Avalon Of The Heart.

Dion Fortune.

I'm going to Glastonbury town next week for a couple of days, so I thought I'd dust off this old story that I wrote several years ago about a previous visit.

I woke up Tuesday morning and the sun was streaming through the window. It was a beautiful day as I set out for Glastonbury. I arrived there about 11.45 and I couldn't check into my hotel till 2.00, so I wandered the streets taking photos of the shop signs. One shop was called Enlightenment which reminded me of the Van Morrison album. Then I had a look in a museum that I had never visited before. It was all about the Iron Age people that used to live around here. Some of the pottery and tools they used were amazing and they even had an Iron Age canoe which had been discovered locally. The Tourist Information Office was in the same building and I asked the lady if she could direct me to the cemetery. She gave me a bit of a funny look. I think it is because tourist information ladies usually get asked about hotels or bus timetables, not cemeteries. She told me to go to the top of the High Street and turn left and it was about half a mile.

Fifteen minutes later I arrived at the cemetery entrance. Inside the deserted graveyard there was a peaceful atmosphere, not a cloud in the sky and just the sound of birdsong adding to the tranquillity. I had expected my intuition would lead me to the grave like a holy magnet, but after a few minutes I realised that I had a major problem. There were hundreds of graves, a lot of them covered in moss and lichen and so worn that you could hardly read the inscription. I wandered up and down the rows for about half an hour looking for graves that looked about 70 years old. "This is impossible", I thought to myself and was beginning to despair.
 Then I noticed a van parked nearby with a man who was eating sandwiches. "He must be a gravedigger or a sexton or whatever you call them", I thought, "He might be able to help". He put down his sandwich and gave a cheery smile. "I wonder if you can help me, I'm trying to locate a grave but I don't have a clue where it is. Violet Mary Evans better known as Dion Fortune". " I know exactly where it is", he replied, "You're not the first person to ask me about that grave, I'll show you it". " Oh brilliant, thanks mate".

 He led me up towards  the far end of the cemetery and then down a few rows and there it was, my quest was over. I had found the grave of Dion Fortune. I thanked him and shook hands and he left me alone at the graveside. Even after 69 years she obviously still had visitors because there were recent flowers left there and various trinkets and things. I took a few photos and then I noticed just a few feet away the grave of  her patron and secretary in the Fraternity Of The Inner Light Charles Thomas Loveday who died in 1948 so I took a photo of that as well.

 Then I placed the book, Avalon of The Heart (protected inside a plastic bag in case of rain) on Dion's grave. The book she had written all those years ago. I hope that somebody found it and enjoyed it.  I left the cemetery feeling quite pleased with myself. Mission accomplished. 

Walking back down the High Street I spotted a second-hand bookshop and thought I would have a look in. There was a huge range of books on all sorts of topics such as the occult, mysticism & theosophy and guess what was almost the first book I saw in there. Yes, Glastonbury, Avalon Of The Heart by Dion Fortune. The rest of my 24 hours in Glastonbury was good fun. The 15th century hotel The George And Pilgrim is nice. Kim and I stayed there a few times previously. I had a  meal and saw a band in the hotel next door. Next morning I climbed the Tor which was beautiful and then I sat in the Chalice Well gardens for about an hour basking in the sun which was amazing for February and I had a drink of the cool water to quench my thirst and then I hopped in a taxi to Castle Cary and caught the train back to Westbury. Today it is back to being dark, rainy and miserable so I am really pleased I chose the best days to go away and I have even started writing again, so thank you very much Dion Fortune for inspiring me from beyond the grave.