Writing the Book of Silence

No, this isn’t a book review, but to understand my context, it contains a long spoiler to Duncton Stone, the sixth and final book of William Horwood’s Duncton Wood series.  All books are highly recommended, though somewhat dark.  The first book is a standalone, and reading the remaining five (making two trilogies) is unnecessary.  The books are high fantasy in the tradition of Watership Down, about communities of moles living under the standing stones of Britain. There is somewhat of a pagan slant to them, although the third book, Duncton Found, contains a Jesus allegory.

In Duncton Stone, a female scholar and scribemole named Privet is seeking the lost seventh sacred book of moledom, The Book of Silence. Eventually she comes to realize that the book is “lost” because it has yet to be written, and that she has to be the one to write it. Going through a dark period personally and for moledom in general, she throws everything she has into the writing of the Book.  At one point, she is interrupted by her adoptive child Whillan, and lovingly allows him to inscribe his name on a page.  She continues her endeavour to write the definitive Book of Silence, driven to the point of insanity.  Finally, out of madness and frustration, she furiously crosses out everything she has written, but cannot bring herself to cross out the one remaining word, Whillan’s name written in his tentative paw.  And thus is the great work completed.
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END OF SPOILER.
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Facebook followers (feel free to do so; if you send me a nice message I may even Friend you) are aware of my now nine-year quest to end two lifetimes’ worth of hoarding, both from my mother-in-law who passed in March 2008, and of Margarian, who passed last August.  And you have probably been hearing my frustration over dealing with paper archives, whether personal, or Craft-, Mensa-, or Interfaith-related. The thing is, having had no real children, the papers will be the only thing to remain of me (and Mar) when I meet my scheduled appointment with the MAN IN BLACK.  And as an erstwhile and physical elder, I am in effect writing my own Book of Silence, deleting all the chaff of three lives plus Evergreen, COGCOA, and Calgary Inter-Faith that was, to determine what will survive.  I some cases these decisions have to be made quickly.  In others, I’m beginning to accumulate boxes of papers that require a second and even a third sorting, a process which may have to wait until I move to smaller space next year (perhaps? sooner).  As my organizer (big plug for Laurie of Simply Neat Ltd.; tell her I sent you) has taught me, I have to keep that which reflects who I am now: the stuff I love, the stuff that is beautiful, the stuff that is useful. To which I need to add (perhaps as a subset of “what is useful”), what I need to leave behind: my legacy, if any.  The recent deaths of Mar and my cousin, and my own recent health problems, have taught me that the MAN IN BLACK can come at any time.  The Christian subtext I grew up with, that "pie in the sky will come by and by", no longer applies; nor does my lifelong habit of procrastinating. I can’t wait until “later”.  Later is now.

June Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MDT.

May 27, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Investigation at East Coulee School Museum, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Jun 4, 10:00 am:  Calgary Lilac Festival on 4^th St SW. http://lilacfestival.net

Jun 4, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Pub Night at James Joyce, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Jun 5-11:  Canadian Environment Week:  “Why climate action matters to you”.

Jun 6-8:  Mayor’s Environment Expo at City Hall.

Jun 9, 7:10 am:  Full (Strawberry or Strong Sun) Moon.

Jun 9-11:  Paranormal Investigation at Clarion Hotel, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.  Ticketed separately from:

Jun 10-11:  Calgary Horror Con at Clarion Hotel. http://horror-con.ca 

Jun 10:  Duir/Oak Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves.

Jun 10, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Jun 10, 3:00 pm:  Let’s Get Witchy!  Meet and Greet.  https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-BWnukeJp/

Jun 17, 10:00 am:  Hergest’s Magical Mystery “Losing My Religion” Garage Sale.

Jun 17, 10:00 am:  Calgary Heathens Midsummer Community Ritual and Games. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

Jun 18:  Father’s Day.

Jun 18, 2:00 pm:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Jun 20, 10:24 pm:  Summer Solstice.

Jun 22-26:  FreezerBurn, Alberta Regional Burning Man Festival. http://www.freezerburn.org

Jun 23, 8:31 pm:  New Moon. Duir/Oak Lunar Month begins.

Quest for the Golden Hare, by Bamber Gascoigne (Cape, 1983)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I recently unearthed this book while unboxing my collection, and had been hesitating to read it because I didn't want my own quest to end. It is, of course, the companion to Kit Williams' phenomenal Masquerade, the puzzle-book/treasure hunt that captivated Britain and the world from 1979 to 1981. While the titular golden hare, crafted by Williams, has long since been found, Masquerade still remains a combination children's story and art book, featuring anagrams, magic squares, and other hidden puzzles. (It was even used as a story-telling/meditation at a community Ostara circle in Calgary several years ago.)  One still can, at one's leisure, attempt to find where the jewel was buried, and even knowing the location and Williams' methodology, try to reconstruct it. To be honest, I skipped over the portion of the book dealing with the actual construction of the puzzle, and the "perfect solution", in order to do just that.
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Bamber Gascoigne is a British journalist who was present with Williams for the burying of the hare, and Quest for the Golden Hare documents the project from conception to execution, to the final discovery of the jewel under controversial (nay, disastrous) circumstances. It includes a number of profiles of the more avid hunters and their ingenious, but mostly misguided, attempts to make sense of the clues and red herrings Williams inserted into the book. It also includes the "perfect solution" submitted by two treasure-hunters coincidental with the finding of the jewel.
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I strongly doubt that treasure hunts like this could be done today, as the internet facilitates discussion and collusion much more efficiently than it was 35 years ago. The two-year hunt for the hare could be reduced to weeks, perhaps even days. But the puzzle, and the story, endures.