Emrys gave a talk at the very first festival in 2000 in what was an air of vitriol as the first event was held in part protest against persecution of Pagans in newspapers and media and part celebration as life is too short to worry about ignorant bigoted types. Emrys entered the festival with an aura of mystery.
Firstly, he had been a member of the secretive Cromlech Covenant, initiates rarely come to the fore. Secondly, Emrys had fallen victim to press vilification himself when he ran an aid convoy to bombed out Mostar in the Balkans. He and his convoy disappeared and then reappeared seemingly to cross international borders without passing any military checkpoints – the papers seized on this to allege gun running. And then thirdly, Emrys had also been involved in smashing dangerous cult activity that had seen at least one MP being blackmailed.
Emrys certainly packed a punch and was one of those contributors who were brought back by popular demand.