Lissa Clark and her sons Jacob and Jason regularly volunteer at the Centre. They all came along to help us with our fantastic Celtic Autumn event on 14th October and have written about the day and what volunteering and being here means to them:
Jacob: I had a great day on Sunday doing the apple pressing with Jason and Will then moving into coaching archery with Rich and Edd, the comedy duo. The highlight of my day was being allowed to use the Scythian Horse Bow as a treat.
Jason: I love dressing up and feeling part of the Crannog team, especially when we get treated as equals and are called for the start of the day meeting with all the adults. Had a great time working with the juicer and found it fun retrieving the arrows for the comedian brothers (Rich & Edd). It was weird not doing the wire jewellery this time but nice and I felt independent being free to help others.
Lissa: A different day, another experience. Meeting so many nice people again and sharing ideas with like-minded folk. I am discovering that being at the Crannog is adjusting my mindset and lifestyle. We have always found ourselves drawn to following the cycle of the year/seasons and especially fire and bushcraft and volunteering has given me the confidence to work towards celebrating winter solstice instead of Christmas this year … which falls on the last day of term and my birthday! We are thinking more about sustainable living and self-sufficiency, eating less meat and how to live more simply … moving away from frivolous possessions and consumerism.
I feel more complete as a human being and useful at the Crannog, sharing information about wood, foraging and children’s jobs and games this time instead of wire jewellery. As well as face-painting and challenging people to remember what they had learned during their tours … like if I lived in the Iron Age, would I still be alive?
Another great day volunteering … if we lived closer, I would be begging for a job!
