The Sound of Little Raindrops Peace Chamber, known as Little Rain Drop:  A necessary part of the vision of Beautiful Painted Arrow, Joseph Rael.

 Text from Lindsay’s chamber diary, edited for the web by Stella Longland

June 21st 1991:

The site was blessed by Beautiful Painted Arrow, together with the round stone to be used to represent the cosmos.  The ceremony was attended by all the friends who gathered for the first Long Dance in the UK.  We cut the first turfs, and Beautiful Painted Arrow presented us with a medallion, the peace medal honorarium. 

 July 1991:

Two of us removed the top soil and took it to the dance site.  We dug out a quarter of the site down to level ground.   

The next time the excavation was completed and the centre hole was dug out to 13″ below floor level. 

Later in the month the shuttering was completed and the concrete floor put in by several volunteers including the children and me.

August 1991:

Ben came with the plans for the walls and roof.  Ben and I made the door frames.

September 1991:

Ben and I put up the door frames and cut the uprights to 6′ 11″.

I placed all the blocks for the first row and took all the tools to the site. 

During the rest of this month courses of blocks were laid, the wooden frame for the walls was finished, the roof ridge constructed. 

By the end of the month four courses of blocks were completed and the plywood base for the felt roof was ready.  

 October 1991:

The felt was fitted on the roof.  Two more courses of blocks were laid; six courses now completed.  The drainage trench round the exterior was dug, cost: £10.  Ben and I put the drainage pipe and gravel chips into the trench.  One weekend a team of five arrived, we fitted some plywood, and did some plastering.  Later I put up the rest of the roof insulation.  Ben and I made the window frames. 

There followed two days of high winds, but so far so good.  I put a piece of exterior ply over the windows.  

Eventually all the exterior ply was fitted and the back door hung.  Four of us struggled with and fitted most of the interior ply.  Later Ben and I finished the ceiling.  

I ordered the wood for the floor.  

The generator broke down so I took a day’s rest, tidied up, and put fireclay round the stove pipe.  I built the stove wall section.  By the end of the month, with two helpers, we had a second coat of plaster on one section of wall, and a first coat on the rest.

Early December 1991:

The flooring started to go down, three helpers and, of course, Ben and myself.  The next weekend four people came up from the Findhorn Foundation and we chanted and danced together.  

Christmas Eve:

The joiner came.  The windows are in.

December 29th-31st:

Worked very hard to finish the interior boards.

 January 1992: 

Had to give the generator back!  Fire Ceremony with Ben, and two others on the 7th.

 March 1992: 

Sandy and I made a path to the door with a digger and gravel.

May 1992:  Joseph arrived to bless the chamber.

This chamber features in Early Chambers part 1 Europe