With lace, leather, crowns of roses on their heads, silver accessories and various talk of rituals and incantations, the witches that descended upon Fairfield Halls on Saturday were clearly a community united with a common purpose - to celebrate Witchcraft and have a good time.

Everywhere you looked there was the rediscovery of concepts and ways of life temporarily forgotten by the modern world.

There was a group of Morris Dancers, that clearly were not your ill-conceived, British-coloured rosy-cheeked, bumbering guys from down the pub, but a more traditional sort, going back to the roots, clad in ripped black tops, bells and black everything.

Stalls were packed with alternative clothing, shimmering semi-previous jewellery, daggers and other instruments for strictly Wiccan practises.

Acts on the various platforms in the concert hall whizzed by sleekly, including lone musicians with an affiliation for fire spirits, belly dancers that used more than their belly to perform and sections of the Hall cast aside (no pun intended) for speed dating and practical workshops.

On the more informative side, there were lecture sessions held by the likes of Professor Ronald Hutton, a well-known academic focusing on the study of Witchcraft.

For this new presentation, the eccentrically dressed man took a daring move in discussing the real dangers to The Craft By this, he actively called upon those witches who give the discipline a bad name and to show the lay public that there isn't anything to fear, before it is too late and modern society is prey to another scare fuelled by misunderstanding and a fear of magic.

Considering that Wiccan Witchcraft was at the foreground to this event and that Wicca is notably the newest' sect and one that actively looks to cast spells and harness magic for a purpose, he might as well have gone into a piranha tank covered in giblets and pig's blood, wearing nothing but an I Hate Piranhas' t-shirt.

However, he received a rapturous response and thus highlighted the openness and level of acceptance that this minority group demonstrate.

Further into the night and the musical performances became more frequent, with local boys Kitty Hudson strutting to the predominantly rock crowd, vocal swoonings and yesteryear melodies from the Mediaeval Baebes, and much more.

These performances, combined with the costumes and age range of the audience, may make you wonder how much of a crossover there is between Goth' and Witch' in some people's minds.

The day-long event was informative and fun, but above anything else the whole day was a platform to show off your Witchy-wares, compare mediaeval gowns and buy that peter dragon model you've been lusting after ever since that skyclad session round at number 22.

The first impression was that a great deal of participants were also new to the Ways of the Witch. But the one certainty was that The Fairfield Halls had never seen so much darn velvet in the space of one day.