Reconnect 18 Apr-May 12

The FREE green magazine connecting positive people right across South Devon www.reconnectonline.co.uk

APRIL/MAY 2012 ISSUE 18

the green living magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and South Devon

Wellbeing section

Balance your health - perfectly

FREE please take one and pass it on

With one voice

Communities united by song

Get stuck in!

All the dirt on events for all ages

Growing for health

Produce for healing and feasting

Greener homes

Materials, methods, makers

Read more about Reconnect atfood www.reconnectonline.co.uk... local people local events local local health local environment HoLiSTiC MEdiCiNE

EXPERiENCEd PRACTiTioNERS

WidE RANgE of TREATMENTS

EXETER NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE Holistic healthcare in the heart of the city Here at ENHC we offer a wide range of complementary therapies provided by experienced and highly professional practitioners. The centre, which has been established for over 10 years, is also renowned for its excellence in training courses. Conveniently situated in the city centre, we have full reception cover and beautiful spacious treatment rooms for therapists to hire or, for bigger workshops, courses and classes, we have a well appointed large training room.

Please call for more details.

BRITISH SCHOOL OF HOMOEOPATHY Now interviewing for our unique 4-year part-time practitioner training course.

Visit www.britishschoolofhomoeopathy.co.uk for more details

SCHOOL OF BOdYwORk Professional Massage Training in the heart of the city. APNT accredited Open day Saturday 16.6.12 Meet the tutors, boost your client base www.schoolofbodywork.com info@schoolofbodywork.com 07711 656 011

01392 422555 Centre Manager: Ali Morrish

PRofESSioNAL TRAiNiNg

THE PRACTITIONERS: Mo Morrish rshom homoeopathic medicine www.thehomoeopathicpractice.co.uk Lisa TaTe remedial massage, pregnancy massage, indian head massage www.lisatatetherapies.co.uk JuLie BLadon Yoga, Lomi Lomi massage, pregnancy massage www.juliebladon.com naTaLie WiLkie Counselling and psychotherapy www.counselling-exeter.co.uk kaTherine Jenkins BsC(hons) PsYCh, MnCh(aCC).

Consulting hypnotherapist www.hypnosisexeter.com kaTherine ukLeJa do rCsT Craniosacral therapy katherineukleja.co.uk LesLeY harPer nutritional therapy www.lesleyharper.co.uk susan QuaYLe Maternity reflexologist, fertility, ante natal, labour, post natal & baby, aromatherapy, massage Tel: 01626 862469 karin or PaTriCia Pregnancy yoga & active birth www.birthwise.net norah CaTherine MCCuLLagh Bespoke facials & skin care www.purefaceworks.com saManTha goddard reiki rascals - Pre & post natal treatments & teaching for mum, baby & child. 07870 167701 Louisa shorneY MBsCh Hypnotherapy & life coaching lshorney@gmail.com The devon sChooL oF reFLeXoLogY Level 3 diploma spring/autumn courses 2012 www.devonreflexology.com harrieT hoLLingWorTh acupuncture & Chinese healthcare, reflexology, sports massage, reiki Master www.hollingworthtouch.co.uk JuLia CoLLeTT Psychotherapy & counselling 01837 840052 anna Paris ac.M.MBaC Traditional acupuncture, Toyahari 5 element & Manaka styles amparis1@btinternet.com geoFF green energy healing and counselling www.innerknowing.co.uk Marion WaLLis Transforming Shiatsu 01364 643467

Exeter Natural Health Centre, Queens Walk, 83/84 Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3RP e: info@enhc.org w: www.enhc.org

Find out more about us on facebook and follow us on twitter @ExeterNaturalHC 2

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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...and the latest news at www.facebook.com/ReconnectMagazine Welcome...

Transition noticeboard 10-11 News from across the region Local energy 12-14 Passivhaus school, PV motoring Organic gardening 15 Weeding, planting, killing (slugs)

PAGE 28

EDITOR editor@reconnectonline.co.uk Martin Foster 01803 868455 45 Punchards Down, Follaton Totnes TQ9 5FD

Local food 6-9 GM, organic eggs, marmalade...

Inside this issue

Brought to you by...

Eco Homes 16-19 Greenwood furniture, Atmos

COMMERCIAL EDITOR ADVERTISEMENT SALES adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk Pete Hardy 01392 346342 2 Withall’s Gardens Lympstone EX8 5JH

Seasonal Eating 20 Fancy a green juice?

Green money 22 Our new finance column

PAGE 8

A new wood is born 22 The tale of a million trees Events diary 24 We tell you where to go

AD SALES ASSISTANT heather@reconnectonline.co.uk Heather Nicholson

Festivals update 26 Yes, MORE festivals!

PAGE 27

Wellbeing 29 Local holistic health guide Classifieds 41 Some real surprises to check out...

How to advertise...

Living on less 42 Foster’s excuse for being poor...

THE DEADLINE The deadline for the June/July issue is Friday, May 4 - but get in touch now and we’ll do what we can!

Cover images: Main image is from Louise Webb whose Woodland Adventure Club gives kids the chance to have fun in nature (see page 4). Other images are: Angus Clark’s Tai Chi; Steph Bailey in Glorious Chorus; handfuls of hairy bittercress from Frances Wright and Ruth Walker on a strawbale building.

THE RATES 1/8-page - £93; 1/4-page - £148; 1/2-page £313; full page £522.

THE DISCOUNTS Book three issues, get 10% off.

Pay for a series of six, get one free.

PAY MONTHLY Book six issues and pay monthly by direct debit (and you get 10% discount). So, a 1/8-page is just £41.85 a month; a 1/4-page is £66.60 a month; a 1/2-page is £140.85 a month; and a full page is £234.90 a month.

AD DESIGN Just call and we’ll help with words (free of charge) and design (for between £10-£50).

CLASSIFIED See page 41 for details.

Call Pete or Martin NOW!

The small print PUBLISHED BY Reconnect Publishing, 2 Withall’s Gardens, Lympstone, EX8 5JH PRINTED BY Kingfisher Print, Wills Rd, Totnes www.kingfisherprint.co.uk WEBSITE Visit our website at www. reconnectonline.co.uk. And visit our Facebook page at www.facebook. com/reconnectmagazine

PAGE 7

...to the April/May issue - another busy 44-page issue. Thanks to everyone who’s played a part in making it happen.

With all these extra pages, it seemed sensible to make the content rundown a bit more detailed, so we’ve shuffled things around a little here on page 3 to make space for it - which has the added bonus of meaning you get less of my ramblings.

You can’t get rid of me that easily, though - Living On Less lives on. You’ll find it on page 42.

You’ll also find a new regular columnist - green money man Cris IlesWright - on page 22.

There’s one thing we always have space for more of, though - and that’s YOU. If there’s not enough in Reconnect from your area, it’s because YOU haven’t told us about it.

And if you’re a local food or energy producer and can’t believe we haven’t featured you yet... well, we can’t believe you haven’t got in touch.

So go on, send me an email right now - editor@ reconnectonline.co.uk...

in

Mart

ECO ETHOS Reconnect is written, designed, printed and distributed locally, using materials from sustainable sources.

It is printed using vegetable-based inks and biodegradable fount solution. The paper is 75 per cent post-consumer waste and 25 per cent virgin fibre (from a sustainable source), chlorine-free and FSCaccredited (www.fsc-uk.org). All by-products of the production and printing processes are recycled.

Please recycle this magazine by passing it on to someone else after you’ve read it

COPYRIGHT © Reconnect Publishing.

All rights reserved. No part of Reconnect can be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. But do ask – if you’re genuinely spreading the word, we’ll try to help.

The publishers, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services advertised or referred to in this issue, or any errors, omissions, mis-statements or mistakes in any advertisements or references

NEW TERM NOW BOOKING! insight meditation in the buddhist tradition

www.gaiahouse.co.uk

• •

• Town centre location (next to Co-op car park) Dance, Movement & Holistic Classes For Adults & Children 3 Studios, Sprung Floors, Mirrors & Barres. Also For Hire Station Road, Totnes TQ9 5HW | 01803 866 461

www.chapelhousestudios.com www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

3

Have you got a story for Reconnect readers?

A chorus that’s truly glorious THE highly acclaimed South-West choir Glorious Chorus is bringing its groundbreaking production, One World, to Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre.

Created by award-winning composer and director Helen Yeomans, the show was enthusiastically received by audiences at the Home and Tagore Festivals in Dartington last Summer.

A spokesperson for Glorious Chorus said: “Pulling on themes highlighted in the prophesies of ancient cultures around the world, One World highlights the crossroads at which the human race presently stands.

“Heartfelt and uplifting songs are woven together with readings and poetry, percussion and choreography to create a unique and utterly moving show which has brought audiences to their feet.”

One World has won the support of several charities, including The British Red Cross, with whom Glorious Chorus

Trust keeps skills alive BACK when what we now call traditional rural skills were just jobs, the techniques were passed on from craftsman to apprentice.

Today, we need specialist courses to ensure these valuable crafts don’t die out – enter the Devon Rural Skills Trust.

The trust runs regular courses throughout the year, and a rural skills training scheme for those who intend to make their living using traditional rural skills.

Courses over the next couple of months include: l Stone facing, with Jennie Godwin (01364 642480) at the Steiner School in Dartington on April 14; l Dry Stone Walling, with Bruce Baker (01364 72172) at Higher Badworthy, South Brent, on April 21; l Hedgerow Chair Day, with Mick Godfrey (01548 821156) at Woodah Farm, Doddiscombsleigh, on May 12; l Pole Lathing, with Almutt Woollard (01364 644241) at the Steiner School, Dartington, on May 19. www.devonruralskillstrust. co.uk.

4

Gonzo gigs THE scene is set your village hall is transformed into the historical backdrop for a swashbuckling epic complete with elaborate sword fights, heart wrenching love scenes and sensational French accents.

has collaborated, and Amnesty International.

Anne Ridgely of Amnesty, said: “The One World concert was one of the most moving musical events I’ve ever experienced. I feel indebted to you all for the privilege of watching such uplifting and impeccable performances”.

One World can be seen at the Barbican Theatre on Sunday, April 22, at 3pm. Tickets are £10/£8 conc (limited availability on the door) or £8/£6 in advance from www. gloriouschorus.co.uk.

Visit www.gloriouschorus.co.uk or call 01803 862028.

Glorious Chorus, left, will present One World at the Barbican in Plymouth. Above, member Steph Bailey in full song.

Take a giant green step...

WOMEN often get a hard time (mainly from their partners) for excessive shoe buying, but isn’t it true that most people appreciate good footwear?

It seems sad, then, that shoes have somehow become almost disposable, to be thrown away when ‘fashion’ tells us to, or when the often all-too-thin soles wear.

But what if you could buy classically fashionable shoes, in virtually any colour, or combination of hues, you wanted – and which you could

have resoled? Time after time…

Conker Shoes in Totnes offer just that. They do sell shoes off the shelf, but most people prefer to have their feet carefully measured, to pick a style, to choose from a huge range of coloured leather and to then have a pair lovingly crafted – bespoke and personal to you.

And they really are made by hand, right there, in a workshop behind the shop.

Every pair of shoes or boots (the classic Conkers pull-on boots are worn the world over)

A wild time in the woods IT’S not always easy keeping the kids occupied through the summer holidays.

But the organiser of a new “holiday club with a twist” says children will go home with stories of adventures, dens and campfires – “you’ll wish you could go too!” says Hannah Standen.

Hannah has been taking children, young people and adults out into the natural environment on adventures both educational and fun for seven years and she’s now formed the Woodland Adventure Club with colleague Louise Webb, based in private woodland on the edge of Exeter.

Says Hannah: “Through the summer holidays I will give children the opportunity to channel their natural curiosity through a variety of activities, including fire lighting, animal tracking, natural crafts, den building, wild food foraging, campfire cookery, green woodwork, storytelling and play.”

Children aged 6-11 years can attend for one or more days or book for a week. Find out more and get details of their free taster days on May 19 and June 30 at www.atouchofthewild.co.uk.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

is accompanied by its own ‘making card’, which lists every measurement and is carefully filed away so another pair can be made at any time in the future – without the customer even having to go into the shop.

Conkers have had a shop in Totnes for 35 years, and have been at 28 High Street for the past 12, where they also stock a wide range of organic and fairly traded clothing.

Call in at the shop or visit www. conkershoes.com - they also sell online.

Thanks to Villages in Action, Gonzo Moose are at Devon village halls during April, inspired by the legend of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the classic movies of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn.

Performances at: Clyst Hydon Village Hall on April 11, 7.30pm (01884 277245); Lympstone Village Hall, April 12, 7.30pm (01395 263928); Stoke Fleming Village Hall, April 13, 7.30pm (01803 770794) and Cadeleigh Parish Hall, April 14, 8pm (01884 855311).

City ashram HAIDAKHANDI Sumaj UK is an ashram dedicated to spreading the message of Sri Babaji, an Indian saint.

Purchased in 2009 after a long search and with the “astounding generosity” of devotees, the centre runs and attends events. To find out more, call 01392 811108, or visit www. ombabaji.org.uk.

Jeff’s on air LIFECOACH Jeff Sleeman, who specialises in career transformation and runs the ‘Happy Mondays’ career change seminars, now has a regular Sunday afternoon show on Phonic FM radio. For music plus lifestyle tips and more, tune into 106.8FM in the Exeter area, or online at www. phonic.fm.

Funeral talk RUPERT and Claire Callender of the Green Funeral Company will be among the speakers at the Tagore Festival (see page 26). Their subject will be natural cremation.

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...email us at editor@reconnectonline.co.uk A safe place for your data DESPITE huge leaps in computer technology, many of us are still living in the dark ages when it comes to using PCs. We no longer need fear a computer crash and the loss of all our data, for example. We can simply sign up to an online back-up service.

Your data automatically backs up to a remote server keeping all your data safe - and you can access it from wherever you happen to be.

A single account with www.drivecopy.co.uk allows you to back up your PC or Mac from any internet-connected computer and to view and download your files.

Nick Gornall, of drivecopy, says a single account permits up to 10 computers to use the same back-up space or multiple accounts can be used for total privacy between accounts.

Nick runs drivecopy with fellow IT support specialist Andrew Hockings and together they have many years experience in the IT sector and a passion for providing cost-effective quality services.

Said Nick: “I have seen many people lose data through crashed hard drives. Our system means data can be recovered from any type of disaster.”

Visit www.drivecopy. co.uk.

Book-Cycle volunteers in Exeter.

Sending books to Ghana EXETER-based charity Book-Cycle have sent a shipment of books to Ghana as part of their Library Build Project 2012.

Packed with over 50,000 free books destined for schools in the Ashanti region of northern Ghana, the container shipment is due to arrive around the time you read this.

Book-Cycle, run entirely by volunteers was established in 2007. Over the past few months they have collected, sorted and packed thousands of educational and story books for children aged 2-18. Once the books arrive in Ghana they will be transported by their partner organisation, Thrive Africa UK, another volunteer based charity who builds the library facilities at each school.

More at www.book-cycle.org and in our next issue.

Sounds of the farmyard ENJOY a great day of music on the farm at Ullacombe Farm Shop on Dartmoor.

Music starts at mid-day and performers include The Sounds of Sirens, Nicky Swann, The Kirkwood Brown Trio, Jimmy B, Jerry Tremaine, Honey Sol, Cat in the Hat, Makiwa with Wendy Herman and Andy Williamson’s community choir from Ashburton, who will sing in the yard.

“This is our way of giving something back,” says organiser Mary Caffrey.

“Profits this year will go to provide water to small schools in Gambia and, more locally, to The Dartmoor Pony Trust.”

Food and drink comes in the shape of home-cooked dishes, slow-cooked local pork and local ales and ciders – and you can camp too for a fiver a tent.

Admission is free in the afternoon and evening is £10 for adults and £1 for children 5-13.

Find out more from Mary Caffrey on 07877 863745.

My pain started to decrease immediately. Friends were surprised mostly, then interested and amazed at the results when told of the very gentle treatment. Please try it, this is the route to take, I did and I’m glad.

Jean, 65

Playing a part in the funeral LOSING someone precious is always going to be painful, but when friends and family get involved in and take charge of the funeral, it can at least help to make sense of their loss.

Says Jane Morrell of funeral directors Green Fuse: “There are lots of ways to be as involved as you wish and feel able to be.

“You can be involved in making the arrangements, caring for the body, preparing for the funeral ceremony, choosing words and music, or decorating the coffin or the space.”

Transporting the coffin is another good example of something that is relatively simple to do and yet can add a meaningful personal touch.

“The coffin can be taken to the funeral in any vehicle, driven by anyone who

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would like to do it,” said Simon Smith.

A woman who loved her camper van was driven by a friend in that vehicle, a young man went in the van he used to drive, and others have used the family car or a hired one.”

Many families and friends choose to bear the coffin to the funeral or the last resting place.

“When asked, most people feel honoured to participate,” says Simon.

“It keeps the funeral intimate and close to those who loved the person who has died. Depending on the weight of the load, there can be 4 or 6 bearers - and of course women can be bearers too.”

There are lots more ideas of how members of the family can be involved on the Green Fuse website – www. greenfuse.co.uk.

50% OFF

initial consultation Now just £25

including treatment

www.noblechiropractic.co.uk

Consists of full case history, orthopaedic and neurological examination, digital spinal scan and report of findings with digital scan print out.

Tel : 01803 873746 Email : info@noblechiropractic.co.uk Unit 6 | Baltic Wharf business park | Totnes | TQ9 5EW FREE ample parking.

Early morning & late evening appointments.

Registered with the General Chiropractic Council.

Member of the United Chiropractic Association.

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

5

Local, seasonal and organic...

Local food

CHOOSE from a tasty selection of foodie goodies - the new fight against GM, the hatching of an organic egg business, award-winning marmalade, bee swarms explained and... yes, lots more!

Campaigners say it’s time to fight the return of GM

SackS wholefoods

REMEMBER the public outcry and (ultimately successful) campaign against GM (genetically modified) food over 10 years ago?

Well, it seems the biotech industry have been busy since then and a new local group has recently been formed to bring together all concerned people and groups to fight it again.

Lou Brown of the South Devon Alliance Against GM (SDAAGM) said: “The last few years have seen GM companies regrouping and preparing the ground for another assault on our food sovereignty rights.

“The last few years have seen unlabelled GM animal feed slipping silently into our non-organic meat, dairy and eggs - takeaways and restaurants now routinely use GM soya oil (either knowingly or not) “We keep hearing the same false claims about GM being another ‘tool in the toolkit’ against climate

change and global hunger. We need to debunk these myths. GM is incompatible with sustainable farming systems, the public don’t want to eat it, and by growing it in the current open-air trials we are being forced to accept the inevitability of GM entering our ecosystems once and for always, when we have no idea of the longterm effects.

“The aim of the new group is to come together, to inform and inspire action, to answer questions and take steps to ensure that the UK doesn’t have GM continue to slip-in by the back door.”

SDAAGM have called a public meeting on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30pm in Totnes Methodist Church, to “bring together anyone concerned about these issues, and to grow an alliance of people across the South West.”

Call Lou on 07980 545755, visit www. taketheflourback.org, or search for StopGM and GM Freeze.

Lottery boost for village community store • Organic fruit and vegetables • Large range of herbs and spices • Green Lane herbal tinctures

• Bulk and case discounts • Special orders catered for • Established in Totnes 35 years

SackS SackS Too

80 High Street Totnes TQ9 5SN 01803 863263 6

The Plains Shopping Centre Totnes TQ9 5DR shop@sackswholefoods.co.uk

LESS than a year after their local shop and tearoom closed, the small Dartmoor communities of Holne and Scoriton rallied round to start their own community venture.

With the help of the Dartmoor National Park Authority they launched the Holne Shop and Tearoom last Autumn.

Now, six months on, the hard working group of volunteers is celebrating again having been handed almost £10,000 by the Big Lottery Fund.

The Holne Shop can now buy a new till, extractor fans and build a shed for storage. The shop, which is open seven

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

days a week and run by a dedicated team of volunteers, recently launched a community share issue and villagers can now become members of the Holne Community Shop and Tearoom Industrial and Provident Society.

Reconnect was reminded of the Holne venture after we featured all the other Devon community stores in the last issue. Our list of 269 Devon stores came courtesy of the Plunkett Community Shop Network which does not include Holne. So if you’ve got a community store we didn’t mention and you have a story to tell, call us at Reconnect.

... email us your local food stories at editor@reconnectonline.co.uk Lori tastes sweet success with marmalade FOLLOWING on from her prizewinning marrow and ginger jam, Devon fruit farmer Lori Reich travelled all the way to Cumbria to take a silver medal for her Seville orange and ginger marmalade.

Last year Lori, who runs Shute Farm at Bishopsteignton, took the award for Best of Sweet Preserves 2011 in the Taste of the West competition.

In March this year she joined over 1,700 marmalade makers from all

over the world who sent in their jars to be judged at the International Dalemain Marmalade Festival in Cumbria. One of the winners was, ironically, from Seville and another from Singapore.

The highest award, a double gold in the commercial category, went to North Devon marmalade specialist Victoria Cranfield of Cranfield Foods with her tangy pink grapefruit entry.

Visit www.shutefruit.co.uk.

Laydilay hens - organic and free-range on 18 acres on Dartmoor

Café Om has some principles upon which it is based: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Do no harm Create no waste Recycle and reuse Customer consultation Seasonal food Local food Delicious food Nutritious food

If you want delicious vegetarian food which is good for you and good for the planet, whatever the occasion, then contact Café Om today!

Vegetarian/ vegan catering for outdoor events, parties, celebrations.

Menu consultation service and seasonal cookery workshops

www.cafeom.co.uk - tel: 07875 217970

HOME MADE PICKLES & CHUTNEYS

Hens, Dartmoor - and Dylan BACK in 2004, Mandy Johnson started a small organic egg business with 70 laying hens in a small rented orchard in Buckfastleigh.

Today, she and husband Andy run Laydilay from 18 acres just below Haytor on Dartmoor, where they have 1200 hens – not forgetting Bobby and Antonio, two Alpacas who keep an eye out for foxes and badgers.

They keep three breeds: H&N White Nick (white hen that lays a brown egg), Brown Nick (brown hen that lays a paler egg) and Coral (white hen that lays a creamy white egg).

Says Mandy: “We chose hardy breeds and rear them from day

old chicks so they can cope with the challenging Dartmoor weather.

So far the hens have proven to be robust, strong layers, at ease with the great outdoors for the rest of their lives.”

The older hens are still good for laying and are sold on to people who want to keep a few hens in their gardens.

At first, any cracked eggs that couldn’t be sold as perfect were composted but today they have a thriving operation making meringues and mayonnaise and they are experimenting and expanding into other gluten-free, hand-made products.

Visit www.laydilay.co.uk.

Produced in St. Marychurch, Torquay using top quality ingredients with no artificial additives of any kind.

73 Fore Street, St Marychurch, Torquay Tel: 07751 156325 inapickle1@hotmail.co.uk

Part of the Taste of the West range

Big joy of veggie food in big outdoors IT takes a great deal of time and effort to create a genuine and truly delicious vegetarian meal.

Cafe Om, the outdoor caterers, go further than most in ensuring their meals do no harm to the planet, create no waste and always use seasonal, local and nutritious produce.

Cafe Om, based in South Devon, is run by Virginia Compton who has grown the business from her own love of delicious vegetarian food.

She said: “Feeding people and seeing the pure pleasure on their faces is always worthwhile. Knowing the food contains no dairy or animal products is an added bonus.”

Cafe Om uses only locally-sourced produce and all their packaging is biodegradable.

The cafe can be found at local outdoor events around South Devon -

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look out for the orange stand with the marigolds.

Cafe Om can also come to you. They cater for events such as weddings and celebrations and provide a tailormade service for dinner parties at your home.

Call 07875217970 website: www. cafeom.co.uk

  GO TO: www.greenlife.co.uk

We are open 9-5.30 in the real Find us in the  world but at all times in the virtual  Market Square in world! You can shop with us 24/7   Totnes, TQ9 5SG and read all our latest news and   shop events.

01803 866738

  For more information check out www.greenlife.co.uk

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

7

Local, seasonal and organic...

Local food

If you see a swarm of bees... call your local beekeeper

Why swarming bees are just too tubby to hurt you

Spring Opening Times

AS our hedgerows and gardens burst into life in the Spring, honeybees are getting busy, gathering pollen and nectar from the ever increasing number of flowers.

In fact, as Jessie Watson Brown, Embercombe’s beekeeper, reports, they were returning to the hives with brightly coloured pollen even in February.

“The mild weather allows the bees to get out and start gathering, although they rarely fly in the wet, cold weather of Winter,” said Jessie.

But it’s now, around April, May and June, the beekeeping world enjoys another excitement – swarming.

“Swarms are a generally misunderstood phenomenon,” explained Jessie. “A swarm is a group of bees – approximately half of their colony and the queen – who leave a hive to look for a new

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home, leaving the other half of the bees and some unhatched new queens (the first to hatch will be the new queen bee) to continue life in the hive.

“Swarming is a natural impulse for a strong healthy colony and in essence is reproduction on a larger scale and if they get it right can mean two healthy colonies going into winter.”

A swarm of bees is rarely aggressive.

Outside of the hive they have very little to defend – no young, no honey stores, no home – and are more concerned with finding a home than warding off threats.

Said Jessie: “And before leaving the hive they will have gorged on honey, so their swollen bodies find it hard to bend into the stinging position.”

If you are lucky enough to come across a swarm this Spring, there are a number of things you can do.

“Although bees are relatively safe when swarming,” said Jessie, “it is best to stay out of their way - a flying bee caught in your hair may decide you are a threat.

“The most beneficial thing for the bees (and for beekeepers) is to call in a beekeeper. Most beekeepers are more than willing to come and collect a swarm, including us beekeepers at Embercombe. By calling us, you are helping us to continue our programme of natural beekeeping, supporting the bees to rebuild natural resilience and health.”

If you find a swarm or want to know more about honeybees, natural beekeeping and Embercombe, visit www.embercombe.co.uk/bees, or call Jessie on 07780977058 or Tim on 07870938323.

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email us your local food at editor@reconnectonline.co.uk local...people local events localstories food local health local environment Learn more with Carol OUR very own Seasonal Food columnist Carol Lee, of the Natural Food School, has put together a new workshop programme for the Spring.

Her aim is to share “some tasty bites” in the form of mini two-hour workshops in Crediton and Exeter.

Says Carol: “The workshops look at how food can affect how we feel on all levels - body, mind and emotions and will involve tasting as well as chatting.”

Subjects include: Natural Highs - tasty bites to make you feel great without caffeine and sugar; Feed the brain - food that supports concentration, memory and taking in new information; Vitamin P, eating for Pleasure – food to delight our palates as well as our bodies.

Visit her website, www. naturalfoodschool.co.uk or email carollee3@ googlemail.com.

Emma Noble presents the gold Food for Life award to Brad Pearce

Council caterers first to win gold award THE producers of meals for around 8,000 young people in Plymouth have received top catering awards.

The Food for Life Gold catering mark has been awarded to Plymouth City Council for their school meals – the only local authority in-house caterer in England to win the award.

And Plymouth University’s kitchen team have been awarded the Food for Life Bronze Catering Mark.

The awards were announced at the launch of Plymouth’s Sustainable Food City Action Plan, held in the city’s Guildhall.

Brad Pearce, Education Catering

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Manager at Plymouth City Council, said: “We’re delighted our commitment to serving fresh, local and organic food has been recognised by the gold Food for Life Catering Mark.”

Emma Noble, co-director of the Food for Life Partnership, said: “This fantastic achievement means 8,000 young people in Plymouth are eating some of the best quality school meals in the country and proves the council’s commitment to tackling health inequalities and sustainability.

There’s no reason other local authorities shouldn’t follow suit.”

Visit www.foodplymouth.org.

Top Which? honours for organic nursery A LOCAL organic plant nursery has won recognition from the consumer bible, Which? magazine.

Growers Organics in Yealmpton, which has been growing and selling organic plants for nine years, has picked up a ‘first for quality’ award from Which? Gardening for its mail order plants. (Which? Gardening January/ February 2012).

When they called in with their latest column for this issue (see page 16), we asked Joa Grower (yes, that is her name!) for the secret to their success.

She said: “None of our plants are forced. We use the best seed and the best compost and the whole process is certified by the Soil Association.

We grow the old fashioned way, where each individual plant is pricked out by hand to produce good, sturdy plants.”

With the new season well and truly underway, Growers Organics is holding its annual open day on Saturday, April 14.

Joa and the team will be on hand to talk about the plants and there will also be craft stalls, live local music, fresh pizzas and demonstrations in rural crafts (including green woodworking – see page 16) and, of course, organic gardening.

Look out too for Joa’s Introduction to Organic Gardening courses on Saturday, April 21 and Wednesday, June 13 – all at Growers Organics, next to the Riverford Farm Shop in Yealmpton.

Visit www.growersorganics.com, email courses@growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

9

Transition

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WE all know most homes could be more energy efficient and we have a fair idea of what measures we can take to improve things.

But has the time come for us to really wise up – to discover exactly how much heat is escaping and from where; precisely what’s sucking up the most energy?

South Devon Transition group Ashburton Futures believe it is and they have set-up a new Governmentfunded project to find out how homes in the town can most effectively go greener.

Ashburton Futures qualified for £24,000 worth of Department of Energy and Climate Change funding from the Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) for a project called Making Ashburton-style Homes Fit For the Future (MASHFFF).

An energy audit underway at Chris Deep‘s Ashburton home

Futures project helps households save today

l What can be done for free or little money; l The availability of grant assistance.

A cross-section of 12 homes in the The homes taking part have also had town have had a free home energy a visit from Ashburton Primary School audit carried out by local experts pupils who are working on their Anahat Energy using state-of-the art school’s own energy improvements. thermal imaging techniques.

The LEAF funding also paid for a The results, which were shared at a coachload of 43 Ashburton residents ‘results reception’ in the town hall, told to visit the National Self Build and residents (and the local contractors Renovation Centre in Wiltshire to speak directly to eco homewho would carry out work): l Suitable energy-saving measures for improvement experts. See www.nsbrc. co.uk. each property – including listed and And starting this month (April) Conservation Area buildings; Ashburton will hold workshops (funded l The cost of the work and when it by local planning authority Dartmoor would pay for itself; National Park) to discuss how residents l Potential fuel-bill savings; can improve their own homes.

Project manager Andy Williamson says all the energy audit results, including a short film about each one, are all at www. ashburtonfutures.org.uk.

“It’s a great resource that should help anyone, wherever they live, to see some easy things to do that will save cash and carbon,” he said.

Find out more at www.

A thermal image photo - the red/orangey bits are ashburtonfutures.org.uk, where the heat’s leaking or call 07886 118528.

Chat and snacks at the green arts cafe EXMOUTH’S second Café Etc – featuring live music from The Alchemist’s Wardrobe and works from artist Marie Redwood – proved to be a big hit.

Held at the town’s Axis Centre on Saturday, February 11, the drop-in arts café with an underlying environmental ethos, had a steady flow of people through the day, with coffee, cake and chat high up the menu.

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There was also information available from Createxe, Transition Town Exmouth and Exmouth LETS, who signed up three new members to the town’s cash-free trading system.

The next two Café Etc… events will be at The Grapevine, Victoria Road, on Saturday, April 14, and Saturday, June 2, as part of the Exmouth Festival.

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...email editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

noticeboard Kingsteignton homes come together AFTER running two pilot schemes, Kingsteignton Transition Together (KTT) is looking for volunteers to bring together households who want to live more sustainably.

KTT is based on the Totnes Transition Streets concept and will look at ways of using energy more efficiently, and how we can change the way we use energy, water, food, packaging and transport.

One of the organisers, Jane Baker, said: “If a group of neighbours decide to form a group, they just contact the

KTT project team. We provide all the materials and support and send a facilitator along to help get things off to a good start - after that your group runs itself.”

An easy-to-use KTT Action Pack is full of tips on saving energy and money, plus information on grants that can make some changes more affordable.

If you live in the Kingsteignton area and would like to find out more, call Massimo on 0755 420 2093, or email max.ktt@transitionnewtonabbot.org.uk.

Charles Mossman at one of last year’s community markets with home grown veg and a bottle of his ‘compost tea’

First community market of the season LOCAL producers, craft makers and organisations will come together in May for the first Crediton Community Market.

Organised by Sustainable Crediton, the markets are for sharing surplus garden produce, small enterprises that don’t produce enough for the Farmers’ Markets, local crafts and non-food produce and local organisations wanting to raise funds or advertise themselves.

The markets are held 10am-1pm in the Crediton market square.

One of the organisers, Dee Ross,

said: “All we ask of stallholders is a donation towards the costs of the day and for them to bring their own table and wet weather protection.

“Stallholders are welcome from anywhere roughly within the area covered by local Crediton newspapers and the Sustainable Crediton local produce website, www. creditonlocalproduce.co.uk.”

Entrance is free and the 2012 markets are planned for May 12, June 9, July 14, September 8 and October 13.

Call 01363 866543 or email info@ creditonlocalproduce.co.uk.

DEVON YOGA

FESTIVAL 10-12 August 2012 Embracing the holistic practices of yoga!

Transition group opens base in city TRANSITION Plymouth has done what many Transition groups dream of doing and opened a shop.

Currently open from 12noon4pm on Saturdays, at 171 Armada Way, members of the public are invited to call in for a cuppa and a chat, look at the leaflets and books on display and, if they want to, become more involved.

The shop is also used as a meeting place for Transition Plymouth members and as a venue for events and social events – an Equinox party in March, for example.

Transition Plymouth has a busy programme of events, including its

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In association with The Devon School of Yoga.

A not-for-profit celebration of Yoga. food group’s Raw Food Talk and Taste at its shop on Wednesday April 18 – including, we hear, the chance to sample Di’s amazing chocolate tart.

Lots more information on its website, www.transitionplymouth.com.

For more information

The Devon

School

Yoga Call 01392 420573 www.devonyogafestival.co.uk of

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

11

Power to the people... local people local events local food local health local environment

Local energy WELCOME to Reconnect’s locally generated energy news, including the UK’s first Passivhaus school, a solar carport for electric cars and tips on buying a system for your home - if you’ve got a story for us, email editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

UK’s first Passivhaus school opens in city THE UK’s first zero-carbon PassivHaus school was designed 20 years ago, the ambition of a university professor.

Until now Professor David Coley’s plans existed only on paper, but In March this year Exeter claimed an eco first by putting his plans into action and registering the country’s greenest school.

The state-of-the-art building in St Thomas was built on the playground of the 80-year-old Montgomery Primary School.

The 430 pupils moved in to the £8.9 million school in November last year but it was not until March this year that the building was certified as qualifying

under strict PassivHaus standards.

On the same day two other schools in England received PassivHaus certification, but only Montgomery Primary School can claim to be zerocarbon.

The aim of PassivHaus buildings is to give extremely high levels of thermal performance, achieved through the use of materials such as triple glazed windows, super insulation and heat reclamation.

Professor Coley from the University of Bath explained: “Montgomery Primary School is essentially an unheated building. It isn’t a sealed box, as the comfort of the users is paramount;

The Sungift Solar carport at the Energy Marketplace event in Exeter

Carport provides site for panels SO you drive home, park under your solar PV-roofed carport and plug it in to recharge…

It might sound like something from the future but the technology is on sale in Devon right now – in fact, Exeter-based Sungift Solar took along a couple of electric cars (including a borrowed £90,000 Tesla Roadster) and one of their new solar carports to the recent Renewable Energy Marketplace event in the city.

Although electric cars are starting to become more popular, the PV carport is already selling to people who drive conventional cars – but who can’t have PV panels on their house roofs.

Sungift’s Gary Cook explained: “We hear from lots of people who would like solar panels, but whose roofs

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aren’t suitable – because they are thatched, are too shaded or face the wrong way.

“But if they’ve got space for a carport, we can provide a wood-frame structure and install a 2-4KW system, which connects into a conventional household inverter – and earn the usual domestic tariff.

And because the carports are classified as temporary structures, you should be ok without planning permission (although Sungift do recommend checking with your local council).

A 4kW system, on a double carport, should earn around £850 a year and costs £9950. The single vehicle 2kW system costs £7399.

Visit www.sungiftsolar.co.uk, or call 01392 213912.

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... people send renewable energy news editor@reconnectonline.co.uk local local events local foodtolocal health local environment however the heat in the air leaving the building through ventilation channels is harvested and used to warm the fresh air coming in. There is some heat loss, but this is made up for by the occupation of the building by the heat from the pupils and staff.

“PassivHaus principles allow a maximum amount of energy to be used in a building - usually about ten per cent of a typical modern building.

In this school we’re beating that - and all the energy being used is generated by renewable means.”

As well as renewables, the school boasts the latest in IT technology.

Montgomery is using Apple technology and all the children have access to ipads.

Headteacher Martyn Boxall said: “Many of the learning experiences, such as hands-on compost making and dressing up as Victorians and describing their lives and experiences, are filmed and uploaded to the school’s website.

Parents can then access these from home to see what their children have been learning in school that day.

“Our website shows big spikes between 4pm and 5pm and 8pm and 9pm on weekdays when parents view the videos with their children,” says Mr Boxall.

“They can use them as a basis for discussing what they have been learning and we are seeing the children’s rates of progress increasing because of the increasing levels of engagement with their families.”

As well as a south-facing roof composed entirely of solar PV panels (above), there are additional units on its flat roof (insert). Below: some of the nine inverters

Nine-point buyers’ guide THE on-going legal battle between the solar installation industry and the government means no-one can currently say definitely what the rates will be for PV systems installed after December 12 last year.

Despite this, some home owners say they have been promised the top rate of 43.3p.

YouGen, the independent renewable energy website, has now launched a campaign to give advice and support for consumers.

Chris Rudge, above, of Rudge Renewables, says he is backing the campaign because he believes unscrupulous installers are cashing in on the current confusion.

Once customers have established the installer is accredited under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Chris advises prospective purchasers to use the YouGen nine-point checklist to ensure a successful installation: 1 Ask how long they have been in business.

2 Is the recommended system right for your property?

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3 Ask for an estimate of how much the system will generate.

4 Get at least three quotes.

5 Ask your installer for references.

6 Never sign up on the day.

7 When installing more than one technology, check each installer understands the other technology and how they work together.

8 Make sure your installer tells you how to use the system.

9 Check the warranties provided.

Cathy Debenham from YouGen said: “The vast majority of companies working in the renewable energy sector are highly reputable, trustworthy businesses, but unfortunately there are some whose conduct is so appalling we felt it was important to speak out and hopefully help educate consumers on how to arm themselves with the best information to make an informed, confident decision on solar PV.” Visit www.chrisrudge.co.uk, www.yougen.co.uk and www. microgenerationcertification.org

The sums - amazing solar stats THE figures attached to Montgomery are just amazing.

The roof carries an array of 714 solar panels developing 168KWh and linked to nine inverters. The average home PV system is no bigger than 4KWh. With a projected annual output of 168,000 kWh, the solar array will generate more than the anticipated maximum electricity consumption for the school

which totals 166,000 kWh. This means the PV system can more than offset all the school’s carbon emissions making it carbon neutral. The CO2 emissions saved will be about 86.74 tonnes per year.

The renewables were funded by the Dept for Children, Schools and Families’ Primary Capital Funding and also by £1.2 million from the Zero Carbon Trust.

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13

Local energy The 48KWh array on a new agricultural building at Sharpham

Sharpham’s energy boost FOLLOWING “a herculean effort from all involved”, Sharpham Trust has installed a barn-top solar panel array – just in time to secure the more favourable tariff.

This latest project, the installation of a 48-kilowatt photo-voltaic peak array on the roof of a new agricultural building, is at Upper Sharpham Barton farm on the Sharpham Estate at Ashprington, near Totnes. The new array will produce about a fifth of the total power the estate uses in a year.

It follows the installation in 2008 of a large woodchip boiler system in the main house. Recently, the estate also added a combined wood fuel and solar thermal heating system at its Barn Retreat Centre.

Trust director Chris Nicholls said:

“We are delighted to see the solar installation complete.

“It fits with our overall plans to be more resilient and current funding support means it will also produce much needed income for the Trust’s charitable activities.

“The Sharpham Trustees can take great credit for pushing this project through when the Government’s recent support for renewable energy has been so uncertain.”

Trust chairman William Lana added: “This project is a real embodiment of our ideals; renewable and sustainable, economically sensible and low impact.

We will use it in our educational work to demonstrate what can be done.”

Visit www.sharphamtrust.org.

Find us online...

Bamboo - the natural winner BAMBOO clothing is cool - in more ways than one.

Whackjob, the Exmouth-based eco clothing company, is hoping competitive mountain bikers will see the benefits of their stylish ‘green’ bike wear for, among other things, its wicking qualities allowing moisture to be drawn away from the body.

Unlike artificial fibres, bamboo does not cause issues with odour and works just as well for casual wear. It is also naturally stretchy and feels very smooth and soft like silk or cashmere.

More importantly bamboo is a sustainable crop, very fast growing and absorbs huge amounts of Co2.

Whackjob is looking for another SW-based rider to join its stable of

Top honour for website

Hub brunch

RECOMMENDATION is always a good way of playing safe when you’re buying or taking a big step in life.

Imagine the delight then of Wikaniko distributor Spencer Hodgetts, right, when he discovered his supply company had been voted best direct selling opportunity for 2012.

The accolade came from an independent website called workingjobsfromhome.co.uk.

Spencer is an Independent Wikaniko Distributor in the South West and runs his own business operating the website devonecostore.co.uk.

He’s looking to recruit more distributors in the South West to work from home selling the vast range of Wikaniko products.

The top UK co-operative marketing business has a range of over 850 eco-friendly domestic products ranging from bin bags to cleaners and cosmetics to toiletries.

Spencer said distributors could make an immediate rising monthly income from home and full training would be given.

He said: “There’s full or part-time work so you can work the hours you want and around other work or family commitments. There’s an excellent earnings potential for helping to save the planet.”

To find out more, call 0800 092 4637 or visit www.devonecostore.co.uk.

DEVON Wildlife Trust is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, so expect a very special event when its annual wildlife festival takes place on Exeter’s Cathedral Green on Saturday, April 28, 10am-4pm.

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five riders - currently two women and three men - who compete across the region.

Joel Teague, who runs Whackjob with his wife Jan, is hoping to stage an event in the South West this Summer, probably at Gawton near Tavistock, where local riders will be able to compete with the pros and pick up tips.

Visit www.whackjob.co.uk.

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THE Holistic Birth Hub (featured on page 32) is organising a fundraising Sunday brunch in aid of Birthing Wisdom Outreach.

It’s at the Moorhaven Club House in Bittaford on Sunday, April 29, 10.30am-2.30pm. All the family is welcome and payment is by donation.

Money raised will be split between the development of an education programme for birthing mothers in Senegal, West Africa (see http://birthingwisdom. wordpress.com/) and a UK birth trauma healing fund.

Plant sale THE excellent Kingsbridge Community Garden is holding its annual plant sale from 10am4pm on Saturday, May 5. Find out more on 01548 857603, or email enquiries@ kingsbridgegarden. co.uk.

DWT’s big day in Exeter for the second time.

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...exciting changes soon at www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Organic gardening OUR organic gardening experts, Joa and Charlie, have plenty for you to do - and a few tips on how to win the battle (if not the war) against slugs and snails WELL, I have to say April and May are my two favourite months of the gardening year. The clocks go forward to give us the lighter evenings to spend in the garden or on the allotment and there is definitely plenty to be getting on with now.

Are your potatoes up and looking good? Have you earthed them up or mulched them? By the way grass clippings make great mulch.

And don’t forget that whenever you apply a mulch around any plant, water it first. The mulch will then lock in the moisture rather than act as a barrier for the moisture.

Towards the middle of May, when you are absolutely sure we have had our last frost (as sure as you can be with our bizarre changing weather patterns), it is safe to plant out the more tender vegetable plants.

The tender plants are things such as cucumbers, courgettes, squashes and outdoor tomatoes. It’s also ok to plant sweetcorn now, but choose a sheltered, sunny position. Instead of rows, plant them in blocks of no less than four deep and four wide. This enables the male flowers (at the top of the plant) to shower pollen down onto the female flowers, causing them to swell and produce the corn, which will be ready to pick around September time.

Your Autumn-sown beans should be starting to flower towards the end of May. Once they have produced 4-5 sets, pinch out the fleshy top of the plant. This helps to stop black fly from attacking the plants.

Now is also a good time to sow runner and French beans - into trays or pots in April or into the ground in late May. First you need to provide support for

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Heavy shelling... your runners or climbing beans. This can be done in rows or a circle, but leave 20-30cm between each cane and make sure they are tied securely at the top because this is going to be a heavy crop by the end of the summer.

For those of you with much smaller gardens or courtyards, beans can do very well in large pots or buckets. Five to a bucket will be plenty and don’t forget all plants in containers will need feeding. Liquid comfrey or a seaweedbased fertiliser will do this job nicely.

While we’re on the subject of comfrey, if you haven’t already got some growing in a corner of your vegetable patch, then maybe you should consider planting some. It’s not available from a lot of places. When you can get it, it usually comes in small root sections or as ready grown plants (which is how we sell it at Growers Organics). The variety you need is Bocking No14, which is sterile and so will not self-seed and spread all over the garden. It’s not cheap, but once you’ve got it, you will probably never have to buy fertiliser again. It really is amazing stuff!

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It’s raining slugs and snails...

SOMETIMES it really does feel like the heavens are pouring them down on us, with the amount of molluscs that appear after is has rained. So what is the absolute foolproof way of keeping these unwanted visitors off our tender plants? The honest answer is that there isn’t one!

But we can try and keep them at bay with barriers such as beer traps, crushed eggshells and other gritty material. My favorite is wood ash. Apply a thick layer in a ring all the way around the plant and you’ve got about a 75% chance.

If you don’t mind picking them off, then go out in the dark with a torch. You’ll be amazed by how many you find! What you do with them next is up to you, but no pinging them across the fence into the neighbour’s garden, please!

Of course, if your plants are bigger and sturdier it helps with the battle. Give your courgettes, squashes and tomatoes a fighting chance by potting them up into much bigger (one litre size) pots - then they should withstand a bit of a nibble from our unwelcome slimy visitors.

Whatever you do, good luck!

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written

by Joa and Charlie Grower of Growers Organics.

Meet them in person at Totnes market on Fridays and Saturdays from March 2012. Visit www. growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

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Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

15

Eco homes Devon tops recycling league tables DEVON has come top in the latest figures for household recycling in England.

Statistics recording the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting show the top performing areas of the county were Torbay and West Devon.

Torbay’s rate of household recycling increased by over 6% to 44.7%.

West Devon’s household recycling rate increased by 15.9% to 61.3% and county councillors have asked the district to meet them to discuss how they achieved such an improvement and to pass on their experiences to other areas of Devon.

The latest figures cover the period from April to September last year.

WESTCOUNTRY WATERBEDS Guildhall Shopping Centre, Exeter Call Brian on 01392 411212 Learn more on www.water-beds-uk.com

A greener way to live...

Putting a modern turn on green woodwork THERE’S something of a divide in the world of green woodworking.

The making of furniture and other items from fresh, green wood is undoubtedly a traditional craft.

But then there’s the division: on the one hand the purists who only use hand tools; and on the other, craftsmen like Plymouth-based Peter Lanyon: “I use a traditional shave horse and draw knife to make my furniture – I love the organic shapes that emerge from following the grain, rather than cutting across the grain as in more common approaches to wood work.

“But I also want to make a living from making green wood furniture, so I also employ Peter’s table is an example of how new modern tools, like a jigsaw or a design can take green woodworking into power sander. new markets.

“It means the end result is more affordable and the business “I just saw it as new minds bringing is more financially viable. I’m sure fresh ideas to wonderful materials.” the purists would be horrified, but I All the items produced in Cumbria, wouldn’t dream of criticising them for including Peter’s table pictured here, using all hand tools – each to his own.” are being exhibited and will be offered A similar debate broke out following a with plans as an open source of recent project organised by Grizedale inspiration for coppice workers around Arts in Cumbria, when Peter was the world. invited to join seven coppice workers If you fancy having a go at green and 15 designers to share and explore woodworking, Peter is running a ideas for adding value to coppice demonstration and taster session at wood, and to broaden the appeal of Growers Organics, at Yealmpton, green wood products to a wider, more on April 14, followed by a two-day contemporary market. introduction on May 19-20, which will teach all the basic techniques.

“It was run by steam-bending maestro Participants will make and take away a Charlie Whinney,” said Peter. “But simple seat or low table. again there was some negative reaction online from more traditional Visit ‘Peter Lanyon Furniture’ makers who saw it as ‘London on Facebook, or call 01752 designers telling us how to do things’.

837205/07814 470432.

Apache kids enjoy green woodworking

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16

PETER Lanyon says he is fortunate he can combine green woodworking with his other great love – working with people.

One project he is involved in is Fort Apache, which is based on a tiny piece of woodland behind the Hele Estate in Torquay.

“We have leased the land from the council for the last three years or so,” explained Peter. “We’ve turned it into an adventure playground and every Saturday we run a free session for local children to explore and play in the woods. We cook food to share and help the children make dens and appreciate the environment.

“The introduction of green woodworking has been a great success. It is so instantly satisfying, and I have seen some of the most vulnerable and challenging children become absorbed for long periods of time shaving a piece of wood, exploring its beauty, and making something useful from it.

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“So far we have made mallets, ladles, a very rustic stool, and a spoon. Upcoming projects include more spoon carving, carving plates and bowls, and simple woodland furniture.”

The project is open 10am till 1 pm every Saturday. Call Peter on 01752 837205 or 07814 470432 for more details.

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...people, techniques, materials, technology, skills

Who you gonna call? The draught-busters...

Town hall PV pays for draught workshops TRANSITION Town Totnes is running free, hands-on draught-busting workshops in a cross-section of homes across Totnes – paid for by income from the town’s Civic Hall PV solar system.

The next workshops are in the evening on Monday, April 2, in Dartington, and on Sunday, April 23, in South Brent.

“Draught-proofing is an often overlooked way to cut down energy use and our fuel bills,” says Transition Streets co-ordinator Mary Popham.

“Unglamorous but very effective, it’s just one measure householders can take to keep the warmth in their homes, alongside trying to use less energy in the way they live.”

Call Mary Popham on 07815 799996 or marypopham@btinternet.com.

Look out for more Transition news on pages 10 and 11.

Dartington village hall, meanwhile, is getting an eco make-over thanks to a £55,000 grant from the Government’s Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF), secured

by Transition Town Totnes (TTT)and Dartington Village Hall Association (DVHA).

Work to insulate the 1925 hall began after a detailed energy audit and thermal imaging. The work is being carried out by Totnes Sustainable Construction. l More Local Energy news on pages 12-14.

YURT HOLIDAYS IN CORNWALL

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Available for a weekend break, a week or longer. Open all-year round.

Mill Valley Yurts

NEW for this year - The Elm Tree Yurt and Pixie’s Bell Tent.

See website for details, pictures, etc www.millvalley.co.uk Or call 01208 841163 / 07725 055370

Family invite plans for new eco home MANY of us dream of being able to build our own eco home but for most it stays a dream, mainly due to the high cost of land in this area.

But we’ve heard from a South Devon family who are offering space on their land, for rent or lease, on which to build an eco home.

Said Don (he asked us not to use his surname): “We were inspired

by Simon Dale’s beautiful and sensitively built home (www. simondale.net).

“As well as being beautiful, it is home-made and affordable and made of recycled materials, so it’s very low impact.

“We want someone to build a similar small dwelling on our land (subject to planning permission).

We will have to work out a fair way of arranging the relationship financially and legally - I think trust and common values will be the foundation for any agreements.

“We can only offer this to one person at the moment because we want to keep the community on our land and the building itself small, but if we succeed, others might be able to offer something like this to families.”

Find out more at donf1997@gmail. com.

Whitethorn Woodcraft

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Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

17

A greener way to live...

35 years experience in all aspects of building and design RepaiRs: major and minor

Eco homes

alteRations: internal and external

Craftsmanship with a female touch

Renovation woRk: traditional and modern tanya & kevin 01364 631415 The K2 ParTnershiP LimiTed hello@k2ltd.co.uk Transition’s Rob Hopkins and patron Jonathan Dimbleby among the supporters at the Atmos Project site. PIC: Emilio

Atmos campaign pushes for action on dairy site FOR five years now a community group has been working hard to get an ambitious development project underway in Totnes – now they’ve upped the momentum with a new campaign.

The Atmos Project is the brainchild of the Totnes Development Trust, a not-for-profit community company, working with Transition Town Totnes and local architects LED. The plan is to site a mixed residential, commercial and amenity development on the former Dairy Crest site, next to Totnes railway station. The emphasis is very much on sustainability and community.

The problem is Dairy Crest’s reluctance to engage in the project, so the six-month new campaign has four main objectives: l That the now-listed historic Brunel building and the land behind it are gifted to the community of Totnes; l That the community of Totnes prepares a planning application for the site, rather than Dairy Crest or a developer; l That if that application is successful, Dairy Crest agree

to a model whereby they get a ‘clawback’ on each phase of any development, rather than requiring purchase of the site up front; l That Dairy Crest makes the Brunel building sufficiently safe that a series of public events can be held in it by the end of the campaign.

“What we are asking, “ says Rob Hopkins of TTT, “is that Dairy Crest stands by their corporate commitment of recognising ‘that the company has a valuable role to play in the life of the local community’.

“We live in a time of localism, of communities now having a ‘right to buy’ and also a ‘right to try’. We are exercising those rights.”

Find out more at http://atmostotnes. org. l AS we go to press, the campaign is already creating waves... The immediate response from Dairy Crest was negative, but Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston, a patron of the Atmos project, says Dairy Crest have accepted her invitation to visit Totnes and talk with Atmos “about their very constructive proposals”.

More in the next issue of Reconnect.

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...people, techniques, materials, technology, skills

Jon’s the handyman for all those green jobs

Stefan rises to challenge and builds yurt in hillside

WE’VE said before in Eco Homes that green building isn’t only concerned with strawbale buildings and creating a hi-tech Passivhaus.

Sometimes it’s just about having a like-minded soul you can call on to do the smaller maintenance jobs with the Earth in mind.

And that’s why Jon Bayes and partner Ruth Walker call their business The Green Handyman.

Jon’s services include carpentry and joinery, dry stone walling and garden maintenance (he even has a Lantra chainsaw certificate for felling small trees), while Ruth is a qualified garden designer.

“I can take care of all those jobs around the house that you don’t have time for,” says Jon, “from installing a washing machine to putting up shelves. I’m happy to work with recycled materials and I always use environmentally friendly products where possible.”

And if you do want a strawbale building, Jon can do that too!

Visit www.thegreenhandyman.co.uk. or call 01364 642730.

Green Handyman Jon Bayes, above left, and his partner Ruth Walker, above, working on a strawbale construction.

WOODWORKER Stefan Batorijs enjoys a challenge and his latest has been building a yurt into the side of a hill on Dartmoor.

Stefan’s first task was to construct a deck capable of accommodating the 16ft diameter yurt.

The building, for a customer in Widecombe, had to be constructed so that it could be taken down easily and moved.

Apart from spending a week digging out the base in a bank, Stefan also had to construct a second floor so rainwater could pass beneath the yurt.

Said Stefan: “We built four separate sections of circular flooring which had to interlock inside the yurt with no squeaks so the yurt could be used as a recording studio.

“This was more of an engineering job than just pure carpentry because we didn’t know how the floor panels would perform in the yurt. They also had to be easily transportable so the yurt could be moved to a new location.”

The yurt now has a woodburner and a felt lining for winter and is in use as a meditation space, a recording studio, workshop and a children’s music classroom.

If you have a woodworking challenge for Stefan, call him on 01364 652162.

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Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

19

News and views...

Support for new school THE campaign to create a new free Steiner school in Exeter has been overwhelmed with support.

By the deadline in February, the parents of 792 children registered interest in the school, of which 744 said the new school would be the first choice for their child.

Steiner Academy Exeter has applied to open initially with four primary classes and one secondary class in September 2013.

The school will then grow to be an allthrough school for 4-16 year olds, catering for over 600 children.

Jenny Salmon from the academy team said: “I’m really excited by the level of support we’ve received from all over the city and beyond. It shows there’s a huge demand out there for an alternative to the national curriculum.”

The campaigners will have to wait until later this year to hear if their application has been successful.

If you would like to see Steiner Education in action, Exeter Steiner School – the city’s existing independent primary school – is holding an open morning on Wednesday, May 9. Phone 01392 427200 or email exetersteinerschool@ phonecoop.coop to book a place.

Find out more about their plans at www. steineracademyexeter. org.uk

Amazing decorations in one of the classrooms

Wildaid works with RSPCA EXETER-based animal charity WildAid has formed a partnership with the RSPCA and CJ Wildlife to relaunch a wildlife education centre in Shropshire.

Stapeley Grange is one of four RSPCA centres, dealing with thousands of creatures each year.

Wildaid’s Dawn Wakefield explained: “Attached to the centre is an amazing indoor and outdoor classroom resource and between the three organisations we intend to fill the potential it offers.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for schools and the wider community in the area to learn how to realise the impact humans have on wildlife.

“The WildAid ethos is the belief that feeling connected to nature is essential to protecting the environment. The facility at Stapeley Grange will provide much needed wildlife education.”

Visit wildaid.co.uk.

Songs, verse and ranting...

CATCH the respective songwriting, performing and poetic talents of Martyn Joseph and Radio 4 presenter Stewart Henderson at St Bartholomews Church, Coffinswell, on May 27, from 7.30pm.

Expect “an evening of belting songs, poignant verse you can whistle, plus mirthful ranting.”

Tickets are £16.50 from 01803 875527, email naturaloutlook@o2.co.uk, or visit www. coffinswellevents.weebly.com.

New Cramp CD THE Crediton Rural Arts and Music Project (CRAMP) in Crediton has produced a second CD featuring SW singer-songwriters who have performed their original songs at CRAMP events. Listen to Postcards From Within at http:// soundcloud.com/crampdevon/tracks and buy it for a fiver at www.crampdevon.org.

Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life Career coaching, courses and events to set you free For details please ring 01392 811168 / 07977 272174 or visit www.happymondays.org.uk

Seasonal eating TAKE a break from Spring cleaning the house and planning what you want to grow in the garden.

CAROL LEE says it’s also time to clear out the body’s system to make way for fresh energy to flood in...

FOR many years now traditional Chinese medicine theory and a naturopathic approach to nutrition have inspired me to eat seasonally and so stay healthy through the year.

Spring is a favourite of mine. With its dynamic ‘wood’ energy it has the potential to be the most exuberant, creative time of the year; just step outside and see what nature is showing us. The sap is rising and the potential for change is on maximum setting - every cell in our body is doing a little dance for joy because the light has returned as we all move back above ground to spread our wings and ‘sprout’ new ideas.

Just as it is time to make plans for our green spaces, now is also the perfect time to create our plan for what we would personally like to harvest this year. Spring ‘wood’ energy is all about decisions and planning so now is the best time to sow those seeds of creativity for future dreams and desires.

Naturopathically, Spring is also the optimum time to use food to clear out those internal dusty corners, making space for creative ideas, plans for the year and an expansion of energy to flood in. Creating a cleansing environment is very simple because your body really wants to work with you - it’s just a matter of adding some good stuff in and leaving out some of the bad stuff...

The energy is moving so well at this time of year that small changes can make a huge difference, so try: l Lightening your diet; eat some raw foods everyday, particularly vegetables. Try sprouting, if you look on my website under ‘free info’ there is a fact sheet to download. If you are feeling adventurous sprouted chickpeas make a great raw hummus; l Eating less ‘heavy’ carbohydrates

Green kick-start such as pasta, bread and oats choosing ‘lighter’ grains such as rice, millet and quinoa (technically a seed and high in protein); l For a tasty treat, try sprouted wheat bread - it is great toasted and really does only contain sprouted wheat; l Cutting back on processed foods, alcohol, tea, coffee and sugary foods; l Drinking more water and herb teas; l Having a green juice everyday.

Green juices are particularly cleansing as they stimulate the liver and the gall bladder. These are the organs most ‘active’ during the Spring so maximising detoxification.

So what tasty potential juicing ingredients are seasonal at the moment? Well there are lots of greens - spinach, kale, lettuce - as well as cucumber and asparagus.

Cucumber, spinach, lettuce and kale are great for juicing as the recipe below shows and the ginger gives it a real kick!

To find out how I have been creative this Spring, find the article in this issue and check the new programme out on my website, see below.

‘Kick start’ green juice 1/2 cucumber (skin still on, if organic) 4 stalks of celery 2 large handfuls of greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, beetroot tops, watercress, turnip greens, etc) 1-2 cloves of garlic peeled or 1/2 inch nub of fresh ginger 1/2 lemon peeled Just push all through the juicer. Juice the greens by pushing them down with the cucumber or celery.

Reconnect’s Seasonal Eating is written by Carol Lee, who offers one-to-one consultations and runs workshops and courses in nutrition, health and wellbeing. Call her on 01363 82794 or visit www.naturalfoodschool.co.uk . You can now join her on Facebook, for seasonal tips, recipes and nutritional information, at www.facebook.co/naturalfoodschool

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...email us today at editor@reconnectonline.co.uk BRITISH woodland has been hit hard by the disease Phytophthora Ramorum, which it’s believed came to these shores via laurel trees imported from the US. For Doug King-Smith, who manages 44 acres (half of it woodland) on the edge of Dartmoor, with only the help of volunteers, it’s been a particular challenge.

Doug said: “A forestry commission helicopter spotted a single illlooking Japanese Larch tree and within a few weeks we got a Plant Health Order to fell five acres of woodland (100m either side of the infected tree) by the end of March.”

That meant the clearing of 800-1000 trees in a matter of weeks – using only volunteers.

“Well, we did it!” said Doug. “In all, 38 people donated their time and strength to help with the process, including my wife Claire’s cousin, Lloyd Hutchinson, who came over from Ireland for our wedding in August

Creative centre in Cornwall

Doug’s volunteers clear woodland and stayed to help. The next job is to create a sustainable planting plan... and protect the new trees from deer and squirrels which are as much of a threat as Phytophthora!”

Doug has many exciting plans for The Hillyfields, all of them involving community volunteers – find out more in the next issue of Reconnect and visit www.thehillyfield.co.uk.

New event offers good food and conversation NOW this is something we hope to see more of – and right across the region.

The Kitchen Table Conversations is a new event hosted by Embercombe and those very cool and deliciously green caterers The Kitchen Table.

The first is titled ‘How can we all do our jobs AND eat sustainably? Isn’t growing our own food outdated, idealistic and too much like hard work?’ and it’s at The Barrel House, in Totnes, on Thursday, April 19 at 7pm.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Sima from The Kitchen Table tells us: “The conversation is free and there will be a small charge for a delicious meal prepared by us.

“The conversation will be kicked off by ‘Sustainable Councillor of the year 2010’ Alexis Rowell, who wrote the Transition book Communities, Councils and a Low-Carbon Future: what we can do if governments won’t.”

To book a place, email sima@ thekitchentable.org.uk.

IN 2000, after 25 years running a forestry management business, Mike Mann took on the derelict farmhouse, farm and farm buildings that form part of the Pentillie Estate, near Saltash in Cornwall.

Today, Crocadon Sawmill works with the material Mike knows so well to produce oak flooring, hand-made doors and other quality products – but the historic buildings, including the ancient house itself, also provide the venue for a regular produce market, exhibitions of artwork and musical events.

The stone-built courtyard is the perfect backdrop for the market on the third Saturday of every month, when up to 50 local producers set up stalls selling veg, meat, fish, arts, crafts and plants.

On Saturday, April 21, the courtyard will form the stage for two solo performances by saxophonist David

Jackson (formerly of Van Der Graaf Generator), who will also put on two of his interactive sound beam musical spectacles involving children at the event. Additionally, Mike is opening the house for an art exhibition, including works by Nick Viney, Mieir Williams and Melanie Guy. “When we took on this former 12th century fortified mansion,” said Mike, “it was a condition of the lease that we would fully restore it within 18 months. The sawmill business, markets and arts events are really the final stage of that process – bringing people here and breathing life back into this historic farm.”

Visit www.crocadon.co.uk or call 01579 350096.

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

21

There’s more local Reconnect Facebook... local people eventsnews localon food local health local environment

Is it time for an ethical MOT? A BIG welcome please for Cris Iles-Wright, our local Barchester Green independent financial adviser, and Reconnect’s new, regular green money columnist...

THE first ethical investment fund in the UK was launched in 1984.

It gave investors the opportunity to ensure their money would not be placed in companies trading in weapons or tobacco or in countries with oppressive regimes - and that their money would instead be supporting companies who were committed to having a positive impact on the environment and dealt fairly with their employees and the local community.

But where, once, there was a single ethical fund there are now more than a hundred - with many different sets of criteria. One of the first things you learn when working in ethical investment is that there are no absolutes; the aim is to match the non-financial criteria of the client to the best match offered by the fund managers. Perhaps another of the early ethical funds – the NM Conscience Fund – chose the best word to describe the process because ‘conscience’ means ‘with knowledge.’

The whole sector allows people to know where their money is being invested - rather than finding by default they are funding businesses they would not support as a consumer.

There are also funds whose prime objective is to find companies providing answers to the demand for energy and minimising climate change.

Ethical investment – often known as SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) – has a range of funds which vary from the very safe to the highly speculative and which incorporate investment in most areas of the globe.

Investment in ethical funds can be made in a variety of ways but most often it is done as a lump sum or as regular savings into an ISA or personal pension.

A number of funds have changed criteria over the years so it is worth checking with your independent financial adviser to confirm exactly how your money is invested - and, from a purely financial point of view, whether charges can be reduced by replacing it with a more modern plan.

An independent financial adviser will help to pull the whole exercise together, with an understanding of taxation, investment and the wishes expressed in your will. And how much better if that it can all be done in an ethical context.

To find out more, call Jackie Adams on 01722 331241 or see the back page. Barchester Green Investment is the oldest firm of independent financial advisers in the UK specialising in ethical and environmental investment.

In 2008 it was purchased by advisers and staff working in the business.

22

Landshare project puts down roots THE timing was just perfect. Only a few weeks earlier we had bought a share in Thornleigh Saddle, just under 12 wonderful acres of land near Totnes on which we and another couple, Matthew and Benita, plan to grow food, keep poultry and, let’s face it, play.

Apart from some epic dog running (yes, David the Great Dane loves it, thank you for asking) and a great deal of planning and dreaming, we hadn’t really got stuck in.

And the first big job was the planting of a wood – the rare chance and privilege to actually shape the landscape for the generations to come with 600 trees and hedging plants as part of Woodland Trust’s 2012 Jubilee Woods project.

Now I can’t say any of us are exactly royalists but it’s difficult to fault the Woodland’s Trust’s aim to encourage the planting of six million trees this year – one million in February alone.

And we also recognise the value of getting as much publicity as possible – and a regal link or two really gets the mainstream press interested.

Our reasons for planting trees were various. First, it simply seems a wasted opportunity to own land and not plant trees on it. It’s the single most simple and effective way of improving the world - environmentally, biologically and aesthetically.

But on a more practical level, we also needed to create shelter from the wind, especially for the orchard (60 young apple trees), and to provide screening for the tool shed, something the planners were particularly keen on.

Those practical considerations went some way to deciding where the trees would be planted and after much planning and plotting on screen and paper (and a little free-form modifying

EDITOR Martin Foster on how a bunch of friends created a brand new wood on the South Devon landscape over a weekend... when we actually took spade to earth), we have ended up with three swathes, which together make up the Thornleigh Wood. And if we needed any other reason for planting trees, being able to use the word ‘swathes’ is surely it…

The day itself was pure magic.

The winter months are the best time of year to plant trees. The ground is full of moisture to give them a good start before the summer and the trees themselves are dormant, but it does mean you run the risk of extreme weather. We would have been content to avoid a heavy frost (which makes the ground very hard to work and potentially damages the young trees), but the wind dropped, the sun came out and it stayed dry.

We were using the simple slip planting method (stick in the spade, push it forward to make a slot, drop the tree in and firm it in place), but every tree then needs to be linked to a support post and a plastic guard (to protect it from snacking wildlife), so it was no small job.

But then the team arrived. We’d sent out the word to friends and family and more than 30 came to help – some for just a few hours, some hardy souls for the whole day. All of them really enthusiastic to get involved.

Tree-planting knows no age limits here Eban shows his dad Ben how to do it

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After much frantic activity, a wonderful warming lunch of hot soup and yummy cake, two broken spades and a few twinges from muscles rediscovered after some months of hibernation, all but 30 or so hedging plants were in the ground.

With advice from the Woodland Trust we have a mix of native trees: just less than half of them oak and ash, and the remainder split between what they call ‘minor trees’ (Wild Cherry, Sweet Chestnut, Alder, Field Maple and Crab Apple) and shrubs, or hedging plants (Hazel, Hawthorn, Spindle and Dog Rose).

The planting is not quite finished, though. The Woodland Trust recommend a one metre mulch around each tree – something to stop the grass and weeds choking the young plants – so we’re experimenting with various alternatives of plastic sheeting, old carpet and old straw (all donations of materials gratefully received, incidentally).

The next two Thornleigh projects are buying and erecting a poly-tunnel and setting up a poultry shed and pen… more next time!

Benita

Plant a tree for THE Woodland Trust first launched its big push to plant six million trees (to mark the 2012 Queen’s Silver Jubilee) back in February last year to allow time for people to plan their plantings.

The scheme then kicked off properly this February when they helped individuals and groups to plant a million trees.

The 2012 plantings will include 60 Diamond Woods (of more than 60 acres), Jubilee Woods (which are all more than an acre and include Thornleigh Wood, see above), plus individual garden trees and trees planted by schools and community organisations.

All this is costing the Woodland Trust around £8 million, more than half of which they have already raised, but if you can help fundraise for them, they’d love to hear form you.

Meanwhile, it’s not too late to get involved. There are still free trees available to individuals, schools and community groups. Schools, for

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...visitlocal www.facebook.com/ReconnectMagazine local people local events food local health local environment Now you can grow your skills too...

OUR friends at Growers Organics, the award-winning nursery at Kitley, near Yealmpton, are now also hosting courses.

And kicking off a busy Spring programme is a “really hands-on” clay oven course to teach you how to find the right soil, decide where to site it, how to shape the void, how to build the walls and how to add shape to your oven.

The two-day course, on April 7 and 8, costs £100 and will be run by Oli Weight.

And all course participants are invited back the following Saturday to eat pizza from the new oven!

Other courses over the next couple of months include Herbal Body Care with Tania Bryson on April 18; Introduction to Organic Gardening with Joa Grower on April 21; Stone Carving for Beginners with Maria Moorhouse on April 28-29; Herbs for Health with Sarah Hill, every Wednesday from May 2; Basketweaving with Vivienne Turner on May 12-13; Introduction to Greenwood Furniture with Peter Lanyon on May 19-20; and Portraiture with Xiao Bai Li on May 26-27.

All courses run 10am-4.30pm and prices vary. To find out more, email courses@growersorganics.com or call 01752 881180.

British School of Homoeopathy

a, above, and with friends, top.

r the jubilee...

example, can get 60 free trees, simply by applying, and community tree packs contain 105 or 420 native tree species, in one of four themes.

Any trees applied for now would be for planting in the Autumn.

And all the school and community packs include one royal oak – a sapling grown from one of 20,000 acorns collected from royal estates.

To get involved in fundraising and/or tree planting (or to become a member of the wonderful Woodland Trust), visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk.

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Hands-on go green week for students GO Green Week was very much a hands-on experience for students at South Devon College.

Some had a go at building cob walls from recycled bricks and others made willow structures and tried their hand at eco farming.

The National Trust hosted a visit to their land at Mansands Beach, Brixham, where students were able to find out about plans for the area.

Science and Technology Senior Coordinator Sarah Hawke said over 750 students attended the week of activities which was aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding climate change and sustainability.

The students covered recycling, eco-gardening products, vegan and vegetarian diets, food, animal and land conservation and they were able to make pledges on a Pledge Tree - see above.

Patient centred learning Founded on principles Grounded in experience The School has a permanent home in a beautiful integrative health care centre in the heart of Exeter.

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Your course combines academic rigour with a commitment to training to ensure that your students have the practical tools to make homoeopathy practice pay and be a proper job.

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Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

23

Events diary

Got a date for Reconnect’s June/July Events diary?

Maureen Douglas Green’s photograph of Billy Thompson - see May 1.

APRIL

WEDNESDAY 4

SATURDAY 14

FRIDAY 27

UNTIL APRIL 18 Turning Point, open exhibition at Harbour House, Kingsbridge, 01548 854708, www.harbourhouse.org.uk

Sustainable Housing, a presentation with Q&A, with Jeremy Guise from Transition Plymouth Transport, 171 Armada Way, 7-9pm, 01752 255088, www. transitionplymouth.com .

Martha Tilston live at St Johns Church, Bridgetown, Totnes.

7pm. Tickets from Harlequin Bookshop, Totnes, and www. wegottickets.com.

Patrick James Pearson Band, The Studio Lounge, Totnes, 01803 862267 or online at www.studioloungetotnes.com and www.wegottickets.com or £5 on the door.

UNTIL MAY 5 The Edge of Enchantment, an exhibition by Edwina Bridgeman at Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, www. thelmahulbert.com, 01404 45006

Tagore Festival - see April 6 and page 26.

UNTIL MAY 12 The Perfect Nude, exhibition of more than 100 paintings of the nude, Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, free, 01392 667080, www.exeterphoenix. org.uk.

SUNDAY 1 Discover seed planting, workshop with Trees for Health, Underwood Discovery Centre, 11am-4pm, info@ treesforhealth.org, www. treesforhealth.org.

MONDAY 2

Martha Tilston - see April 14.

UNTIL WEDNESDAY Discourse Power Resistance: Impact, conference at Plymouth Uni, www. dprconference.com.

Hands-on draught-busting workshop with Transition Town Totnes, Dartington, 7-9.30pm, http://www. transitiontowntotnes.org.

Frack Not Group meeting, anti-fracking group, Bay Horse pub, Totnes, 7-8.30pm, 07894-857227.

THURSDAY 5 UNTIL SUNDAY 8 How to Set Up a Low-Impact Smallholding, course including visits to local smallholdings, Monkton Wyld Court, near Charmouth, Dorset, 01297 560342, info@ monktonwyldcourt.org.

FRIDAY 6 UNTIL MONDAY 9 Tagore festival, Anglo-Indian art, music and philosophy, Dartington Hall, £6/£3.50 per event, 01803 847070, www. tagorefestival.com.

TUESDAY 10 South Devon Alliance Against GM, meeting, Totnes Methodist Hall, Totnes, 7.30pm, 07980 545755.

TTT film night – Tree Stories and other short films, Dartmouth Inn, Totnes, 7.3010.30pm, 01803 867358, www.transitiontowntotnes.org.

TUESDAY 3 South Devon Alliance Against GM (SDAAGM), public meeting, Totnes Methodist Church, 7.30pm, 07980 545755.

THURSDAY 12 Transition Exeter talk and Q&A - Small holders, fruit growers, allotment holders around Exeter. Jury’s Inn, Western Way, Exeter, 7.30pm, andy@ westtownfarm.co.uk, www. transitionexeter.org.

Exeter Green Drinks, New Bridge Inn pub, St David’s Hill, 8-9.30pm, 07977 079722, www.transitionexeter.org.

Gardening for Beginners, Transition Town Totnes Skillshare workshop, Dartington, a.l@zen.co.uk, 01803 762992.

FRIDAY 13 UNTIL SUNDAY 15 Crediton Folk Weekend, traditional music and dance, www.poppyrecords.co.uk/ crediton/cred.htm.

Lampliter and The Little Unsaid (solo), Barrel House, Totnes, explosion.in.sound@ gmail.com, call 01803 865021/07960511129.

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Open day at Growers Organic nursery, stalls, workshops, food and drink, Kitley, Yealmpton. www. growersorganics.com.

Stone facing workshop with Jennie Godwin, Steiner School, Dartington, for details and to book 01364 642480, www.devonruralskillstrust.co.uk.

THURSDAY 19 Conversation Café, food and discussion, Barrel House, Totnes, 7pm, sima@ thekitchentable.org.uk.

SATURDAY 21 UNTIL APRIL 29 Truth or Fallacy, an exhibition

by Tracy Satchwill, Harbour House, Kingsbridge, 01548 854708, www.harbourhouse. org.uk A night of drum and bass, with Goldie (metalheadz) and top supports, the Yellow Room at Seale Hayne, 7pm-1am, www.wegottickets. com/event/157450, www. hannahssealehayne.com

SATURDAY 28 Devon Wildlife Trust Wildlife Festival, Exeter Cathedral Green, 10am-4pm, 01392 279 244, www. devonwildlifetrust.org.

World Tai Chi Day event, Exeter Cathedral Green and The Hub on the Green, from 9.30am, 01392 213899.

Dangerous Dads, making pizzas at the Steiner School, Dartington. 1-4pm, £3 per dad, 5 & under free, 6+ £1, 01803 840990, 07731795160, www. dangerousdads.org.

Spring in the permaculture salad garden with Josh Zatz, Landmatters Permaculture Garden, 10am-5pm, £25-40, 07833 938536, firefly541@ yahoo.co.uk.

Body, mind and spirit fair, Ipplepen Village Hall, near Totnes, 11am-4.30pm, www. mysticevents.co.uk.

SUNDAY 29

Dry stone walling workshop with Bruce Baker at Higher Badworthy, South Brent, for details and to book 01364 72172, www. devonruralskillstrust.co.uk.

Preserving the Harvest (for men only), with Lori Reich, Bishopsteignton Community Centre, Teignmouth, 9.30am4pm, (01626) 777570, info@ shutefruit.co.uk.

Eat The Hedgerow, reskilling workshop at Embercombe, near Exeter, 10am-4pm, clare@embercombe.co.uk, www.embercombe.co.uk.

Fundraising Sunday brunch in aid of Birthing Wisdom Outreach, organised by the Holistic Birth Hub, Moorhaven Club House, Bittaford, 10.30a-2.30pm.

Introduction to Organic Gardening, course run by Joa Grower at Growers Organics, Yealmpton, 01752 881180, www. growersorganics.com.

The Singing Field, voice workshop with Gavin Frank, Totnes, 10.30am-2pm, 01803 866138, www.listentothevoice. co.uk.

Earth Café, eco networking and news, freshly cooked vegan buffet, Cellar Bar, The Fortesque, Mutley, Plymouth, 01822 832815.

THURSDAY 26 Transition Plymouth discussion: petrol, 171 Armada Way, 6.30pm, 01752 255088, www.transitionplymouth.com.

Mind,Body and Spirit event, The Pavilions, Esplanade, Exmouth, kath.groom@ ntlworld.com, www. mbsspectrumevents.co.uk.

Green Walks led by Devon Nature Walk’s Nigel Pinhorn, starting Exeter Cathedral, 2pm, gill.b@transitionexeter. org , www.transitionexeter.org.

MAY TUESDAY 1 UNTIL MAY 13 Curious Wanderings exhibition of photography by Maureen Douglas, Harbour House, Kingsbridge, 01548 854708, www.harbourhouse. org.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

...email your entries to: editor@reconnectonline.co.uk Poetry Conversation, listen, reflect and share readings, Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, 7.30-9.30pm, admin@ sharphamtrust.org, www. sharphamtrust.org.

SATURDAY 5 Kingsbridge Community Garden annual plant sale, Kingsbridge Community Garden, 10am-4pm, 01548 857603, enquiries@ kingsbridgegarden.co.uk MONDAY 7 UNTIL SEPT 30 Mythic garden sculpture exhibition, Stone Lane Gardens, near Chagford, 2-6pm, paul@mythicgarden. eclipse.co.uk, www. stonelanegardens.com.

Pole lathing workshop with Almutt Woollard at Steiner School, Dartington, for details and to book 01364 644241, www.devonruralskillstrust. co.uk.

SATURDAY 26 Dangerous Dads, Wild Walk with bushcraft expert, 1-4pm, £3 per dad, 5 & under free, 6+ £1, 01803 840990, 07731795160, www. dangerousdads.org.

SUNDAY 27 Martyn Joseph and Stewart Henderson, songs and poetry, St Bartholomews Church, Coffinswell. Tickets £16.50 from 01803 875527, email naturaloutlook@o2.co.uk, or visit www.coffinswellevents. weebly.com.

THURSDAY 10 Exeter Green Drinks, New Bridge Inn pub, St David’s Hill, Exeter, 8-9.30pm, 07977 079722, www.transitionexeter. org.

SATURDAY 12 Exeter Steiner School May Fair, 11am--4pm, www. exetersteinerschool.com or 01392 427200.

Crediton community market, 10am-4pm, 01363 866543, info@creditonlocalproduce. co.uk.

Talk and meditation with a Theravadan Buddhist monk, Golden Buddha Centre, Victoria Street, Totnes, 3-5pm, www.goldenbuddha.org.

SATURDAY 14 Cafe Etc... local art, live music and stalls from Transition Town Exmouth, Exmouth LETS and Createxe.

The Grapevine, Victoria Road, Exmouth. 11am-4pm. www.transitiontownexmouth. co.uk

FRIDAY 18 Stand-up poet Matt Harvey with musician, poet and storyteller Tanya Davis, The White Hart, Modbury, 7.30pm, 01803 866672.

SATURDAY 19 Hedgerow Chair Day with Mick Godfrey, workshop at Woodah Farm, Doddiscombsleigh, details and to book 01548 821156, www.devonruralskillstrust. co.uk.

JULY FRI 6-MON 16, Ways With Words, literary festival, Dartington Hall, www. wayswithwords.co.uk WED 11-SUN 15, Larmer Tree Festival, diverse music, comedy and theatre festival, Salisbury, www. larmertreefestival.co.uk WED 11-SUN 15, Buddhafield, meditation, great food, workshops, healing and bodywork, www. buddhafield.com.

FRI 13-SUN 15, Quest, wellbeing, music and dance festival, Newton Abbot racecourse, www.questuk. co.uk FRI 20-SAT 21, Chagstock, ‘family friendly festival’, Chagford, www.chagstock.info

FESTIVALS

AUGUST

APRIL

THURS 2-SUN 5, Green Gathering, ‘all things green and esoteric’, Piercefield Park, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, www.greengathering2012. co.uk

FRI 13-SUN 15, Crediton folk Festival, www.poppyrecords. co.uk/crediton/cred.htm FRI 27-MAY SUN 6, Exmoor Walking Festival, www. exmoorwalkingfestival.co.uk MAY SAT 5-SUN 7, The Gathering, didjeridoo-based weekend of music and fun, Tapeley Park, Instow, North Devon, SAT 5MON 7, Bristol Folk Festival, Colston Hall, Bristol, www. bristolfolkfestival.com FRI 11- SUN 13, Dart Music Festival, various venues, Dartmouth, www. dartmusicfestival.co.uk JUNE FRI 1-SUN 3, Ashburton Blues Festival, Seale-Hayne, Newton Abbot, www. ashburtonbluesfestival.com SAT 2-SUN 3, Exeter Respect, celebration of diversity, Belmont Park, Exeter, www. exeter-respect.org SAT 16-SAT 23, Golowan Festival, music, dance, crafts and more, Penzance, www. golowan.org WED 20-THURS 21, Summer Solstice, Stonehenge, www. stonehenge.co.uk THURS 21-SUN 24, Sunrise Celebration, ‘ethical living and music festival’, Bruton, Somerset, www. sunrisecelebration.com

FRI 3-FRI 10, Sidmouth Folk Week, at venues ac ross the town, www.sidmouthfolkweek. co.uk FRI 3-SUN 5, Cornwall Folk Festival, Wadebridge, www. wadebridgefolk.co.uk FRI 17-SUN 19, Beautiful Days, small family-friendly music festival, Escot Park, Ottery St Mary, www. beautifuldays.org FRI 24-SUN 26, Aeon Festival, ‘boutique music festival’, www. aeonfestival.com FRI 24-MON 27, Westcountry Storytelling Festival, Embercombe, in conjunction with Reconnect magazine, www.weststoryfest.co.uk FRI 31-SEPT SUN 2, End of the Road Festival, ‘intimate music festival’, Tollard Royal, Salisbury, www. endoftheroadfestival.com OCTOBER THURS 11-SAT 20, Two Moors Festival, choral and classical music on Dartmoor and Exmoor, www. thetwomoorsfestival.com NOVEMBER FRI 16, Home 2012, festival of acoustic world music, Dartington Hall, www. dartington.org.

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25

Festivals update

Our guide to local music and lifestyle festivals...

Festival shorts

IF traditional folk is your thing, the Crediton Folk Weekend is your kind of festival – a programme oozing with fine folk, plus 12 morris teams, mummers plays and maybe a glass or two of decent ale. It’s all happening April 13-15. Visit www. poppyrecords.co.uk/crediton/cred. htm to find out more.

NOT quite as local but really popular with South Devon people all the same, Buddhafield, which this year runs from July 11-15 on the usual site in the Blackdown Hills, just south of Taunton. Expect meditation, great food, workshops, healing and bodywork… we’re blissing out just writing about it.

Book yourself some peace – visit www.buddhafield.com.

NEED some live blues in your life? Who doesn’t? Take yourself to the Ashburton Blues Festival at Seale-Hayne, Newton Abbot, from June 1-3. A top line-up includes Eric Bibb, Elkie Brooks and Andy Fairweather Low. Visit http:// ashburtonbluesfestival.com.

CHAGSTOCK, the intimate music festival at Whiddon Down near Chagford, has announced KT Tunstall will headline the acoustic tent on the Friday (Chagstock runs July 20-21). Find out more at their website, www.chagstock.info.

IF you have festival news for us, email editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

Ben Haggarty see him at the Westcountry Storytelling Festival, see right

Tagore Festival - April 6-9 EASTER weekend will again see Dartington Hall bustling with Anglo-Indian art, music and philosophy to celebrate the life of India’s Nobel Prize-winning poet and philosopher at the Tagore Festival.

“Rabindrinath Tagore was an inspiration for the foundation of Dartington” says Satish Kumar, founder of Schumacher College, who will be speaking at this year’s festival.

Tagore was an early visitor to the fledgling Dartington Hall project and provided the inspiration for Leonard Elmhirst, who worked with him in India, to set up the Devon experiment in rural regeneration that would include education, the arts, agriculture, science and nature.

“At the College, and at Dartington more widely, we are continuing Tagore’s legacy that humanity needs to live in harmony with other human beings and with nature,” said Satish, a driving force behind the development of the festival.

“My greatest hope is this Tagore Festival can become a catalyst in transforming the world towards

Anglo-Indian art, music and philosophy at Dartington

Celebration of inspiration greater sustainability and creative green living. As Dartington looks ahead into a new era, Tagore returns to guide us and lead the way once more”.

As well as speakers from Schumacher College, highlights will include performance from Andy Sheppard and Kuljit Bhamra, Zoe and Idris Rahman and Sheema Mukherjee, workshops on mbira and gamelan and theatre from Puppet State Theatre.

There’ll be plenty for the kids

including an Alternative Easter Egg hunt, workshops and storytelling plus opportunities for the whole family to just relax in the grounds of the estate – meditating in the Japanese Zen garden, trying out al fresco Tai Chi, sampling the cuisine of Kerala or checking out the therapy tent.

The Tagor Festival runs from Friday-Monday, April 6-9. Ticket prices per event start at £6 (£3.50 concs). Visit www.tagorefestival. com or contact the booking office on 01803 847070.

An ecofest of stories, music and more Westcountry Storytelling Festival - August 24-27 IT’S no coincidence that Reconnect sponsors the Westcountry Storytelling Festival 2012 - August 24-27.

With Embercombe as its venue and sustainability at its heart, this vibrant and popular ecofestival is a celebration of music, storytelling, poetry, puppets, theatre and crafts, for all ages.

We’ll be there, of course, so drop by and say hello – and take part in the Reconnect Westcountry Storytelling Festival photo competition. Your snap could end up on the front cover of our next issue!

And there will be plenty to take photos of. From archery competitions to

ancient threshing machines, a magnificent hand-crafted grand yurt and lots of smaller yurts and tipis and a red alachigh; shire horses ploughing, giant puppets; feasts; fools and fire ceremonies; colour, drama – just the venue itself is stunning.

Hot line-up news is the addition of UK poet Holly McNish,

who won the UK Slam poetry championship, came third in the world competition and won other prestigious poetry slams at Glastonbury, Cheltenham and Munich. She has performed her poetry at Glastonbury, Ronnie Scott’s, on Radio 4 and BBC2 and Cambridge University.

Ben Haggarty, one of the grand masters of the UK storytelling scene, will be there too and Frankie Armstrong makes a welcome return with her gift of song in workshops and performances that celebrate the land and those who work on it.

The last festival sold out and tickets are going even faster this year, so hurry - Early Bird ticket reductions are still available! Visit the website www.weststoryfest.co.uk.

the weird and the wonderful Take a journey through the strange and magical ceramic world of Robin Currie.

Check out his website to see more of his work, leave a comment and find out how to get a little magic into your life

www.robincurrie.co.uk 26

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

...and see our diary on page 24 for galleries, gigs and goings on

Families right at centre of a magic space

Show of Hands

QUEST 2012 - July 13-15 THERE’S a special focus on families at this year’s Quest festival.

Said organiser Fiona Bicknell: “We’ve realised that one of our main attractions is the friendly atmosphere and safe nature of our site, which means that adults and children can come and have a great time.

“Teenagers also enjoy the freedom of the festival.”

There are kids’ activities planned for venues all over the Newton Abbot racecourse site – story telling, puppet shows, circus skills, henna painting.

And our friends from Embercombe are also running a series of activities for kids and adults, including craft making and grow your own salad.

“Even when the activities are not specifically for children, they love to wander around and see what is happening,” said Fiona. “There’s also a creche all day Saturday and Sunday.”

Quest has also introduced discounted family tickets - £89 for a family of four, saving £32.

Other special features this year include The Red Tent, “a space of poetry, performance, sanctuary and sisterhood,” hosted by The Wood Sisters, who recently staged the Westcountry Story Telling Festival.

The Wise Moon Lodge is changing the focus of its talks for 2012 to look at the

Acoustic music is at its heart periods of transition in our lives – birth, puberty and beyond… And, as usual, it will offer a place for mothers and children to relax and connect.

Music is, of course, a big part of Quest and this year’s line-up will not disappoint. It includes festival favourites Dragonsfly, sacred Indian chants from Beloved One, Irish jigs and reels from Blue Jewel, ancient folk music from Carolyn Hillier and Nigel Shaw.

At the core of the festival are the exhibitors – 120 of them offering crystals, art work, hand-made children’s clothes, adult clothes, drums, flutes, shamanic artefacts, oracle cards, Fair Trade goods and the latest in health products.

Quest this year includes over 150 workshops led by some of the world’s top speakers and teachers, almost half of them free to enter.

Mind Body & spirit events Alternative health and lifestyle

April 29th & September 2nd

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HOME 2012 - June 22-23

They include: David Wells on astrology; Jackie Weaver, the animal psychic; Jacki Newcombe – the Angel Lady; Tim Freke on the Mystery Experience; Yogi Ashokananda with Himalayan Hatha Yoga and meditation; Nicola Phoenix on Reclaiming Happiness; Dhyano Harding leading a Fire Walk; Barbara Micklejohn Free back with sweat lodges and shamanic drumming; David Hamilton with findings from his new book Choice Point; Drum Crazy leading the drumming circles and Lucinda Drayton with workshops including music from her album 100,000 Angels.

Quest 2012 runs July 13-15 – find out more and book tickets at www.questuk. co.uk. l There are still a few exhibition stands available –call 01392 580889.

Totnes Devon

THE Reconnect team was most miffed last year when a clash of dates meant we missed the Home festival at Dartington – this year it’s a must.

Home 2012 is described as “a whole world in one unplugged event” and as having “acoustic music at its heart”. And the two bill toppers illustrate that perfectly - Devon’s (internationally acclaimed) acoustic duo Show of Hands and Tibet’s Tashi Lhunpo monks.

Tibet’s exiled monks will bring a flavour of their own sacred world from more than 4,000 miles away with a performance of music and dances, punctuated with mantras, bells, cymbals, drums and booming long horns.

Artists from Armenia, Finland, Poland and Ethiopia will join the diverse HOME line-up, plus more of the UK’s top roots acts – and some from Dartington’s own doorstep.

The festival will use three stages, including a main outdoor stage in the medieval Dartington courtyard, and the wonderful Great Hall.

Look out too for food, films, workshops, craft and market stalls and children’s activities, including a popular discovery trail in Dartington’s glorious gardens.

Home is on Friday and Saturday, June 22/23. Find out more at www. dartington.org/home, or watch a short film at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ypbqhvD91E4.

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29th May to 1st Jun or 4th to 7th Sept Price: £350 incl. lunch & supper

Tel. 01803 762598 info@macroschool.co.uk Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

27

News and views... local people local events local food local health local environment Anti-fracking battle call A NEW group set up to help fight “the perils of extreme energy” has hosted a presentation by national campaigners.

Three members of the national campaign group Frack Off (www. frackoff.org.uk) were invited by Totnes-based Frack Not to talk about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a means of extracting shale gas.

Local organiser Larch Maxey said: “Fracking causes water contamination and the UK’s first test site near Blackpool caused two earthquakes last year, but even bigger threats are posed by coal bed methane and coal gasification.”

Fracking is banned in France, Bulgaria, New York, New Jersey, Quebec, parts of Australia, Switzerland and South Africa and campaigners are calling for a UK ban.

Call 01803 867512 or email larch.maxey@ plymouth.ac.uk.

Studios put a spring in the dancers’ step THE response to the opening of new dance studios in Totnes has been so positive, and the immediate demand so great, it makes you wonder how dancers and dance teachers ever managed before.

In fact, before the Chapel House Studios opened in Station Road at the end of January, dance classes were held in local village halls – or people had to travel farther afield.

Now the new centre offers a range of purpose-built studios, and already it’s home to a busy programme of classes, from tiny tots ballet to dance and fitness groups for the over-60s.

The building itself, as the name suggests, has an ecclesiastical history but most recently was used

by St John Ambulance Halls and a soup-kitchen. .

When Ballet Rambert graduate Victoria Rogers and her family (who founded The Quest Natural Health Exhibition in 1996) took over the building, it soon became evident that a complete refurbishment was required and ceilings have been replaced and walls replastered – but retaining original architectural features.

The buildings new use required special features too, the most significant of which are extensive sound-proofing and the installation of special sprung Harlequin dance floors, which dramatically reduces the chances of injuries.

The large dance studios are kept at the perfect temperature by a low-energy heat-exchange system and lighting is infinitely variable to create the appropriate mood.

Victoria’s team of instructors and teachers cover every aspect of dance and movement, and every age group is catered for.

Children’s classes include ballet, street/hip hop, musical theatre and fitness; and for adults there is ballet, ballroom, Latin, tap, belly dancing, Bollywood and contemporary – and for all levels of ability.

The studios are ideal for other forms of movement and already host fitness, martial arts, yoga, pilates, Zumba and meditation classes – as well as more specialist areas like first wedding dance and mother, bump and baby groups.

Said Victoria: “We provide a friendly, inviting atmosphere and

Sacred song to unite city

Chapel House Studios, top, and one of the dance studios, above a wide range of teachers and instructors who are experts in their own fields – and there are new and exciting people joining the team all the time.”

Visit www.chapelhousestudios.com or call 01803 866461 . l Chapel House Studios also has smaller treatment rooms for bodywork and talking therapies – find out more in Wellbeing on page 39.

Company making links with maker across globe

green fuse funeral directors green fuse supports you to create a moving and memorable funeral reflecting the life & values of the person who has died.

All styles of funeral – contemporary, green, jazz, traditional, whatever you choose.

Highly qualified staff (FDFS Bath University).

Free funeral planning service (with or without prepayment) “Jane Morrell and Simon Smith work tirelessly to improve the standard of funerals.” Good Funeral Guide Visit our funeral centre at 7 High Street, Totnes or visit our highly informative website www.greenfuse.co.uk to find out all about funerals and bereavement.

Call us on 01803 840779 (24 hour service).

funerals with heart and soul 28

A PASSION for international development and frustrations about fairness in the world of business led two friends to set up a social enterprise company.

Ella Huffman and Angela Marker are both from Devon and share the desire to make a difference and improve the lives of others.

They are now running Global Indigo, which focuses on positive impact shopping by going further than Fairtrade and letting customers know exactly who they are helping and about their cultures and the issues they face. Every purchase comes with a leaflet about the producer.

Said Angela: “We do not influence the groups in any way. We support those who have taken the first steps to help themselves and their families through forming and joining co-operatives which produce ethically-made crafts, providing income for members, and funds for the cooperatives’ families.

“The co-operatives are sourced through personal links, ensuring legitimacy and setting a strong foundation for collaborative working.”

All Global Indigo’s groups follow ethical practice, and include groups too small to be Fairtrade accredited.

They also support local artists and craftsman, providing them with a platform to market and sell their products.

Global Indigo are not-for-profit. Their products include clothing, accessories, items made from recycled materials, chocolate, and homeware. The groups are spread across the globe and deal with a range of issues.

The partners’ ambition is to have a venue in Devon where shoppers can buy products and find out about the producers, other cultures and world issues.

See www.facebook.com/GlobalIndigo.

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A NEW singing venture in Exeter has its sights firmly set on uniting the community.

Alison Whittall, who leads Sacred Song in Exeter, said: “This monthly singing workshop is unique - it welcomes all and any faiths or beliefs, builds bridges and unites hearts through harmony.

“We want to bring the community together to be uplifted, inspired, relaxed, transformed and moved.

“Even the venue is perfect, filled with flickering candlelight and such wonderful acoustics - and it’s right in the heart of Exeter.”

Sacred Song in Exeter is held on the last Sunday of the month (excluding August and December) at the Friends Meeting House, Wynard, Magdalen Street, 6.30-9.30pm. The cost is £10 (£7 conc) - call Alison on 01363 774324 or email alising@btopenworld. com. l Alison is also the new leader of Plymouth Community Choir, which has doubled membership since January to over 50.

Their new weekly venue is St Barnabas Church in Stuart Road and the Summer term starts April 16. Call Alison for details.

One for dads TWO dates for the fathers-only social activity group Dangerous Dads.

On April 28 ,1-4pm, they will be meeting up to make pizzas at the Steiner School in Dartington. £3 per dad, 5 and under free, 6+ £1 and no need to book.

On May 26 they have a wild walk with bushcraft expert Robin – a greenlane wander, spotting animal tracks and the like, rounded off with fun on a rope swing and a hedgerow stew.

Call Ian for more info on 01803 840990 or 07731795160, or visit www.dangerousdads.org.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Reconnect’s comprehensive to natural health and wellbeing local people local events localguide food local health local environment WELCOME to Wellbeing.

RECONNECT’S Wellbeing section brings together complementary therapists and personal development practitioners from across the region - it’s THE place to find your way to health and wellbeing, holistically and naturally.

If you’re a therapist or practitioner and want to be featured within these pages, it’s easy and affordable.

Just give us a call and we’ll help you find the right advertisement to get your message out there.

A regular 1/8-page, like those below, can cost just £41.85 a month, for example. And we can help you write the words free of charge and our designer will give it that professional look for a surprisingly small fee.

We can also write an editorial to tell your story in a little more depth.

So call Pete or Martin now (01392 346342 or 01803 868455) and see how we can help you to spread the word.

Angus Clark is creating a Tai Chi and Qigong event in Exeter

Taking a deep breath

World rides crest of a Tai Chi wave EVERY year, tai chi and qigong enthusiasts all over the world practice their art to create a healing wave of good energy. It’s known as World Tai Chi Day and its slogan is: One World, One Breath.

This year Devon man Angus Clark, honorary vice-president of the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain and founder of Living Movement,

is teaming up with The Hub on the Green, Exeter’s centre for sustainable health, to create an event on Exeter Cathedral Green on Saturday, April 28.

Says Angus: “Everybody is welcome to join in with some simple breathing and movement exercises, to create some good chi for the world and to learn some tai chi moves for free!”

It all starts with tai chi on the Cathedral Green at 9.30am and finishes with a demonstration of tai chi and qigong in Princesshay Shopping Centre at 11.30am.

“There’ll be chai and buns too and a chance to learn some moves yourself,” says Angus.

Visit www.livingmovement.com/ news.html or call 01392 213899.

Open day puts you in touch with bodywork IF you’re thinking of a career in massage and bodywork, the School of Bodywork’s open day on Saturday, June 16, will be valuable research.

It’s a chance to visit the centre (based at the Exeter Natural Health Centre between Queen St and Gandy St), meet the tutors and see them demonstrating massage and bodywork techniques.

The day is free and will also include taster sessions, posture checks, homecare advice and refreshments plus special one-day price reductions on course fees,

equipment and accessories. Past, present and future students will also be able to chat with tutors, re-cap, catch-up, network and gain valuable CPD points by attending demonstrations and workshop.

On the same day, from 1-4pm, Therapists’ Marketing Solutions will be running a workshop at the centre called Building your Practice, Maximising Impact. It costs £40.

Visit www.schoolofbodywork.com, or call 07711 656011.

TRANSFORMATIONAL Breathing is a technique that encourages us to breathe properly (we normally use just 15-20% of our lung capacity), oxygenating our body to make us feel more energised and boosting our immune system. It also works on a vibrational level to clear emotional blockages.

Now you can enjoy the benefits of the therapy at special introductory workshops run by local Transformational Breath therapist Les Elms, above.

Les will be at Exeter Mind and Body Clinic on Saturday, May 26 (2-5pm) and at Bideford Wellbeing Centre on Thursday, May 17 (6.30-9pm).

And no, those dates don’t run chronologically, but Exeter is in Reconnectland and Bideford is waaaaaaay up there in the wilds of North Devon…

Call Les on 07828566553, or email les@ breathsouthwest.com.

Norwegian Wood

Relax deep mind

SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC BED & BREAKFAST WITH EN-SUITE WELLBEING. GLORIOUS VIEWS & GARDENS.

PLUS: ACTIV8ATE • Nutritional Naturopathy consultation • Five-hour workshops/lectures. on four Mondays in September See website for more info

Start a healthier lifestyle with the perfect break www.organicbedandbreakfast.info

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Heather Nicholson Norwegian Wood, Hollicombe Lane, Preston, Paignton TQ3 2DT

01803 528575

Tai Chi Studio

Full time Tai Chi training studio Unit 5b King St. Business Centre King St. Exeter EX1 1BQ

Tel: 07745 665586

Learn to relax Improve health Improve posture Meditation and enjoy your life.

New Classes starting NOW Regular short and long form classes Push hands classes Beginners classes Weekend workshops For the cultivation of internal strength and harmony

taichistudio.co.uk

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

29

Complementary health and personal development... local people local events local food local health local environment Unique ceremonies for weddings, namings, funerals and all special occasions in the South West with singer and celebrant Danu Fox. T: 01736 786267 M: 07870 634421

Catherine Crane at work

www.heartsongceremonies.co.uk

THERAPISTS WANTED

TO JOIN NEWLY OPENED HEALTH AND WELLNESS CLINIC IN NEWTON ABBOT. • Excellent location • Newly renovated • Large treatment rooms • Rooms to let on hourly, half-daily, or weekly basis.

Looking for enthusiastic therapists wanting to build and establish their practice base.

Get in touch to find out more!

39 Devon Square, Newton Abbot, TQ12 2HH • Tel: 01803 814 329 align.limited@gmail.com • www.alignyourhealth.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you at ALIGN! Totnes Devon

international

MACROBIOTIC

www.macroschool.co.uk

school

Professional Training Programme One, Two and Three Year Training in Macrobiotic Healing Arts

First Years start: October 2012 or April 2013

with professional qualifications Year One: Self Development Year Two: Macrobiotic Cook & Health Advisor Year Three: Macrobiotic & Life Counsellor Macrobiotic Specialist Cook & Healing Guide

Tel. 01803 762598 info@macroschool.co.uk

Clinic home to range of therapists THE founder of the Align Health and Wellness Clinic in Newton Abbot, Dr Catherine Crane, is a chiropractor whose expertise lies in postural correction.

But she describes her philosophy as “multi-disciplinary” and believes in approaching the person holistically, which is why the clinic is home to a wide range of therapists.

And throughout April, Align is offering free consultations with their practitioners.

As well as Catherine’s Chiropractic skills, the clinic offers Reflexology (Kate Hamilton), Aromatherapy and Soft Tissue Massage (Gaynor Seager), Pilates and The Bowen Technique (Andy West), Sports Injury

Treatment (Charlotte Mindham), “award-winning” Hypnotherapy (Trevor Hoskisson) and Yoga Teacher (Laura Ford).

From May 1-6, Align will also play host to the world-famous healer Maestro Constantino from Mexico, who will be giving free healing sessions.

Said Catherine: “Maestro comes to reach all of our hearts, to heal those of us in need both physically and emotionally. There is no charge for the healing, but heartfelt voluntary contributions will be greatly received to cover our costs.” All welcome.

Visit www.alignyourhealth.co.uk and www.maestroconstantino.blogspot. com, or call 01803 814329.

Communication is key to success THERAPIST Cathy Towers believes good communication is essential for the success of a private practice.

Having run workshops giving advice to fellow therapists on how to improve their businesses, she has now set up a discussion group for therapists on Linked In - the business-related social networking website. The group is specifically for therapists and is called Successful Private Practice SW UK. Membership allows you to join groups relevant to you and take part in professional discussions.

Said Cathy: “Best of all, it is a free way to share knowledge, advice, concerns and queries. Anyone can ask a relevant question and anyone can respond with their

particular view and experience.

“At first it felt exposing when I joined Linked In, having my professional information public in this way, but then it clicked - that I do need to be public to build my work!

“I took it slowly and started just reading discussions.

“Now I participate confidently. There are some great topics, exploring all sorts of professional issues.

There have been some groups I haven’t enjoyed and I have simply unsubscribed.”

If anyone is unsure and would like more information or an invitation to join, contact Cathy on 07989 564660 or cathy.mindandbody@ gmail.com

AtlasPROfilax® NEW AMAZING SELF-EMPOWERING REALIGNMENT Did you know that the Atlas bone is misaligned in most humans?

What if you could get rid of

BACK, NECK, KNEES or HIPS PAIN, WHIPLASH, MIGRAINES, DIZINESS, TRAPPED NERVES, DIFFERENCE in LEG LENGTH, FROZEN SHOULDERS, etc…

A strategic and non-chiropractic massage is applied to the short musculature of the neck in only one application, safely and permanently Marie-Agnès Casalini

07828 954 304 (01342) 303279 marie.atlas@yahoo.co.uk For more testimonials, see: www.marieatlas.co.uk Regularly in Totnes at Arcturus Clinic

30 30

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...please mention ‘Reconnect’ when you contact practitioners Experience makes the difference NATURE’S Larder in Ivybridge is the perfect example of the ‘greater than the sum of its parts’ principle.

Combining comprehensive health store and therapy centre, it offers a complete range of products and a wide range of therapies.

But, as always, it’s people that make the difference and owner Sue and Mark Hawkins has more than 12 years’ experience.

“If anyone is looking to improve their physical or emotional wellbeing, we will do all we can to help them make safe, informed choices,” she said.

“Whether they want to change their diet, want to supplement it with vitamins or herbs, or want to try a complementary therapy, we

will spend time with them looking at their needs, their budget and their previous experiences to find the right option.”

Recently joining the team of therapists are chiropractor Fiona Webb (see her tips on gardening without sustaining back or join injuries on page 38) and colonic hydrotherapist Ali Whitley, below.

Other therapies on offer at the Nature’s Larder Therapy Centre include acupuncture, allergy testing, EFT, aromatherapy and accupressure massage, homeopathy, crystal therapy, Reiki and shiatsu.

And all Nature’s Larder therapists offer a free 15-minute consultation so you can find out more.

Visit www.natureslarder.co.uk or call 01752 894197.

Aly’s formula for health A SIMPLE formula forms the foundation of Ivybridge-based therapist Aly Whitley’s work: a healthy colon + nutritious food + a positive attitude = health and wellbeing.

To achieve this holistic outcome, Aly offers colonic hydrotherapy, digestive health advice and EFT. Says Aly: “By gently cleansing with warm water, colonic hydrotherapy relieves toxicity, the cause of so many common ailments, and helps to restore beneficial gut flora.

“I can then suggest simple lifestyle and dietary changes to ensure continued digestive health is restored – essential to complete wellbeing.”

For those looking to improve their emotional state, Aly offers EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique.

“This is a simple technique,” says Aly, “which involves tapping on acupuncture points to clear the negative emotions we have collected through life and which prevent us from getting the most out of our life and relationships.”

Aly has a fully equipped colonic

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Digestive Health & Emotional Wellbeing 4 Colonic hydrotherapy 4 Digestive health advice 4 Emotional Freedom Technique Holistic help for common chronic complaints

Aly Whitley RMN Dip (ITEC) EFT adcert

at Nature’s Larder Therapy Centre, Ivybridge.

01752 894197 07711 534034 www.digestivehealthdetox.co.uk

Nature’s Larder Aly Whitley - holistic outcomes hydrotherapy unit at the Natures Larder Therapy Centre in Ivybridge, where she also offers the digestive health advice and EFT. Find out more at www. digestivehealthdetox.co.uk or call 01752 894197.

Health Store & Therapy Centre

Health foods l Supplements l Beauty products l Complementary Therapies 10 Glanvilles Mill,Ivybridge 01752 894197 www.natureslarder.co.uk

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

31

Complementary health and personal development...

Hub’s holistic approach to birth A NEWLY formed not-for-profit organisation is bringing together a dedicated group of volunteers committed to a holistic and openminded approach to birthing and parenting.

The Holistic Birth Hub, set up in November last year, meets Mondays and Wednesdays in Totnes, running on a drop-in basis and offering pregnancy yoga, pregnancy/post natal circles, fathers’ group, mother and baby space, baby massage and doula support.

Lilah McLean of the Holistic Birth Hub, said: “The emphasis is on creating a community that is supported and supports each other - from the uncertainty of pregnancy through the fragile first weeks of having a new baby onto learning and sharing as baby grows.

“It means that mothers, fathers and families don’t have to face these big decisions and choices alone. We offer a wealth of knowledge within the hub of group leaders and therapists - as well as other mothers and fathers.”

Low-cost therapies on offer include cranial sacral, shiatsu, massage,

acupuncture and homeopathy, as well as trauma release work.

The Wednesday Hub is held at The Friends Meeting House in Totnes and there are plans to expand into another venue on Mondays.

To find out more, visit www. theholisticbirthhub.weebly.com or call 01803 762355/0796 6931 416.

How to make changes in life

The Contemporar y College of Homeopathy B r i s t o l

Putting Health Back In Your Hands We offer an enviable training with internationally renowned teachers and supervision in our busy teaching clinics

INDENTIFYING what we want to change about our lives is not difficult – actually making those changes is often not so simple.

Lyn Price, founder of HereandNow coaching and training in Totnes, is a qualified NLP practitioner and Hypnotherapist, and says she can “identify the difference that makes the difference, in order for the change to happen”.

Says Lyn: “NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is the science of how the brain codes learning and experience.

“This coding affects all communication and behaviour so it is a key to creating change and achieving the things you want. NLP helps you break free of limiting beliefs and develop a system of empowering beliefs and attitudes about your thoughts and communication so you can make effective change.”

Lyn says that NLP helps you to

understand the specific ways your brain makes distinctions – armed with that knowledge you can then make real change in your life.

“Traditional psychological methods can often be very slow, costly and painful,” says Lyn, “with the client having to re-live the problem, often session after session. Not so with NLP. It is quick and effective and the focus is very much on what you want - whether it is to become healthier, more confident, improve relationships, achieve goals, become more motivated or free yourself of anxiety, fears and phobias.”

Hereandnow is running two NLPbased training programmes at the Totnes Natural Health centre every month - an Introduction to NLP on one evening and a programme of six evenings for self-development.

Call Lyn on 01803 866312 or 07779127965, or email hereandnow@lynprice.plus.com.

•Weekend introductory courses •One year foundation course (part time) year professional training for •Four practitioner level (part time) CALL NOW to book a place on our next

FREE OPEN DAY

or chat to Kate for more information tel: 01275 877083 www.conhom.com 32

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...call 01392 346342 or 01803 868455 to be featured here EMBERCOMBE is well known for its inspirational flagship course The Journey which works with individuals, but this year’s Summer programme has a strong emphasis on the family.

The Summer Camp is for families with a focus on “growing the grownups” while children play in nature.

Embercombe’s 50 acres of wildlife habitats including organic gardens, deciduous woodlands, wildflower meadow, lake and farmland is the ultimate outdoor classroom.

Positioned right at the start of the school holidays, the camp enables parents to get their six weeks off to a flying start providing all the skills they need to have a loving and connected break.

Teenagers are also catered for with Wildcraft week and those a little older can join Catalyst. The adult programme, The Journey, is deliberately scheduled at a teacher-friendly time at the beginning of the Summer holidays.

All these activities are planned for

Thai Massage Torquay

Growing the grown-ups the school holidays and are a break from the schools programme which continues during term time.

Bookings are now being taken for the new Linhay Landbased Learning Centre opening next year. See: http://www.embercombe.co.uk/ education for more information.

Meeting of community healers OVER three decades ago Colin Bloy introduced the concept that communities, like people, suffer from dis-ease and may be healed.

groups practising Fountain Work now exist in the UK. Twenty six different countries have Fountain Groups.

In Brighton on September 29, 1981, he put his idea to the test and sent out a call to the healers in the town to join in.

Torquay is once again hosting a Fountain conference on April 21-22 in St Anne’s Hall where there will be a number of speakers.

Within a few weeks, more than 100 people were ready to take part and they focussed on the town’s famous fountain.

Conference organiser Suzanne Thomas of Torquay has now launched an online magazine to support the UK Fountain community. Visit www. fountaininternationalmagazine.com.

This was the start of the Fountain world wide community healing project.

According to Colin it is thought that more than 200 Fountain Groups or

more than just relaxing…

As a form of care and therapy, Thai Massage is safe, non-invasive and has been used for over 2000 years to promote a healthy lifestyle.

It has been shown to improve movement, eliminate pain and tension, boost immunity, give you more energy and improve sleeping.

Wareekun (Jib) is qualified in Thai Massage, Aromatherapy Massage, Back & Shoulder Massage, Deep Tissue Oil Massage, Foot Massage, Head Massage and more...

Call her on 07935 923 509 to make an appointment.

1 THe OlD TOwn HAll BABBACOMBe ROAD, ST MARyCHuRCH, TORquAy Tq1 3SB

£5 discount if you bring this advertisement with you - only one voucher per person per treatment, valid until the end of June.

www.thaimassagetorquay.co.uk

Soul Journeys

For information on the conference call 01803 316146 evenings and weekends, or go to http://www. fountaininternational.co.uk

Intuition liberates his therapy HAVING intuition is not a gift we are all afforded, but for those with such a power it can have huge advantages.

Jay Ramsay has had a long-term interest in mystical experience and psychic studies, running workshops in poetry, alchemy and creativity.

His natural intuition means his therapy sessions are not constrained by conventions.

Jay says that intuitive psychotherapy has the ability to get to the real issues and to unlock solutions that conventional methods may struggle with.

Said Jay: “My speciality is working with helping people connect to authentic feelings and creative expression.

“I have studied meditation with Bob Moore in Denmark, and I have also trained as a healer with the NFSH. My core belief is that as we connect to more of who we truly are, we release healing energy in ourselves.”

Jay will be offering sessions

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

A ONE-DAY INTRODUCTION TO SHAMANIC PRACTICE With Debbie Wander M.A., U.K.C.P. Psychotherapist M.A. trainer and Shamanic practitioner Jay Ramsay - intuitive psychotherapy fortnightly at Angela Warren’s: Two Mile Oak, 5 miles from Totnes on the main road towards Newton Abbot.

As a poet and djembe drummer, Jay is part of the Tagore Fest in April and will be at Quest in July.

Visit www.jayramsay.co.uk

Debbie has 20 years experience and is trained in both core Shamanism and worked at depth with indigenous Shaman in Siberia and Lapland.

DEBBIE WANDER MA UKCP Psychotherapist • Supervisor • MA Trainer Shamanic Practitioner and Teacher

Call 01803 555155

email debbiewander@hotmail.com

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

33

Complementary health and personal development...

Aching joints and muscles?

Painful knees?

Shoulders stuck?

First session FREE… Mary Caffrey Bsc(Hons) NAMMT Rm Hendrickson Method Practitioner

Specialising in remedial and orthopaedic massage to mobilise your body and bring relief from pain.

Call me on 07877 863745 for an appointment

Changing your life is just a pinprick away...

Let me show you how images of your blood magnified 1000 times can help you:

F understand why you are feeling ‘sick and tired’ F lose weight Consultations in Exeter and Plymouth.

Beverley Bird SAC dip Clinical nutrition.

Live and dried blood microscopy, nutrition therapy and raw food educator. Tel: 01566 880090

www.liveblooduk.co.uk www.botanicaldetox.co.uk See website for dates and locations of Raw Food for Health Workshops 2012

THE

YOGA OF RELATIONSHIPS Totnes, 19th and 20th May 2012 With Marc Beuvain

Programme

Practices to calm the emotions Meditations to clarify life choices and directions Presentations to understand the subtle workings of our mind and our emotional conflicts Applying yoga in relationships: being yourself with others

Dates

Herbal health for the people AT a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy herbal remedies, Earth-based herbal medicine “hands control back to people,” says practitioner Frances Wright of the Althaea herbal Healing Garden.

“Earth-based herbal medicine is rooted in the traditional practices of western herbal medicine,” says Frances. “It uses whole herb extracts made with easy, ‘kitchen sink’ methods, and honing our own senses as quality control, to produce vibrant, effective medicines.”

The Althaea herbal Healing Garden,

which runs Thursday volunteer sessions, weekend workshops (see www.greenlaneherbs.co.uk for dates) and a practitioner course lasting several years (email greenlaneherbs.frances@virgin.net, for prospectus).

Says Frances: “If herbalists are eventually denied the right to buy herbal medicines by future legislation (as is the case in France and Germany) Earth-based herbal medicine will ensure the skill can be kept alive, as people learn to be their own herbalist, and practitioners grow their own herbs to be selfsufficient in medicines.”

Flow of dance and the wisdom of yoga IN the West, dance has mostly become a form of entertainment.

But in the East it has long been practiced and enjoyed as a way of connecting with ourselves and to each other, and of bringing communities together in celebration.

Sara Avtar Olivier, a kundalini yoga trainer and lifelong dancer, created Shakti Dance and has been developing it since the early 1990s.

It is taught in Totnes by Maite Alonso.

“Shakti Dance embodies the intuitive flow of dance and the ancient wisdom of yoga,” says Sara. “Simply put, shakti is the Sanskrit word used to describe the force that animates all life. Shakti Dance takes you ‘out of your head’ and gets you ‘into your body’. It connects you with a deep wellspring

of creativity, and gives it an outlet for physical expression.”

A Shakti Dance class is woven around a compilation of mantric music of different styles and tempos.

Sara has taught many people over the years and says: “I repeatedly witness how people blossom as they gain newfound contact with, and awareness of, their own bodies in motion and the spirit that pervades them.

“The act of dancing often takes on new dimensions as students experience a new freedom of movement led from deep within, while enjoying relaxing meditative states of mind.”

To find out more, call Maite, who runs weekly classes in Totnes, on 01803 862330, or visit www.shaktidance. co.uk.

Practical Information

Cost

19th and 20th May 2012

Timetable Saturday: 11am – 1pm 2pm – 5pm Sunday: 10am – 12pm 1pm – 3pm

£100 for the whole weekend Registration : Send your details and a £50 deposit to the Forge Yoga Centre, payable to G Faust.

Who can come?

This workshop is open to everybody – all levels of experience and ability welcome.

More information

If you have any questions please write to info@marcbeuvain.com or call Gretchen on 01803 867 440 Venue The Forge Yoga Centre, Top of Collins Road, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5PJ – Website : www.forgeyoga.co.uk

34 34

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...please mention ‘Reconnect’ when you contact practitioners

Ecotherapy helps young people WE all know we feel better if we take part in outdoor activities - now a course is putting ecotherapy to practical use.

Spring to Life, run by Sharpham Outdoors, is aimed at young people who have experienced mental health distress or are having a tough time of it at home, work, school or socially.

Said project manager Jack Skuse: “They may be carers or have direct personal experience and the project identifies the recovery potential positive time spent outdoors can have.

“Young adults aged 14-24 can learn new skills, light fires with natural materials, source, cook and eat food

from the wild, canoe along the river Dart, or simply take time out and lie in a hammock, or sit around an open fire. They will also make a positive contribution to the environment.”

This project runs one day a week for 10 weeks and has been funded

by Ecominds, a £7.5 million funding scheme run by Mind on behalf of BIG Lottery Fund.

Sharpham Outdoors is also recruiting volunteer mentors to work on the project and build up units of the environmental conservation National Diploma.

To find out more about taking part or volunteering, call 01803 732799 or email Christine@sharphamtrust.org.

OLA CHIROPRACTIC

Gift Voucher worth £32

Special Introductory Offer £50

£18 only

This offer includes: • Full health history • Blood pressure, nerve tests, lung tests and orthopaedic tests • Digital SPINAL SCAN with state of the art NASA designed technology • An introduction to Network Spinal Analysis Care (NSA) • Written report of findings

Share your story for new book CARMELLA B’Hahn is busy writing her book, Speech Alchemy: Communication Life-Skills Made Simple - and she needs your help.

The book looks at skills that together can change dysfunctional communication patterns and she is asking anyone who has “experienced a powerful insight in relation to communication” to share it with her for possible inclusion in the book.

Carmella said: “I believe passionately it is time now to shed light on the outmoded ways of speaking that are embedded in our cultural norm; time for us to be aware of how the way we speak affects our lives and each other.

“As neuroscience, quantum physics and other cutting edge research are now showing, words and the energy behind them are the fundamental tools that create the quality and direction of our lives.”

Carmella is also now taking bookings for her second series of workshops to help transform communication - to be held at her new house, Heartwood, at Bowden Community, Totnes, between June 9 and Nov 10.

Part of Heartwood - which Carmella designed from scratch to be “an inspirational sanctuary of service” – can be rented out during the day

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

O MODERN CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY "Network Spinal Analysis represents the epitome of body work in our time" Professor Candace Pert

Please telephone to arrange your appointment in our newly refurbished chiropractic centre in the heart of Totnes.

07813 200361

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer or voucher Please bring this voucher to your appointment

Ola Chiropractic Centre, 5a Fore Street Totnes Devon TQ9 5DA www.totneschiropractic.co.uk

CHIROPRACTIC

as a place to do inner work or write, for one day or regularly.

“You can have use of a small cosy room with conservatory,” says Carmella. “Or have a candlelit bath, with heart stones on the bathroom walls, keep fit on the treadmill, or even book a colonic for innercleansing while you’re at it!”

See Carmella’s advertisement, email Carmella@solacealchemy.com, or 01803 867005.

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

35

Complementary health and personal development...

Hélène Demetriades

Experienced Transpersonal Psychotherapist & Counsellor MBACP SNR Accred.

Metamorphic Technique Practitioner & Teacher Counselling & Psychotherapy I help you to move through patterns of self-rejection to come home to yourself.

“Hélène works with infinite compassion and patience, listening on levels which I could never begin to imagine myself. She becomes the most magical mirror in which I can see myself more clearly” Metamorphic Technique A simple practice in which I use a light touch on the sides of your feet, hands and head, acting as a catalyst to your life-force.

“The philosophy of the Metamorphic Technique of bringing about one’s potential in life has manifested itself in mine in a profound way within the last year.”

Location: Dartington www.helenedemetriades.co.uk Tel: 01803 868 655

Kum Nye & Vinyasa Krama Yoga 14-21 July, 2012 – Holy Island – Scotland With John Peacock, Marc Beuvain and Gretchen Faust

Time for a new direction?

SPRING is in the air at the Heartwood Centre for Counselling Training with the start of applications and enrolments for the next academic year (starting September 2012).

Heartwood director Leigh Smith said: “Spring seems the ideal time to think about a new direction in your life, so perhaps that’s why this is the most popular time of year for enrolments...”

With a full range of counselling courses on offer, the Dartington centre works with students from the very start of their training right through to foundation degree level (with the Open University).

This year will also see the launch

of Specialist Diplomas, which will give existing qualified counsellors an opportunity to add more strings to their bow or specialise in a new approach. Subjects include Gestalt, body process, transpersonal, naturebased therapy, supervision or sand tray therapy.

Along with their diploma courses, Heartwood will also be running a range of continual professional development (CPD) workshops for counsellors.

Heartwood is running three taster days for people who would like to enroll on the September diploma courses.

Visit www.heartwoodcounselling.org or call 01803 865464.

Members of the Heartwood team

The course will consist of daily practice sessions of Kum Nye and Vinyasa Krama Yoga. There will be evening talks and debates discussing the philosophies behind each tradition and contrasting the views of Advaita and Buddhist thought on ethics, notions of the self and integrated practice.

Dates :

Practical Information

14-21 July 2012 Venue: Holy Isle – Lamlash Bay – KA27 8GB – Scotland

Website : www.holyisle.org

Accommodation cost :

Bookings :

£329 singles, £252 twins,

Tel. Gretchen Faust :

£196 dorms.

01803 867 440

-

Email: theforge@totalise.co.uk

Course fee :

The Forge Yoga Centre,

£200 if signed up before May 1 2012 / £250 if after

Collins Road,

early bird deadline.

36

-

Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5PJ.

Therapists massage the figures JUST when you thought Reconnect was an Olympics-free zone…

Transformational Breathing therapist Les Elms is based in South Devon but works across the South West, including at Bideford, where the Olympic Torch will be carried along the Quay on

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Monday, May 21, 9am-1pm.

Therapists will be on hand to massage members of the public and raise money for Help for Heroes.

Find out more at www. bidefordwellbeingcentre.co.uk, or call 01237 470177.

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...call 01392 346342 or 01803 868455 to be featured here

Authentic Thai treatment WHEN people visit Thailand they often ask why the Thai people look so healthy and happy.

One theory is that regular massage, a regular feature of the Thai lifestyle, plays a big part in improving movement, eliminating pain and tension, boosting immunity, boosting energy and improving sleep.

Now authentic Thai massage is available here in the Old Town Hall, Babbacombe, Torquay, with Wareekun (Jib) Hammond, who studied traditional massage and aromatherapy at the Watpo Traditional Medical School and she also has a certificate from the Thai Traditional Medical Services Society.

Jib was born and brought up in Thailand and has been living in England with her husband Chris since 2006.

She said: “My aim is to provide the best, most authentic Thai massage in the South Devon area. My many regular customers already feel the benefit of my work.”

Visit www.thaimassagetorquay. co.uk, or call 07935 923 509 to make an appointment. Gift vouchers are available online.

Cancer Lifeline South West A local charity working to help you move forward following treatment.

We provide, 3 day residential breaks, at no charge, in the beautiful surroundings of Sharpham.

Our breaks are designed to help you reflect on where you are now and how you want to move forward.

Former sufferer offers CFS relief WE can all claim to be exhausted from time to time, but when that lack of energy starts to ruin our lives it’s time to explore a solution.

According to the National Health Service around 250,000 people in the UK are affected by CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), some having struggled on for many years with their GPs unable to help.

Mickel Therapist Trevor Gardner is a former sufferer of CFS and is now helping others recover.

His work has brought him into contact with a range of people of all ages and occupations, all of them desperate to find a solution and wanting to get on with their lives.

Some of the many testimonials from delighted clients are very revealing.

One wrote: “‘You’ve got post viral fatigue syndrome, you’ll just be

Feel Good Look Great Detox Lose Weight www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Earth-based herbal medicine

Herbal Medicine practitioner courses at Althaea Herbal Healing Garden nr Totnes j Taught by reg’d medical herbalists with 40 years experience. j Curriculum covers requirements of one of the UK’s largest registers for herbalists j Distance learning, seminars, tutorials and study groups. j Learn at your own pace (takes around 3-6 years) j Affordable, pay per module Weekend courses - see website for dates www.greenlaneherbs.co.uk - email greenlaneherbs.frances@virgin.net

a bit tired for a couple of months then you’ll be fine, do some regular exercise if you feel tired.’ Those few ambitious words from my clueless GP were just the beginning...”

And another said: “At the end of the first session, I was on cloud nine. My body felt lighter and it felt right. I left the session with a few hand outs and a couple of things to do.”

And another long suffering client wrote: “After at least 15 years of chronic illness, I have my life back.

For the first time it feels as if I have woken up.”

Trevor runs a small private practice near Exeter in which he helps clients to recover from ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, IBS, panic attacks and other energy conditions.

Visit www.mickeltherapy.com

Supportive group six weeks starting 25 April 2012

Jacqueline Kareh 0785 000 8133

For information about our May break, or other dates throughout the year call Jane on 01392 432984 or email: office@cancelifeline-southwest.org

RIQTA

For Professional, Accredited and Approved COUNSELLING TRAINING COURSES & regular workshops TORBAY Level 2 – introduction to counselling skills & concepts part time – 10 weeks – commencing APRIL 2012 Level 3 – Certificate in Counselling Skills part time – 10 months – commencing JUNE 2012 Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) part time. – commencing MAY 2012 Level 4 Diploma in The Theory and Practice of Counselling part time 21 months – commencing MAY 2012 Specialist Diploma in Counselling Children & Young People 12 months part time – commencing APRIL 2012 For further information on these courses, or any of our workshops or support groups please contact: Info.riqta@btconnect.com www.riqta.co.uk – 01803 315075 RIQTA - HEALTH AND HARMONY. Low cost counselling agency - if you feel

www.exetermindandbody.com

you would like to engage in counselling, and find finance a difficulty, we can recommend counsellors who offer reduced/low fees. Phone for details.

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

37

Complementary health and personal development...

‘A thoughtful approach to emotional issues’ communication is key

Professional and experienced counsellor qualified to help with: ● Relationships ● Anxiety/Panic Attacks ● Stress and Anger Management ● Self-esteem Issues ● Loss and Bereavement

Rosemary Pell’s Counselling Practice MBACP (Member of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)

01647 253264

www.rosemarypell.co.uk 1 Walnut Gardens, St David’s Hill, Exeter EX4 4DH

Kate Harris Life Coaching & Self Esteem Specialist Using cognitive behavioural therapy and life coaching to help you release your inner confidence ‘Kate’s compassion and empathy, and her ability to share and support, made a huge difference to my progress and my continued success’ Paula, Devon By phone (including Skype) or in person in a relaxed farmhouse setting near Totnes t: 01803 847674 m: 0777 949 6240 www.kateharris-lifecoaching.co.uk

Waterloo Wellbeing Centre, Plymouth ‘When we have inner peace we can be at peace with those around us’ Dalai Lama

Professional Counselling and Psychotherapy for health and wellbeing Services available:

• INDIVIDUAL AND COUPLES COUNSELLING

Taking the pain out of gardening SPEAK to anyone who works with back and joint injuries and they’ll tell you Spring is a busy time.

After months of semi-hibernation over the winter, we all want to rush out and catch up on those jobs in the garden.

But chiropractor Fiona Webb has some simple steps you can take to help avoid an injury: l Treat gardening like normal exercise - you need to warm up and warm down. l Start with the lighter jobs, like mowing the lawn, and if you are pruning, use long handled secateurs. l Don’t twist – if you have to use a ladder to reach trees, shrubs or fences, treat them like dancing partners always face them and move the ladder regularly. And always try to have someone standing at the base! l If laying a patio, keep the slab close to your body and bend your knees. It is sometimes better to bend only one knee - your supporting leg gives you a position of strength. l Dress appropriately – don’t wear tight, constricting clothes. l Spend no more than 20-30 minutes

‘All the love you will ever need...’

AFTER some years as a successful designer, Wendy Thrippleton decided she wanted to produce a book – and having done just that, it is perhaps appropriate that its title is Become The Person You Want To Be. She describes her book as “a new source of energy that will allow you to enjoy your true life.”

She says: “I have created powerful inner-thoughts and full colour designs to give you all the confidence and love you will ever Wendy’s book launch at Paper Moon in Totnes need.” get you through the day.”

Wendy, who lives and works in Totnes, invites you to read the text Become The Person You Want To Be, first and then gaze into the designs. published by Live It Publishing, is £15 from Paper Moon in Totnes, or “Use it first thing in the morning or available online through Amazon. whenever you need courage,” she says. “And if your life is very busy, For more information, call Wendy just pick out the words you need to on 01803 864429.

• PSYCHOTHERAPY • COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY • FAMILY THERAPY • 8 WEEK MINDFULNESS COURSES (evenings) • TWO-YEAR MINDFULNESS-BASED COUNSELLING DIPLOMA STARTING SEPTEMBER 2012

THERAPY ROOMS TO RENT Would you like to be part of an expanding therapy practice and work in a tranquil setting alongside other professionals. To find out about rental availability at the centre, including weekends, please contact Julie Jeffs for further details.

Tel: 01752 560002 www.psychotherapyplymouth.co.uk 191 Devonport Road, Stoke, Plymouth PL1 5RN

38

on any one thing and take regular breaks. l Pain is a warning sign that should not be ignored – if you start to ache, stop what you are doing! l And if you do hurt yourself, seek advice from a spinal specialist.

“Chiropractic is best known for treating back and neck pain,” says Fiona, “but patients also consult chiropractors regarding a variety of other conditions.

Treatment involves gentle, specific spinal movements to allow joints that are stiff to begin moving properly.”

Fiona works at Nature’s Larder in Ivybridge (01752 894197) and at the Kingsbridge Chiropractic Clinic (01548 852542).

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

FEELING YOUR BEST AT THE DESK and improve your posture at the computer

I provide a highly effective Alexander Techniquebased approach for preventing back & neck pain and RSI combined with expert advice on setting up your workstation to suit your individual needs.

For home or business contact: MIcHAEL BROwN on 01364 654398 or 07775 528876 or email info@michaelhbrown.co.uk www.feelingyourbestatthedesk.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

...please mention ‘Reconnect’ when you contact practitioners One of the treatment rooms at Chapel House Studios

Studio’s new treatment rooms AS we hinted at in our story on page 28, the newly opened Chapel House Studios, which has at last brought purpose-built dances studios to Totnes, also has two treatment rooms.

They are equipped with high quality furniture and facilities, making them ideal for bodywork treatments like massage or acupuncture. They are for hire to qualified and insured therapists for £6.50 and £8.50 an hour.

The centre’s dance studios are also available for hire for movement classes like yoga and tai chi.

Owner Victoria Rogers has devised an ingenious online booking system that allows therapists to see at-a-glance when the rooms are available and to book them immediately while taking a booking over the phone.

Visit www.chapelhousestudios.com or call 01803 866461.

Retreat for isolated Tolle supporters THERE’S no doubting the growing popularity of Eckhart Tolle, right, author of The Power of Now, who was listed first on last year’s 100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins Books.

And yet in the South West, only Totnes and Bristol seem able to sustain larger groups of like-minded souls.

So now a day retreat is planned aimed specifically at “those many isolated souls not having the benefits of a local group.”

Called Eckhart Tolle – a new beginning for the South West, it will be facilitated by Christopher Clarke, who appeared on stage with Kim Eng (Eckhart’s wife and co-teacher) in a panel of three in Canada last year, and Mara Green of the Totnes

Eckhart Tolle group.

The retreat will take place at Sharpham House and will be led by Sally Chaffer, healer and facilitator of groups in the North of England.

Said Christopher: “The attraction of Eckhart seems to be his accessible presentation of timeless universal spiritual truths from an experiential perspective.

He teaches a practice of still alert attention as part of a world-wide ‘transformation of consciousness’ that is currently happening all over the planet, as individual souls awaken to the presence within, away from the illusory world of egodominated mind.”

Email christopher.clarkeETproject@ gmail.com.

The Flame of Ascension UK Workshop Tour 2012

Sandy Stevenson

Earth is ascending. A special and magical day with Ascended Masters helping on many levels with choices for your future.

Exeter: 13/5 Jackie 01392 811527 E: lightband@talktalk.net Truro: 12/5 Carolyn 01637 873024 Shrewsb: 20/5 Jenny 01544 230513

For full details and other locations: lightascension.com/welcome.html

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

THERAPY ROOMS TO RENT NEAR PRINCESSHAY EXETER

JOTTY’S

Rent space in our new SPA rooms close to Southernhay and the Princesshay shopping centre ● Two beautifully decorated treatment suites. ● Plenty of car parking space nearby. ● Ready for a therapist or group of therapists to move in.

Charlotte Mews, Pavilion Place, Exeter.

To rent space contact Jayne on: 07856 251 581 or email jayne.ot@jottys.com In association with The VOYA Spa at Jotty’s Emporium 43 - 43A High Street | Budleigh Salterton | Devon | EX9 6LE Telephone 01395 446580 | www.jottysspa.com

Practising in Totnes and Teignmouth 01803 862803 | 07506 179 808 | mark.edlundplater@gmail.com

Would you like to employ Sherlock Holmes on your health case?

Try the next best thing and consult an experienced homeopath with a sense of humour and 3000 remedies to find your perfect match.

Put us all in the same place at the same time and the results could be unimaginable!

Whatever your health dilemma, give Homeopathy a whirl in 2012 Jacki Becker RSHom Totnes Clinic of Homeopathy t: 01803 867747 m: 07792 059 867

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

39

Complementary health and personal development...

PETER ZEALLEY

Richie’s high-profile bid to lose 25% ND DO

CRANIOSACRALTHERAPIST

25 years experience working with adults, children & babies.

A gentle hands-on therapy inviting tissue presence to encourage the expression of health, function, vitality & wholeness. The ideal treatment for the release of stress, trauma, pain & stiffness.

THERE’S no better impetus to a fitness or weight loss regime than going public. And Richie Evans from Exmouth has also decided his loss will be a gain for a local charity.

Richie started at Hands-on Health clinic in Victoria Road, Exmouth, in March and has sent out press releases about his sponsored plan to lose 25% of his 19 stones.

Exeter u Topsham u Exmouth

All his sponsorship money will go to Woodbury’s Stallcombe House - a residential community for adults with learning difficulties.

freephone: 0800 970 6153 or text: 07979 721 227

Since starting his regime Richie has been issuing regular updates on Facebook, Twitter and the Hands-on

www.peterzealley.com

e-mail: peter@zealley.com

NEW SPACE FOR THERAPISTS TO RENT IN TOTNES

• •

Town centre location (next to Co-op car park) 2 Treatment Rooms, available by the hour Station Road, Totnes TQ9 5HW | 01803 866 461

www.chapelhousestudios.com

Albie McMahon, partner at Hands-on Health, is taking Richie through his TRX training and nutritional therapist Lesley Harper is advising him on his diet.

Other members of the clinic’s team are assisting with therapies and classes as he progresses.

Richie’s sponsorship forms are available at Hands-on Health, Stallcombe House, The Grapevine and other local outlets as well as on www. justgiving.com/richie-evans.

Call Hands-on-Health on 01395 224207 for more information.

Official opening of Ola THE Ola Chiropractic Centre in Totnes is now officially open and providing a base to nine complementary therapists, as well as chiropractor Dr Claire Ryan, who runs the centre.

Claire Ryan at the official opening

The official launch was celebrated with champagne and canapés made by The Kitchen Table, while guests enjoyed taster sessions of acupuncture, reflexology, Indian head massage, body massage and intuitive healing, with donations going to Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay.

Dr Ryan is a second generation chiropractor who has been practising for eight years — five in Plymouth and for the past three years in Totnes.

Space in city IF you’re an Exeterbased therapist looking for a place to practice, Southernhay is about as central as you can get.

Jayne OliphantThompson, who runs Jotty’s Spa in Budleigh Salterton and Topsham, is offering space at Charlotte Mews in Pavilion Place, Exeter.

The building offers two treatment suites which are beautifully decorated and ready for a therapist or group of therapists to move in.

Said Jayne: :”The building is on three floors, two suites are already occupied and it is the middle suite and top floor suites that are available to rent.”

Interested? Call Jayne on 07856 251581 or email jayne.ot@jottys.com

40

Health blog page, as well as keeping a video diary.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

At the opening of the new centre, at 5a Fore Street, Dr Ryan gave a talk on Network Spinal Analysis, the unique form of chiropractic she practises, which allows the body to “reorganise its tension using gentle, specific touch on the spine and a series of breathing exercises.”

Visit www.totneschiropractic.co.uk or call 01803 862565.

Tai chi on the skyline HIGH among the rooftops of Exeter is a new Tai Chi centre offering instruction on many levels.

The Tai Chi Studio runs morning and evening classes, plus one-to-one sessions, teaching everything from the short form, which allows anyone to relax and unwind, to the deeper aspects of push-hands (yield, neutralise, issue), and meditation.

Aaron Goodwin, one of the studio’s instructors, has an impressive training lineage: Cheng M’an Ching to Huang Shen Shyan to Patrick Kelly to Aaron.

He said: “Tai Chi is for everyone to enjoy.

We want to put the subtle, calming and revitalising benefits within everyone’s grasp.”

The centre also runs regular yoga classes and weekend Tai Chi workshops, and the studio is for hire to anyone who needs space to run a workshop.

The Tai Chi Studio, which is an extension of Exeter’s Open Palm School of Tai Chi, is starting up a new beginners’ class in April.

Visit www.taichistudio.co.uk, email aarontaiji@hotmail.co.uk, or call 07745 665586.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

...callevents 01392local 346342 or 01803 to advertise local people local food local health868455 local environment COMMUNICATION

BOWEN THERAPY

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A gentle, safe, holistic therapy, suitable for all ages.

Louise Pritchard, Cert ECBS RGN email: louisepritchard@aol.com

t: 01404 813537 m: 07800 777272

with Carmella B’Hahn Heartwood Bowden House, Totnes

5 small-group workshops for deep work

June 9th, July 14th, Sept 15th, Oct 13th, Nov 10th Including: Stepping out of Ego, Authenticity, Blitzing Habits, Speaking from Presence.

Email: carmella@solacealchemy.com

01803 867005

Pat Hoare

COUNSELLING

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IT SERVICES

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OUR classified ads are the perfect way to put your green or sustainable living products or services in front of Reconnect readers.

The single and double column advertisements, left, are £55 and £98, respectively.

Lineage ads, like those below, are 90p a word, with a minimum of 20 words. And you can include a photo FREE OF CHARGE! Just email your ad for the June/July issue to adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk (with a phone number) and we’ll contact you about payment.

The deadline for the June/July issue is May 4.

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STUNNING 20’ yurt available to hire. Erected at your choice of location, with or without furnishings.

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To book a treatment call

(01392) 833568 or 07969 131 024

Since my first session with Claire I am noticing a dramatic difference, a lighter and more carefree attitude to life RELATIONSHIPS

Cathrin Wildwood Sexuality Therapist

Counselling individuals and couples for any issues related to sex, intimacy and relationships www.sexualitytherapist.co.uk hello@ sexualitytherapist.co.uk Tel: 07870 888141 www.reconnectonline.co.uk

QUALIFIED carpenter available to complete or assist with those small jobs around your home and garden. Do you need help with any general repairs, maintenance tasks, decorating, alterations,

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With Alison Whittall

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01363 774324 www.alising.co.uk

FOR SALE VW T4 TDi van with partial camper conversion – professionally panelled and trimmed interior and vinyl floor, professionally fitted and tinted side windows, full double futon and folding frame for use as bed/sofa, alloy wheels, removable rear seats with belts, 115,600 miles, 9 months MOT. Smart, practical and fun multi-purpose vehicle – car, van, camper. View online at www.ebay.co.uk/ itm/180814483899, or call Steve on 07584 582599 (Exeter).

NEARLY NEW heavy duty canvas marquee/tent for festival stall, camping or extra room in the garden.

Measurements: 8’ width 12’ deep from back to canopy. Sleeping area measures just under 2.5m X 3m, includes pvc ground sheet, guys, wooden pegs and an excellent small woodburner complete with steel chimney. £1000 complete, or offers for tent alone. 01647 432155/ 433148.

CONTINUED PAGE 43

ROOMS TO LET

SINGING

Uplifting Songs of peace and freedom, spirit and heart including gospel, harmonic temple, contemporary and Taize

storage solutions, etc?

See our main ad in the Eco Homes section – contact Tanya & Kevin to discuss your needs 01364 631415.

Well Healed Chiropody and Therapy Rooms

Rooms to rent for therapists and clinicians Historic building in the centre of Bovey Tracey.

Level access, private location, parking nearby. l Online calendar and answering service for bookings. l l

Tel: 01626 830743

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Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

41

Get in touch: editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

Living on less...

What do you get from what you do?

TWO separate events came together to inspire these latest thoughts on living on less.

The first was a meeting I had with careers coach Jeff Sleeman for a feature about work for the June/ July issue. The second was a recent conversation I had with a friend.

During my chat with Jeff we touched on ways of finding more fulfilling work; of (at the risk of drifting into X-Factorese) following your dream; ways of discovering and doing things for which you really have a passion – while still making a living.

It was only after our meeting, as I was driving home that I realised we’d never really touched on the subject of income. It was implied and accepted that we were both talking about ‘gainful’ employment – only those with a private income (I heard them referred to recently as ‘trustafarians’) don’t need to earn some kind of return from their labours. But we had both based our discussions on the assumption that if you have enough passion for what you do, the rewards will follow – whether that’s in business or in employment.

We weren’t talking about “creating new income streams”, we were talking about finding new ways to work with and explore the world, the community and our own creativity.

The second conversation with a friend centred around his plans to grow and sell produce - something for which he has a great passion, but which he is concerned will not pay the bills as effectively as the ‘conventional’ job he has given up.

He explained: “I just can’t help thinking in terms of how much each hour’s work has earned me…”

MARTIN FOSTER argues that as well as putting (organic sourdough rye) bread on the table, work should also be a source of satisfaction, creativity and even (horror of horrors) fun...

Is your work working?

This whole issue of putting a value on your time is integral to the conventional employment system. You start to get the hang of it with pocketmoney – a couple of hours washing the car or cutting the lawn earns you enough to buy a few quid’s worth of whatever your particular childhood indulgence might be (and I have no intention of dating myself by revealing mine).

When you get a part-time job, you again get paid by the hour – the better paid job is generally the better job.

You work, you earn, you spend – a consumer is born.

The same philosophy follows you through your education years (although your favoured indulgence might change), but once you start your first ‘proper’ job, the emphasis shifts. Now you’re beginning to build a career so you’ll accept a lower rate than those around you because you’re learning your trade, getting to know the ropes.

your local solution-focused hypnotherapist Michael Sanders

But after your training, you’re in the big league – you might be newly qualified, but you’re standing firmly and proudly on that first rung and you expect to be rewarded accordingly. That next rung is just one promotional step away…

But let’s now have a quick look at the self-employed entrepreneur. How many small business owners would dare to calculate their hourly earnings? Or even to add up the hours they work?

My last full-time employment (a long time ago) included five weeks annual leave, plus public holidays. And have you ever wondered why illness, and especially days off work, is so much more common among those who get paid for days off sick? No, of course you haven’t.

So the motivation behind the selfemployed small business owner is entirely different. All that hard work, all those long hours, all that dedication will hopefully reap its rewards eventually.

But there’s something else going on here – there’s a desire to build something, to create, to earn a sense of satisfaction as well as a larger bank balance.

Now, what about (at the risk of bringing on flashbacks among any readers of a centre-left persuasion) the third way?

What if all those hours were dedicated to something else?

What if that sense of creativity and satisfaction could be found in spending more time doing the things you really enjoy doing (but maybe haven’t ever found the time).

What if your sense of enjoyment, contribution and yes, fun, was given greater priority than your financial renumeration?

01822 834799

Your past can't be changed.

Your future can!

Registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

But the first thing you need to do is stop thinking in terms of an hourly rate. Follow your heart’s desire and you might not be paid as much, but then you probably won’t need as many holidays and gadgets and ‘leisure activities’ – all the compensatory stuff we spend a fortune on to make up for the fact that we spend eight, 10 or 12 hours a day doing a job we hate and which, in the immortal words of Morrisey, “corrodes our soul”?

Sure, it might result in the line between work and leisure becoming a little blurred but is that such a bad thing?

I spend a lot of time talking to lovely people about the fascinating worthwhile things they do – and make a living while I‘m doing it. Perhaps that phrase is key – I don’t just earn money (in fact I often barely earn money), I make a living.

When I’ve worked with therapists and small businesses, helping them to find new clients and customers, they are often concerned about what they should charge per hour – are they not valuing themselves if they offer cut-price rates, or even work for nothing perhaps in exchange for goods or other services.

My advice is always to set your basic rate, based on what others in the same market are charging, and then offer clearly defined discounted rates (perhaps at off-peak times), which you can offer to friends. And/or state clearly and proudly that you are prepared to accept goods or services in kind – and only accept those that you really want.

But whatever arrangement you come to, do it deliberately and consciously – that way you don’t come to resent it.

Take a deep BREATH...

practices in Plymouth and Exeter

www.hypnotherapist-plymouth.com

It is possible. It can be done.

Learn how to use the power of your own breath to overcome stress and re-energise your body. Improve your health and help clear emotional blockages.

Based in S Devon but offering workshops and 1:1 sessions in South West, including: Bideford workshop - May 17. Exeter workshop - May 26.

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

07828 566553 42

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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...please mention ‘Reconnect’ when you contact advertisers FOR SALE (cont)

small low impact home. donf1997@gmail.com

SPACE TO RENT THERAPY room for rent in Totnes. By the hour, half day or day. Parking available. Please phone 07881-547253.

WOODLAND GEODESIC DOME. 12ft diameter handmade tent, 12oz water/rot-proof and fire-retardant cotton canvas by Albion Canvas, with rare red and green crown section. Squaresection frame made from UK-grown ash with plastic connectors, all treated with linseed oil and complete with pegs, fixings and instructions. Tip-top condition, gutted to sell, £1,000. Call 01364 661689 or email kelley_ hann@yahoo.co.uk

SELF-BUILD HOME SELF-BUILD opportunity on our lovely land in South Devon (subject to PP) for one person to make

WOULD you be happy for a green woodworker to set up a workshop in your woodland, and possibly run some courses, in exchange for a low rent and help managing the wood? Call Peter Lanyon (see page 16) on 01752 837205 or 07814 470432.

WORKSHOPS FORTHCOMING workshops on Mindfulness, Buddhist Teachings, Transformational Breathing, SCIO Healing, Therapist CPD. www. exetermindandbody.com 07989 564660 An oasis of calm in the centre of the city.

PHOTOS ARE FREE WITH OUR CLASSIFIED ADS - TURN BACK TO PAGE 41 FOR DETAILS

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WORKSHOP AND COURSES DIARY APRIL Every Tuesday QIGONG at The Exeter Mint Methodist Church with Brad Richecoeur, 5.30-7pm. Suitable for all levels. 0845 3305086 www.qigong-southwest. co.uk.

Every Wednesday SACRED Intimacy 1-1 Tantra Sessions held in Ashburton’s divine ‘Space Upstairs’ inbetween Exeter and Plymouth every weekday afternoon for three hours. Please call Dakini Cat on 07803 422829 or connect with her on Facebook.

Every Friday QIGONG at St Johns Church Hall, Totnes with Brad Richecoeur, 1011.30am. Suitable for all levels. 0845 3305086 www.qigong-southwest. co.uk.

SATURDAY 21 QIGONG workshop at South Brent Village Hall, South Devon with Brad Richecoeur 10am-5pm.

0845 3305086 www. qigong-southwest.co.uk.

TUES 17 - MON 23 QIGONG Sword retreat wit Master Zhixing Wang, Seale Hayne, near Newton Abbot. 0845 0553666 www.qigong-southwest. co.uk SATURDAY 28 SPRING in the permaculture salad garden with Josh Zatz, Landmatters Permaculture Garden, 10am-5pm, £25-40, 07833 938536, firefly541@yahoo.co.uk.

MAY

her on Facebook.

Every Friday QIGONG at St Johns Church Hall, Totnes with Brad Richecoeur, 1011.30am. Suitable for all levels. 0845 3305086 www.qigong-southwest. co.uk.

MON 14 - THURS 17 MASK DANCE Dartmoor Residential: Make, move and dance with masks.

Contact Maggi Squire 07702353669 www. maskdance.co.uk

JUNE SATURDAY 9 ECKHART TOLLE - A New Beginning for the South West. A Day of Presence

with Sally Chaffer at Sharpham House, Totnes.

10.30am. £40 before May 1 (concessions available). christopher. clarkeETproject@gmail. com

July FRIDAY 6 WILD IS HOME. Nature therapy day exploring your intimate relationship with nature. A gentle, experiential day. Learn how to connect at a deep level with the ultimate source of healing and wellbeing. This is not a bushcraft course, it’s a finding your wild heart with joy day. £35 Dartmoor Call Stefan on 01364 652162.

Every Tuesday QIGONG at The Exeter Mint Methodist Church with Brad Richecoeur, 5.30-7pm. Suitable for all levels. 0845 3305086 www.qigong-southwest. co.uk.

Every Wednesday SACRED Intimacy 1-1 Tantra Sessions held in Ashburton’s divine ‘Space Upstairs’, between Exeter and Plymouth every weekday afternoon for three hours. Please call Dakini Cat on 07803 422829 or connect with

Editorial: 01392 346204 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

43

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