Reconnect Magazine #56

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon AUG/SEPT 18 ISSUE 56

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

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celebrating devon's bounty A cornucopia of community benefits

connecting to nature Family festivals and craft events

home space for healing

give wildlife a home

Pages of holistic health & wellbeing

A growing need for water sources

The free range magazine celebrating local community life with inspiration, and information - powered by the people!

Visit us online at www.reconnectonline.co.uk

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Upfront

WELCOME...

IT'SWHAT WE'REABOUT

Broughttoyou by...

INTHISISSUE...

EXHIBITIONISTS

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PEOPLE POWERED

7

PLASTIC FREE CITY

8

Helping wildlife page 22

Local artist showcases EDITOR Scott Williams

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Williams

WELLBEING EDITOR Kate Philbin

COUNSELLOR WRITER Leigh Smith

A leaner future

Exeter’s big ambition

GOING OUT

11

Places to go, people to see

ORGANIC GARDENING14 Harvest time with Joa

RESILIENT LIVING

16

A healthy taste of summer

WATERWORLD 20

COVERSTORY...

A dwindling resource

22

Regenerative communities

MEGA FROG PAD

VITAL SEEDS 17

TEACHER TRAINING

Sowing a positive future

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NOURISHING FOOD

Providing for nature!

Enlivened learning

WELLBEING PAGES

to our August/September edition.

We’re celebrating all the region’s local landscape and communities have to offer this issue.

A bountiful crop of local arts & crafts, cinema, festivals, music, produce, gardening, wildlife, and a whole load of other outdoor activities to enjoy in the sunshine. Plus features on positive ideals, community, resilience, and education.

As ever, there’s also our Wellbeing section chock full of healers, practitioners, workshops, and good mindful advice, plus don’t forget our eclectic classified pages.

All this and all the Reconnect regular features for you too. I hope you enjoy reading it all.

Already, we’re starting work on the next October/November issue, I think it’s safe to expect it to have an autumnal flavour.

If you’d like to be included ott x please get in touch right now. Sc

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon AUG/SEPT 18 ISSUE 56

produce k energy k land k homes k community k wellbeing k arts

Please take one

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The natural health pages

WEBSITE EDITORS www.doetsdesign.com

TECHNICAL AIDE Zelah Williams

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A cornucopia of community benefits

connecting to nature Family festivals and craft events

Relationship tune-up Sandplay work - page 35

FOOD WRITER Jane Hutton

celebrating devon's bounty

EMOTIONAL HEALTH 28

GARDENING EXPERT Joa Grower

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home space for healing Pages of holistic health & wellbeing

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give wildlife a home

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views

Gail Flockhart: Apart from the earth - Haytor 1

Sea Change

Transforming aging

TOTNES’ Drift Record Shop curate their own festival for a 3rd year on the August bank holiday weekend, August 24 and 25.

As well as music The Sea Change Festival will feature an array of film, literature, and talks across various venues in the town.

The line-up features Gwenno, Josh T Pearson, Lost Horizons, The Weather Station, Hookworms, Andrew Weatherall, and loads more.

Weekend tickets are (or were – be quick or they might have sold out) £69 from The Drift Record Shop and online at www. seachangefestival.co.uk.

Plymouth gets Eritrean

THE lovely Simret is new to Plymouth from Eritrea and has started her own catering company ‘Twin Jebenas’, offering delicious home-made Eritrean food for catering and events. Tasty injeria, birsen and vegetables are on the menu as well a traditional coffee!

Simret has been busily providing food at Plymouth’s Radical Cinema (held on the second Tuesday of the month at Plymouth University) and at local festivals.

Contact her on semratesfa@gmail. com you won’t be disappointed!

Music for the mind

SOUNDART Radio presenter and musician Sam Bastow, is organising a mental awareness day in Newton Abbot’s Golden Lion Square on August 8, featuring local mental health organisations, and live music.

Sam reflects on his experiences of living with Aspergers and mental health issues in the song Reflection. Every purchase on the Soundart Radio website helps to support mental health awareness for young people.

Bovey Festival

ON SATURDAY September 1 Bovey Tracey will host over 60 food and drink producers and a hand-picked collection of finely made crafts by makers from across the South West. You can meet potters, jewellers, artists, artisans and more at the Methodist Hall, on Fore Street at The Nourish Festival Craft Fair.

Racing oranges

TOTNES Orange Races return on August 21. Inspired by an incident where Sir Francis Drake bumped into an orange cart. Participants can expect a series of races, where entrants see if they are faster than an orange.

Open water swim

THE Chestnut Appeal for Prostate Cancer is holding its eighth annual swim around Bigbury-OnSea’s Burgh Island on Sunday September 23.

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Congratulations to Cornwall’s Family Foraging kitchen on their UnLtds Transform Aging award for their new project for people aged 50+ called Our Grandparents Secrets.

Emma Carter Bromfield, Thurlestone

Wayward artists celebrate Dartmoor

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HE Museum of Dartmoor Life, Okehampton, will host Dartmoor Visions, artwork by nine contemporary artists from Wayward Art Group from September 8 to October 11. The work, inspired by

Dartmoor, is in a range of traditional and mixed media, photography and installation; the artists have responded to Dartmoor weather, environment, archaeology, history and contemporary life.

What is the key to being happy?

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RINCIPAL of Devon School of Reiki, Sam Goddard, has had her first children’s book published. Finding Ray’s Key brings a mindful and honest approach to the idea of happiness.

The book offers a gentle reminder of the idea of the importance of connection to both self and nature.

Sam said: “Although the book is underpinned by Reiki and Mindfulness teaching, my intention was to create a story with a universal message that can be appreciated by all - young or old.

The story’s young protagonist, Ray

(who often feels quite blue), asks the question; ‘What is the key to being happy?’ One day he decides to go on a journey to find this key - and is surprised to find that it is ‘within him and all around’.”

The book is illustrated by Owen Williams and is published by Filament Publishing. Find out more about the book and campaign at www.findyourki.com

Summertime exhibitions THE latest exhibitions planned for Harbour House in Kingsbridge are: August 1 – 5 Interpretations 3 Paintings by Sam Gingell, pastels by Sarah Harcus and printmaking and mixed media works by Maggie Smith August 7 – 19 Island Artist Emma Carter Bromfield August 21 – September 2 The Journey An exhibition of photography by Maureen Douglas-Green September 4 – 16 A Tale from the Sea Philip Osborne (opening view: 4 Sept, 6-8pm) September 18 – 23 Canto Paintings by David Hamling Visit: www.harbourhouse.org.uk Eleanor Bartleman’s ‘Presenting Miss Kite’.

Prestigious award for two Devon woodlands

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WO Devon woodlands won Silver at the Royal Forestry Excellence in Forestry Awards 2018.

The Hillyfield Woodland Farm on Dartmoor, owned by Doug King-Smith and family, and the historic Millmoor Copse, Crediton, owned by Jan Wyllie, shared silver in the Farm and Small Woodland category.

Presenting the Awards at the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, RFS President Andrew Woods said: “The Excellence in Forestry Awards have once again revealed a rich seam of excellence in woodland management – from some of the most prestigious estates in the country to some of the smallest of woodlands. As landowners and woodland managers look to an uncertain future with increasing climate and environmental challenges, these are all woodlands we can learn from.”

Judges said both woods demonstrated: “excellent multipurpose management and exceptional efforts to promote woodland culture.”

Regular readers will know of The Hillyfield, an 11ha woodland in the Dartmoor National Park. The owners have focussed on developing a low impact small scale community

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supported business in keeping with a one-planet vision and have recently been involved in a planning battle to build a wood drying barn and machinery store on their site to help their forestry business develop.

Owner Doug King-Smith said: “This is a great boon for the small woods of Dartmoor. We are very grateful for this reward in recognition of all the volunteers and forestry experts who have put long hours of hard work into our woodland project.

“When cared for, woodlands offer so much to our environment and local community especially here on the edge of Dartmoor, most famous for open moorland and granite tors, but also home to hundreds of small woodlands in the valley fringes.

“This news is particularly welcome after our recent planning success and the precedent we have set for small woodland restoration projects around the country.

“We are now busy planning our barns so if anyone is interested in getting involved in timber framing or barn-raising as a volunteer or taking part in a course to learn these skills then do get in touch through the website www.thehillyfield.co.uk.”

Craftsmen showcase UNTIL September 2 Devon Guild of Craftsmen will be home to their 58th The Summer Show, a long-running annual exhibition of new work by the Membership (250 working craftspeople). Each year it showcases the best of Southwest makers: a contemporary and eclectic mix of craftwork by established and newer members, ranging from traditional to cutting edge.

Because this year has focused on important events in wider history: the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 and partial suffrage for women exhibitors have been asked to reflect on the past century and to look back upon their own past influences in the world of arts and craft – they reveal who’s inspired them to be creative (Barbara Hepworth, Clarice Cliffe), or start out in a new direction. Exhibition is free entry, open daily, 10am-5.30pm. All work is for sale. See www.crafts.org.uk

NEWS&views Literary weekend

THE 10th Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival on September 19-23 features Lucy Worsley, John McCarthy, Michael Rosen, Dr Adam Rutherford, Wendy Cope, Patrick Gale, and many more as well as a masterclass with Dame Hilary Mantel.

Wellbeing festival

LUPTON Holistic Festival returns on August 4 and 5 featuring workshops, talks, music and a full programme for kids, in the house and grounds of Lupton House, near Brixham. See www. luptonhouseholisticfestival.com for more details.

South Hams arts

SHAF Arts Trail is now an established annual arts event in the South Hams. Now in its eighth year it runs from October 13-28 with 60 artists taking part exhibiting and selling their work in 18+ venues across the South Hams.

Go fly a kite

THIS year is the 10th anniversary of the Exmouth Kite Festival and The Rotary Club of Exmouth & District plan for the event on August 4-5 to be the best one yet.

In the nine years to date, they’ve been able to support 42 local worthy causes and donations of over £83,000 have been distributed.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Thought provoking films at Totnes Cinema

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ATHER than just relaxing over the summer, Totnes Cinema thought they would give you something to provoke you and also something to celebrate. Great cinema has always been about people - their individual stories and how they overcome diversity through courage, strength, love or just communal spirit.

Director Jane Hughes said: “Our programme this summer asks lots of questions about where our country - and our community - stand in relation to our neighbours and the human story is relevant to all of us in its many forms.

One of the most remarkable things about the world of cinema is that you find yourself watching seemingly diverse people and stories from all corners of the globe and ultimately you realise that we have so much in common with each other. We can find commonality in their stories, their basic needs and desires, their family sagas, the love stories, the tragedies; the laughter and the tears are true for us all.

“And so it is that we remind ourselves that Totnes is unique, but it is also the same. Watching Passport to Pimlico we can relate to a small community that feels different from the greater society that surrounds it - but grows stronger rather than weaker through its celebration of this difference. This theme of belonging is not a new question but it is explored in many of this summer’s films from The Passenger right through to Oslo August 31.

“The second strong theme running through our programme is the role of

Pandora’s Box women in film - both in front of and behind the camera. In our own way we pay tribute to their talent and their voices. Focusing on the new release of the digitally restored Pandora’s Box staring the wholly original Louise Brooks we bring together a plethora of female talent - from Rita Hayworth in Gilda to a very modern Saiorse Ronan in Lady Bird.

“We look forward to kicking back and enjoying some really good cinema this summer, and dare I say, escape from the glaring sun for a couple of hours.”

Look out for a brochure or go online to book tickets www.totnescinema.co.uk Totnes Cinema is open on a Friday for the box office and for coffee on Saturdays.

Love film? Other movie experiences in the region in August/September include Exeter’s Double Locks hosting the Picturehouse Pop-Up cinema and Exeter Phoenix’s Big Screen In The Park in Northernhay Gardens, and also their own Studio 74. Plymouth Arts Centre returns to Tinside Lido, Mount Edgcumbe and Royal William Yard with their open air cinemas.

Robot supper

HAVE you visited Torre Abbey Museum’s cuttingedge piece of theatre performed by drinking and smoking robots? It’s truly jaw dropping!

Called ‘The Last Supper’ and created by kinetic artist and scrap sculptor Giles Walker, we’ve never seen anything like it before.

The sculptural androids explore man’s dark desires to re-create himself as an automaton and it is on display until August 31.

There are just two performances a day during the week (11am and 2pm) and three each Saturday and Sunday (11am, 2pm, 4pm). Each session is limited to 20 members of the public. The performances are free with your museum entry, see www.torre-abbey.org.uk for more details.

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Lustleigh heritage DadFest celebrates its 5th birthday LUSTLEIGH Society is celebrating its Fortieth Anniversary this year with a Heritage Weekend from August 31 to September 2 featuring archive films, photographs and an exhibition.

On the Sunday Kelly Mine will also be open.

A vision of peace

DANIEL Thompson-Mills will be exploring the teachings of The Peacemaker Story on September 29 at Dartington Village Hall. An epic story of a charismatic figure whose political and cultural vision brought about an end to war amongst the Iroquois peoples.

Little squirrels

ANNE Biesta (pictured) offers you an opportunity to get your little ones to develop a love of local nature spots in Brixham, Torquay and Newton Abbot.

Anne runs Little Squirrels Torquay, where children up to 4 and their adults explore the outdoor as a group twice a week. The sessions include a walk, nature crafts, home baked vegan snack and a chance to enjoy a seasonal story.

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ADFEST will be celebrating five years as the UK’s only festival just for dads, male carers and their children when the annual festival returns this September.

DadFest organiser and founder of ‘Dangerous Dads’, Ian Blackwell, is looking forward to celebrating the occasion: “Last year’s event was a sell-out which shows how much dads of all types enjoy getting away from the everyday and having some adventurous fun with their children.

Dads tell us how much they value

getting back to nature, chilling-out and spending special time with their kids and other dads. The success of DadFest is down to its simplicity.

We’re not a big music festival, we’re just about enjoying the sorts of things we all remember from our childhood, like playing in the woods, making bows and arrows, camping, swimming in the sea, sharing campfire stories and having plenty of fun.’

DadFest takes place from September 14-16 at the Forest & Beach centre in Beeson, South Devon, and will provide a range of adventurous activities as well as the now renowned ‘World Dad Dancing Championship’.

For more information please contact DadFest organiser Ian Blackwell on 077317 95160; by email info@ dangerousdads.org.uk or see www. dangerousdads.org.uk and www. forestandbeach.co.uk

Rewarded for service to local community SEPTEMBER is World Alzheimer’s month, and in synchronicity local volunteer Gina Awad will be presented with a British Empire Medal by the Lord Lieutenant of Devon this autumn for her voluntary service to People with Dementia in Devon.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s

Society said: “All of us at Alzheimer’s Society send Gina a huge, heartfelt congratulations.”

Since 2014 Gina has delivered 105 Dementia Friends sessions reaching 1600 people in a wide range of businesses and organisations across the county.

Local talent and skills HENNOCK Country Fayre showcasing the best of our countryside, returns on Sunday August 12. Held at Hennock, near Bovey Tracey, the family day features rural skills, trade stands, local food producers, bees, vintage rally, family dog show, animal encounters, main ring civil war re-enactment, dog and duck display, horse show, live music, kids entertainments and loads more including their pop-up teas.

A folk invasion

AUGUST can only mean the return of the Sidmouth Folk Week to the Seaside town of Sidmouth. The seafront will fill with colour and atmosphere as programmed dance displays and buskers, processions and special events entertain town visitors from August 3-10. For details of the full line-up and events at the 64th Sidmouth FolkWeek, visit: www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk

Murder in play

KATS Kingsbridge will perform their forthcoming show Murder in Play, billed as a very funny comedy and a play within a play, written by Simon Brett, on September 19-22 at Marlborough Village Hall. Tickets available from 01548 853195.

Flower show

Ashburton’s Summer Flower Show takes place at the Town Hall on Saturday August 18 from 12:30pm.

Expect entries of giant vegetables, floral displays, cakes and preserves.

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NEWS&views

A future that’s people powered

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OST of us are concerned about global warming, biospheric damage and social inequality, and how it’s being driven by the current global economic system powered by fossil fuels and built on endless consumption and growth.

We must rapidly reduce the energetic and material throughput of the global economic system in the coming years or face severe consequences. What’s needed is a radical reconfiguration of how we meet our needs. But how do we take up this challenge and deliver a new lean economy that’s fair, ecologically wise, socially regenerative, diverse, resilient and dramatically less consumptive?

Andy Goldring of the Permaculture Association, and Totnes Reconomy’s Jay Tompt are offering solutions in ‘People Power - Kickstart Economic Transition in your Community’ a practical course which begins on August 20, offering an approach that’s accessible, practical and effective to launch a process of citizen-led economic transition in our towns and regions. This is a chance to join a movement that is forging ahead with a more resilient, inclusive, ecologically wise and regenerative system.

There’s already an abundance of local workable co-ops, commons, local entrepreneur forums, social

enterprise, mutual credit systems and currencies, working a circular economy with industrial symbiosis, biomimicry, permaculture, agroecology, Community Land Trusts (CLT’s), The New Economics Foundation’s Green New Deal, carbon taxes and also Gross National Happiness - making happiness the goal of governance rather than GDP! If we’re to radically reduce the size of our carbon and ecological footprint the solutions for economic transition will be found at local and regional scales in our communities.

The Transition Towns movement is composed of over a thousand local community groups who could begin working on economic transition and this short course at Schumacher College will develop and elaborate this framework for use by permaculture practitioners, community development organisers, local government economic officers, Transitioners, cooperators and commoners.

There’s never been a greater need nor a better time to transition our local and regional economies toward alternatives that are fair and inclusive, ecologically wise and socially regenerative, diverse and resilient.

Find out more at www. schumachercollege.org.uk/ peoplepower

Sitar and tabla concert in Exeter

THERE’S a chance to see Samswara, the sitar & tabla duo of Jon Sterckx (tabla) and Ricky Romain (sitar) when they perform a concert on Saturday September 22 at 7:30pm in Exeter at South Street Baptist Church. The concert proceeds will go to Devon Development Education’s(DDE) 20th Anniversary Appeal.

For over 20 years now DDE has been working with schools and communities, to help children and people of all ages to understand the big issues in the world and their involvement in them, make links with the ‘global village’ within and outside Devon, and work together for a more just and sustainable world.

For further details see globalcentredevon.org.uk. Tickets are priced at £15 from DDE – email dde@globalcentredevon.org.uk to book. Refreshments will be served during the interval.

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28 The Strand, Dawlish :: www.thesea.co

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.

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

Musical Garden Party organisers Jeff Sleeman and Anna Marie Waite.

Memory cafe to host musical garden party

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Roundhouse gets green light

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ONGRATULATIONS to The High Nature Centre for being granted permanent permission for their Roundhouse in East Portlemouth. South Hams District Council voted to overturn the case officers recommendation for refusal for reasons of social, economic and environmental sustainability. High Nature can now securely invest in the future of our community supported ethical enterprise.

Director Catherine Middleditch said: “We would like to take a moment to thank all our friends, family, the community, Councillor Julian Brazil, our architects Apse Architecture, and everyone else who supported us and believes in our vision to create a biologically diverse, socially inclusive ecological paradise here in the South Devon AONB.” See www.high-nature.co.uk for more details.

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F THE prospect of live music, home baked cakes and raising money for a worthwhile cause appeals to you, then a charity event taking place in East Budleigh on August 18 is something not to be missed.

The Budleigh Salterton Memory Café, which provides help and support for people with dementia and their carers, will be holding a ‘musical garden party’ in the village between 2.30 and 5pm, with entertainment provided by local singer/songwriters Pete Falloon and Anna Marie Waite. There will also be tea, coffee, cold drinks and a range of delicious cakes on offer.

Actor, life coach and Reconnect regular advertiser Jeff Sleeman is organising the event along with Anna Marie who has written and recorded a song to raise awareness about dementia.

Said Jeff: “This is a cause which is close to my heart, as my father suffered from dementia and regularly attended the Budleigh Memory Café

along with my mother prior to his death in 2014.

I know that the café’s regular meetings really helped them both through a difficult time and the staff there do a wonderful job in the support they provide.”

For more details of the event, contact Jeff on 07977 272174 or via his website www. jeffsleeman.com.

Information about Anna Marie’s music can be found on her website www.annamariewaite.com

Exeter volunteers aim to make city plastic free by 2020

L

AUNCHED in January 2018, Plastic Free Exeter have made great strides towards their goal of making Exeter the largest plastic free city in the country by 2020.

To achieve this, the group of volunteers must meet five objectives set out by Surfers Against Sewage, who set up the campaign to help towns and cities across the UK to reduce the unfathomable

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quantity of plastic – much of it single use – floating through our environment.

With a vote by the City Council to reduce single use plastic in Exeter in April, the likes of The Met Office and the University of Exeter joining the pledge, school talks, and four events held throughout the city, Plastic Free Exeter are well on their way to meeting their target.

Critical to their success will

be getting local businesses on board. Currently in talks with Finisterre, they plan to run an event targeting companies during Recycle Week, which takes place September 24-30.

Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (search Plastic Free Exeter) to be kept up to date with the latest events.

If you wish to get involved please contact the group on plasticfreeexeter@gmail.com.

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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.

SCOTT has work to do after his great successes at archery - a third place at The Masters and winning the national longbow team inter counties for Devon and Cornwall.

There must be a future for green energy

A

S I write this, the summer heat is still around and the deadline for this issue’s missive from me is here. I have had what I suppose is writer’s block, spending the last week rejecting my subject matter suggestions for this article, mainly concerning vitriol at a certain American leader. I had given up trying, and was sipping a mug of coffee whilst standing out the back of Reconnect Towers. The grass fields were a cidery hue of gold, as the dry spell continued. There was not a breeze, even the wind turbine behind our house was stationary.

‘No power’ I mused. That’s it!

I remember, as a teenager, the sudden appearance of Delabole’s propeller turbines in the fields during the summer of 1991.

Part of Britain’s first commercial wind farm. I also remember the optimism they generated when looking at them; clean energy, no smoking chimneys, another world was possible. Ever since then they’ve been the marker that has meant the regular family visits to Cornwall are nearly over, and we’re close to our destination.

If only the same was true of the energy market. A once glorious potential for green energy has stalled. Community Energy England (CEE), the body representing grassroots energy organisations, has reported that the number of people generating their own power has almost flatlined, with only one new group forming in the UK in the whole of last year.

CEE in its 2018 State of the Sector report put the blame on cuts to subsidies for homeowners to install solar panels and a “hostile planning approach” that has in effect banned turbines. Both totally halted the expansion of green energy sources. The recent scrapping of the tidal scheme in Swansea also suggests that new clean energy supplies aren’t set to appear on the horizon dreckly.

Last year at Port Eliot Festival I sat in on a fascinating discussion about commercial wave power, and a few weeks later at Off Grid I learnt that home-grown community energy was the greenest way forward.

I envisioned our coastal towns generating their own energy for their locality from a mixture of KymoGen style wave energy buoys, solar, biomass generators, and wind.

Grassroots schemes offer communities the potential to cut electricity bills in half at a time when the ‘big six’ energy companies continue to raise their prices. However, the set up costs for communities must now be paid up-front, and nearly 30% of community energy groups

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saw their schemes fail last year, the report exposed. It’s crazy that subsidies for green energy have been slashed by this government, whereas their fossil fuel subsidies are still more than 30 times higher.

Community energy groups were thriving at the rate of 30 a year until 2015, but only the one was formed last year, bringing the total to 228, serving 48,000 members, hardly a national groundshift.

Talking of which, the government are now hellbent on making fracking the most attractive option.

Whilst other countries are realising that community-owned renewable energy delivers greater economic, social and environmental benefits, the UK continues to ignore the opportunity in favour of fossil fuels. At the start of the summer another report by Solar Power Europe revealed that the number of new solar power installations in Britain had fallen by half for the second year in a row. The cuts in subsidies begun in 2015 has had a dramatic effect. New solar capacity in the UK declined to 0.95GW last year, down from 1.97GW in 2016 and 4.1GW in 2015.

Despite the cost of solar panels falling significantly, large-scale renewable energy projects are now also stalling in the UK, which has had the slowest growth of the world’s top 20 solar markets, and has the lowest prospect for growth amongst our European peers in coming years (Brexit anybody?).

All this sunshine, that’s turned the grass so golden, could have been generating heaps of cheap energy for our communities. What a waste! But, it’s not all doom and gloom. A report this year by Devon County Council and Regen, on behalf of the 23 community energy groups across the region, showed Devon is taking a leading role in the UK’s community energy revolution.

There are 23 community energy organisations in Devon, more than any other county in the UK. These groups run 62 community owned renewable projects, which have generated 17,431 MWh of clean green energy, saving 6,080 tonnes of CO2 emissions and helping 2,717 homes to save on energy bills. That number needs to be so very much higher.

Too find out more about the environmental, economic and social benefits that community energy projects are providing near you or your business, see new.devon.gov.uk/ energyandclimatechange/ community-energy .

Scott

L

ET’S take a look at two prickly characters, the wild rose, and the blackberry. Very common in our hedgerows, invasive if planted in gardens, survivors and incredibly useful for food and medicine.

Rosa sp. All types of rose are useable from the dog rose, briar rose and field rose, to the heady perfumed garden roses.

Make sure you collect from places safe from spraying with pesticides (edges of fields) and road pollution.

The flowers and petals of rose have an antiinflammatory effect, and can be used fresh or dried in teas, or in food. Studies also show that the pigments in the rose petals have some antibacterial and antifungal benefits. Particularly in the Rosa rugosa shrub rose often used in hedging.

Rosehip oil pressed from the seeds is shown to improve the appearance of scarring on the skin, probably due to the high levels of antioxidants.

Rosehips are known for their extremely high vitamin C content, but there is also research showing that used regularly as either tea, or taken as capsules, rosehip inhibits the degenerative changes to cartilage and joints which often starts a progression towards osteoarthritis.

The many types of blackberry are usually indistinguishable in the wild, you may just notice some have larger fruits, or are more tasty than others. The Rubus fruiticosus or bramble produces delicious berries loved by most of us. The dark pigments provide large amounts of antioxidant power helping to mop up free radicals in our bodies which contribute to many degenerative diseases, ageing and even wrinkles!

Blackberry

Wild rose

But did you know you can also use the leaves? There is a historical use of bramble leaf tea in the UK, especially when imported tea was rare and expensive. The high tannin content gives a similar flavour. It is these tannins which can be of benefit to the digestion, especially if suffering from diarrhoea. The constituents in bramble leaves are antiseptic, helping to eliminate bacteria, and also work by their mildly drying effects reducing the watery environment created by the bacterial ‘soup’ making the conditions hostile to those bacteria.

Externally tannins as a constituent have a very interesting benefit.

Imagine you have a blister on your foot, it’s burst and very very sore.

The circular nature of the sore place means the skin can’t join together easily, and it will therefore take quite a while before it’s healed over.

Try bathing your foot in a strong infusion of bramble leaves (builders tea works too!), there will be some antibacterial benefits, plus the tannins will also bind to the proteins in your skin and tissues forming a sort of microscopic mesh or matrix, allow to dry without rubbing and this mesh forms a structure for your new healthy skin cells to grow back on. The result of this is fast healing, much faster than if you had simply put a dab of antiseptic on.

As always, harvest mindfully and carefully.

Respect the earth, the plants, and obtain the land owners permission. Don’t self diagnose - if a problem persists, it’s best to see a professional to check it out.

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

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Goingout

August/September 2018

OUR BIGGUIDETO BIG LOCAL EVENTS ART EXHIBITIONS EXETER’S FINE ART COLLECTION: CHILDHOOD Until Aug 18, 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.

POP ART IN PRINT Until Aug 26, RAMM Exeter ALFIE’S NIGHT OUT Until Sep 2, RAMM, Exeter BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM Until Sep 30, RAMM, Exeter EXHIBITION: COLLECTED SHADOWS Until Sep 1, Peninsula Arts, Plymouth A SOUTH HAMS SUMMER Until Sep 15, Brownston Gallery, Modbury WHAT DO YOU COLLECT? FOR THE RECORD Until Sep 30, RAMM, Exeter ‘SUMMER LOVE’ BY LEANNE CHRISTIE Until Aug 4, Host Galleries, Plymouth.

BEDWYR WILLIAMS AT RAMM Until Sep 26, RAMM, Exeter INTERPRETATIONS 3 Until Aug 5, Harbour House, Kingsbridge AUGUST ARTIST PREVIEW Aug 4, Artizan Gallery Cafe Venue, Torquay ISLAND ARTIST - EMMA CARTER BROMFIELD Aug 7-19, Harbour House, Kingsbridge ‘STATUES OF FAME’ EXHIBITION BY HUE FOLK Aug 10-25, Host Galleries, Plymouth DERRIFORD ART CLUB 16TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION Aug 10-13, Derriford Art Club, Yelverton WORKSHOP: MEMORY BOOKS WITH LET’S MAKE ART Aug 15, Peninsula Arts, Plymouth

ANNUAL SUMMER ART EXHIBITION Aug 18-25, Brixham Society of Art, Brixham

CITY CIRQUE XTREME AT CREALY Until Sep 2, Crealy Adventure Park, Exeter

BARN ART GROUP 8TH ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION Aug 18-27, Galmpton Barn Art Group, Brixham

CINDERELLA SUMMER PANTOMIME Aug 2-30, Palace Theatre, Paignton

THE JOURNEY Aug 21-Sep 2, Harbour House, Kingsbridge TALES FROM THE SEA Sep 4-16, Harbour House, Kingsbridge SUSAN CAVALIERE DEVON OPEN STUDIOS Sep 8-22, Susan Cavaliere, Torquay MANATON MAKERS EXHIBITION DEVON OPEN STUDIOS Sep 8-23, Manaton Makers, Bovey Tracey HOOVES IN THE HEATHER AND A LITTLE HISTORY Sep 9-Oct 26, Tor Royal Farm, Princetown CANADIANS IN DEVON 1914-1918: WAR PHOTOGRAPHY Sep 15-Dec 6, RAMM, Exeter DEVON VOICES 19141918: HOME FRONT STORIES Sep 15-Dec 6, RAMM, Exeter CANTO Sep 18-23, Harbour House, Kingsbridge

CHILDREN/FAMILY SUMMER OF BEES Until Sep 2, Quince Honey Farm, South Molton

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

MAKE A LEGO BANQUET AT NOURISH FESTIVAL Sep 1, brickideas, Bovey Tracey

FARMYARD FUN Until Aug 3, Powderham Castle, Exeter CRAFT WORKSHOP FOR KIDS Aug 1-29, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth LE NAVET BETE MASTERCLASS IN STUPIDITY Aug 8-9, Phoenix, Exeter

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD Sep 7-9, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Exeter RUSTLE - INTERACTIVE PUPPET SHOW Sep 22, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth HORRIBLE HISTORIES LIVE ON STAGE Sep 27-30, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Exeter

CHOIRS

ENCHANTED PRINCESS PARTY Aug 4, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

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

BOUNCE WEEK Aug 6-10, Powderham Castle, Exeter

SING PLYMOUTH Every Thursday, Pomphlett Methodist Centre, Plymouth

NICK COPE FAMILY SHOW Aug 11, Phoenix, Exeter CREATION STATION Aug 12-17, Powderham Castle, Exeter THE MAGIC GARDEN Aug 13, Phoenix, Exeter MEDIEVAL MAYHEM Aug 19-31, Powderham Castle, Exeter JIMMY TAMLEY FAMILY LAUGHTER SHOW Aug 25, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay PIRATE PEARL AND THE BIG BLUE MONSTER Aug 30, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth

MAGNIFICAT Sep 29, West Devon Chorale, Buckfastleigh

CLASSICAL MUSIC

MUSIC IN THE CASTLE - MEDIEVAL CONCERT Sep 28, Powderham Castle, Exeter

COMEDY

JETHRO Aug 15 Watermark, Ivybridge BLACKADDER GOES FORTH Aug 22-25, Teignmouth Pavilions, Teignmouth ROBERT WHITE & FRIENDS Sep 6, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

PROMS ON THE QUAY Aug 9, Brixham BLACKDOWN HILLS BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL Aug 10-11, Smeatharpe DARTMOOR FOLK FESTIVAL Aug 10-12, South Zeal LOVE SUMMER FESTIVAL Aug 10-12, Newnham Park, Plymouth PLYMOUTH PRIDE Aug 11, Plymouth Hoe

ROSS NOBLE Sep 12, Exeter Corn Exchange, Exeter

HENNOCK COUNTY FAYRE Aug 12, Bovey Tracey

GARY DELANEY Sep 14, Exeter Corn Exchange, Exeter

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN Aug 12, Topsham Friends of Hospiscare

PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Sep 14, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

BEAUTIFUL DAYS Aug 17-19, Escot Park

ZOE LYONS Sep 14, Watermark, Ivybridge ZOE LYONS Sep 16, Phoenix, Exeter AN EVENING OF ERIC AND ERN Sep 22, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Exeter SIMON EVANS Sep 22, Exeter Corn Exchange, Exeter DALISO CHAPONDA Sep 28, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay EXETER COMEDY CLUB Sep 28-Nov 23, Exeter Corn Exchange, Exeter

DANCE IRISH SET DANCING Aug 17 and Sep 14, St Thomas Hall, Exeter

EVENTS / FESTIVALS LANGALAND Aug 3-5, North Bovey SIDMOUTH FOLK WEEK Aug 3-10, Sidmouth LUPTON HOLISTIC FESTIVAL Aug 4-5, Lupton House, Brixham OFF GRID FESTIVAL Aug 9-12, Tapeley Park, Instow

STEAM PUNK FESTIVAL Aug 18-19, Morwellham Quay SUMMER FLOWER SHOW Aug 18, Ashburton Town Hall FROGMORE REGATTA Aug 19, Kingsbridge SEA CHANGE FESTIVAL Aug 24-25, Totnes EXETER STREET ARTS FESTIVAL Aug 25, Exeter ONE LOVE FESTIVAL Aug 31-Sep 2, Bruton, Somerset NOURISH September 1, Bovey Tracey TOTNES PRIDE Sep 1 Totnes SELFBUILD AND DESIGN SOUTH WEST SHOW Sep 8-9, Westpoint, Exeter DADFEST Sep 14-16, Forest & Beach Centre, Beeson RAINBOW’S END HOLISTIC WELLBEING AND NATURAL CRAFTS Sep 15-16, Totnes Civic Hall Turn over the page for more GoingOut listings

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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GOING OUT LOOE MUSIC FESTIVAL

THE BON JOVI EXPERIENCE Aug 10, Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

Sep 21-23, Looe, Cornwall

BA BA BOOM Aug 11, Phoenix, Exeter

BUDLEIGH SALTERTON LITERARY FESTIVAL

WYE OAK Aug 18, Phoenix, Exeter

EVENTS/FESTIVALS (CONTINUED)

Sept 19-23, Budleigh Salterton ABBFEST Sep 21-23, Ipplepen FORKING LOCAL

HAYSEED DIXIE Aug 20, Phoenix, Exeter PUSSY RIOT Aug 24, Phoenix, Exeter

VINTAGE & TRACTOR FESTIVAL

BLUEJAYS Aug 25, Palace Theatre, Paignton

Sep 22 -23, Morwellham Quay, Tavistock

EDDI READER Aug 26, Phoenix, Exeter

MIND BODY SPIRIT & CRAFT FAIR

RORY MCLEOD Aug 31, America Hall, Exeter

Sep 22, Totnes

Sep 29-30 Woolwell ROTARY CLUB RAFT RACE Sep 30, Totnes

FIREWORKS BRITISH FIREWORK CHAMPIONSHIPS

CLASSICAL DIVAS Sep 1, Pavilions, Teignmouth THE FLEETWOOD MAC SONGBOOK Sep 1, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

Aug 8-9, The Hoe, Plymouth

BRIDGET ST JOHN Sep 3, Phoenix, Exeter

MUSIC GIGS JOEY THE LIPS

JIM WHITE Sep 4, Phoenix, Exeter

Aug 1, Sheldon Open Air Theatre, Exeter

THE LONE BELLOW Sep 6, Phoenix, Exeter

SARAH SAVOY BAND

KRIS BARRAS BAND Sep 7, Phoenix, Exeter

Aug 3, Parish Church, Kingskerswell CRAZY4SOUL Aug 4, Corn Exchange, Exeter DEREK NASH, MARTIN DALE, CRAIG MILVERTON TRIO Aug 5, Jazz Club, Plymouth

FLOYD INTHEFLESH Sep 8, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

LEVERET Sep 11, Phoenix, Exeter MORIATY Sep 14, Barrel House, Totnes ZION TRAIN Sep 14, Phoenix, Exeter BIG COUNTRY Sep 15, Phoenix, Exeter CALIFORNIA DREAMERS Sep 15, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter ROYAL AIRFORCE ASSOCIATION CONCERT BAND Sep 16 Pavilions, Teignmouth THE CHRISTIANS Sep 16, Parish Church, Kingskerswell TAIKO MEANTIME: RESONANCE YOUR 2018 Sep 19, Northcott Theatre, Exeter JONNY MANSFIELD’S ELFTET Sep 19, Pavilions, Teignmouth CHANTEL MCGREGOR Sep 20, Phoenix, Exeter GEOFF LAKEMAN Sep 21, Arts Centre, Ashburton SAMSWARA Sep 22, South Street Baptist Church, Exeter SON OF TOWN HALL Sep 22, Parish Church, Kingskerswell

WILLY MASON Sep 8, Phoenix, Exeter

PHIL BEER Sep 23, Corn Exchange, Exeter

YOUNGBLOOD BRASS BAND Sep 10, Phoenix, Exeter

QUEST Sep 25, Palace Theatre, Paignton

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 (October/November) 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 JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER Sep 28, Parish Church, Kingskerswell

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Aug 18, Mount Edgcumbe, Plymouth

ROLLING BACK THE YEARS Sep 28, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

BACK TO THE FUTURE Aug 19, Torre Abbey, Torquay

STEVE KNIGHTLEY Sep 28, RAMM, Exeter NICK MULVEY Sep 29, Phoenix, Exeter TIM JONES & THE DARK LANTERNS Sep 29, Parish Church, Kingskerswell CLIVE JENKINS Sep 29, Dartington Hall LUCA STRICAGNOLI Sep 30, Phoenix, Exeter

OPEN AIR CINEMA

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS Aug 6, Big Screen In The Park, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Aug 9, Big Screen In The Park, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter BLACK PANTHER Aug 10, Big Screen In The Park, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Aug 11, Big Screen In The Park, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT Aug 12, Big Screen In The Park, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter GROUNDHOG DAY Aug 16, Torre Abbey, Torquay PAN’S LABYRINTH Aug 17, Mount Edgcumbe, Plymouth THE JUNGLE BOOK Aug 17, Torre Abbey, Torquay

THE PRINCESS BRIDE Aug 23, Torre Abbey, Torquay GREASE: SING-ALONG Aug 24, Torre Abbey, Torquay THE SHAPE OF WATER Aug 24, Tinside Lido, Plymouth JAWS Aug 25, Tinside Lido, Plymouth THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Aug 25, Torre Abbey, Torquay SOME LIKE IT HOT Aug 26, Tinside Lido, Plymouth TOP GUN Aug 30 Picturehouse Pop UpCinema, Double Locks, Exeter THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – SINGALONG SPECIAL! Aug 31 Picturehouse Pop UpCinema, Double Locks, Exeter YELLOW SUBMARINE Sep 1 Picturehouse Pop UpCinema, Double Locks, Exeter LABYRINTH Sep 2 Picturehouse Pop UpCinema, Double Locks, Exeter ISLE OF DOGS Sep 13, Royal William Yard, Plymouth MAMMA MIA: HERE WE GO AGAIN Sep 14, Royal William Yard, Plymouth JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Sep 15, Royal William Yard, Plymouth

TALKS

www.dangerousdads.org.uk/dadfest

PROFESSOR MARK STOYLE Aug 1, Exeter Forum, Exeter

September 14th, 15th & 16th

DadFest2018

BEN BRADSHAW MP Aug 15, Exeter Forum, Exeter

™

Location: ‘Forest & Beach’, Beeson, South Devon. TQ7 2ED

RODNEY BATTEY Sep 5, Exeter Forum, Exeter

Awarded ‘Best Small Event in the UK’ & the only festival just for dads/ male carers and their children

 camping  archery  water rockets  green woodworking 

PIP STEWART, REFLECTIONS FROM THE AMAZON Sep 5, Phoenix, Exeter

 wood carving  bushcraft  fishing  jam & pancakes  pig racing  circus skills  star-gazing  entertainer 

DEVON’S ORCHARDS: HOW WE TOOK TO CIDER Sep 6, Devon Rural Archive, Modbury

 award-winning local food & beers  storytelling   live music  fake wounds stroke a lobster



SIMON WESTON: MY LIFE, MY STORY Sep 07, Watermark, Ivybridge

Official 2018 World Dad Dancing Championship 

starts Fri. 14th Sept - ends Sun. 16th Sept DadFest2018 tickets must be bought in advance

DARTMOOR CHILLI FARM ‘HOT STUFF’ Sep 12, St Andrew’s Church Hall, Ashburton

Children all ages: Dads:

£30 £60

+ option £30 food ticket for the weekend + option £40 food ticket for the weekend

DadFest Ticket = all weekend activities: no other costs

GEORGE AYRES Sep 12, Exeter Forum, Exeter

Add a food ticket = six meals & all cold/ hot drinks!

Concessions available - please contact the organisers

KATE ADIE: THE WAY WW1 CHANGED WOMEN’S LIVES Sep 17, RAMM, Exeter

Book early: 077 317 95160 e: dangerousdads@btinternet.com Best Small Event in the UK 2015

AN AUDIENCE WITH SIMON REEVE Sep 17, Exeter Corn Exchange, Exeter PAUL AUCHTERLONIE Sep 26, Exeter Forum, Exeter BEDWYR’S EXETER RAMM RAID: TALK & PERFORMANCE Sep 26, RAMM, Exeter

WILD CAMP

BUSHCRAFT CANOE WEEKEND WILD CAMP Aug 4-5, Totnes, Devon WILDWISE HUNGERGAMES Aug 21-25 & 27-31, Somerset countryside.

Rainbow’s End

HOLISTIC WELLBEING AND NATURAL CRAFTS FESTIVAL

Civic Hall, High Street, Totnes 15th and 16th September.

10am-5pm All-day programme of talks, workshops and demonstrations Wide variety of readers, healers, therapists and traders Hourly Buddhist Meditations 07900 824089 www.reconnectonline.co.uk

nd Saturday 22

NES land, TOT pm, Vire Is 4 ll ti m a 11 September Mad Hatters Tea Party

f

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

13

ORGANICGARDENING IT’S harvesting time, and our

resident gardening expert JOA GROWER has some top tips to keep the produce growing in your gardens for sometime yet.

Just keep sowing, sowing, sowing

W

ELL, I would imagine that purple sprouting broccoli and a lot of you are now busy kales. The ground will probably harvesting, eating and benefit from a bit of a feed. enjoying all the lovely crops that you Use a general fertilizer such as have grown through out the season. seaweed meal or chicken manure But don’t forget that early autumn is pellets, taking care to follow the still a great time to keep on sowing manufactures instructions. Give or planting salads regularly, as they the plants a good distance between will keep going right up to the first each one - approximately 30-44cm frosts and sometimes beyond.

(12-18”) for the larger varieties and 25-30cm (10-12”) for cabbages.

August is still okay for a late Now this might sowing of main seem quite a crop peas and distance but when mangetouts seeds fully grown they (or better still will need it! I like plant some small to interplant so transplants to that the space isn’t give you a head wasted, lettuces start - available and quick growing from Growers salad leaves are Organics either always good for at our nursery this. in Yealmpton or our stall at Totnes Now is also a market Fridays). good time to get To prepare your a few leeks in the bed add some ground. Use a goodness to the dibber to make soil, that could several holes, Peas on earth be by using about 10-15cm homemade compost or maybe deep and 15-20cm apart. This a bag of bought soil improver can be done using a piece of compost, and a small amount old broom handle or something of fertilizer. Don’t forget that similar. Before dropping the mangetouts and peas are just like plants down the holes, trim the sweet peas, the more you pick the roots on the leeks to 1-2cm. This more you get. Keep harvesting encourages new growth and them and you could be getting makes the leeks easier to drop fresh peas right up until October or down into each hole. Fill each early November. hole up to the top with water. It’s as simple as that! Harvest from Now is also a good time to talk December to February. about winter and in particular what to plant for those winter months.

Just quickly going back to Although there isn’t the full range harvesting, please don’t forget of vegetable varieties as there are that any damaged crops such in the summer months, there is still as potatoes that accidently get something for everyone. impaled with the fork when digging up, should be used up Start preparing your beds first as they will not store and can for the winter brassicas. That cause the rest of your spud crop includes any plants that are in the to rot over time. cabbage family, i.e. brussels,

Watering and more watering

IT’S late summer already, and what a long hot summer it has been. I have had to spend many an hour watering (but then I do have a whole nursery to look after). At home we always try and use our grey water, which means emptying the bath with a bucket and using it on the garden. Luckily the bathroom is downstairs and near the back door!

Do you know what the benefits of regular watering are? Apart from the obvious, keeping your plants alive.

Irregular watering can lead to problems with blossom and rot in tomatoes, and cause root vegetables to split, and flowers to drop off your french and runner beans. You can prevent this by watering well during dry spells.

It’s especially useful if this can be done either last thing at night, or early morning, before the sun gets into full swing.

When feeding your container grown plants, don’t forget to give them a really good soaking before you apply your liquid feed. This will save you wasting it. As you know when watering a very dry plant the majority of the water just runs straight through the pot and ends up on the floor.

By allowing the compost to soak most of this up first, your liquid feed/ fertilizer should remain in the compost.

We will still be at Totnes market until early October on Fridays but will be finishing Saturdays at the end of August. Happy gardening!

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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Doodle art

THE Gallery at Seale-Hayne has been transformed into a giant colouring book throughout the summer until September 2. Budding artists of all ages can join in Doodle @ Hannahs and let their imagination go wild.

Visitors to the Trust can enter a world of woodland creatures, pirates, music, nature and sports with Squircle Arts and find their inner artist. There are also character discovery trails, doodle games, outdoor doodle jam events and a range of workshops.

Squircle Arts is a Devon based community interest company focusing on the arts and culture. They provide pop up arts and cultural workshops in a variety of locations, and encourage the use of natural or recycled materials.

Hannahs Head of Marketing, Rebecca BowenKeay, said: “We are really excited to be holding such an original and creative event in the Gallery this summer. It should prove a lot of fun for budding artists both young and old.”

For more information visit www.discoverhannahs.org/ whats-on

All-day vegan elevensies

The Vegan diary

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he next dates for The Naturally Vegan Plot’s All-Day Vegan Elevensies are August 25 and September 29, at Tavy Lodge, Tavy Place, Plymouth, PL4 7DJ. Drop in any time between 11am & 5pm for delicious lunch, homemade cake, live music, and great company! TNVP also have some really exciting projects in the pipeline but they need some support to help buy a permanent plot of land. If you can get involved in any way to help them achieve their dream of creating a full scale organic woodland garden, please get in touch with Elaine & Jim at enquiries@the-naturally-vegan-plot.co.uk or have a chat at Elevensies.

Earth Cafe will be back at the end of September after its summer break; check out the Facebook page nearer the time for the date & venue. But if you’re craving Michal’s wholesome home-cooking in the meantime, don’t panic! You can find her cooking up a storm at Soup Corner every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Soup Corner welcomes anybody & everybody, and payment is by donation; so give as little or as much as you can afford. It’s held at Union Corner, 96 Union Street, Plymouth, PL1 3EZ, and runs from 12-2pm.

Most of the ingredients are donated by the amazing Real Junk Food Project, who rescue & redistribute surplus food that would otherwise be destined for the bin.

The next Exeter Vegan Market is coming up on September 29, held in Exeter Corn Exchange, Market Street, EX1 1BW, from 10am-2pm. If last months events was anything to go by, expect a huge range of amazing vegan goodies, from glitter-covered donuts and handmade raw chocolate, to ethically produced clothing and natural skincare!

Rame peninsular reaches new heights

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IGHTEEN This includes months have Awenek Studio passed in CIC and Patchwork a flash since Studios, new the local Maker community community arts and music rallied to save spaces. the historic and iconic Barrack On Sunday June Block from re24, the doors to development. In Maker Heights Maker Open Day that time, Rame were thrown photo by Alex Richards Conservation wide open for Trust has gone all to explore. With a range of art from strength to strength, turning the and music projects and displays, charity around in both stature and plus family-friendly workshops financial position, and reopening and activities the atmosphere was the Block to artists previously fantastic! The second edition of the displaced, and many more that Maker Tapes was launched with had been waiting to move into performances from some great a creative space. It’s not just the live bands, tasty food and some volunteers that have been hard at complimentary bubbly to celebrate. work though.

Everyone was basking in the warm sun and the Maker love!

Many of the tenants of the Barrack Block and Nissen Huts have been Visit www.makerheights.org.uk to busy upgrading their studios and find out more, the campsite is open creating community spaces to throughout the summer and the ensure that access to the public amazing Canteen is open Tuesday – assets of Maker Heights remain Sunday, serving delicious locallysourced, homemade food. open to all who wish to participate.

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NEWS&views Summer activities at Sharpham

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HERE’S more wonderful activities on offer at Sharpham this summer including natural burial ground open days, outdoor learning, and mindfulness courses.

Open days for natural burial ground First up, on August 3-4 there’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Sharpham Meadow Natural Burial Ground, an open site with stunning views to Dartmoor and the sea. The two days are aimed at people and funeral directors interested in finding out how to reserve a burial or an ashes burial plot, or who are exploring an ecological alternative to traditional burial or cremation. Both days will begin with a short talk about the meadow at around 11.15am.

Margot Eliadis, the site’s administrator said: “It’s a wildflower meadow, supporting a rich eco-system of flora and fauna, including skylarks and hares. Lots of people tell me how peaceful and beautiful the meadow is, and how different it is to other burial sites, churchyards or cemeteries.”

Sharpham Trust staff will be on hand for the first two hours of each day to discuss natural burials and ashes interments. Visitors are free to explore the spectacular site in their own time, which is open 24-hours a day, and there is no need to book for the open days.

Wading into nature The landscape beside the picturesque Dart estuary provides an ideal location for many different bird species including Reed and Sedge Warbler, resident Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Bunting. Bird expert Mike Langman flies into Sharpham to explain the ways of the estuary waders and guide a special bird walk on the River Dart at Sharpham on Friday August 31, from 6-8.30pm. l £12 adults and £5 children.

Creatures of the night & Stargazing As part of the Trust’s Discovering Sharpham project there’s the chance to see bats, moths and stars (hopefully) during a night-time event from 7-9pm on September 14 funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The estate is one of the few places in the UK and Europe where the Greater Horseshoe Bat can be found. In partnership with the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project and the Devon Wildlife Trust the evening offers a great insight into this endangered elusive mammal, and the chance to try bat detecting.

There’s also a tour of moth-traps that gently capture insects, seeing close-up the wealth of UK moths that come out at night, with support from Devon Moth Group. Plus Dartmoor Skies, clouds permitting, will take a tour of the night-sky. l £5 per person.

Mindful-in-Nature project The Mindful-in-Nature project launches this September with a programme of Introduction Days and a 9-week course. Offering a unique programme of mindfulness in nature to support mental health recovery in adults aged 18 and

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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.

• • • • • •

Weekly 10 week courses - Beginners to Advanced Membership Program Apprenticeship Scheme Specialist Workshops & Master Classes Glaze Technology Sustainable practice and research team

For more information on membership, workshops and courses visit

Mindful in nature, above, and below, Mike Langman on Sharpham Trust marsh estuary bird walk.

www.studio45.uk.com or contact us at info@studio45.uk.com

DO YOU WISH YOUR TEENAGER SPENT MORE TIME IN NATURE?

above in a relatively stable period of mental well-being.

A new programme to improve well-being, skills, resilience and life chances through a connection to nature, in partnership with Devon Recovery Learning Community, for people in the Torbay and Totnes area who may not be in crisis at the moment, but who want to improve and maintain good mental health.

Ben Ballard, Sharpham Trust’s Programme and Development Manager, explained: “We are developing a distinctive approach by combining our mindfulness work and nature connection using the exceptional setting of the Sharpham Estate. We believe that the synthesis of mindfulness and nature here will help support people’s mental health, reduce stress and anxiety and encourage a sense of belonging and community involvement.”

The course is not intended as an alternative to clinical treatment but as an aid to well-being and helping to prevent relapse.

The 9-week course will run every Tuesday from 10.30am – 3.30pm and will take place in the mansion’s beautiful woodland, and is funded from the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities fund. l 1-day course £68 and 9-week course £195. Participants can sign up for one or the other or both.

Bursaries are available for those experiencing financial hardship.

Sharpham is an educational charity based in the historic Sharpham House and 550-acre Estate on a beautiful three-mile stretch of the River Dart. It focuses on connecting people with nature and fostering mindfulness and wellbeing through a programme of retreats, mindfulness courses, outdoor learning and the arts.

For more information visit: www. sharphamtrust.org or call 01803 732542 or email bookings@ sharphamtrust.org

WILD CAMPS FOR TEENAGERS NEAR BRISTOL: HUNGER GAMES AUGUST 21 - 25 MOCKINGJAY AUGUST 27 - 31

wildwisehungergames.co.uk • 01803 868269

Empowering families across Devon & Cornwall since 1999

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land matters Popular old-fashioned girls

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NYONE who keeps chickens will know all about the joys of collecting delicious, fresh eggs each day. But if you go for the right breed, hens can also add a little traditional beauty to your life!

“The most common chicken breeds are plain brown, black or white,” says South Devon poultry breeder Jenny Foster. “But these hybrid hens, most of them imported from Eastern Europe, have been specially created for short-lived maximum egg production.

“If you go back to long-lived traditional breeds, the choice is rich and varied, so you can add colour and drama to your garden while at the same time keeping heritage varieties alive – and still enjoy wonderful eggs!”

Jenny and husband Martin, former Reconnect editor, keep 10 different oldfashioned breeds at Tigley Tump, an off-grid smallholding just outside Totnes.

She told Reconnect: “Our most popular birds include: Buff Orpingtons, which are beautifully rounded, fluffy and golden; Lace Wyandottes, which have an amazing lacey feather pattern in blue, red or buff colours; and a very old breed called Swedish Flowers (pictured), which have white speckles on a brown, black or cream background – the pattern is unique to each bird.”

Jenny can supply birds of every age, from day-old chicks to point-of-lay hens, and even fertile eggs if you want to hatch your own.

“People like to visit and have a good look around to find exactly the right birds for them,” she said. “We’re always happy too give help and advice.”

Call Jenny on 07976 504918 or look for Tigley Tump on Facebook.

Teen camp offers time to reconnect

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UGUST is an exciting time for some teenagers, as it means a time to spend at camp practicing nature awareness skills such as sneaking and ambushing each other, camouflage and wilderness and bushcraft skills such as fire making, shelter building, edible and medicinal food use.

Robin Bowman and his WildWise team run two of their five day deep nature connective experience camps for 11-17 year olds based on and inspired by the popular Hunger Games books and films.

Robin said: “On the health forms we receive from parents it often says ‘my child is scared of creepy crawlies and spiders etc’. On arrival some of these 1117 year olds, understandably wanting to fit in, are aware of their appearance, their hair, their shoes etc. Within an hour, they emerge from a game hiding and lying face down in the bracken and the forest leaves, not caring about the potential creepy crawlies in those leaves, with hair wild and unkept already and asking for my brown spray paint to spray those precious white trainers, to give them a camouflage edge! “ As well as the deep nature connection time and mentoring they get, which is such a blessed relief from the pressures

of the modern tween and teenage experience, they learn to test themselves, work as team, make new friends and in the process help create a supportive and beautiful community village vibe for the week.

Such is their popularity that the two camps normally fill up with kids and their friends returning each year. They have several 17 year olds who have been coming since they were 12. Robin says it warms his heart to have feedback like this: “I’m usually so competitive but when I come here it’s all about the experience.

All year I wait to come on this camp. It’s the best thing I have ever done. I just feel so accepted in who I am here, as well as happy and free.”

WildWise are running two camps this summer holidays, The Hunger Games Camp on Aug 21-25, and The Mockingjay Camp on Aug 27-31. See www.wildwisehungergames.co.uk

A weekend festival of resilient living Ffyona Campbell’s

YEAR LONG

WILD FOOD COURSE Devon

Learn the edible leaves, flowers, seaweed, seashore plants, berries, nuts, roots, lichens and fungi on the hunter-gatherer migration route that leads to a plentiful supply of wild food all year long 10 week-ends, February to November

Experience the Holy Grail of Nature for yourself with the woman who found it

wildfoodwalks.co.uk 16

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ESILIENCE is a word that’s gaining in prominence these days. It’s defined as “having the capacity to recover from difficulties, possessing adaptability and the ability to successfully cope with adversity”. So, the fact that Off Grid Festival’s 4-day learning programme is now called ‘Resilience College’ indicates an acceptance that we are officially living in difficult times. What a relief! Because without accepting that there are problems, there can be no movement toward solutions.

There is a desperate need for alternatives on all levels of society as the effects of climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality threaten our fragile civilisation. So what can we do?

‘Off Grid’ is used by The Association for Resilient Living as a catch-all term for collaborative and regenerative systems designed to facilitate the growth of strong, co-supportive communities through celebration and the art of sharing.

In this years’ festival, held at the beautiful Tapeley Park in North Devon, explore Aquaponics as a way of growing food with Graham Wood and Gihan Soliman, or learn to make Ecobricks with Lucie Mann. The Ecologist’s Brendan Montague will discuss

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how to create an ecosystem of independent journalism and Ian Westermoorland will deliver a workshop in Practical Solar Energy.

In other areas of the site, you can try willow weaving, spoon carving or archery, as well as the self-care arts of yoga, massage and sauna.

Learn more about permaculture, biochar or blacksmithing or wash your socks in a pedal-powered washing machine!

Off Grid Festival is an opportunity to experience the crisis of our times not as threat, but as opportunity.

An opportunity to create new ways of being, new ways of interacting with each other and with the land, new ways of crafting a future resilient to the challenges that lie ahead. Joining our Off Grid community is really simple. Go to the website, book yourself a ticket and head down to beautiful North Devon between August 9-12. They’ll be waiting to give you and your family a really warm welcome! l Off Grid Festival is at Tapeley Park, Instow, North Devon August 9-12. Tickets starting at £30 are available from: offgrid-festival.co.uk/ buy-tickets/ l Resilience College : offgrid-festival. co.uk/college

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CLT members and volunteers planting a fruit & nut tree orchard in March

Volunteer with CLT

TIMBER BUILDINGS THERAPY ROOMS/ GARDEN RETREATS TIMBER WORKSHOPS

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RANSITION Homes based in Totnes are looking for volunteers to help with the Community Land Trust (CLT). Nicola Lang, project coordinator, said: “We have a friendly, laid back but determined team, fuelled by tea (and sometimes cake!), but we’ve got our hands full and would really appreciate some help! It’s an exciting time to get involved as we have planning permission and are aiming to start building this winter, creating 23 affordable homes for local people, including flats for young people and adults with learning disabilities, and 8 open market houses. It’s a unique project, combining affordable housing with shared facilities, permaculture design and low environmental impact, and we have a lovely 7 acre site where we’re restoring and creating new habitats.”

There are a variety of things from discrete tasks to ongoing involvement, see the list below, and if you have any questions please contact Nicola on info@transitionhomes.org.uk or 01803 867358. l Site maintenance – if you’re not fond of meetings or computers but you like doing practical things, then help to manage the site. This includes organising volunteer sessions to care for the site, keeping an eye on the condition of things (fences, trees, barn etc) and helping arrange site maintenance as needed. l Renewable energy – someone with finance and renewable energy expertise is needed to help specifically with putting together the business model, cashflow forecasts, etc for their networked PV array with an eye to

Custom built to any size to suit your needs, can be fully insulted, double glazed. Cedar shingles, sustainable products used through out. Local carpenter 20 years exp www. timber-frame-carpentry.co.uk tobydare@hotmail.co.uk securing debt funding. l Business planning – as well as the PV array they’re looking to develop a business plan for the community building in order to attract funding. l Communications – join the Core group with a focus on communicating what they’re doing to the outside world. This would involve attending one 2 hour meeting a week/ fortnight and writing short articles for publication. l Allocations, marketing and management - the task of marketing, selling and allocating homes will begin soon. The small subgroup would appreciate another team member - some kind of real estate, sales or marketing experience would be wonderful, but isn’t necessary.

If you can’t spare the time to volunteer, you can still support by becoming a member! Anyone who lives or works locally can join, and it only costs £1. If you’d like to join simply fill in and return the membership form with your pound – www.transitionhomes.org.uk

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01803 431473 07815 833645

Green

Bryant Gardening Services

Vital seeds for a positive future INE out of ten mouthfuls of food the we consume started from a seed. These small and unassuming objects hold within them the key to our survival as a species.

Fred Groom from Vital Seeds explained: “They are essentially little packets of information, containing instructions on how to produce sugar, starch, protein and many other life-giving molecules from soil, sunlight and water. They also contain the instructions on how to create almost identical replicas of themselves ensuring that this information may be disseminated year after year. The work they perform is no less than alchemy.”

It is a disturbing fact that in the last 100 years, over 90% of varieties of food crops have become extinct.

Fred added: “This is in large part as a result of the industrialisation of global food production, and the dangerous shift in control of the global seedsupply from gardeners, growers, and small regional seed companies, to large multi-national chemical giants –

land matters

who now control over two-thirds of the world’s seed. The shift from naturally breeding, open-pollinated varieties to high-tech F1 hybrids, means that even if gardeners and growers wished to save their own seed, they cannot.”

In the UK the majority of organic food is actually grown using non-organic seed, as the supply of organic seed is so poor. On top of that nearly all of the vegetable seed (organic and non-organic) planted on UK farms, is produced in other countries, with dryer climates and cheaper labour. So most of the ‘local’ food we endeavour to eat actually comes from seed produced on the other side of the world.

In response to this situation, Fred has founded Vital Seeds, a small independent seed company based in Devon producing and selling organic vegetable, herb and flower seeds. “All our varieties are open pollinated, so you can save seed from them year after year.” l To find out more email info@ vitalseeds.co.uk or visit www. vitalseeds.co.uk

Creating, beautiful, social outdoor spaces inspired by nature.

• Garden design with permaculture • Garden maintenance & clearances • Fencing, landscaping, patios & decking • Creative eco garden joinery • Composting systems 07968 596 406 ben@greenbryant.com facebook.com/greenbryant

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LOCAL PRODUCE

Celebrating delicious local produce

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Reconnect ad 2018 1/4 page.qxp_Layout 1 24/04/2018 18:35 Page 1

A delicious range of award winning local produce at

Ashburton’s

Upmarket Market!

Our well-established, under- cover Local Produce Market is now open 6 days a week in Tuckers Yard, Chuley Road, Ashburton TQ13 7DG. Come along and enjoy an easy, friendly shopping experience...there’s a host of locally produced meat, organic vegetables, cakes, bread, cheese, flowers, preserves, ice cream, fresh fish, Fairtrade goods and much more. Free parking right outside our door.

RULY local food will be on the menu on September 22 when the Forking Local Food Festival returns to Vire Island for the third year running. All that Totnes and District has to offer will be showcased from 11am – 4pm.

Run by the Transition Town Totnes Totnes10 project, that exists to celebrate and support local food producers and the local food network, the festival encourages everyone to pledge to buy at least 10% of their food shop from producers growing and processing within 30 miles of Totnes. Devon has one of the highest numbers of small farms in the country, but much of the food produced here leaves the region. In a time of uncertainty over what Brexit will mean for agriculture and a growing national debate about food and farming, commitment to our local food producers has never been more important.

Myrtle Cooper, project manager of Totnes 10, enthused: “Every choice to buy local, to support a local business, is a conscious step towards an economy in Totnes

that creates more jobs, more economic resilience and security, more diverse land use, more skills, better flavours and better tastes.

Everyone is invited to make the 10% shift.

Exploring how to do that will open up a wide range of delicious possibilities - what better way to really celebrate the abundance Totnes has to offer.”

As well as seasoned businesses, the festival will support new enterprises. This is a chance to meet your food producers and sample the amazing diversity of products from the region – from grains to cheese, veg to beer – and to enjoy a jam-packed line-up of music, storytelling, arts and crafts, theatre and The Mad Hatters’ Tea Party.

What better way to really celebrate the vibrant local food culture of Totnes and the region. l For more details see the website www.totnes10.org

Real food at a fair price

MONDAY to FRIDAY 9.30am - 5.00pm SATURDAY 9.30am - 4.00pm

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Naturally nourishing We all have our summertime favourite veg, for our resident foodie, JANE HUTTON it’s the often overlooked courgette.

The taste of summer on a plate

Baby, I like it raw

THERE has been a huge growth in the availability of ‘raw foods’ over the past few years. So what is behind this growing health trend?

The simple principle behind eating raw foods is that in an uncooked state, most foods have a better nutritional profile. Enzymes are naturally present in fruits, vegetables and grasses, but these can be easily destroyed by cooking or by any food manufacturing process that takes their temperature above around 48˚C. There are some other nutrients that are also lost from food when it is cooked above temperatures of around 57˚C. One of the most significant losses is vitamin C, which is found in a wider range of foods than you might think but is easily destroyed when those foods are cooked.

There are a few nutrients that are actually more bio available when foods are cooked – such as Lycopene in Tomatoes, but these are the exception to the rule.

Cooking in water is also an easy way to leach nutrients out of foods, as many important vitamins such as C and B vitamins are water soluble and pass into the cooking water that you throw away.

In reality there is no such thing as ‘The Raw Food diet,’ It is no more an actual diet than a ‘Cooked food diet.‘ Raw Food is anything that has not been refined, canned or chemically processed, and has not been heated above 48˚C, so a ‘raw food diet’ basically means adhering

to these principles in choosing and preparing foods. Many ‘Raw foodists’ eat large amounts of fresh uncooked vegetables and salads, and if they are sensible they supplement this with nuts and seeds to boost the protein content and levels of dietary fats in their diet.

But there are now a huge selection of raw food manufactured using low temperatures and no additives to fit a raw diet. These include many snacks, crackers, cakes and even chocolate (raw cacao is very high in beneficial polyphenols) – so adopting a raw diet needn’t mean missing out on tasty treats.

Greenlife in Totnes sell a huge range of raw foods. So many that they employ a ‘raw food buyer’ to look out for new products and try them for the store! David from Greenlife says the latest thing to hit the shelves is Mighty Bee raw coconut jerky, which is organic, vegan and made purely from young Thai coconuts, gently dehydrated and marinated in either Teriyaki sauce or spicy Barbeque sauce.

Many adherents to a raw food diet claim that they have more energy and focus, improved skin health and stronger hair and nails. Of course you don’t need to be a strict raw foodist to benefit from the nutritional value and great taste of many raw foods now on the market.

Greenlife is situated on the market square at the top of Totnes high street, and is open from 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am – 5.30pm Saturday.

Rocketlog The Or ig ina l One - Log Bonfire

Hand carved in the heart of the woods

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A flaming centrepiece for any outdoor event, wedding, party or ceremony

High summer is a time of sunshine (hopefully), and a cornucopia of fresh produce everywhere you look. If you grow your own fruit and veg, there are particular ones that can keep on giving to the point where you can’t keep up!

Rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, peas, broad beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and just about every kind of variety of lettuce that you can name, are all easy to grow.

Most, at least, are easy to use or freeze if you have too much, or if you have not got around to using what you have bought.

Some are not so amenable to preservation in their raw state, and so we can end up throwing them out, or not buying or growing them at all.

Summer beauties like courgettes produce prodigiously, yet can be overlooked in the nutrition stakes.

They are not as widely used in salads as peppers, and because of their mild flavour paired with a texture that can turn to mush if not cooked correctly, the glut can languish away to waste. We all have a courgette cake recipe somewhere in our collection, though it’s not often a favourite.

In truth, we should all be looking forward to the summer courgette season as a time when these powerhouses really come into their own. Whether green or yellow, these members of the

squash family have an array of health benefits, so give them a starring role while they are so fresh and juicy.

Chock full of manganese and vitamin C, courgettes don’t just offer a great combination of conventional antioxidant nutrients, they also contain an unusual amount of other antioxidant nutrients, including lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants are especially helpful in protecting eye health, including agerelated macular degeneration and the flowers cataracts. are tasty too Having the nutrients to protect against cardiovascular and digestive inflammation makes courgettes potentially useful in keeping blood vessels strong and soothing ulcers, but they also guard against type 2 diabetes by maintaining healthy blood sugar regulation with their profile of B complex vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and omega 3 fatty acids, plus, of course, beneficial polysaccharide fibres like pectin.

Lovely sautéed simply with garlic, julienned in salads, or spiralised to create spaghetti-like noodles, try them in this rich ratatouille, along with other hard-to-freeze, nutritious veg like peppers and aubergines. Choose yellow, orange, red and green to bring a splash of summery colour to your dish!

Rich riotous ratatouille You will need: 6 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 large aubergines, cut into 1 inch chunks 4 small courgettes, sliced into 1 inch chunks 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks 2 small red onions, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 8 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped 1 small bunch of basil, roughly torn

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large casserole, browning the aubergines on all sides. Set aside and use a little more of the oil to do the same to the courgettes, and then the peppers.

Use the remaining oil and cook the onions gently for 10 minutes until soft and caramelised. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the coriander seeds and vinegar.

Combine, then add the tomatoes and half the basil. Tip the veg chunks back in, season and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the veg are soft and the tomatoes have melted into the base. Check seasoning, scatter with the rest of the basil, and serve.

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.

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MORE FOLLOWS...

MORE out-pourings from former Reconnect editor MARTIN FOSTER – this time on our need to conserve that most basic of natural resources, water.…

PEC pals create a ripple effect

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Time to splash out on water conservation

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HE super-dry, super-hot summer might have done wonders for our tans and our enjoyment of outdoor social events, but it has also turned up the heat on an urgent environmental issue – our excessive use and mindless abuse of water supplies.

The facts are frightening. Back in May, even before the UK became a desert, the Environment Agency issued a warning that people need to use less water to prevent future water shortages and damage to rivers and wildlife.

Many sources of water supplies are already overstretched, they say, and, with climate change and a growing population, much of England could see “significant supply shortages” by the 2050s – particularly in the south-east.

And this is a long-term issue – not just the result of this freakish summer.

In 2016, almost 9,500bn litres of freshwater were abstracted in England – and that, stat fans, is enough to cover the whole of Greater London in nearly 6m (20ft) of water.

While some of us complain about not being able to water our lawns, and the tabloids are having fun suggesting we need to share showers, the effect on the environment is serious and longlasting. Between 6% and 15% of our rivers are judged to be in a poor environmental condition, including more than three-quarters of chalk streams – a unique and globally important habitat.

Taking too much water out of the environment can harm wildlife such as fish, birds and aquatic plants, and damage wetlands which are important habitats for a host of animals and plants.

Climate change is predicted to cause increased river flows in the winter and decreased flows in the summer, which - along with drier conditions because of warmer temperatures - could have a still greater effect on wildlife.

The amount of water taken out of the environment for households, industry and agriculture was already unsustainable for more than a quarter (28%) of groundwater resources in 2017, and almost a fifth (18%) of surface water, such as rivers, have also seen unsustainable levels of abstraction.

So the situation is already dire and all the experts say it will only get worse – and soon. But what to do?

Our levels of consumption seem a good place to start. The average household uses 140 litres per person per day. If your home has an older toilet, you’re tipping around 13.5 litres of drinkingquality water down the drain every time you flush the loo. That accounts for around half of that

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total daily consumption. Even if you have an ultra-low-flow loo, the average flush is six litres.

But there are still greater examples of waste in the system. It’s always satisfying to point the finger of blame at big companies, and around three billion litres of water are lost every DAY through leaky pipes - equivalent to the amount of water used by more than 20 million people in an average day.

They’ve been told to stem their flood of leaks but things seem slow to improve – hefty fines might sharpen their attention. We are, after all, paying for all that wastage through our bills.

Surely, though, the most criminal waste of all is the water that simply falls from the sky… and washes straight down our drains.

Rainwater harvesting, in a country that usually has all the rainfall it can handle (and sometimes considerably more), makes such obvious sense.

Yes, it would require a little broader thinking but if building regs required all new homes to have a rainwater capture system (tanks could be buried under the house or garden), new home owners would be sitting on thousands of gallons that could be pumped up and used to flush loos, fill washing machines and yes, even water the garden. Although preferably veg, rather than lawns.

If the tanks, pumps and plumbing all went in at the time of the build, the additional cost would be minimal. And if it were compulsory, sales of materials would rocket (creating some jobs along the way) and the cost per unit would soon be reduced.

Retro-fitting would be a more complicated and expensive job but as water becomes a rarer and more expensive commodity, it could also become cost-effective.

And what about simpler systems, capturing grey water from washing machines and the like to flush loos?

Even a basic water butt, or a few linked butts, is worth considering, particularly if you use lots of water in the garden or for watering stock, etc. Here at Tigley Tump (our off-grid smallholding) we have IBCs (International Bulk Containers – those big, metre-square water tanks wrapped in a heavy metal frame) plumbed into every downpipe on every shed and greenhouse roof. So during times of drought, when even the supply from our borehole is faltering a little, we can take away bucket after bucket of water for poultry, pigs and produce.

Although carrying them has made my arms several inches longer over the past few weeks…

in

Mart

LYMOUTH Energy Community launched their latest volunteer programme ‘PEC Pals’ back in May. “PEC Pals is a way for people in our community to support the work we do by getting more involved” says Jemma Knowles, PEC Advisor. “We invite anyone interested in social or environmental justice and improving the quality of life of residents in the city to join us and develop skills to further their contribution to the local community. We offer our PEC Pals a free, flexible training programme and on-going support to assist them to make, then deliver a pledge of support. Our PEC Pals programme is in full swing and our training sessions have been really interactive, thought-provoking and beneficial for everyone. With an

on-going series of flexible training opportunities, our PEC Pals have been energised to create change.

“Many new connections have been forged and some fantastic ideas for supporting PEC’s work are already being put into practise: hosting events and talks at the Plymouth Athenaeum, joining up with South West Water’s WaterCare team and Megareach to attend events together, information distribution, specialist training for our Energy Team about PEC Pals’ areas of expertise, curtain alterations and so much more (watch out for a ‘Plymouth Switch off Hour’)!”

Their next programme starts on September 28. Register now at www.plymouthenergycommunity. com/get-involved/pecpal

Sea school seeks practitioners KATIE Sarra and Kian de la Cour are welcoming practitioners to join their Sea School of Embodiment team to help them with their contribution to the collective of enhancing embodiment. Kian explained: “Embodiment can be understood as feeling connected with the communications of the body-mind in relaxation. This is fundamental for trusting in decision-making in alignment with our naturalness and the planet. We have a beautiful, light, airy private session space that is available to be booked at £10 per hour as part of our community Sea Light gallery and tea rooms in Dawlish.”

Katie added: “The session space is versatile and ideal for massage sessions with floor space for futon work and massage couches available for visiting practitioners to use, with comfortable chairs for talking sessions.”

Katie Sarra and Kian de la Cour offer embodiment therapy sessions supporting people to trust in intimacy decisions. For more information contact Kian on 07952 468948, at Sea School of Embodiment, 28 The Strand, Dawlish, EX7 9PS or see www. seaschoolofembodiment.com and thesea.co .

Freedom from the shackles of time CASPAR WALSH author, poet and journalist and Mindful Man seeks timelessness, and free himself from the shackles of time.

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HEN we run our Write to Freedom addiction recovery retreats we invite the participants to go ‘timeless.’ We hold time for them. It’s an invitation to let go of the everyday world and its routines. To connect to self, the land and each other. There is sometimes resistance, everyone is in their choice.

It doesn’t take long to relax into timelessness. To unshackle ourselves from the ticking clock. Running the retreats requires an opposite focus, keeping on schedule and making sure everything gets done in good time. It requires a lot of holding and focus. The day after each retreat I stop the clocks and go timeless for a day.

It’s an extraordinary zone to be in.

Timelessness allows me drop into rest more easily. It also makes me realise how much of a captive of time I am.

Creating space to wander, rest, read and reflect without time is a powerful

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way to recharge the physical, emotional and spiritual batteries. It’s had such a positive impact on me I’ve decided to put at least one day a month into this timeless zone; with no idea when I wake and when I go to bed. I follow the sun to give me some guidance, other than that there is a clear decision to surrender my day to day agenda and need to achieve.

I let go and see what unfolds with what I do and how I feel. It’s a gift.

As Goethe said, “the day is of infinite length for those who know how to appreciate and use it”. We can, if we choose, let go the grip of the clock and discover how to be free of the shackles and routine of human time.

Be it an hour, a day or a week, it’s a freedom we can all achieve.

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NEWS&views Exeter’s winter shelter for the homeless A match made in Devon

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HILST the idea of sleeping outdoors may appeal in the current climate. The weather will eventually change as winter approaches, and temperatures will plummet, creating a problem for those people who are estranged from families and are faced with living on the streets. Homelessness is a problem in every town and city across the country and has been increasing over the last 5 years.

Exeter City Council have been making cold winters preparations and have submitted plans to create a winter night shelter and community facility for homeless people in Exeter. There are two planning applications to create the facility at one of two alternative locations in the city centre.

The preferred option is the former Spice Island restaurant in Magdalen Street, at the top end of Magdalen Street Car Park. The council is planning to lease the property and use the site from October 2018 until October 2021. They hope to create a 26 bed winter shelter to provide overnight sleeping accommodation for homeless people between October and March. At other times of the year it could be used as a community facility for the homeless, providing educational courses, arts and crafts and other meaningful activities.

The plans will be considered by the Council’s planning committee in the coming months. Emma Morse, Lead Councillor for People, said: “Last year we were unable to find the space to provide a dedicated winter shelter facility, and instead used extra capacity at Gabriel House hostel and the St Petrocks centre.

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“We have been working hard to identify suitable sites for this winter, and it’s great news that we are now able to submit these plans. We are seeking to ensure that everyone has a roof over their head during the coldest days of winter.”

Funding for the winter shelter has come from the Government’s national initiative to reduce the number of rough sleepers. Exeter is to receive £481,600 to provide immediate support to people living on the streets and help them back into accommodation.

The winter night shelter will be a mixed gender facility and would provide a dry warm and safe place for rough sleepers and homeless people to sleep during the coldest months of the year.

A dedicated team will assist and support with the council’s Housing Needs Service to help people using the shelter and assist them to move into more suitable, stable and affordable accommodation.

An alternative proposal is to create a temporary, purpose-built building in the corner of Howell Road car park.

There would be a separate toilet facility adjacent to the main building.

OMANTIC comedy author Cathy Bramley (The Lemon Tree Cafe) has turned her focus to Reconnectland with the release of A Match Made in Devon. A complete stand alone story and part of a four-part serial. The feel-good, funny and romantic escape to the seaside novel sees Nina flee from London after a series of very public blunders, to lie low with a friend in Devon. But, as anyone who has made that move will know, Nina soon learns that more drama can be found in a small village than you can watch on any television soap.

It’s not long until London and showbiz start to lose their appeal when “a gorgeous man (and his adorable dog)” catch her eye.

Readers can expect Cathy’s usual

blend of sweet, funny and romance with a quintessentially British twist.

Her publicist describes her as: “The Cath Kidston of the literary world!”

A Match Made in Devon is out now at your local bookshop.

Don’t miss the TTT Eco fair!

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RANSITION Town Totnes is organising the eleventh Open Eco-Homes weekend, the annual event will run on October 5-7 2018.

From the traditional to the unconventional, you can visit inspiring homes in Totnes and the surrounding area which are at different stages on the journey to reducing their energy bills and environmental impact, and local renewable energy projects making us less dependent on fossil fuels.

The open weekend is followed by the not-to-be-missed Eco-Homes Fair, now in its tenth year, happening on October 20 at Totnes Civic Hall. The event has an inspiring, day-long programme of workshops, speakers and stalls all centred around the theme of eco, affordable and community housing. Including renewable energy sources and green building, the event will feature community led housing, Community Land Trusts, Housing Cooperatives and self-build.

The fair also features free children’s activities to give parents time to look round, and delicious food from Food in Community.

Wedding Ring Making Workshop

Learning to lead from a place of power LEADING on from the successful talk and interactive demonstration organised by Adventures with Horses in July, there will be further talk and interactive demonstration on Monday September 24 from 6-9pm.

Sue Blagburn, the founder and director of Adventures with Horses, said: “During the evening we will be sharing latest leadership research indicating our traditional methods and modes of organisational learning and leadership development are inadequate for the environment we now face.

Plus the latest scientific findings in equine behaviour showing how leadership in herds of horses is shared.” Sue added: “A very simple example would be when a storm is approaching horses don’t hang around making decisions, the whole herd moves as one quickly. Agile Leadership, Systems Thinking, Complexity Thinking, EcoIntelligence, taking these new ways of learning, adapting and evolving as leaders and organisations is now in demand – working

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experientially with horses can allow us the opportunity to embody the experience of inner knowing, presencing, social innovation and leading from a place of power with - rather than power over. ” The talk and interactive demonstration will be held at the Erme Valley Riding for the Disabled near Ivybridge. Sue will be joined by Emma Taylor, founder and director of the Leadership Whisperers. Emma says. “ I believe we all want to live and work in harmony and we need more dialogue and relational skills to learn how to work through our differences.” Emma brings extensive business knowledge into her equine assisted leadership work.

Participants will get the chance to work experientially with the horses and there will also be refreshments half way through with a chance to network with like minded people.

All profits will go to the Erme Valley RDA. Tickets £35 in advance are available online at www. adventureswithhorses.co.uk

We are very excited to be offering a bespoke workshop for couples looking to add their own touch to their wedding jewellery. Located in our Ashburton studio, our private wedding ring workshop allows you to make a truly unique, one of a kind bespoke ring.

26a North Street, Ashburton, Devon, TQ13 7QD 01364 388435 hello@yumejewellery.com www.yumejewellery.com

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Make a splash for wildlife

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ATER is a vital source of life, covering around 71% of the planet. But you don’t have to think largescale when it comes to providing a water source in your garden - even a washing-up bowl on a small balcony will do wonders for your local wildlife.

Ponds not only offer homes to amphibians like common frogs and toads, you may also see dragonflies, pond skaters, water lice, birds bathing – even bees get thirsty. Ponds are the easiest way to quickly increase the

OUR wild bird expert, RSPB’s Morwenna Alldis reveals how providing a water source in your garden can give nature a much needed home.…

biodiversity of your green space.

The RSPB’s 2017-2018 Garden Wildlife Survey (part of the Big Garden Birdwatch) has revealed that water reliant animals are in desperate need of more ponds and pools. The survey, which included results from more than 174,000 UK gardens, recorded 17% fewer sightings of frogs in

our gardens, compared to the previous survey in 2014. And alarmingly, 30% fewer gardens reported seeing toads monthly, compared to four years ago.

The RSPB are appealing to Reconnect readers to take part in their Wild Challenge activity to give wildlife some water and it couldn’t be easier.

Step-by-step guide for the family to enjoy: You Will Need l A large watertight container e.g. old sink, big washing up bowl – something that can survive the elements, especially frost. l Native pond plants such as rigid hornwort or whorled watermilfoil for under the water. And lesser spearwort or iris versicolor for above the water line. l Sand or gravel

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1. Check for Leaks! Make sure your container is watertight. If you’re using an old sink silicone a plug into the plug hole and seal any drainage holes.

2. Choose the Perfect Spot: Your pond will need a good amount of light, but not full sunlight all day.

Position your pond before you fill it with water, as it’ll be heavy. Place your pond somewhere safe - even a mini-pond can be hazardous for small children.

3. Get Nitty Gritty: Line your pond with a layer of clean gravel.

Do not use soil – it’s too nutrient rich and will encourage algae blooms.

4. Wildlife Hokey Cokey (in and out): Use stones, bricks, pebbles, logs – even make a mammal

ladder, to ensure that wildlife (like hedgehogs) can access the pond, but importantly - can easily get out.

5. Fill it up: Use rain water from your water butt. Tap water contains too many chemicals which aren’t great for a pond or its wildlife.

6. Plant it up: Use low nutrient soil mixed with grit and choose aquatic plant pots which have mesh sides. Seek advice from your local garden centre or pond supplier. Remember not to over plant your pond, two-three plants for this size is perfect.

And as well as your underwater oxygenators, don’t forget some marginals like water forget-menots – these provide shelter and

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handy perches for some of the wildlife that may visit.

7. Fun with green gloop!

Fear not if in the first couple of months of your pond algae or blanket weed forms, it’s a fun job for supervised children to enjoy removing by winding it around a stick.

8. Be Patient: Don’t be tempted to speed up the moving-in process by transferring spawn from other water sources into your own. Amphibians are really good at seeking out new ponds and we advise not to move them in general as amphibians can suffer from spreadable diseases like red-leg.

I guarantee that if you fill it (with rainwater) nature will soon come – with a hop, crawl, and flutter!

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Photos by Nick Cunard and Eleanor Bentall (rspb-images.com)

rewilding

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At one with the magic of nature MIKE Jones is co-founder of Earth Wrights, our very own local natural playground company that create perfect places for children to connect with the natural environment. The creator of adventurous play environments using sustainable local materials and natural planting talked in a recent interview about the reason behind the company and how their work impacts children and communities.

Tell us a bit about Earth Wrights and your journey so far The seeds for Earth Wrights were planted several decades ago when I finished my degree in Landscape Architecture. My focus had always been on how to make urban environments good places to live and creating playable communities is part of that. The pivotal moment came when I was asked to design a play space for a women’s refuge in London and couldn’t find anyone to build it, so I just got on and built it myself. I saw with my own eyes what a difference it made to the kids to have a playground that was exciting and imaginative and really met their instinctive play needs - allowing them to use the space whichever way they wished, rather than being stuck with just swings and slides.

When I met Mark (Renouard), my business partner, in 1994 we quickly discovered we had a shared passion for creating great outdoor play spaces and started developing our designs and build methods. In 2008 we incorporated as Earth Wrights and we now have playgrounds all over England. Our clients include The National Trust, the Eden Project and most recently Kew Gardens.

What drives you as a business?

Both Mark and I had the privilege of growing up in the countryside with lots of freedom to explore.

We value these experiences and can see where it is missing for many of today’s children.

So, we are driven both by our concern for the wellbeing of our current generation of children and our knowledge and optimism that the issues they are facing can be resolved with a change of mindset and corresponding investment from decision makers.

This means taking the time to understand the needs of the whole child, as well as enabling the creation of spaces where those needs can be met, i.e. safe streets, more tolerance of children’s wild nature and playgrounds that appeal to that wild and free nature while also reassuring parents that their children are safe. We believe that as Earth Wrights we can both raise awareness of the importance of natural play and provide some of the practical solutions, by designing and building great spaces to play and meet.

What makes you different?

We base our design decisions on in depth knowledge of children’s play behaviour, years of personal experience and the millennia of wisdom that nature holds when it comes to good play design. As a species we evolved in natural surroundings that were non-linear and varied and which encouraged a plethora of physical and mental skills which are both useful and enjoyable to this day. Our playground designs draw on those patterns to offer children rich play experiences even when nature is not at hand, or to create invitations to explore the wilderness beyond the playground.

We also have a strong company ethos which is driven less by profit and more by a real passion to provide children with opportunities to play freely, to learn about the world on their own terms and to foster their innate curiosity and love of the natural world.

Can you explain how you would generally work with a client on a project?

We want to create play spaces that will last, not just in terms of overall durability, but also in terms of being the kind of spaces children will want to play in for generations to come.

For this to happen the space needs to fit well into the existing environment, both the physical environment and the social environment.

When we get a request for a design we spend a lot of time gathering information about the site – size, orientation, soil quality, distance to roads, etc – and listening to the client’s ideas, ideally consulting with the ‘end users’ i.e. the children. We then bring our experience and knowledge of children’s play needs to this mix and develop an initial design proposal that maximises the site’s play value within the space and budget available. Sometimes we get it right straight away, other times we go back and forth a bit until we find something everyone is happy

with and we get started on the build. The build phase is very exciting for the children as they love seeing their playground ‘grow’ and our site team really enjoy telling them what they are doing and love the looks on their faces when the playground is finally opened. It’s a very special moment when the first children rush in to play on something we have built.

For the full interview printed in Early Years Childcare magazine go to https://earthwrights. co.uk/journal/at-one-with-the-magic-of-nature/

habitats for play inspired by nature www.earthwrights.co.uk 01803 865919

We work with schools, businesses and local councils to create inclusive, playable communities

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rewilding 10th anniversary of handcrafted ethical Devon jewellery

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HE success of Yumé Jewellery on marketplace websites led to Yumé setting up her own website and opening the Yumé Jewellery boutique in Ashburton, Devon.

Yumé prides herself on her creativity and sense of environmental responsibility. This can be seen in every piece she produces as they are all handcrafted using traditional tools and techniques, and all her materials are ethically sourced with only 100% recycled metal used. Yumé takes her inspiration from the world around us, and most of her intricate designs are based on the natural environment.

From the flowing calmness of the Neptune Treasures collection to the detailed branches of the Hawthorn collection, each range is carefully curated and tells a story inspired by wildlife, animals and rustic beliefs, and channels this into Japanese design. Yumé draws her craftsmanship. Yumé says “It upon her upbringing, travels and was born out of a desire for a more fulfilling and kind approach to jewellery making. One that is inspired by nature and also protects nature. I want to create beautiful pieces that have a positive impact on the world.”

With over 5,000 tonnes of silver alone being scrapped each year, Yumé feels strongly that these metals can be reused. Yumé Jewellery is committed to using ethically sourced

TEN years ago in her small Devon studio, Yumé Martin, started making handcrafted, ethical jewellery. The first designs to come to market were part of Yumé’s signature buttercup collection. Now, her environmentally conscious jewellery brand boasts many beautiful and inspiring ranges and is highly regarded in the industry. create bespoke, one-off pieces – fit for a lifetime of happiness.” Last autumn, to mark the 10 year anniversary, Yumé Jewellery launched The Parlour in its Devon boutique. This is an intimate, creative space designed to showcase their handmade, ethical wedding and engagement ranges. It enables couples to meet with Yumé in a comfortable environment to discuss their wedding jewellery visions.

The Parlour offers six specially designed collections, each representing a part of nature that inspires love, strength and togetherness. If the client wishes to have a one-off piece, Yumé can help them create bespoke jewellery commissions making them part of the design experience. Some customers wanted to be fully immersed in the making experience, so Yumé Jewellery now offers private wedding ring making workshops to couples who wish to be hands-on in the crafting of their wedding bands. Even the most novice of creators can come and work under the expert guidance of Yumé to Over the years, Yumé saw an increase produce their personal pieces.

If you would like to find out more about in wedding jewellery customers, wedding ring making workshops pop by the with many wanting to take part in boutique, the address is on the advert on designing their own special piece. page 21, or see the website.

She notes “This gave me inspiration Telephone: 01364 388435 Email: hello@yumejewellery.com to apply my skills in delicate, intricate Website: www.yumejewellery.com design to help the bride and groom Instagram: www.instagram.com/yumejewellery 100% recycled silver and gold, and responsibly mined diamonds and gems from Fairtrade suppliers.

For those involved in the process, and for those that wear it, it represents a passion for something sustainable and truly authentic.

We are Kingfisher Print & Design.

Working in partnership with Reconnect to print this magazine in an environmentally responsible way

www.kingfisherprint.co.uk sales@kingfisherprint.co.uk 01803 867087

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Rewilding Time out sessions for new mums

To teach or not to teach?

ALAN SWINDELL, below, principal of Steiner Academy Exeter, asks, in light of our current teacher shortage, what makes a good teacher?

ORE teachers will leave the profession this year than will join it. And this at a time when the number of children needing them is growing. Although they get little sympathy from other sectors - `all those long holidays!` - the statistics speak for themselves: there is a shortage and it is getting worse. The pressures of the job are leading many to conclude that it is simply not worth it, a situation that is sad for teachers and potentially disastrous for our children.

In new and growing schools like ours (from zero to 420 in 5 years), we know that recruitment is always going to be a challenge. We have been fortunate in Exeter in attracting and retaining some very gifted teachers, but like all schools, we know that training never stops and that demand for good teachers will continue to exceed supply.

But what makes a ‘good teacher’ and how can we attract and keep them? Children have an uncanny instinct around this, knowing who the genuine article is and who isn’t.

What is it they are looking for? How can they tell a good prospect from a bad? Without exception, they want something genuine. They want authenticity. They want to meet the real deal, not an imitation or anyone recycling old ideas or compromising for the sake of salary and pension.

And they want something grounded, earthed, with ‘body’, literally. ‘We don’t want him’ one student said to me of a prospective teacher, ‘He’s just a head on legs.’

I once asked a class to consider which of the characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet they would like to have as teachers in the school.

Hamlet himself? Not a chance: too wrapped up in his own crises to be interested in theirs. Pollonius? Too boring. Laertes? Yes please: solid and dependable. Anyone else?

(Some of the boys wanted Ophelia, but for all the wrong reasons). ‘The grave digger’, one of the students

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said, to widespread nods of agreement. Why the gravedigger, I asked? The answers were clear: practical, down to earth, sense of humour, ‘his own man’.

Some years ago, the government gave academies such as ours the freedom to recruit staff who have particular skills even if they are not trained teachers. Of course, there are risks in this, but in my experience the best teachers don’t always come via conventional routes.

Those who come with a craft, a trade, a rich first-hand experience of another profession (even grave digging), a passion and expertise outside of school are often those who thrive and prosper. Above all, in an age where the damage of a one-sided academic approach threatens many of our children with educational burn-out and unnecessary stress, they need people who are more than ‘heads on legs’. The contemporary thinker Matthew Crawford says it all in the title of his book ‘The World Beyond your Head’. In it he explores the power of doing rather than thinking, of ‘walking the walk’ as the Americans call it and not just ‘talking the talk’.

Children need connection, through their teachers, to the world beyond their heads.In my ideal school the chemistry teacher would be fresh from the restaurant kitchen, the biology teacher would be a parttime farmer, the English teacher would be active in poetry slams at the weekend. The children would sense it, their learning would be alive, and their teachers would want to continue teaching them.

That current neuro-science reports the existence of brain cells in the human heart and gut should not surprise those who try and train and recruit good teachers.

It is teaching from the heart and the gut that enlivens all learning, brings new life to academic rigour, employs grave diggers in our schools and sends the Hamlets of this world, those ‘heads on legs’, to retrain before they are allowed in our children’s classrooms.

Children benefit from the countryside

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ESCRIBING itself as “the oldest”, Dartmoor Activity Centre for children is a hidden gem in the heart of Dartmoor.

Set in acres of unspoilt natural habitat, with a gate that opens directly onto the walk up to Haytor Rocks, the centre occupies one of the best locations on Dartmoor.

It is built on land left in Trust by a philanthropist from Exeter in the late 1800s to be used exclusively for the “benefit of children to experience the countryside”. More than 200 years later, this policy still governs the centre and it can only be booked for groups of children from schools, scouts, and other youth organisations.

Originally the centre only offered camping facilities but in the 1980s an indoor bunk-house with kitchen

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and dining hall for up to 38 children and leaders, was built. In the 1990s an outdoor swimming pool was added. This season, wooden sleeping cabins have been placed on site to enhance the outdoor experience. The kitchen, dining and bathroom facilities have also been upgraded. Groups can either chose self-catering or catered for, according to preference.

The setting is ideal for free play as well as guided curriculum-based studies, team-building and bush craft skills such as firelighting. Many groups opt for a mix of different activities, and the centre is happy to create bespoke cost-effective packages to suit individual needs.

For more details visit www. dartmooractivitycentre.com or call 01364 661283

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OR many new parents, the reality of life with a fully-dependent infant can be daunting, isolating and overwhelming. For over a quarter of new mums, post-pregnancy means having to deal with mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.

Thankfully, parents in Torbay and the South Hams need not battle alone. Little Bluebell is on hand to help with its 12-week ‘time out’ sessions and one-to-one support from home. It will also be delivering two new courses in September, in Brixham and Totnes.

Little Bluebell is part of Bluebell Care, a Bristol-based charity founded

by CEO Ruth Jackson, who, since experiencing perinatal illness herself 20 years ago, has campaigned tirelessly to raise funds and awareness of the condition, and to de-stigmatise and normalise the difficulties faced by many new parents. Sadly mental health issues after the birth of a

baby are increasingly common and evidence shows that peer support can really help.

Thanks to funding from ‘Comic Relief’ and ‘Little Something’, Little Bluebell offers new mums some time out, with the option of leaving their little ones with a Thrive-trained play worker while they enjoy a pamper session or take part in a crafting group or a spell of yoga. They will learn how to manage anxiety, selfesteem issue and depression. If they wish, a Bluebell ‘buddy’ can also provide one-to-one support and a good listening ear at home.

Little Bluebell work in conjunction with Action for Children. They are a small friendly team led by Devon Partnership NHS Trust Occupational Therapist Selina, project coordinator Mel, and buddies Sam and Julie, who both have experience of perinatal illness.

If you would like to find out more about the project or refer a woman or yourself for one-to-one buddy support, email: selina@bluebellcare. org or mel@bluebellcare.org You can also visit www. bluebellcare.org for a referral form.

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WELLBEING

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

Finding Active Hope

Your relationship MOT Focusing on self help Answers to life’s questions

28 30 31

A sacred home space for healing

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Breaking bad behaviour

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Emotional resilience in schools The power of sandplay It’s time to focus on you Change with dramatherapy

34 35 38 40

The classified adverts

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And there’s lots more to read inside

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LACE can be hugely important when it comes to healing, as sound healer, Teresa Wicksteed knows.

Teresa has created an amazing healing space using a genuine Mongolian yurt shipped all the way from Ulaanbaatar in May. The yurt is situated in her garden, overlooking the sea. She describes stepping into this amazing space as feeling like coming home. Teresa takes up the story…

“The correct name for a yurt is “Ger”…which means “home” and that feels totally appropriate.

Entering the patterned wooden door of the Ger is a home-coming experience: the overwhelming feel is of comfort, stillness and safety, almost womb-like, and feeling protected from the intrusions of the outside world.

“The Ger is a circular space, with no windows, the light coming through the crown (Toono) at the apex in the centre. The crown is in the form of a wooden wheel, symbolic of the Buddhist dharmachakra: Universal Truth.

“Having light streaming into the centre of the Ger adds to the feel of it being a sacred space, especially as the light falls between two

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internal pillars, the Dragon Gate or Baganas. These pillars are not structural, but are there to protect or guard the central light space.

The vertical axis here represents the World’s Tree where the shaman ascends to the upper world to bring back knowledge for her tribe.

Baganas symbolically link earth, wind and sky.”

Teresa explains that all of the structures and materials used in constructing a Ger possess special symbolism. Authentic Yak wool is used in the wall insulation and pliable larch wood in the lattice of the wall (Khana). The structure is connected with leather ties, with horsehair rope ties connecting to the roof.

It is the perfect space for sound healing, as Teresa explains: “The acoustic quality in my Ger is quite amazing; the insulated walls and circular form prevent external sounds from intruding on the deep calmness of the space.

This allows the sound of my voice and instruments to be directly focused on the client’s best healing experience.”

To find out more or book a free first appointment, email: teresa@ teresawicksteed.co.uk

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.

And you can tell the story behind what you offer in our free editorial - with help from our Wellbeing editor, Kate Philbin.

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

The Wellbeing deadline for the next (October/November) issue is September 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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WELLBEING Understanding chakras - The Root

THERE are seven primary chakras in the Human Energy Field.

Marc Blausten, graduate of The Barbara Brennan School of Healing (USA) and founder of The School of Energy Healing in the UK, introduces the Root Chakra in this first of a series of articles…

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E EXCHANGE energy with others and the world around us through our chakras. Each one feeds vitality into particular body parts and organs, and as well as holding different psychological themes.

For many different reasons, a chakra’s ability to function can become compromised, causing an imbalance in the energy field, which can result in physical and psychological symptoms and disease.

The Root or Base Chakra is associated with grounding and security. It feeds energy to our coccyx (tailbone), legs, colon and adrenal glands.

It is linked to our basic sense of physical safety. The ‘fight or flight’ survival response comes from the Root Chakra activating the adrenal

glands. If adrenaline is not metabolised by doing something physically strenuous (like fighting or running) then toxic residues build up which can cause chronic tension, anxiety and depression.

When we are born, our root chakra connects to the Earth and that particular place becomes our home. The feeling of being ‘at home’ also happens in places that are compatible with us, or from belonging to a family or group.

This chakra can be affected by shock or trauma. This could be from being in or witnessing an accident, violence or hearing bad news. A chronically weak Root Chakra can often result from birth trauma.

When the root chakra is compromised we are not able to ground and discharge energy properly into the Earth. We may experience: low vitality, weakness, a lack of stamina, low immunity, anxiety, depression, lack of confidence, forgetful and foggy thinking. Grounding ourselves is often a matter of letting go of what we are holding onto, and allowing ourselves to drop down.

The spiritual lesson presented by this chakra is of healing our fears and trusting that we are supported by life. It is nourished by physical work, exercise, relaxation and abdominal breathing. Gardening and getting dirty is especially good! l Marc sees clients in Totnes and online. For more information visit: www.healingandhomeopathy.com or call: 0333 433 0454 (local rate)

HEALING AND HOMEOPATHY Marc Blausten Barbara Brennan Healing Practitioner Homeopath

Chakra Journey Workshops • Balance your Chakras • Learn about the Human Energy Field • Gain Insights and Self Empowerment • Receive Healing and Guidance A series of 4 one day Healing Events 21 October - 2 December 2018

Marc Blausten

LCHom, MARH, BHS, FIEH, BCMA

Healing and Teaching for 30 years Free initial chat www.healingandhomeopathy.com 0333 433 0454 (local rate -ansaphone) Consultations in Totnes and online

The human side of medicine THE established patient practitioner relationship is important in the natural health business. Mo Morrish from the Exeter Natural Health Centre explains that it may be even more important than you think….

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O MANY times during my twenty eight years of homeopathic practice I have heard a patient say how much they appreciate seeing the same person each visit to the clinic. “It’s so helpful to always work with the same person, someone with whom you have built up a trusting relationship, someone who knows you, who listens to you without judgement.” So many times have I also reflected on the lines from Hippocrates, “The patient will often do very well, even in the most perilous of circumstances, if he has faith in the goodness of his physician.”

Now the sceptics may say, “That’s just placebo”, that’s why they’re sceptics! Whilst placebo has a clear part to play in medicine, co-creating and sustaining a therapeutic relationship is a skill and an art which needs constant practice.

Seeing the same practitioner over years helps to create a continuity and helps the patient to really explore his or her health in all its range and depth; physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually. In addition, the constant up-dating of information can really help the homeopath to flesh out

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supporting emotional wellbeing in pregnancy birth and beyond Are you pregnant or do you have a child under the age of two?

the patient’s inherited (epigenetic) tendencies.

As an example, a middle aged woman I had first seen whilst she was in her twenties told me that her father had recently died from an aneurysm and, since we last met, her younger sister had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

This helped me to clarify her epigenetic tendency and prescribe a medicine which fitted her more holistically.

Recent research suggests that within such “continuity of care” the bond between patient and doctor might be more important than previously thought. Sir Denis Pereira Gray, first author of the research from St Leonard’s practice in Exeter, wrote: “This research shows that the human side of medicine is still very important and even a matter of life and death.” l IF you would like to make an appointment with Mo call Exeter Natural Health Centre 01392 422555 www.thehomoeopathicpractice.co.uk

Feeling anxious, overwhelmed or depressed?

Can’t sleep, feeling agitated and exhausted?

Struggling to cope and feeling alone?

You are not alone You may be experiencing emotional and mental health issues related to pregnancy and birth.

We offer 1:1 peer support and run a 12 week course looking at developing skills to aid your wellbeing.

Please Contact us on: Mel 07955 281 214, Selina 07565 618758 or email mel@bluebellcare.org, selina@bluebellcare.org or visit Bluebellcare.org where you can find a copy of the self referral form and send to: Little Bluebell, PO Box 113, Brixham, TQ5 5BH. Free crèche provided.

Next course:

Monday 17 September Totnes Daisy Centre, 12.30-2.30 www.bluebellcare.org Bluebell Care Trust, registered charity no. 1136818 Ltd company no.

07101628. Address: Bluebell Place, 2 Quay Street, Bristol, BS1 2JL

Wednesday 19 September The Barn, Brixham, 12.15-2.15 for 12 weeks

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EMOTIONAL HEALTH WELCOME back to our exploration into all things emotional. In this issue our Emotional Health columnist Leigh Smith explores the value in creating healthy relationships.

Is it time for your relationship MOT?

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ET me start by stating, for the record, I do not claim to be an expert in relationships. I have both healthy and unhealthy relationships in my life. As far as the healthy relationships are concerned, I am one of life’s perpetual students, could do better, must try harder!

Let’s face it, creating and maintaining healthy relationships is just not easy! Yet it is almost impossible to go through life without them. They are a fundamental ingredient in our emotional wellbeing.

Daniel Goleman tells us: “When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands.�

At times relationships can be toxic, and the source of much pain, confusion and sadness. Some relationships may have ended badly and left deep scars that will always be a source of pain.

It can be hard to know when we are caught up in a toxic relationship, we can be so embroiled in trying to make it work that we don’t realise how much damage it is causing us.

Getting out of a toxic relationship can be a real challenge, especially if our self esteem is low.

There can be so much holding us back, so many reasons why we put up with something unhealthy, a fear of ending, or moving on from something we’re invested in.

Looking back on your own relationships how would you rate them? Perhaps when you look back you see a trail of damage, resentment, anger and unfinished business, but don’t despair! no matter what your relationship history looks like, we can always learn how to build emotionally healthy relationships in our future.

And there’s no time like the present to give our current relationships a bit of an MOT. So, what constitutes a healthy relationship?

Take a moment to think about somebody you are currently in relationship with, make it somebody that’s really important to you, a relationship that really matters.

Ask yourself: How real am I in this relationship?

Often in relationships we wear a mask, it hides the bits that we fear would not be acceptable if revealed. How ‘YOU’ are you with this person? How much of the ‘real’ you have they seen?

Putting on this ‘mask’ may seem like a good idea, but keeping it in place can become exhausting and

lead to resentment and insecurity.

If this person doesn’t know the ‘real’ you there may be a feeling of incongruence, the relationship may feel false or performic. So maybe it’s time to test the water, let a little of your true self show. If your partner doesn’t like it then it’s best to find out sooner than later.

Does this relationship feed me?

Relationships are opportunities to grow, be challenged, and connect to another in a way which nourishes our mind, body and soul. Ask yourself if this person is connecting with you on all levels, and whether this is ok for you.

Remember you are in control of how you connect to others, and how much of yourself you offer.

Trust yourself to know what is right for you, and respect your own boundaries.

Am I taking responsibility for me?

Responsibility taking is a big part of being in a healthy relationship, blaming and shaming are ingredients of a toxic relationship.

So perhaps you could own up when you make a mistake, apologize when you’ve gotten it wrong, be open to hearing what might be in your blind spot.

But look out for the flipside of responsibility too, are you taking on board your partners issues, turning a blind eye to behaviour which is just not acceptable? Taking responsibility sometimes means making our boundaries clear and knowing when to say “no�.

Does this relationship feel balanced?

Only you can know if the balance feels right, are you feeling over stretched, put upon, or like you are carrying guilt around not being good enough, present enough, giving enough?

Communication is key As with so many things, communication is key, there is no perfect formulae for getting it right, and the only way to know what’s right for both of you is to find a way to communicate in a healthy way. Expecting your partner to be a mind reader and ‘just know what you need’ is setting yourself up for potential self-sabotage. And it’s not just about talking, listening to what your partner has to say is so important, both listening and really hearing them will build trust and feelings of respect.

Paying attention to the good stuff as well as the bad, and openly acknowledging what you appreciate in your partner may sound obvious, but don’t underestimate the therapeutic value of gratitude. Feeling valued for who we are is an emotional health tonic, and one which we could all benefit from.

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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Daily rituals to create the life you love

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T’S easy to get stuck in the same old daily routine. And, according to personal coach, Katheryn Hope, it is this very routine that can reinforce bad habits and block the success that we desire in life.

Katheryn has devised an intensive coaching programme at a special offer price of 25% off exclusively for Reconnect readers.

The programme will support you to develop the best possible daily rituals as a way to create the life you love. Katheryn explained: “You will practice law of attraction every day and lay down new neural pathways that reinforce the life you wish to lead. You will have an exceptionally powerful daily routine that fits your life and makes lasting change, so you can manifest your dreams with ease.�

Clients complete an in-depth questionnaire to clarify exactly what their goals are, what changes they want to make, how they want to feel and what they want to manifest.

From this, Katheryn devises the best

possible daily routine to produce the changes they desire.

Katheryn said: “I work around your preferences and those things you do easily or not, so the routine is designed exclusively for you.�

A one-to-one coaching session introduces clients to their new powerful daily routine. They also receive links to free apps and tips and techniques.

Katheryn explained: “Intensive coaching is for you if you’re ready to make changes and have the determination to take action.

If you tend to put things off or procrastinate, it may not be. In this instance, I suggest Resonance Repatterning to transform these patterns. The intensive programme will give you a clear set of guidelines and the steps you need to take to help you reach your destination. Together we can make extraordinary things happen.�

Contact Katheryn on coach@ katherynehope.plus.com

Let tension, pain, and stress dissolve

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EVELOPING body awareness helps us regain a natural feeling of being supported in life, and grounded on the earth, says Feldenkrais practitioner, Nikhila Ludlow. She explained: “In turn, this helps the nervous system to relax, which often means that tension, pain and stress dissolve they simply become unnecessary.�

The Feldenkrais MethodÂŽ is highly effective for people with postural issues and chronic pain.

It is an educational model rather than a medical one, a method of somatic re-education, placing great emphasis on developing the kinaesthetic or felt sense. “Pain is essentially an alarm bell, a signal that something is wrong,� said Nikhila. “There are many kinds and levels of pain but basically this is its message. And, pain disconnects us. We are hard-wired to avoid it. In Feldenkrais we avoid doing movement that hurts, instead exploring other movement options.

People are usually surprised to find out what movement is possible even when they are in some pain. This sets them on the road to recovery. “Humans are biologically hardwired as naturally pleasure-oriented, pain-avoiding creatures. It is part of the design for survival as a species.

When pain becomes chronic this natural functioning is disrupted.

When the pain doesn’t go away our brain keeps on trying to fix it but it cannot so it goes on trying.

We easily then become trapped in a vortex of pain. Both physical and emotional coping patterns develop to manage daily living requirements. Over time though, these compensatory coping patterns normalize, the marvelously adaptive brain forgets that they were designed to be short-term and temporary.

We find we have developed poor

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posture - and this can develop even from a young age, it does not just affect older people.

The Feldenkrais Method offers us the chance to learn to explore and question the efficacy of our habits and patterns in movement and discover new ones. Gentle movement explorations help to reconnect the brain and body, re-orienting us towards efficient, effective movement, which tends to be pleasureable as any athlete will know! We cultivate the capacities of attentiveness, discernment, sensing, and feeling, in the same way we learned as children, and can recover for example a broader range of perception, renewed curiosity, understanding and choice.

Dr Feldenkrais said “Health is measured not by the capacity to stay standing, but by the ability to be knocked down and then return to standing�. He also said that “If a person is aware of what he is doing, the nature of things demands of him to do the best he feels�

Nikhila runs a private practice in Dartington/Totnes and Exeter. She teaches weekly ‘Awareness Through Movement’ classes and workshops and offers one-to-one ‘Functional Integration’ sessions for people with chronic pain and mobility issues.

For more information visit: www.lifeworks4.me.uk or call 07989394904.

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WELLBEING Real food, Real life,

Real health Classes Targeted advice Books Eating plans Free resources Online courses Healthy recipe blog 1-2-1, online, phone/Skype ME, gut disorders, mental health nutrition, cancer recovery & weight management.

Ecotherapy Exeter - from left to right: Nathalie Asmall, Stuart Lockton, Gill Baker, Peter Crowe, Adrian Harris, and Audaye Elesedy.

Providing ecological outdoor therapy

email: enquiries@trinityholistics.co.uk more info: www.trinityholistics.co.uk

Jane Hutton The Functional Foodie

T: 07841 344934

A GROUP of therapists and experienced outdoors professionals from Devon have got together to form Ecotherapy Exeter, a not-for-profit organisation that will promote ecotherapy and provide training across the South West. Reconnect Magazine interviewed the core group.

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O, what is ecotherapy?

It is a unique process that combines ecological awareness with psychological approaches to activities and involvement with the natural world. It encompasses a wide range of therapeutic activities in nature, including bushcraft, horticulture, talking therapy and personal development.

Psychotherapist and one of the founders of Ecotherapy Exeter, Peter Crowe, said: “Working outdoors provides a gentle, supportive, yet stimulating therapeutic environment.

Our approach combines the innate healing power of nature with group sharing, personal reflection and creative processes.”

Nature is at the heart of the therapeutic process rather than being an incidental component, as fellow ecotherapist, Nathalie Asmall explained: “Interaction with the natural world is seen as an active psychological component within the work, not just as a backdrop.” Adrian Harris, therapist and commentator on mindfulness in nature, added, “Spending time in nature can be hugely healing on all sorts of levels. It’s not just the physical exercise – it’s also that sense of being connected with the natural world.”

As well as providing psychological support, the group aims to increase people’s personal awareness of the natural world by providing training, facilitation and engagement.

“Ecotherapy helps develop a connection with nature and this provides a valuable new perspective, especially if people feel separated from the environment.” Says Gill Baker,

ecologist and green walks leader.

From the first week of September, Ecotherapy Exeter is offering Walks for Wellbeing, a series of weekly walks designed to improve mental and physical wellbeing. They will be led by health care professionals from Ecotherapy Exeter and are designed to be accessible to a diverse range of people who are looking to widen their personal, social and ecological horizons.

The team will also be facilitating ‘solo’ experiences on Dartmoor.

Participants will experience a time of solitude in a wild setting, ranging from a few hours to an overnight stay or several days.

Stuart Lockton, who organises this activity said: “These experiences are intended to support the connection to nature on a deep level. For me, both personally and professionally, the experience of the connection through the solo can be profound.”

In addition, Ecotherapy Exeter plans to offer ‘mindfulness in nature’ workshops, woodland and horticultural therapy, expeditions, training and research.

Audaye Elesedy, therapeutic and systemic coach, said: “Realising that we are always in a relationship with the natural world broadens the contexts in which we can see our lives and helps clarify the purposes that drive us. We hope people will be inspired to reconnect and re-establish a healthy relationship with nature, and we’re available to support that process.”

For more information email:info@ ecotherapyexeter.org.uk or visit:www.ecotherapyexeter.org.uk.

The big think comes to Totnes school

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HOUGHTBOX who work with schools to support young people to help them to feel connected to the world are showcasing their programmes during a one day event at KEVICCs school on September 14.

Named The BIG Think, this event will help Sixth Form students start to

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become more independent thinkers, find connections between what is happening in the classroom and what is happening out in the world and start bringing learning to life: helping them to feel both inspired by and connected to the world and their futures within it.

Andy Thompson, Clin. Hom, Dip. B.F.D. ‘Helping you to heal yourself’

BioEnergetic Health

An innovative testing and treatment method effective for acute, long-term and difficult-to-diagnose health problems.

Free taster sessions at the BioEnergetic Health Clinic and Greenlife in Totnes 07503 111057

www.bioenergetichealth.net

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WELLBEING Mindfulness : Beyond the Eight-Week Course A three-night meditation retreat for anyone who has completed an 8-week mindfulness course

31 August to 3 September 2018

www.gaiahouse.co.uk INSIGHT MEDITATION IN THE BUDDHIST TRADITION

Gaia House, nr Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6EW

IEMT can help with a range of issues Laura is an IEMT Master Practitioner/ Life Coach.

Unlike many psychological therapeutic processes, IEMT does not require you to disclose lots of details about your experience or give details about troublesome events. It is in effect a “secret therapy”. Disclosure is not required and your secrets remain secret.

Exeter Natural Health Centre 83-84 Queen Street, EX4 3RP UK

How felt-sense Focusing can help you

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HE language we often use to talk about pain depicts it as an enemy, something to be “battled” or “fought”.

We might say “I won’t let it beat me.”

Focusing is a natural human process that we can pay attention to, and refine to enhance its benefits.

Fiona Parr- Focusing Focusing offers a practitioner and mentor. new way to relate to our pain, seeing it as a guide to help gap in my toolbox of personal us understand ourselves and our self-support resources, that neither body more fully, even seeing it as therapy nor meditation quite met. a friend. The impact of this can be It introduced me to a whole new transformational, according to Fiona way of relating to myself, or rather Parr who teaches Focusing. different aspects of myself and my Fiona gives the example of Cathy experience, in a way that is nonwho had lived with a chronic pain judgmental. It doesn’t simply help condition for over 12 years. After me to understand pain better, it also learning Focusing, Cathy is no enhances my creativity and helps longer confined to a chair at home. me to live my life more fully.”

Instead, she works to help others Fiona added: “With Focusing you to heal. learn to follow your own inner The theory of Focusing says that: sense. It is a method of inner l Our experience is there for a awareness that opens your life up to good reason. new possibilities.” l There is value in being with what Fiona teaches Focusing in oneis there. to-one sessions or in courses with l If we allow something to be as it small groups. She is leading a is, it can shift or change. programme on September 22 and 23, from 10am to 5pm in Liverton. l Struggling against our felt experience can keep it static and l For more information call 07799 block change.

027332, or email fiona@fionaparrfocusing.co.uk Cathy said: “Focusing filled a

Reading a world disrupted by change

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OOM! Do you ever feel like an explosion has gone off in your life and suddenly, without so much as a by your leave, the order of things is turned upside down?

Bell Bartlett, a professional, full-time psychic reader, has noticed a rising swell in the number of people coming for readings whose world had been disrupted by change.

“Not just a ripple,” says Bell “but a volcanic, tectonic-plate-shifting vibration of awakening to which they must attend. Most of the changes I am seeing are very beneficial, giving rise to deep healing and opportunities for profound levels of release; however, in the moment this is often experienced as deeply uncomfortable, disorientating and frightening.”

It is said that love brings up anything that opposes it, and as we know, changes in our inner life affect our outer life, and vice versa. Whatever events precipitate change we can feel very much at sea in ourselves.

Bell cites a person who came for a reading because, very unexpectedly, she had fallen in love and spontaneously found herself both delighted and really scared.

Another client woke one morning knowing beyond any doubt that their 25 year relationship was over.

“When change comes roaring through our lives it can be like

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surfing unpredictable tides of energy, moving us around and inviting deep levels of surrender, which we may experience as a loss of control,” explains Bell.

At times like these Bell offers warmth and gentle reassurance, positive practical guidance, a mature understanding and the ability to show 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 can’t tell you how helpful that is, thank you!’

Contact Bell on 07796 900509 or visit www.conscious-tarot.co.uk.

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WELLBEING AutumnVision Quest on Dartmoor with Nature Wisdom

September 17 – 26 An ancient ceremony to mark a life transition or to uncover your soul’s purpose.

A quest for life’s bigger questions

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N a world that is obsessed with the minutiae of life, Rebecca Card encourages us to ask some bigger questions.

Am I at a point in my life where I feel that change needs to happen but I don’t yet know what that looks like? Am I seeking guidance from something outside the human realm to help me discover my soul identity? Is there something I need to let go of to step into the next phase of my life?

One way to discover the answers to these questions is to take part in a Vision Quest. The next one takes place from September 17 to 26 on Dartmoor She explains: “A Vision Quest is an ancient ceremony to mark a life transition or to uncover your soul’s purpose. They take place in wild

nature to support your ensoulment and home-coming.”

The four-day initiation journey involves fasting and time alone with the land. The days before and after the ceremony are dedicated to preparation and sharing stories.

A recent participant, Oliver Bethany, described the Quest as “transformational”. He said: “Rebecca facilitated the entire process in a strong yet gentle way, helping shape our experience with subtlety, sensitivity, depth, balance and good humour. I couldn’t imagine being in safer hands.”

Rebecca specialises in Vision Quests, Rites of Passage, Soul Initiation Ceremonies and more.

For more information visit: www.

NatureWisdom.life or email: rebecca@naturewisdom.life

The ‘change’ is a healing initiation

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ENOPAUSE can be a difficult time in a woman’s life. Physical symptoms, like headaches, weight gain, insomnia and hot flushes, alongside emotional symptoms like depression, anxiety, grief and rage, are a lot to deal with. Then there’s the cultural conditioning that leads women to feel they are over the hill, powerless and suddenly invisible.

Those who seek help from their doctor are likely to be offered HRT or anti-depressants, which ease symptoms but can have negative side effects. More importantly, they remove many of the gifts of this intense rite of passage.

What if we had a different cultural framework? What if we’d been told that this life stage is a powerful, healing initiation?

A chance to review life and

consciously choose what to carry forward into our Autumn years – the rich years of the Moon Queen, when we step fully into our power, find our life mission, and turn our energies to serving our community?

The Moon Queen workshop for peri-menopausal and menopausal women provides a map for this territory – something to steer by as we step into the unknown. We explore how to identify the sacred tasks and the common challenges of this psycho-spiritual death and re-birth, and useful allies such as herbs. Optional follow up meetings provide a space to share experience.

The next one is on September 16th near Totnes l For details visit www. moonsisters.co.uk

Meir Schneider practitioner plans talk ALIDA Epremian is one of the few Meir Schneider Self-Healing practitioner/educators In the UK. Alida gave a well attended talk in Jellyfish in Buckfastleigh recently where everyone was eager to learn ways to enhance their vision.

Alida has another September talk and workshop planned, both at the Totnes Natural Health Centre.

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The talk takes place on Saturday 22 from 10am-12pm entry £3, and the workshop on Sunday 30 from 10am-4:30pm Entry £50 Concs £40. People should bring two tennis balls and a blanket to lie on. For lunch bring packed lunch or food to share. For more information please contact Alida on 01364 644419.

Are you at a point in your life where you feel like change needs to occur but you’re not sure what that be? Do you feel that you need to receive guidance from the other-thanhuman realm in order to uncover your soul identity to take back as a gift to your people?

Is there something you need to let go of in order to step into the next phase of your life?

This initiation journey is over 4 days and involves fasting and solo time with the land and Mystery.

“Transformational. Rebecca is a truly authentic Wilderness Guide”. ~ Oliver Bethany

Contact Rebecca: rebecca@naturewisdom.life

www.NatureWisdom.life

Nature-based Soul Initiation & Cultural Healing Practices Vision Quests~Rites of Passage~Soul Initiation Ceremonies~Medicine Walk~Way of Council~Grief Tending~Embodiment Practices~One-to-one & group work on Dartmoor

Felicity Anne Clark CranioSacral Therapist Member of the Cranio Sacral Society Upledger UK www.upledger.co.uk East Cornwall and Plymouth Cost of Treatment is £40 for an adult for an hour; £30 for a child for half an hour. Please don’t hesitate to call to discuss treatments or book a free consultation.

Saturdays Wellbeing Centre Pigmeadow Lane, Liskeard PL14 6AT Tel: 01579 344090

Thursday mornings Waterloo Wellbeing Centre 191 Devonport Rd, Plymouth PL1 5RN Tel: 07878 259650

M: 07878 259650 | E: felicityanneclark28@gmail.com

The Feldenkrais Method® with Lifeworks Somatics • Reduce pain • Relieve stress • Improve performance • Move with ease

Functional Integration© individual lessons for those with chronic pain and injury, muscle pain and tension, RSI, chronic stress, physical and emotional trauma, degenerative and neurological disorders.

Awareness Through Movement© group lessons: Somatic movement explorations to help with posture & poor movement habits, to increase body awareness, help relaxation, & improve balance and coordination. Suitable for those wishing to maintain/improve mobility.

Learn naturally & organically. The way of “less is more” to being more flexible, strong & agile.

With Nikhila M Ludlow (registered Feldenkrais Guild UK 2005)

07989 394904

www.lifeworks4.me.uk | info@lifeworks4.me.uk

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WELLBEING OSTEOPATHIC PRACTICE 1 THE PLAINS, TOTNES, TQ9 5DR • Tel: 01803 840914 Dear All, I have really enjoyed serving the Totnes community for the last 26 years and hope that Osteopathy has helped many of you.

It is now time for me to semi-retire in France. I will be leaving at the end of August 2018.

Miss Sa mar Z eki MOst, also well established in Plymouth, has joined ‘1 The Plains’ since October 2017 and is now going to continue to look after the practice.

We both trained at the European School of Osteopathy, Maidstone, Kent, where we were introduced to the many different tools available to Osteopath. Like many of us, Sa mar prefers to work in a gentle way using what is usually referred to as functional and Cranial Osteopathy.

Sa mar also developed a special interest in Visceral Osteopathy, she trains regularly with Jean Pierre Barral, a French Osteopath specialist in the field and she is also teaching at the newly created Osteopathy Degree course at MARJON University in Plymouth.

I a m grateful and I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people in the course of this work. I would like to thank you for your support and your trust along those many years.

I a m confident that my colleague Sa mar Z eki will continue to serve skillfully the friendly Totnes Community.

Yours Sincerely, Christian Chemin DO, FSCCO SAMAR ZEKI MOST 07817143350 01803 840914 Photo by Lila Chemin

Healer breaks bad behaviour

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ICK of the same old personal or work issue? Modern Psychology practitioner, Gwen Channer, right, works with people who are stuck in a pattern of unhelpful thinking and behaviour, supporting them to break these old patterns.

Here are some recent examples.

Vera had a particularly scary anxiety experience that caused her to develop amnesia. Subsequently, she became even more troubled by anxiety. Several related issues that she had been battling with her whole life became a lot worse.

Gwen addressed Vera’s severe travel anxiety through three in-depth sessions of modern hypnosis, NLP and life coaching, with a gentle Quantum Touch energy stream running in the background.

After the sessions, Vera was able to stay calm enough to get behind the wheel of her car and drive again.

She started sleeping better and was able to enjoy doing things for herself. She can now think about flying without having a panic attack and confidently expects to be able to fly again soon.

Angela was stuck in a destructive relationship pattern. She really wanted a change but didn’t have a big budget for treatment. She took advantage of Gwen’s new client offer. By working together, they were able to uncover the root cause of the problem, which affected both how Angela related to herself and to a potential partner. Gwen supported Angela in resolving this

pattern and build a new confidence and trust in herself. Since then, dating has become much easier and more rewarding.

As a life/business coach Gwen also helps managers in stressful jobs, providing an opportunity to look at things away from the pressures of work. One manager client who had to deal with several teams in the UK and overseas got much-needed clarity during the sessions with Gwen in how to resolve tensions caused by the different manners and behaviours of the diverse nationalities involved. l Read more testimonials on Gwen’s website inherentwellbeing.co.uk Gwen also runs Stress Relief and Management classes over a fourweek period. The classes provide a wide range of benefits for people who attend and, a new set of classes starts each month.

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New book from Devon healer

M

ORE book news, ‘Donna and Dermot Heal’ is the second picture book from Devon author and healer Hilda Kalap and is published by Pegasus Publishers in August.

Illustrated by Jacob Artemenko, this new book expands on the adventures of a girl named Donna and her dog Dermot as they help family and friends with their broken arms, sprains, insect bites and other ailments using complementary therapies such as massage, Reiki and essential oils. Hilda will be reading ‘Donna and Dermot Heal’ for the first time at this year’s Lupton

House Holistic Festival on August 4-5.

Her first book ‘Donna and Dermot on the Move,’ published last summer was on the theme of mindfulness.

Both are available from good bookshops or by contacting Hilda directly at hilda@thehealingspace. global and she will send you a signed copy.

More information about Hilda can be found at www.thehealingspace.global

Book a series of ads this size and it will cost you just £41.85 a month - including free editorial. Regular advertiser Marc Blausten can vouch for the success of advertising. He said, “The advert and articles are generating enquires and bookings. So I’m very pleased with it .” You too could find customers through an advert in these pages, call Scott on 01392 346342.

Certificate in counselling is now available ARE you ready to take your first steps to becoming a counsellor?

The Dartmoor Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy is running its popular First Certificate in Counselling, starting on Wednesday September 5th.

This 10-day course, spread over 10 weeks includes 30 hours of directed study and will enable you to progress onto the Advanced Diploma in Counselling.

The course is taught by the centre’s Director of Training, Ken Rabone.

He explained its philosophy and aims: “This course provides a fun and practical introduction to counselling theory, counselling skills and personal development.

It is suitable for anyone involved in a caring profession who wishes to develop their skills. The course is also suitable for anyone interested in learning more about counselling skills and theory. It can lead to diverse career possibilities, including a career in counselling or psychotherapy.’

He explained that relationship is at the core of the centre’s teaching.

“The course is profoundly personcentred and this informs everything

we do,” said Ken. “We believe in the creativity that lies at the heart of the human impulse to grow and develop. At times on our life’s journey, we can feel restricted, disconnected from our creativity, and our resources may feel insufficient. At other times we can feel ourselves to be empowered and overflowing with possibility.

“We believe that a counselling approach that places relationship and deep respect at the centre of its work offers the widest and most supportive way of connecting with your creativity. These ideas will inform your educational and personal experience with us.”

The course is designed for people from various helping professions, including bereavement professionals and hospice staff; the health service; youth and community workers; andsocial services.

For details about this and the accredited Advanced Diploma Counselling visit: www.safespaceforcounselling. com Or email: office@ safespaceforcounselling.com.

Telephone: 07801 248421.

Creams, lotions, balms, toothpaste, facial scrubs, baths salts, bath bombs, floral water sprays & lip balms.

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Soul coaching: a holistic approach

P

EOPLE are happiest and most fulfilled when they’re doing the right work for their unique personality, Gill Coombs explains.

Gill is a soul coach who works with people on a one-to-one basis, exploring their values, purpose and identity and helping them to develop a practical action plan.

In these turbulent times, she firmly believes that we all have something to contribute that can benefit the living world – by this she means other people, other creatures or the planet.

Gill particularly loves supporting people through transitions and on to the next stage of their journey. Her clients range from college leavers to retired people, including anyone considering a change of career. She said: “I’ve trained as both a coach and a counsellor, so as well as a practical goal-setting approach, I also work with the emotional issues around change and transition. And,

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of course, it doesn’t all have to be about work.”

After 15 years as a coach, mediator and workshop leader in organisations, Gill started her private practice eight years ago.

She says, “I love human variety.

Each client is unique, so every new coaching relationship is an exciting adventure.”

For more information visit: www. gillcoombs.co.uk or contact Gill on: 01803 762840 or gillcoombs@ gillcoombs.co.uk

Let go & surrender ~ Reconnect to your pleasure ~ Come home to your body ~ Energy Orgasm workshop Bristol 13th - 14th October 2018 sessions ~ workshops ~ bespoke retreats

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Supporting emotional resilience in schools

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E should be teaching our children how to think not what to think, says Rachel Musson.

Founding Director of ThoughtBox Education.

Rachel become an English teacher in 2001 and loved it. She describes “feeling constantly inspired and amused by teenagers.” She comments: “I loved helping them to think outside the box and feel connected to and inspired by the world and their futures within it.”

Fast forward to 2018 and Rachel says: “Our schools are nowhere near as inspiring - for teachers or students. Demands from education policy mean that schools are having to focus more on exam results than on nurturing happy children, and school is becoming more about competition and stress than a place to develop skills for emotional wellbeing or find inspiration.”

But, our rapidly-changing global environment means we need to equip our children with skills they will need to deal with an uncertain future - critical thinking, empathybuilding, and resilience - the key life skills for adaptability.

“Critical thinking is a vital life skill to support emotional resilience,” she explains. “It’s crucial for selfreflection and self-development

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and is included in nearly all frameworks for 21st century skills. The ability to know how to think encourages diversity and tolerance, promotes creativity, enhances adaptability and versatility and is a key skill for the job market. It’s vital for empathybuilding and a way for students to learn to tolerate difference in opinion and belief.”

ThoughtBox works with schools to support young people in developing these key skills, helping them to feel connected to the world through the simple act of conversation.

It is hosting a one-day event at KEVICCs in Totnes in September.

Named The Big Think, it will help Sixth Form students start to become more independent thinkers and find connections between what’s happening in the classroom and what’s happening out in the world For more information visit: www. thoughtboxeducation.com

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WELLBEING The power of sandplay work

S

ANDPLAY and therapeutic art is increasingly being used in schools, youth services, social services and healthcare, amongst others.

The Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists (AIST) was set up in 2009 to promote sandplay and creative arts therapies and provide a clear training route. Ruth Baker is supervisor and teacher for AIST based in South Devon.

She is committed to bringing high quality training to our region and consistently receives excellent feedback for her programmes.

As an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist with extensive experience of working in mental health and private practice, Ruth describes becoming “hooked by the power of sandplay work and its symbolism from the very first weekend.”

Creative therapies like sandplay use symbol and metaphor to connect with and express the unconscious.

The result is a powerful, creative and transformational healing process for both adults and children. During a sandplay session you are given an opportunity to create a three-dimensional picture or a miniature “world” within the boundaries of the sand tray, in a safe and compassionate environment. This experience can help people express their innermost feelings and make them aware of their unconscious processes. It can gradually soften internal conflicts and bring about the sense of integration and wholeness.

Ruth explained: “Personal change, healing and problem-resolution occur through symbolic exploration and transformation within the sand tray. Sandplay is suitable for people of all ages and backgrounds, and differs from conventional talking therapies in some fundamental ways. It does not require you to disclose difficult personal material, which may people find very appealing. Sandplay works mostly on an unconscious level and does not demand conscious effort. It

promotes a sense of play and fun, helping to enhance creativity and intuition, and is simultaneously safe, gentle and powerful. Sandplay can help to enhance spiritual connection and growth and, in some circumstances, sessions can take place at longer intervals than with traditional talking therapies.”

Sandplay and the creative art therapies are often integrated with other types of therapy to deepen and illuminate the therapeutic insights.

Many counsellors, psychotherapists, teachers and teaching assistants have had brief introductions to sandplay therapy in their training and seen for themselves the extraordinary power of this approach. There is a growing appetite for further training, which is where AIST courses prove so valuable. Ruth explained: “AIST training provides an opportunity to adventure further into the world of sand and art as a therapeutic form. We explore in depth how it can facilitate the journey we take with our clients. We learn about the symbols, their meanings, the archetypes and much more.”

The Nautilus Rooms in Totnes is the South West’s centre for AIST. It offers courses in both Integrative Sandplay and Therapeutic Art, including: A foundation weekend in Integrative Sandplay, a Diploma course, an Advanced Diploma Course and standalone CPD courses. l For more information contact Ruth Baker at: ruth1@gmail.com or visit: www.nautilusrooms.uk

Helping hard pressed parents to connect

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HE PRESSURE on parents has never been more acute. Whatever type and configuration of family you have - blended, same sex, trans, single parents, traditional or multiple variants of co-parenting – caring for children can feel like an ongoing struggle with very few wins.

Connect Parenting is about exploring the connections and relationships that underpin successful families of all types and configurations. From September 18, across Devon, Connect Parenting is running The Circle of Security groups to help hard-pressed parents to understand more about the tough task of parenting.

Audaye Elesedy, who is leading the programme, said: “Whether the challenges you face relate to life in our fast-paced world - tantrums, the stress of appointments, managing meltdowns, orientating your child or

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Lacking in concentration, muscles aching, feeling exhausted, having poor circulation? yourself in a fast-changing world of ever-increasing technology – or they relate to our changing experiences of “family”, these groups provide a safe, supportive space and structured programme to explore the issues we all face, to see and understand the principles of what’s really happening for our children and us, and how more successful parenting can flow from that understanding.”

Connect with us at 07543114535 info@ connectparenting.uk or @ secureparents on twitter, @ connectparenting on facebook or visit: www.connectparenting.uk

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OUR TRANSDERMAL OZONE THERAPY CAN HELP...

Here at The Ozone Spa Torquay, we offer therapies using our HOCATT steam sauna, which provides a method of introducing ozone into the body via the skin.This is called transdermal ozone therapy and we are one of the very few places in the United Kingdom where you can obtain this treatment.

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35 35

WELLBEING A pathway back to pleasure Well-Being Wisdom & Wealth Coach

Coaching for Women 07971 416630 / www.theseedcoach.com coach@katherynehope.plus.com

Zero Balancing

Four days of Advanced Therapist Training in East Devon 27th ~ 30th September 2018 For your clients: • • • •

Create clear energetic boundaries.

Learn to handle and balance skeletal energy.

New approaches to physical conditions.

Provide clients with the opportunity to release old trauma.

• Take your clients into a deep still place.

For you:

• Feel embodied and energised in your work.

• Receive in depth energy bodywork.

• Become centered in your Self as you work.

For full details call Richard Walters 07811845862 Read more at richardwalters.org/workshops

O

UR bodies are an inherent source of sensation. The skin is populated with nerve endings which, when stimulated, send information to the brain allowing us to learn about what we’re experiencing and placing it somewhere along the spectrum of pleasure through to pain.

We learn to repeat actions we register as pleasurable and to avoid those we register as painful. If we’re perceiving pleasure through touch, we are likely to want to repeat that practice. Conversely, if it’s registered as pain we’re likely to refrain from it in the future.

Our bodily sensations link to emotional states, such as joy or love, or anger and shame. As children, the responses of others can change our emotional states. For example, if a trusted caregiver made us feel ashamed for touching our body in a particular way, we are likely to carry that feeling forward into adulthood. The responses of our caregivers affected our very survival as children so we may have learned to restrict our touch to the areas of the body where we didn’t get shamed and rejected.

Catherine Hale, sexological body worker, said: “This response is primitive and may occur even before we have acquired language.

Subsequently, every time we touch these areas the same emotions get activated, so we make the association between self-touch and shame. The consequences of this patterning can be far reaching and can lead to avoidance or to deep confusion within the psyche.

“What I notice, in my practice, is how these associations give rise to challenges within the arena of sex and intimacy. Many of my clients share feelings of shame, or anger,

or feelings of low self-worth when they engage in sex. This often results in, for example, avoidance, compromise, or engaging in sex that’s devoid of emotional connection, or an inability to orgasm or issues with ejaculation.

All of this can reduce our capacity to feel pleasure in our bodies and may also create a myriad of relational issues.”

Catherine describes her work as “offering a pathway back to pleasure, by connecting with the original feelings that have become housed in the body and giving them space to be there.” In this way, clients can complete and release what’s been held onto, allowing a state of pleasure to return to the body.

She added: “Rather than being limited by the conditioning of the past, clients find a place of freedom in their bodies, a return to their natural baby-like innocence and so their pleasure capacity increases and their relationship to self and others shifts.

Catherine offers pleasure reclamation via one-to-one sessions, couples sessions, workshops and bespoke retreats.

For more information visit: www.tantricawakening.org or email Catherine at: catherine@ tantricawakening.org

Train in psychotherapeutic counselling

L

OTUS Training Co will be starting their Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling on September 8.

The course will be run by their director Julie Jeffs a registered psychotherapist with the UKCP. Julie trained at the Karuna Institute, one of the oldest centres worldwide to integrate and teach mindfulness practices as professional healing skills.

Julie said: “Our aim is to create a rich learning environment where

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authenticity, honesty and open debate are encouraged and welcomed.”

As part of the course students will have the opportunity to undertake a 30 hour Accredited CPD Training in Emotionally Focused Couples Counselling at a fraction of the cost.

The course will cover in-depth psychotherapeutic theories including trauma, attachment and working with transference and countertransference.

To apply for a place please contact Julie Jeffs Tel: 07966003872 or visit www.lotustrainingco.co.uk

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WELLBEING Speaking the language of stories

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hearts, connecting E live in rational one-on-one.” times. Facts Healers and are considered more therapists use intuitive important than insight storytelling to create and imagination. stories for their But, sometimes life clients. Parents use presents us with it to make stories challenges that for their children. require us not to think Workshop leaders harder, but to let go use it to create stories of what we think we for their groups. know and dream into Storytellers, authors the unknown. and artists use it to Leo Sofer Stories are one of deepen their craft. the primary ways In fact, anyone can use intuitive that human beings make sense of storytelling to access their own the world: we have evolved to think inner wisdom, in a playful and in the language of stories. But, most imaginative way. of the narratives that surround us Leo said: “This work feeds our today speak only to the surface dreaming self, the part of us that is level of our lives. Many of us are bored with facts and wants to look hungry for stories that validate our at the world in non-rational ways. It inner experience, as the best stories encourages us to “be the fool”, to always have done. leap before we have looked, and Leo Sofer is an intuitive storyteller allow the unknown to surprise us. who has been training people in Stories are a way of expressing the art since 2010. Here’s what what we know but cannot explain.

Deb Dunn said of a recent training: They can serve as bridge from “I thoroughly enjoyed the whole where we are now, to where we course. I found it so powerful to get wish to be, guiding us to our fuller in touch with my intuition and see potential.” what is really there. The pictures l The weekend Intuitive Training that it has shown me have been so workshop is at Jellyfish Arts Hub in incredible. I love the surprise of it Buckfastleigh, October 6 and 7. and I am absolutely taking away For more information visit www. the power of the healing stories and how that can really talk to people’s storiesofthejourneyhome.com.

Y

TERESA WICKSTEED Member of UK College of Sound Healing MA, BA Hons, PGCE

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I L I TAT E D AR NI NG ·

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Years Yoga© programme conducted at Northumbria University in Newcastle concluded: “This Yoga programme may be appealing because its content is suitable for people with hip or knee replacements and long-term health conditions, such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.”

Guinevere teaches classes in Broadhempston and Ashprington and can also teach groups in sheltered housing, retirement apartments, day centres, health centres and care homes.

For more information call Guinevere on: 07514 546097/01803 732296 or email guinevere-w@hotmail.com

Available in December/January.

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OU’RE never too old or too unfit to do Yoga… That’s the message that Yoga teacher, Guinevere Wearne wants us to hear loud and clear.

Her Gentle Years Yoga class may not fit with our usual perceptions of a Yoga class but it provides a much-needed and fun way for older people to maintain their wellbeing and flexibility.

Guinevere, who has been practising Yoga since 1986 and teaching since 2003, explained that her classes attract “mixed groups of ‘regular’ Devon folk, ranging in age from late 50s to 90, most of whom have had no prior experience of Yoga.”

The emphasis is on making Yoga fun and accessible, using chairs, props and modified practices. All of this is followed by a sociable cup of tea or coffee and biscuits.

Guinevere said: “With so many of us living longer, the news is full of stories of the strain on our services – both in the NHS and the care sector. There has never been a more important time to take matters into our own hands by staying as fit and well as possible for as long as possible. Practising yoga helps to maintain mobility, strength, balance and cognitive function, wherever you are starting from. In short, Yoga can help us to live well, and actively, for longer. And it’s enjoyable and sociable!”

Recent research into the Gentle

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

QUINE · E

Staying fit and well in the later years

COMING SOON!

Yoga teacher Guinevere Wearne

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37

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

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A pathway through the petty strife

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any people think that because we deal with death we must somehow be better at life. You know; live each day like it’s our last, make it count, drain the cup.

We aren’t. It’s impossible to keep focused on these truisms for 18 years. We snap at the children and each other, become stranded in pools of self pity, lose sight of the bigger picture. We sweat the small stuff like anyone experiencing modern life. We are endlessly reminded of the innate goodness of people, but it is still hard to convince ourselves that it is in us too, that we must have what we see in others.

However, being an undertaker for the best part of two decades has taught me one simple way to recalibrate my sense of perspective.

When the worst thing happens to someone; their child dying unexpectedly, the terrible, random, life changing moment that comes out of nowhere on a slow Tuesday afternoon, then it is clear that the savagely indifferent guillotine of chance neatly divides their life into two parts; before and after.

There is never ‘closure’, it doesn’t exist, it’s a concept to comfort the people around you. As Philip Larkin said: “Courage is no good.

It means not frightening others.”

And neither would a bereaved parent want closure, for that would mean the closing of everything the child means, an erasing of their memory that would be as much of an outrage as their death, it is unthinkable to have them not exist, to be spared the pain of their death.

But one thing is crystal clear. The life before, however seemingly difficult it was at the time, beset with everyday anxieties around finances, dissatisfaction with work, tricky family dynamics, annoying friends or partner, this life, appears as an Eden from which they have been expelled.

For The Green Funeral Company’s Claire and Rupert Callender being undertakers has given them a way to redress their perspectives when life gets on top of them.

As Ru explains...

Tir Na Nog glimpsed from the cursed earth, not the enchanted saddle, disappearing at the speed of light.

It will not have been perfect, not even close, but compared with the life they face, it’s sweetness stands out in sharp relief.

These seismic events, a loss like this, or life changing injuries will only happen to a few of us, most of us will limp through life with our fair share of distress, sizeable though that is.

But when you find yourself overwhelmed by the everyday grind of life, imagine for a moment the worst thing, imagine how you would yearn for the petty strife you are embedded in now.

Then, with the power of The Wizard of Oz and the compassion of Buddha, magick yourself back into your present life, breathe deeply and release the bone deep sorrow.

The absence of sadness is a subtle joy.

Summer is time to focus on yourself

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T

WENTY years inspired/healthy/ working as a good about yourself, yoga teacher your brain will has taught Natalie associate your good Austin one valuable habits with feeling lesson that she lives good! New habits by and encourages created will be easier her students to do to get back into the same: “Selfshould you lose your care is utterly way.” non-negotiable. You Natalie’s three top cannot run your life tips for basic self-care and take care of all are: your responsibilities Natalie Austin 1. Detox from social if you are running media/TV/screens and replace on empty. I’ve spent the last two this with time spent outside. decades helping people feel good about themselves but I could not 2. Commit to regular yoga take care of my students if I did practice - find a style and a not take care of myself.” teacher you like Natalie believes that the summer 3. Spend time daily doing is a great time to focus on self-care something you love (even if it’s as we generally feel happier and only half an hour!) more content during the summer Natalie teaches classes throughout months. the year at Chapel House Studios “This is the time to develop good in Totnes. For more information habits and maximise the feelemail: natalie@loveyogatree. good factor,” said Natalie, “So co.uk, call 07516 720246 or visit when you are feeling a little less website www.loveyogatree.co.uk

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A crystal sphere.

WELLBEING

Soul Coaching The journey towards wholeness

A

RE we just a physical body going through the motions of life from birth to death? asks crystal energy healer, Sandra Pepper.

She believes that many of us are still too focused on status and material gain, to our own and the planet’s detriment, and urges us to consider taking a different view: “When we start to see the world as ‘energy’, we can begin to look through the cracks of the physical world to something more elevated - a higher ‘note’, so to speak.”

Without the distractions of our modern world, she believes our ancestors saw and understood something of the world of energy, a spiritual connection that many of us have forgotten. Her goal is to help us to rediscover it.

The lower three chakras within the bio-magnetic field relate to mastery of the physical world. Many of us stay working through these levels throughout our lifetime. But, when we are ready to take the next step, there is more for us to discover, expanded levels of consciousness where we can begin to balance the anima and the animus.

And what then? Harmony? Even transcending this there can be an awareness of androgynous levels, not relating to sexuality, but

awareness of greater wholeness through non - duality and inter connectivity between physical and non - physical planes of existence.

“Working through these levels in the bio-magnetic field is a spiritual path of development. When we leave our physical body, our eternal soul remains”.

“Nature gives us tools that can be combined with energy healing to help us on this journey. Crystals are one of these tools. They hold a myriad of perfect energetic ‘notes’, or frequencies, to help to bring ourselves and the Earth back into balance.”

If you would like to take this journey, and if you have an affinity with crystals, Sandra is hosting a sixweek course entitled ‘Crystals - The Journey towards Wholeness’.The course takes place at the Arcturus Centre in Totnes every Wednesday 7.00-8.30pm, from 5 September to 10 October.

She is also holding a taster Crystal Meditation Evening on 15 August at the same time and location which is DONATION ONLY. l For more information call: 01364 642333 (we apologise to Sandra for printing her number wrong on her advert last issue) or email: sandra@ crystallighthealing.co.uk

x Strengthen personal confidence x Grow resilience for stressful times x Resolve difficult workplace issues x Build good working relationships x Clarify and plan the next phase of your life x Apply for jobs and prepare for interviews x Dream your own business into being x Constructively address fears about today’s world x Identify your values, passions, qualities and skills x Identify and work with blocks that stop you moving forward x Explore that elusive sense of purpose, whatever it means for you...

A warm, supportive and perceptive approach to personal and professional transition/transformation email: gillcoombs@gillcoombs.co.uk • call: 01803 762840

Your mind. Your life. Your success.

Executive Coaching in Exeter with free introductory sessions.

Call 07717 172 691 or visit matthewrochford.co.uk

Yearning for that inner quiet

A

PROFOUND invitation to relax, to feel our way towards a sense of enoughness….. This is how Caroline Lang describes The Yoga House in Harberton, near Totnes.

It was not exactly planned, but moving to Devon with partner Mike and daughter Amber, Caroline discovered their new home offered the perfect place to teach, right across the lawn.

Originally a garage that with, some careful design and attention to detail, was transformed into a place that welcomes everyone.

Caroline said: “People express so much appreciation for all that happens here. The space feels intimate and cosy, yet spacious. It really is a sanctuary, surrounded by fields, birdsong, trees…

Without many passers-by, it can

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take time for people to find their way here, and perhaps that adds to the magic.”

She describes her approach to yoga as “not a method, simply a deep, kind, settling into life through the body, which can seem like a gentle breeze blowing in the opposite direction to the complexity of contemporary life”.

“We can create such a gap between all that we feel about the right way to live and the reality of our lives. Many of us yearn for inner quiet and equilibrium whilst being filled with a sense of urgency and so-much-to-do, placing an enormous stress on the body-mind. Letting go is a movement akin to a flock of birds leaving the dark of the trees.”

For more information visit: www. carolinelangyoga.com or email carolinelangyoga@yahoo.com

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

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WELLBEING Transform your feelings through play

D

RAMATHERAPY is coming to Totnes this autumn.

Over six weeks, from September 7 to October 19, 7.309.30pm, a weekly closed group will meet at Totnes Natural Health Centre to explore a process of self-expression, healing and change through dramatherapy.

Rachel Perry, who is leading the Interactive groupwork with dramatherapy programme, explained: “Dramatherapy is a the unconscious through interactive holistic form of interactive group spontaneous play and the work and a method of play; a development of the imagination. means of discovering, unlocking This will include working with and working with different aspects personal story, archetypal of the self in a spontaneous and journeying and creative dialogue, imaginative way. It provides improvisation, masks, movement a creative vehicle for the and group reflection. transformation of feelings.”

No previous experience is The group will provide an necessary. It’s priced at £105 opportunity to enter the creative and with an early bird discount before healing process of dramatherapy August 4. within a contained space. The For more information contact emphasis will be on developing 01803 473079 rachel.perry59@ self-awareness and reconsidering old and unwanted patterns of googlemail.com or see www. behaviour, whilst also stimulating dramatherapy.org.uk

Yoga with Natalie @ Chapel House Studios - Totnes

Yoga Classes Yin - Monday 6.30pm and Wednesday 10.45am

Taste of Transformation

Vinyasa - Thursday 6.30pm Drop In Price £8/Discount for class package.



07516 720 246 | natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk | www.loveyogatree.co.uk

FELICITY Anne Clark and Patricia Angove are hosting a taster day (priced at £65) for those wishing to experience deep cellular healing that removes blocks that can change past beliefs and mind sets on Sunday August 12 at Polbathic Village Hall from 10am to 4pm. For booking please contact: Felicity on 07878 259650 or email: felicityanneclark28@gmail.com For more information about Transformational Healing visit Patricia’s website: www.patriciaangove.com

Take your practice to the next level ZERO Balancing focuses on handling both body energy and the skeletal structure simultaneously something that is perhaps unique amongst therapies.

Richard Walters, who has been practicing Zero Balancing and acupuncture for 28 years and teaching for 22, describes Zero Balancing as ”the best-kept secret in bodywork therapy”.

He explained: “It eases your mind as much as it relaxes your body, giving you a direct experience of balance and internal harmony.

Zero Balancing makes it possible for you to become what you always knew you could be, if only you knew how. By holding bones and joints in stillness with just the right pressure or stretch, and not manipulating, it allows the body to let go from its core.”

Richard is holding a four-day Zero Balancing course in East Devon from September 27th. It is aimed at body workers, energy workers and talking therapists.

Richard said: “For body workers, such as massage therapists and reflexologists, it takes the effort out

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of the work; for talking therapists it helps bring deep realisations into the body, and support the client through the turbulence of internal work, and for energy workers it helps ground the energy shifts into the body and everyday life.

“To touch energy and structure simultaneously with our attention brings a profound sense of presence to our work, allowing our clients to drop deeper into themselves. Working at the bone level, Zero Balancing helps us to connect with a calmer, more stable part, enabling us to navigate the emotional storms of life with more ease. “ The four-day course will include theory, plenty of receiving and giving of hands-on work, a personal session and a student manual. The belief is that it is as transformational for the student to learn as it is for the client to receive.

For more information contact Richard Walters on 07811845862, richardwalters@ onetel.net or visit www. richardwalters.org/workshops

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WELLBEING Kate does…Transformational breathing GENTLE YEARS YOGA© This issue we start a new regular feature “Kate GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS AVAILABLE

does....” where we will be trying 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.

First up, Kate samples a Transformational breathing workshop with Les Elms.

H

You are NEVER too old, too unfit or too stiff to start yoga!

YOGA adapts to you in this class with use of chairs, props and modified practices.

ave you ever considered what level of protection around my heart, breathing is, what it’s for? possibly to safeguard it against hurt.

Before doing Les Elms’ As we entered the hour-long Transformational Breathing workshop breathing session, Les told us to at The Studio in Dawlish this month I focus on breathing through our hadn’t really given it much thought. mouth and into our abdomen. He spent several minutes with each of Les described the breath as “food us, working on pressure points and for our cells” and explained that a speaking words of encouragement. well-oxygenated body is more able Each point on me that he touched to heal itself and fight off both dayfelt tender, sometimes painful. He to-day infections and more serious encouraged me to forgive - both illnesses. others and myself, to allow love into Transformational Breathing was my heart and to give love freely developed by Dr Judith Kravitz. again, to release and let go.

She discovered that deep breathing Several times I found myself into the abdomen, followed by an involuntarily gasping. Several easy release of the breath (allowing rather than forcing it) and then times I was close to tears but they an immediate in-breath created a didn’t flow. By the end of the therapeutic, circular breathing pattern session, I could no longer feel the that could be transformational on floor beneath me. Instead I felt many different levels. weightless. I also felt safe and had a powerful vision of being held like On a physical level, bathing our a baby between two loving parents. cells in oxygen feeds them and is Messages came, too, and colours – the perfect antidote to stress. It is purple and pink. an immediate signal to the body to become calmer and allow adrenaline, that causes the fight or flight response, to dissipate.

Deeper abdominal breathing alters our mood and brings us out of our heads and more into our bodies. If we are habitual shallow breathers, our body becomes accustomed to only sending the oxygen to where it is really needed – mainly brain and heart – Kate with Les at the breathing workshop leaving the rest of the body to make do on very little.

I experienced something far deeper than I anticipated on this On an emotional level, deep workshop. I expected the session abdominal breathing helps to shift to be about mindful breathing feelings and emotions that have or stress reduction. Instead it felt become stuck in the body. Les like a process of release and explained that emotion is simply reconnection. Transformational energy vibrating at a low level. If breathing came out of rebirthing the emotion is suppressed it can and I can see why. Les explained become stuck . Deep breathing that Transformational Breathing helps to raise the body’s vibrational can be used to unlock creativity, to level and any energy that is at a release trauma, even to heal the lower vibration “entrains” with body. Dr Kravitz supposedly used it this higher level vibration, rising to to help cure herself of cancer. meet it. This process allows stuck emotions to be released.

Breathing is something my body Transformational breathing works just quietly gets on with without on a spiritual level, too, helping to me normally paying it the slightest reconnect us to whatever source of attention. From now on I will be power we relate to, often bringing us far more aware of the power and guidance, support or even messages. potential of this extraordinary process.

We began the workshop by observing the breathing of one the group, For information visit: www. namely me. Les gave me a mouthpiece breathsouthwest.com, call (actually a cut-off bottle top) to make 07828566553 or email les@ me breathe through my mouth, breathsouthwest.com explaining that the volume of breath we take in is greater through the mouth l Les has the following workshops planned: and gets deeper into the abdomen.

Introductory workshops at The After observing my breathing for a few Ozone Spa, Torquay – 30/7, 17/9 minutes, he said I was managing to and 2/11, at The Studio, Dawlish breathe into my abdomen OK but very on 3/9. little breath was reaching my solar plexus and chest.

Breath and Sound workshop in Torquay on 21/10 He explained that the chest is the heart space and it could indicate a 1:1 sessions also available.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Practising yoga helps to maintain mobility, strength and balance wherever you are starting from.

GUINEVERE WEARNE

I have been practising yoga since 1986 and teaching since 2003.

Contact me for information:

01803 732296 | 07514 546097 guinevere-w@hotmail.com

Is your life challenging sometimes? Do you get overwhelmed?

Is there something you are longing to do with your life but you just don’t do it?

Focusing is a proven method for listening to yourself and taking positive steps in the direction of your fuller life. With Focusing, you’re not following some authority outside yourself. Instead, you learn to find and follow your own inner sense of forward life direction. You’ll probably wish you’d been doing it all along!

Thousands of people like you have learned the Focusing process and are now living a more grounded and empowered life. This is a method of inner awareness and working with emotions that you can learn and use yourself.

Join me this September in my tranquil space on the edge of Dartmoor for two days of training to get you started with Focusing... and open up your life possibilities.

September 22 and 23 10am - 5pm

Liverton, Devon • Fiona Parr 07799 027332 • fionaparr-focusing.co.uk

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.

Intro workshops at The Ozone Spa - Torquay: 30/7 - 6.45pm • 17/9 - 6.45pm • 2/11 - 2pm See website for details.

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

07828 566553

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

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A variety of authentic Crystal & Earth Cycle Workshops. For more details see www. crystalearthwoman. co.uk 07791939208

GRIEF SUPPORT CREATIVE counsellor.

Heartful, Supportive Counselling. Creative Exercises including Art, Sandplay etc. Adults and Young People.

Ruth Jenni Adv Dip Couns 07974097787 www.oakflower.co.uk Dartington, Newton Abbot and on Skype

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.

“IT’S hard to imagine a more grounded therapist than Adrian Harris”, JUNO magazine. Ecotherapy, mindfulness, Sand Tray for anxiety, depression, relationships, stress and more.

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moon yoga

MOON yoga with Nikki from MoonSisters.

Deep feminine yoga to connect with your Womb, the Earth and the Moon. Womb Yoga, Dru Yoga, Nature Connection, Yoga Nidra. All women welcome.

Dartington Estate.

Details on www. moonsisters.co.uk Moon Yoga page.

MOVEMENT

GRIEVING? STRESSED? Counselling and/ or body-based TRE (tension/ trauma release) @ Bowden House, Totnes with Carmella B’Hahn. 01803 867005 carmella@ heartofrelating.com www.heartofrelating. com

meditation

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

FOR ADVERTISERS... an affordable way to get your message across.

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

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

JAY Ramsay MA: Oxon, UKCP. 20+ years experience with individuals and couples, Psychosynthesistrained, now working in Totnes: www. jayramsay.co.uk 07752-719331

REFLEXOLOGY

CHAGFORD: Healing therapies in the heart of Dartmoor including Breathwork, Healing, Reflexology, Shadow Work, Shiatsu. Tel: 07581 375988 www. thehealingroomchagford. co.uk

MOVEMENT MEDICINE open classes with Ailsa Lucas. Dance for awareness, healing, freedom, power, resources and transformation. Monthly Saturday mornings.

Dartington / Plymouth. movementmedicine association.org, ailsa. clare.lucas@gmail.com, 07999 486059

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

And Deep Rest Meditation

CREATIVE Kinesiology open classes with Ailsa Creative Kinesiology taps into your body’s inherent/soul wisdom.

It can help release what you need to move towards your potential. Introductory session £25 For appointment or more information contact Karen 01803-863930 or karenevansck@ hotmail.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

The healing room

TREE CARE

Scaravelli Yoga

PSYCHOTHERAPY MEDITATION evening class Journeys to the Spirit. Alternate Tuesdays evenings from 25th September. £50 for 6 evenings in Exeter. Richard Walters 07811 845 862 richardwalters.org

MOVEMENT MEDICINE

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

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS FRACK FREE TOTNES Meetings are held at the Seven Stars The Plains Totnes at 7pm on last Sunday of the month.

fooling workshops

“Do you long for more play, are you ready for more of yourself in your life?“ Introductions to Fool Expression Workshops on the 8-9 of September, 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.

www.high-nature.co.uk SHIATSU in Chagford: Sensitive, powerful bodywork for deep healing/ transformation.

Melanie Ward MRSS tel: 07581 375988, email: melanieshiatsu@ yahoo.co.uk or visit: www. melaniewardshiatsu. co.uk

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

Holistic Yoga August 4, 5, 19, 25, 26 Felt Picture Making August 26 Vinyasa Krama Yoga August 19, 25 Trees & Wild Food August 26 Energy Medicine August 5 Native American Flute & Sound Journey August 12 Basket Making August 18 Shakti Dance

10-11 of November.

Hittisleigh Mid Devon. £110 (£95 conc.) More info contact Christie Animas 07980371335 or contact@ christieanimas.com Artist: Emily Balivet

August 4, 11 Kundalini Yoga and Breath-work August 4, 11 Plant Identification for Foraging August 11, 19 Deep Nature Connection August 18 Personal Social Permaculture Design August 19 Earth Song Circle August 5, 25 Kids Yoga August 26

Plus more see website for details

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Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists Courses

Continuing Professional Development Courses:

Foundation in Integrative Sandplay Therapy (2 day course): 15th and 16th September 2018 24th and 25th November 2018 2019 dates please enquire

Introduction to Integrative Therapeutic Art 2-day course

Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapy (4 3-day weekends): 1st, 2nd ,3rd February 2019 22nd, 23rd, 24th March 2019 3rd, 4th, 5th May 2019 21st, 22nd, 23rd June 2019

Introduction to Alchemy: The work of Edward Edinger 3-day course

Advanced Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapy to follow on from Diploma course.

Introduction to the Enneagram 3-day course The Lady and the Unicorn Symbols of the Souls Journey 2-day course

Return of the Goddess 4-day course for those who have completed the Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapies The Meaning of the Shell: Symbolism, Hand Images and Sand Sculpture in Sandplay 3-day course for those who have completed the Diploma in Integrative Sandplay Therapies.

Foundation in Therapeutic Art: Please enquire for 2019 dates For more information email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

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