Whether I’m gathering kindling for the fire – something that I do almost daily…
or ‘searching out’ sculptural pieces for keeps – I love collecting bits of old ‘misshapen’ wood. ‘Livin’ Wood’ as I call my numerous pieces…
‘Molar’ – gathered from ‘Raven’s Haven Dartmoor.
‘Tarka’ – found on ‘Crow Point’ beach near Braunton, North Devon.
‘Otter’ detail.
Sometimes it’s not the piece of wood in itself – but light and shadow that render it magical.
‘The Stag’s Head’
‘The Mistletoe Man’ – resurrected from the heart of a large clump of Mistletoe from ‘Christmas Past’. He could so have easily gone for green-recycling had I not spotted his anthropomorphic shape hiding in the middle.
Saturday, 8th. December 2018 – saw my annual, Winter pilgrimage to the Avalon Orchard, Glastonbury. Not to gather kindling or Mistletoe—or even any apples – as this year there were no windfalls to be gleaned from the rain-sodden grass as in previous years…
On a Winter’s day at dusk – ‘The Avalon Orchard’ is a magical place to BE.
…and get a different perspective of ‘St Michael’s Tower’ atop the Tor.
A trip to Glastonbury always involves a visit to ‘St John The Baptist’s’ in the main thoroughfare…
A lucky sighting while ‘touching wood’ under ‘The Holy Thorn’ in the churchyard.
Inside, I saw more rainbow colours…
…through the olde, higgledy-piggledy stained glass of ‘The South Sanctuary Window’ – my must-see!
Detail – ‘The Arms of Joseph of Arimathea’ – (bottom-right in the image above.)
Affirmation – ‘centrepiece’ in ‘The South Sanctuary Window’
My essential purchases from ‘Star Child’ and ‘The Cat and Cauldron’ .
One of the most extraordinary pieces of ‘Livin’ Wood’ I have ever stumbled upon originates from Glastonbury – although it wasn’t found in any of the town’s colourful souvenir shops on Saturday. It has no provenance other than what’s written on the label. 
Of course, there are skeptics like my brother – who feel the need to point out – that the label is probably fake in his eyes, along with the cross-section of wood to which it names. And that there are probably dozens more of these money-making slices selling online to mugs like me. I say, “Ye of little faith dear Brother!” and tell him that I’ve found just ‘The One’ to date – even though I haven’t been searching – nor did I.
What he doesn’t get, IS what I love. That a kindred spirit thought to save a precious piece of ‘Holy Thorn’ behind glass; it’s something I’d do. The simple reliquary – or container – is relatively old – while the relic within is ancient in terms of lineage. Descendants of the ‘Holy Thorn of Glastonbury’ trace their roots back 2000 years…
Crataegus monogyna ‘Biflora’ – has a life expectancy of roughly one-hundred years – so it is reasonable to guess that the heart-shaped, amber-coloured disc of wood contained within the reliquary – was cut from a specimen that fell naturally within the Abbey’s hallowed grounds last century. It may even be a cross-section from a fallen branch blown down in a gale…
I tell my brother that my faith in the cross-section is unquestioning – and that I absolutely believe, that if I unsealed the reliquary – removed the ‘wooden heart’ and then planted it in the ground – it would take root and sprout – just as ‘Joseph of Arimathea’s’ staff did on the side of Wearyall Hill over two millennia ago. Needless to say I don’t feel the need to prove it; the reliquary remains tightly sealed.
