Party in the Woods

Written by Phil Keelan | Photos & Editing by Ashley Cawley.

I got a message from Ash on Friday that Jonny and Janie had organised a sweet little party in their woods and would I like to go? Woods? Camping? Live music? Great food? How could I resist. So after packing my overnight gear and gathering supplies from the local farmers shop, myself Ash and Claire headed off to east Cornwall on a little adventure...

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Joining us would be my new companion Badger. A (possibly) 3 year old silver ferret jill that I got from a ferret rescue centre a week ago. She has settled in well and has been going everywhere with me, so I hoped that an overnighter wouldn't phase her. We arrived pretty early so I had a good chance at setting up my gear without any hurry. Oddly enough, for this trip I decided to tent it. I've been a tree dweller for a while now, but I thought a night on the floor would be different. I still rigged up a tarp as I had Badgers whole cage and wanted to have a dry shelter too.

The farm is absolutely boiling with rabbits, with a warren not 5 metres from my camp. So Janie, who fell in love with Badger at first sight, let her have a sniff around the rabbit holes. As soon as she picked up the scent the change in her was unreal. From curious and inquisitive cutie to focused predator in seconds. Anyhows, my intentions aren't to work her so we turned her attentions elsewhere. Much to the delight of most folks there she was keen to meet everyone :) I also had a chance to meet Jonnys ferrets, a lovely trio, two jills and one hob.

After setting up, I had a good look around the woods. The centrepiece was the fireplace underneath a parachute which, with its offcentre planted support pole cut from hazel, looked like a giant mushroom. around this a variety of benches n seats with one handsome piece all draped in lichen and moss. All throughout the woods there were bunches of flowers tied to trees with little candle lanterns too. Bunting and beads were strewn between the trees, all this creating a warm magical feel to the place.

So, time to get down to business, I cracked open a Rattler with my new steel striker/bottle opener (Cheers Ash) and settled down to drinkin the fine cornish cyder with the sun trickling through the leaves. It didn't take long before I felt the urge to whittle, so I grabbed a hunk of lime that was really green, split it with Jonnys very fine axe and set to. I carved a curvy little spoon with a hook on the end, but had to leave it as it was quite grainy and splintery. Best leave him season awhile afore I finish it. By this point more folk were rolling in and the fire was nearly ready for cooking and Ash got charged with kebab cooking duty, while I sank another rattler and mingled. The food by the way, was amazing!

There was also some musical entertainment, a young man called Miles Billington on guitar and vocals, and A chap called Max with a couple of hand drums. As the sun set and dusk turned into dark, and with the wine and such flowing, the place became wreathed in more magic as all the faery lights, hidden by day, came into life.

There were a myriad balloons each with a light inside. All the lanterns were aglow and along with the roaring fire, the woods became a scene out of a childs faerytale book. The music was enchanting. Miles is a talented young man with a keen voice and he writes his own songs. I would heartily recommend that you have a listen to his music on Soundcloud.

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As the evening whittled away and night turned into early morning I regrettably parted from the world of magic and hit the sack. On waking up I wandered through the wood barefoot to the fireside where Jonny was busy with two large skillets cooking up a ton of bacon. After chilling for a while it was time to pack up and go. I'd had a great time, met some great people and I think Badger enjoyed herself too. Bless her, she'd had so many fusses from so many people :) I left with lifted spirits and happy memories of a magical night in the woods with friends. I must extend a massive thankyou to our gracious hosts and also to all the good folk there that shared the night with us :)