Roy and Caroline Gillett
Astrologers’ Feast
Report by Sharon Knight
Barbara Dunn
Congratulations to the Astrological Lodge of London (ALL) committee
on the splendid Astrologers’ Feast held in the opulent surroundings
of the Painters’ Hall in London on 17 December (2015). Marking the
Lodge’s centenary, it was a feast in every sense of the word: a feast
of food, wine, laughter - and for the eyes, wonderful 17th century
costumes, elegantly dressed women and incredibly smart men.
The ALL fashion guide (not compulsory) to the times of William Lilly
and Elias Ashmole advised that “Fashionable ladies wore heavy,
elaborate make-up. White chalk was powdered onto the face, cheeks
rouged red and lips reddened. It became fashionable to wear plumpers
to fill out the cheeks. Men often had rouged cheeks”. Women tended to
wear coifs, caps or lace bonnets while men wore their hair long and
curly – sometimes in a ponytail. So how did the ALL guests turn out?
Chris Mitchell was wonderful working the room as an Arabic
geomancer; Israel Ajose looked positively scrumptious in his baby blue
costume; Kim Farnell’s dress was stunning in the detail and colour.
She had made her dress herself and it was wonderful. Lovely Gill
Dorran was hardly recognisable dressed as King Charles II, and Sue
Farebrother was a pocket Venus in her outfit.
6
Mar/Apr 2016 The Astrological Journal
Tomasz Winski, Kim Farnell, Izabela Podlaska-Konkel