My Memories of Dave Bracey; Martika Chisnall 25/02/25
When I first met Dave in 2009, him & Tricia, his wife were sitting in their Bungalow each on a seat in either corner of the lounge, with a mini coffee table next to the two chairs & a lamp above each chair as well. Dave had a pile of books, with a glass of beer & a diary next to him, Tricia had a bottle of wine next to her.
I initially found them quite raw around the edges, but that quickly turned to a soft-fondness for them after a few visits. They were both formidable individuals in their own right & as a team, not a lot got in the way of them. Tricia had been diagnosed with MS when she was around 25 years old, which at this stage could be debilitating for her some days. Dave was ok & did most of the cooking & organising & they both loved their Saga trips.
They had been initiated into a Gardnerian Coven in the early 80s & had then hived off & ran their own Coven. By the time I met them they had stepped down from HPS & HP & were now Coven Elders, with a variety of knowledge that they willingly shared. Tricia was quieter than Dave, but I always had little chats with her whenever I saw them. They also had a Pink Panther bendy figure attached to the central lampshade in the room; I will expand on the relevance later!
Dave & Tricia had put a training plan together for ‘Initiated Witchcraft’, with a focus on people who were interested in training for ‘Initiatory Craft’. They noted that during their ‘initiate’ life experience that some covens were stronger than others, & this seemed to be linked with a training regime, or lack thereof, before Initiation.
The ‘pre-initiate’ program they would put together would be passed down to Rhys in the early 90s, with me supporting Rhys with the training as of 2011.
The ‘training’ program ran over a 2 year period & covered many areas, all linked to offer a strong base of understanding around personal responsibility, psychology linked to ‘initiate’ practice & some general info around ritual & magic. The training, although updated still holds a lot of the basics that were passed down from Dave & Tricia, with myself & Rhys also running it over a 2 year period to this day.
For people interested in finding out more about ‘initiatory craft’ the 2 year program, offers a good understanding, & also offers a good amount of time for relationships to build between the Coven Leaders & potential initiates. This also offers an easy out, for people who are not interested in pursuing initiatory craft, but wish to explore or understand more about safe ritual & magical practises.
Sadly Tricia died in 2016, but Dave continued supporting Rhys & myself with the ‘pre-initiate’ training. He took over the ‘mentoring’ in year 2 for some people who had stuck with the training through the first year.
Rhys & I saw Dave & Tricia quite regularly & continued seeing Dave when she died. He always had a good conversation & always spoke about some of him & Tricia’s antics over the years, of which some were hilarious & some were horrendous, but it was always interesting.
Now onto the Pink Panther; whenever I went to visit Dave’s home, I would remodel the pink panther on the lampshade & about 3 years ago, purchased a bendy cat woman toy, to join him. I remember Dave saying to me on one occasion, as I was manipulating them into another cuddly position, on the lampshade, ‘You do realise that you have created a thought form now don’t you’. I giggled & said that it had crossed my mind a few times & that was ok, as they were completely harmless. I am not sure what will happen to Pink Panther & Cat Woman now; but it was always a bit silly & a bit amusing & became something that was always linked to my visits to Dave.
Dave & Tricia, were also lovers of good wine & good food. Dave always had a good bottle of something to offer, as soon as you crossed the threshold. He made you feel welcome, but you would always leave with something else to think about.
I will miss his company & his wine, but I am sure that if there is an ‘afterlife’ he will be causing havoc for someone & him & Tricia, will be finding it most amusing & likely be drinking a very good quality ‘Claret’, whilst watching the chaos unfold.