Barefoot on the grass on midsummer eve, with touch, play and permission to be sensual outside. Sun 20 Jun, 6:30pm, North London.About this Event
Think about the last time you took your shoes off outside.
Not on a beach, with a towel and a plan. Just on grass, on an ordinary evening, because you wanted to know what it felt like.
A child in a garden does this without thinking. She puts her face in the grass, pulls a daisy apart, rolls a cone round her palm to see what it does. Nobody calls that sensual. It is a body finding out what the world feels like.
Somewhere on the way to being a grown woman, being outside can turn into something you do on the way to somewhere else: dressed for it, at walking pace, phone in hand. And sensuality can end up as something that belongs indoors, behind a closed door, if it belongs anywhere.
This evening is permission to find out what happens when you take it outside again.
The longest light of the year
We meet on midsummer eve in a wild green space in North London, walk in together, and sit down in a circle on blankets, as every circle does. Then the shoes come off.
Barefoot is part of this evening, and I would rather say that plainly now. Grass that might be cool or warm, soft or prickly, damp or dry. Slowly, slower than you would normally walk. You can stand, walk or sit with your feet in the grass, and you can rest at any point.
Then the textures most of us walk past every day without touching. Bark. Moss. A smooth leaf and a rough one. Long grass between your fingers. Your hands, and not only your hands. You find one or two small things to bring back to the circle, a few daisies, a fern, a fallen feather, a cone, and I bring some too, so there is always plenty.
There is a reason I will keep saying "slower" all evening. Your skin has nerve endings that respond best to slow, light stroking, about the speed of a caress, and they are wired to the parts of the brain that deal with feeling rather than information. Speed is often what turns touch into nothing much.
And if touching your own skin often registers as very little, the difference between a pine cone and a feather can be easier to find than either one on its own.
Play, and asking for what you want
Touch between women is part of this evening, and it is playful. In pairs, with a flower, a leaf, a long grass or a feather. First you are given a touch: your partner strokes your hands, your arms, your face or the back of your neck, and you simply receive, eyes closed if you like. Then it is your turn to ask for the touch you want. Where. How slow. How light. More of that. Somewhere else.
It is always asked for and always your choice. "Stop" or "not there" is a complete answer, and it gets a thank you. You can sit a round out and watch, and you never have to explain why.
Being asked how you would like to be touched, and getting to answer, with a feather, on a summer evening, can be surprisingly funny. Laughing is very welcome.
Afterwards there is quiet time to write or draw what you noticed, then a closing circle with herbal tea from the flask, and one sound together, let out into the evening. We finish at nine. If you want to stay on and watch the sun go down, at about twenty past, you are very welcome.
Your shoes on the blanket. A feather in your hand. Somebody asking how you would like to be touched.
What this is, and what it is not
You stay clothed throughout. The touch is with flowers, leaves, grass and feathers, on hands, arms, faces and the backs of necks, and only ever when you have said yes.
Nothing sexual happens. Something may stir, because slow touch and bare feet on warm grass can do that, and that is not the same thing. If it does, nothing has gone wrong. If very little stirs, that is welcome too.
We are in a shared public space, so the evening is quiet and discreet. To anyone walking past it looks like a group of women on blankets with some flowers. What is said in the circle stays between us.
Practical details
When: Sunday 20th June 2027, 6:30pm to 9:00pm. Meet at 6:15pm, because we walk in together. This is the only evening circle of the year, with an optional stay for the sunset afterwards.
Where: A wild green space in North London. The exact meeting point is in your booking confirmation, and I'll send you a reminder a day or two before. There is a short walk from the meeting point, and the ground is uneven grass. Seated and resting options are there for everyone, all evening.
Weather: Light rain and we go ahead. Heavy rain or thunder and the circle moves to Sunday 27th June, same time, same place. I'll email everyone by 3pm on the day.
Wear: Long, light trousers that roll up, for the barefoot part and because ticks can be about in long grass in summer. A quick check when you get home is a good habit after any evening on grass.
Bring: A blanket or mat to sit on, layers for when the light goes, water, and a small bag for your shoes. Herbal tea is served in the closing circle. Notebooks and pencils are provided.
Group size: Small, often three or four women.
Investment: Community £15 | Standard £20 | Supporter £25. Community pricing, so please choose the tier that reflects your situation.
Questions: [email protected] or +44 7876 706910. If you are unsure whether this one is for you, ask me. I would much rather have that conversation before you book.
Next month
In July we go back indoors and we get loud. Breath, movement, and the sounds you have been holding back, every one of them led. Loud and Proud, Sunday 25th July.
About your facilitator
Melanie Knight is a Certified Sexological Bodyworker and Somatic Sex Educator. She runs small, unhurried circles where women can slow down and come back into their bodies, without pressure and without performance. Her approach is trauma-informed and consent-based.
Women's Circle 2027: A Year of Your Pleasure: Growing Into Your Desire
One Sunday a month, 11:00am to 1:30pm in North London (N11), except June's evening outdoors.
- 24 Jan What Turns You On Now
- 21 Feb The Dress You Never Wear
- 21 Mar Own Your Yes. Own Your No.
- 25 Apr Move Your Hips the Way You Want To
- 23 May The Art of Anticipation
- 20 Jun Sensual in the Wild (evening, outdoors)
- 25 Jul Loud and Proud
- 22 Aug What Your Breasts Know
- 19 Sep Your Breasts, Your Pleasure
- 17 Oct Good Girls Don't
- 14 Nov The Map You Were Never Given
- 12 Dec The Body's Own Fire
Book below.
Event venue
N11, Friern Barnet, London, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.