Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Hours before the majority of the Companions arrive, the work has begun. Some must be trained as fire marshals, some look after the room allocations, welcoming those who arrive… and others… well, okay, largely the same ones actually…. and chiefly those dignified beings otherwise known as directors of the Silent Eye… become temple monkeys.

Quite where the epithet originated I could not say, though I have my suspicions. It is apt, though, as we pretty much swing from the rafters in an attempt to get everything right for the first ritual drama of the weekend. By this time, of course, anything we have not packed will have to be improvised. Everything is planned in advance right down to the last detail, from a spare lighter for the central flame to a small blob of Blu-Tack.

Cars, stuffed to the brim with props, furnishings, technical equipment and costumes, must be unloaded…