In Praise of UK-Electric Universe Conference 2018
England's first Electric Universe conference just came to a close.
An excellent job done by Lucy Wyatt, Adrian Gilbert, and crew.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were at the Apex hotel in downtown Bath, England. Speakers ranged from the my hero Ruppert Sheldrake; to the only mathematical preacher I know, Jeremy Dunning-Davies; to the experimental SAFIRE team; to Patrick MacManaway who regularly brings back dried water springs by singing to them.
The feeling of excitement was infectious, no one wanted to go to sleep at night. We argued and drank and smoked into the small hours of each night, then pulled ourselves out of bed early the next morning to do it all over again.
Monday was a road trip to Avebury ancient stone sight. In what little amount of inner sight I possess, I saw that the remaining stones are just a very small fraction of what was there 5,000 years ago. I saw elaborate wooden bridges across the giant surrounding ditch, long stretches of wooden shops, some multi-storied, like a town, people everywhere. As for the "what is it" question, I have difficulty with the descriptions involving ritual, religion, astrological, etc, because my sense is that we moderns simply mean different things by those words than anything comparable 5,000 years ago.
Some scenes of Bath, and the wonderful limestone buildings.
The back garden of the Herschel house
The Roman bath across the street from the cathedral, how cool is that
The second half of the conference was held at Lucy's estate in the country. I won't include any pictures, because I don't know what her wishes are about that, but the place is beautiful. She and Noel have done an amazing amount of work, and all of it to a very high standard. The feelings of excitement continued, the food was amazing, we again argued, drank, smoked, walked at night and got lost on the trails, grabbed a few hours of sleep and did it all again the next day.
Of course, everyone discussed how to move forward, and what efforts to make to grow the Electric Universe community in England. The suggestions ranged from all-out social media campaigns to, "do nothing, tell them it's secret, and let them wonder."
On my last day I was taken care of by Chris Kelly and his mother, Rose at her place in Wiveliscombe. (rough translation: weasel wife home). If you are ever looking for a beautiful holiday in the South West of England, I highly recommend their B&B.
I was struck by the beauty of their cat sitting by the iron vase, watching birds in the yard.
A closing photos of their place, just the outside, but it gives you a flavor.
Good job UK EU. May this be the first of many good conferences to come.