I’m equating this experience to that time when we as parents are kept awake through the night with a sick child, during that time the experience is truly awful, the lack of sleep, the crying, the discomfort of the child, the scratchy eyes the next day….There were some really uncomfortable times in Tankwa Town over this weekend – trying to put up the tent in howling wind, tent poles breaking and the tent literally getting flattened while we tried to cook and feed hungry girls, the absolutely debilitating midday heat and oh, a bottle of wine so frozen by dry ice that the bottle broke. Damn! This event, or (in)vent, grows on you though and as I say,  the hardships are soon forgotten.

My mind dump of the weekend.....

Partycipation and the music ensemble, Jaed gives Sean “Want-to-Share-a-Story” a heart (was actually a piece of apple which she called a heart. Not sure what went through her mind when he promptly ate it….), Tabi wonders how these people she doesn’t know somehow know she likes horses (she was gifted two gifted 2 toy ponies, and a little horse!) – her first lesson in synchronicity….,  honeybush, sweet potato, buchu and aloe tea with fresh baked bread, “hey man, the fact this telephone works is freaking people out” - yes, there was working telephone, Emma, Mel and Megan (Emm) happen along with toy animals, T & J go off and paint nails and hand out gifts all on their own, girls spend ages playing together – beautiful, girls the centre of attraction while riding pillion on bikes, the dress-up loan tent – Jaed loved her pointy bell bedecked hat – “look I have spiky hair”…., Lu and Jaed take a tumble on the bike in front of the land puppets, the puppet ever so gently reaches down and strokes J’s forehead…Jaed is inviting to this and stops crying, and Lu wishes he had rubbed her now aching butt….Jaed spends minutes transfixed as she watches The Juggler, sitting at camp looking out over the binnekring was like sitting in the middle of a fantasy playground with all the lights, the music, the coming and goings of the burners, the laughter, waking up to a howl to the rising sun on Sunday morning – no doubt one of the all night revellers…wind and heat, sleeping in the car – oh how easy it is now to forget the uncomfortable moments, so much synchronicity between Lu and myself, the dragon fly glowing ladies, Tabi just loved the angel statue with the bowl of gifts…happy hour (that time around sunset) was blissfully awesome, no wind except a gentle breeze, no scorching sun, no heat except the warmth coming off the ground – bliss…., solar powered movies and puppet show, Jaed and capturing a beetle as her pet which “just loves me…and I love my beetle…” Lu’s orgasmic groans and moans on the way home each time we passed any body of water…, at the SanMan burn one naked man runs around the fire while off in the distance, on the periphery of the light, two girls dance naked. In amongst all the people while the SanMan burns one guys sits “alone” in his  chair far away in his own world of thoughts, the hot air little lanterns let go just before the SanMan burnt – they were like little Venuses floating up into the night sky, the stars, stars, stars and almost full moon. And there was so much we didn't see...wow, see you next year.

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