On Thursday I travelled to London with friends Jude and Trina, to the MindBodySpirit Festival which is held near Victoria.
I drove up to Jude's in Leicester on Wednesday night but was so excited I didn't get a wink of sleep. Unfortunately we had to get up at 4 a.m., but thankfully Jude offered to drive. We wanted to get into London for about 10.30-ish. We'd planned to use the Park and Ride in Windsor and then get the train into London (via Slough) but due to traffic jams and train delays we arrived at our destination at around noon, just in time for David Wells's workshop on Past Lives.
I was not sure I would like David, who I only know from his appearances on 'Most Haunted', but took to him immediately. He is very warm with a great sense of humour. I was a bit sceptical at first but must say I was pleasantly surprised and, although I won't go into details here, I did actually have a very small past life experience! This was in no way influenced by David, so I cannot rationalise it.
Unfortunately Jude didn't get 100% from the workshop, as she was distracted by noisy schoolchildren in a playground outside.
After David's talk we snatched a quick and tasty - but pricey - lunch in the canteen, speed-smoked a cigarette and then ran up the seemingly endless stairs to Jill Purce's workshop on overtoning/chanting.
I love Jill and have attended her workshops before. I love her eccentricity and posh accent. She pioneered sound healing in the UK and she really knows her stuff. We did some great chanting including some beautiful mantras which were new to me. Overtoning is wonderful and if you ever get the chance then give it a go. I left the workshop buzzing and on a real high. I forked out £11 on Jill's new CD which I can use when I practice overtoning. I feel a bit self-conscious doing it alone and it must freak the neighbours out, so the illusion of being with a group will make me more inclined to do it more regularly.
We then had a good browse round the many and varied stalls, but I was very restrained and only purchased a colourful Ganesh sticker, which is now on the dashboard of my car for protection (two for a quid, so I gave one to my dad). The Festival entrance fee was only £6, with workshops at £8 each, so excellent value for money.
We watched a (free) performance by my hero and vocal guru, Chris James, which is always my main reason for attending the Festival. He has such an amazing voice, and is so charismatic.
Eventually got back to Jude's at around 11 p.m., where I had a swift cup of coffee before the long drive back, arriving home safely and in good time at just after midnight.
A long but very enjoyable and rewarding day, and if you live within spitting distance of London then I would recommend you go along if only to look round the exhibition stands.
PS: Damn, forgot my camera!
hazgeoff
glad you enjoyed it,it's so important to to enjoy the things that you are personally involved with, and a greater disappointment when they let you down. The world is a huge place when we have suchh limited time, dont waste a minute grab it with both hands.