Tag Archives for audio soup

Festival Henges, 2012! Part One: Audio Soup Festival

One trilithon of the Audio Soup Henge, decorated

Back after our delightful holidays which included a funeral, an alarming incident in which we fell on our faces, and a bad cold. If you hear us coughing or sniffling during this post, kindly pretend not to notice!

We know of two henges built for festivals this summer, although there were almost certainly more somewhere. The trilithon in the photo above belongs to one made by the infamous Henge Collective for a music festival called Audio Soup in Garvald, East Lothian (that’s Scotland, for those who are opening a tab for Google just now). interestingly, they were invited to henge at the festival, the first instance we’ve heard of public henging by invitation!

We know what you’re sitting there thinking. It doesn’t look much like Stonehenge. True, but you have to understand that the Henge Collective are sort of the Impressionists or almost Abstract Expressionists of the henging world. They deal in nuance, subtly suggesting Stonehenge rather than blatantly coming out and screaming it. At least that is what we choose to believe!

We do like the knit or crochet decorations. We are of the school who believe that originally the stones of Stonehenge were decorated, both permanently in some ways and seasonally with more colourful and perishable things draped and laid at their bases, so we find this fitting.

As for score? 5½ druids for the bold hengers! We are excited for them and pleased that henging by invitation is now a thing! Who knows where this will lead? Hengers invited in by the United Nations? Or Parliament? Hengers at sea? Henging by robots on Mars? The possibilities are endless.

Next up: Burning Man and its henge tradition. Until then, friends, happy henging!

A Subjective Perspective on the Henge Collective! Or, Clonehenge the Doggerel!

photo from the Henge Collective Facebook page, used with permission

And now we present: Clonehenge the Doggerel!

We have decided it is time
To do a Clonehenge post in rhyme.
But what fine henge
Should be the victim
Of this arbitrary dictum?
No henge! Instead it’s our objective
To tell you of–the Henge Collective!

Some friends went up to Blackford Hill– Well, maybe first they stopped at Tesco– Some sunshine had dispersed the chill, So they resolved to dine alfresco. One found two stones and put them upright, A lintel added over top, Creating a faux sacred stone site. Since then they’ve found it hard to stop. Henge building now their prime directive–They have become the Henge Collective!

Now people join from far and wide, Their hope to fill the world with henges, Some are narrow and some wide, Some quite tall , some low like benges. [hmm… this isn’t going as well as we hoped!] They’re invited in to build, at music festivals and gardens, Henges by which all are thrilled, except if they prefer a Tardis. [Drat!  Doesn’t quite work, we know, but it’s a rule of thumb that mentioning a Tardis can improve anything…] This post is proving quite defective, but before you hurl invective, we will return to our objective, and hail once more–the Henge Collective!

There. Well. That’s done, then. Sort of. Waiting for the applause to fade.

Rufus T. Firefly, a founding member of the Henge Collective tells us:  “Just to let you know, The Henge Collective have been invited to a music festival. They want us to build one for them.” That would be the  Audio Soup Festival, in case you want to stop by.

For more on the Henge Collective and its activities, visit the group at its Facebook group, which, sadly, is much larger than the Clonehenge group! They are based in Scotland, but welcome members from around the world.

In other news, please consider supporting the US Stonehenge Tour Kickstarter. A post on this will follow. Soon. Ish.

Also, if you have been dragged to Great Britain for some kind of sporting event and sport is not your passion so you are considering a visit to Stonehenge, remember the Stonehenge Guide for iPad, written by none other than Mr. Pete Glastonbury, for whom no superlative (or expletive) is sufficient! Few people know Stonehenge and its context and history as well as he does, and his guide gives new perspectives to the old monument. See comment on the previous post for a review.

Sorry it has taken us so long to post. Blame it on the Olympic Committee. It’s bound to be their fault somehow! And to all of our lovely readers, happy henging! (Should henging be an Olympic event? Discuss!)