EUROHOWL'97 HOWL REPORT

WRITTEN BY LUGODOC

LUGODOC'S VIEW

SUNDAY: arrived in the afternoon somewhat knackered after a wedding the Saturday night, an early start and a long drive. Clean up and change into best werewolf t-shirt.

First impressions of the pack: a good deal more normal looking than I had anticipated. Most of them I could safely introduce to my mother.

The accomodation is excellent: superb self-contained student bedrooms and a large communal kitchen.

In no time we are off on a walk up into the Welsh mountains above Aberystwyth. We eventually arrive in a clearing at the top of a hill and discover: 1) nobody was actually leading, and 2) several pack members are not as fit as gazelles.

On the way back Locandez gracefully stalks sheep, almost catching one or two.

Later in the night Moonchild, Fax, Christoph, Wiz and myself enjoy a moonlit walk in the wooded hills above the city.

MONDAY: FULL MOON DAY. The pack wanders into Aberytwyth for icecream, souvenirs and shopping for...

The bonfire party: this is where the bonding really starts. Using odds and ends we successfully cook burgers and bananas, and the pack circulates between fluid groups by the fire, on the beach nearby, or walks beneath the full moon. Ragtag arrives. I wouldn't introduce HIM to my mother. I'm not even sure I'd introduce him to my tattooist.

Fax is buried alive.

TUESDAY: A quiet day. Numerous groups form and mutate around the kitchen. By this time the group seems fairly at ease with itself, which is remarkable for so many people meeting on so short aquaintance.

In the evening Fax, Wiz, Moonchild and myself go on yet another splendid walk into the wooded hills, from where we can see the city asleep beneath our full moon. At 1am we are discussing spiritual issues when we are joined by Kevin, a mysterious young man with his own dijeridoo, bongo drums and portable sound system, plus a collection of indy tapes. We jam into the small hours and feel close to the gods of nature.

Wiz is terribly disapointed he did not catch a physical transformation on digital camera. (WIZ: even if you got a pic, it would be useless! Digital media are too easily faked. If you want to blow the scientific world apart with proof of a shift, it has to be emulsion. Nothing else will do.)

TUESDAY very early: I reluctantly leave the pack and return to Portsmouth. I would have loved to have stayed longer, but duty calls.

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