November 2024
Overview and review of activities
Gatekeeper Trust has continued its focus on the British landscape zodiac, turning the Wheel of Life through its monthly meditations and keeping Gatekeepers informed of activities through its monthly newsletters. Ongoing research into landscape temples has been shared and pilgrimages have brought Gatekeepers together during 2024.
Our thanks go to local contacts who have led pilgrimages in their own areas and introduced others to their native spirit of place. During 2024 Vicky Wade and Caroline Weatherby led Solstice walks in Derbyshire and Norfolk respectively.
To bring our friends and members in the wider Gatekeeper community together, there is now a bi-annual opportunity to link from your own areas, both in the British Isles and abroad. To reinforce and expand the network of light initiated last year, Gatekeepers were invited to join together at midday in the landscape to connect through the vibration of sound at Beltane and again at Samhain with light. Together these simple ceremonies create an in and out breath in tune with the Celtic festivals.
Sound in the Land (5/5/24) to celebrate the Celtic Fire Festival of Beltane and the beginning of summer, the lighter half of the year, when we send out sound vibrations to celebrate Beltane and the Spring energies.
Light in the Land (3/11/24) to celebrate the Celtic Fire Festival of Samhain and the beginning of the darker half of the year. This simple ceremony carries the light and learnings of the year into the darker winter months, when we go within and reflect ready to sow new seed ideas in the Spring.
Collaborations:
Local contacts Patricia Swan and Cary Meehan brought pilgrims from Ireland, the UK and America together to honour the sacred centre of Ireland in July. This was followed by a Samhain synchronised link-up at four sacred sites to energise the Bridgid cross and to start the Irish wheel of life turning. Other pilgrims tuned in remotely. This linking continues the work started during previous Gatekeeper pilgrimages to Ireland about 30 years ago. It is inspiring to see how much can be achieved working in harmony with the land and each other.
Paneurhythmy sacred dancing to connect with nature at White Eagle Lodge was a wonderful offering by Sarah Dawkins throughout this year. Andrew Clark continued to lead sacred songs, chants and harmonies Singing from the Heart in beautiful venues across the country. Gatekeeper Trust were also represented at the Ley Hunters Moot in North Devon during May.
This year Gatekeeper Trust has expanded its horizons by collaborating in a new partnership with Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust on the Isle of Portland. Working with the spirit of place and tuning in to inspiration from the Memory Stones and the land archives of Portland, the Gatekeeper Stone has been sponsored and will be an ongoing link to the Gatekeeper Trust. The stone book of nature, due to be carved in 2025, will give the history of the Trust and invite visitors to learn more. The development of the Green Corridor in the quarry will continue to be worked on collaboratively., with plans being developed to erect the portal from 81 Fleet Street at the base of the emerging chakra system. Discussio ns are ongoing about a processional ceremony from the Drill Hall to the Memory Stones on 21/6/25 to which Gatekeepers will be invited.
Portland Pilgrims Weekend (17-19/8/24)
This 3 day event, bringing pilgrims together on the Isle of Portland is described in Gatekeeper Trustee Jane Knight’s article here:
https://gatekeeper.org.uk/2024/09/reflections-on-the-portland-pilgrims-weekend-17-18-august-2024/
Visit to St Paul’s Cathedral (12/9/24)
In September Gatekeepers were invited to join Portlanders on the Wren Churches visit, finishing at St Paul’s Cathedral, where they were invited into the stonemasons’ workshop where Portland Stone is still worked by hand today as part of the Cathedral Workshop Fellowship wherein 13 Cathedrals in the UK combine to preserve unique heritage skills.
Treasurer's Report:
The Trust's financial year runs from April 1st to March 31st. The Trustees continue to keep the financial position of the Trust under review, balancing our fiduciary responsibilities with the need to promote our charitable objectives.
The Trustees decided in early 2023 that, in celebration of the Trust's 40th anniversary of its foundation, any event which we promoted would be free of charge to participants. The promoted events were reported upon in last year's report and the financial impact of that decision is reflected in the financial outcome for the year which was a deficit of £4,081. The summarised financial results for the year ended March 31st 2024 are set out in the attachment to this report where the net loss on events was £2,242 which the Trustees consider was an acceptable outcome of the 40th Anniversary celebrations.
In other areas costs continue to increase and the Trustees monitor the financial status of the Trust at every meeting and take appropriate decisions to support the financial health of the Trust. We look for cost savings where we can for example the cost of insurance was reduced by over £250 per annum when a fixed term policy expired during the year.
Similarly, we look to improve our income and during the year we moved funds into an ethical one year bond at an enhanced interest rate which will have a major impact in the current financial year, increasing interest received by over £2,000.
Overall, we remain in a strong financial position with substantial reserves to support our activities.
Trust Management
The team guiding the Gatekeeper Trust currently are:
- Co-chairs: Charlotte Yonge, Angela Shaw
- Treasurer: Mike Newton
- Trustee: Jane Knight
The trustees are grateful for the support of our core team:
- Amelia: Gatekeeper Trust Secretary
- Rose Williams: GKT newsletter co-editor
- Charlotte Yonge (co-editor) continues sharing past pilgrimages and research in her inspirational Sun zodiac landscape meditations. Charlotte also convenes the quarterly Zoom gatherings, which bring together conversations and connection from our dispersed landscape, creating a sense of community online. Please let The Secretary know if you would like to join in: https://gatekeeper.org.uk/contact/
- Jane Withers: Gatekeeper Trust Facebook page editor
A final note: We hope that we have given you a flavour of the work we have been involved with over the past year. We would welcome members assisting in further developing our work in the landscape through the provision of events and our online offerings. Unlike many other small charities in these times, we are financially sound and have the resources to fund our future. We have an urgent need for people to come forward offering service as a trustee or in any specific capacity such as publicity and marketing, event management etc.
Jane Noble Knight puts it thus:
There are currently four trustees: Angela Shaw (Chair), Charlotte Yonge (Co-Chair), Michael Newton (Treasurer) and myself Jane Knight. We are a small and dedicated team who work well together, sharing out the workload amongst ourselves and our supporters and would love to welcome new ideas and energies into our group.
Between us we fulfill the practical requirements of operating a charity: finance, regulatory requirements, planning future events and the like, but also making sure that what we do fulfils our charitable objectives as set out in the Trust Deed. We hold regular Trustees meetings over Zoom every 6-8 weeks with extra meetings slotted in as and when we have events coming up. Those meetings last for 60-90 minutes.
So if you are interested in contributing your ideas for the future development of Gatekeeper Trust either generally or in specific areas but feel you have limited time to undertake specific roles, please don’t let that put you off. We are very flexible and can accommodate most working arrangements. We need new ideas and support; we can decide later how to incorporate flexible arrangements into our structure!
To find out more, or to attend a Trustees' Meeting to see how we work at first hand, without any obligation, then please contact us via the secretary at secretary@gatekeeper.org.uk
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
