the Burning of Morgana

Jesse Briton's starting point was noticing how integral Aberystwyth beach was to people's wellbeing during the lockdowns, with swimmers going out early every morning, fires at night, and students and community members walking there every day. He met with hundreds of different students, individually and as society groups, and joined in with many different activities, listening to stories and questioning what recovery could possibly mean to a generation that had been hit with loneliness and isolation during what was already a crucial time of change. He also met with community groups on the beaches, going for cold swims in the very early morning with the "Lockdown Lobsters" and the "Salty Dips" and talking to people tending to bonfires in the evenings

The activities he ended up participating in included writing and sharing poetry (the Carpe Diem society), running, sword and shield battles with the Re-enactment Society, archery, music and more! He was also very moved by the story of an individual student who was soon to move back to her former home in Slovakia, and as part of a focus group of students they talked at length about how we say goodbye. The final event was a kind of funeral for the pandemic, our former selves, or anything we wished to let go of, with elements from different students representing different nationalities. The day began with an early swim, followed by the building of a viking burial ship out of stones on the beach, followed by making an effigy - "Morgana", followed by a ceremony of poetry readings and and original song. The effigy was then burned and those that wished to went into the sea once more, before a sensory poetry exercise around the fire and a lovely dinner courtesy of the Syrian Dinner project!