The same goes to the wedding (or handfasting) conducted with the bride and groom both naked, although I have my doubts that there’s always someone dressed as a horned god in attendance. This is a lovely section that displays images of old churches adorned with pagan deities and information on how Pagan Sabbats were ‘magpied’ by the Christians to support the populations transition to Christianity. As she emerges from Notting Hill Gate Underground station, she looks like she could be on her way to a modelling assignment for Nova.

Although not very long, this film gives a good picture of modern witchcraft and its advancement and resurgence in 1970s Britain.Finally, and with much ballyhooing, Ford presents us with ‘the rarely witnessed, never photographed, ‘Egyptian rite of Ra, taken from the forbidden Book of the Dead’. Sanders wears a jackal head, some of the females have slapped on Cleopatra makeup and nearly everyone has decorated themselves in glitter and presumably the leftover tinfoil.

In doing this Leigh somewhat cheapens what could be an informative piece of cinema about Witchcraft. Getting it Straight in Notting Hill Gate, 1970, is an interesting cultural insight into life in Notting Hill Gate in 1970. Although a lesser known actress staring in Up Pompei, 1969 and The Morecambe and Wise Show, 1968, Penny’s playing to the camera with pouting looks and stylised standing often give her away. Images of sea, sunrises and deer are eloquently focussed to aid the films relaxing atmosphere, and even the sacrifice of a chicken appears less harrowing than it might. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net.

However, there is no doubt in Leigh’s real intentions for making this film (he followed this with British Sex film, Games that Lovers Play, 1971 starring Joanna Lumney). My inner hippy found it fascinating until my inner punk surfaced the moment Quintessence began performing the track that gave the documentary its title. Displayed here are the remains of the last witch to be executed in England and artefacts from around the world. It is a home for UK cinematic oddities, offering everything from exploitation documentaries to B-movies, countercultural curios and obscure classics, If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside. Sanders and his wife Maxine, who is also active in the coven, are real Wiccans but Penny comes across like an actor.

Expecting a biased, blood thirsty and erotic account of an ancient religion condemned by the church, I was pleasantly surprised. We start, though, with a version of the Wiccan creation story of Diana the moon and Lucifer the sun. The film starts with the Wiccan creation story of Dianna the moon looking for her soul mate Lucifer the sun. It comes with a collection of extras that will predominantly appeal to scholars in the field of cultural history or people with an interest in cultural history and witchcraft.For the majority of film, recreations of rites and rituals are kept tasteful, giving the whole film a sense of educational value. Secret Rites (1971, 47 mins): Part Mondo movie, part countercultural artefact, this strange mid-length 'documentary' by sex film director Derek Ford lifts the lid on witchcraft in 1970s Notting Hill. Asked his opinion on what we have just seen, the self-styled King of the Witches dismisses it as ‘a lot of rubbish’, before complaining about how risible many of the commonly held myths about witchcraft can be.

It is also more reliable in terms of accurate representation of rites and rituals within a witches’ coven. I was really shocked to see how well the film looks and this includes the various lighting that was done to highlight certain things. An evocative, esoteric exploration of witchcraft at the end of the 1960s – including night-time ritual, reflections on the history of Wicca and a black mass.As the film progresses, we are given first-hand experience of the initiation of two witches into the coven, one of which is Penny. There are are all sorts of Black Masses and strange rituals being done under the moonlight and they simply come across beautifully on the screen. It certainly sounds like a British film from the 1970s (which it is of course) but there's no question that it's a bit too try and a bit too much like a professor talking to himself. This said, like Legend of the Witches, it isn’t totally clear what the intentions of the director truly are, with some shots of nudity lingering just that little bit longer than necessary. Switch to Alex Sanders, a Notting Hill witch, ready to demystify the controversy surrounding witchcraft and break down some of the stereotypical images.