|
 |
|
|
| Stone Formation Archive 1977 |
|
 Stone Formations news, views, gallery and archive brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Stonehenge Stonehenge Project Stonehenge 360 Avebury Saviours Stones Village Solstice Wayland Smithy Long Barrow Woodhenge Gallery Summer Solstice Gallery 2002 Summer Solstice Gallery 2004 Postcards Wallpaper Links  |
First published on June 21, 1977 THE British weather let down the ancient Druids at dawn today. The summer solstice was celebrated at Stonehenge under a grey and cloudy sky with an audience of curious hippies from a nearby pop festival. A crowd of 3,000, a third of whom were hippies, shivered in the drizzle as they watched the Druids wait in vain for sunrise. When the sun failed to cast a shadow over the ancient stone monument, the hippies wandered back to their music which respectfully stopped during the Druids' ceremony. The solstice celebrations were led by actor William Roache, Coronation Street's Ken Barlow. He holds high rank with the Druids but even with star quality the only light to appear in the East were a couple of shells fired on an artillery range. An earlier threat that the hippies might invade Stonehenge and disrupt the ceremony did not materialise, their only contribution was a little good natured heckling. Meanwhile police estimate more than 3,000 fans are at the festival campsite, about half-a-mile away. So far, police say, they have been remarkably well behaved. There has been little trouble apart from a number of arrests for drug offenses. Back to 1977 index |
|
