Fast forward to today and these notes have found their way into a wonderful personal account of the Eye of Fire adventure. Be warned: this is not a rewrite of the original book. In fact it had been so long since I had read EoF that I had to go back and read it again to refresh my memory of the sequence of events.

Where the original was melodramatic and slightly frenzied, Boyd’s account is deeply personal, more measured and more reflective. Because of this both books actually stand well together as complementary rather than contradictory.  You feel reading Boyd’s account that it is less like a horror movie and more like a diary coming to life and it is all the more powerful for that.

I don’t want to say too much more. You need to read it for yourselves. Suffice to say that the writing style is very polished, quickly bringing those heady days back to life in your mind’s eye.  I very much suspect that Boyd’s account will become a fixed part of the questing canon and that future generations of questers will seek it out, not just for the unique perspective it offers on the EoF story, but because of the very practical questing techniques it contains.

Highly recommended.

There are a surprising number of strands in Alex Langstone’s new book “Spirit Chaser”, intertwined and running like luminous DNA through the pages of the book.

At the most immediate level this is a “psychic questing” story in the classic mould. We follow Alex on a series of journeys (both physical and psychic) around the British Isles and watch as the threads of synchronicity, symbolism and psychic experience weave a fascinating picture about some of the early Celtic Christian saints. Through traditional (though painstaking) research Alex is able to corroborate much of the information that is psychically transmitted.  Even what is not immediately backed up adds entirely believable detail to the skeleton story.

As well as this, however, he mixes in an imagined historical biography of Saint Bega – the focus of the book – and traces how she and her Celtic colleagues may have left a legacy for us in the present day.

Still more, he breaks off his own narrative and hands over to “guest” authors such as Yuri Leitch and Gary Biltcliffe whose own impressive research is shown to dovetail seamlessly with Alex’s. This is a great example of an inclusive, co-operative attitude that breaks down the possessiveness that often stifles genuine sharing of information and which can only strengthen the questing community.

Lastly the book is a meditation on the spiritual nature of the British Isles. As an Irishman living in England with three half-English, half-Irish children, I found this aspect of the book both surprising and touching in a way that I hadn’t expected. I was powerfully reminded that in those days the sea was easier to cross than the land and the communities dotted around the Irish Sea were far more connected than you would imagine.  The ancient perspective probably inverted todays default view and envisaged the Irish Sea as the container and focal point rather than the land around it.

In all of these areas Alex writes honestly and engagingly. In fact, at times he is probably too modest and does not accompany some of the more astonishing events with the fanfare that they deserve. He traces his own spiritual development as the quest unfolds and clearly illustrates how questing can provide a framework for this kind of inner exploration.

In summary, this is a great addition to the questing canon and Alex is to be congratulated on a truly inspired and inspiring work.

*** Newsflash:  Amazon are currently offer a discounted rate on Spirit Chaser with free delivery. More here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spirit-Chaser-The-Quest-Bega/dp/0956355420/ref=pd_ybh_12

I had previously attended a number of QuestCons, starting in 2000, and while I had initially enjoyed the big set-piece lectures from high-profile authors, I began turning more and more to what were then classified as the “fringe lectures”. With PQW08, everything else has been jettisoned and the “fringe” is now centre stage. [Click on the "Read More..." link to continue] Paolo at Spectral Light has beaten me to a detailed review of the weekend (at two weeks post the event, that’s not hard!) so I’ll try and give a different perspective to my review.

Firstly, I have to say that we were absolutely blessed with the weather. The combination of the great weather and the superb setting (Avebury) created an unbeatable platform for the rest of the events.

Secondly the variety of the activities worked really well. There were talks inside, there were meditation exercises inside, there were meditations outside, there was a psychic treasure hunt, there was a dinner for the delegates in the nearby Red Lion pub, there were daytime activities, there were night-time activities and there was plenty of time just to roam around the Avebury site in your own space and take in the atmosphere. For me the ability to mix actually getting out to sites with talks was the single biggest improvement over the old-style QuestCons. Nor was it just Avebury. We had a lovely two-mile walk past Silbury Hill and up to West Kennet Barrow and then down to Swallowhead Spring – this last an amazing spot that you would never happen across unless you knew it was there.

Thirdly, the amount of information imparted was staggering. I recorded 90% of the talks and listening to it again I was impressed by the wealth of anecdote and practical Questing advice that was dispensed. At the time I think I was listening for the development of the stories and wondering where they were going to go. When you re-listen to it, however, you can appreciate better the structure that Andrew had fashioned it around and how the different quests almost leap-frog each other *backwards in time* with the last quest being the earliest – and yet also the latest and most dramatic.

On that last point, I was spellbound by the descriptions of Bernard’s Egyptian information and by the detail with which he mapped and sketched the Crystal Chambers. I’d never heard Andrew talk about any of this before and I found it totally fascinating.

From a personal point of view, I got a few minor flashes in the meditations but I was fairly exhausted going into the weekend so, as mentioned in my intro, the big win for me was the re-energisation that I experienced. I came away with my head bursting with ideas including a total re-design of this site and a desire to re-ignite my own quest (The Icon Trail) and some others that I can’t mention now but which will hopefully bear fruit in due course. The only down-side to this sudden rush of energy was that a speed camera caught me doing 36 mph in a 30 mile zone on the way home on Sunday – so that’s a fine and 3 points for me

While I’m on the topic of minor quibbles, the one thing that I would have liked would be to have had a chance to be introduced to the other attendees. I appreciate that this would run the risk of turning into a lengthy session but even a simple “Hi, I’m Simon” or a name badge would have helped identify people that you may have only known via the forums or their websites and give an opportunity to strike up a conversation.

Also there was some debate about the value of the psychic treasure hunt. I personally enjoyed it and it certainly was an interesting exercise in observing the thoughts that flicker through consciousness. However, I do also appreciate that there is a big difference between (a) discovering that something is in a place; and (b) knowing that it is there but finding exactly where it is. Perhaps it was due to the treasure hunt falling into category (b) but (apart form ReikiSue’s valiant attempt) it seemed like the dowsers had the edge.

So all-in-all a brilliant weekend which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in the subject. Next year Andrew has promised a “Masterclass” weekend building on this one. Can I wait a full year? It would be great to think that maybe there could be some localised groups set up to enable questers to get together at more frequent intervals.

So hearty congratulations to Andrew, Sue and the team for pulling off a masterful event. You have to applaud the dedication of Andrew and his commitment to his vision. There is no doubt in my mind that he is blazing a path which is going to become more and more mainstream over the coming years (with all the positives and negatives that this brings). Hopefully, you’ll remember where you heard it first and even count yourself lucky to have been at the seminal events!

I’ve had to read this book twice before I reviewed it.

And yet…

When I read it a second time – perhaps too long after the inital publication for this to be of any marketing value – I found that here was a book that stood on its own, a book which, though it paradoxically oozed the esence of its author from every sentence, was one which stood on its own as an important work.

“Are we forgetting something?” This is the question that haunts us today as we seek our place in the new world order. In our rush for self-advancement, for an anodyne equilibrium true passion is deemed suspect.

The people who can help us with this dilemma are the artists, the monks, those who are not caught up in the rat race who can send reports back to the rest of us as to what’s coming up ahead.

“Gwyn” is such a book. Yuri is such an artist.

Daniel Pinchbeck in his latest book (whose title changes depending in the edition bought but which revolves around the year 2012) has this to say about Glastonbury: