Secular Sundays

For a change, I wasn't working on a Sunday, and I noticed that there was a talk on at the Globe in the afternoon that sounded interesting. It was under the heading of Secular Sundays, but it was a talk by a member of the Pagan Federation - so not exactly my idea of secular. The Pagans have all manner of gods and goddesses to worship, so maybe 'secular' just means 'non-Christian' in this context.
Only about half a dozen people turned up to listen to Richard Fox, though more drifted in and out for parts of the talk. He gave a general introduction to what paganism is, and the different varieties that have grown up, from the original Gardnerian Wicca just after the Second World War, through druids and shamans and the Northern tradition of the Norse gods. He was also honest about the varieties of paganism that he hadn't personally had experience of, when asked questions, which was good. He wasn't trying to pretend he knew everything.
One young couple who came along were walking in the area, and looking at historical monuments. After the talk, they asked about the motte in town, and I told them the story about Gerald of Wales, when he was touring Wales with Archbishop Baldwin, preaching the Crusade. He preached to such good effect in Hay (he said modestly) that the men of Hay surged forwards to take the Cross, to the horror of their wives, who tried to haul them back by their cloaks and shirts. Eventually, they had to take cover from their angry womenfolk inside the castle!
The couple decided to walk out to have a look at Mouse Castle, too, just outside Hay (the name is a Welsh pun on 'look-out').
Chatting after the talk, I found that Richard and I knew some people in common in the archaeological world, so he and his lady, Audrey, ended up coming round to my house for a cup of tea.