From: Steve Kittel Subject: Getting near the end Date: 5 August 2004 07:41 AM To: newton@atdot.dotat.org
Tomorrow will be a short task to ensure everyone is at the party. We managed to get 10 consecutive competition days, this is fairly unheard of in Germany. A competition just prior to this one which Helge was at only managed two flying days.
I promised earlier to write a short note about Hexen (witches). While the competition here in Klix is for female pilots and is run along formal competition lines there is also an informal female pilots movement in Europe.
They call themselves Hexen and display signs of this, either on their aircraft or as jewellery. Cathy has already sent one or two personal insignia on aircraft but a fair number of the girls here are members of this informal group. This includes Swaantje, Sabine, Akemi the Japanese pilot to name a few.
It is a system based on “witches” and “mother witches”. Swaantje has been a mother witch for some time. New witches are sponsored by a mother witch. At a ceremony which includes dressing as witches and riding a broomstick around a fire (I am told), the new witch is asked to repeat a pledge spoken by the mother witch. The pledge is a promise to be a good witch. However, the pledge must be spoken in the mother witches language and of course the mother witch is always chosen to be of a completely different language to the new witch. The mother witch follows the progress of her new witches and helps where she can. This effectively is an informal mentoring system which forces relationships beyond country borders.