Reconnect #63

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon OCT/NOV 19 ISSUE 63

produce ❋ energy ❋ land ❋ homes ❋ community ❋ wellbeing ❋ arts

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gather around the fire Warm your soul under a canopy of stars

autumnal gold Discover personal wellbeing

arts around the region

A DEEPer CONNECTION

Innovative exhibitions around Devon

A time for regenerative communities

Your local community life loving magazine full of inspiration and information - powered by the people!

Visit us online at www.reconnectonline.co.uk

T HE NAUTILUS R OOMS

The Nautilus Rooms in Totnes specialises in talking and creative arts therapies. We have a team of highly trained and experienced coaches, counsellors, family therapists, psychotherapists, psychologists, relationship therapist’s, sand play and creative arts therapists.

These mental health professionals work across a range of different theoretical models and with all ages. All are professionally qualified and insured. Wonderfully supported by massage therapists and mindfulness practitioners.

We are in a secluded location just off Fore Street and attract clients from across the South West.

Check out The Nautilus Rooms website for more information. www.nautilusrooms.uk or email nautiluscentre@gmail.com

Sandplay and Creative Therapies The Nautilus Rooms are home to the West Country’s leading provider of Integrative Sandplay and Therapeutic Art trainings.

Our courses are awarded by The Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists.

Check out our website for more information: www.sandplayuk.uk or contact Ruth Baker at sandplaytherapyuk@gmail.com

Sandplay Therapists Courses

Foundation in Integrative Sandplay Therapy (2 day course): 26th and 27th October 2019 4th and 5th April 2020 24th and 25th October 2020 Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapy (4 3-day weekends): 7th - 9th February 2020 20th - 2nd March 2020 1st - 3rd May 2020 26th - 28th June 2020 Advanced Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapy (5 3-day weekends): 21st-23rd November 2019 17th-19th January 2020 28th February -1st March 2020 17th - 19th April 2020 29th - 31st May 2020 Foundation in Therapeutic Art (2 day course): 9th and 10th November 2019 26th-27th September 2020

Mindfulness Courses A Day of Mindfulness

Please inquire for dates

Continuing Professional Development Courses:

Introduction to the Archetypes in the Sand 2-day course 14th and 15th September 2019 If you are interested in a course however the dates don't work for you - do get in touch with Ruth to discuss further.

For more information email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

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The Nautilus Rooms • 35a Fore Street • Totnes • TQ9 5HN www.nautilusrooms.uk • nautiluscentre@gmail.com Call Ruth on 07736 334454 or Peter on 07826 414404

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Upfront

WELCOME...

IT'SWHAT WE'REABOUT

Broughttoyou by...

INTHISISSUE...

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WHAT IF?

The power of imagination EDITOR Scott Williams

THE GET TOGETHER

6

New music social cub

A FUTURE OF HOPE 9 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Williams

WELLBEING EDITOR Kate Philbin

GOING OUT

11

19

Places to go, people to see

NOURISHING FOOD

ORGANIC GARDENING14 Green tips for Autumn

CLIMATE CRISIS

20

POP UP TOMORROW 16

REGIONAL ART

22

Memories of the future COUNSELLOR WRITER Leigh Smith

Creative gardeningpage 19

South Westerlies

ORGANIC POTTERY 17 Natural origins

Myth busting soya What can we do?

to the October/November issue of Reconnect.

This issue has been a blaze of creativity for us, and we hope you find the endeavor we have put in illuminating and it sparks your interest.

As the nights draw in and the fires are lit we have a warm glow and our own cosy autumnal feel radiating from this issue.

Inside we’ve bundled together enlightening articles, news and views, activities and wellbeing to kindle your enthusiasm.

We’re here to enlighten you whether it’s exploring nature outside or your own wellbeing inside, doing something with the folks, or just feeling reconnected to your community by reading about everything that’s happening in your neck of the woods.

We are fired up now for our Christmas/New Year issue (yes, already, I know!) and we’d love to attract a few more advertisers, if you’re considering featuring in the next issue, then please call me on 01392 346342 now. Your interest will be glowingly received. tt x

COVERSTORY...

Innovative exhibitions

SOMETHING PRESSING 25 Sharpham AppleDay

WELLBEING PAGES

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Our holistic health guide

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EMOTIONAL HEALTH 28

GARDENING EXPERT Joa Grower

Becoming a grandparent Devon Sculpture Parkpage 23

FOOD WRITER Jane Hutton

WEBSITE EDITORS www.doetsdesign.com

apy

TECHNICAL AIDE Zelah Williams

STAY IN TOUCH...

EDITORIAL: 01392 346342 ADVERTISING: 01392 346342 SCOTT’S MOBILE: 07751 214656 EMAIL US: editor@reconnectonline.co.uk or adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk SEND US STUFF BY POST: 18 Millin Way, Dawlish Warren EX7 0EP FOLLOW US AND READ US ONLINE: www.reconnectonline.co.uk facebook.com/reconnectmagazine twitter.com/reconnectmag www.reconnectonline.co.uk

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DEC/JAN issue out the end of Nov - the next deadline is Nov 1 PUBLISHED BY Reconnect Magazine, 18 Millin Way, Dawlish Warren EX7 0EP PRINTED BY William Pollard & Co Ltd, Exeter www.pollardsprint.co.uk WEBSITE Visit our website at www.reconnectonline.co.uk.

Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook. com/reconnectmagazine ECO ETHOS Reconnect is written, designed, printed and distributed locally, using materials from

sustainable sources. It is printed using vegetablebased inks and the paper used has been carbon balanced with an area of land preserved in perpetuity with the World Land Trust (WLT) - an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats acre by acre. To learn more about them see www.worldlandtrust.org and carbonbalancedpaper.com.

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part of Reconnect can be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. But do ask – if you’re genuinely spreading the word, we’ll try to help. The publishers, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services advertised or referred to in this issue, or any errors, omissions, mis-statements or mistakes in any advertisements or references.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Walking in art

Writers Phil Smith and Tony Whitehead join forces with photographer John Schott for a ‘Guidebook for an Armchair Pilgrimage’ taking us on a mental journey through a real Devon landscape through wild dances, hill climbs, darkness, and animal forms, published on Triarchy Press.

Acoustic folk

KEITH James will be performing his new album A Message from the Gods with music set to the wonderful poetry of Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, Frida Kahlo, Kahlil Gibran, Kate Tempest, Leonard Cohen, Lorca and W H Auden on November 14 at Plymouth’s B-Bar.

Youth panel

EXETER’s RAMM is forming a youth panel to help shape the museum’s exhibitions and events programme and maximise the engagement of younger audiences. There are places for twelve university students aged 18-25. The application deadline is October 7.

Zulu dance

VILLAGES in Action Autumn programme includes a performance by Zulu Tradition rekindling the spark of Zulu culture through song, dance and drums at Buckland in the Moor Community Hall on October 18.

Volunteer celebrates thirty years

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OLUNTEER Vera Munson was visited by the Dame Hannahs Head of Fundraising, Daniel Burke, at the charity’s Ivybridge shop to say a special thank you to her for having been volunteering in the shop for 30 years.

Before starting work in the shop Vera volunteered in the Dame Hannahs school where she spent many hours sewing and repairing clothes that had been donated. Vera said: “I have always really enjoyed working Ivybridge shop manager Dave Brown, in the Dame Hannahs shop over the Vera Munson and Daniel Burke years. I enjoy helping people and chatting to them and being part of a lovely team of volunteers”.

Vera is one of 130 volunteers, ranging in age from 15 to 95 years old, who work in the eight Dame Hannahs charity shops in Ivybridge, Plymouth, Saltash and Newton Abbot. Between them the volunteers give over 1000 hours a week and over the last year the shops have raised £506,587.

Daniel said: “We are hugely grateful to all our volunteers for all their dedication and hard work. We couldn’t keep all our charity shops running so successfully without their help. We recently held a thank you evening to celebrate and thank our volunteers many of whom received long service awards. As Vera could not attend on the night I was delighted to thank her in person and present her with her long service award and flowers”. l One of the UK’s oldest charities, Dame Hannahs is based in Ivybridge and dedicated to empowering children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities with the aim of making each disability incidental.

Charity puts city on path to health and fitness

Food Festival

DARTMOUTH Food Festival returns on October 18-20 to showcase South West produce, local restaurants and chefs.

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Northern joker

COMEDIAN Justin Moorhouse’s 2019 Northern Joker tour visits The Venue, in Uffculme on Saturday November 9.

O far this year, Ride On – Cycling for All, the bike recycling charity in Exeter, has put 487 secondhand bikes back into use. The charity’s vision is for ‘a cleaner, healthier and more active Exeter’, and with 568 bikes having been donated this year so far, Ride On is well on the way to achieving its mission.

Ride On is helping more people of all ages and abilities cycle more often by providing access to affordable, good quality refurbished bikes and offering practical cycling information and support.

Exeter has numerous cycle routes, including bus and cycle lanes, as well as

quiet roads. These have been constructed to help cyclists and provide a route away from busier and heavier traffic. The charity is also creating employment and an apprenticeship programme through its bicycle maintenance workshops and delivers outreach cycling projects aimed at disadvantaged hard to reach communities. The Cycling Without Age project takes elderly people out as rickshaw passengers along the Exe Estuary Trail, giving them a real taste of the cycling experience. “Exeter is a cycle-friendly city and we want to help more people use bikes to get around the city and local area, but in order to do this we rely on bikes being donated to the charity,” explains Will Page, Head of Administration and Partnerships at Ride On. “We believe there are lots of unused bicycles in people’s sheds and garages that could be back on the roads and cycle paths, helping to achieve our vision of a cleaner, healthier and more active city.” If you have a bike you no longer need why not donate it? Come down to 61 Haven Road, Exeter, EX2 8DP. Tel: 07544314749. Email: info@ rideoncycling.org

Using the power of imagination to create the future we want ROB Hopkins, occasional writer for this magazine as well as the co-founder of the international Transition Towns movement and the New Lion Brewery, has a new book out, From What Is to What If, on October 17 and we think it is going to be an essential read for anyone looking to feel optimistic about the future. The book focuses on creative, positive thinking which is more important now than ever, and suggests ways our communities can revive and reclaim our imaginations. We keep being told the future is going to be awful, but fundamental to seeing that it could actually be better is using our positive imaginations.

In the book Rob reveals plenty of evidence that things can change, and cultures can change, rapidly, dramatically, and unexpectedly— and happily for the better. He has aleady seen it happen around the world and in his hometown of Totnes, where the community is becoming its own housing developer, energy company, enterprise incubator, and local food network—with cascading benefits to the community that extend far beyond the projects themselves.

We do have the capability to effect dramatic positive change through human imagination. To ask: “What if?” and see the future in a positive light. To buy the book online visit www.chelseagreen.com/product/from-what-is-to-what-if/

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Woolly excitement STITCH Fest, Devon’s largest yarn festival returns to Totnes on November 2-3 with a weekend full of yarn and fibre entertainment, shopping and education, taking place across several venues in the centre of the town. New at the show this year is a programme of demonstrations, talks and makeand-take mini workshops. This is in addition to 20 workshops and 7 talks covering knitting, crochet, weaving, dyeing, spinning, felting, fashion and running a small craft business.

Join the band

TOTNES Band, the community brass band that has been playing music of all kinds, at all sorts of events, for nearly fifty years are currently rebuilding after a number of members moved on for work or family reasons.

They would like to welcome anyone who has ever played in a brass band, or has ever wanted to, or has never even thought about it, but may suddenly realise that it is exactly what is missing from their life!

They meet on Saturday mornings at St John’s Church, Bridgetown, Totnes, from 9.30-11pm.

Whether you have played before, or have never picked up a brass instrument, you are welcome. Open to all ages and backgrounds, and the atmosphere is one of warmth and friendliness.

Contact Bob Mann on 01803 847930 or see www.totnesband.co.uk.

Feminist Fusion

FEMINIST Fusion is an independent community arts project based in Plymouth, in support of women’s art and for a public dialogue on social justice.

Community Artist, Anairda Cordova said: “We’re starting our MEMORIA 2020 sessions this Autumn! We will be exploring the impact of the Mayflower’s arrival in America, alongside a great line up of women poets, painters, musicians, speakers and a communal craft! Come chat, drink and create with us! Everyone is welcome.”

The next session is on Friday November 22 at 7pm. Entry £2.

Join them on facebook: www.facebook. com/FeministFusion

Adoption week

NATIONAL Adoption Week takes place on October 14-19 and South West based Families for Children Trust are hosting adoption events in South Devon see familiesforchildren.org.uk/events

Two Moors Festival

The Two Moors Festival returns to arts centres, village halls, churches, country houses, railway stations and indoor markets across 1,200 square miles of Dartmoor and Exmoor on October 11-20 featuring performances, talk, exhibitions, schools workshops and masterclasses.

Autumn beach clean

THIS year’s national Autumn Beach Clean organised by Surfers Against Sewage will take place on October 19-27. See www.sas.org.uk to get involved in an event near you.

Whitehouse session

BOO Hewerdine has just released the third of his stripped back album releases ‘Before’. At Ashburton Arts Centre on October 23 his Whitehouse session will showcase these new songs and old favourites.

Wood-Skills at Hillyfield

TRADITIONAL timber-framing is at the fore as work starts on the 2nd barn of three at the Hillyfield.

Wood-chips have been flying as Henry Russell has now trained two groups in traditional timber-framing using handtools and elbow grease to make the first, a new welfare and workshop barn where The Hillyfield plans to make all things wood and host events and courses.

There are going to be plenty of opportunities to volunteer and take part in the process of timber-framing as the remaining two barns are built. There are placements for local people to get involved and take part in the process.

Get in touch with Doug King-Smith if you are keen to help on 07976589927.

Foodie fundraiser

CHILDREN’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is asking people to get creative in the kitchen and take part in a month of foodie fundraising during October.

W oR FR Ks EE h oP s

NEWS&views FREE ENTRY

2 November 2019 10.00am - 5.00pm FREE PARKING

Come along and join us and meet a wealth of like minded people who can support you to feel refreshed, with a complete holistic approach.

Wellbeing funding

ANYONE interested in applying for the Totnes Wellbeing Fund must do so by December 20, see networkofwellbeing.org/wellbeingin-totnes/wellbeing-fund for details.

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www.newtonabbotracing.com Tel: 01626 353235

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Hear the giraffe joke

COMEDIAN Dave Gorman, the man behind Modern Life Is Goodish is back on the road with a brand new live show, With Great PowerPoint Comes Great ResponsibilityPoint and visits Torbay’s Princess Theatre on October 27.

Bees for Plymouth

POLLENIZE, the CIC that fuse community and technology to reverse pollinator decline in Plymouth by introducing beehives stocked with native Dark Honey Bees, have some great rewards on their crowdfunder page - projectpollenize.

Charity auction

A FUNDRAISING charity dinner for LOVE Devon hosted by the BBC’s David Fitzgerald including questions and answers with Simon Weston CBE will take place at the Passage House Hotel, Kingsteignton on Friday, October 4.

Apple festival

EXETER City Farm will be joining in the fun at the Mincinglake Valley Park Apple Festival on Saturday October 26. The festival will be celebrating all things apple with lots of activities for everyone in the orchard.

Celebrating 100 years NANCY Astor will stand again Plymouth on November 28 when a statue of the first woman in Parliament will be unveiled on The Hoe.

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fair Literature to nourish, challenge, inspire and engage Maker UNIQUE Boutique returns AFTER a successful first year Exeter Literary Festival returns with a line-up including Nicola May, Patrick Gale, Alison Weir, Su Bristow, Todd Gray, and Sarah Turner, as well as promising to nourish, challenge, inspire and engage.

The festival happening from November 7-10 around the city will bring an intriguing collection of events to celebrate Exeter’s diverse range of literature. There’s a range of opportunities through events to meet well known authors, or engage in talks and debates.

The festival aims to nurture and support reading, writing and language activities in Exeter and surrounding area through events accessible to all. Some events are free and most events are under £10. View the full line-up at www.exelitfest.com

on Saturday November 23, bringing you handmade work made by folk based right here in Devon for a 10th year. Many makers use recycled and sustainable produced materials and repurpose items, that would otherwise end up in landfill. Unique Boutique will showcase work for just one day across the ground floor of Exeter Phoenix from 104.30pm.

A new heart-warming & uplifting music social club At half-time, there will be an extended DEVON performer Mama Tokus is intermission, where the audience and the proposing a new type of show: The Getperformers share food and conversation – Together. She wants to bring people into a connecting over nibbles they’ve brought to room, where they share song, food and an the event. uplifting atmosphere – a music social club.

“Intervals are normally rushed affairs The inaugural Get-Together takes place where you leg it to the bar and queue up in Ashburton Arts Centre on Saturday for a drink – I want this event to be part November 2, from 7.30pm. It features performance, part buffet and with loads of soulful, gospel-style vocals and infectious chit-chat and warmth,” said Mama Tokus. music from multiple singers and performers “It’s more like a music social club than a gig.

– with opportunities for participation and Who knows? We might even have a raffle!” the sharing of food woven into the fabric Mama Tokus “We’re facing difficult, divisive times of the night. There’ll be humour and talk where people are separated and atomised,” said interspersed with the singing, and the show’s stated Mama. “Today’s ‘social’ media often means we’re mission is to spread joy. alone, staring at a screen instead of being a room with Mama Tokus said: “I want it to be a memorable, our friends and our friends-to-be. uplifting night where people can join in, sing their “I want The Get-Together to be a regular social club hearts out, break bread together and really, really have session where we can all hang out, enjoy music a good time. I’m from a soul-jazz-blues background together, have some nibbles, a bit of laughter and lots and that’s the kind of music that really touches people of warmth.” in a group, so if we can get some collective spirit going in The Get-Together, then it will be a magical kind of Buy tickets for the show at www.get-together.social night for everyone.” priced on a sliding scale: £13, £10 and £6.

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NEWS&views Makers, spinners, dyers, felters, weavers, and breeders gather

The biggest yarn & fibre show in the South West!

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CO and sustainable have become popular words in everyone’s purchasing decisions, and at the sixth annual Buckfastleigh Wool Gathering there’s a strong emphasis on eco and sustainable fibre production.

Taking place on Sunday October 13 at the Town hall in ancient wool town from 10am until 4pm the event will host special guest speakers including Jen Hunter the eco farmer from Fernhill Fibres in the Mendips where the fleece was sourced for the Bristol Cloth, and Lucy Lepchani, local natural dye expert, plus a talk and advice on branding and marketing for small sustainable businesses.

As usual the event will comprise talks, drop in workshops, quality local fleece, an eclectic mix of new and returning stall holders and teachers and a delicious pop up child friendly cafe serving local and organic light lunches, drinks, cakes and hot coffee. Donation on entry, and everyone is welcome.

2nd- 3rd November 2019 workshops • marketplaces • talks • cafés yarn & fibre • demos • accessories

NEW THIS YEAR: DEMOS, MAKE-AND-TAKES PLUS A THIRD HALL

World premiere of play in Exeter

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HE Cygnet Theatre will stage the world premiere in Exeter of a new romantic comedy by Tiverton playwright Colin Barrow this Autumn.

There Must Be An Angel will run from October 24-26 at the theatre, in Friars Gate, with evening performances on all three days and matinee on the final day. Profits from the show will go to FORCE Cancer Charity, which supported Colin’s sister, Christine Bolton, who died from cancer three years ago.

Colin has a portfolio of over fifty scripts in published circulation on the worldwide platform.

Colin said: “In most cases I never see my scripts performed on stage.

I simply write and off they go to one of my publishers. I write pantomimes and plays, all with humorous content to bring a smile, even if it’s a murder mystery.

“I have always wanted to produce one of my own scripts and have a cast and crew that wanted to do it just for the fun and enjoyment. When my sister died, it gave me the nucleus of seeing if I could do something in return for FORCE. Many theatrical people I have known have been

subjected to cancer and found FORCE valuable support to turn to.

If I were to try and produce a play, I felt the funds had to benefit local people in Devon.”

The action in Colin’s play takes place in a village church, where the vicar claims to have seen the ghost of a past love. The drama unfolds over the course of a week with ghostly appearances and comic twists and turns throughout.

Tickets are available from www. cygnettheatre.co.uk or phone 01392 277189 and at Exeter Visitor Information & Tickets on 01392 665885 or buy on-line at www. wegottickets.com/cygnettheatre (with a small booking fee).

The price of admission, which includes a programme is £10 for adults and £7 for three to sixteen year-olds. Children under three can attend for free.

FORCE stands for Friends of the Oncology and Radiotherapy Centre Exeter, they work locally to offer faceto-face support for anyone affected by cancer.

• knitting • crochet • weaving • spinning • dyeing • felting •

NOW IN 4th ITS YEA R!

WORKSHOP PLACES AND TICKETS NOW ON SALE FROM

Pfennig Halbpfennig comes to Exeter

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FIFTIETH anniversary is cause to celebrate and the St David’s Players are celebrating theirs supporting Hospiscare with a galaxy of hilarious characters, fast moving action, plenty of humour and a wonderful range of music including a Viennese twist in a rarely performed piece written by the Gilbert and Sullivan duo.

The story of ‘The Grand Duke’ combines the worlds of a theatre company, the legal profession, espionage, matrimony and the glitter of a casino... all set in the ‘well-known’ Bavarian-style Duchy of Pfennig Halbpfennig.

Prepare to enter a typically topsyturvy Gilbertian world where eating

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a sausage roll could be more significant than you think; drawing a playing card from a pack could be life threatening and, should you ever find it necessary, how to manage being simultaneously engaged to four different people!

Evolution, Exeter’s Holistic and Ethnic Shop has now moved to 96 Fore St (same side at the top of the hill opposite St Olave’s Church) Come and see our incredible and Extended range of products including Books, Crystals, Cards, Candles, Clothes etc.

The Exeter Barnfield Theatre hosts the show from October 8 to 12 nightly at 7:30pm with a 2:30pm matinée on the Saturday. l Tickets are priced at £16:50 standard; £15 for Tuesday evening and Saturday matinée; concessions available for 60+, students, children and groups. (Box office - 01392 271808) see www.barnfieldtheatre. org.uk for more details.

Tel: 01392 410759 Mobile: 07773282861 Email: info@evolution-exeter.co.uk Website: www.evolution-exeter.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/evolutionexeter

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views

Jeff in a session with some of his Saturday morning improv workshop participants.

Contemporary market Laughter allays ageing

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OST of us are happy when browsing for gifts to find places that are more than just a market. The Ocean Artists Designers Makers Winter Market at Ocean Studios in Plymouth promises to be not just a market but an artists and designer makers exchange, a chance to get together with fellow creatives and meet customers face-to-face at the historic Royal William Yard.

For the visitor it’s an opportunity to buy hand-made arts, crafts, and design, meet the creators and have a great day out at a contemporary take on the traditional craft market experience showcasing the best Plymouth and the South West has to offer.

The market will have over 50 stalls offering a wide range of hand-made crafts, design and accessible original art together with Open Studios and a packed itinerary of workshops, plus coffee and cake from the Column Bakehouse Cafe. l Ocean Artists Designers Makers Winter Market takes place on November 2 & 3 from 10am - 4pm at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard. Entry is free. See www.ocean-market. co.uk for more details.

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E all know that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ but as well as helping to cure illness, laughter can also mitigate many of the potential negative effects of ageing and even increase life expectancy.

Medical science has consistently shown that laughing reduces levels of stress hormones, increases oxygen intake, stimulates brain function and improves social interaction - all of which help to maintain good heath throughout life. The Ageing Well Festival which is being held at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay on Saturday October 19 is an event devoted to helping people stay active and healthy in later life and will include a comedy drama improvisation workshop facilitated by actor and regular Reconnect advertiser Jeff Sleeman.

Said Jeff, who runs Saturday morning improv classes in Torquay: “You don’t need to be a great actor or comedian to enjoy the many benefits of

Time for winter woollies

WITH that cold wind starting to usher in the changing of the seasons it’s time to think about some new winter woollies, and what can be better than making good use of some reused woollens. Sustainable Crediton have their Clothes Swap on November 30 from 10am until 1pm at the Congressional Church. This is an ideal opportunity to refresh your wardrobe, and take along your clothes for swapping.

improv. In fact, trying to be funny is often counterproductive as being fully focused, spontaneous, adaptable and a careful listener are the main characteristics required to be a good improviser and these can be developed by anyone. The humour evolves naturally and often comes in the most unexpected ways which makes it all the more profound and enjoyable.”

For details of the Ageing Well Festival see https://ageingwelltorbay.com/awf19 or contact Jeff via his website www.jeffsleeman.com

Art that makes us smile WE rather like the art of Exeter based artist Scotty Gillespie who works with many different mediums including textiles, digital illustration and ceramics. 45 Southside Gallery on Plymouth’s Barbican is hosting TenderStem an exhibition showcasing Scotty’s degree work of illustrated ceramic pieces, prints, textiles and installations including new works.

Scotty said: “I love creating work that evokes fun, whimsy, playfulness and tenderness. My

main focus is to take the viewer on a magical journey and make people smile.”

The exhibition runs until October 27 visit www.scottygillespie.com

"These clocks are fantastic! I love how the practical tips on the clock-face remind me of that things I can do for my health and wellbeing in each phase of my cycle.

It's such a great resource!"

Silvia Wildisen

InnerSeasons.com 8

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with

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NEWS&views The Reconnect herb walk

south westerlies...

TORBAY herbalist Dawn Ireland of Green Wyse explains a little about medicinal uses of common seeds or herbs, taking us on a virtual Reconnect herb walk.

THIS issue is three years after Scott decided to take over the reigns of Reconnect, he’s been reflecting upon what’s important about the magazine you’re holding.....

Pages full of little hopes and dreams

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HE whole time I’ve been editor at Reconnect there’s been a growing hum in the background, and that’s the growing noise about climate breakdown. If Brexit (is it done yet?) has divided the nation, then the climate should bring us together, both personally and in our wider community.

Our changing world requires that we need to restructure our lives not on resource destruction but based around the ideas of resilience, relinquishment, restoration, reconciliation, and wellbeing. Now we can all forge a framework that offers a positive chance to adapt, and usher in a very different age.

We are more and more feeling a need to reach out and come together to develop a group shared capacity to deal with what’s to come politically, socially and environmentally on our changing world. This is something both Extinction Rebellion (XR), and Deep Adaptation (DA deepadaptation.ning.com) offer to those overwhelmed, it’s a chance to share. I suspect Rob Hopkins’ new book, What If... (out in October) will be a vital catalyst to many seeking a new path through the changing landscape to our aspirations in the future.

We need to stop and dream, rather than react with anger or shock. Yes we all undoubtedly experience despair, fear, sadness, grief, anger, futility, and a loss of hope.

There’s the Armageddon instinct to just end up going off grid in some survivalist bunker and hunker down for societal collapse.

Looking to a future merely for us as individuals mirrored in our solitary thoughts.

I think it’s always better to share and talk and not keep this struggle within the confines of your own mind, and look for more community based solutions. That’s what Reconnect is all about.

There are I think many people who are desperate to have this conversation. The declaration of climate emergencies from local councils across the country is a positive, and shows that regardless of who is at the reigns of this nation, our local communities get on and deal with the real issues at coffee mornings and fund raisers, local meetings, and social get togethers.

Taking time to reflect on the

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transition, and what’s going on in our own community, completely re-frames our lives. Only the other day I was greatly refreshed by visiting the climate adapted Capability Brown designed estate at The Devon Sculpture Park, a project that’s been here under the radar for years - people doing good work.

If we believe the environment is on the tipping scales (and we have to accept many still don’t want to listen) then it is likely that from now on, our lives will be lived in full conscious relationship with the knowledge of the very real consequences of climate breakdown, until we die. The other more successful, money driven, consumerist, and fashionable things that may have once mattered will fade into the background like a past life. We’ve taken the antidote to capitalism.

I read an article in The New Yorker by Jonathan Franzen recently (tinyurl.com/y4metm73) entitled ‘What If We Stopped Pretending?’ that was so full of truth and yet so hopeful. Jonathan said: “Keep doing the right thing for the planet, yes, but also keep trying to save what you love specifically - a community, an institution, a wild place, a species that’s in trouble - and take heart in your small successes. Any good thing you do now is arguably a hedge against the hotter future, but the really meaningful thing is that it’s good today. As long as you have something to love, you have something to hope for.”

That for me is what Reconnect Magazine is all about, us each discovering and then revealing to each other pieces of that hope finding all the wonderful, creative and humbling things that people across Devon are doing to restore hope, life, community and love in a time of great change.

Devon has World Heritage Sites, National Trust properties, animal welfare groups, and many areas of outstanding beauty. These protected areas offer us all hope. They work to create sustainable development in energy, fisheries, agro-industry and the arts. They work to improve the quality of life of those living within the county whilst protecting our ecosystems and our wildlife.

Transition and transformation have become a real mainstream possibility… we just need to think: “what if... there’s hope!”

Scott

T

HE winter approaches and it’s wise to think about eating well, and taking care of yourself to remain strong through the colder months. There are lovely positives to all the seasons, and winter brings a time of rest, recuperation, planning ahead for the next season and a time of hot soups and warming drinks.

Self-Heal - Prunella vulgaris The tiny purple flowers of this plant which often grows in lawns and meadows can be used fresh or dried.

Traditionally the flowers and leaves are used for healing wounds and improving symptoms of a sore throat. Modern science shows us that some of the constituents promote macrophage function, increasing white blood cell activity in the immune system.

This helps your body efficiently rid itself of viruses and bacterial infections. Polysaccharides from the leaves are also shown to inhibit viral activity and have a direct antimicrobial action.

Michaelmas daisy – Symphyotrichum species (previously Aster novae) There are many varieties of these

Self-Heal

in the wild, all the varieties with mauve petals and yellow centres can be used. The leaves and buds are quite aromatic when crushed as they contain a good percentage of volatile oils. The stronger the fragrance from the oils, the more effective the remedy will be.

Use fresh or dried in tea or tincture. This is an excellent remedy for opening the airways, improving breathing and congestion in any respiratory illness. Studies show this remedy as having effective antiviral effects.

They contain constituents called Chlorogenic acids which have strong antiviral activity, and have a structural similarity on a molecular level to neuroaminidase inhibitors which are used in the anti flu jabs.

As always, seek professional advice before self diagnosing and especially do not replace herbs with orthodox medication without checking with your doctor first.

Michaelmas Daisy

l Find out more about herbalism and Dawn at www.torbay-herbalist. co.uk

Spirit fair raises funds for destitute ON Sunday October 27 the Ocean in Exmouth will host a Mind, Body & Spirit Fair to raise funds for the Novi Survat Charity (www.novisurvat.org) which helps the destitute of Goa. Exmouth’s Mayor will be there to open the free to enter event which runs from 11am until 5pm. The day will include healers, massage, wellbeing practitioners, tarot readings, jewellery, woodturning, children’s activities, Indian clothing, and vegan and vegetarian food and drink options. Some sessions are paid for with half the money being donated to charity.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

9

NEWS&views Popular wellbeing show returns Refurnish is alive and kicking FOLLOWING the successful show in June this year, the Newton Abbot Wellbeing Show is set to return to Newton Abbot Racecourse for the second time this year on Saturday November 2.

Free to attend, this Autumn’s show is a celebration of all things wellness and wellbeing related.

Running from 10am until 5pm, the show features around 60 exhibitors showcasing a range of products and services from reflexology and reiki through to life coaching, crystals and more.

Following their popularity earlier this year, the November show will once again feature a series of free workshops for visitors to gain a real sense of what the presenters have to offer. Alongside the workshops, visitors will be able to view an array of products and enjoy taster sessions from practitioners.

A menu of treats will also be on sale throughout the day from the racecourse – the perfect excuse to re-charge during your visit.

Jenny Paton, Business Development Manager at Newton Abbot Racecourse, said: “Following the fantastic response to our first Wellbeing Shows here at Newton Abbot in 2018 and earlier this year, we’re very much looking forward to welcoming visitors and exhibitors for our final Wellbeing Show of 2019.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to learn more about different wellbeing and wellness practices and try some of the fantastic products and services on offer from our exhibitors.”

DAVID BANKS, the Chief Executive of Refurnish Devon would like to thank all our readers who answered the call to support Refurnish (in issues 59 and 60) and to make it clear the charity is still very active in helping people reuse affordable household goods.

T

Applications are now open for wellbeing practitioners and suppliers to exhibit at the Wellbeing Show. l For more information on the show, visit www.newtonabbotracing. com or email Jenny@ newtonabbotracing.com

HANK you to everybody who responded to the consultation from Devon County Council’s proposed cutting of Reuse Credits to Devon’s community sector furniture and appliance reuse projects.

The decision was to be made in June and it seemed very clear that the public supported what we do and wanted the funding to continue. However no conclusions were published by Devon County and they delayed making a decision from the planned June date until October. By the time this is published we should know the results. Meanwhile facing this funding threat and other challenges Refurnish has had to make the difficult but prudent decision to close its Wrangaton branch when its 5 year lease ended and the shop’s losses could not be sustained any longer. We would like to thank our customers for donating furniture and appliances and purchasing goods at the shop. To ensure people previously serviced from the Wrangaton shop can still benefit from free collections customers donating from the Plympton and Plymouth areas can contact our

Tavistock shop (01822 618822 or Tavistock@refurnish.org.uk) and if you’re living in the Ivybridge area or other parts of South Hams you can contact our Totnes branch (01803 868389 or totnes@ refurnish.org.uk).

We still have 9 other shops across Devon and will continue to help reduce waste by encouraging people to reuse household goods and donate them to us rather than throwing them away. Refurnish promotes reuse to all as well as offering goods for sale at a reduced price to people on benefits. Whilst we still sell a lot of used electrical goods we cannot access enough used larger white goods to supply our customers and many of those are too difficult and expensive to repair due the way they have been designed and manufactured. We do stock some new large appliances (mainly in our Newton Abbot shop) but only when we can ensure we supply them cheaper than retail and online outlets. It is also increasingly difficult to obtain enough clean used beds to supply our customers, and so we supply some affordable new beds to supplement the demand.

Customers often enquire where the shop income goes and all of it funds our operational costs of rent, vehicles, staff and volunteer costs.

We pay staff to fulfil all essential roles whilst creating volunteering roles for people with support needs or that are not ready or able to commit to paid work at this time. l For further information please visit the website at www.refurnish. org.uk.

Local book illustrator reveals new tale... ®

Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th January At South Brent Village Hall. 10 am to 4.30 pm

YOU wait all year for a follow up story and then two come along at once.

Here’s another update, this time about children’s book illustrator Totnes based Katz Cowley.

Katz last featured in issue 58 when she appeared on the cover, and we told you about that hilarious clip on the internet of a Scottish grandmother trying to read ‘The Wonkey Donkey’ which had made the book featuring Katz’ illustrations of the donkey a viral sensation.

Katz now has a new reason to celebrate as she has her illustrations in a new book - this time about Wonkey’s daughter Dinky. Just like the first book, Dinky is a cumulative text and builds, page by page, upon her inimitable and loveable attributes, one of which is akin to her Daddy’s!

Katz sent us these sneaky peeks into the birthing process at Dinkyland...

Katz said: “Watercolour pencils & pastels, good, characterful company overseeing proceedings and green tea fuel at the drawing board! Cover illustration before (below) and after print (above)!”

One not quite house-trained donkey girl is out November 1 from Scholastic.

Cost £90 concessions £80 For info or to book email kaydancedelicious@hotmail.com or call Kay 07807 292 289 10

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Goingout

October/November 2019

OUR BIGGUIDETO BIG LOCAL EVENTS ART EXHIBITIONS NOMADS: HOMES ON THE MOVE Until Oct 6 RAMM, Exeter.

How to get YOUR events into Going Out...

WELCOME to Reconnect’s out of this world GoingOut pages...

We connect all the hot stuff from across the region, categorised for easy access.

We have an EVEN MORE comprehensive online version at www.hubcast.co.uk/reconnect - also available via our busy website at www.reconnectonline.co.uk.

To get YOUR event listed online (and when possible, have it listed here in the mag too), simply register at ReconnectHub and enter the info free of charge.

To advertise here or online, email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk or call 01392 346342.

PORTRAIT DAYS AT THE GARDEN HOUSE Until Oct 22, The Garden House, Yelverton TENDERSTEM EXHIBITION - SCOTTY GILLESPIE Until Oct 27, 45 Southside Gallery, Plymouth EXHIBITION A GOOD AGE-CREATIVITY & CHANGE Until Nov 3, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey BIRDS WITHOUT BORDERS Until Nov 3, RAMM, Exeter STRETCHING BOUNDARIES Oct 1-13, Harbour House, Kingsbridge PATTERNS: OPEN ART EXHIBITION Oct 19-Nov 5, Harbour House, Kingsbridge ART EXHIBITION ANGELA HOLMES Oct 28-Nov 22, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth ARRANGEMENT OF COLOURS Nov 9-17, Harbour House, Kingsbridge TOGETHER WITHOUT YOU Nov 19-24, Harbour House, Kingsbridge ART EXHIBITION JANE CHRISTIAN Nov 25-Jan 6, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth.

BALLET ROMEO AND JULIET - THE BALLET CYMRU Oct 5, Pavilions, Teignmouth THE NUTCRACKER - VIENNA FESTIVAL BALLET Oct 20, Corn Exchange, Exeter.

THE NUTCRACKER

- VIENNA FESTIVAL BALLET Nov 6, Princess Theatre, Torquay SWAN LAKE RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET Nov 16, Pavilion, Exmouth

CHILDREN/FAMILY

SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Oct 12, Arts Centre, Crediton HALLOWEEN WEEK Oct 19-31, Morwellham Quay, Tavistock SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Oct 20, Torre Abbey, Torquay ONCE UPON A TIME 21 Oct, Phoenix, Exeter LILY & THE ALBATROSS Oct 23, Pavilions, Teignmouth SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Oct 23, Phoenix, Exeter DISNEY ON ICE Oct 23, Westpoint, Exeter SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Oct 25 The Flavel, Dartmouth THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF Oct 26, Palace Theatre, Paignton HALLOWEEN

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NO FEATU W FREE RING O ENTR NLINE I E MOR S AND E IN EXPO -MAG SURE

CHORAL CLASSICS -WEST DEVON CHORALE Oct 5, Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh

SPOOKFEST! Oct 26, The Garden House, Yelverton THE TALE OF JOURNALIST CLARE HOLLINGWORTH Nov 1, Libraries Unlimited, Newton Abbot

THE SIXTEEN Oct 12, Cathedral, Exeter THE SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS CHOIR Oct 30, Duke Of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth

STICKY ENDS: THE SPOOKY EDITION Nov 9, Pavilions, Teignmouth SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Nov 18, Libraries Unlimited, Chagford SCOOP OF THE CENTURY PADDLEBOAT THEATRE Nov 23 Parish Hall, Newton St Cyres NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL Nov 26-30, Theatre Royal, Plymouth SANTA’S ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER Nov 30-Dec 1, Palace Theatre, Paignton CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Nov 30-Dec 1, Morwellham Quay, Tavistock

CHOIRS SING EXETER Every Tuesday, St Sidwell’s Community Centre, Exeter.

SING PLYMOUTH Every Thursday, Pomphlett Methodist Centre, Plymouth.

GRACELAND LONDON AFRICAN GOSPEL CHOIR Nov 3, Phoenix , Exeter

CLASSICAL MUSIC

JOHN ROBINS Oct 2, Pavilions, Exeter JOHN ROBINS Oct 3, Corn Exchange, Exeter RICHARD HERRING Oct 6, Corn Exchange, Exeter

EXETER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - WINTER CONCERT Nov 30, United Reformed Church, Exeter

PAM AYRES Nov 29, The Flavel, Dartmouth GRIFF RHYS JONES Nov 30, Palace Theatre, Paignton

EVENTS

SEAFOOD FEAST Until Oct 6,Torbay

TWO MOORS FESTIVAL Oct 11-20, Dartmoor/ Exmoor

LAURENCE CLARK Oct 26, Phoenix, Exeter

JIMEOIN Oct 30, Corn Exchange, Exeter

RUISI STRING QUARTET Nov 16, Community School, Teignmouth

JOSH WIDDICOMBE Nov 24, Northcott, Exeter

GARY MEIKLE Oct 16, Barnfield, Exeter

VIOLIN & PIANO DUO ‘ELEGANCE’

APOLLO5 Nov 8, Powderham Castle, Kenton

STEWART FRANCIS Nov 17, Corn Exchange, Exeter

HUNT’S CIDER FESTIVAL Oct 5, Hunt’s Cider, Stoke Gabriel

DAVE GORMAN Oct 27, Princess Theatre, Torquay

HAYDN ‘THE CREATION’ FOR HOSPISCARE Oct 19, Cathedral, Exeter

ANDY PARSONS Nov 17, Palace Theatre, Paignton

PAUL ZERDIN’S PUPPET PARTY Oct 9, Corn Exchange, Exeter

KOSMOS Oct 18, The Courtenay Centre, Newton Abbot

Oct 19, Devon Court Hotel, Torquay

ANDY PARSONS Nov 14, Corn Exchange, Exeter

GEOFF NORCOTT Nov 1, Barbican Theatre, Plymouth ANGELA BARNES Nov 2, The Flavel, Dartmouth ED GAMBLE Nov 2, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay AL MURRAY Nov 2, Corn Exchange, Exeter RUSSELL KANE Nov 3, Northcott Theatre, Exeter

GOTHIC DARTMOOR Oct 12, Cygnet Theatre, Exeter DAVID GOWER Oct 14, Corn Exchange, Exeter GREG MINNAAR Oct 16, Corn Exchange, Exeter TEIGNMOUTH JAZZ AND BLUES FESTIVAL Oct 18-20, Teignmouth DARTMOUTH FOOD FESTIVAL Oct 18-20, Dartmouth OPEN DAY BRIXHAM BATTERY Oct 20, Brixham GUIDED TOUR OF SHILSTONE HOUSE AND GARDEN Oct 22, Shilstone House, Modbury

COMEDY

JUSTIN MOORHOUSE Nov 9, The Venue, Uffculme

NEWTON ABBOT WELLBEING SHOW Nov 2, Racecourse, Newton Abbot

Oct 2, Corn Exchange, Exeter

JACK WHITEHALL Nov 9, Pavilions, Plymouth

Turn over the page for more GoingOut listings

LOST VOICE GUY

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

11

GOING OUT

CRUX CR AF T FAIR

MORE EVENTS

OCEAN ARTISTS DESIGNERS MAKERS MARKET Nov 2-3, Royal William Yard, Plymouth

URBAN FOLK QUARTET Oct 11, Kingskerswell Church

CHRISTMAS FAIR IN AID OF CHILDRENS HOSPICE SW Nov 23, Dartmouth

THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY Oct 11, Barrel House, Totnes

PULLED APART BY HORSES Oct 1, The Junction, Plymouth DAMIEN O’KANE Oct 1, Kingskerswell Church WILL YOUNG Oct 1, Princess Theatre, Torquay

FINE CRAFTS FROM SOUTH WEST DESIGNER MAKERS

W W W.CRUXCR AF TFAIR.CO.UK

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Oct 10, Watermark, Ivybridge

TOP DOG FILM FESTIVAL Nov 6, Corn Exchange, Exeter.

MUSIC GIGS

FRI 22 NOV 12pm - 7pm SAT 23/SUN 24 NOV 10am - 5pm R AT TERY VILL AGE HALL TQ10 9LD

MARTIN HARLEY Oct 10, Phoenix, Exeter

DAVID FORD Oct 2, Phoenix, Exeter WALTER TROUT Oct 3, Phoenix, Exeter CLOUDBUSTING Oct 5, The Athenaeum, Plymouth

ELECTRIC SWING CIRCUS Oct 12, Totnes Civic Hall FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS Oct 12, Exeter Great Hall EKATERINA SHETLIFFE Oct 12, St Mary’s Church, Totnes KATHRYN WILLIAMS Oct 13, Phoenix, Exeter IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Oct 16, Phoenix, Exeter AMBER RUN Oct 16, The Lemon Grove, Exeter KRIS BARRAS Oct 17, Phoenix, Exeter

ALEXANDER O’NEAL Oct 19, The Lemon Grove, Exeter FLIGHT BRIGADE Oct 19, Cavern, Exeter TROPICAL F*CK STORM Oct 20, Torquay Hotel DIVERTIMENTO Oct 20, St John’s Church, Totnes JOHN SMITH Oct 20, Phoenix, Exeter BUDAPEST CAFE ORCHESTRA Oct 22, Kingskerswell Church SHE DREW THE GUN Oct 22, Phoenix, Exeter WILLY PORTER Oct 22, The Bridge Inn, Exeter BOO HEWERDINE Oct 23, Ashburton Arts LARKINS Oct 23, Cavern, Exeter JOHN PEARCE QUARTET Oct 23, Fougou Jazz, Brixham

AL STEWART Oct 18, Phoenix, Exeter

THE SKINTS Oct 24, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

DE TEMPS ANTAN Oct 7, Kingskerswell Church

GORDON HASKELL Oct 18, Kingskerswell Church

MIKE PETERS Oct 25, Kingskerswell Church

THE DUNWELLS Oct 8, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

PRESS TO MECO Oct 18, Plymouth Underground

BACKBEAT SOUNDSYSTEM Oct 25, Barrel House, Totnes

THE MOONCOIN CEILIDH BAND Oct 9, Village Hall, South Brent

GILBERT O’SULLIVAN Oct 18, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

HENGE Oct 25, Plymouth Underground

MAIUKO QUINTET Oct 9, Fougou Jazz, Brixham

ODETTE ADAMS Oct 18, Palace Theatre, Paignton

DREADZONE Oct 26, Foundry, Torquay

MALLORY KNOX Oct 9, Cavern, Exeter

MAGIC BUS Oct 19, Barrel House, Totnes

NAMVULA Oct 6, Kingskerswell Church

KIKI DEE & CARMELO LUGGERI Oct 26, Port Eliot Estate

Get YOUR event out there with Reconnect’s Going Out pages TO ADVERTISE your event on our diary website, Reconnecthub, simply visit www.hubcast.co.uk/reconnect and register - then you can enter your own events whenever you want.

AND many of them will appear in the next (December/January) issue of Reconnect magazine.

AND they will be viewed through other HUBCAST websites (across the SW).

AND it’s all FREE! (There are some online advertisements available too and it’s first come, first served - so call Scott now on 01392 346342)

12

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GOING OUT

GRACE PETRIE Oct 27, Phoenix, Exeter ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW & THE LOWRIDERS Oct 31, Watermark, Ivybridge HAWKLORDS Oct 31, Junction, Plymouth

OCTOBER 23 BOO HEWERDINE Ashburton Arts

JULU & HEG Nov 15, Ashburton Arts

DAN STEER Nov 28, Phoenix, Exeter

NOVEMBER 15 JULU & HEG Ashburton Arts

GENTLEMAN’S DUB CLUB Nov 15, Phoenix, Exeter

SOUND OF THE SIRENS Nov 29, Kingskerswell Church

LOS PACAMINOS Nov 15, Pavilions, Teignmouth ELKIE BROOKS Nov 15, Corn Exchange, Exeter

SARAH MCQUAID Nov 1, Pavilions, Teignmouth

EAT STATIC Nov 16, Phoenix, Exeter

MARTHA TILSTON Nov 2, Calstock Village Hall GAZ BROOKFIELD Nov 2, White Thorn Inn, Plymouth

SAMIA MALIK Nov 16, Kingskerswell Church GAZ BROOKFIELD Nov 16 ,Cavern, Exeter THE BLUETONES Nov 16, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

FEEDER Nov 2, Exeter Great Hall

TWO MAN TING Nov 16, Ashburton Arts Centre

BRAND NEW HEAVIES Nov 2, Phoenix, Exeter

EVI VINE Nov 16, Barrel House, Totnes

WINTER MOUNTAIN Nov 3, Kingskerswell Church

JOSIENNE CLARKE Nov 17, Kingskerswell Church

KIKI DEE & CARMELO LUGGERI Nov 3, Matthews Hall, Exeter BEN OTTEWELL Nov 4, Kingskerswell Church WENDY KIRKLAND Nov 6, Fougou Jazz, Brixham THE MEMBERS Nov 7, Cavern, Exeter

THE MEMBERS Nov 8, Junction, Plymouth FAELAND Nov 8, Barrel House, Totnes

WILDWOOD KIN Nov 21, The Lemon Grove, Exeter GRAHAM PARKER Nov 21, Phoenix, Exeter NEVER THE BRIDE Nov 23, Kingskerswell Church BIG COUNTRY Nov 23, Phoenix, Exeter THE LITTLE UNSAID Nov 24, Phoenix, Exeter HUGH CORNWELL Nov 24, Phoenix, Exeter BLACK WATER COUNTY Nov 24, Cavern, Exeter

ENSO SONE Nov 12, Karst, Plymouth

STEVE PLEDGER Nov 24, Kingskerswell Church

OYSTERBAND & JUNE TABOR Nov 13, Corn Exchange, Exeter

JADE BIRD Nov 24, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

SNOW PATROL Nov 14, Plymouth Pavilions

THE LITTLE UNSAID Nov 27, Ashburton Arts Centre

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Info & ticket details: 07832 200980 fromthewhitehouse.com

THE HUT PEOPLE 29 Nov, Watermark, Ivybridge

69 - 2019 19

RIVIERA DOGS Nov 29, Pavilions, Teignmouth

CELEBRATING 50 GOLDEN YEARS

ST DAVID’S PLAYERS stdavidsplayers.co.uk

#ExeterGandS

Be inspired by amateur theatre

ROY HEMMINGS Nov 29, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay CHORDETTES Nov 30, Kingskerswell Church

by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

SHEELANAGIG Nov 30, Barrel House, Totnes LAND OF THE GIANTS Nov 30, The Flavel, Dartmouth DODGY Nov 30, Phoenix, Exeter

8th - 12th October St David’s Players are supporting

in 2019

Box office: 01392 271 808

2019

Book online at www.barnfieldtheatre.org.uk

EXETER BARNFIELD THEATRE Design

halo-creative.co.uk · 01626 798 505

Hospiscare registered charity number: 297798

THEATRE STARBURST Until Oct 23, Babbacombe Theatre Torquay MACBETH Oct 12, Brixham Theatre THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE Oct 16, Pavilions, Teignmouth DIAL M FOR MURDER Oct 22 -25 Palace Theatre, Paignton BUCKETS Nov 6, Pavilions, Teignmouth IN LOYAL COMPANY Nov 13, Pavilions, Teignmouth THE LADY VANISHES Nov 18, Princess Theate, Torquay DICK WHITTINGTON ADULT PANTOMIME Nov 22, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay SNAKE IN THE GRASS Nov 26-29, Palace Theatre, Paignton

UNIQUE BOUTIQUE

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PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE B*STARD SONS Nov 8, Phoenix, Exeter

OCEAN WISDOM Nov 17, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

DECEMBER 17 REG MEUROSS Great Hall Dartington

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THE HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN Nov 7, Phoenix, Exeter

FROMTHEWHITEHOUSE PRESENTS

3 WHITEHOUSE WINTER WARMERS

FROM THE JAM Nov 28, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR Nov 15, Barrel House, Totnes

HOLY HOLY Nov 1, Torquay Hotel

THE GET-TOGETHER Nov 2, Ashburton Arts Centre

SKINNY LISTER Nov 27, The Lemon Grove, Exeter

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BASKERY Oct 27, Phoenix, Exeter

CHRIS CLEVERLY Nov 15, Kingskerswell Church

LUCY SPRAGGAN Nov 27, Phoenix, Exeter

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WISHBONE ASH Oct 27, Phoenix, Exeter

MARTYN JOSEPH Nov 14, Matthews Hall, Exeter

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MARRY WATERSON & EMILY BARKER Oct 27, Kingskerswell Church

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

13

ORGANICGARDENING TIPS from our gardening expert JOA GROWER this issue include having a general tidy up, Autumn gathering and planting green manure.

Tidying the garden in Autumn

W

ELL here we are right in they are not as hardy as winter the middle of Autumn, leeks. Squashes and pumpkins and if you haven’t should be gathered and stored started having a vegetable somewhere frost free and dry to garden tidy up, it may be a be used throughout the winter. good idea. Before the weather Carry on picking any spinach and gets colder and more than likely chards that you may still have, a bit wetter. and any late summer planted kale that will also be ready now.

Pull up all bean sticks now and get them cleaned off before We will all have areas in the storing somewhere dry, maybe Autumn/Winter vegetable garden in a shed or that have nothing garage. This will growing in them help preserve and rather than them for a good letting the weeds few more years. take over why not Buckets, trays try sowing some or pots that got Green manures? left behind in the These are crops garden should grown for the be collected sole purpose of up, washed if adding fertility need be and to the soil. There also stored are quite a few Winter rye grass somewhere to choose from out of the way. If you including vetches, tares, clover are lucky enough to have a and my favourite rye grass. Many greenhouse, don’t forget to use it seed companies sell these and to the full over the coming winter a few other varieties, but it can months. Not just as a storage space, but also for growing winter work out quite expensive. A bag of organic rye grain from your salads such as rocket, mizuna, local wholefood shop usually landcress, and winter hardy works wonders. Simply sow by lettuces. Remember to remove sprinkling all over the area and any shading you may have put then raking it in. It might be worth on over the summer months. Your putting a few bird scary things tender plants that have been up for a time while the seed growing in containers outside all germinates. In late winter or early summer should also be taken in to spring cut the rye grass down and protect them from the early frosts. either dig all of it in to your beds Don’t forget to check all pots for or put the grass in your compost slugs and snails hidden on the bin and dig the roots and stumps bottom of large containers. into the soil. This must be done at Outside in the garden, now is least a month before sowing any your last chance to lift any main vegetable seeds directly into soil. crop potatoes that are still in the l A big thank you to all our ground. Store these in hessian customers who visited the nursery or paper sacks, ensuring you or Totnes Market stall throughout don’t keep any damaged ones, the season, just to let you know use those straight away as they we are now closed for the winter will not keep. All Autumn leeks and will reopen mid February. should be pulled and used Happy Growing! before any hard frosts arrive as

Joa’s A-Z of Organic Gardening

I is for Insect control. When I say control I actually mean barriers. Protect your crops before the bugs get to them. Horticultural fleece over young carrot seedlings to stop the carrot fly. Brassica collars around the bottom of all cabbage type plants which prevents cabbage root fly burrowing down into the base of your plants and destroying the roots. Net cages over broccoli, brussels and kales to stop the Cabbage White butterflies laying their hundreds of eggs on the underside of the leaves (which hatch into the hungriest green caterpillars ever).

J is for late June and July. robably the worst time of the year for anyone serious about their vegetable garden to go away on holiday! Just think of all those lovely fresh crops that will be ready and needing your attention. A two week holiday in July may find you coming home to courgettes that have turned to marrows, beans that are only good for collecting seed from, blighted potatoes and tomatoes and don’t get me started on the damage the Cabbage White butterflies can do when not kept an eye on. I highly recommend a staycation rather than a vacation!

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Joa Grower of Growers Organics. Meet her at Totnes market on Fridays and Saturdays.

Visit www.growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

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Vegan Christmas – A changing tradition?

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T is a fact that more and more Britons are choosing to go Vegan, and this is a trend that is set to continue. Although in the past the reasons why most people might have given for making the change may have been issues of animal welfare or health, there are a growing number of people today who have chosen to either go completely vegan or at least drastically reduce their consumption of animal products because of the acknowledged impact that this can have on global food production, on wildlife and on the environment.

Research published in 2018 shows that without meat and dairy consumption, use of land for farmland could be reduced by more than 75% globally and there would still be enough land given over to food production to feed the entire world. It is also widely acknowledged that the mass extinction of wildlife is in part caused by the agriculture industry as it is today, due to increasing amounts of wild land being given over to farming.

In addition to all this the production of meat is a huge contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Vegan industry has now grown massively in response to this trend, so if you have decided that this is the year to change your Christmas tradition, or you end up with a Vegan guest or family member at your Christmas dinner table this year, it is easier to cater for them than it has ever been.

Greenlife in Totnes sell a wide range of Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free and Organic versions of many traditional Christmas foods alongside luxury foods, and a very large selection dairy free chocolate. “The quality of some of the Vegan products we sell is now so high that they are also appealing to nonvegans purely based on their taste. Luxury brands of Vegan chocolate such as Booja-Booja and local brand Mulu are perfect Christmas gifts or treats, and there are many dairy free novelty lines on our shelves” said Matt, buyer at Greenlife. Greenlife also stock milk and cheese alternatives, meat alternatives, savoury snacks, biscuits, cakes, Vegan wines and even Vegan ice cream. l Greenlife are open from 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am – 5.30pm Saturday.

The Reconnect Devon vegan diary STEFFI Rox from Torquay’s The Kind Grind Cafe returns this issue to provide you with those important dates for your vegan diary.

Mondays - Little Squirrels Parent & Child group for 0-5 year olds 10-12pm & 12-2pm @ The Kind Grind, Torquay Tuesdays - Little Squirrels Explorers group (all ages) 10am-12pm @ Decoy, Little Squirrels 9+ group 1pm-3pm @ Seale Hayne Wednesdays - Little Squirrels 10-12pm @ Decoy; Little Squirrels - 3pm-4.30pm @ Woodend Project, Torquay; Parents meet up 10-12pm @ The Kind Grind, Torquay Thursdays - Little Squirrels 10-12pm 0-5 year olds Muddy Wellies @ YMCA Paignton October 20 GKK Animal Rescue Dog Show @ Foxhole Community Centre, Paignton October 26-27 VegFest - Biggest Vegan Festival in the UK at Olympia in London November 2 Exmouth Vegan Market, Ocean Exmouth, 11am5pm November 16 Eat For Your Dosha Cooking Workshop, Viveka Gardens, Crediton November 24 Christmas Without Cruelty, Exeter Corn Exchange November 28 The Plastic Free Warrior Teen talk @ The Kind Grind, Torquay

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Exeter homeless charity’s windfall

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HEN sleeping rough, everyday actions that we often take for granted – keeping clean, getting enough food and rest, staying warm and dry – can become a huge daily challenge.

Studio 45 is an open-plan learning environment for potters and ceramicists where members and students have access to wheels, kilns and equipment, as well as technical know-how from our experienced teachers.

St Petrock’s rough-sleeper survival services seek to meet these fundamental needs in a warm, welcoming environment and are crucial in providing respite from life on the streets.

The Exeter-based charity aims to address the problem of homelessness, particularly single homelessness and has been in operation since 1994.

A £17,000 grant has provided funds to help St Petrock’s refurbish their Resource Centre kitchen which provides crucial rough sleeper survival services. Sabine Stevenson, from The Antonio Carluccio Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be able to make the award to this important local charity who provide vital survival support to many people.”

St Petrock’s provides a range of emergency, support and prevention services that are accessible and flexible and can respond rapidly to people in crisis or emergency.

Last year St Petrock’s kitchen volunteers served 9,218 meals. Linda SIllifant, Catering Manager said: “This new kitchen has been a tremendous help, it is much more efficient, easier to keep clean and helps our team of volunteers to work more effectively.”

Drop-in survival services in St Petrock’s Resource Centre are available each weekday throughout the year from 8am. Access to good quality, nourishing meals is a lifeline to many and a vital step towards engaging with further support and services at the charity helping people get off the streets into emergency or long term accommodation.

• • • • • •

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Stave off the winter blues in the garden

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S THE days grow shorter there is no better way to stave off the winter blues than to be outside working and in with nature.

At Foxhole Garden there are lots of opportunities to learn, meet people and spend time in a beautiful abundant community garden.

They garden organically using nodig methods that build biodiversity, working with the environment.

You can join their weekly ‘Feel better’ volunteer day on Thursdays from 10am to 1pm where they tend the garden. They will be harvesting herbs, vegetables and flowers and building soil health as they mulch, weed and feed the soil with microbe and fungi preparations. Over the winter months they have a cosy shed to warm up in, hot drinks and biscuits on supply!

In the New Year starting in January they will also be running another 11 week course of their lovely Introduction to Healthy Gardening, which is an accredited gardening course for all ages and abilities (Occupational Studies Entry Level Award). The course, which is run with Bicton College, is aimed at helping gardeners and aspiring gardeners to garden holistically using a range of organic, permaculture and natural

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agriculture techniques. Working in the garden under the guidance of an experienced garden tutor you’ll learn how to garden for your own health and that of the environment, grow organic vegetables, flowers and plants, and create wildlife sanctuaries and gardens that work with nature rather than against. The course runs from every Tuesday morning and the cost is £150. There is funding available for those in receipt of benefits or a low income.

Gardener, Zoe Jong, said: “Our popular parent and toddler group Fox Tots continues through the winter months. Carers and children aged 0-5 can get cosy around the fire and have fun as we explore being outdoors together. Enjoy seasonal garden & forest school activities such as sowing seeds, natural crafts, bug hunts, storytelling, cooking on the campfire, free play the mud kitchen, wildlife pond, willow dome, orchard, flower and veg beds. Drinks and snacks for all. Sign up is per term.

“Sign up to our garden newsletter or follow us on social media to keep informed about our upcoming seed swap on February 9, our plant sales and other events." l For further details visit www. foxholecommunitygarden.org.uk or contact Zoe Jong 07505 805111 zoe@foxholecommunitygarden.org.uk

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15

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Get outside and feel better at Foxhole Community Garden Come along to learn and share gardening skills as we continue to transform this former pasture into a productive paradise.

Our Thursday Garden Volunteer day starts at 9:30am with a hot drink, catch-up and 10am start.

Finish at 12:30pm with a hot soup.

All abilities welcome - while there is lots of hard work there are also many opportunities for a more gentle morning gardening and the garden is wheel chair accessible. The morning may consist of gentle gardening and clearing, planting out, discussing and planting new areas, mowing, tending flowers, herbs and plants, sowing seeds and potting on plants We end with lunch (there is soup from the garden and hot drinks and biscuits available).

Introduction to Health Gardening Date: Every Tuesday starting January 2020 10am-1pm Cost: £150. .

Join an accredited gardening course run with Bicton College to gain an Occupational Studies Entry Level Award. On this practical weekly course you’ll learn how to garden and grow vegetables, flowers and herbs holistically, for your own health and that of the environment. For all ages and abilities.

There is funding available for those in receipt of benefits or a low income.

Venue: Foxhole Community Garden, Old School Farm, Dartington Estate, Totnes, South Devon TQ9 6EB For further details on the courses visit www.foxholecommunitygarden.org.uk or Zoe Jong 07505 805111 zoe@foxholecommunitygarden.org.uk Early booking is advised. There are only 15 places available.

16

Rainy days, rainbows and pots of gold TRANSITION Homes Community Land Trustee Ruth has more news from the small charity run by volunteers and their housing scheme at Clay Park in Totnes.

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T the time of writing (September) it’s beginning to look like we won’t be able to start on site in November as per the most recent schedule. We’ve had another delay in the form of our costing exercise taking much longer than we had hoped. Therefore the ‘value engineering’ stage is yet to take place which then puts off the next stage etc etc It’s like a stack of dominoes and one delay leads to another.

We and our contractor are however still working flat our in the hopes that we can make up the lost time so when you read this have a look as you drive by the Clay Park site and we may miraculously have achieved at least starting the ground works.

Of course in order to put in sewers etc we need to go under the main road so we will have applied to South Hams for a road closure which will help draw attention to us and inform passers by.

Working on the costings includes fun things like trying to time when we need to buy a field of straw in order for it to be dry and baled in time for whenever

we end up needing it – not a very exact science – and working out lead in times for locally grown wood for cladding and the comparable costs of timber from further afield including making sure any supplier we find will have the kind of metreage we will need on supply.

Meanwhile in the area of finance we have accepted and signed the terms and conditions for our offer of investment from CAF Venturesome and our credit proposal will have been to the Triodos credit committee in September as will our proposal to SASC (Social and Sustainable Capital) so you may have seen some news updates about those by now if you are on our email list.

If you would like to get more up to the minute information then do email Susie Peat at info@transitionhomes.org.uk And finally with further delays our core running costs are getting very tight. Once we start on site these are rolled into the development funding but every time there’s a delay we have to stretch the pre-development core costs pot a little further.

We have 2 kind members who have a direct debit every month to help us and even if it’s just £10 it is a massive help. Please contact Susie Peat on the above email if you might be able to help with a regular amount or a one off sum – we are so grateful for anything that can help us to stretch through.

The economics of permaculture

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PRICOT Centre for Wellbeing at Huxhams Cross Farm will be running a two day course looking at replicating and implementing their small farm model elsewhere. ECO-nomics of Permaculture - Creating Sustainable Livelihoods will take place on Thursday and Friday November 21-22 priced at £120.

Rachel Phillips, Education and Wellbeing Coordinator at Apricot said: “To bring about sustainable change in our food systems we need more small scale farms producing local healthy food, and we know that Permaculture Design methods can create these farms.

However the limiting factor for many of these farms is generating enough money to support right livelihoods.

With grant funding being almost non existent for these starter farms the best way, and the most sustainable way for these farms to thrive is for them to generate enough money for those working on them to support themselves and

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develop the farm or food business.”

The course explores designing and implementing small farms for commercial success, using Huxhams Cross Farm as an example with the potential for replicating it on your own land.

It covers agricultural systems, business planning, budgeting, project management, marketing, accessing funding, business basics (payroll, accountancy), and personal and team level resilience. With practical exercises throughout to explore how to apply them to your own business. l For more information or to book contact rachelphillips@ apricotcentre.co.uk or visit www. apricotcentre.co.uk.

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news & views Creating memories of the future HAVE you heard about #PopUpTomorrow yet? It’s an invitation to do something in October that creates ‘memories of the future’: something playful, delightful, surprising, and beautiful.

Run by the Transition Network the event asks each of us to create Better Block create amazing ‘pop up’ a space in our communities “to spaces overnight in Texas. explore our longings for what we want the future to be. Connecting us to each other and to a future worth fighting for.“ We are invited to be as creative as possible and organisers can invite @PopUpTomorrow to co-host the event on Facebook to create one big calendar of events from October 17-24. UK-based organisation 64 Million Artists (64millionartists.com), who believe everyone is an artist and can benefit from being more creative, will be running daily activities all related to Pop Up Tomorrow for subscribers.

Joining together to dream is at the heart of Pop Up Tomorrow. Asking ‘what if?’ opens up new ways of thinking, new possibilities, new futures, and can lead us to act in new and more impactful ways.

So, gather your community group, faith group, street, school, or organisation and spend time together generating ‘memories of the future’.

Find out more at https://transitionnetwork.org/popuptomorrow/

Beautiful things that don’t cost the earth

RICHENDA MACGREGOR, Creative Director at Dartington’s creative pottery hub Studio 45, asks us all to consider the origins of the materials that are in the cups and mugs we drink from.

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AVE you ever wondered what the glassy substance is on the outside of the cup you drink from? Or wondered indeed where the materials came from that went into making that cup? Next time you sip your latte or herbal tea, spare a moment to think about it.

Chances are at least some of those materials have been mined, some of them in harsh environments. Not good for the Earth, not good for humans involved in extracting those materials. And yes, you have may be shocked to hear, sometimes the extraction can involve a workforce of children as young as eight!

The mining industry is, after all, the largest unregulated industry in the world.

Of course compared to the cars we drive, the computers and phones we use, the clothes we wear, the minerals and oxides used in producing cups is minuscule. In fact, a considerable amount of china clay (a primary ingredient in cups) is actually in that glossy magazine you might be flicking through as you drink your latte (though it’s not in this particular magazine).

So, as a Maker what do I do? Throw my hands up in horror? Stop making?

Lament at the sorry state we find ourselves in? Yes of course, and so much more. But if I, and many people like me stop making, then what is left? Big industry? Do I think they are going to care?

The advantage of the Artisan Maker (compared to big industry) is that we are small, we can change direction, move with the times, raise awareness.

We are intimately acquainted with the materials we use, know the reality and can make changes, albeit slowly. Making beautiful things doesn’t have to cost the Earth.

We are living in a time of action, a time of change and that creates possibilities.

For instance did you know that in Devon, we are geologically so well resourced with pottery materials we don’t need to go anywhere else? Or that the ash from burnt wood contains all the components of a glaze in the right proportion?

So instead of a cup that contains materials mined from disparate places all over the world, extracted in a dubious manner and by its very nature contains the destruction of an environment and human suffering, I can make a cup containing materials that have been responsibly sourced, haven’t travelled and I have made the components of a glaze whilst sitting round a fire singing songs.

I am simplifying things of course, there are many challenges facing the responsible Maker, but I, and my team at studio 45 are researching, gradually making changes and enjoying our working life while we are at it.

What more can we ask for?

Find out more about the creative pottery hub at www.studio45.com

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£41.85 Book a series of ads this size and it will cost you just £41.85 a month - including free editorial. Regular advertiser Jason Burns can vouch for the success of advertising. He said, “I’m pleased to say that I have had a very good booking for my services, because of advertising with you, so I’m happy to commit to the full year.” You too could find customers through an advert in these pages, call Scott on 01392 346342.

COMING SOON! Our festive issue will include a special guide on planning a sustainable wedding!

Available in December/January.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

17

LOCAL PRODUCE

Photo by Will Head @templecornwall

Olivia and Henry at Down Farm

Photo by Josh Motteram

Small-scale farmers working together

Chloe at Exeter market EVON Market Gardeners is a farmers’ collective made up of four smallscale and agroecological farms from across Devon. Identifying a need for more fresh produce at Exeter Farmers Market but feeling unable to keep up with the demands of a bustling weekly market, the farms came together in May, pooling their wares to sell at market each week. Chloe Eversfield from Wellspring Farm explined: “Joining the Devon Market Gardeners gave us an opportunity to access customers we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to - being on such a small scale, it’s difficult for us to produce enough to attend a weekly farmers market, so we jumped at the chance to join with other smaller scale producers to make it viable.”

Devon Market Gardeners is made up of Wellspring Farm from South Devon, Hitch In Horse Farm from West Devon, and Down Farm and Jim’s Organic Veg from North Devon. The four farms grow food using agroecological and organic growing techniques all on no more than 2 acres of land.

Wellspring and Down Farm are using the “no-dig” method, growing veg intensively using hand tools, on very small parcels of land. It is a technique growing in popularity in small-scale commercial veg production and in the home gardening sector. The soil is not inverted, but rather compost applied on top of beds each year, which requires less work giving you less weeds and pests, and a healthier soil! Jim and Hitch In grow on slightly larger areas of marginal land not traditionally used for veg production. Hitch In is a horse powered farm, using the usual machinery but with horses as their tractor! Jim’s organic veg is grown on his family farm – Higher Hacknell – a pioneering organic

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meat farm.

“We – the farmers in DMG – are a part of a growing trend of smallscale veg producers in the UK and specifically the South West. We are passionate about producing good quality, tasty and fresh food for our communities whilst also benefiting the environment through positive farming techniques. However, as the farming sector is still dominated by large mono-culture farms, the retail sector is dominated by the large supermarkets and it is very difficult for the new wave of smallscale food producers to get our food to market without competing with each other. The creation of the Devon Market Gardeners collective was a small solution to this problem!” said Olivia James, from Down Farm.

The collective is trialling a cooperative model for 2019, each taking it in turn to run the Exeter Market stall each week and selling each other’s produce if short of their own. Customers will get a taste of fresh, organic produce from across the county on a weekby-week basis. The market has its obvious economic benefits for each of the farms, but the connection with customers and other traders is a humble reminder of why they all are small-scale farmers!

Josh Motteram of Wellspring Farm said: “At Wellspring, we absolutely love attending the market and meeting customers and seeing their reactions to our produce can be such an antidote to the hard graft needed to grow organically. After each market we get such a huge energy boost, coming away feeling very grateful to be doing what we’re doing and riding a wave of positivity and purpose from receiving such great feedback from those who enjoy our produce.”

Devon Market Gardeners are at Exeter Farmers Market every Thursday from 9am – 2pm. They rotate between: 1st Thursday: Jim’s Organic Veg (certified organic) 2nd Thursday: Hitch In Farm 3rd Thursday: Down Farm (certified organic) 4th Thursday: Wellspring Farm l For more information about how they grow, or what they grow, or anything else, please contact Olivia James on hello@ down-farm.com

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Naturally nourishing OUR resident foodie, JANE HUTTON, explores one of those very commonly misunderstood foods - soya.

Clarifying the confusion about soya

Strengthening our immune system MANY people ‘catch’ frequent colds, and maybe flu too on a regular basis, but Oliver Cowmeadow from the International Macrobiotic School asks does it have to be this way?

CTUALLY whether we catch something depends not only on the kind of ‘bugs’ going around, but also very much on how well our body’s own defences are working - the stronger the defences, the less likely we are to pick up common infections doing the rounds.

And this is something we can change - we can all strengthen our immune system through our daily diet and way of life, and avoid a lot of suffering, and days out of work and life to recover!

In Oriental medicine there are a number of things we can do to keep bacteria, viruses and fungi at bay - the first is to have a strong barrier in our mucus membrane in the nose and sinuses, and in the intestinal lining.

Certain foods weaken this barrier, so it becomes porous and easier for micro-organisms to enter our body.

Other foods help the body create a strong boundary, greatly lessening our chances of getting infections.

Then we can also enhance the

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functioning of our lymphatic system, that sweeps up any foreign bodies from everywhere in our body and offers them up in the lymph nodes (such as the ‘glands’ in our necks) to be broken down.

And thirdly we can strengthen the production of the white blood cells that attack and destroy anything foreign getting into the body, through building strength and resilience inside our body.

There is also increasing evidence that cultivating a healthy gut flora is a big help, as our helpful bacteria want to keep our wonderful gut environment to themselves, and actively destroy some of the less helpful bacteria that get into the gut.

This poor function of the immune system is also seen in allergies, in which the body responds to foods or air borne particles that are not a danger to the health of the body, and so likewise strengthening the immune system can also get rid of a wide range of different allergies. l Learn more with a one day course Strengthen Your Immune System on October 26 at the International Macrobiotic School 5 miles outside Totnes. Further information on www. macroschool.co.uk

It’s time for creativity in the garden

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S Autumn throws its goldenbrown mantle over your garden, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s time to hang up the spade, open a new boxset and wait for Spring.

But, no. Ross Adams, he of the greenest green fingers in Devon, says Autumn and Winter can actually be the most creative period in the gardener’s calendar.

“Having spent the summer months in your garden,” says Ross, “now is the perfect time to reflect on which areas did and didn’t work for you – and then to plan and make some structural changes.”

Ross, who works under the name Abundant Gardens across Totnes, South Devon and beyond, has some great suggestions to inspire those changes. And if you get the work done over the coming months, it will all be ready for take-off in the Spring.

Working with willow “Willow is perfect for creating living structures,” says Ross. “It can be used to form domes, arches, screens and tunnels.

“There’s no better way to create new areas in your garden than planting a living willow hedge, or fedge. Willow screens and tunnels will form secret areas in your garden that will only be revealed when you start to explore.

“Willow should be planted over the Winter months, November – March.”

Winter is also the perfect time to make other structural changes: moving shrubs and planting trees, for example. Shift things around

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cry? In very simplistic terms, yes, ELCOME to Autumn! that can be true, but in reality, Falling leaves, the life, and food, are not quite vestiges of harvest so simple. The issue with soya bounty, the rise of root veg, products is that they are not food pumpkins, stews, and getting form, they are in essence man cosy in front of the fire. You made. Soya beans and foods might be expecting something that are in food form are very in this issue’s column to reflect nourishing and healing; soy any or all of those themes, but in protein isolate and products like continuing the more nutritionally TVP (texturized myth busting focus vegetable protein) of recent columns I Edamame beans are not. want to talk about an area of health Ask any oncologist and daily diet dealing with that causes huge oestrogen positive confusion – soya. hormonal cancers if they recommend Whether you are eating soya milk vegetarian, vegan, or products, and lactose intolerant, you will get a removing resounding no! conventional dairy Ask if edamame from your diet, or beans and being flexitarian, authentically the use of soya fermented tofu are ok and you as a replacement for meat, milk, will get a yes. yogurt and any number of animalAs ever, it isn’t what you use, sourced ingredients has become it’s how you use it. Research is firmly established as an everyday, increasingly demonstrating that innocuous, and even healthy supplements and fake foods are choice. not making us healthier, they are The truth is a little more complex. in fact having a negative, and in Soya can indeed replace the some cases dangerous, impact on protein from animal products in our health. So, if you want to be some capacity, but in itself it isn’t truly healthy without meat or dairy, a complete substitute. The other eat phyto-oestrogenic foods in problem with it is that it is one of their natural form, read ingredient the most fake ingredients there labels and cut out soy dairy, soy is. It is one of those common protein isolate, TVP, and anything components of a client’s diet that that is man made, eat pulses and can be aggravating, if not causing, rice daily to replace the proteins symptoms related to the gut, in meat and dairy, and don’t hormone balance, skin problems, believe the health marketing hype. mood, anxiety, and more.

Check out my recipe for a truly nourishing soya dip for proper Surely animal products are bad phyto boosting! and plants are good, I hear you

Edamame Energy Dip

during these dormant months and it will all wake up in the right place come Spring!

Ross offers a year-round gardening service – anything from basic maintenance (hedge-trimming, pruning, weeding, etc) to complete design and landscaping projects.

His awareness of the wider environment means he avoids the use of power tools, favouring the scythe over strimmers and mowers, for example, and he always goes for locally sourced plants and materials. l If you’d like to talk to Ross about your garden, whether you’re looking for some routine maintenance or to rework some or all of it, visit his website www.abundantgardens.uk, email rossadams51@gmail.com or call 07811 608359.

THIS recipe is a brilliant go to dip for adults and kids that is great for packed lunches, snacks with crudités, or even as a dressing if its consistency is thinned out with water and/or a little more oil. You could also add spring onions, coriander leaves, or mint. Experiment, adapt, and make it a regular part of your diet for promoting healthy hormone balance.

250g edamame beans (thawed if from frozen) 3 cloves of garlic 50g baby spinach 20 mls miso (use paste with warm water)

50 mls coconut oil, melted, or thicker oil like avocado 50g tahini lime juice to taste (1-2 limes) seasoning sesame seeds, poppy seeds or pumpkin/sunflower seeds In a food processor, whizz up all the ingredients except the lime juice and seasoning until the lumps have blended out. Add the lime juice and seasoning until you’ve reached your desired taste and consistency. Serve with the seeds scattered over the top, and dig in with veg crudités and wholegrain crackers.

Naturally Nourishing is written by nutritionist and “confirmed foodie” Jane Hutton. Visit her new website, www. functional-foodie.com, and sign up for programmes, recipes and advice.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

19

Living made simple...

We have a Climate & Ecological crisis

IN this, the latest instalment in his series on Living Made Simple, MARTIN FOSTER serves up a few tasty morsels for you to get your teeth into…

- what can we do?

If you know what’s good for you…

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OOD. One of the crucial building blocks of life. And there’s nothing our capitalist, consumerist system likes more than one of life’s essentials – what could be better for business than a product we all HAVE to buy?

But sadly, that isn’t enough for the food industry. They know that if they set their teams of chemists on the job, they can produce something far more quickly, far better suited to the supermarket system and, most important of all, far more cheaply.

Let’s take a look at the humble loaf of bread.

If we go back to basics, bread is just flour, yeast, water and salt.

Maybe a few seeds thrown on top.

That’s it. That’s what our ancestors baked at home. That’s what ‘artisan’ bakers still make today.

That is what bread is.

But that’s not what tickles the taste buds of the ‘food industry’. They have a taste for profit. They have hungry shareholders to satisfy.

So let’s imagine, just for a moment, that we want to make a bread-like product purely to maximise profit.

First we need cheap ingredients the cheapest possible ingredients - so we’ll screw the growers down on price.

Then there are special additional ingredients to add that little something extra.

Fat, for example. Hard fat improves loaf volume, creates a softer crumb and extends the bread’s shelf-life.

We’d be crazy not to use that.

Then we can add a little flour treatment agent so the loaf rises more (ie making it look bigger).

And if we want a stretchy dough – for burger buns and French sticks – we can add a pinch of L-cysteine hydrochloride, known to its friends as E920. The industry finds it in animal hair and feathers. Yum! We’ll be producing this bread with some seriously industrial machinery, of course, so we need the dough to be super-workable – soya flour will help out there. It also increases the softness and volume of the bread and allows us to add more water.

Emulsifiers will slow down the rate at which bread goes stale, extending its shelf-life (we’ll be selling our bread mainly through supermarkets where people shop weekly and buy the stuff by the trolley-load, remember), as do preservatives like calcium propionate.

It won’t have a very bread-like consistency, of course - it’ll create a sticky ball in your mouth when you eat it. And who knows what it’ll do to your digestive system?

But it will definitely make money.

The Real Bread Campaign has found up to 26 ingredients and additives (including refined flour) on the ingredient lists of wholemeal loaves from nine of the UK’s largest industrial bread manufacturers (sorry, can’t bring myself to call them ‘bakers’).

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And the food industry has aisles and aisles of similarly artificial products: designed to look quite like food and to press people’s immediate gratification buttons.

Food writer and campaigner Michael Pollen calls them “edible food-like substances”.

Now, I recognise all the arguments about poor people only being able to afford cheap food. But I would argue that most of us simply choose not to value food. We seem to want the stuff that we actually put in our mouths, and which gives us the nutrition we need to do everything else in life, to be as inexpensive as possible.

According to data from market research firm Euromonitor, British households spend an average of 8% of their total household expenditure on food to eat at home - less than any other country, apart from the US and Singapore.

And the food we eat in the UK is also the cheapest in Western Europe – 8% less than the EU average, according to EU statistical body Eurostat.

But what is the price we pay for our cheap nosh? And is it a price worth paying?

I keep coming back to the theory that we actually all know what is good and bad for us – in food as in most matters. We know fresh wholefood is good; that it tastes good and that it’s good for you too. We also know that cheap and processed food is bad: bad for our health, bad for any animals involved, bad for growers here and abroad, and bad for the planet generally which will suffer from over-exploitation of our natural resources (due to deforestation and the use of chemicals).

And yet, while we might all agree that in theory, we then go off and buy the cheapest food we can partly so we have enough money to buy everything else the consumerist world tells us we need. But also, I suspect, because our choice of food comes down to habit and what seems most simple. We say price is important but I wonder if we often just mean ‘easy’.

If you want to do what you know is good for you, your family, your community and the planet – and not what the food industry manufacturers and retailers want you to believe is good for you (because really it’s good for them), try applying these simple dos and don’ts: 1 DO buy as much as you can from local producers; 2 DO buy as much as you can from small, independent shops.

3 DO buy as much as you can fresh and in-season; And two from the aforementioned Michael Pollen: 4 DON’T eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food; 5 DON’T eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.

Live well.

in

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PART of Councils declaring a Climate Emergency is an agreement to carry out a Climate Action Plan and set up a Citizens’ Assembly to scrutinise these plans and actions. We asked Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, a member of Devon County, South Hams District, and Totnes Town Councils to give us an update on their progress.

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N the wake of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change)’s stark announcements last October Bristol City Council became the first City in the UK to take this forward and declared a Climate Emergency.

Since then more than half of the principal Local Authorities in the UK have made similar declarations have taken this step and are working on climate abatement plans. The declarations were based on a list of agreements that the council would

carry out to achieve this aim, these included stating a target date of 2030 for becoming carbon neutral, making a Climate Action plan that would come back to their Local Authority within six months and setting up a Citizens’ Assembly to scrutinise, approve and monitor these plans and actions. On May 1 2019, the UK Parliament Declared a Climate Emergency in the wake of the School Strikes across the UK since December and Extinction Rebellion protests that closed parts of London in April.

Almost a year later it is interesting to take stock of progress with these commitments and how we are making progress in Devon. The first calls for Declaring a Climate Emergency were proposed by myself in the first week of December to the full council meetings of Devon County Council, South Hams District Council and Totnes Town Council.

Only Totnes Town Council supported the motion then, although Devon County Council later approved the motion in February ‘19, albeit with a 2050 target date and South Hams District Council approved the motion in July ’19, declaring a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency with a 2030 target date. During the year both these higher tier Local Authorities have however got to work on taking this forward and there have been

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various meetings to set up a Devon Districts group that has met a few times. In the meantime a number of Parish Councils across the County have also Declared a Climate Emergency. South Hams has set up a Climate Emergency Working Group and allocated officers to take this forward and they will be working with West Devon Borough Council towards a Climate Emergency Action Plan by January 2020.

A group of officers and Councillors in Devon County Council have now set up a Net Zero Task Force and produced a paper explaining how they will take this forward, their aim being to have a Climate Emergency Action Plan by November 2020; Their first meeting took place on September 23. A temporary website with this paper is at www.devon. gov.uk/energyandclimatechange/ devon-climate-emergency.

In Totnes, the Town Council has been hosting monthly meetings since January and from that have come forward a first draft Climate Emergency Action Plan which comprised an outline strategy for taking this forward and many proposals for actions that will address carbon reduction and mitigation. This was presented to the Town Council in July 2019 to bring it into the public domain to generate more involvement, participation and proposals for actions. Together with Transition Town Totnes and Extinction Rebellion a Community Conversation was held in July, followed by a briefer Community Consultation meeting to identify actions and broaden awareness in the groups and organisations in the town.

The next step will be a week long event this November at Totnes Guildhall with an Exhibition and Drop-In with facilitated sessions to create a framework with a timeline to turn the actions that guide the pathways towards the vision into a plan to be carbon neutral by 2030.

A huge task, but one that Totnes is in many ways well prepared for through its Transition work since 2006 and previous work with Energy Descent Action planning. l www.totnestowncouncil.gov.uk/ Climate_Emergency_22424.aspx Cities, towns, and parishes in Devon with climate emergency declarations CITIES (2): Exeter, Plymouth TOWNS (19): Ashburton, Axminster, Barnstaple, Bovey Tracey, Brixham, Buckfastleigh, Budleigh Salterton, Bideford, Crediton, Dawlish, Exmouth, Great Torrington, Honiton, Ilfracombe, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Teignmouth, Tiverton, Totnes PARISHES (9): In South Hams: Dartington, Rattery, South Brent, Wembury In Teignbridge: Bishopsteignton, Ide In East Devon: Broadclyst In Mid Devon: Bow In North Devon: Braunton

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Photograph by Mary Staniland

MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT WITH YOUR DESIGN & PRINT ...WITH YOUR LOCAL PRINTER!

What’s hiding in that orchard?

Make your organisation stand out!

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EXT time you’re wandering through an orchard, perhaps at one of the Apple Days that villages around south Devon are holding during October, spare a thought for all the species of wildlife that may be living there. Fruit trees are a habitat for many rare insects, beetles live as larvae in their wood and feed as adults on the flowers of tall herbs such as hogweed and wild angelica; bats forage over orchards and dormice may look for food in the hedges that surround them; birds use orchards for feeding, nesting and roosting; and of course blossom is a wonderful source of nectar for bumblebees, butterflies and other insects. Orchards are some of the most precious habitats for biodiversity we have, and it is a tragic fact that there is less than half the number of traditional orchards across the country than there was in 1950.

To help counteract the decline of traditional orchards, the National Trust has promised to plant 68 new ones on their properties around England as part of a wider programme to boost the number of wildlife-rich areas. The main reason that local organisation Orchard Link was created more than twenty years ago was to preserve the traditional orchards of south Devon; and this is still one of Orchard Link’s principal aims.

This year, Orchard Link has commissioned renowned entomologist John Walters to conduct a biodiversity survey in some traditional orchards in south Devon. Over four visits he is recording the wildlife he finds – invertebrates, birds, mammals … .

The hope is that his findings will open the eyes of both orchard-owners and communities involved with community orchards to the multitude of creatures that increasingly depend on them and encourage everyone to manage their orchards in a wildlife-friendly manner.

If you are lucky enough to have your own fruit trees, why not consider joining Orchard Link? It offers friendly and technical advice on everything from pruning to cider-making, there’s a programme of events, courses and activities, and at this time of year you can hire useful equipment – mills, apple presses and pasteurisers – at a reasonable cost. Membership is only £12 per annum. www.orchardlink.org.uk

It all starts with vision…

Make your brand recognisable, eye catching and distinct from your competitors.

South Devon Apple Days 2019 Sun September 29, 10-4pm Apple and Cider Day Saltram, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 1UH, 01752 333500 Sun September 29, 11-3.30pm Holbeton Apple Day Holbeton Community Orchard (Kingsacre Orchard), PL8 1LW

Get ready to ruffle some feathers! @pollardsprint

Sat October 5, 1-5pm Bere Ferrers Applefest Bere Ferrers, Yelverton, PL20 7JS Sun October 6, 10.30-4pm Sharpham Apple Day Sharpham Estate, Ashprington, TQ9 7UT, 01803 732055

pollardsprint.co.uk | DouglasM@pollardsprint.co.uk | 01392 445 333

Sun October 6, from 11am Hennock Apple Day West Hele Barn and Showground, TQ13 9PP

Unplug at Embercombe

Sat October 12 Stokenham Apple Day Stokenham Community Orchard, Stokenham, TQ7 2SU

Take time out in a wild and beautiful valley on the edge of Dartmoor

Sat & Sun October 12-13, 10-5pm Killerton Cider and Apple Festival National Trust Killerton, Broadclyst, EX5 3LE, 01392 881345 Sun October 13, 12-4pm Buckfastleigh Apple Day Orchard Millennium Green, Station Road, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0BU, 01364 643627 Sun October 13, 11-3pm Dartmouth Apple Pressing Dartmouth Community Orchard, Ridge Hill, Dartmouth, TQ6 9PE 01803 833204

Vintage Van Retreats £695/395

Sat October 19, 10-4pm Shaugh Prior Apple Day Village Hall, Shaugh Prior, nr Roborough, PL7 5HA Sun October 20, 10-4pm Cockington Apple Festival Cockington Court, Torquay, TQ2 6XA, 01803 607230

Photograph by South Devon AONB

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Get in touch to see how Pollards can make your design and print stand out!

Village Yurts £595 fully catered

half board

Wed October 23, 11-4pm All Ways Apples Festival Devonport Guildhall, Ker Street, Plymouth, PL1 4EL

embercombe.org

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Regional art trail

The region has opportunities to immerse in diverse arts and crafts. As well as exhibitions, and productions there are opportunities to develop craft skills. Here’s our pick of just a few of the arts on offer at the moment.

Delve deeper into history with new half-da

TERNS by Veronica Clayden (Textiles)

HAVE you ever wondered about hat etiquette or what sort of shoe was worn in the eighteenth century? Okay, we admit that’s unlikely, but we are sure you would be interseted in discovering more about how people lived in the County in the past and discover more about their stories?

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) has launched a programme of half day courses that have been designed to allow visitors to have a closer look at the amazing variety of objects and artefacts that are hidden in its spectacular collections.

From uncovering recent archaeological findings in Exeter to the glittering secrets behind the work of Exeter’s goldsmith Richard Hilliard there is an eclectic mix in their Saturday afternoon sessions aimed at pulling back the curtain on RAMM’s treasure trove of secrets and letting visitors delve a little deeper into their history.

Fashion courses coming up in October include a look at how boots and shoes were made, sold and advertised in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and a chance to

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A place to immerse in beautiful things

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FERRIS Cherry ‘Fly Away Home’ (Mixed Media)

AKITO by Krisztina Lencses (Oil)

Exmouth’s art showcase EXMOUTH Art Group’s Annual Exhibition is now a regular feature in the calendar of events at Ocean on Exmouth seafront and this year members are preparing to celebrate their 73rd show.

Running 10am-6pm from October 3-13 and located on the 2nd floor of Ocean with glorious views of the Exe Estuary, the Exhibition will include an extensive display of original work to see, enjoy and purchase - paintings, 3D, mosaics, digital art, unframed work, and greetings cards. Visitors can also relax inside or on the outside balcony, soak up the spectacular sights and treat themselves to some light refreshments.

The acclaimed artist Inge Borg Scott has accepted an invitation to be the Guest of Honour Judge and Krisztina Lencses, whose stunning wildlife in oils was voted by the public as the favourite piece in last year’s Exhibition, is offering a fine Giclee print as first prize in this year’s charity raffle. There will be an opportunity to chat to members and, for those wishing to join the Group, to take advantage of an exclusive discounted subscription offer.

There is a nominal admission charge of £1. l See the Group’s website at www.exmouthartgroup.org.uk

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S the year turns, and we are yet again feeling the nights grow cooler and the traditional activities of the season hove into view, one of the most pleasurable things to look forward to is the Crux Craft Fair. This year, as for the past quarter century, Crux will provide a welcome break from the humdrum, and offers a place for immersion in a huge array of beautiful things, all made with dedication and integrity.

All the stalls will be run by the makers themselves, offering an opportunity to discuss techniques and processes, as well as buy directly from them, knowing that a purchase will help keep traditions alive, and the families of the makers fed!

Many of the makers work from home, or in sheds and workshops close by, so not only has the work been made by hand, but it has also been part of a production process which will have a positive impact on the environment from which it comes. Wood and willow is sourced from local trees, and the abundance of tiny treasures which make up Naomi Vincent’s ‘Naturemake’ kits for children ( and adults?) mostly come from local beaches and hedgerows.

There will be recycled silver and gold, metal re-purposed from a ship sunk in WW2 (with no loss of life, fortunately), fabrics felted from local fleeces, soaps from Dartmoor. The list is extensive. As always there will be a wide spread

A Good Age Hugh Ribbans

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of skills and producers – some old friends, but many newcomers who will be at Crux for the first time. There is always something new, and something to surprise.

The Crux Café will be run by Sima and her team from ‘The Kitchen Table’, providing delicious hot food and drinks from 12 – 7pm on Friday November 22, and 10 – 5pm on Saturday and Sunday November 23-24.

This year Crux will be supporting www. kaderkeita.org who work with children from the streets of Bamako, capital of Mali in West Africa. l You can find Crux at Rattery Village Hall TQ10 9LD and online at www.cruxcraftfair.co.uk

Craft Guild exhibitions BOVEY Tracey’s Devon Guild of Craftsmen is showcasing a variety of exhibitions in October and November. They also have a handy cafe for a cake and a cuppa, and a shop where you will find a variety of crafts for sale by Devon Guild Members.

Branching Out Curated collection of work by Guild Members in a variety of media in the theme of wood. An inspiring and beautiful collection to celebrate Autumn, trees, forests, wildlife and making. Let your imagination wander…. (October 5 to November 17) A Good Age Five commissioned artists, all born before 1948, exhibited alongside craft produced

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half-day courses at Exeter’s RAMM discover the stories behind some of their owners. This course will be delivered by Shelley Tobin, a textiles and dress specialist, author and dress historian and curator for RAMM’s extensive costume and textile collection.

Fine Art courses in October include a look at some of the art that originated from painters who travelled to classical and ‘exotic’ locations in an age before photography, picturing them for a British audience. Presented by Dr. Jan Cox, an art historian, this course will examine the oils, watercolours and drawings by Joseph Wright, Francis Towne, and Thomas Patch, and the stories behind their artistic odysseys. The afternoon session is directly linked to the artworks currently on display as part of RAMM’s ‘Sense of Place’ exhibition. l For more information about the range of half day courses on offer and how to book please go to: http://bit.ly/RAMMShortCourses or phone 01392 265858.

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Devon’s new rewilded art haven

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Kingsbridge harbours exhibitions

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ARBOUR House Centre for Arts and Yoga in Kingsbridge has a few free exhibitions on display. Here’s a quick guide to what they will be showcasing over October and November.

Oct 19 – Nov 5 Patterns Open art exhibition featuring a wide range of artworks by local artists, produced in response to the theme.

Nov 9 – 17 Arrangement of Colours An exhibition of oil paintings by Jolanta Bogdan.

Ian Carr Hedgerow

Subject matter, texture and shape are important, but colour is the driving force for Jolanta in her paintings.

Combinations and juxtapositions of colour inspire her in her still life and landscape oil paintings.

Before settling in Plymouth, Jolanta studied in Cracow, gaining a Master of Arts Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts.

Nov 19 – 24 Together Without You An exhibition of drawings by Cary Lee. “Grief framed me, so the wreath became the frame. Together Without You presents a collection of pencil drawings which conflate the existence of isolation and connection, of grief and love; of feeling broken, and of being whole.”

Cary Lee – untitled drawing An Australian artist who settled in Devon in 2014, Cary studied Visual Arts in both Australia and America before developing a career in the mental health sector.

He later moved to Granada in Spain and embraced his art through looking, seeing, recording and drawing.

This is Cary’s first exhibition in Devon. l See www. harbourhouse.org.uk

ons in workshops with people aged 65 and over. Age UK called for a focus on craft activities for older people, highlighting the link between taking part in arts and crafts and wellbeing. Theme of age, change and creativity. (Until November 3) Willow Workshop A chance to work with Stefan Jennings to make collaborative sculpture or make a small piece of your own. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. (October 22) A Way In – a day of creativity and sketchbooking Extend your creativity through hands-on activities such as drawing, sculpture and collage. (November 3)

MAKE2019 As the nights draw in, MAKE2019 is all about colour. Jewellery, textiles, glass, ceramics, metal, printmaking and paper crafts were handpicked following an open submission process. The exhibition features over 50 makers from across the UK including more than 20 new makers including Sam Isaacs and Mell Oliver.

(November 16 - January 5) Edwina Jacques Showcase Devon Guild Member Edwina Jacques showcase, with a chance to talk to Edwina about her inspirations and techniques on Saturday October 12 between 10am12.30pm & 1.30pm-4pm (October 12 – November 25)

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ECONNECT happened upon the UK’s newest open-air gallery and creative retreat right on our doorstep at Mamhead. We discovered the place just outside Exeter on Haldon Hill facing south east with eye catching endless sea views.

The Devon Sculpture Park (DSP) is set in a 100 acre Rewilding project which, along with the historic gardens, is leading the way in both large and smaller scale Wilding programmes in the UK. It is this that first attracted the estate, which opened to the public earlier this year, to our attention. Combine that with the fact it is a historic estate retreat and we just had to discover more. The tranquil grounds are home to thousands of birds and wildlife including some rarities - we noticed on arrival.

WE discovered DSP to be a visually stunning new contemporary art centre with outdoor and indoor exhibition spaces, artist studios, retreat facilities and natural stages for performance – art, theatre, music and more.

The sculpture park estate is owned by the Letts family (as in the diary publishers for over 200 years) who are focused on the arts, education and natural solutions to the climate crisis. Both the wilded Capability Brown gardens and the surrounding landscape are home to the main outdoor exhibition spaces.

The main buildings house the indoor exhibitions and include the Robert Adam Orangery, nestled among their nationally important collection of historic trees some of which are 1,000 years old. The Orangery was built as a retreat and the rewilded spaces have a number of stunning vistas with dozens of benches and chairs positioned to promote sitting and relaxing. Handy during their free afternoon Wellbeing Wednesdays walks for sculpture park visitors. The short guided walk is designed to help renew and reconnect visitors whilst taking in the art, gardens, vistas and waterways. If you’re reading this and you are a wellbeing practitioner based nearby, it’s worth mentioning there’s also opportunities to bring clients and run sessions outside or in their therapy rooms.

However, as the name suggests art, and rugged seascapes are the main focus at the sculpture park. Contemporary, conceptual, and challenging art by bold artists is showcased in the 3 open-air exhibitions plus an indoor exhibition. Each founded and curated by artist and owner Philip Letts, together with his partner Kara. Philip is known in the art world for his abstract photography and his two exhibitions include ‘Art Wilded’ featuring totemic fibre glass figurine installations in the lower gardens.

‘Bridges’ by Devon-based Matt Dingle are throughout the inner gardens and at The Terraces. Exeter’s Chris Speyer’s monolithic ceramics dominate in The Paddock opposite the ancient church. The second indoor gallery, the Robert Adam Salon will be open by the time you are reading this.

DSP will host a diverse programme of art exhibitions with new shows opening through the seasons. The plan includes offering the chance for local artists to get involved in their artist programme at their Free Friday For Artists events happening on the first Friday of each month.

Reconnect just loved the idyllic rewilded setting buzzing with life and recharged ourselves at The Terraces with cups of tea. They also offer slow cooked, healthy cooking with relaxed, informal service.

What more do you need but a chance to rest, sketch, relax and write, ponder or perform, meditate or mediate, design or draw, film or photograph, invent, co-create, make or simply reconnect?. l The Wilded Capability Brown gardens, including the main outdoor and indoor exhibitions, are open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 4pm. Adults £12, children £6. Half price entry for repeat visits with their DSP card. Parking is free. Dogs allowed on a lead. We recommend the guided tours.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news & views

Inhabiting the Forest YOU may recognise this piece, last issue we failed to print this article in full, here it is again as the complete piece.

INEZ Aponte hosted an inhabiting the forest panel at the recent ‘Evolving The Forest Conference’. Here she tells us more about the panel discussion which explored the disconnect between people and the natural environment.

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UR children have been slowly disappearing from public life and in our forests independent children of any age are now a rare sight. Taking note of Tim Gill’s (Rethinking Childhood) observation that “the visible presence of children and youth of different ages and backgrounds (…) is a sign of the health of human habitats, just as the presence of salmon is a sign of the health of the river” this should be of great concern to all of us.

For this reason, I hosted a panel discussion at the Evolving the Forest Conference at Dartington Hall, called Inhabiting the Forest. The panel consisted of Roger Worthington, Head of Recreation and Public Affairs at Forestry England, Mark Renouard, Co-founder of Earth Wrights, Independent Artist and Educator AnneMarie Culhane and Chris Salisbury, Founder of Wildwise.

We discussed the importance of forests to childhood and community wellbeing and explored how we might encourage healthy regenerative relationships between children and nature.

In the light of an exponential rise in Ritalin prescriptions for ADHD, Roger Worthington of the Forestry Commission quoted research published in the American Journal of Public Health 2004 which concludes that a ‘dose of nature’ worked as well as, or better than, a dose of medication. He emphasized that forests have “massive tangible and intangible values” providing health and wellbeing benefits as well as hope, dignity and a sense of identity for residents. “Forests and woodlands being in proximity to people’s lives is an opportunity for connectedness, ownership, involvement, participation and education. BUT this can

only come about through dedicated and inspiring people, community rangers and volunteers.”

Independent artist and educator, Anne-Marie Culhane, picked up on the theme of identity and focused on the need for new woodland cultures.

She spoke about the importance of whole families – children, Photograph by Riala from Pixabay young people, parents, grandparents - sharing a creative, ritualised, of the forest “as a portal between two worlds” celebratory reclaiming of space. “We all need – a place that functions as a threshold between to play, explore, learn, celebrate, share stories, the mythic and the everyday and a pathway be mischievous.” By creating opportunities for into our collective imagination. He described communities to be in active relationship with the profound transformation he had seen in kids place and get to know trees as food source, from the city after just one night in the forest. habitat, cultural artefact, shelter, old friend… by “We must make space for the wild forces in our inviting them to re-inhabit the commons and cochildren.” design their spaces “we are creating, what Nick After the presentations we turned to the audience Groom calls, intangible cultural heritage.” for questions and ideas.

Mark Renouard of Earth Wrights concurred There was general agreement that we needed that we need a culture change and focused on culture change. How could we dispel the myths how we might shift both our inner and outer of danger associated with the forest? Would landscapes. “This means changing our attitudes speaking of individual trees instead of ‘the forest’ towards children’s wild natures and becoming allow more meaningful relationship to arise? more playful ourselves”, he proposed, “as well How about establishing Open Forest Sundays as creating physical invitations that counter along the lines of Open Farm Sundays? How can misconceptions of forests as dangerous places.” we help children and adults better understand Playful design interventions can tell a different (the needs of) the forest? story about the woods as places of joy and discovery and create memories that stay with Several times the words of David Attenborough us into adulthood. “As a species we evolved in were referenced: “No one will protect what they a forest setting and children’s innate ‘biophilia’ don’t care about; and no one will care about gets activated when they re-encounter it. At a what they have never experienced” time when our species is under existential threat, It was a rich conversation which we hope to it has never been more important to get our kids continue and move forward into positive action. back in the woods.”

I believe that if we take seriously our mission to By their irregular and unpredictable create a culture in which children, and adults, nature, forests offer an abundance of play harmoniously co-inhabit the forest alongside “affordances”. According to Chris these “latent other species we have an opportunity to foster a action possibilities” offer the kind of freedom new generation of humans who will love - and and creative potential that children need to fully protect - the forest. develop, invent their own games and rituals, and in doing so create their own culture. As a l Inez hopes the discussion will be taken further storyteller he emphasized the magical potential forward at a future date.

Share Shed reports its impact in the community TOTNES’ library of things, the Share Shed, has published its impact report highlighting its contribution to the community from April 2017 to April 2019, during which over 500 people joined the project, making, in total, almost the same amount of loans.

The project has currently over 300 useful items ranging from tools, gardening and camping equipment, house appliances and more, which people can borrow at a low cost, allowing people to access things they possibly couldn’t otherwise afford or even have the need to acquire in the first place if it’s only for a one-off occasion.

With the support from a Plymouth University MSc student, the report estimates that by sharing the things available at the Share Shed, the community saved up to £25,000 in that period, whilst also avoiding the production of 268kg of plastic and the emission of 7.5 tonnes of CO2.

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In the collection available at the Totnes’ library of things, carpet cleaners, strimmers, pressure washers, tents, lawnmowers, projector, sewing machine and power drills are among the most popular items.

Mirella Ferraz, Share Shed Coordinator said: “We’re thrilled so many people are benefiting from our project, getting things done, whilst saving money and resources. After all, why buy when you can borrow?”.

The Share Shed has recently won £48,599 from the National Lottery Community Fund in this year’s Peoples Projects competition. Its success means it can now become the world’s first mobile sharing library.

Mirella added: “We’re excited we’ll soon be going mobile, extending our service beyond Totnes to Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, and South Brent, supporting a more sustainable and collaborative lifestyle”.

You can find The Share Shed at 16 High

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Street, Totnes, and it is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm, and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. l To see everything the library of things offers and for more information, visit www. shareshed.org.uk.

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news & views

Sharpham to host something pressing SHARPHAM near Totnes will be holding their pressing event for all the family that brings people together around seasonal local produce.

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HE Sharpham Trust’s annual Apple Day and Autumn Festival takes place on Sunday 6 October from 10.30am - 4pm and it’s when visitors can try fresh Sharpham apple juice straight from the press.

The day will include a host of apple-themed activities for all the family, including taster sessions, arts and crafts and games.

Visitors are invited to bring their own apples to juice (just not windfalls from orchards grazed with animals in the last six weeks). If they do, they’ll be given half back in bottles while the other half will be kept to sell to help support the charitable work of the Sharpham Trust.

The apples will be juiced by an impressive oak-beamed press supplied by Orchard Link - a group of orchard campaigners and advisors from Devon’s local authorities, cidermakers and orchard owners set up in response to the wastage of apple crops from small traditional orchards and the needs of orchard owners for help and support.

Whilst local and national orchard campaigns have encouraged people to plant and restore orchards, there is still little advice and training, nor much provision for collecting and using the fruit produced by small traditional orchards produce. Orchard Link aims to support orchard owners and enthusiasts to ensure that orchards are a sustainable element of our landscape.

If you haven’t any apples to bring, don’t worry. You can buy bottles of this delicious juice on the day.

Or wander through the formal and woodland gardens of historic Sharpham House, set in a Capability Brown parkland landscape. Sharpham House won’t be open to tour on this day, although there will be a café serving teas, coffee, cakes and simple lunches throughout the day.

South Devon Steiner School Waldorf Education for the 21st Century

‘For a Purposeful Journey Into Life’ Steiner Waldorf education from 3—18 years

Activities include: l Apple Olympics – Apple themed games and activities on the Croquet Lawn. l Apple storytelling and harvest crafts in The Red Alachigh (correct) Tent l Workshops and talks l Campfire cooking and nature crafts l An Apple Trail for children to hunt down the apples hidden in our orchard

Apple Day at Sharpham is free entry, with free activities (although donations are welcome to support the Trust’s charitable work).

There will be a charge of £4 per car for parking and visitors are encouraged to walk, cycle or use the specially-commissioned Bob The Bus free shuttle from Totnes. l Find out more about Sharpham’s events at www.sharphamtrust.org/ Calendar or email bookings@sharphamtrust.org or call 01803 732542.

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Website: www.southdevonsteinerschool.org Email: admissions@steiner-south-devon.org Tel: 01803-897377

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news & views Maintaining relationships

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XPERIENCED scultpor James Bond has been working with bladed hand tools for over forty years and for 25 of those years he has designed, managed and run social art projects for the public in their own settings.

Since 2011 this has been as a Community Interested Company Carving Community CIC. James specialises in using knives, axes, and other sharp hand tools, in creative activities, to engage young people, their families and communities in positive life experiences. He maintains that each person has their own unique gifts and qualities and believe that through building meaningful relationships using creativity and imagination, people can deepen their lives and develop a personal sense of authority.

James said: “People of all ages, abilities and cultural differences are encouraged to come together and explore relationships and how to work alongside each other. As a group, people build confidence and skills together, increased pride, a sense of belonging and ownership. Working together offers the opportunity to challenge restoratively, as well as acknowledge and affirm changes and growth. The work encourages each person to be their best and be for real.

“Carving Community CIC community projects support the

development of individuals and group potential, whilst caring for & improving the area in which they live. The culmination of their collective endeavour is a sculpted structure located on the site of its construction and serving the wider community. This becomes a visual reminder of the shared experiences by the community, it provokes conversation through reflective shared memories and remains a place to meet and bring community members together.

“The work has a deep connection with trees and their subtle properties and applies tool methodologies that reach far back beyond cultural differences, and support we humans to be more aware of our surroundings and re animate the non human environments. It changes the focus from economic growth to the aesthetic delight in maintenance of the everyday whereby the ‘eachness’ and ‘suchness’ of things are enhanced by our collective actions.”

For the last 4 years, following the discovery of her book, ‘Homo Aestheticus’, James has been in email conversations with evolutionist, Ellen Dissanayake. She promotes the idea that fundamentally our relationship with the earth is aesthetic and humans main place of connection is in making ‘something special’ with care and attentiveness to our actions.

Ellen asserts that throughout millennia, in times of change

and uncertainty, humans have chosen to gather together, to make ‘something special’. This practical act of shaping and forming matter, to make something beautiful with their hands, reassured humans and enabled them to return to their everyday lives ready to face the unknown. This has confirmed and given strength to James’ belief in his practice as a vehicle for positive action in times of change. The work aims to promote the idea that each person can make their own unique ‘authentic authority’. James sees this as today’s main evolutionary progression.

James said: “The word authorship comes from augment which means to make and when we make we have an authority in our ability to engage and change materials (to make a difference). To speak from an authentic authority means we speak from our experiences and

therefore we have an authenticity in what we do and say and that is what this work supports.

“The bond with the hand, the tool and the wood allows any human to be able to feel confident to have a go and remind themselves of their authority through shaping and forming wood. It is from this basic relationship with bladed hand tools that we can reform trust because in today’s global free market we are all in business with each other and trust will be crucial in change processes.” l James will be offering evening and weekend workshops though out the year. Check out his website and links below for more details. l www.trustedbond.com l www.carvingcommunitycic.org l facebook.com/carvingcommunity l tinyurl.com/yxhlr38p

Helping local women to make a difference through social enterprise

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ELPING more women set up successful businesses and social enterprises is the key to transforming the local economy in Devon and Cornwall. But with ONLY 17% of start-ups in the UK being founded by women, something needs to change. That’s why The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Dartington are offering FREE training and expert mentoring to support women all over Devon to set up enterprises and community projects. The project is called Accelerating Women’s Enterprise (AWE).

While many people accept that women are just as able (as men) to come up with innovative, creative solutions that add real value to people’s lives and the economy, this belief is not currently reflected in the start-up ecosystem. Therefore, The SSE Dartington have teamed up with a consortium of partners in the UK and France to help bring gender equality into the entrepreneurial space.

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“By helping more women set up successful social enterprises, everyone can benefit – whether that is through the products and services they provide or the job opportunities they create, it all contributes to a more inclusive economy” Michelle Virgo, Business Manager at the SSE Dartington.

The AWE Making a Difference project will be hosting various FREE social enterprise training workshops throughout Devon, providing a safe space for women to test out entrepreneurial ideas. With the aid of supportive tutors, inspiring experts, experienced mentors and fellow participants, the programme will cover the basics of creating a vision, business planning, managing finances, marketing, generating an income, using social media, getting registered, measuring impact, and more. There will also be financial assistance available to those who need help with childcare or carers costs and travel costs, to reduce financial barriers that may prevent some from participating.

The Dartington AWE Making a Difference project aims to work with 124 women social entrepreneurs, engage 40 mentors and create at least 30 new jobs through the social enterprises established. The first programme is being launched in Plymouth at the end of October, 2019.

To register your interest in the AWE programme (and find out where and when your nearest cohort is happening), please email Sophie sophie.paterson@ dartington.org, or to apply to become a mentor on the AWE programme, please email Max max.hope@dartington.org

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THE natural health and personal development PAGES Inside wellbeing...

Finding Active Hope

Emotional health Nature culture regeneration New year of seasonal change Find your inner knowing

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Let’s talk about mental health

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A journey to you

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Burial as nature intended The divine feminine Make your life positive & fun

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And there’s lots more to read inside

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ET’S chalk is a different take on the usual exhortation to people experiencing mental health problems.

Gill Hayes, a mental health and suicide prevention campaigner, is the brains behind the new initiative, which will see messages of hope and inspiration chalked onto the streets of Exeter as a way of reaching out to people who may be struggling with mental health problems.

Gill explained that the “Let’s Chalk About Mental Health” campaign is aimed at tackling stigma, supporting people with mental health issues and raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention.

It takes place on Thursday October 10, between 9.30am and 7pm at Bedford Square, Princesshay shopping centre in Exeter. Gill said: “Representatives from local mental health and suicide prevention charities and wellbeing services will be there to show their support, along with members of the public.

But you don’t have to come along to Princesshay to take part. You can chalk your own messages on pavements, squares, even on your own front doorstep. We are expecting schools, colleges, businesses and community groups to show their support by chalking their own messages in playgrounds,

office spaces and car parks.”

Why was she keen to create this event?

Gill explained: “I know what it feels like to be in a place of absolute despair as I’m a suicide survivor myself. I know how stigma compounds the isolation, the shame and the suffering. I also understand how vital the messages of hope and support I received were, on my own journey to recovery. “By chalking messages of understanding and support, we can encourage those who are suffering in silence to ask for help, and take that first step towards recovery.

Through our messages, we could actually nudge someone away from a trajectory towards suicide - we might even save a life. Importantly, we also want to engage people in a wider conversation and help stop the stigma around mental illness and suicide.”

The focus of this year’s World Mental Health Day is suicide prevention.

Every 40 seconds someone loses their life to suicide, and the World Health Organisation is asking us all to take “40 seconds of action” to raise awareness of the problem. l For more information, email gillhayes@hotmail.com or call 079495922626.

Kate Philbin

The home of natural wellbeing WELLBEING is the home of natural health and personal development in South Devon - the perfect place to find your perfect therapy, retreat or workshop.

And if you work in natural health, it’s the perfect place to get your message out there.

A 1/8-page advertisement, like those below, can be yours for just £41.85 a month. A 1/4-page is only £66.60 a month.

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Our designers will even put the artwork together for you at very affordable prices.

The Wellbeing deadline for the next (December/January) issue is November 1 so get in touch today and let’s get the ball rolling.

Call Scott on 01392 346342 or email editor@ reconnectonline. co.uk

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Juliette Medder

EMOTIONAL HEALTH WELCOME back to our exploration into all things emotional. In this edition our Emotional Health columnist Leigh Smith explores the dynamic changes that occur within a family when a baby is born, and how to navigate the emotional impact.

Becoming a grandparent

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OR those of you that know me, you will not be surprised at my choice of topic for this column. It’s my big news… I am a nanna.

My beautiful grandson was born only eight weeks ago, and already he has transformed my life.

I had no idea what to expect on becoming a grandparent.

The dynamic of any family unit is sensitive and needs constant attention to keep a healthy equilibrium. So how was I to ‘get it right’, what would help us as a family to move smoothly through this transition? I came up with some simple guidelines for myself: • Don’t interfere • Drop the expectations • Offer don’t enforce On the whole these have been useful, but I had not anticipated how hard they would be to enact.

Don’t interfere The transition to grandparenthood brings with it many changes, and like all transitions it can be both positive and negative. It can present an emotional struggle for grandparents to no longer be the person in power and to sit back and watch your son or daughter be in control of what’s best and how things will be done. There is a palpable tension that arises when your opinion differs from the parent, from the little things like disposable nappies over cloth ones to ideas on how to discipline a child.

Even though not interfering can be a struggle, there is a real transformation of roles taking place here. A bit like passing the gauntlet over to your son/ daughter, and saying “there you go, this is yours now, you are the parent, not me” and with this comes a huge relief and privilege. It allows us to sit on the sidelines, and to step in and out as it suits us (which was a choice we didn’t have with our own children).

I relish the fact that my role is not to deal with the relentlessness of parenting, but rather to be the one who

is besotted and doting, with cuddles and attention in bucket loads, and who can then hand baby back and get a good night’s sleep.

Drop the expectations New parents enter into a period of ‘survival’ after baby arrives. It is hard to manage all of the demands of this new person, and emotionally so demanding. So, this is not the time to be expecting daily updates on the baby’s progress, even if you are desperate for an update.

Times have changed since we had our children, these new parents are a whole new breed of wonderful. Watching my daughter pack away a folding pram and effortlessly secure baby into a car seat equipped with the latest safety devices, checking the device that tells her if the room is the right temperature, I am truly out of my depth here.

The challenge is to allow the new to unfold, without harping on about “in my day”. We are not obsolete, in fact we have a really important role to play in offering to help out. Even just taking baby for a walk around the park can give the parents time to emotionally resource themselves.

Offer my support don’t enforce it.

There are endless books available on ‘becoming a parent’ but not so when it comes to the massive transition of becoming a grandparent.

What is expected of us? How do we fit into this newly formed and fragile family bubble?

In my opinion the key to getting this right is communication, is your son/daughter able to say no to your offers without feeling guilty? Are they able to ask for your support when they are struggling? And can you hear “no thanks” as something positive, rather than a rebuff?

So, two months in and so far so good, I am not only in awe of my gorgeous little grandson, but also seeing my daughter and son-in-law in a whole new light, marvelling at their ability to cope and love, and let me into their precious family bubble.

Leigh Smith is director of studies, course designer and tutor at Heartwood Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Training.

Visit www.heartwoodcounselling.org or call 01803 865464.

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Pregnancy, birth and chiropractic

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EEING a qualified chiropractor during pregnancy can provide important additional benefits alongside standard obstetric care.

However, it’s important to choose someone who specialises in pregnancy, warns Dr Claire, who practices from Ola Chiropractic in Totnes.

She has worked with many pregnant women and told Reconnect: “Twenty percent of women suffer with pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy, often with instability of the pelvis underlying the pain. This can predispose them to pain that persists after the birth. High impact exercise before pregnancy can help to protect against pelvic girdle pain.”

Dr Claire explained that vomiting and nausea during early pregnancy can predispose a woman to more back pain throughout her pregnancy.

She said: “According to a major study, the addition of chiropractic to standard obstetric care gives significant benefits regarding low back pain and pelvic girdle issues, as well aiding the optimal position of the baby in utero prior to birth. This can aid a normal vaginal delivery of the baby, helping to prevent complications.

“Chiropractors also have techniques to help with pubic symphysis disorders, morning sickness, preeclampsia, intra-uterine constraint, hiatus hernia, hip issues, fluid retention and breech or mal-positioned baby. The approach for pregnant women is very different to traditional chiropractic care. It is gentle, safe and designed to aid the optimization of the pelvic girdle and reduce the discomforts that often accompany the growing of a baby.”

She explained that a chiropractor can also provide wellness support through a time of transition and advise on supplementation.

“I teach women home exercises at various stages of their pregnancy, as well as advising on birth strategies to aid natural delivery of baby.”

The Institute for Neuro-physiological Psychology looked at common factors presenting in children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD and found in the majority of cases abnormal birth was the common denominator.

“Many of the signs of birth trauma in newborns, such as colic, digestion issues and reflux are resolved through the cranial techniques used by chiropractors,” said Dr Claire. “Many of these conditions, if left untreated, can have a negative effect on children later in life. The strength of chiropractors is that they are one of the few professions with the tools to do something constructive, beneficial and non-invasive to help during pregnancy and a newborn’s life.” l See Ola’s website www.totneschiropractic.co.uk for more details.

Lottery funds pregnancy and mum’s support

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IFE transitions such as pregnancy, birth and the first year can be a time of excitement and joy - feeling blessed and open.

But it can also bring feelings of confusion, fear, anxiety, loss, and sometimes isolation. Receiving the support of a community of mothers and a network of practitioners can be invaluable at such a time.

Since being awarded a grant from the National Lottery in March, founder Olivia Seck and facilitator Sarah Baker have been able to double the number of weekly Radiant Mama sessions they hold in Dartington. These sessions include time to meet and chat with other mums, short massages, craniosacral treatments, a sharing group and breastfeeding support in a lovely

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environment (as well as yummy snacks and tea).

The lottery money is also being used to fund some of the new groups on the program this Autumn including a new pregnancy group, a baby massage and mother and baby yoga group, and a new group in South Brent.

To find out more about the Radiant Mama team, come to the Open Day in Ashburton on Sunday the 13th of October. You can take part in the free tasters and groups, have a short massage or treatment, meet the local doulas or just relax with a cuppa with other mums. l For more information about the Radiant Mama Autumn program visit: www.radiantmama.net

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WELLBEING Dropping the ‘worry field’

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to release the ARMELLA B’Hahn, who shocking imprints teaches TRE of the day before. (tension and trauma Carmella said: “This release body work) whole experience shares a story highlighted for me of encountering how it’s possible to her own personal be much more in ‘worry field’. charge of our overall “Last week, I set out state of health than up the short slope we perhaps realise.” to our community TRE was created veg garden, basket Carmella B’Hahn after a similar in hand, but I soon realisation by its founder, David realised that I wouldn’t make it Bercelli. He noticed when in a because of the pain in my legs (due to a flare-up of Lyme disease). bomb shelter in Africa with children I was shocked and limped home on his lap that he was contracting feeling vulnerable and worrying his muscles and ‘holding himself about the future. together’ to cover up his anxiety “The next day, I set out again, not as the bombs fell. By contrast, the knowing if my legs would carry children were naturally allowing me. After a few steps I realised that their bodies to shake with the fear.

I was contracting my whole lower Carmella teaches TRE as a self-help body against potential pain. I was tool. While it normally takes about walking in a ‘worry field’ created four sessions, people with trauma by the intense memories of the in their background may need day before. I relaxed with some guidance for longer. She also offers deep breaths then I started talking grief support, inner life mentoring out loud to my legs, telling them, and heartful communication ’You can do this, I’m supporting you to support me’. Yes, there was coaching. Carmella is the author of still some minor pain, but overall three books. the transformation was stunning. I l For further information visit: skipped up the garden and came www.heartofrelating.com, email back beaming and laden with veg!” carmella@heartofrelating.com or Following this experience, Carmella call 01803 867005. There is a did a TRE session for herself, inviting special deal for all 1.5 hour trial her body’s innate tremor mechanism sessions.

Let the fire of your passion lead you ARE you at a pivotal moment in your life right now? Are you wondering when to act, what to do, how to move forward…?

Katheryn Hope, writer, life coach and practitioner of Resonance Repatterning, said: “In the sessions I give, I’m frequently struck by the disparity between what I can see within this person before me and what they can see.

So often as human beings we make ourselves less than we are to fit the world and then wonder why we are so tired of life. We disallow the very thing that will give us the energy and vitality we desire – the gifts and talents we were born to.”

Katheryn has a message for anyone who feels they are on the cusp of something new in their life: “It’s here before you; everything you’ve ever wanted is facing you now. It’s not in your future or your past. It’s here in this moment. This is it. No waiting, no hanging on; no second thoughts. It’s time you let it rise from within you on the fire of your passion and lead you.

It’s what you were birthed for.

When you can learn to get out of your own way and cross the bridge to your destiny you won’t recognise yourself. You’re not meant to be anything other than who you are. Once you cross to the other side your life will change unequivocally.”

For people who need help to

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change, Katheryn offers one-toone coaching and support. She added: “When we don’t take the risk to do what’s in our soul, we experience little deaths that rob us of our life force. That’s my passion; helping others break free from their self-imposed prison to be their awake vibrant soul self. So, if this speaks to you reach out for a complimentary Discovery session to find what your soul is yearning for and how you can move through your fear into freedom.” l Katheryn Hope is a writer, life coach and Resonance Repatterning practitioner and can be contacted at: katheryn@theseedcoach.com / 07971 416630

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WELLBEING

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YOUR wellbeing editor Kate tries out a treatment or event or activity each issue to give you a bit more of an insight into what it’s like to take part. This issue Kate tries Comprehensive Blood Testing at the Arcturus Clinic in Totnes.

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S someone who has enjoyed pretty good health for most of her life, I have felt a growing sense of dismay in recent years as my health has declined with no obvious cause.

I’ve watched my weight increase even though I’m eating less. I’ve felt my energy levels decline to the point that some mornings I wake up feeling more tired than when I went to bed. And I’ve started to experience weird aches and pains that I can’t attribute to anything in particular.

I’ve wondered if this is an inevitable consequence of getting older but then I look around at people much older than me who appear much healthier. So, what is going on?

It was with great enthusiasm, therefore, that I embarked on this issue’s Kate Does article. I went along to Arcturus Clinic in Totnes to have comprehensive blood testing with Dr Stephen Hopwood.

There are various types of blood test offered at the clinic. I opted for the comprehensive female test, which includes the thyroid advanced profile (T3, T4 and TSH), vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D, iron levels, blood glucose, liver function and more.

It is not cheap, at £125, but within days I received a detailed personal report via email from the Thriva Laboratory which analyses the blood samples.

Two days later, in a follow-up appointment with Dr Hopwood, we reviewed the results in detail.

It was an absolute eye-opener and some of the reasons for my declining health became clear.

My levels of B12, a vitamin vital for the manufacture of red blood cells, as well as other vital functions, are low. Up to 2000pmol/L is considered normal. Mine is just 204.

Raised levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) suggest I have systemic inflammation – a risk factor for heart disease and other conditions I don’t want, like diabetes. My iron levels were also

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low and so, too, were levels of folic acid and vitamin D, which Stephen explained could be increased six-fold in my body and still only reach “normal” levels.

One of the biggest eye-openers, however, related to thyroid function. With all of my scores hovering at the lower end of the range, Dr Hopwood explained that my thyroid is not functioning at optimal levels, which means my metabolism is sluggish – a contributory factor in fatigue, depression, weight gain and more.

He checked in with me how I was feeling about the results.

Honestly? I feel excited. “Can I do anything about all this?” I asked. “Absolutely,” he told me.

“We aim to get a clear baseline and then we work with the results, helping to bring your levels towards optimal, monitoring you every step of the way.”

I have videos to watch, websites to visit, two comprehensive documents to consult, supplements to take, further measurements to take (including pulse and basal body temperature) and free telephone access to Dr Hopwood if I need it. There is a clear and logical plan, addressing the problems one step at a time.

It doesn’t come cheap but if I can start to feel better I figure it will be money well spent. I no longer feel as though I am taking supplements blindly, hoping that I’ve hit on the right ones, but instead I am taking what exactly what my body needs in the quantity it requires and will be closely monitoring the way it responds. When a car fails its MOT, a mechanic fixes the problem and then retests it.

With physiology infinitely more complex than a car engine, this seems to make sense for our bodies too. l For more information about blood testing, contact Arcturus on 01803 868282.

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WELLBEING

Lighting the hearth fire at the Art of Mentoring 2019, Photo by Ian Henderson

Nature culture regeneration

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OR the first time, children can take part in the popular Dartmoor-based Nature Culture Regeneration weekend, inspired by the work of Jon Young and the 8 Shields Institute, and it’s flagship Art of Mentoring weeks.

The event has been bringing adults into deeper connection with nature and the chance to be part of a regenerative ‘village’ for the last four years in Devon. Now, event organisers Peter Cow and Rebecca Card, are pleased to introduce a new programme specially for children, aged from five to 11-years old. It offers the chance for the next generation to learn vital skills for connection and self-awareness.

Peter said: “I’ve been really inspired by how the Art of Mentoring week weaves together all ages and stages of life, from elders to toddlers, enabling whole families to come and drop into a deeper connection with each other, and with the world around them. I wanted to find a way to bring this to our Nature Culture Regeneration weekends as well.

It’s great to see adults playing, opening, supporting each other, learning and connecting, and to see children following their curiosities, and supported to be out and about, exploring the natural world.”

Peter and Rebecca will be joined on the programme by Linda Lemieux, who will facilitate the children’s Woodlanders sessions.

Rebecca said: “The children will learn crafts, get muddy, learn about their environment, and most of all, feel a deeper connection and belonging to the wild world around them.”

Nature Culture Regeneration and the more in-depth year-long ‘Bringing it Home’ course are both founded on the 8 Shields vision of supporting adults and children to develop attributes considered vital to connection within themselves happiness, vitality, focus, empathy, being truly helpful, being fully alive, love and compassion, and being in the quiet mind.

Rebecca added: “Through mentoring, time in nature, role modeling, singing, wild games, awakening our gifts and our curiosities, we can all learn to grow a culture that fosters connection and understanding, where people know the importance of looking after all life, after each other and themselves, and where they feel a strong calling to do that.” l For more information visit www. bringingithome.life or contact peter@8shields.org

Finding our feet

FINDING our feet is an expression that we use to suggest a certain confidence, a feeling of embedding into the circumstances of our life.

For Caroline Lang, who teaches Scaravelli Yoga at The Yoga House in Harberton, there is much to discover about the many different ways that our feet can meet the ground. This became even more clear last summer after surgery to mend a broken knee.

Caroline said: “Generally we have learnt to hold ourselves up and together rather than trusting our relationship to the ground. However, we all have the potential to wake up our feet and explore how they can support the rest of our body.”

Each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints and more than a hundred muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Caroline explained: “The two longitudinal arches and one transverse arch together form a dome. In a sense, this dome comes alive because of the parts of the foot that meet the ground. Through awareness and a little imagination, our heels can start to feel big and clear and round; the outer edge of the foot strengthens, like a magnet drawn to the ground; the front of

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the foot needs as much space as possible giving freedom to our toes.

When this starts to become a felt experience, the dome inside the foot, the part that is missing in a footprint, uplifts us into life. Our rootedness becomes our strength, our clarity, and our lightness of being.

“It takes patience and commitment but slowing down and tending to our feet in some detail for a while can change the way we inhabit our bodies and embody our lives.” l For more information visit: www. carolinelangyoga.com

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31

WELLBEING Calling out for a partner

A

Vegan, organic, zero waste packaging, handmade in Torquay

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RE you inspired by the idea of decluttering and everything that it represents? Do you see the opportunity to help people to shed their stuff as being part of a wider social shift – something that is part of much-needed moves towards radically reduced consumption and transformative shifts in our social and environmental structures? If so, Jason Burns wants to hear from you.

Jason is the founder of Space Works, a business that is dedicated to supporting people to change their attitude to stuff and he needs help to enable the enterprise to grow and achieve its full potential.

He said: “Over the past two years, I have personally taken 100s (or over 1000, not 1000s!) of bags of stuff to the local charity shops, and have helped clients to recycle a considerable amount of paper, glass, plastic and consumables.

“However, there is so much more that could be done. More stuff can be brought out of people’s homes and re-purposed. It’s possible to find ways to recycling stuff (and there is a lot of it!). It’s possible too to gently educate people about how to have less stuff, and what to do with the stuff they want to get rid of.”

Space Works is a business with a huge opportunity for growth but Jason recognises that he needs help to enable him to fulfill it.

He said: “The enterprise part, the

education part, the psychological support part needs attention so I am seeking a partner. I am looking for a business-minded person, who is as keen as I am, to find ways of supporting people to have a different attitude to consumption, and recycling.

“Space Works, as an enterprise, has a great deal of potential. So, if you happen to be reading this and are inspired by the nature of the work, have entrepreneurial form, and ideally have a background in social work or therapeutic work, please get in touch and help me play a small but significant role in keeping our world beautiful.” l Contact Jason on 07886 353504 or visit: www.space-works. co.uk

psychotherapy plymouth

COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY IN PLYMOUTH OUR EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS WORK WITH A WIDE RANGE OF DIFFICULTIES INCLUDING:ALCOHOL PROBLEMS, ANGER MANAGEMENT , ANXIETY & STRESS, BEREAVEMENT, LIFE THREATENING ILLNESS, COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES, EATING DISORDERS, RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS, LOSS OF CONFIDENCE/SELF ESTEEM, LOSS OF DIRECTION AND WORK RELATED DIFFICULTIES, MENʼS MENTAL HEALTH, LOW COST PSYCHOTHERAPY.

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WELLBEING A new year of seasonal change

AUTUMN is the season that teaches us change can be beautiful says life coach, Kate Tilston.

As we head towards Autumn, with the children back at school and summer holidays a fading memory, it’s easy to feel despondent or overwhelmed.

However, Kate describes September and October as her “New Year” and she embraces the change of season joyfully.

“This is a time when it’s much easier to choose some goals for the year ahead. I see it as a time to re-evaluate…. what have I achieved this year so far? What do I still want to do?

“This is a time in the coaching calendar when my clients often wish to “tweak” the plans they made earlier in the year. Maybe their original goals are now not such a priority or there have been events over the summer holidays that have created opportunities for change.”

Kate explained that often people are frightened of change.

“We’d rather stay in our comfort zone than do something that shakes us up. When I work with clients who are wishing to make changes in their life, I’m often aware that they start from a much bigger picture, they want to make BIG changes and then wonder why it seems so scary!

“I tell them, when you are creating change, it’s far more effective to start with baby steps, to make little manageable changes that you can actually achieve. That way, once you have seen some results, however small they seem to you, it is much easier to create the momentum for greater change.”

Kate encourages us to ask what we want to achieve in this last quarter of the year.

“What changes need to happen in your life?” she asks. “Get out the notebook, the new coloured pens and plan. Just jot any ideas down that come to mind or if it’s something you’ve been meaning to change for a long time, how can you break it down into more manageable chunks? Set some realistic goals, you don’t have to change everything at once. The leaves fall from the trees to enable new growth in the spring. What are you going to shed to make way for your new growth?” l For more information contact Kate on 07733111590 or email kate@ katetilston.co.uk or visit www.katetilston.co.uk. She works regularly from The Exeter Natural Health Centre or via Skype/ telephone.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) (Stimulates the immune system to function optimally)

The Bowen Technique Chapel House Studios, Totnes Home Visits AMANDA MORRIS CLT – MLDUK – CertECBS

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A sense of cosmic connection

M

AYBE you thought that our ideas about astrology and the signs of the zodiac were nearly as old as the heavens themselves. If so, you’d be mistaken.

Holly Paige, who specialises in Real Sky Astrology told Reconnect: “Amazingly, conventional astrology and the signs of the zodiac are modern constructs that have no connection to the actual stars in the sky.

“Originally, astrology was based on a sense of connection to the heavens that we find extraordinary today. The ancient sages received inspiration and guidance from gazing at the stars. They assigned images to each of the constellations that we know today as the signs of the zodiac.

These images were chosen to represent particular archetypes.”

While a Real Sky Astrological chart includes certain elements that you would expect from a conventional astrological reading, it has an added dimension, too. It is based on the position of the sun, moon, and planets at the time of your birth within the real constellations in the sky. The individual stars that are significant to your life are also detailed.

Sexuality ~ Trauma ~ Pelvic Health Reclaim your power, creativity and pleasure.

Holly said: “This adds surprising depth and accuracy to the interpretation which many people find remarkable. Destiny originally meant ‘from the stars’. Real Sky Astrology is an amazing tool to help you decode the gifts of your destiny and discover the talents that you came to express. It helps you decode what mythological motives inspire your life and consciously recognise cosmological influences that can bring you to your full potential.”

28th Sept ~ Red Tent Vaginal Steaming Talk Plymouth 25th January ~ Tantric Flow workshop Bristol Sessions in Totnes, London and online, retreats in Totnes

l Call Holly Paige on 01392 580879 or email holly@livinginthelifeforce.com Also visit www.livingzodiac.com

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WELLBEING

A retreat of integration at Embercombe

Take a deep BREATH...

Learn how to use your breath to overcome stress and re-energise your body. Improve your health and help clear emotional blockages. Workshops and 1:1 sessions available.

Introductory workshop - Dawlish Sat 7 Dec - 10.30am £25pp

Transformational Breathing

Les Elms • les@breathsouthwest.com www.breathsouthwest.com

07828 566553

FaceWorks Healing trauma through facial realignment and resculpting.

Lilah McLean www.faceworksdevon.co.uk 07966 931416

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WHAT does it mean to be a man in today’s difficult and demanding world and how can men be supported to become more fully themselves?

These are the questions being asked

by Galliant Trainings, which has devised a retreat exclusively for men at Embercome this October.

“Some men grow up being told that they need to be strong and to hide their vulnerabilities. Some men grow up being told that they need to be everything for everybody. Some men grow up not being told anything at all,” said Thurstan Crockett who cofacilitates the retreat.

“We believe that men today are seeking integration. They are seeking integration with their society, work, families, friends and ultimately themselves. And they are seeking integration of all the disparate aspects of what it means to be human and what it means to be a man.”

He explained that integration for a man is “a call to wholeness and sovereignty, bringing together and fully owning all aspects of himself. It takes courage, honesty and reflection to integrate the past with the present so that one can walk with power and authority into the future.”

The Retreat of Integration, which takes place at Embercombe – a beautiful 50-acre valley in Higher Ashton - from October 3 to 6 will provide an opportunity for men to draw back from the demands and distractions of daily life and to discern what is important for the future and what to leave behind.

The facilitators of the retreat combine aspects of modern men’s work with advanced consciousness.

The modern men’s movement is rooted in mythology and masculine archetypes, identified as Lover, Warrior, Magician, King. Creative consciousness uses a structural approach to connect to the intuition and creating what you would love in all areas of your life. ● For more information visit: https://embercombe.org/galliantmen

Time for yin - restore and rebalance

I

we can hear our bodies N the West, we tend gently whispering, only to listen to our enabling us to work out bodies when they what it is our body, mind scream at us for help. and soul really needs.”

As we move into the Following the success of Yin half of the Celtic her Yin yoga workshops Wheel of the Year, last winter, Natalie is yoga teacher, Natalie offering a course of Austin, is keen to 4 Yin Deep Winter remind us that now Workshops over the is the time to slow course of winter this down and retreat year at Chapel House into ourselves a little, Studios, Totnes. Each bringing our attention Natalie Austin workshop will focus on a to the process different set of organ meridian pairs. of healing and fully inhabiting ourselves.

Yin Deep Workshop Schedule Natalie said: “We need to develop Saturday October 12: Kidneys and an attitude of attentive kindness and Urinary Bladder compassion within ourselves. It is Saturday November 16: Liver and easy to neglect our self-care in our Gall Bladder busy lifestyles and hectic schedules.

Saturday January 25: Spleen and This can lead to patterns of selfStomach abuse and an overwhelmed frame Saturday February 29: Lungs, Heart, of mind, which may leave us feeling Small & Large Intestines. rather frazzled. ● Each workshop is £35 and “These unhealthy patterns can is from 3-6pm at Chapel House manifest in all kinds of physical Studios. Booking is essential. To book aches, pains and illnesses which your space or for more information, a regular Yin yoga practice can please contact natalie@loveyogatree. help to prevent and soothe. Yin co.uk or call/text 07516720246 or yoga encourages the healthy flow check details on www.loveyogatree. of energy/chi/prana around the co.uk meridians of the body and stillness and quiet within ourselves. By helping Love Yoga Tree can also be found on Facebook and Instagram to develop a connection to ourselves,

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WELLBEING Find your inner knowing through play

H

OW many different parts live inside of you? What if you could play with the masks inside you and fill your life with aliveness and new insights?

That’s the question asked

by Christie Animas in her Introductions to Fool Expression Workshops and monthly play days held in mid Devon.

Christie said: “After the weekend you will feel moved, impressed by yourself and inspired by your inner player. You will have more ease in your inner world, you will feel supported by your connection with the audience and ready to play more.”

Christie invites participants to

● Would you like to change your life? ● Are your thoughts and beliefs holding you back? ● focus, and self-belief to go after what you want? ● Are you feeling overwhelmed, fearful or out of control? ● Do you wish you could feel better?

Then Kate Harris can help you. info@sandwellfarmhouse.co.uk P: 01803 847 674 M: 0777 9496240

deepen their relationship with the body, learn how to harness energies that are present to create, learn the basics of the Fool’s Way on stage, explore and learn to play with the different masks/ personalities in themselves as they step on a stage, and explore the relationship with an audience.

Awakening your Natural Voice A three day retreat with Anthony Johnston

Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th October 2019 East Down Centre, Devon

A three day residential retreat awakening the power of your natural voice, for well being, deep connection and your soul’s expression

Her introduction weekends take place on October 5-6 in Glastonbury (taster on the 3rd), November 9-10 in Bristol (taster on the 7th ) and November 2324 in Hittisleigh Crediton. £125 full price, £110 Concession. ● Contact Christie Animas 07980371335 or contact@ christieanimas.com find out more at www.christieanimas.com

Experience how giving voice to what is true can connect us to our ‘essence’ and how it can bring us into a richer, more meaningful contact with ourselves, others and the natural world. ~ Explore your unique and natural voice ~ ~ Express yourself authentically and creatively ~ ~ Learn the art of listening without judgement ~ ~ Sing with freedom, ease and flow ~ ~ Sing from your essence, from who you really are ~ www.realvoice.co.uk 07950052100 info@realvoice.co.uk

Exploring yoga and movement therapy

B

IRDSONG and the soothing sounds of the nearby river provide a relaxing backdrop to the Yoga & Movement Therapy sessions run by Hayley Price from a private studio space in Harbertonford.

Yoga and Movement Therapy integrates the principles of gentle yoga and somatic movement to meet participants wherever they are on their healing journey.

Hayley said: “My approach is rooted in a spirit of enquiry and exploration into the living experience of the body. We tend to the felt sense as it is experienced in the moment, developing and anchoring inner resources and connecting with the body’s innate intelligence for self-regulation and healing. I support clients to reconnect and develop a healthy relationship with their bodies and the environment they inhabit.”

She explained that, depending on the individual’s needs, a session may be focused towards gentle yoga practice - including attention to the breath, simple movements and mindfulness - or somatic movement which may involve a more creative approach. Some sessions may include a combination of both.

“In somatic work, I draw upon the principles of Authentic Movement and the work of Miranda Tufnell,

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Leading-Edge, International Trainings in Somatic Sexology Certifcate in Sexological Bodywork and Certifcate in Somatic Sex Education June 2020 – February 2021 exact dates to be confrmed

as well as my studies in embodied anatomy,” said Hayley. “I am motivated to share simple and effective tools that allow you to safely return to and inhabit your body with a greater sense of presence, resource and self agency, supporting you to validate the living wisdom of your body and live with greater ease.”

Hayley is a qualified yoga therapist, specialising in Yoga Therapy for mental health and wellbeing, as well as for women’s health. She holds a P.G. Diploma in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing. ● For more information visit: www. integrativeembodiment.uk call 07832 979038 or email hayley@ integratedembodiment.com

with Kian de la Cour & Katie Sarra This is the seventh UK training in this amazing and comprehensive modality.

This 7-month professional training involves detailed selfpractices, online study, working with others, a 2 week Embodiment Intensive and 4 months of supervised practice.

The U.K & Ireland training uniquely includes 2 full days of Wheel of Consent® practice which provides the context for all of our work as well as a focus on neurobiology and being a trauma-informed practitioner.

Consensual Touch: The Wheel of Consent® 26-29 October, Glastonbury with Katie Sarra & Kian de la Cour "This was life-changing and powerful for me" In any instance of touch, are you giving or receiving? How can you tell?

How do you know what you want when it comes to touch?

How do you negotiate so that you can clearly articulate what you want and do not want - from moment to moment?

"The integrity and embodied understanding of the subject by the facilitators shone through" Dr. Betty Martin's Wheel of Consent® is a revolutionary method for understanding embodied, enthusiastic consent, for the public and practitioners.

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WELLBEING Yoga with Natalie @ Chapel House Studios, Totnes Yin Deep - Winter workshops 12th October 3-6pm Kidneys & Urinary Bladder 16th November 3-6pm Liver & Gall Bladder Booking essential 07516 720 246 | natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk | www.loveyogatree.co.uk

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A Journey Into You

I

NTIMACY is a curious word.

For many it is warm, open and deeply resonant, while for others, it’s a word that triggers fear and intimidation; full of taboos and illicit feelings.

Catherine Hale, sex and intimacy coach invites people to explore what intimacy means to them at her intimacy retreats, designed for individuals and couples.

Why is it important to explore this topic? Catherine explained: “Intimacy is at the core of what connects us – to ourselves, to those closest to us and the world around us. Yet, it isn’t something that we teach our children to understand, or a thing that we, as adults, generally seek to discover. It’s easy for conversations about intimacy to get ignored in favour of more tangible, real-world issues.

“Whilst the concept of love sits easily for most of us, when we move to talking about self-love and intimate love, our great British reserve can push those thoughts and feelings down. Why is that?

Why does intimacy spark fear or resistance for so many of us?”

Catherine believes that, for some people this resistance may simply be a lack of self-awareness, either deliberate – for example, due to a fear of triggering greater, buried traumas and struggles - or unconscious.

“We may come from a family who simply didn’t discuss those things and have never ventured to explore intimacy ourselves. Asking ourselves, and those closest to us, what we need and acknowledging that it’s okay to need those things can feel alien and uncomfortable,” said Catherine.

She recognises that asking an outsider for help and support can be even more daunting: “If we feel afraid to have conversations with ourselves or our partner about intimacy, how can we possibly involve a third party? Yet marriage and relationship counselling are almost universally viewed as a positive step to building stronger relationships, so why shouldn’t we feel the same way about building our intimacy with the help of an experienced facilitator?

“This is where an intimacy retreat can be a wonderful thing – a safe space to explore what intimacy means to us, what aspects of sensuality and desire positively trigger us, and how we can feel comfortable talking about our needs and desires.

“Learning what we want from an intimate relationship - either with ourselves or with a partner - can be a joyous voyage of discovery.

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Gaining acceptance that it’s ok to value our needs and desires can liberate us to a new level of self-esteem and self-confidence.

Finding the words to be able to communicate what we want can provide us with a new sense of security in ourselves and who we are, about our relationship and the world around us.”

Among the topics Catherine explores during the weekend intimacy retreats are: l Discovering or reawakening your sexual self l How to communicate sexual desires and become emotionally fluent l How to better connect with a significant other l How to break bad intimacy habits and form better ones l Establishing boundaries and exploring touch l Staying present in the moment l Tantric, energy and physicality work, to learn new, practical techniques Catherine shares: “The retreats I offer are about working together with you in partnership – either as a couple or a single participant, to find a framework for exploring these things at a level that works for you.

You have control of how these are balanced between mental, spiritual and physical work – whatever feels most comfortable. I can offer spacious or intense, deeply intimate retreats of up to five days that may be focused, for example, on healing past traumas; or beginning a journey by taking a weekend of baby-steps towards a closer and more bonded relationship with a partner.”

She explained: “My role is to give you a safe space to help you uncover your true feelings and desires and to find ways to express them in a positive and constructive way, without fear of judgment, whilst working at a pace that suits you.”

She points out that many of us wouldn’t think twice about taking a spa weekend to recharge our batteries, so why is the idea of spending a few days exploring intimacy any different?

“Why not invest in yourself with the opportunity to unplug from the world, switch off the noise and turn yourself on to a journey whose benefits can last a lifetime?” said Catherine.

There are a number of spaces for intimacy retreats throughout the Autumn and Winter, which are held close to Totnes. l For more information visit: www. catherinehale.co.uk or email info@ catherinehale.co.uk

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WELLBEING Counselling that respects your pace

W

E are all our own experts and yet it can be hard to connect with our own inner wisdom when life feels difficult, challenging or confusing.

Natasha Bainbridge and Brian King run The Now Therapy Centre, a Counselling and Healing Therapy service, offering counselling and healing. Natasha is often faced with clients who feel stuck or overwhelmed and who cannot connect with their own inner knowing. She sees her role as being to empower people to find their own clarity and strength so they can move forward positively.

She said: “I understand that it can feel awkward or strange to open up to someone new, but the counselling we offer respects your individual pace, at the same time as encouraging your self-awareness and self-empowerment.”

Natasha works from therapy rooms in Tavistock, Okehampton and Plymouth. She sees clients experiencing a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression, sexuality issues, bereavement, separation, trauma and relationship issues. Brian, who works from rooms in Okehampton, specialises in relationship and family counselling.

The Now Therapy Centre also offers healing, which Natasha describes as a non-invasive transfer of natural energy to clients, channelled via the

N

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healer through the hands.

All therapists at the centre adhere to the National Counselling Society and British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy codes of ethics.

Natasha offers a free initial 30-minute phone session for anyone who would like to have a chat before deciding whether to book.

She said: “It is important for people to feel comfortable working with us so I also encourage people to contact me if they have any questions, either by emailing me at natasha@ thenowtherapycentre.co.uk or phoning 07590 527990.” l For more information visit: www. thenowtherapy.co.uk

Natural burial as nature intended ORMALISING burial is something that Yuli Sømme at Bellacouche believes will become increasingly important in the coming years and it is something that she is passionate about.

As the founder of Bellacouche, which makes shrouds and soft coffins for natural burials, and a committed environmental campaigner, Yuli regards our current approach to death as unsustainable.

“We are facing an emergency on climate change so the subject of how we take care of our loved ones’ bodies needs to come to the fore and should not be relegated to a subject we do not talk about.

“As our skies become crowded with unwelcome gases (at least 12% annually of which come from UK cremation) I believe there is capacity for natural burial for everyone, whether urban or rural.

HPD, DSFH, AfSFH (reg), NCH (reg)

Burial is benign - it is what Nature intended - and it’s all about how we do it. The will and systems for it are growing but we are not there yet.”

Yuli explained that rural burial can be part of a diverse farming system and does not necessarily mean that that land will be out of bounds for farming.

She said: “My mother is buried in wool, in a field on Dartmoor, with sheep grazing over her. She would love that, as will I when my time comes, completing the Cycle of Life. Alternatively, the farmer can give over part of her/his land for the creation of woodland, whilst making an income by selling plots.

“Many new ideas are coming forward and I like the concept of normalising burial. Urban burial sites could be former urban wastelands, for example, or even parkland, ready for transformation into natural spaces that happen also to provide burial plots. Not marked out with headstones, but plotted on a map housed in a beautiful natural ceremonial building with a ‘wall of remembrance’ for each person.

Part of the normalisation would be that the spaces would be open for other uses too, like weddings, concerts, outdoor theatre and other cultural events.” l For more information about soft shrouds and coffins, visit: bellacouche.com

THE HOMOEOPATHIC PRACTICE of Mo Morrish RSHom & Ali Morrish RSHom

ESTABLISHED in 1990 Committed to restoring health 01364 661397 www.thehomoeopathicpractice.co.uk Clinics held at: Exeter Natural Health Centre & Ilsington, Nr Newton Abbot

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37

WELLBEING That most elusive of final life goals

“

Can I call you back when I’ve stopped crying?” So starts another working week.

Of course, I am one of the few people who are okay talking to crying people on the phone, but I get what she meant. It wasn’t my feelings she was sparing, she needed to tend to her own.

Her brother was dying as he lived, difficult and obstructive to the end.

“At least he is himself” she said wisely, and often that is the best we can hope for; to die in character, as we really are.

Dying is not the same as being dead, dying is living. We can still spin the threads of our life story right up until the last second.

And the end is nearly always hard, certainly to witness, probably much more than in the doing.

As a culture we have been beguiled by the notion of ‘the good death’, an extension of our drive to improve all the areas of our life, to see our characters as a project that always needs a bit of DIY. It is an often tyrannical and unachievable goal.

I’m not suggesting that self reflection, hard work on our interiors, scrutiny of our flaws and our failures isn’t a good thing, it’s essential not just for ourselves but for everyone who loves us, I just mean we should be realistic about what we are going to look like at the end of whatever routine we are putting ourselves through.

Probably not much different, albeit a little sadder and sober with self understanding.

And so this pressure to be better, to do something right in the eyes of the modern world extends all the way to our last seconds of life, that most elusive of life goals, the good death.

Much of the unspoken subtext of this demand is really about those who accompany us.

Philip Larkin said “Courage is no good, it means not scaring others.” and there in lies the rub of the good death. Good for whom?

The Green Funeral Company’s Claire and Rupert Callender help the living to honour the dead. The days we are to often beguiled by the notion of ‘the good death’, as Ru explains.

Hospices have transformed much of what happens in the final days of a life, but even they can be guilty of false amelioration. Families are often led to believe that the dying one will feel no pain, that their skilful use of combination drugs mean a peaceful, lucid death.

Often it is actually a choice between those two states, conscious or pain free, but sometimes this distinction is not fully explained or understood by the families, who are distressed by the final moments. It’s not the fault of the hospice staff, even they cannot always fully remove death’s sting.

And so the woman I spoke to was doing everything just right. She was still in relationship with her brother, still as cussed and infuriating as it had ever been between them, but authentically so, not watered down with insincere soothing. He was dying as he lived, fully himself in all his spiky glory.

Philip Larkin isn’t the only great sage we can turn to for truth. Today I’m going to finish with the wise words of Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail: “Jesus everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn’t end.”

Raising awareness of dog testing

W

E normally focus on human wellbeing in this section but animal lover Annie Wilson from Brixham wants us to raise awareness of her campaign to test for Elbow Dysplasia in dogs.

Her Bernese Mountain Therapy Dog, Button, was diagnosed at the age of seven months. The condition was so severe she had to have a major operation.

Annie explained: “She has had sedations, x-rays, an MRI and an operation. Her exercise and socialisation were severely restricted and to put it bluntly her puppyhood was cut short.”

Elbow dysplasia is a hereditary disease that leads to the development of secondary osteoarthritis. Button was bred from a bitch with an elbow dysplasia score of 3/3. BVA and the Kennel Club recommend only breeding from dogs with a score of 0 so why did the breeder not adhere to these recommendations?

Annie said: “Unless all dogs are scored and the results recorded, the true extent of the prevalence of elbow dysplasia cannot be seen and if breeders do not adhere to the BVA/KC recommendations the likelihood of it being passed on to future generations will continue and more puppies like Button will suffer.”

She has started a campaign - Paws Against Elbow Dysplasia – to make people aware of the importance of health testing for the condition. She said: “If the public starts to insist on these tests being done before they buy a puppy, it will help to stamp out the condition.”

Sign the Paws Against Elbow Dysplasia petition on Change.org Email: PawsagainstED@talktalk.net

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WELLBEING Breathe, dance and be rejuvenated

B

REATHWORK and intentional movement connects us to the intelligence of our body, helping to release, heal and transform stuck energy and outdated belief structures.

Ben Clark, who holds one-to-one Rebirthing Breathwork sessions, as well as group breathwork and regular Movement Medicine classes, told Reconnect: “Rebirthing Breathwork is a transformational healing modality.

We work with the breath to deepen our relationship to ourselves, and to release stress, tension, trauma, and other blocked energies from the body, in a safe and held way.”

Sessions can be powerful, so Ben allows plenty of time and space for integration which supports clients to carry the good effects of the sessions forward into their day-to-day lives.

While one-to-one sessions suit some clients, others prefer group breathwork. This brings a community dimension into the transformational process and often these groups are accompanied by live soundscapes and music, which helps to create a sacred

and supportive atmosphere.

Ben also offers Movement Medicine, an intentional movement meditation practice that can facilitate energy and emotional shifts. He explained: “We bring awareness to our bodies in movement, with the support of simple facilitated guidance, great music, and our fellow dancers.

It’s a profound yet simple practice that gives space for our body to relax and open, and our energy and emotions to move. There is also the invitation to dance with intention, which often allows insight to arise.”

Ben holds a Saturday morning Movement Medicine class at Dartington Village Hall, near Totnes from 10am to 12.15pm.

The upcoming dates are: 19 October and 2, 16 and 30 November.

Ben also holds one-to-one Rebirthing Breathwork sessions and group Breathwork Ceremonies in Totnes, Dartington, Exeter and Bristol. l For more information call Ben on 07969 042396 or visit www. breathedancebe.com

Find the way to where you want to be

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OW many of us would answer “yes!!” to these questions, and yet how many of us are actively doing anything about it… l Would you like to change your life? l Are your thoughts and beliefs holding you back? l Would you love the confidence, focus, and self-belief to go after what you really want? l Are you feeling overwhelmed, fearful or out of control? l Do you wish you could feel better?

Kate Harris is a life coach who works with people seeking positive answers to these questions. She works from her home at Sandwell Farmhouse, near Totnes, a place of sanctuary that allows people time and space to reflect on life and the changes they would like to make.

Kate said: “As a life coach, my aim is to support you to create the life you want. Over the years I have worked with people of all ages and backgrounds, facing all kinds of challenges. I tell prospective clients, no matter how many therapies you’ve tried already, I can help you to move forward positively in your life. I know that these tools and techniques work because I have used them myself to completely transform my life. I have also seen other people use them to go after what they want. And you can do the same.”

Kate’s background is as an occupational therapist within the NHS. She has worked in mental health for her entire career, specialising in self-esteem issues, anxiety management, confidencebuilding and goal setting.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Kate is qualified in cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling and life coaching, along with many other therapeutic skills. She combines these skills to provide a holistic approach to coaching that helps people to navigate life’s ups and downs.

She said: “My approach is friendly, supportive and non-judgemental. I understand what gets in the way of people living a fulfilled and happy life. If you are willing, I can help you to change that and move forward from where you are now towards where you want to be.

Kate works on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 10am and 4.30pm. For more information email: info@sandwellfarhouse. co.uk or text 07779496240 or visit www.kateharrislifecoaching.com

Editorial: 01392 01392 346342 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk editor@reconnectonline.co.uk Editorial:

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,

WELLBEING A time for change at Nautilus Rooms

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OUR years since the opening of The Nautilus Rooms in Totnes, the centre has been reflecting on recent developments including its forthcoming programme for 2019/20, the arrival of new therapists and the departure of some familiar faces.

Ruth Baker, who runs Mindfulness, Sandplay and Therapeutic Art courses at The Nautilus Rooms said: “What a wonderful journey it has been over the last four years. It is a privilege to work with such a range of experienced therapists, all of whom are dedicated to their work and their clients. This summer we have said goodbye to Lisa Garvey-Williams who is moving on to set up a centre in the Peloponnese. I am looking forward to running several residential Mindfulness, Sandplay and Therapeutic Art courses there from 2021 onwards. Watch this space for details!”

Psychotherapist and counsellor, Mark Wright is currently expanding his practice at The Nautilus Rooms. He told Reconnect: “I work with people interested in making the inner journey, both those starting out and those already committed to the work of inner change and personal development.”

Visit: www.watermarktherapy.net for more information and contact details.

The centre is also welcoming Body Harmony Practitioner, Lindsay McLeod.

Lindsay brings with her a wealth of experience both as a practitioner and teacher of this powerful way of working. She said: “Body Harmony is a hands-on model of bodywork, unique in its approach in that it recognises the innate wisdom within each person’s body, and the unique pathway each body follows to access and use that wisdom.

“All you need to know is contained within your body. The invitation that Body Harmony offers is to reconnect with that knowing, with your body’s natural intelligence. It is about aligning and connecting with a fluid, easy posture that profoundly influences how you interact with the world and how the world interacts with you.

FREEHOLD

“The practice involves speaking, listening, observing, applying physical touch and then supporting integration. It is, above all, experiential. No two people will experience a session in the same way.”

Lindsay works one-to-one and with groups. For more information visit: www.lindsaymcleod.com

& CRYSTAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Due to retirement there is an opportunity to acquire at no cost (other than stock) a well established business in the centre of an attractive and popular Devon town.

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The Nautilus Rooms has become particularly well know for Sandplay and Therapeutic Art, with sessions and practitioner training by its resident expert, Ruth Baker.

Ruth said: “If you are a therapist who is interested in expanding your knowledge or an individual who is curious about working creatively with this amazing therapeutic technique, please get in contact. We have a range of courses coming up for the 2019 /2020 programme, including courses for professionals and also for people who want to expand their own skills to use for personal development.

For more information visit: http://sandplayuk.uk/ or contact Ruth at: ruthbaker1@gmail.com The Nautilus Rooms is located in the centre of Totnes. However, its tuckedaway location down a quiet alley ensures that the busyness of the street is left behind when you enter the centre, allowing you to relax and enjoy whatever treatment you have booked. Alongside one-to-one treatments, therapists at the centre run regular groups, workshops and training.

The centre is one of the leading locations in South Devon for mind-based therapies, including: counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and psychology.

Ruth said: “Our therapists work with people of all ages and from all walks of life. Whilst many of the therapists describe themselves as integrative in their work (meaning they are trained in more than one modality and integrate them into their work to meet the clients individual need) they all have a slightly different training background and areas of speciality. All of them are highly qualified and experienced and can provide support with a wide range of physical and emotional health challenges.” l For more information visit: http://nautilusrooms.uk

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Interesting times

Make your life positive and fun

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E are living through interesting times. How many times have you heard that expression recently?

Bell Bartlett, psychic tarot reader, has heard it a lot and is witnessing a rising swell of people coming for readings whose world has been disrupted by change.

She said: “For many this is not just a ripple but a volcanic, tectonic plate-shifting vibration of awakening to which they must attend. On the positive side, most of the changes I’m seeing are very beneficial, giving rise to creative and constructive solutions to old problems, deep healing and profound realisations.

However, in the moment they are often experienced as wildly uncomfortable, disorientating and frightening and people are seeking support and reassurance.”

Bell believes that it is at times like these that a tarot reading can be most valuable, helping to bring clarity to a situation and identify the most constructive course of action (which can include acting, waiting or doing nothing ). It can also provide reassurance by considering the broader picture or taking a longer-term perspective.

Bell added: “People don’t always realise that in a reading, you can compare the result of different choices before you make them. This can be extraordinarily helpful, whether the decisions you are considering are mundane or life-changing!

Ultimately, the choice is always

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yours but a reading provides you with information that can help to clarify and enable you to make empowered choices, mindful of the likely consequences.

“Given our current political climate it is likely that disruption and change will be very present in all of our lives for some time, so becoming highly adaptable in both our inner and outer lives may become a major priority as we aim to navigate our way through the high seas of interesting times!”

Whether change is something you welcome or a visitor who has arrived in your life unbidden, a reading with Bell can provide warmth and reassurance, positive, practical guidance, a mature understanding and the ability to consider the most beneficial way forward for all concerned.

One former client remarked ‘you showed me the big picture and illuminated options I hadn’t considered, I cant tell you how helpful that is, thank you!’ . l For more information contact Bell on 07796 900509 or visit www.conscious-tarot.co.uk.

Giving mums a chance to relax

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FREE place is available on the Radiant Mama pregnancy and mothering retreat for a mother or mother-to-be who would like to experience the unique benefits of this deeply nurturing event in the heart of South Devon.

The retreat, which takes place at Eden Rise near Totnes from November 1 to 3, provides “an oasis of rest, nourishment and inspiration” says facilitator and founder of Radiant Mama, Olivia Seck. Aside from providing much-needed me-time, it aims to give new mums and mums-to-be tools for resilience and connection and to enable them to build new friendships and enjoy being in community with likeminded women.

Olivia said: “Do you yearn to have time for yourself, to be, to relax deeply, to stretch your body and be nourished by delicious food? Do you want to walk the path of mothering with greater ease and grace? Then this is the retreat for you.”

Among the activities taking place are: l Creative group coaching with Olivia Seck, pregnancy and family coach. l Daily Yoga and pelvic floor health workshop with Eve Monteiro, chartered physiotherapist and yoga teacher. l Massage and holistic therapies - Sauna - Delicious nourishing food - Great company - Time to walk, rest and be. l For more information or to apply for the free place visit https://www.radiantmama.co.uk/devon-retreat

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FTER Veronique Mertes trained in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) she felt that she had finally come home.

Veronique, who has a background in children’s development, special needs and family therapy, explained why she believes SFH is such an effective approach: “SFH combines a search for solutions that are based on the client’s own needs and use their own resources with the latest understanding about neuroscience. We do not spend time analysing the past.

Instead, as its name suggests, the therapy emphasises finding solutions to the challenges of the present.

“Most of us give very little thought to what is happening in our brain and how well it is coping (or not) with our daily demands and the challenges facing our body and mind. By learning to access the correct parts of our brain, we can relieve ourselves of many problems, such as anxiety, depression, anger, sleep problems, phobias and fear, IBS, OCD and even addictions.”

During a state of hypnosis, even though they are deeply relaxed, the client’s brain is working hard to come up with solutions and is more susceptible to suggestions, explained Veronique.

“Hypnotherapy is a relaxing and effective form of therapy in which trance is used to help focus on what a client wants to achieve, moving forward positively by dissolving unhelpful programming. Our brain is an enormous power tool. By learning to understand how it works, each client goes home with a powerful understanding that allows them to take back control of their life.” l Veronique holds sessions in Totnes and Dartmouth and the initial consultation is free. For more information call 07746 645217 or email: Info@vmerteshypnotherapy.co.uk

No new is good news... for the soul

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OW does it serve me, you, anyone to listen to this insane, apocalyptic news day in day out?

Hearing our world is being run into the ground by wounded, psychotic clowns, does me no good. I lose sleep. My mental health is affected.

So, I recently made a decision to take my power back.

All story is driven by conflict. News is no different. Journalists and editors are invested in heart thumping drama to get us engaged. Access to the world, its culture, change, conflict and hope are much more evenly portrayed, more nuanced, through the lens of fiction than so called fact.

I have enough information about what’s going on. The planet, all of us, are in trouble, that’s clear. I know what I need to do. If I really need to know something, I’ll hear about it through friends and family (I’ve asked them to be discerning). I’ve switched off mainstream news. The world is a different, more peaceful place for me now.

I’m powerless over the leaders in power. Sure, I can protest, march, vote, donate but this is often a painfully slow path to change. I need to feel I can make a difference, today. So I take my love of life to my back yard, my community, to the people I love. To the people I don’t know and sometimes don’t even

REGULAR contributor Caspar Walsh has switched off mainstream news, and his world is a more peaceful place now. like but can always find common ground with. My mental health and relationships have improved - hugely.

Sometimes the terror news creeps in through the protection. I went to a friends house recently and my two month news black-out was quickly shattered as they informed me, wide eyed, of the worlds latest disasters.

I asked them the same question… how does it serve them to be saturated in fear?

Back in the day when we lived in villages, news was about what was happening on our doorstep. This evolved into gossip. It’s in our DNA. The compulsion to hear the bad stuff on a global scale is in the blood.

Maybe it makes us feel better about our situation. The challenge is to put down the addiction to the anxiety.

To see what it would be like to tune into the massive amount of positive action and change happening in the world. What would it be like to put the phone down, switch off the radio, the tv; to feel what we’re feeling in the moment without being told it’s too late and the world is ending? Maybe no news, no bad news, is good news… for the soul. l Caspar’s next creativity in nature retreat is on the Isle of Tresco, October 12-17. See www. wordsfromtheearth.co.uk

Editorial: Editorial: 01392 01392346342 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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THE DIVINE FEMININE THERAPIST, facilitator and writer Sapphira de la Terre explores empowerment and awakening from a feminine perspective.

Why our desires matter

K

NOWING what we truly want is one of the most important issues that we all have to face. And yet, often we just don’t get round to it.

Religion hasn’t helped – none of the mainstream religions encourage people to follow their desires. And regardless of what you may believe consciously, these ancient belief systems still affect our unconscious minds.

New age thinking then exacerbates the situation, telling us we have to let go of our desires. So why even bother to explore them?

For women the situation is especially challenging. For generations we’ve been brainwashed into prioritising what other people want - our partners, our children, anyone really… except ourselves. And if we do put our own desires first, we may be labelled as selfish (or indeed label ourselves that way). Women have been conditioned to believe that we don’t deserve to get what we want – that we do not matter as much as our male counterparts.

And so it’s all too easy to postpone asking ourselves what is our heart’s desire. The question can cause anxiety.

What if you don’t come up with anything you truly desire? Or supposing what emerges means you’ll have to make seismic changes in your life and upset others?

And yet, if we do not explore our true desires the price we pay is colossal.

We may end up setting goals that we are not fully committed to, and so never actually achieve them. We may end up never setting any goals at all. And we’re likely to resent people who do actually follow their dreams.

In addition, our desires are the key to our life purpose, and if we’re not aligned with that then we will inevitably feel frustrated and dissatisfied. That’s what makes people start avoiding their own lives with chocolate, box sets and other addictions, or using their grown-up children to fulfil their need for meaning.

Plus, if we’re not taking steps to fulfil our heart’s desire, all that unexpressed energy remains

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trapped inside our bodies, leading to endless drama, depression and ill health.

We are women. We are intrinsically creative. And that creative energy needs to flow.

It doesn’t have to be painting or music, or any of the other mainstream arts. It just has to be what you want.

Often what emerges is surprising. Doing this enquiry work myself recently, it turns out that I need to be writing.

Which is why I am now doing this column among other projects.

Exploring our desires isn’t just a one-off thing either: we need to keep refining what we want on a regular basis – what do we really really want? I also find that this kind of exploration is a much deeper process if it is witnessed by another person.

At this time it is essential that women focus on our desires.

You could argue - and I would - that the reason the world is so out of whack is that women have been oppressed for millennia, and prevented from following our true callings.

We absolutely must follow our desires in order to achieve happiness, vitality, health, abundance, power and joy. But we need to do so just as much for the sake of the planet and all humanity.

Our desires matter. l We live in challenging times where we are all being called to face our shadows... as a therapist it can be hard to find places to deeply share..

Sapphira is therefore creating a fortnightly space just for therapists, to have a safe confidential environment to share what’s up for them in their journey.

Sapphira is offering a workshop for women called DESIRE on October 6 or 20, as well as a 9 week course for women entitled Blossoming in the Second Half of Your Life. These are small groups, held in Totnes, where Sapphira also works with clients 1-2-1. More information and videos at Sapphira.com or call 01803 862628.

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ASTROLOGY

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Holly Paige BSc DCH Call 01392 580879 or email holly@ livinginthelifeforce.com.

Visit www.livingzodiac. com.

EXPERIENCED Integrative Counsellor individuals and couples. Trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Totnes and Exeter.

Ingrid Koehler MBACP 07932-734387 www. ingridkoehler.co.uk

Choir TOTNES Contemporary Choir New choir in Totnes for keen singers wishing to have fun and learn more about singing! All levels welcome. Every Tuesday term time.

Contact: rkvoxstudio@ gmail.com.

COUNSELLING

CREATIVE counsellor.

Heartful, Supportive Counselling. Creative Exercises with Art, Sandplay etc. Adults, Couples and Young People. Ruth Jenni MBACP. 07974097787 www.oakflower.co.uk - Dartington, Newton Abbot and on Skype

SHAMANIC HEALING DAVID OXLEY MA: Fully qualified Accredited BACP counsellor and psychotherapist.

Psychosynthesis and Core Process. Working with Relationship, Depth, Integrity and Soul. Central Exeter, Totnes and Plymouth. www. davidoxleycounselling. co.uk, 07876051093

REFLEXOLOGY HOLISTIC counsellor specialising in trauma/abuse, and for those feelings/ emotions difficult to put into words working with art, sand and outside amongst nature. Annie, www. natureswaycounselling. co.uk, 07760 439760.

HUMANISTIC Counsellor, Gestalt, Person-Centred, CBT. Become more of who you have the potential to be. Utilising creative techniques including sandplay and experiments. Newton Abbot. Jason, 07886 353504 / www.spaceworks.co.uk

safe space to share for therapists

a fortnightly space to share and be held, heard and seen no advice, no leader, no charge just a donation for advertising 01803 862628 or sourceress@hotmail.co.uk for a chat or an email Alyer

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FOR READERS... an at-a-glance guide to services and products - plus diary dates.

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Boxes are £55 and £98 and the lineage ads cost just 90p a word, with a minimum of 20 words.

THE DEADLINE... for the December/January issue is November 1. Call Scott on 01392 346342 or email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk.

A VERY relaxing FOOT therapy. REFLEX points on feet for all body systems. Cleanse, balance, release inner energetic tension. £30 hour treatment (£5 discount first treatment), 07522344291, nicolasuzanne@hotmail. co.uk based Totnes Natural Health Centre.

Shiatsu

KATE Coombs DipShi MRSS TRANSFORMATIONAL SHIATSU Offers support for your nervous system to relax, ease for your aches and pains and welcome for the deepest level of your being.

Ashburton and Exeter www.katecoombs. co.uk 07928731246

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS The YOU Day! Saturday October 12th 10.30-2.30, Gentle Pilates, A Delicious Vegan/Veggie Lunch, An inspirational vision board creating session & a singing Workshop! £35 pp www.ticketsource.co.uk/youday Please call Rachael 07957199351 www.high-vibe.biz INSPIRATIONAL talk by Saghar Amozgar ’Story of my recovering from breast cancer’ 5th of October 1-2.30 at dereackthedog yoga studio, Exeter call Saghar 07974470610 Ayurvedicyogamassage.devon

BELINDA BLUEBELL the voice of the bees Do you need to hear confirmation about your future direction, have you been suffering from a long term pain?

Online Shamanic Journey Sessions Shamanic Bodywork Sessions face to face.

All guided by Bee Wisdom. www. thevoiceofthebees. com or call 07754 779 282.

AYURVEDIC yoga massage workshop 26th October 2-5 pm at Lotus loft yoga studio, Exeter call Saghar 07974470610 Ayurvedicyogamassage.devon.

TREE CARE

FELDENKRAIS Workshop A Healthy Back and Pelvis’ Friday 22 - Sunday 24 November 2019 see http://www.lifeworks4.me.uk for details

TOMMY Hutchinson BSc (Hons) Forestry, ND Arboriculture, NPTC Qualified. Sensitive, professional tree care.

Free consultation. Call: 07837486388 Email: universaltreecare@ outlook.com and https:// universaltreecare. wordpress.com

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THEATRE of Awakening workshops for transformation: weekends for women and mixed groups in October and November. Call Agata: 07795002816 www. theatreofawakening.co.uk FELDENKRAIS Weekly ‘Awareness Through Movement’ Classes new 8-week blocks starting 22 & 24 October Tuesdays 09.30 at Dartington Village Hall Tuesdays 17.30 at Buckfastleigh Thursdays 17.45 at The Forge Yoga, Totnes

INTRODUCTION to Fool Expression Workshop weekends take place on October 5-6 in Glastonbury (taster on the 3rd), November 9-10 in Bristol (taster on the 7th ) and November 23-24 in Hittisleigh Crediton. £125 full price, £110 Concession. More info www.christieanimas.com Contact Christie Animas 07980371335 or contact@christieanimas.com (Artist Emily Balivet)

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Scaravelli Yoga And Deep Rest Meditation

With Caroline Lang at The Yoga House, Harberton, near Totnes Classes, one-to-one, days, retreats that are profoundly nourishing and transformative.

http://www.carolinelangyoga.com 01803 865252

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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