays

December 2, 2021

Green Wizardries, The Gift of Winter Holidays, by Maxine Rogers

I love the month of December because it contains some of my favourite holidays. I know the Christians have one of their most important holidays in December where they celebrate the birth of their God. I am all for that as I believe in religious freedom. As a Druid, I feel free to celebrate other holidays and I leave Christmas to the Christians.

One of the celebrations I want to tell you about is my all-time favourite holiday: Saturnalia. This is a Roman holiday and it is devoted to the God, Saturn. It was Saturn who taught humans the arts of farming and presided over a Golden Age of equality in ancient Italy.

Saturnalia was also a celebration of returning light and the traditional present was candles. So it was a fun and inexpensive holiday but of course some people went wild and spent too much money on presents.

Saturnalia may not be familiar to a lot of you but it was enthusiastically celebrated in my neighbourhood until Covid 19 put a stop to indoor gatherings. We decorated the living room with candles and turned off the electric lights. Our neighbours would come over on the evening of December 17, which is the first day of Saturnalia, and each guest would be greeted with shouts of Io Saturnalia! This is pronounced Ee-oh Saturnalia. When all the guests had arrived, I would pronounce the words, “Today, all men are free and all men are equal.” Men in this instance simply means people.

Saturnalia was a celebration of equality that started in the city of Rome itself and then spread out over the Empire. It typically lasted from 17 to 21 or even 23 December. All the slaves should have had those days off but in practice, only the religious households celebrated the festival properly. The slaves would also be given presents of money to buy candy, wine, gamble or whatever they wanted. The master, the Dominus of the house and the Domina, the mistress, would put on a festival dinner for the slaves and wait on them at the table.

Lacking slaves in our household, we put on a big, many-course meal for our eager neighbours. Every formal Roman meal began with eggs and ended with fruit. They had a saying, “From eggs to apples,” which meant to do something properly. So, we began by serving a tray of devilled eggs. We also served spiced and honeyed wine called Conditum Paradoxum, or Surprise Wine.

The Romans loved honey and so do I. So, here is the recipe for Conditum Paradoxum. 1 bottle white wine or red if that is what you have. 1 cup honey, 1 date, 1 Tsp nutmeg (There is a little controversy here because the word is translated as pepper but they also put this on honey flan so I think it really refers to nutmeg. Try both and see which one you like best.) 1/2 Tsp fennel seed, 2 bay leaves and a pinch of saffron. To the honey add 75 ml of the wine and heat it in a pan until the honey melts. Lower the heat and add the rest of the wine and the spices. The Romans served this wine chilled but you can serve it as hot-mulled wine if you like.

After the eggs, come a variety of little dishes served one at a time. We like to serve all the things we make on the farm so sheep milk cheeses, pickles, pate, home-made bread, pastries and Roman cheesecake made from sheep-milk ricotta, honey and eggs topped by some sort of fruit sauce.

The feast should end with some fruit but everyone used to bring cakes and desserts so we usually had as many sweet dishes as savory and the men would groan as each new sweet was served but then they would throw themselves into the feast with the sort of true courage the Romans would have approved of.

The evening was delightful because it was all about conversation and making merry with people we cared about. It was also a good time to lasso the neighbours before they were all too busy with Christmas preparations.

The next holiday we love to celebrate is the Winter Solstice which, in case you didn’t know, occurs on December 21. That is the shortest day and the longest night. After that, each day becomes a little bit longer until the birds return from the south, bearing summer under their wings.

On the night of December 21, somewhere in the forest of the world, midsummer is born as a tiny, frozen jewel and is guarded by the Lord Cernunos, the Stag God. Each day, the glittering midsummer grows a little larger and casts its light and warmth a little farther until it waxes full mighty and the world become warm and full of colour and life again. So an event to celebrate indeed!

The Winter Solstice is celebrated by a variety of religions but even rational materialists can celebrate this holiday as it is an astronomical event. As a Druid, I perform a Grove Opening and welcome the turning of the year wheel. Religious duties done, I used to have a small dinner party for some friends because it is not a feast unless you have guests and share your happiness. Is it even legal now to have a supper party?

When everyone is assembled, all the lights go off and we sit in silence and the dark for a couple of minutes. Then, one candle is lit, I would say a few words about the Winter Solstice and then we would each light a candle, think about the year to come and get slightly drunk and very full.

Small presents can be exchanged at this festival but it is a nature festival so we give presents from our farm. Dried fruit and home-made sweets being the usual products. No one feels less happy for not having to shop for presents. No one needs more plastic junk. No one has money to spare for presents that will be a disappointment in any case.

The last holiday we celebrate in December is the festival of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. This festival takes place on December 25 and that and Saturnalia set the tone for the new festival of Christmas. Indeed, Saturnalia was celebrated until the fifth century AD much to the annoyance of the Christian clerics.

On the morning of the 25^th, my husband brings a tray of coffee into the bedroom first thing in the morning and with it, a couple of outsized stockings filled with candy, fruit, nuts and tiny presents. He was raised a Protestant and is still tapering off. This too is a fun festival and by the time all three festivals have come and gone, I feel sure we have welcomed in the new year properly and we are not broke!