Reconnect 48

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon APR/MAY 17 ISSUE 48

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

our flowering coastline

Pleas e tak e one

FREE !

Exploring life around our shores

Coastal community Sustainable living in South Devon

spring into summer Recharging your batteries in the sun

time for Natural health

48

A catalyst for internal change

pages celebrating our coastal communities - welcome to our Spring issue - powered by people!

Visit us online at www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Here at ENHC we offer a wide range of complementary therapies provided by experienced and highly professional practitioners. The centre, which has been established since 2001, 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.

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Devon School of Reiki Providing High Quality Usui / Holy Fire Reiki Training & Treatments Retreats, Courses for Children, Workshops & 1-2-1tuition also available

Award-winning Training in Professionalism and Excellence Spring/Autumn courses 2017 For more details: www.devonreflexology.com Email: devonreflexology@hotmail.com

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ASK ABOUT OUR START UP SCHEME FOR NEW PRACTITIONERS

KATHERINE JENKINS Hypno-catalyst T: 01392 811836/ 07890 364847 www.hypnosisexeter.com katkins777@hotmail.com KATE DALZELL Swedish and Indian Head Massage, Reiki. CThA reg T: 07980 063335 E: info@katedalzellmassage therapy.co.uk www.katedalzellmassage therapy.co.uk SAMANTHA GODDARD Reiki, Massage, Sound Healing, Hopi Ear Candles, Mindfulness, Stress Advice T: 07870167701 E: sam@devonschoolofreiki. co.uk JILL GREGORY SNHS Hypnotherapy T: 07958917427 E: jillgregory@jillgregorylife coach.com www.jillgregorylifecoach.com

LESLEY HARPER Nutritional Therapy T. 07968 752032 E. info@lesleyharper.co.uk www.lesleyharper.co.uk BEA SVANOVA Full body massage (Swedish), Deep tissue massage, On-site/seated massage, Indian Head massage T: 07562 755845 E: svanovab@gmail.com Facebook: Bea’s massage

01392 422555 Centre Manager: Ali Morrish Find out more about us on facebook Follow us on twitter @ExeterNaturalHC Exeter Natural Health Centre, Queens Walk, 83/84 Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3RP

SUSAN QUAYLE & HELEN FELL Family Reflex Clinic Reflexology for the whole family, 0 - 100+ T: 01626 862469 E: reflexclinic@susanquayle. co.uk www.susanquayle.co.uk

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

e: info@enhc.org w: www.enhc.org www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Upfront

WELCOME...

IT'SWHAT WE'REABOUT

Broughttoyou by...

INTHISISSUE...

TEDxTOTNES

6

Embracing the independent EDITOR Scott Williams

DEEP LISTENING 7

with Soundart Radio

LIVING COASTS 10 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Williams

WELLBEING EDITOR Kate Philbin

A green environment

Living coasts - page 10

GOING OUT 11

COASTAL COMMUNITY

Places to go, people to see

ORGANIC GARDENING 14 Sowing the seeds

ZERO WASTE SHOP 15 Totnes’ new enterprise

COUNSELLOR WRITER Leigh Smith

TALKING TREES 16

Your woodland rights Marine life - page 24

A new blue deal

22

FFYONA FORAGES 24

Food with Ffyona Campbell

LIFE IN CLAY 26

Regenerating a factory

DAVON FRIEND 29

.…to the salty seaside flavoured, coastal issue of Reconnect for April/May. As the rain lashes the windows of Reconnect Towers, it feels that this is the perfect time to get out and explore our local beaches. South Devon has them in abundance.

At the moment, between the bracing showers, they’re idyllic. The heavy footfall of summer visitors is yet to arrive and the wind frothed sea air is bracing. A flask of warm tea or a stop off at a local cafe with a copy of Reconnect under your arm - does life get any better?

So get comfortable and sip a warming brew, whilst you read our features on dangerous dads, coastal communities, sustainable homes, aura mediators, sea birds, marine ecology, tasty seaweed dishes and more.

Plus of course the regular stuff around gardening, local produce, going out, and natural wellbeing.

All you need to feel good about the arrival of spring.

Finally, thank you for all the positive comments on my first issue, they’re appreciated.

I hope you like this one just as much.

Scott x

COVERSTORY...

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon APR/MAY 17 ISSUE 48

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

our flowering coastline

Please take one

FREE !

Exploring life around our shores

A farming legacy

Coastal community

SHARPHAM EVENTS 30

Sustainable living in South Devon

Wildlife, heritage & food

WELLBEING PAGES 31

FEATURES WRITER Jon Stein

Our holistic health guide

COPY CLINIC 42

Guidance for writing FOOD WRITER Jane Hutton

WEBSITE EDITORS www.doetsdesign.com

TECHNICAL AIDE Zelah Williams

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spring into summer Recharging your batteries in the sun

time for Natural health

48

A catalyst for internal change

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Totnes dragons

ON May 11 at Totnes’ 7 Stars Hotel as part of Totnes Local Entrepreneur Forum there will be a Community of Dragons event based on the Dragons’ Den TV show.

This version is different – everyone’s a dragon! It’s a chance to come along and ‘invest’ money, expertise, neighbourliness or hugs to support your favourite local enterprise. Last year, over 60 offers of support were promised to 4 enterprises.

Register your interest by sending an email to info@reconomycentre.org

Volunteer day

CHAGFORD’S Stone Lane Gardens, the environmental and educational charity, have a Volunteer Information Day on Friday April 7 from 10am with a chance to talk to their Garden Manager and the volunteer team at the garden and sculpture exhibition. Find out how to make a difference in your local community, and perhaps learn new skills and meet new friends, with coffee and cake.

Find out more at www. stonelanegardens.com

The liberty tree

New men’s retreat for spring

T

HE Sharpham Trust’s programme for Spring is gearing up, from new mindfulness retreats to more events aimed at giving you a deeper nature connection. The charity, based on a 550-acre estate near Totnes, has a full schedule of inspiring happenings. If you want some more Sharpham in your lives, consider becoming a volunteer on the land there.

There are new gender-specific retreats happening in both Sharpham Woodland Campsite and at the Barn Retreat Centre, also on the estate.

“Our experience has shown us that participants tend to go deeper when in the same gender group, something that our ancient forebears recognised fully,” said Sharpham’s Programme Manager Ben Ballard.

“The benefits of spending time in nature are well-documented and understood, often giving us feelings of gratitude, calm, self-insight and positive emotions.”

For men who want to be more mindful in nature, then there’s the men’s nature connection retreat over 3 nights, it takes place under canvas in Sharpham’s peaceful woodland campsite. Each participant gets a cosy, furnished bell-tent, full-board vegetarian meals and the experience of mindfulness teaching and a deep connection with the Great Outdoors.

Teachers include writer, meditator and facilitator Caspar Walsh, Rupert Marques, who brings a

background in ecopsychology, outdoor education and experience from the EcoDharma community, and Jon Howell, a nature connection guide, mentor and facilitator.

The men’s retreat at the Barn Retreat Centre is a version of Sharpham’s existing 6-night regular retreat, which is based on the three pillars of meditation, community and working on the land.

Participants will experience 3 daily meditation sessions, a chance to live and share in community, meditation guidance and teachings, mindful walking, mindful work practice in the organic garden and woods and periods of nourishing silence.

Other themed retreats offered by The Sharpham Trust include Natural Movement & Stillness, Honouring our Ancestors, for black and minority ethnic retreatants, conscious cookery & mindful eating, singing, walking and women-only retreats (see also page 30). There are also woodland retreats for women only and for men and women together.

For more information, sign up for Sharpham’s mailing list via the website: www.sharphamtrust. org or call 01803 732542 or email bookings@ sharphamtrust.org CASPAR Walsh,will be bringing more on what is to be a Mindful Man to Reconnect soon..

Devon on Earth Fund to reconnect people with nature

Furry friends

OUR furry and feathered friends are the subject of a new adorable exhibition by ceramic artist Gwen Vaughan and felt maker Tracey Benton. The Creatures Great and Small exhibition runs from April 8 to May 23 at Plymouth’s 45 Southside Gallery.

Repair cafe

THE Exeter Repair Café at St Sidwell’s Community Centre on Sidwell Street, is now open and happens on the third Saturday of every month, from 10am and 1pm.

Small town boy

LOCAL singer-songwriter Small Town Jones (Jim Jones) will be appearing at Exeter’s Cygnet Theatre on Friday April 28 supported again by Mike Stocks.

CARE to join a conversation around supporting Devon community groups and changemakers working to reconnect people with nature? Devon Community Foundation are joining forces with local partners to launch a new fund dedicated to this mission. A special event held in Chagford on May 18 from 4pm, will welcome those interested in finding out how they can be part of this movement. For more information contact Laura Hewitt at Devon Community Foundation on 01884 235887 or email laura@devoncf.com

A siren call for a teen Hunger Games adventure

C

HILDREN used to regularly play in wild places in the past. Now the average British teen spends 37 hours looking at screens and only one in ten play in wild places anymore. Research shows that children who play in the great outdoors score higher in almost every category, whether concentration and reasoning, or reading and writing, whilst consistently showing general overall behavioural improvement, as well as responsibility, better attitude and leadership.

Robin Bowman of WildWise has, for the last few years, offered teens a perfect chance to escape based on the Hunger Games books and films, which tell the story of the 16 year old girl Katniss Everdeen living in a post apocalyptic nation and surviving thanks to bushcraft and wilderness skills she learnt from her father.

Robin said: “When I saw the film a light bulb went off in my head and it was then that I

realised that at WildWise we already had all the expertise, skills and resources to run a camp based on this hugely successful Hunger Games, and that this could be just the siren we needed to call the teenagers outdoors and into the woods.”

Robin and his team run two 5 day camps based on and inspired entirely by the Hunger Games, giving the teens an authentic deep nature connective experience. Teenagers spend the camp practising nature awareness skills, such as sneaking and ambushing each other, and camouflage, as well as wilderness and bushcraft skills such as fire making, shelter building, edible and medicinal food use.

WildWise are running two camps this summer holidays based on the Hunger Games: Aug 21-25, and Aug 27-31. See www.wildwisehungergames.co.uk and page 10 for more spring WildWise events.

Mush for mums

THERE’S a new app called Mush that connects mums with other local, likeminded mums with children the same age. Search Mush on your app store.

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Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

EARTHSHARING Devon host a performance of The Liberty Tree, a celebration of Tom Paine in words and music, on Saturday May 6 at Totnes Civic Hall.

Bringing together singersongwriters, Robb Johnson and Leon Rosselson, to perform their tribute to Tom Paine, for the first time since 2011. Expect some of their most-loved songs with readings.

Available to buy will be uncensored versions of Tom Paine’s pamphlets on land - both the economics (Land Value Tax and Citizen’s Income) and on peace-building. Doors open at 6pm for bread, soup and discussion.

To reserve a place go to earthsharingdevon.net/ gigs. No fixed charge, donations on the night.

Taste of the Teign TASTE of the Teign Food and Drink Festival reaches its third year of celebrating local produce this year.

Featuring produce that’s been picked and reared in the surrounding fields, caught in local waters or harvested from the hedges. Held in Teignmouth, Shaldon and Bishopsteignton from Monday September 25 to Sunday October 1 with a BBQ competition ‘Smokeinteignhead’, two weekends before September 16-17.

One world cafe THOSE in the English Riviera will be pleased to hear One World Cafe, the independent, family friendly destination set within award winning gardens on Torquay’s sea front, reopens for the summer season in April.

Disco fundraiser

PROUD2BE’s fundraiser disco is back on Saturday April 29 at The Barrel House Ballroom, Totnes from 8pm-Midnight. Open to all (18 and over), with music from Madame Souza and Rhi Rhi Rhythm.

Admission: £7.

Sound of sirens

EXETER based duo Sound Of The Sirens have announced two local gigs in Plymouth (PCSA May 10) and Exeter (Phoenix May 11) as part of their May 2017 tour. Album news they say is coming soon.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Villages in Action’s rural touring scheme to end

Green atlantic

VOYAGEVERT hope to begin a transatlantic ferry service on custom built catamarans operating entirely under sail, as a sustainable alternative to flying. The pilot project will ferry 25 passengers from their Bristol base to Boston in around a week, and aims to scale up to between 150 and 200 passengers at a time. Passengers will also have the opportunity live on board as part of a community. They will learn about navigation, meteorology, marine biology, and guest speakers will lecture on aspects of the marine environment.

Refill Devon

REFILL Devon, the free tap water initiative designed to reduce plastic pollution and promote healthy hydration by making refilling a water bottle easy, social and rewarding, is coming to Reconnectland this summer.

Find out more here: www. refill.org.uk.

Vegan day

THE Vegan Festival of Britain takes place on June 10 at Exeter Castle.

R Step dancing revival

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N the last issue of Reconnect we published our pick of festivals for 2017. If you’re referring to it, please grab a pen and amend the dates of the 40th anniversary Dartmoor Folk Festival in South Zeal, near Okehampton, to August 1113 (can I still get away with saying it was my first issue?).

In related news, the FOLK music charity Traditional Arts Support in the Community (TASC) has received £24,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to carry out research into the traditional step dancing of Dartmoor (not due to the sheep mess apparently).

TASC will be working closely with Dartmoor Folk Festival, which hosts the Annual Dartmoor Step Dancing Championships, to look at

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the steps, stories and music that make up the tradition, and the history behind it.

The money will be used to buy recording equipment, employ someone to collect material and train volunteers, hold classes in the community in the months running up to the festival, and provide a new website where everyone can access the material collected.

Demonstrations, introductory classes and taster sessions for all groups will take place across the region. A Project Officer will shortly be appointed to co-ordinate this work, and anyone interested in applying can obtain further information via the Festival Office: enquiries. dartmoorfolk@gmail.com . l Festival’s website: www. dartmoorfolkfestival.org.uk

ECONNECT has received some sad news that the trustees of Villages in Action (ViA) have regretfully decided to end the charity’s rural touring scheme in its current format. The season of ViA performances now taking place in Devon’s villages (see the last, Jan/Feb, issue) will therefore be the final shows under the existing system.

Villages in Action has long been a regular feature of this publication. The charity works with volunteer promoters to bring world-class performers and professionally-run arts workshops to rural areas. Over the last five years, the organisation has lost in the region of 80% of its funding and, while East Devon, Teignbridge and West Devon local authorities have continued to support ViA, their reserves are now depleted.

The Board’s Chair, Catherine Devenish, said: “The Board has thought long and hard about this decision. In the past year, we have had to ask villages to make a greater financial contribution to the cost of performers but this is not sustainable, especially when future funding is so uncertain.

We are very grateful to everyone who has supported ViA and we will be spending the next few months looking at how the ViA legacy can continue.”

Volunteer to join in at Sharpham IF YOU like physical work in the outdoors, breath-taking scenery and a chance to contribute, then you might be able to help The Sharpham Trust.

The charity is looking to strengthen its team of conservation volunteers working on the Estate to help preserve the Capability Brown landscape, help create nature-friendly features and to protect the estate for the future.

If you’d like to be a part of this, you can join in by emailing volunteer@sharphamtrust.org

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Poetry immersion FOLLOWING the success of Jay Ramsay’s Fire in the Heart last year at the Elmhirst Centre, they welcome Jay back with Peter Owen Jones. The two gifted teachers and writers return on May 8-12 with Immersion, which sets out to transform our experience and understanding of ourselves and the natural world that sustains us.

Over the duration of the course participants will be encouraged through poetry and practical sessions to move beyond a purely human centred way of seeing and being in the world into a much more generous and inclusive way of being themselves.

Time to ramble

DAWLISH Walking Festival is to return for a second year, and will include more than 40 walks. From April 21 to May 1 there will be many long rambles as well as short explorations in the landscapes around the town. There will be plenty of opportunity for discovering walks in Dawlish through poetry, drawing, local heritage and meditation.

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Prescription songs

The second TEDxTotnes seeks change THE second TEDxTotnes is well and truly happening! Tickets all sold out on the day they went live without any mention of the speaker line-up, proving the strength of the TED brand and the value placed on its events.

A selection of fascinating speakers will TEDxTotnes team members at Dartington Hall which will host the TEDx Totnes event entertain, inspire in May 2017. L to R: Jo Cooke, Chantelle Norton, Becca Gill and Gillian Healey and provoke deep They will be coordinating the catering along discussions to the 100-strong audience at The with Food in Community, a social enterprise Barn Cinema in Dartington, on the theme that rescues surplus organic produce and of ‘Change’ and what that means to them. distributes it to community groups and And to us, the local community. For the first organisations. The ingredients for the event time, the event on May 12 will be streamed will be donated by Riverford, Tideford live to KEVICC and the newly restored Totnes Organics and The Almond Thief.

Cinema, so that all those people unlucky The staff and students of Schumacher College, enough not to get a ticket can share and Dartington will also be donating their time connect with this exciting event. and energy to the day – again a perfect fit for Living in Totnes, the organisers know that TEDxTotnes 2017 and its theme of Change.

Change is a theme close to many hearts.

Schumacher College’s aims are, “to inspire, They said: “There are some amazing people challenge and question ourselves, to ask the and businesses here working hard to bring questions we all struggle to find answers to and positive change to the local economy, the wider to find sound knowledge, intuition and wonder community and hopefully the world through their in our search for solutions.” connections and by sharing their experiences.”

With things changing fast and often The Kitchen Table will be catering at the event: incomprehensibly in our local and global “We catered the first TEDxTotnes event using worlds, a day spent thinking about how it ingredients donated to us by local businesses – it affects us, what it means to us, and what we was a hard slog and a huge success. We are as individuals and a wider community can do, looking forward to this next one!” will be hugely valuable.

The region also hosts TEDxExeter on April 21 at the Northcott Theatre.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

STREET LAB, a microfestival of live art busking comes to the streets of Exeter during Art Week Exeter (May 13 – 21).

The festival includes Berlin artists Princessin Hans who will be bringing The Song Dispensary to Exeter - a place for audience members to order and pick up prescription songs, written live and exclusively for them.

Race for life

DEVON women are being encouraged to sign up to Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. The charity is urging women of all ages, shapes and sizes to enter Race for Life 5k, 10k or Pretty Muddy at Westpoint Exeter on July 22-23. To sign up visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.

Holistic weekend LUPTON House’s Holistic Festival returns on August 19-20 as a two day summer celebration featuring a rich variety of health, well-being, arts and crafts stands, workshops, music, children’s activities, food and more. Add the date to your diary now.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Radio can offer us deep listening

WOMAD aims to build bridges not walls LADYSMITH Black Mambazo, Benjamin Zephaniah, Emir Kusturica, Bombino and Squarepusher side project Shobaleader One are among the first acts confirmed for WOMAD 2017, the world music festival that’s much loved by Reconnect readers.

WOMAD’s Global Festival Director Chris Smith said: “This is the perfect collection of artists to kick off WOMAD 2017. Some new faces and some old friends returning after a long absence, all of whom I’m certain will demonstrate the extent to which WOMAD still, after thirty-five years, has the power to

surprise people and give them a musical experience they’ve never had before.

“As well as providing a festival experience like no other, we increasingly, in the age of Brexit and Donald Trump, feel a responsibility to champion those who are willing to share their culture with others, celebrate variety and build bridges not walls.”

WOMAD 2017 takes place at Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, between Thursday 27 and Sunday July 30. l Tickets and full details can be found at womad.co.uk

SOUNDART Radio (102.5FM), is an art radio station based in Dartington.

Their Artistic Director, LUCINDA GUY, gives us her guide to Deep Listening.

O

NE of the many cultural figures who died in 2016 was the American composer Pauline Oliveros. A lead innovator in electronic music, Pauline dedicated her life to finding new and deeper ways to listen to one another.

She founded the Deep Listening movement, and devised exercises and musical scores that help us to hear both people and environment.

Tuning in to radio can enrich our lives in many ways. The presenter and the listener cannot see one another, but the connection is immediate and intimate from one person speaking quietly into a microphone to somewhere else where that voice emerges into our lives.

Often we use radio to block out other sounds, thoughts and worries.

Stations that play continuous music, ads, chat and news keep churning out the same volume all the time.

This serves to block out the sounds of our immediate environment, and occupy and distract our minds.

But, radio doesn’t just have to shout at us. As Canadian composer Hildegard Westerkamp

said: “Radio listens through its microphones to the world, to human voices, to the environment”.

In community radio we have the creative freedom to draw together a group of presenters and producers whose aim is to be better listeners. As we listen through our microphones to the sounds of our lives, we can pass on these experiences, these moments of deep listening, to our audience. Together we can build a community where listening to one another and to our environment is highly valued.

Radio broadcasts, instead of blocking out the other sounds around us, can help us all to listen deeply and connect more to the richness of everyday life. l Find out more at www. soundartradio.org.uk or deeplistening.org

DO YOU WISH YOUR TEENAGER SPENT MORE TIME IN NATURE?

A great business meeting space

M

ANY people know of the facilities provided

by Exeter Natural Health Centre (ENHC) with their treatment rooms and training room space right in Exeter’s city centre.

They’re welcoming new therapists on board via their new Start Up In Business scheme to help new practitioners build a practice with unlimited ad hoc hours starting from only £50 per month.

However, they also want to introduce the centre to businesses that are not necessarily connected to the health and wellbeing field.

ENHC’s Ali Morrish said: “Finding suitable group rooms, training rooms, meeting and workshop space can be sometimes difficult or can lead to rather less than salubrious settings of hotels or cold halls. ENHC is opening its doors to all businesses that might have a need to come away from the office to enjoy an away day or a meeting away from their regular office space. Our city centre location (just off Queen Street, above Boston Tea Party) makes us very handy for local amenities and for commuters (Central Station is a 5 minute walk away). We offer very reasonable room rates with discounts for full

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days or more, with availability in the evenings and at weekends.”

Their big group room can take 25 people seated. It is an open space, with white board, screen and projector. Ali adds: “We can arrange seating for you to suit your event. Our smaller room, Phoenix, can take 12 people seated and is suitable for smaller meetings or workshops. We can erect a whiteboard for you and again can arrange the room to suit you. Our library is suitable for around 6-8 people and is often used as a meeting space.

We have reception facility and comfy sofas for you to relax during breaks. We can provide break out rooms if required and there is a small kitchenette area for drinks and light lunches.”

For those businesses interested in their popular Wellbeing at Work programme they can arrange, if required, on site seated massage, meditation and mindfulness during a visit or if appropriate they can talk to business managers about perhaps setting up something at the work place. l Visit www.enhc.org to find out more. Email info@enhc.org or talk to Ali Morrish 01392 422555

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

wildwisehungergames.co.uk • 01803 868269

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Bodywork practitioners.

FOR TALKING THERAPIES AND HOLISTIC HEALTH

www.thepracticerooms.co.uk 15 - 16 Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PT

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views More sea change THE 2nd annual Sea Change Festival will once again turn Totnes into “one huge party” on the August bank holiday weekend, August 25 and 26.

Featuring more than 30 gigs at venues across the town, including the Civic Hall, The Barrel House Ballroom, The South Devon Arts Centre, St Mary’s Church, Birdwood House and “a whole host of more intimate spaces”.

The line-up features Trembling Bells, Jane Weaver, Blanck Mass, Daniel Brandt, Amber Arcades, Ryley Walker, Julie Byrne, Nadia Reid, Masayoshi Fujita, Hey Colossus, Grumbling Fur, Holly Macve, Gulp and The Orielles, and loads more.

Weekend tickets are (or were – be quick or they might have sold out) £55 from The Drift Record Shop (who have organised the festival) and online at www. seachangefestival.co.uk.

Chagstock country

LEADING lights of the UK Country scene, The Shires, will headline Saturday night at Chagstock! Skinny Lister, Slamboree, Undercover Hippy and more have also been added to the line-up, joining the previously announced Soul II Soul & Dub Pistols.

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Marine life at Brixham

Some of the Exeter Pound team at the DEBI Award Ceremony.

DEBI rewards green initiatives

D

EVON businesses and educational enterprise were honoured at this year’s DEBI Environmental Awards held at the Met Office in Exeter. Now in their 24th year the annual event recognises organisations that go the extra mile in environmental best practice.

Exeter Pound collected the ‘Made in Devon’ gong, and the judges praised the local currency for its work to strengthen the community’s economy and support for local businesses. Educational charity OrganicARTS, which is based in Ide, was awarded the top spot for ‘Enjoyed in Devon’.

Devon County Council was recognised for its green

initiatives within the ‘Public Service in Devon’ category, and South West Outdoors won ‘Educated in Devon’ for its work providing education and training as well as its popular Forest Schools in Exeter and Exmouth.

DEBI Chairman, Peter Morgan said, “Every year we are astounded at the standard of entries we receive, showing just how much people in Devon are committed to green initiatives in business, community and education.

Devon’s green initiatives.”

“We visit every shortlisted entry, and the winners are judged not on size or turnover, but on passion and commitment.”

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

A new event is planned for May in the fishing port of Brixham. Brixham Marine Conservation Day will take place on Tuesday May 30, the aim being to bring together marine conservation, education, research, and tourism working towards a healthier, cleaner, and safer marine environment.

Attending will be organisations working in marine conservation, education or research who will spread word about the work they are doing, why it is important, and what the public can do to help. A free photographic competition is being run by Brixham Marine Conservation Day, prizes are awarded for various age group. Entries must be in by May 10. For rules and conditions email photocompbmcd@talktalk.net Activities on the day include a marine mammal rescue demonstration, a beach clean, making a marine monster from collected litter, an evening seashore safari, the photo competition, and more.

Organisations involved include British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Devon Wildlife, Devon Seals in the Wild, Marine Management Organisation, Surfers Against Sewage, Edfest and Marine Conservation Society, South Devon College, and Community Seagrass Initiative.

Event Organiser Annie Wilson explained: “Everything seems to have just fallen into place.

People are really enthusiastic about this event and keen to take part. We are hoping that following the success of this year’s day we will grow the event to include both land- and sea-based conservation, education and research.”

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Jay Tompt and Councillor Robert Vint with representatives of Grown in Totnes

south westerlies...

Reconnect’s new editor, SCOTT WILLIAMS, is still getting used to his new role. A recent visit to Exeter’s Steiner Academy inspired him.

T

HEY always say in the music biz that the second album is much more difficult than your debut, and thankfully that’s not the case with putting magazines together.

Whilst I have a fair bit of experience of putting words on pages and designing magazines, I’ve never really had to sell advertising space before. It’s a little strange talking to new people not from the point of view of a journalist, but as someone trying to secure a small advert in a magazine. So, it’s been a steep learning curve (I’ll come onto more of that learning in a minute).

Taking on Reconnect has meant, for now at least, taking on doing this aspect of the magazine business to ensure I can pay the bills involved in putting a free magazine together.

I’ve only ever worked on magazines where I didn’t have to worry about advertising, the costs were covered by the cover price. But, this copy you hold in your hands is a free magazine, there’s no revenue from the cover price, and I’m quickly having to learn that advertising is the lifeblood of the magazine.

It’s okay, I’m not making an appeal for advertisers (though if you do happen to be interested see page 3 for our highly reasonable rates).

The future of the magazine is not in jeopardy just yet. As you can see in these pages, there’s enough advertising to pay the printers and there’s no danger of Reconnect disappearing. The point is it’s a whole new skill set I’m picking up at the moment. I wish it was something I’d learnt more about at school.

My schooling was exciting at first, my parents worked abroad when I was little, and I first went to school in the Pacific, which was great. Lots of outdoors life with pigs, chickens, crops, fires, bows and arrows, and jungle crafts. Then much more average with seven Devon schools and higher education establishments having the responsibility for my learning as my family tried to settle in South Devon.

Since then it’s something I’ve not given much thought about for years.

That was until last month, when I was invited to visit Exeter’s Steiner Academy.

They regularly advertise in these pages and they had invited me to have a look around their premises.

The school moved about a year ago from the top of Exwick Hill to Thomas Hall and surrounding grounds near Cowley Bridge. The building was once the University’s halls of residence (I think I may have gone there when I was considering a place at the university in the Eighties).

The high ceilinged hall looks like it could have been an old coach house

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at the gates of Duryard, and dates back to around 1585. The house itself is light and airy with large sash windows, moulded ceilings, and views around the school’s land dotted with surrounding newer buildings, and full of the sounds of kids at play.

They may have only been there a year, but already there are classrooms, a kindergarten, play areas, movement rooms, music rooms, computer suite, lab classrooms, a dining hall, and more. A far cry from the crumbling buildings and prefab cabins of my youth. These are new state of the art spaces that already look like they’re well used by the 332 children aged from 0 to 16 years from across the various year groups. That number will rise to 624 by 2021.

There are also a few areas that catch my attention - a school garden, a working copper forge, and a large woodworking room. All things I rather wish my education had offered me as I grew up. There were also colourful paintings around the classrooms. Piles of coats and rows of muddy boots showed the kids were getting plenty of the outdoors life, and the blackboards hinted at a rather intellectual, spiritual and holistic aspect to their education.

The more I looked around and met the fresh faced kids who were quite happy to speak to a grown up, the more I wished I’d had this kind of education. It all seemed a bit less desk orientated than my lessons were. It reminded me of having my daughter in tow with me at festivals during the summer months.

We had a rich time making things, developing arts and communication skills in the kids’ fields that decent festivals have fostered over the years.

It really pleased me to see education developing like this, placing less emphasis on the classroom and more on the all around development of the child.

I wish Exeter’s Steiner Academy every success in the future, it’s a school I’d have loved to attend as a child, and I’m sure all those that attend there will be enjoying it as much as I imagine I would have. It’s just one of a host of new educational opportunities coming to Reconnectland to benefit our children, a few of which were featured in last month’s issue, and are bound to appear in future issues.

If it wasn’t for Reconnect I’d never have had a chance to visit this new school, and to reflect on my own schooling. Being editor of this magazine is proving just as much an education for me in my older years.

I’m rather glad I decided to become your editor, I’m learning something new every day.

Building sustainable local businesses

C

ALLING all social and community projects! New ‘Invest in Devon’ capital grants are now available to fund projects that benefit local communities.

The REconomy Centre, which supports social and community projects and is part of Transition Town Totnes, is working alongside Councillor Robert Vint to identify suitable projects to receive the awards. There is £10,000 up for grabs. Robert Vint explained: “The idea of the grants is to invest in resilient community businesses and social enterprises that create local jobs and provide for local needs, at the same time as benefitting local communities.”

As a recipient of the award itself, the REconomy Centre knows what a difference the money can make.

Project co-ordinator, Jay Tompt said: “We received £1,400 for equipment to assist in our aims to support new projects that raise community wellbeing, improve environmental sustainability, and increase the resilience of the local economy.”

Five other local enterprises have been selected this year besides REconomy. Award amounts vary from several thousands of pounds to a few hundred. For example, Totnes10 received £795 to help support community events such as the Forking Local Food Festival, which returns this year after a successful launch last October.

Community Interest Company Wild

& Curious was awarded a grant of £615 to purchase outdoor cooking equipment for foraging sessions.

Larger awards were made to Arts Lab at Dartington, which received £6,625 to fund new video production equipment that will enable it to continue supporting hard-to-reach individuals in creating high quality art. Another video production company Nu-Project received £1,625 to support its nonprofit project, Communicating the Change. An award of £4,625 was made to E-co Cars to expand its car club, bringing its total car pool to four. The club provides cars for use by residents and people who work in the area without the expense of ownership. Grown in Totnes received £9,125 to buy a grain dryer and cleaner that will enable it to diversify into new markets.

The Investing in Devon – Local Project Fund was created after the County Council sold Exeter International Airport in 2007. It gives each County Councillor a capital fund of £10,000 a year to support projects that benefit the communities they represent.

Visit: https://new.devon.gov. uk/democracy/councillors-nav/ investing-in-devon-local-project-fund/ for details on how to apply for an award. Please note that in order to qualify to claim the grant applicants must be able to demonstrate by 31 January 2018 that they are contractually committed to the project.

The great Hillyfield egg hunt returns...

Scott

BANK Holiday Monday April 17 (12 til 6pm - weather permitting) What better way to celebrate Spring than a day on the land at The Hillyfield. Although April showers got the better of last year’s event the team at The Hillyfield offer everyone the chance to enjoy a day of fun, games, delicious cakes and ale and some entertainment.

Previous games have included not one, but two egg-hunts, as well as silly spring games of egg-lobbing, egg-to-nose racing, the game of egg-stensions (wait and see) and a seasonal tug-of-war.

All profits will go towards supporting the ongoing Hillyfield appeal, a public inquiry to be set later in the year.

Please lift-share and bring a friend.

Details on the website www. thehillyfield.co.uk

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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NEWS&views Get Wildwise for spring

Living coasts was born sea green

WILDWISE run courses, camps and holidays in bushcraft, survival skills, wildlife and nature awareness for adults, children and families.

Here’s a quick summary of their spring events.

For more information or to book one of their upcoming courses see www.wildwise.co.uk.

Dartington Apr 1 Forest Rangers (Easter) These are days of challenges, £30 skills and adventures for kids (8-12 yrs) who love messing about in the woods with sticks, streams, mud, fires and a pinch of danger!

River Dart, Apr 3 Nightpaddle Totnes The Nightpaddle is an evening £35 spent meandering gently up the adults; river giving you the opportunity £12 kids to sink into the exquisite scenery <13yrs and the rhythm of the river.

The pace is relaxed, and there will be plenty of time to spend around the campfire, or to swim, play, and enjoy a delicious communal meal in the company of the storyteller, Spindle Wayfarer!

Dartmoor Apr Wolf Pack (Camp 1 of 5) £950 21-23 Nature based mentoring for entire programme for young men (12- programme 16 years). The adventure begins in the woods, travels the river by Canadian canoe, a walkabout on Dartmoor and visits the wild coastline. Syllabus includes bushcraft, foraging, fishing, campcraft, nature awareness skills, hunting skills and a final Quest.

River Dart, Apr Overnight River Paddle 29-30 Travel down and back up the Totnes £85 adults beautiful river Dart in open & up to 2 canoes, soak in the atmosphere kids (<16) free of dusk, firelight, stars and stories before camping on the riverbank. Includes campfire supper and breakfast, nocturnal wildlife and storytelling.

River Dart, May 1 Wild Foods by Canoe Totnes Explore some of the more £55 adults; inaccessible and secret wild £15 kids places to find local, seasonal <13 yrs plants and look at their various uses. We will identify and gather some edible and tasty varieties and learn different ways to prepare and cook them.

East May 6 Seashore Edibles Day Prawle Edible seaweeds, molluscs, fish £35 adults and coastal plants are abundant & up to 2 kids (<16) in the clean and clear waters free of South Devon. This day out on the beaches and bays of this beautiful coastline will be spent foraging on the strandline, rock-pool rambling, snorkeling, beachcombing and preparing a diverse menu of seashore foods using a number of different cooking methods.

Loddiswell May Horse Power for Girls (11-15 £195 p.p; 27-30 years) siblings A wild weekend living close to £100 nature where we will explore our connection to both land and horses through natural horsemanship practices..

May Forest Rangers (half term) - as Dartington £30 (8-12 31 above yrs) £100

IVING Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium, tries to lead the way in environmental issues.

Living Coasts was created environmentally green. The environmentally-friendly building design incorporates waterless urinals and automatic taps, solar water heating, light sensors and under-floor heating and cooling using sea water. In a sense, the zoo is a giant water filtration plant with the animals on top; the system takes in water from the Bay for the marine exhibits, then cleans and treats it to make it crystal clear for visitors and animals alike before returning it to the sea.

The attraction has had an Environmental Management System certified to the internationallyrecognised ISO 14001 standard for over ten years; the EMS aims to reduce the adverse environmental effects of running a business.

As well as reducing energy and water usage and increasing recycling, the zoo understands the link between the items they buy and the effect their production has on people, animals and the environment. Palm oil production destroys habitat in South East Asia; the team has begun work on introducing products that use only sustainable palm oil.

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L Take, swap, or donate freely

THERE’s a new free community resource in central Totnes, at St Mary’s church. It offers food, clothes and books and is for use by everyone. Organisers explain: “Take a look, if something takes your fancy then have it. If you need something you are free to have it, or borrow a book, swap or donate if you can.”

In order to keep the ‘Cupboard for Everyone’ going they need regular donations, especially of food and clothes.

If anyone is able to drop even one thing a week in to the picnic hamper then that would really help. To find the cupboard go into the church and head straight across to the other side, it is over to the right hand side. Organisers hope the project will continue to flourish.

Please pop over and like their Facebook page too if you can.

Find out more at www.facebook.com/ totnescommunityproject

When it comes to feeding both the animals and the visitors, Living Coasts promotes sustainable fish accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council and sourced from local fleets in Brixham and Poole.

In addition, Living Coasts staff organise beach cleans and raise awareness of the impact of single-use plastic water bottles and micro plastics on the marine environment. The organisation advocates for Marine Conservation Zones, encourages visitors to use public transport and has made the attraction’s shop a plastic bag free zone. Visit livingcoasts.org.uk.

A great resource for recycled craft materials

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HE Ali-Way Scrapstore has moved from Hollacombe Community Resource Centre to Brixham’s Enterprise Estate, and are now part of Co-ordin8 Community Interest Company which offers meaningful activities for adults with learning disabilities.

The Scrapstore is the place to find clean recycled items for use in art and craft projects. Families, Schools, Nurseries, childminders and voluntary groups like to make use of it. Jenny from Ali-way Scrapstore said: “Our resources come from local businesses and people, we are happy to receive any items that can be used in craft projects as long as they are clean and safe and remember anything we take is not going to landfill.”

Items are bought by the bucket, as much as you can fit in, for £3 a small bucket and £7 a large bucket, or if you use us a lot you can take out a yearly membership to reduce the cost of a bucket.

The friendly team are always ready to help with

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

creative ideas and to chat, they are open on Thursdays 10-3 and Saturdays 10.30-12.30.

So please call in to see their Aladdin’s Cave.

Ali-way Scrapstore are planning Torbay’s first Green Day which will be held on Saturday July 22 at Occombe Farm. More details next issue.

For more information call 07548943294 or find them at https://www.facebook.com/ AliWayCommunityScrapstore

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Goingout april/may 2017

OURBIGGUIDETO BIG LOCAL EVENTS ARTS&CRAFTS TONY WILLIAMS Until 7 April - Tonic Gallery, Salcombe

How to get YOUR events into Going Out...

WELCOME to Reconnect’s GoingOut pages...

Trust us to bring together all the hot stuff from across the region, all now categorised for easy access.

And check out our even more comprehensive online version at www.hubcast.co.uk/reconnect - or visit it via our busy website at www.reconnectonline.co.uk.

To get YOUR event listed online (and be in with a chance of it being listed here in the mag too), simply register at ReconnectHub and enter the info free of charge.

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

HIROSHIGE’S JAPAN: STATIONS OF THE TOKAIDO Until 16 Apr - RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter Exhibition showcasing a selection of Japanese woodblock prints.

SOUTH WEST ACADEMY EXHIBITION Until 17 April Brownston Gallery, Modbury FROM NATURAL TO ABSTRACTION Until 17 April - Harbour House, Kingsbridge QUEEN VICTORIA IN PARIS: WATERCOLOURS Until 23 Apr - RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter Exhibition showcasing forty-four watercolours of Queen Victoria’s visit to Paris in 1855.

DEFINING BOUNDARIES Until 7 May - Harbour House, Kingsbridge.

Showcasing 10 artists who participated in the Defining Practice Course 2016 at the Newlyn School of Art CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL - EXHIBITION Until 23 May - 45 Southside Gallery, Plymouth Gwen Vaughan and Tracey Benton display felt and ceramic works.

EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY MARTIN BUSH Until 27 May - Hidden Olive Restaurant, Plymouth New pieces a long side some of his classic’s from his extensive collection.

EXHIBITION: THINKING TANTRA Until 27 May - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth A new understanding of how Indian art has influenced Western cultural traditions such as abstract art.

EXETER’S FINE ART COLLECTION: SEASONS Until 31 May - RAMM, Exeter Exhibition features RAMM’s collection with seasonal themes, as well as Devon Landscapes.

SWANSONG 23 May-4 June Harbour House, Kingsbridge.

Simon Dobbs images are derived from birds on Slapton Ley.

SEATON DOWN HOARD: A FIRST GLIMPSE Until 18 June - RAMM, Exeter See the largest Roman coin hoard ever found in Devon.

CHOIRS

GREG MASON 8-28 April - Tonic Gallery, Salcombe.

50TH ANNIVERSARY ART EXHIBITION 12-23 April - Torre Abbey, Torquay 250TH HANNAHVERSARY EXHIBITION 12 April-21 May - Hannahs at SealeHayne, Newton Abbot Launching their 250th year celebration.

SPACE, PLACE AND ENERGY 21-26 April - Harbour House, Kingsbridge LOCAL STUDIES DAY 6 May - Plymouth Arts, Robbins Conference Centre, Plymouth Talks and presentations about heritage, and the Plymouth History Centre project.

SEEING DOUBLE 9-14 May - Harbour House, Kingsbridge The representation of the human body with Sue Steele and Steve Kenna.

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

FOREVER YOUNG SING FOR FUN 3 April - St Sidwell’s School Exeter REJOICE WITH RUTTER 8 April - South Devon Choir, Central Church, Torquay PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT 15 May - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth

CLASSICAL/OPERA

CRAFTS/WORKSHOPS

CCONCERT: DURUFLE, BACH, FAURE, ZELENKA 8 April - Exeter Bach Society, Exeter

MOMENTS TO SEE: THE ART OF EVERYDAY NOTICING 27 April - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth

MUSIC: MINDFUL VISIONS 8 April - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth

MUSIC: HARMONY SINGING WORKSHOP 6 May - Peninsula Arts, The House, Plymouth.

An afternoon singing harmony songs.

LONDON BRIDGE TRIO 21 April - The Courtenay Centre, Newton Abbot PLYMOUTH MUSIC ACCORD FUNDRAISING CONCERT 13 May - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth PLYMOUTH PHILHARMONIC CHOIR & ORCHESTRA 21 May - Plymouth Guildhall, Plymouth

PLYMOUTH PHILHARMONIC CHOIR & ORCHESTRA 21 May - The Guildhall, Plymouth

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY GAMELAN ORCHESTRA 23 May - Roland Levinsky Building, Plymouth

CHILD ACTIVITIES EGG-CELENT EASTER TREATS Until 17 April - Cafe Alf Resco, Dartmouth THE DARTMOUTH EASTER CHICK HUNT Until 17 April - Cafe Alf Resco, Dartmouth FAMILY EVENT: COLOUR EXPLOSION 12 April - Peninsula Arts, Plymouth

MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRA, STRINGS, WIND AND BRASS 25 May - Roland Levinsky Building, Plymouth CLASSICAL EVENING 30 May - Methodist Church, Dawlish

COMEDY

HILLYFIELD EGG HUNT 17 April - Hillyfield www.thehillyfield.co.uk

COMEDY GROVE WITH NICK REVELL HEADLINED BY SUZI RUFFELL 26 May - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

DANCE LIVE CONNECTION DANCE 1 April - Studio 6, Dartington LIVE CONNECTION DANCE 6 May - Studio 6, Dartington

FESTIVALS/EVENTS GRINAGOG 7-9 April - Various venues Torquay SHARPHAM HERITAGE & SPRING GARDEN OPEN DAY 9 April - Sharpham House, Totnes GEMFEST 2017 16 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk TEDxEXETER 21 April - Exeter Northcott Theatre EARTH STORIES CELEBRATIONS 21 April - St Johns Church, Totnes Free event with Global Harmony Choir, and more.

EARTH DAY 22 April - All over the world BUDLEIGH JAZZ FESTIVAL 21-23 April - Various venues DAWLISH WALKING FESTIVAL 21 April-1 May Various venues Organised by Destination Dawlish with a route including the Exe Estuary Trail.

PARTY IN THE TOWN 28 April - Totnes PAIGNTON BIKE FESTIVAL 28-30 April - Paignton Seafront EXETER FESTIVAL OF FOOD & DRINK 29 April–1 May Exeter Castle TEDxTOTNES 12 May - The Barn Cinema, Dartington DART MUSIC FESTIVAL 12-14 May - Various venues CLYST HONITON FETE 13 May - Parish Fields, Clyst Honiton ART WEEK EXETER 13-21 May - Various venues EXETER PRIDE 13 May - Various venues DEVON COUNTY SHOW 18-20 May Westpoint, Exeter EXMOUTH FESTIVAL 26 May – 3 June Imperial Recreation Ground DAWLISH ARTS FESTIVAL 27 May - 3 June Various venues BRIXHAM MARINE CONSERVATION DAY 30 May - Brixham Harbour See page 8 for more info.

Turn over the page for more GoingOut listings

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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GOING OUT JAZZ CRUISE RIVERBOAT SHUFFLE 28 May Commercial Wharf, Plymouth.

Jazz Cruise up the River Tamar to Calstock and back.

Monthly activities throughout 2017 for dads & male carers with children of all ages. All dads welcome. Also look out for our family events and Muddy Mums sessions, as well as DadFest and MumFest this autumn.

Regular Dangerous Dads activities this year in…

Ashburton - Bovey Tracey - Bristol - Buckfastleigh Clearbrook (nr Yelverton) - Cornwall - Dartmouth - Exeter Exmouth - Ivybridge - Kingsbridge - Plymouth Taunton - Tiverton - Torbay - Totnes - South Brent

www.dangerousdads.org.uk Facebook: The Dangerous Dads Network dangerousdads@btinternet.com 077 317 95160

MUSIC GIGS LGBTQ+ AND FRIENDS CEILIDH 1 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk TANGO SONORO 1 April - Watermark, Ivybridge GREEN LIGHT UNPLUGGED CD LAUNCH 2 April - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk MARTIN DALE QUARTET 2 April - Plymouth Jazz Club, Plymouth JOHN SMITH 3 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk THE BARRON KNIGHTS 6 April - Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay INCOGNITO 6 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk GENTLEMAN’S DUB CLUB 7 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk YORKSTON THORNE KHAN 8 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk MAD DOG MCREA 8 April - Watermark, Ivybridge

WINTER MOUNTAIN 9 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk LAETITIA SADIER 10 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk ZAPPATIKA 11 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk JOHN FAIRHURST 12 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk STEVE IGNORANT 13 April -Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk FEROCIOUS DOG 14 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk SECRET AFFAIR 15 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk WILDWOOD KIN 21 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk 3 DAFT MONKEYS 21 April - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk CHAINSKA BRASSIKA 22 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk

KESTON COBBLERS CLUB 23 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk DAVE MARTIN’S JABBO FIVE 23 April - Plymouth Jazz Club, Plymouth SOFT MACHINE 25 April -Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk HEG & THE WOLF CHORUS 25 April Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk SMALL TOWN JONES 28 April - Cygnet Theatre, Exeter ALABAMA 3 29 April -Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER 30 April - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk HONEYBLOOD 2 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk ELEANOR MCEVOY 5 May - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk

HUMMINGBIRDS 22 April - St Stephen’s Church, Exeter

LEON ROSSELSON AND ROBB JOHNSON - THE LIBERTY TREE 6 May - Civic Hall, Totnes

THE COMPANY OF PLAYERS 22 April - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk

THE JB JAZZ & BLUES BAND 7 May - The Royal British Legion Club, Plymouth

The new way to get YOUR event into Reconnect’s GoingOut pages TO ADVERTISE your event on our new diary website, Reconnecthub, simply visit www.hubcast.co.uk/reconnect and register - then you can enter your own events.

AND some of them will appear in the next (June/July) issue of Reconnect magazine.

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

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

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Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

DENNIS GREAVES AND MARK FELTHAM 7 May - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk SOUND OF THE SIRENS 10 May - PCSA, Plymouth SOUND OF THE SIRENS 11 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk MODULUS QUARTET 11 May - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter CALAN 12 May - Watermark, Ivybridge STEVE KNIGHTLEY 12 May - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY 12 May - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter SHAKIN’ STEVENS 12 May - Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

LADY MAISERY

KATE DIMBLEBY 14 May Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk

24 May - Exeter Phoenix

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT 15 May - Jill Craigie Cinema, Plymouth LISBEE STAINTON 16 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk JON BODEN 17 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk TERRY REID 19 May Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk CHARLIE DORE WITH JULIAN LITTMAN 20 May Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk

21 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk FOY VANCE

exeterphoenix.org.uk LUKE SITAL-SINGH 26 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk THE LITTLE UNSAID 26 May - Unit 23, Totnes I REMEMBER YOU FRANK IFIELD 26 May - Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay SONGS FROM THE SHOWS 28 May - Strand Community Centre, Dawlish LOUISE PARKER JAZZ CONCERT 29 May - Strand Community Centre, Dawlish FAIRPORT CONVENTION 30 May - Watermark, Ivybridge

VINTAGE TROUBLE 30 May - Exeter Phoenix exeterphoenix.org.uk

MEDITATION

EXPOLORE THE DART

BY CANADIAN CANOE 12 April - Totnes CANOE WEEKEND SAFARI ON THE DART 22-23 April - Totnes

MEDITATION EVENING: IMAGINING INNER PEACE 16 May - Plymouth University, Plymouth Talk and guided meditation from Kadam Ben Seel

CANOEING AND BUSHCRAFT ADVENTURE ON THE DART 29-30 April - Totnes

PHOTOGRAPHY

THEATRE

PHOTOGRAPH COMPETITION Until 8 May The Dawlish Arts Festival is holding ‘The Best of Dawlish’ photograph competition with three categories. See website for rules and entry form.

REMEDIES 12-15 April - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter.

SAILING/BOATING

KINDERTRANSPORT 2 May - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter.

Part-time BTEC Acting students present excerpts from Diane Samuels’ play.

EVENING PADDLE BY CANOE 6, 8, 11, 28 April, 19 May - Swallowfields, Totnes

EV FR EN EE TS

BARBARA NICE ‘RAFFLE’ 13 May - Kingskerswell Parish Church worldunlimited.co.uk

PLYMOUTH MUSIC ACCORD FUNDRAISING CONCERT 13 May - Sherwell Centre, Plymouth

SHARPHAM CANOE PICNIC 20 May - Longmarsh, Totnes

CIRQUE DU HILARIOUS 13 April - Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay DANCING AT LUGHNASA 18-22 April - Barnfield Theatre, Exeter.

NZINGABETH! WHEN ANA MET VIRGINIA 12-13 May - Cygnet Theatre, Exeter MEMORY LANE 17 and 19 May Barnfield Theatre, Exeter SHAKESPEARE’S MEASURE FOR MEASURE 31 May - Strand Community Centre, Dawlish MAGIC OF THE STARS Until 6 June Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

WORKSHOPS EMBERCOMBE EXPERIENCE WEEKEND 14-16 April Embercombe, Nr Exeter ALL OR RELATIONS: WRITE YOUR STORIES 17 April - Higher Beenleigh Barn roselle-angwin.co.uk/ one-day-workshops THE JOURNEY 14-19 May Embercombe, Nr Exeter

www.dartington.org/partyinthetown

JOIN THE MUSIC CELEBRATION FRIDAY 28TH APRIL / 6PM TIL LATE

The streets and venues of Totnes will come to life as we celebrate the talents of this unique town.

There will be music, poetry and craft as well as performances from local school children with Brazilian jazz musician Adriano Adewale and his band.

Visit our website to see What’s On. HEADLINING

THE NOISETTES

Expect stomping electro-rock and galloping funk grooves.

Party in the Town is brought to you by Dartington International Summer School & Festival

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

13

ORGANICGARDENING The arrival of longer days means the start of the main growing season. Our expert JOA GROWER offers more advice for all budding gardeners.

Sowing the seeds of love-ly veg

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PRING time is here again, and probably the busiest time of the year for us gardeners. The days are now longer, which means more time to spend on the vegetable plot.

Early potatoes should be coming through the soil by now and will need ‘earthing up’. Using a hoe gently draw the earth up around the young shoots.

Don’t worry if you completely cover them. They will soon grow back through. This can be done several times during the next few months.

This should make the plants provide a bigger crop. The same can be done to your main crop varieties as well.

When it comes to the onion patch, do keep on top of the weeding, as too many weeds will really affect the bulbs growth. Be gentle and try not to disturb or damage the onions. It’s probably best to just hand weed them.

April is a great month to sow some root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, beetroots, and swedes. Carrot seed is so small that I tend to mix it with a small amount of dry horticultural sand, and then sow it direct into the vegetable bed. This helps to distribute the seed a bit thinner and also helps a bit with germination. When the seedlings come up you may want to cover them with a sheet of horticultural fleece as this protects them from carrot root fly. There are a few

varieties that are resistant to this pest, but just like blight resistant potatoes nothing is 100% safe. To sow Parsnips (never use old seed as it doesn’t last from one year to the next) make a trench 1-2cm deep and place 3 seeds every 15cm. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, pull out the 2 weaker ones leaving just one to grow to maturity.

Personally, I think that beetroots are better started in trays or pots.

Transplant them when they are big enough to handle.

Don’t try this with the carrots and parsnips though.

You will damage Beetroots their long roots, which will cause them to fork, and create lots of small roots, instead of just the one.

As we move into May, all the tender things such as sweetcorn, runner beans, French beans, outdoor tomatoes, courgette and squashes can be sown or planted out, particularly towards the end of the month, as hopefully we will be clear of frosts by then. They may need a little bit of hardening off, depending what conditions they have been grown in. The larger garden centres (or plant supermarkets as I like to call them) tend to keep their plants at a much high temperature than smaller nurseries. (We grow all our plants without heat!) This then causes the plant to go into shock when exposed outdoors, which obviously slows down the plants natural growth.

A mid-summer dream...

After a hugely successful appearance last year, Martha Tilston, plays Acoustic Haven at The Hillyfield, June 24 2017

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F YOU have been missing the Acoustic Haven this winter, or didn’t make it to ‘The Great Celebration’ last summer to see Martha Tilston in concert with Martin Shaw then you are in luck! Described by the BBC as ‘probably one of the purest voices I have heard’ this is a concert not to be missed.

Early bird tickets are now sale at a special price for A MidSummer Dream at The Hillyfield with 100% of profits going towards The Hillyfield appeal.

Martha Tilston will be headlining what promises to be an intimate woodland gathering as the final date of her UK tour of her new album, ‘Nomad’.

There will also be live music from Rob Carney, Voices of Freedom and other musicians, story-telling, face-painting, archery and games, as well as a wonderful woodland cafe with tasty treats and fine locally brewed beverages.

The gates open at 3pm and Martha Tilston will play at 8pm, followed by a silent disco around the fire. Please lift-share.

More information at www.thehillyfield.co.uk or www.acoustichaven. co.uk. l Also to put in your calendars is South Brent Wood Fair on September 9.

Photos by Becky Strong taken at The Great Celebration 2016.

Kingsbridge harbours exhibitions

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ARBOUR House Centre for Arts and Yoga in Kingsbridge has a few free exhibitions on display. Here’s a quick guide to what they will be showcasing over April and May. Steve Kenna – The Fishermen (detail)

Top tips for purchasing plants this spring THESE days purchasing plants, rather than seeds, is becoming more and more popular. Perhaps people have less time these days to get their seedlings started or not the appropriate space like a greenhouse or a large window sill.

The most popular place to buy plants from is the big garden centres, where plants will have probably been grown elsewhere and not on site. That means the quality may vary, because it will be down to the staff to care for them. They are also more likely not to be able to offer you much advice.

There are also many places to buy plants online, although again plant quality will vary a lot from company to company. If possible, do try and choose one that specializes in vegetable plants rather than all sorts.

Farm shops and hardware stores often stock plants outside the front of their shops. This can be quite a good choice, as they usually receive weekly deliveries, and the plants do not look too old and tired.

Obviously, I think the best place to buy from would be from a small local Nursery, where the plants have been grown by the people working there.

They should be able to give you good advice on how to plant and grow your purchases and also provide a large selection to pick from.

Wherever you buy from, look for good strong sturdy plants. They should look as if someone has been taking care of them. And if possible always try to buy Certified Organic!

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

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

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March 25–April 17 From Natural to Abstraction: open art exhibition featuring a wide range of works by local artists in response to the theme April 21-26 Space, Place and Energy: paintings by Maryanne Hawes April 28–May 7 Defining Boundaries: new work by members of the Defining Practice Newlyn 2016 group May 9–14 Seeing Double: figure-inspired painting, drawing and printmaking by Steve Kenna and Sue Steele

Simon Dobbs – Swan Song 2 May 16–21 Drifting into Plein Air: paintings by Jolanta Bogdan May 23–June 4 Swansong: paintings

by Simon Dobbs

Taking back playtime

STORYTELLER and improvisation teacher Inez Aponte, is behind the Totnes Street Games Festival, happening on April 23 from 1-6pm at Rotherfold square and funded by the NOW Wellbeing Fund. Inez said: “Play is fundamental to our wellbeing: it makes us more creative and resilient, it teaches us emotional and social intelligence and it simply makes us happy. Unfortunately our children aren’t getting as much time and space as we did to just play freely.”

So on St George’s Day both adults and kids will take back playtime on our streets.

There will be games many of us played when we were young, as well as new games to learn from recent arrivals to the UK. Inez adds: “All around the world children play together in the street as part of their own ‘children’s culture’. It is rich and beautiful and very much worth celebrating.” For more information see www.occupyplay.org

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NEWS&views Zero waste shop opens in Totnes

Offering organic, real food without the packaging, its as simple as that.

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HE ‘zero waste’ movement has been gaining momentum up and down the country, seeking to drastically reduce our impact in this disposable culture, and consider reusing over recycling.

Earth.Food.Love, which is located at 101 High St in Totnes, and open Tuesday-Saturday, are now making it easier for us all to live a little greener as they provide food, without the packaging.

Local shoppers are urged to support the zero waste movement by taking a jar, bottle, bag or box to the UK’s first ‘zero waste’ shop.

Co-owners Richard and Nicola believe that: “To create a better future we must look back to the past, where eating real food without packaging was normal practice.”

It’s a return to an old idea of weigh-your-own, but it’s been brought back to life with simple, easy to use technology that lets you use any container, to weigh any amount; reducing not only plastic packaging but food waste too.

Earth.Food.Love stocks over 100 organic, plant-based food products and hopes to lead the way in how consumers think about how and what they consume. Nicola explained: “We were getting very overwhelmed with the amount of rubbish and recycling that we, as a family of 2 were getting through each week, we really wanted another way to shop, but there wasn’t one, so that is when the idea of the shop was born.”

Together with their (now) 9-month-old daughter, they have created what they wished existed. Richard added:”This has been a personal journey for our family as we try to create a more sustainable way of living for our children and their children’s children.

We are only just beginning our zero waste journey but we look forward to bringing the current waste epidemic to the centre of the community as we work together to keep plastic out of our oceans and off our plates.”

Am On a s Ki zon ale nd .co no le .u w fo k a on r£ n 2.5 d o 0 n Being Bridie is a first novel for Casey O’Connor, who was brought up in Dublin but now lives in Devon.

Bridie Kelly has been daydreaming all her life of the things that other women seem to get so easily. She is desperate with a capital D to be a mother, but it’s not happening, despite fertility treatment and other therapies. When things eventually fall into place life is nowhere as straight forward as it was in her dreams, life is downright tricky, and Bridie is spinning from one crisis to the next. When her ultimate dream comes true, life implodes and she’s in danger of losing everything she holds dear.

A funny, poignant, roller coaster ride, receiving 5 star reviews on Amazon. Casey is currently working on the sequel.

Empowering families across Devon & Cornwall since 1999

To read more about the shop, view the range of products they offer and the people behind it, head over to their website www.thezerowasteshop.co.uk

International theatrical flamenco

QUINE · E

C FA

I L I TAT E D AR NI NG ·

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

unexpected, aiming to entertain, surprise and inspire a range of audiences.

Expect exciting, moving flamenco dance, powerful song, virtuoso guitar and cello, with lots of charm, imagination and theatre thrown in.

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MI FLAMENCO the international flamenco company are bringing ‘Incognito’ to the Exeter Phoenix, on April 6 2017.

The show uses authentic flamenco with layers of theatre, original musical compositions and the

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

15

Vegetarian sushi

LOCAL PRODUCE Have a sushi beach picnic

GOING to the beach is good for your health – and spring going into summer is an ideal time to release the tensions built up over winter, replenish vitamin D levels and celebrate life.

IN Oriental philosophy, says Oliver Cowmeadow, principal of the International Macrobiotic School and a practitioner of 35 years, it’s a time of Tree energy, when we can throw off winter and expand out into nature.

“It’s a great time to get outside and be active, to be exuberant and creative,” he says. “Going to the beach is a great reminder of the power of the natural world.”

It can be difficult to eat healthily when out and about, especially for vegetarians and vegans.

Ideal for a beach picnic is sushi which includes seaweed, a super food that contains all 56 minerals and trace elements needed for health.

Oliver explains: “Sushi is easier to make than most people realise and is increasingly popular. It can take a bit of practice to roll, but once you get the hang of it, it takes about the same time as making a sandwich once the rice and tofu or tempeh are cooked.”

A great vegan picnic or travelling food, with grain, vegetables, protein and sea vegetable all rolled into one!

2 cups short grain brown rice Mustard Sea salt Sesame seeds Mirin (rice wine) or rice vinegar Sushi nori 1 block of tofu or tempeh Sushi mat or bamboo place mat 1 bunch spring onions 1. Wash the rice in a sieve, then either pressure cook 2 cups of rice with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 50-60 minutes, or boil 2 cups with 4 cups of water and salt for the same time.

(Pressure cooking creates a stickier rice that is great for making sushi – but if you don’t have one you can boil the rice instead.)

2. There is no need to stir or wash the rice during or after cooking, simply transfer it one spoonful at a time to a serving dish.

3. Sprinkle 2 tsp mirin or rice vinegar on the rice and mix through.

4. While the rice is cooking, cut your block of tofu or tempeh into 1cm cubes. Dry them with a tea towel so they don’t stick, and fry in sesame or olive oil until golden on all four sides. Season with 2-3 tsp shoyu and cook 1 more minute.

5. Place one sheet of sushi nori on your sushi mat, shiny side down, and spread a thin layer of rice over it, leaving 2cm at the top and bottom without rice.

6. Sprinkle 2-3 tsp sesame seeds on the rice.

7. Put cubes of tofu or tempeh in a line across the middle of the rice from the left to right side of the nori, and smear with mustard.

8. Cut a spring onion in half lengthwise, turn one half around so the root and green parts are together, and push them up against the tofu or tempeh.

9. Use the sushi mat to roll up the tofu or tempeh and rice, being careful to keep the mat from becoming part of the roll. When you have rolled up all of the nori and rice with the tofu in the middle, wrap the mat around the roll and give it a gentle squeeze to help it all stick together.

10. Take the mat away, and use a sharp knife to slice your roll into attractive shapes, and put in a box to take to the beach!

Uncut, it will keep for 24 hours (you could take it with you rolled in the mat and cut as needed).

Variations – try putting hummus or smoked salmon in the centre, and strips of cucumber or carrot along with them. In fact, you can put almost anything you want down the middle!

No more landfill . No more recycling . No more packaging no w

op

en

Earth . Food . Love thezerowasteshop.co.uk . 101 High Street, Totnes 16

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the zero waste shop www.reconnectonline.co.uk

LOCAL PRODUCE

Greenlife receives further success Located at the top of town by the market square, Greenlife health food shop has been supplying Totnes residents and visitors with a choice of organic, ethical and sustainable products for more than 25 years.

ONE of the largest whole food shops in the South West, they offer a wide range of Fairtrade, vegetarian, vegan and raw foods, plus organic fruit and vegetables from local suppliers. Their efforts for the Fair Trade organisation have been rewarded with no less than four Fair Trade business awards in row – with them wining Silver again at this year’s Fair Trade awards in Bristol.

Greenlife also offer a wide range of natural supplements and an extensive range of natural body care products, green household products and other sustainable

goods. Marketing manager Jon said: “One of the secrets of our success is a constantly evolving product range that closely follows consumer desires. These include organic and biodynamic foods, products from local and small suppliers, and an expanding range of raw foods.

“We have just started selling a delicious new range of raw, vegan chocolate bars and truffles from local company Mulu.”

Jon added, “Raw chocolate has never tasted this good – and it’s higher in nutrients so it’s healthier for us too.”

Chocolate pleasures

With the launch of MULU’s ‘Evolved’ range of raw chocolate bars in December 2016, Ben joined forces with Chris Wood, Managing Director of www.rawliving.eu who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the raw / health food industry to compliment Ben’s creative flair.

Ben said “Having Chris on board with MULU means we can once again take MULU to the national, and international stage. Running a small business on your own is rewarding, but I have come to realise that one person cannot do everything and that focussing on my personal strengths, specifically my passion for creating chocolate recipes, could bring about positive change for my business.

Chris brings an unflappable and centred approach to business

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

.

WWW.FOREST FUNGI.CO.UK

Forest Fungi, Warren Road, EX7 0NG 01626 864111

.

Real food, Real life,

D

ARTINGTON based raw chocolate company MULU, was launched in 2008 by Ben Fordham. Since then, he has created a plethora of delicious chocolate bars, Easter eggs and truffles using ethically sourced, organic ingredients under the MULU moniker.

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Real health

management, sales and strategy which is already paying dividends for the MULU brand”.

Both Ben and Chris are inspired by healthy and living foods, sharing a common interest and passion for raw cacao. They will initially build on the launch of the MULU ‘Evolved’ range, sweetened with SugaVida (the brand name for Palmyra Jaggery, a naturally occurring sweetener which is sustainably tapped from Palmyra palms in India) - see the last Jan/Feb issue. All the range is 100% organic, dairy, lactose and soya free and high in B vitamins. Next up is the launch of the MULU truffle range which is currently only sold to selected outlets across Devon and Switzerland. Look out for the bars and truffles in a store near you soon!

Chris said “I am excited to work with Ben to develop the MULU brand as chocolate is one of the great pleasures in life! Ben’s developed a fantastic range that everyone will love.”

For more information, visit www. muluchocolate.co.uk or call Chris 01803-862937.

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

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

Jane Hutton The Functional Foodie

T: 07841 344934

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

17

LOCAL PRODUCE Good news for children and bees ILSINGTON Parish Council recently decided to stop using toxic pesticide glyphosate in play-parks and playing fields due to public health concerns. Councillor Adrian Patch, who stimulated the move, is keen to promote non-toxic weed-control using effective new technologies – he would like to talk with other concerned Dartmoor/ Devon folk (see www. greenaissance.co.uk).

Adrian might stand as an Independent candidate (Bovey Rural Division) in this May’s County Council Elections; if so, this will be just one of his causes.

Social enterprise restaurant

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F you’re in Newton Abbot, then Market Street, the new social enterprise restaurant is worth a visit to try some yummy food. The restaurant has been supported by River Cottage, so they are able to deliver organic, locally sourced and affordable menus to the local community.

Under the guidance of Ali & Andy Jarrett, Market Street’s General Manager and Chef, the social enterprise will support 30 young people a year to gain skills and qualifications in The Food and Hospitality sector through traineeships and apprenticeship courses.

Each will get the chance to hone valuable real-life skills, learn the ropes of working in a restaurant and what it takes to provide a high quality service to the local community. Last year Young Devon helped 2,134 young people live safer, happier & healthier lives. Giving each one the support they need to get back on track.

The restaurant was originally piloted as a cafe in 2015, however owners the charity Young Devon have gathered funding, redecorated and developed the menu so they can now open as a high quality restaurant. They are open from 10am Wednesday Saturday with lunches being served from 12pm.

Ashburton’s unique local produce market...a truly amazing variety of all sorts of delicious goodies. Free parking.

TUCKERS LOCAL PRODUCE MARKET, Tuckers Yard, Chuley Road, Ashburton TQ13 7DG

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Naturally nourishing WITH this edition having a coastal theme to it, regular foodie JANE HUTTON extols the virtues of Dulse.

Adding sea vegetables to your diet

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Gourmet mushrooms for all

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ince 2013, those living near Dawlish Warren have been enjoying gourmet mushrooms in their home cooking. The tasty fungi has come from The Forest Fungi shop who their grow their own award winning mushrooms in a specially converted recycled space. It is home also to their own farm shop and cafe.

Forest Fungi specialise in the growing and supply of gourmet mushrooms including Brown and White Shimeji, King and Grey Osyter, Enoki, Shiitake, Nameko, Chestnut, Portabella, Button, and seasonal wild mushrooms. They also supply local caterers with their produce.

The farm shop at Timaru Gardens, on Warren Road, showcases a large range of quality produce from around the region. They offer opportunities to taste it too. There’s the cafe’s menu with tasty food for vegetarians, and the friendly team run special discover and dine evenings.

Owner Scott Marshall and fiancee Becca Bond manage the family business with both the Marshall family and the Milford-Dummet family working together to showcase Devon’s top growers, chefs, artisans and producers.

Scott said, “Alongside our wide range of mushrooms, we have a butchers section, dairy and cheeses, fruit and veg, pies, gluten free ranges, fresh bread, hampers, confectionary, local arts and crafts and much more.

“We believe in fair prices and sacrifice the typical farm shop premium allowing you to choose fresh local award winning produce without having to ‘treat’ yourself financially.

Whether you’re a family on a budget or a fussy foodie we can cater for your needs and budgets.”

Both the shop and the mushroom farm are committed to being carbon neutral. They have refined their growing methods to use the bare minimum of electricity. None of the shop or grow waste goes to landfill, and even the food waste goes to Langage farm to power the creamery. The produce they sell is bought as locally as possible meaning the associated transport costs or food miles are significantly reduced.

Forest Fungi’s shop is open 7 days a week 9am-6pm (closes 4pm on Sundays), and the cafe is also open 7 days a week 9am-2pm for brunch 9am-5pm for coffee cakes and cream teas (3pm on Sundays).

This year sees the shop widening the availability of their mushroom with a market stall travelling across Reconnectland. You can find them at the following market days: Every Wednesday at Newton Abbot Every Thursday at Honiton Every Friday at Totnes Fornightly on Saturdays in Exmouth Fourth Saturday of the month in Tavistock First Sunday of the month at Plymouth Royal William Yard Third Sunday of the month at Totnes Good Food Sunday.

The stall is also confirmed for events this year including: April 8-9 Budleigh Salterton Food Festival May 26-29 Exmouth Festival May 27-29 River Cottage Spring Fair July 7-9 Glas-Denbury Festival August 11-13 Love Summer Festival September 9 Ashburton Food Festival with many more to be announced.

Exeter to host regional convergence Tickets are now on sale for the South West Permaculture Convergence at Exeter’s Goffin Land, on June 9-11. Weekend tickets range from £60 - £96 including 2 nights camping and

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6 wholesome meals. Day Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are also available. Find out more at www. permaculture.org.uk/south-westregional-convergence-2017

F your consumption of sea vegetables thus far on your culinary journey has been limited to a bit of sushi from the supermarket, then you’re missing out. Whether it’s for flavour or health, seaweed is a fantastic food to add to your diet, and best of all, it doesn’t have to be from imported sources at the health food shop or oriental market. Our shores are teeming with varieties of seaweed that are not just edible, but absolutely delicious too.

Even more surprisingly, those of you who are currently thinking that seaweed is the last thing that you would want to eat may change your minds when you taste dulse, one of our most commonly found varieties - it tastes like bacon when it’s cooked.

Maybe not as convincing as a bacon sandwich, but still, not exactly what you might expect.

So, what is it, and how do we make the most of this natural harvest right on our doorstep?

Dulse is part of a large family of edible saltwater plants and algae that also include more readily known varieties like nori and kelp.

Like all edible seaweed, dulse provides a wealth of nutrients, fibre and protein, rich in vitamins, trace minerals, healthy fatty acids, and antioxidants.

It’s easy to buy dried dulse, and as its nutritional value doesn’t degrade after it’s converted into powder or flakes, having some on hand to sprinkle into salads, soups and stews is convenient. Store it in a dry and dark place and it’ll last for at least two years, making it truly a go-to health booster to use in all kinds of ways.

The assumption that seaweed will taste a bit too, well, seaweedy, has doubtless put many people off trying it at all, but with the accessibility, sustainability, and variety of uses, surely it’s Dulse something that we need to consider as conscious consumers. The big bonus is in the health benefits while all natural foods have distinct and purposeful nutrient profiles, seaweed is a truly exceptional all rounder. Just some of the health benefits of dulse include its ability to protect vision, boost the immune system, build bone health, optimise the function of the thyroid gland, increase growth and repair, support the gastrointestinal tract, lower blood pressure, strengthen the brain and nervous system, and boost circulation.

A fantastic food, and a great focus for your next beach visit!

To achieve that bacon-like effect, pan-fry some dried whole-leaf dulse with oil over medium-high heat until crisp, then make up your dish or sandwich. Delicious!

Make a healthy bowl of Miso broth ANOTHER way to use dulse, or any other seaweed that you have chosen, is to cut strips from a sheet, or take some larger flakes, and allow them to float gently in this lovely broth. Health in a bowl!

INGREDIENTS: miso paste (authentic paste from an oriental market); pak choi, each leaf sliced in half lengthwise; sliced greens or cabbage; red pepper, thinly sliced; garlic, very thinly slivered; ginger, very thinly slivered; good quality bone broth or stock of your choice; seaweed strips; and chicken, fish, beef or tofu pieces.

Pour the required amount of bone broth or stock into a pan, bring to a gentle simmer, and add a teaspoon or two of miso paste, stirring to dissolve.

Add the garlic, ginger, meat/fish/ tofu, and sliced veg and simmer very gently for a few minutes until the veg is just tender and the meat is cooked through. Add the seaweed and turn off the heat, allowing the seaweed to steep for a couple of minutes.

Serve up in big bowls and enjoy!

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

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

19

ECO HOMES Beco Energy at the forefront of an energy revolution

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Perch Cabins Moves to Devon

EDWARD Griffiths has relocated his business, Perch Cabins, to Devon.

The 31 year old focuses on using traditional skills and locally sourced timber to create retreats, workshops, studios and living spaces.

He draws inspiration from the wealth of natural beauty, and looks to craft techniques to produce a variety of textural buildings. Using the vast volumes of British grown softwoods, Perch specialise in building from scratch, starting with harvesting and processing locally sourced timber, using hand tools and traditional techniques where feasibly possible.

Attention to detail is imperative, and they pride ourselves on making beautiful, high quality products, drawing on both their experience and knowledge.

To find out more about Perch Cabins and Edward’s traditional wooden structures, visit www.perchcabins.co.uk.

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A few of BECO’s previous installations, part of a new energy revolution.

ECO Energy’s CEO Simon Nicholls believes we are in the midst of an energy revolution.

Last summer, half of Britain’s electricity was produced by low carbon generation, and of that 25% came from solar PV, on shore and off shore wind turbines and the biomass fired power station at Drax. There’s still much potential for further expansion after the rapid increase of the last five years.

Said Simon: “We are at the start of a global energy revolution. Solar PV has been around since Beco was founded in the late 1970s. Following a shaky start, with low oil prices and associated macro-economic factors which pushed the industry away from a roll out of solar PV, solar is now the global energy hero. In 2016 76GW of new solar PV was installed globally, up 48% from 51GW in 2015. No one can deny that solar has come of age.”

Marc Staddon, the Beco Off Grid guru, installed the first phase of a stand-alone power system (SAPS) for a certain ex-Reconnect editor’s off grid cabin. Utilising his existing roof mounted solar panels the system has been providing power for Foster’s low power IT, audio equipment, kitchen appliances and lighting. Installed in early December, it has kept Foster’s cabin powered up despite the lack of sunshine experienced at this time of year!

2017 sees Beco roll out more bespoke energy storage products and continue the growth of their operations and maintenance division. They are now part of the Devon Power group. Both have collaborated on a number of major projects in recent years, and the new relationship between the two firms increases the capabilities of both companies.

The pair are now able to offer Devonians fully-funded solutions from conventional rooftop solar to flow battery products, as well as fully-funded rooftop solar systems to commercial clients.

It’s not just solar power solutions they offer with wind turbines and LED lighting systems also installed across the region. There’s also good news for Devon Farmers, there are

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still funds available in Devon for the installation of LED lighting in stock buildings under the Leader EU grant scheme. Those interested should get in touch before the money runs out and we BREXIT for good!

Beco have a long standing installation partnership with Totnes Renewable Energy Society. TRESOC have 118 solar PV systems throughout the South Hams on community housing projects, health centres and agricultural buildings. The grass roots community energy movement issued their first dividends to their shareholders last year. In order to ensure their assets are operating at optimum, TRESOC have engaged Beco to service and maintain their solar PV portfolio.

Beco have also installed an electric vehicle charging point on the front of their offices. The point is free to use for the local people of Totnes and will soon be used by their first electric company vehicle.

With parts of the county already using solar solutions, their maturing technology means components are sometimes prone to fail. Beco has branched out from installation and now offer new Maintenance Agreements, they launch this year.

BECO compared service packages from installers throughout Reconnectland and developed 4 levels of servicing and maintenance - the most comprehensive cover in the market.

Their Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum monthly payment plans start from £18 a month for basic cover to £48 a month for their premium cover, which includes free inverter replacement, solar PV insurance, panel washing, monitoring, 48 hour response and preferential labour rates.

With a proven track record of delivery, Beco are now Carbon Trust Accredited Suppliers. The Carbon Trust are providing an attractive support package to help small and medium sized companies install energy efficient equipment. This includes a 30% financial contribution towards the cost of equipment up to £10,000 when provided by an accredited supplier.

Call them on 0800 488 006 if your system needs a little TLC.

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Sustainable homes

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Share shed now open

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OTNES’ Share Shed opens its doors from April 8, and invites people to become members and start to share the many useful items.

Local charity the Network of Wellbeing has been working on the idea of a Share Shed in Totnes for over a year, and thanks to the great support of volunteers, a grant from the Big Lottery, and the premises kindly offered by Totnes Town Council, the project is finally happening and it looks forward to welcoming more items and members.

The Share Shed is basically a library of things, instead of books people can borrow all sorts of useful things ranging from ladders, drills, a carpet cleaner, camping and gardening equipment, the list is as big as your imagination.

Local people can borrow items at nominal cost so that they don’t have to buy them for themselves.

The aim is to encourage the sharing economy, build community and help people connect more while consuming, spending and wasting less.

The Share Shed is located in the Guild Hall garage on the Guild Hall Yard (by St Mary’s church), and it’ll be open every Saturday from 8th April onwards, from 10am to 1pm. For further information, visit www.shareshedtotnes.com or email shareshedtotnes@gmail.com.

ransition Homes Community Land Trust have received £14,600 awarded by Postcode Local Trust supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The grant will fund building sustainable, affordable homes on their site at Clay Park, between Totnes and Dartington. It will also fund restoring and enhancing part of their site as a natural environment to provide the Dartington community with an opportunity for recreation and learning.

Transition Homes will work with local residents to develop a wildflower meadow and a community orchard, restore hedgerows and encourage more wildlife to Clay Park.

Longer term, it’s hoped everyone will enjoy sharing a harvest of orchard and hedgerow produce. Transition Homes will be providing training and education for local people

around horticulture, conservation, and sustainability, through planting and ongoing care sessions.

Nicola Lang, Project Co-ordinator, said: “All the education sessions we run will be free so that young people and anyone who cares about looking after our wildlife areas can get involved. We intend to run foraging walks throughout the year.”

Transition Homes is a charity set up to develop affordable low cost homes to high eco standards as well as amenities for residents and the whole community to enjoy. The emphasis is on enhancing wildlife and contributing to long term economic and environmental sustainability.

At the time of Reconnect going to distribution, Transition Homes CLT had just held an open day, the first of many events planned.

For more information and directions to Clay Park, visit the website: www.transitionhomes.org.uk or find Transition Homes CLT on Facebook.

Exeter could lead in renewable energy

EXETER could be generating most of its own energy within a decade, according to the Energy Independence 2025 report, published by Exeter City Futures. The report presents 10 key recommendations to help reduce energy consumption and boost clean energy generation across Exeter and its travel-towork area.

The report is authored by City Science and commissioned by Exeter City Futures, a community interest company that hopes to make Exeter energy independent and congestion free by 2025.

They believe Exeter is well placed to unlock a thriving energy sector and become a model for other cities around the world seeking to overcome their own energy supply challenges.

Glenn Woodcock, Chief Executive of Exeter City Futures, said: “This report demonstrates that with significant collective effort, the vision for a truly sustainable city is achievable within a decade.”

The report forecasts that Exeter’s demand for energy by households, business, and transport will rise by 13% by 2025.

The report also highlights the significant scope for reducing demand, increasing generation and developing new innovations over ten years. Potential generation opportunities from energy technologies include solar PV, wind, bioenergy, hydro, marine and geothermal, as well as enabling technologies such as smart grids and energy storage. See www. exetercityfutures.com for more details.

A date for your diaries, this year’s Totnes Open Eco-Homes weekend will be October 6-8, and the Eco-Homes Fair will be on Saturday October 21.

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MORE FOLLOWS...

Time to stop being a machine

MARTIN’S taking the time to enjoy his new pace of life, his lot with the livestock, and getting up with the larks for a bit of animal husbandry....

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Connecting to the primal elements

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ORKING in publishing means, as I’ve mentioned before in this column, that you live in a kind of time-warp. I refer not to my tastes in fashion (tie-and-dye T-shirt, loons and an Afghan – timeless) but rather to the production period between writing something and it appearing in print. I’m actually writing this in November. 2007.

Working on the Christmas issue of Reconnect in October, for example, played havoc with my efforts to live in the moment and addressing that was one of the many things I looked forward to in My New Life (living off-grid on a low-impact smallholding – do keep up).

Forget mind-altering drugs (if you’re using them you probably already have) - if you want to work in an alternative dimension, simply move to the middle of a field on a hill in Devon. Time, in the measured, set-the-alarm, oh-I’mlate-again, no-really-I’m-sure-yousaid-next week, sense is redundant.

But working with light and the factors that influence it (weather, seasons, the moon) becomes a crucial part of daily life.

The vital catalyst for us, the spark that ignites the blue touchpaper of each explosive day, is the presence of livestock. If you live on an arable, all-veggie smallholding and wake up to the sort of day that writers of cheesy ghost stories relish, you can dive deeper into the duvet and surface again later to see if things have improved. Or maybe find An Indoor Job if your work ethic is particularly aggressive.

But if you keep livestock, they want feed and fresh water and maybe cleaning out. And then there’s a fence that needs repairing (the weather might well have played a part in creating that little chore), or maybe you have to move all your free-ranging poultry into totally unsuitable housing in some futile gesture against Asian flu. Don’t get me started.

Maybe you keep a dog, perhaps partly so you’re forced to get out there and exercise, even when the weather would otherwise keep you cosying up with Countdown.

But those of us who keep livestock do so because… well, yes, because we want to ensure our meat is compassionately produced and because they (or their poop to be accurate) are a vital part of the low-impact horticultural model and yes, because we love them too – but surely there’s just a little masochism in the mix?

At the risk of alerting the Perversion Police, yes, we do

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Regular contributor PETE SCOTT has some advice for those people who feel like they’re a machine and need help becoming more human again.

T is ‘fundamentally important to Our two choirs - SING nurture the attributes of human Exeter and beings that set us apart from SING Plymouth machines. The best way to do that – still meet is singing.’ So says Cassandra weekly.

Sheppard in ‘The Neuroscience of SING Exeter: Singing’ (Dec 2016). every Tuesday What a statement! There are 7.15pm to 9pm at St Sidwell’s so many mechanistic pressures Community Centre, Exeter EX4 on us these days that, unless we 6NN. do something about it, we stop SING Plymouth: every Thursday behaving like people and more like 7.15pm to 9pm at Pomphlett machines. Numbers everywhere, Methodist Centre, Plymouth PL9 7BL. procedures, rules – how do we You can see a short video about the keep hold of our simple humanity choirs -– here on the website www. in the midst of such a demand for singdevon.com. All other details are dehumanisation? there too.

We are always open to potential It is so basic to let your voice new members. You can come along be heard, to sing and experience yourself as a living breathing human just to try it out and your first session is FREE. Come along! You will be being. Luckily, these days there is made very welcome. no shortage of opportunity.

enjoy it. If you yearn to make (or is that renew?) a stronger connection to the primal elements of living, you can’t then get all picky about which bits you fancy.

Making a sacred connection to the earth and its unearthly power on a hot sunny day isn’t a spiritual experience – it’s sunbathing.

We do still prioritise jobs. If we’ve planned a juicy outdoor project, the digging of a pond for the imminent arrival of geese the size of small cars, for example, we might postpone things if the rain’s likely to fill it in faster than the struggling mini-digger can dig it out. We also have an ever-growing list of Inside Jobs - stuff we can do in the workshop, for example. Nothing to do with befriending staff at Hatton Gardens.

But the day-to-day animal and poultry welfare, like the show, must go on. And as I write this (actually in early March – of 2017), the weather is proving particularly challenging.

Challenging to achieving anything outdoors, that is. In the connecting-with-the-elements stakes, it’s right up there.

All seasons in one day? We’ve passed from biting wind, through sleet and blustery showers to mellow, warm sunshine in little more than an hour. And living under a huuuuuge sky, as we now do, we see it all brewing in the distance, travelling up the valley and depositing itself over our heads – while the next wave of meteorological magic sweeps along behind it and the next appears like a hoard of threatening Zulus, over the horizon.

The ‘Livestock’ to which I refer currently consists of: alpacas (producers of wondrous wool, which is carded, spun and knitted on-site – and they’re awesome protectors of the…); poultry (nine rare and utility breeding groups), plus a few ducks and towards the end of last year, some turkeys (they were delicious, thank-you); three ewes (pure bred Dorset Downs and for sale – get in touch); and five orphan lambs (each the third and weakest of triplets and now being bottle-fed and growing into Super Lambs); plus a selection of dogs, including our own Martha, the Not Quite A Jack Russel (if you met her, you’d know).

But then we also have plans for those maaaaassive geese, some pigs (I love pigs) and some goats too. And none of them will have any respect whatsoever for dodgy weather.

Quick, call the Perversion Police…

Coastal communities new blue deal AT THE forum for New Local Economies at Torbay’s South West Energy Centre, at South Devon College in March, Fernanda Balata, from people’s think tank The New Economics Foundation (NEF), spoke of the BLUE NEW DEAL. She explained NEF think the environment on coastlines is an asset. The UK’s coastline faces a biodiversity decline that could be one of the worst in the world. NEF are looking to give the tools to coastal people that they need for change. She said: “Too often environment is an afterthought to the economy. There’s been a long term failure by the political elite to transform our coastal economies, which face a bigger threat than most from climate change, and have a harder time accessing finance to deal with it.”

The Foundation have been looking at initiatives that support and sustain the wellbeing of coastal economies. NEF are urging policymakers through cross-party engagement, covering agriculture, fisheries, tourism, energy, coastal

management and finance. Their aim is to create a healthier marine environment through coastal collaboration, with businesses providing jobs in sustainable fishing and tourism, social enterprise, seafood hubs, large-scale renewable energy projects, and more.

NEF want to ensure there is more co-ordinated efforts between coastal community groups, a UK-wide policy for coastal areas, climate resilience, and coastal investment. This can be achieved by coastal communities taking control of their assets and economy right now, with coastal and marine innovation hubs to share, communicate and support. The Blue New Deal offers the building blocks for a coastal industrial strategy that’s sustainable and ultimately meets the needs of coastal communities and the marine environment To find out more see www. bluenewdeal.org and see their 20-point action plan at http:// neweconomics.org/actionplan

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NEWS&views Tree expert offers sustainable solutions MICHAEL STEED is passionate about the natural world and is at the helm of Natural Resource Consultants, an environmental practice based here in Reconnectland.…

Chartered Forester and Registered Consultant, Michael has over 25 years experience of managing and advising on the sustainable management of trees, woods and wildlife. He is also a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

Michael explains what he can offer: “At Natural Resource Consultants we adopt a holistic eco-system approach and this underpins everything we do, this is fundamental to our ways of working and we are proud of that. The long term sustainability of habitats and species is forever at the forefront of our practice and these same principles apply whether we are providing decision making support for a single tree, whole forest, protected species or habitat”.

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Natural Resource Consultants are experts in finding natural balance and sustainable solutions integrating a wide range of often conflicting objectives to enable clients to successfully achieve their goals.

Michael said: “we are customer focused liaising closely with our clients to foster strong working relationships built upon professionalism and trust”.

If you have trees then Michael can help in making your woodlands work for you with cost effective management advice for conserving biodiversity while also generating income via access to the Countryside Stewardship grant system and marketing timber locally. He also offers expertise in pre-planning survey work to support planning applications for built development where trees or wildlife may be a material consideration.

Please visit www.natural-resourceconsultants.org or call 01460 247190 for an informal chat with Michael.

PAYROLL AND PENSION SERVICES • Hourly Pay, Day Works and Salaries • Expenses and Benefits • Holiday Pay • Sickness Absence • Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave • Childcare Vouchers • Healthcare Deductions • Automatic Enrolment for Pensions

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Foraging with Ffyon

I Photo by Nigel Hicks

Seasonal events by the sea

CATHERINE ANDREWS is the Marine Awareness Officer at Wembury Marine Centre, here she tells us more about the centre.

EMBURY Marine Centre is 9 miles to the east of Plymouth and managed by Devon Wildlife Trust. We run a busy programme of seasonal events for the public and also year round for educational groups.

Our visitor centre based at Wembury beach is open from April to September each year and is free to enter. Our aim is to promote the beautiful marine wildlife found off the Devon coast and also to raise awareness of how we can protect it for future generations.

Come and join us at the beach for a rockpool safari - we’ll take you on a guided tour of some of the best rockpools in the UK and we’ll find cushion starfish, velvet swimming crabs, squat lobsters, snakelocks anemones and much more! Our safaris run from April to early October in the school holidays and also at weekends.

If you fancy seeing marine life from a different perspective then why not consider joining one of our guided snorkel safaris? These events run in the summer months and this year we’re offering sessions for both beginners and more experiences snorkellers. We have all the equipment you need and our fully trained instructors will take you out into Wembury bay to look for crabs and fish underwater.

This year we’re running two week long holiday clubs for children, one in the May half term and one in the August summer holiday. If your child or children love the outdoors and the beach and you’re looking for childcare then why not consider booking them a place with us. We’ll take them rockpooling, stream dipping, den building, fire lighting, bug hunting, beach combing and more and they’ll come home full of stories about their day and worn out from the sea air!

Our events are tide dependent and some need booking in advance, please visit our website for more details including prices www. wemburymarinecentre.org or phone us 01752 862538 you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

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love seaweeds. I love watching them dance. I love watching their colours gleam. I love how cooling their gels can feel on sun-sore skin. And I love the energy I have when I eat them: it’s as though the power of the sea is simply coursing through my veins.

Seaweeds are the most powerful foods on Earth. They contain 13 vitamins as well as calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and 1,000 times more iodine than land plants.

They are nature’s secret to balancing your metabolism, fighting disease and revitalizing mind and body.

The rocky shorelines of Britain are some of the best places in the world for seaweeds to grow and yet the knowledge of which ones to gather and how to prepare them for food and medicine and skincare is all but lost in our culture.

As increasing numbers of people are now searching for new sources of nutrition closer to home, many are turning to the bounty of our sea gardens and wondering what’s edible.

I have been exploring and experimenting with our native seaweeds for more than 10 years now. As far as I know at this point (invasive species being the thing that would change this), there is only one that’s poisonous: Sea Sorrel. It contains sulphuric acid to repel sea creatures. It’s red and fluffy and looks a little like a Christmas tree when floating in the

Photo Devon Wildlife Trust

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Local foraging guru FFYONA CAMPBELL, has a love of wil produce and in particular one from our coastline - seaweed She tells us more in a special feature written and illustrated j for Reconnect Magazine.

water. Don’t eat that one.

Don’t eat free floating seaweeds either, they are decomposing. You wouldn’t eat from your compost bin, so don’t eat from the sea’s compost bin either, it can make you sick.

The right way to gather seaweeds is to use a pair of scissors, not a knife, and cut them a third from Photograph by Dominic Rutt at streetmotion.co the rock. If you do this they will grow back twice as thickly within a few weeks so that the more you gather the more there will be. This is the ultimate method of sustainability Born in Totnes Ffyona is and the only one that has been a British long distance proven to work for all time. walker who walked Don’t eat seaweeds in areas where around the world over there is an abundance of mussels 11 years and raised on the rocks, they are filter feeders £180,000 for charity. and thrive most in the rich waters Inspired by the hunteraround sewage outlets. The air gatherers she met on her where you gather your seaweed journey - Aborigines, should smell fresh and the water Bushmen, Pygmies and should look clean and clear.

North American Indians There are three seaweed colours she learnt how to be a to choose from: red, green and hunter-gatherer when brown. You should eat a balance she returned to the UK, of each of these colours.

The hunter-ga

Exploring a life on the sea that m Here’s the second of our series of contributions from TONY FITZSIMMONS documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Plymouth.

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HILE onboard the Brixham trawler Emily Rose, I came across a number of copies of Fishing News, a weekly national newspaper covering the UK and Irish commercial fishing industry. Arthur Dewhirst, the skipper of the Emily Rose suggested I send in some photos of my week at sea (and in particular he joked, any that included him). The chance to get some exposure this early on seemed well worth chasing up and I jotted down the editor’s contact details.

At home, exhausted yet immensely proud

of my week long adventure; a unlike anything I had ever exp before, my first actual project graduation was now firmly un I spent many days and nights editing a series of images wh an email to the editor, linking and my new Emily Rose galle matter of days, I received a re if I would like to write an artic time onboard. I honestly coul my luck. Not only was the la of my degree beginning to pa took my first steps towards be documentary photographer, I getting a taste of what it was photojournalist.

After a very honest account o onboard, with the editor choo highlighting in large letters my throwing up sessions, I graced of Fishing News with a full thr Weeks later, thanks to the eve Norman Holmes, the owner o

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The boat shed pop-up

Here are three to identify and how to add them to your daily diet:

A green seaweed: GUTWEED This looks like bright green fragile grass with slightly crinkled twisted blades and often grows on the rocks in clumps close to the shore. Eat it raw, add it to stir-fries or fry it in sesame oil to make “Crispy Fried Seaweed”. You can dry it in the sun and crumble it into any recipe to boost the nutrition.

ld d. just

A red seaweed: CARRAGEEN MOSS This is found on the rocks of the middle shore. It’s about 3” high, its colour varies enormously, ranging from reddish/ purple with buff coloured tips to almost black or even green.

It is the source of vegetable gelatine so add it whole to your soups to thicken or simmer and squeeze through muslin to extract the gelatine to whisk into milk to make delicious seaweed puddings.

A brown seaweed: KELP Found at the lowest of the spring tides (these happen around the new moon and full moon). It looks like leather belts in a hand-like frond. Add small sections to your soups or dry it, grind it and add a teaspoonful to your daily diet for improved hair and skin, energy and hormonal balance.

Be aware of Iodine Overdose if you eat more than a TEASPOONFUL of dried KELP a day. This will feel like your heart is racing and you feel increasingly anxious. If this happens, drink cool water and sit somewhere quietly till it passes.

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atherer from Totnes and went on to research what had happened in our past to separate us from the life we must have loved so much.

She wrote about her adventures in her book, The Hunter-Gatherer Way and is now teaching others how to be hunter-gatherers in Britain through her company Wild Food Walks based in Devon.

many take for granted

an adventure perience since nderway. following hile I drafted my website ery. Within a eply, asking cle about my ldn’t believe ast four years ay off as I ecoming a was also like to be a

of life osing to y many d the centre ree pages. er supportive of Kaya,

one of the leading art galleries in the city and situated along Plymouth’s historic Barbican, I was invited to exhibit my work at the National Marine Exhibition towards the end of October 2015, along with a host of talented Ocean City Artists.

It was a fantastic three days and a wonderful place to showcase my work (the backdrop of Sutton Harbour complimented my images immensely). I was exploring a way of life that many seemed to take for granted; the livelihood of a fishermen resonated during opening night and the feedback I received throughout filled me with so much confidence for the journey ahead.

In January 2016, after necessary repairs grounded the Emily Rose during most of November and the festive period, I returned to the seas for another incredible week onboard with Arthur and his crew.

You can view my Emily Rose series at www.tonyfitzsimmons.com There will be more from Tony in future issues.

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l People on thyroid medication should seek medical advice before eating seaweeds.

If you would like to learn more about how to identify, gather and prepare seaweeds for food and medicine, join Ffyona on a Seaweed Wild Food walk this summer.

Ffyona believes that gathering wild food has the power to transform people by connecting us to what we love most. Wild food is Nature’s key to our freedom, everyday.

Dates and details are on Ffyona’s website: wildfoodwalks.co.uk.

EXETER based Bike Shed Theatre are planning to create a new pop-up venue in the historic Maclaines Warehouses on Exeter’s Quay. Once host to the Maritime Museum, the Grade II listed site has been empty for over eighteen years.

This summer a series of events could turn the space into a Pop-Up Venue for creativity, culture and cocktails.

The Bike Shed Theatre have been working with experts including architects Haworth Tompkins to develop plans for the space. Now they want to invite the public in and begin practically testing how to use the building. Pop-up events will allow them to test what works, and what doesn’t. Events in the space are planned to run from May to August and include theatre, comedy, art exhibitions, a music festival, a cocktail bar, an ice cream parlour and an indoor mini-golf course.

Birds on our coastlines Shag, guillemots, ‘bridled’ guillemot and razorbill

by Ed Marshall (rspb-images.com)

Bird expert, ROBERTA SMITH from RSPB, takes a second look at some our coastal birds...

THE classic seaside ‘seagull’ call is made by herring gulls.

They fly with effortless grace and often put on a fantastic aerial display, clearly having a wonderful time. They display amazing flying skills whether being swept effortlessly along or seemingly enjoying flying against prevailing air currents.

They’re easily identified with their sleek grey back, dark wingtips flecked with white, white underparts, pink legs and strong yellow bill with its distinctive red spot. Young gulls are brown, getting progressively paler as they mature. Prior to the Clean Air Act and the decrease in their natural marine food, herring gulls nested mainly in colonies on cliff edges. Gulls are expert scavengers, clever, adaptable and opportunistic birds. Thus a distinct urban population on predator-free high buildings developed. ‘Parental concern’ for their chicks often brings them into conflict with humans once the young hatch.

Have you watched young urban gulls learn to fly? There’s usually a marked difference in ability between siblings. Full of confidence, the older, stronger chick perfects wing strengthening Shag by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com) exercises and air-jumps, quickly followed by short flights along the roof. The smaller sibling on the other hand often doesn’t seem to enjoy the sensation of feet leaving the roof.

Shags can be seen flying low over waves or perched on a rocky promontory. The term shaggee, first recorded in 1556, is an easy way to remember that the dapper spring adult in dark oily-green plumage sports a superb tuft or crest in the breeding season. Shags are almost exclusively confined to rocky coasts, usually nesting on cliff edges in May and June when fish such as sand eels are plentiful for newly hatched chicks. When compared with the mainly estuary and river dwelling cormorants, shags are graceful as they spring clear of the water when diving. They excel in rough water, using their back-set feet to propel them.

Guillemots and razorbills are often mistaken for penguins.

These similar members of the auk family are strong but not agile flyers and nest close together on cliff edges. They are superbly adapted for life at sea, swimming under water propelled by feet and wings. Guillemots, capable of diving to depths of 50 metres, have a sharp black pointed beak. Birds with white ‘spectacles’ are known as ‘bridled’ guillemots.

Razorbills have a square-ended black bill and in summer a white line shows from bill to eye. Shags and auks are very susceptible to oil spills.

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NEWS&views The Dangerous Dads network is growing

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HE Dangerous Dads Network, based in Totnes, is flourishing. What started ten years ago as a Children’s Centre project based at The Daisy Family Centre in Bridgetown, has now expanded to twenty affiliated groups; sixteen across the South West, two in Sussex and even overseas, with one in Budapest and one in PIttsburgh.

Network Co-ordinator Ian Blackwell said: “Dangerous Dads has really caught the imagination with families, carers and partners. Events are hugely popular with dads from all walks of life attending with their children to have a few hours of fun and fresh air. Dangerous Dads events are varied, from den-building or simply blackberry picking, to campfire cooking, rock-pooling, silly science and overnight camps. We have recently seen a lot of new groups starting and our aim is to expand the Dangerous Dads project across the UK and internationally.”

The Dangerous Dads team are also celebrating a £9,850 grant from the Big Lottery’s Awards for All programme which allows them to support five Devon based groups. Ian added: “Last year, in partnership with Action for Children in the

South Hams and in Teignbridge, we piloted dads groups in Ashburton-Buckfastleigh, Bovey Tracey, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and the South BrentIvybridge area - these were very popular and families have been asking for regular activities.

The Awards for All money means we can fund coordinators in all these five locations and run monthly events throughout 2017 for dads and male carers with children aged up to ten years old.”

Dangerous Dads have a number of great activities planned for the five towns, including ‘wild walks’, den-building, mini-raft making, a beach exploration, bushcraft and a weekend camp in the summer. Ian added: “We’ll also be asking the dads and children what sort of activities they’d like to see. Events will run from March each month for a year and will be free. All male carers are welcome to come to any of the activities.

Of course mums and the whole family are catered for with activities too with Muddy Mums groups in Cornwall and Torbay, as well as lots of family events planned for 2017 across the region. The award-winning DadFest and MumFest at Forest & Beach in Beeson are also back this year. DadFest is September 15-17 and MumFest September 22-24.

More information about all events are posted regularly on their website and Facebook page, or join their mailing list for email updates

Elaine Musgrave, from Action for Children, said: “The partnership between The Dangerous Dads Network and Action for Children is important as it means we can reach dads and children from all sections of the community. By offering regular, fun activities, this initiative gives dads and their children the chance to spend quality time in each other’s company, as well as opportunities to explore local green spaces, meet up with neighbours and play. Our work is focused on supporting families and encouraging positive parenting skills, and we believe the kind of activities organised by the Dangerous Dads project helps us achieve our ambitions. We are looking forward to supporting these five new groups across South Devon and Teignbridge, and we’d encourage all dads to try and get along to the activities.”

To find out more contact Ian on 01803 840990 or dangerousdads@btinternet.com.

All details are on www.dangerousdads.org.uk and Facebook: The Dangerous Dads Network

Charity hike along South West Coast

F Breathing life into The Clay Factory

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AST month Reconnect was invited to look around The Clay Factory, a new, developing destination for arts, culture, and social enterprise. It’s a huge rabbit warren of a building on the southern edge of Dartmoor near Ivybridge. DAMON FOSTER is working on the project and helping to bring the space back to life with galleries, studios, work spaces, meeting rooms and much more planned.

Once a hub of industry, the chimney of this former clay processing works towers over the scenery.

Damon said: “This is a building full of atmosphere, inspiration and potential. As soon as we visited, we knew straight away that this series of buildings was calling out to once again become a hub of activity - but this time it’s different.

“Our plan was ambitious, some might even say audacious, because we aimed to turn this unused site into an affordable and accessible hub for arts, culture and enterprise, with the profits of our venture going towards securing the long term future of The Eddystone Trust.”

The Eddystone Trust is an independent sexual health and HIV organisation providing information,

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training and support across the South West that also have offices at the Redlake Trading Estate site.

In a very short space of time Damon and his colleagues have created massive change within the building – there are now businesses thriving in their functional office spaces and artists creating in the studios - they have held exhibitions and welcomed hundreds of people through the doors.

This year they will be officially launching The Clay Factory with a series of events in July, see forthcoming issues for more details.

OUR get up and go teens from Plymouth are training for a 43-mile charity hike that they have planned, organised and prepared for themselves, in aid of local conservation charity Living Coasts. Jake Wills, Mark Corben, Andre Amaral and Elek Churella all attend Stoke Damerel Community College. They plan to walk the South West Coast Path, setting off from Plymouth on Monday May 29 and getting to Living Coasts in Torquay on Thursday June 1. Of the four day trek, part of their Silver Duke of Edinburgh award, Jake said: “We will be carrying backpacks weighing approximately 20 kilos and will be camping. We will be doing this whatever weather is thrown at us!” To sponsor the team, go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/MAJE. Damon added: “RedPod Arts is a rapidly growing community of artists and creatives at all stages of their artistic careers; right now work is being completed on phase 2 of our art studios and we have lots of interesting arty events in the pipeline for 2017 and beyond.“ In addition RedPod Food is about to officially launch with the grand unveiling of a rather lively commercial cooking space, within a vast room that’s currently be re-purposed. It will be here that their talented chef will bring his unique brand of vegetarian food to hundreds of new visitors.

Damon explained their vision: “Our number one objective is to build a diverse community ‘up the lane where the big chimney is’ - one in which everyone can all pull together to benefit themselves and the wider community and work towards having a positive impact.“ Maybe some of you in Reconnectland could end up being part of this expanding social enterprise? Whether you’re an artist looking for studio space, a business looking for an office or somewhere to meet clients, a healing practitioner looking to start a new

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practice or a person wanting to join in. There’s opportunities aplenty in the space’s many rooms. Or maybe you’re just curious - whatever you’re thinking Damon and co. want to hear from you, so get in touch.

Damon concluded: “There’s nothing we like better than getting people involved and showing them around - so if you’d like wish to explore how you could benefit from using our space or have any ideas you want to share with us contact us.“ To find out more email enquiries@ thecatandthebox.co.uk or visit www. theclayfactory.co.uk, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

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Noisettes

Keep calm and step away from that bird MORWENNA ALLDIS from the RSPB, talks about the do’s and don’ts of this year’s nesting season.

T this time of year we get hundreds of calls from wellmeaning members of the public about the seemingly helpless baby birds they’ve discovered on the ground. But it’s vital that people resist the urge to intervene – this is a natural part of the bird’s development, so keep calm and step away.

Just before baby birds are ready to tentatively extend a wing, wiggle a tail feather and take flight for the first time, they leave their nest – “fledge” as it’s called. Fledglings then spend a couple of days on the ground and around the nest developing their final flight feathers.

The fledglings will appear fully feathered and hop around your garden in broad daylight – hence why members of the public are convinced they need rescuing.

Another common fear is that the fledgling has been deserted by its parents. But fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned. Mom and dad are probably off gathering food or hiding nearby with a beady eye on their young, waiting for you to leave. Parents know best and are the experts in rearing their young.

Removing a fledgling from the wild significantly reduces its chances of long-term survival – so please don’t ‘kidnap’ the baby bird, even in a well meaning way.

A

Totnes to host a revolutionary party There are only a couple of situations when the public should lend a friendly helping hand: Immediate Danger: If the baby bird is found on a busy road or path, we advise it is picked up and moved a short distance to a safer place - this must be within hearing distance of where the fledgling was found.

Similarly, if you discover your cat or dog eyeing up a fledgling we recommend that you keep your domestic pet indoors for a couple of days – or at least around dawn and dusk.

Injury: If an injured fledgling is discovered this should be reported immediately to the RSPCA on: 0300 1234 999.

Sometimes local vets treat wild birds for free, but please check with them first.

Nestlings: If a baby bird is discovered on the ground that is either unfeathered or covered only in its fluffy nestling down, it has likely fallen out of its cosy nest ahead of schedule. Very occasionally it is possible to put these babies back in their nest, but only if you are 100% sure of the nest it has fallen from.

However, sometimes a parent bird will intentionally eject a chick from the nest if they sense it has an underlying health problem or is dying. It’s a harsh truth to stomach, as humans we want to fix things, but sometimes we need to allow the law of nature to run its course. To find out how you can give nature a home in your garden, visit: www.rspb.org. uk/givenatureahome Photographs by Laurence Rose.

Rocketlog The Original One-Log Bonfire

Hand carved in the heart of the woods

LOG www.reconnectonline.co.uk

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

I

N 2017 the theme is ‘Revolution’, and considers: “What we can do together that we can’t do apart? What are our visions and dreams for the future?”

Happening on April 28 throughout Totnes, the musical and arts event celebrates the diverse talents and ideas of the town.

Noisettes are to headline this year’s event produced by Dartington’s arts team following the success of last year’s free party which saw 2,000 revellers take to the streets.

Celebrating 10 years together this year, Noisettes will headline the Civic Hall (9.45pm), and will be supported by local duo Long for the Coast. They’re one of 50 local acts including more young performers than before (Civic Hall and nearby Jamming Station Busk Stop) in venues (from 6pm) such as the Bay Horse, The Bull Inn, Devon Harp Centre, Barrel House, St Mary’s Church, Seven Stars – with unexpected performance and explosive moments on the High Street.

The Party in the Town will kick off with a performance by local school children who have been working with Brazilian percussionist and composer Adriano Adewale to create a series of choral songs on the theme of Revolution, in the lead up to the event.

The Dartington Hall Trust Arts Manager Amy Bere said: “Party in the Town is an annual celebration for the community of Totnes to come together and participate in an evening of music, food, fun, and family. Local musicians and artists inhabit streets, empty shops, restaurants, community centres

PARTY in the Town, Dartington Hall Trusts’ annual celebration of the strength of the Totnes community returns for a second annual edition. and the library, churches and public spaces. While the party is about a day of celebration, the effect it creates is far larger, building a lasting sense of partnership between Dartington and Totnes. We are grateful to the Arts Council England and the Dartington International Summer School Foundation for their support of Party in the Town.”

The Trust is also thrilled to host the return of former Dartington College of Arts students including Lux Harmonium and The Evil Usses in the next episode of its popular After Dark series. The Trust’s current poet-in-residence, Alice Oswald, is to lead a poet parade of 22 local people; and the Drift Records team behind local festival Sea Change are to take charge of The Barrel House to showcase what’s to come this summer.

There’s also a special festival beer created and brewed for the occasion by the local New Lion brewery, as well as Dartington’s Craft Revolution including Butter Aerobics: Feel the Churn, mixing ‘exercise, techno music, and conceptual art to produce a takehome dairy spread’. l Access to all performances is free except for headline act. Age restrictions may apply to some venues later in the evening. For more information see dartington. org/partyinthetown

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Therapy and Healing.

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27

Coastline by Samjhana

NEWS&views

Make a pledge to turn the tide on plastic

W

HEN we visit Devon’s coastline we have a deep affinity with the vast expanse of blue, whether in the water, on the water, or enjoying our beautiful coastal landscape.

However, it’s not simply the ocean’s relaxing, recreational and aesthetic qualities that are important to us. The ocean also produces over twothirds of Earth’s oxygen, generated by plankton and other tiny marine plants. Therefore a healthy, thriving ocean is crucial to our very survival.

There is a whole ecosystem thriving out there.

One that has been evolving for millions of years,

perfectly balanced, and serving all the species that form part of it, co-habiting beneath the surface.

Now, also hidden in the waves, are discarded plastic debris from recognisable items to countless more smaller unidentifiable pieces of plastic, now fragments broken up by the waves.

Every single marine species, every link in the chain that makes up the incredible underwater ecosystem, is suffering from the massive man-made problem of plastic in the ocean.

Plastic is an indestructible material that should never have been seen as disposable. Nature has no way to break it down.

Plastic in the ocean entangles, chokes, strangles, starves and poisons. It absorbs other pollutants in the water, intensifying its toxicity. It breaks down into increasingly smaller pieces that outnumber plankton in some places. It is eaten by the fish and seafood humans like to eat. Plastic is a ticking time bomb for ocean health, and human health too.

Half of all the plastic produced today is created for an average of 12 minutes of usefulness, then destined for generations of environmental impact.

Currently, recycling doesn’t offer an adequate solution to our plastic problem. Only a tiny fraction of the plastic we produce is effectively recycled, and our oceans are filling up with plastic

waste. Every minute, the equivalent of a truck-load of plastic enters the sea, where it will stay until long after we have gone. It’s a vicious circle that we need to work together to break.

Make a pledge to turn the tide on plastic today.

Here’s what you can do: l refuse single use plastic, and choose reusable alternatives instead l seek out unpackaged food wherever possible l make/take your own ‘real’ food l put pressure on your favourite shops, restaurants, cafes etc. to provide sustainable alternatives to ‘disposable’ plastic l sign petitions, and campaign for change with your local and national governments l support charities and campaigns that are advocating change to reduce ocean plastic pollution l participate in organised beach cleans and litter picks (they’re fun!) and get in the habit of picking up plastic when you see it every day to prevent more reaching the sea l share all this with your friends and families to create a wave of change There’s already more plastic out there than there should be. Will you do what it takes to turn the tide on ocean plastic?

Events at Embercombe Discover the hope, strength and courage of the leader within you How do we respond to a world that seems to be changing unrecognisably at such speed?

How do we keep hope?

Experience Embercombe Embercombe Experience Weekends 24th-26th Mar & 14th-16th Apr 2017 Come and learn about life at Embercombe - join us for a weekend of working on the land, cooking, eating and sharing with our community. www.embercombe.org/volunteer-weekend

The Journey 14th-19th May & 6th-11th Aug 2017 “The experience, on so many levels, was one of utter transformation” (The Journey) We are challenged by future generations to take action.

Now. Embercombe offers programmes that respond to this challenge: to help you realise your leadership potential so that you act authentically. Coaching models, nature-based and indigenous wisdom lie at the core of our work.

www.embercombe.org  facebook.com/embercombe  @embercombe Embercombe - Nr Exeter - EX6 7QQ Charity Number: 1116793

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A 5 day leadership and personal development course uncovering your deepest love, your greatest gifts and your true responsibilities. www.embercombe.org/the-journey

The Catalyst 2nd-7th Jul & 3d-8th Sep 2017 A 5-day course for 18-25 year olds who want to develop authentic leadership and change-making skills, and gain a clearer understanding of who you really are, your gifts and where you are going. www.embercombe.org/catalyst

Email: info@embercombe.org Or call: 01647 252983

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NEWS&views Everyone can be a farmer! – Davon’s legacy After the recent death of Chagfarm co-founder Davon Friend, JON STEIN finds out how the project is using community power to move forward.

Photographs by Juliette Mills www.juliettemills.com

T

HE death of any young person is a cause for grief, even more so when it is unexpected. Davon Friend, who died suddenly last Christmas at the age of just 36, was co-founder and business manager of the innovative Chagfarm in Chagford, on the northeast edge of Dartmoor. The project, which aims to make the local community’s food supply more resilient, is now appealing to the community to help continue Davon’s vision.

Davon’s younger brother and Chagfarm co-founder, Sylvan Friend says: “Davon’s death has shaken everything up, but with the support from our members and the other Farm Directors we’re committed to ensuring that Chagfarm continues.”

From the testimonies of friends and family members, it’s clear that Davon’s role extended far beyond just handling the money. His passion for the wellbeing of animals and care of the land stretches back to his early years: Alice Friend, who raised Davon for much of his childhood, recalls him saying he wanted “a farm with lots of animals, a lovely wife and lots of children!”

Sadly, Davon was not to achieve all of his dreams, but his vision of a farm became reality when in 2012 he and Sylvan set up Chagfarm – a not-for-profit CIC (Community Interest Company) and one of the UK’s first community-supported microdairies. Since then, the farm - organically licensed by the Soil Association – has provided the local community with woodland-reared pork, organic chicken, honey, and other local produce.

Davon’s death has been a body blow to Chagfarm – as well as to his family and the local community – but also gives an opportunity, says Sylvan, to draw on a wider pool of skills and support. For example, Sylvan’s partner Katherine has now taken on Davon’s role in finance and communications.

Chagfarm’s strong link with local people is one thing that won’t change. “The support of the community has been overwhelming,” says Sylvan. And this same goodwill has been in evidence with the launch of Davon’s Legacy – an online campaign that has already raised nearly ten thousand pounds. “The priority is to get the butchery finished and invest in a food processing facility so all our meat can be organically certified,” explains Sylvan. Other tasks include enlarging the goat pens, providing an outdoor kitchen and a family-friendly community space, so that

Chagfarm can run more workshops all year round.

In addition to various community fundraising events, a large team of volunteers and well-wishers has continued to support Chagfarm in other ways, e.g. attending the farm’s monthly Work Days. Felt maker Yuli Somme has been involved as a volunteer since the project’s conception and believes producing food can bring communities together: “The atmosphere of the Work Days is just wonderful. We feel like we can all be farmers!”

As Chagfarm enters its next phase, Sylvan intends to uphold the core principles on which he and his brother Davon built the project. “Our mission has always been to be part of the local food movement. In order to build a strong local economy it’s very important to localise food production. It also encourages a lot of local culture and community.” After all, he adds: “It’s not consumerism, but producerism that makes the world go round.” A sentiment that Davon would surely endorse.

For Further Information Chagfarm is at Chagford, Devon, TQ13 8DA. Tel: 07775 617563

For more info on membership, volunteering and upcoming events (including Open Farm Days on the third Sunday of the month) see www. chagfarm.org To make a financial donation to secure the future of Chagfarm go to: www. chagfarm.org/davons-legacy Jon Stein divides his time between South Devon and Andalucía. Read more on his blog at www.jonstein.co.uk

A new exhibition celebrates bees in our landscape

White-tailed Bumblebee

by Philip Strange.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Reconnectland is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the landscape, and within this landscape you can find a wealth of animal and plant life. They are both the inspiration for a new exhibition at Birdwood House Gallery in Totnes.

The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between south Devon painter, Hazel Strange and scientist, Philip Strange.

Hazel’s paintings of memorable views from the South West will

depict the local landscape in all its glories. Alongside the paintings, Philip’s photos will show some of the remarkable bees you might encounter in these locations. There will be a ‘bee tour’ in central Totnes during the week of the exhibition. Please visit https:// philipstrange.wordpress.com/ for details. l Bees in a Landscape – an exhibition at Birdwood House Gallery, Totnes from April 30 to May 6 2017

Modular life PROPERTY consultancy JLL believe a seismic shift in how and where we work will take place by 2030, while new homes in larger South West towns and cities, such as Exeter and Plymouth, look set to be pre-fabricated ‘like cars’ within the next five years. JLL also predicts the growth in Exeter and across the South West of off-site construction of modular housing, the modern-day equivalent of the pre-fabs of the 1960s, which could alleviate pressure on the housing market.

Modular homes are generally quicker and cheaper to build, and they are smaller, more flexible and often of higher quality, bringing time and cost efficiencies that could make house building more attractive to developers, says JLL. Tim Western, head of the Exeter office of JLL, said offsite construction in the UK is growing 25 per cent per year.

“This technique results in a 30 per cent reduction in build time, a 75 per cent reduction in workforce and 40 per cent less vehicle movements, meaning that modular housing is likely to drive a huge change in how homes get built over the next five years.

“Homes manufactured like cars, in other words off site in a factory, with the opportunity to pick and choose what goes into a basic structure, will bring ‘car quality’ to the market. Clients and designers need to adapt to this evolving trend; indeed, this is an opportunity for innovation that could give early adopters a competitive advantage.”

JLL says that this approach presents opportunities beyond the housing sector with offices, schools and hotels all set to benefit. Key elements of any building, including bathrooms, lift cores and window systems, can all be fabricated in a factory before being slotted into place.

Burgh Island with kite surfer, by Hazel Strange. oil on canvas 60 x 50cm

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Elder co-housing

Land/Sea photographic exhibition

IN keeping with this issue’s coastal theme, Plymouth Arts Centre presents Land/ Sea (Tir/Môr), a major new photographic exhibition by Wales-based artist Mike Perry running from April 7 to June 17. Perry’s work engages with environmental issues, in particular the fragility of the planet’s ecosystems (be that land or marine), and the tension between human activity and interventions in the natural environment.

Land/Sea includes selected works from Perry’s Môr Plastig series, in which he collects and forensically photographs plastic objects such as bottles, shoes and packaging washed up on the beaches of West Wales, inviting us to consider the environmental impact of consumerism and the erosive power of nature.

Plymouth Arts Centre’s Artistic Director Ben Borthwick, said: “Perry brings together two contrasting approaches to landscape to question how artists traditionally represented the sea and landscape. Large scale photographs allude to the sublime emptiness of traditional landscape painting, but highlight how these landscapes are the result of human mismanagement and economic exploitation. He channels the beach combing of so many coastal artists into the aesthetics of minimalism and conceptual art, replacing romanticism with scientific taxonomy. Plymouth is framed by the Atlantic on one side and Dartmoor on the other so this exhibition’s focus on the disastrous, but reversible, impacts of human activity on marine and upland environments is particularly relevant.”

Find out more at https://plymouthartscentre.org

Shaun Horlock - Cosmic Hawk Totem

Avril Pratt - Seashell - Watercolour

Steven Pratt - Kasbah - Collage

Creativity, cake, and a cuppa

OVER the last Bank Holiday weekend in May (27-29) there’s a local arts trail/ community event in Harbertonford where artists get together and host the public in their homes for cake and cuppas and art of all kinds.

The arts trail goes in and out of studios, homes, gardens and the village pub.

Unlike other arts trails, all the venues are close to each other in the same village, making it easy to see them all on the same visit.

There will be home cooked treats and refreshments to revive you en route along the trail at each venue. The village pub, The Maltster’s Arms on the main road, will have pizza and curry and a full bar available throughout the event. Dig & Dine Café have provided for visitors to the Open Studios since 2011.

It’s also the same weekend of the Totnes Open Studios, so people visiting that can simply come another 3 miles down the A381.

For further info contact Prana Simon: Mobile: 07773797647 or Landline: 01803 732518 pranarts@gmx.com

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A SMALL group of green-minded elders aim to create an ecofriendly co-housing project for the over-fifties. The project will involve 12 to 15 households located in the Totnes area. It will have a community house for everyone’s use plus independent living units for individuals/ couples. These low-cost eco homes will be designed with elders’ needs in mind. There will also be shared resources such as vehicles, laundry facilities, workshop, organic food growing areas, storage spaces etc. The site will be landscaped to include outdoor leisure space, a labyrinth and a meditation garden and be a haven for wildlife.

The community house will be a versatile space for a host of activities for the wider community.

The group plans to provide its own elder care as and when that becomes necessary.

For more information and enquiries: www.shecc.org.uk

Events at Sharpham this spring and summer

A host of wildlife, heritage and foody events are taking place in and around historic Sharpham House this spring and summer.

F YOU would like a look around the inside of Sharpham House, then you’ll love the Heritage & Spring Garden Open Day, taking place from 10.30am to 4pm on Sunday April 9. Expect House tours, a taste of Sharpham’s colourful history, a look at the Capability Brown landscape and formal gardens, and plenty of Sharpham food and drink too. The day’s free, although there’s a charge for parking.

There’s even a free shuttle (courtesy of Bob The Bus) to take you up there and back.

Bird expert Mike Langman will be touring the grounds of Sharpham, encouraging us to listen out for the wealth of songbirds there, on Saturday May 13.

By the end of the Dusk Chorus walk, you’ll be amazed at how you can identify birdsong – and how the countryside opens up to you aurally.

Wild food intelligence is being shared throughout the year at Sharpham with a string of seasonal events. See what nature’s larder has to offer with your foraging guide Brigit-Anna McNeill. There are also family foraging events too, to get the kids started on wild greens…

There is more information at www.sharphamtrust.org or call 01803 732542 or email bookings@sharphamtrust.org

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wellbeing email: wellbeing@reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING

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

Finding Active Hope

Therapy in the city Healing beats of the drum Massaging better mobility The Rainbow’s End festival

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Happiness at a beach retreat A BEAUTIFUL light and airy home overlooking the sea provides the perfect backdrop for a weekend or week long retreat.

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Women going elemental

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Recover our place in nature Yoga for restless minds Inspired to bring about change Copy clinic for businesses

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And there’s lots more to read inside

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EVON Beach Retreats, run

by Wellbeing and Happiness Coach Tonja Mills, offer a mix of healing, coaching and positivity in a stunning coastal location. As well as the opportunity to relax and unwind, participants are supported to make positive changes to their diet, fitness and spirituality.

One recent participant said: “A truly life-changing weekend. I’ve taken away so much, including your magical healing. I feel totally nourished in every way.”

Another commented: “‘Such a lovely experience - everything feels like an exploration. Thank you so much, I feel amazing!”

Tonja is passionate about helping others live their best life ever and the retreats are just one component of her work. She also runs oneto-one and small group sessions, supporting people to release negative energy patterns that hold us back and develop positive new

behaviours. “I work intuitively, at a pace dictated by the client or clients. People often report feeling a sense of lightness, peace and wellbeing that may have eluded them until now.”

Tonja developed a unique six-week programme called ‘The Happiness Club’ after sensing the need for clients to connect with one another on a deep, supportive level.

“These groups run throughout the year to provide a sense of safe connection and the unique support and connection of being part of a supportive group.”

She also runs regular Wellbeing and Juicing Retreats throughout the year.

For more information email: thehappinessclub@yahoo.com Or call Tonja on 07791 837677

Kate Philbin

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

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

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

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

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It’s All About Feeling Better ...And I’d like to guide you to that reality!

I support people to release and let go of their stuff, whether emotional or physical, with comfort and ease, safely supported. I will share and equip you with simple yet deeply effective tools to feel better not just for today but everyday. I love witnessing your evolution.

To read my feedback please go to www.itsallaboutfeelingbetter.co.uk I offer 1:1 sessions, weekly classes, monthly workshops and residential retreats in Devon. Accessible to everybody.

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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EMOTIONAL HEALTH Welcome back to our exploration into all things emotional. In this edition our Emotional Health columnist LEIGH SMITH explores a socially destructive condition which many of us suffer from in silence, and perhaps don’t know that there is a solution if we can just speak up.

Enjoying a healthy social life

F

ROM time to time we all feel a little out of our depth, a bit mumbly, bashful, self conscious or nervous about certain social situations.

Shyness and nervousness are normal personality traits, but for some people these situations can cause great distress, creating intense anxiety and fear in connection with everyday things, like going into work, shopping, answering the phone, catching a bus. This anxiety can be so overwhelming that it becomes really disruptive and can severely affect a person’s ability to deal with quite ordinary situations.

Relationships and self confidence then suffer. Situations where the fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, and typically lasting six months of more, indicate that the person is not just a little bit shy, but may well have a condition known as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

Living with social anxiety can be crushing. Constantly worrying, feeling fear, apprehension, anxiety and pain, and finding ways to avoid agonizing situations by hiding away from possible rejection and disapproval, is miserable to say the least.

High levels of anxiety experienced by someone suffering from SAD doesn’t just effect the person at the time of the incident, but it can also be present before the event as well as afterwards.

People with this condition might find themselves preoccupied and worrying excessively about a social situation in the future, obsessing over looking incompetent, blushing or making a fool of themselves.

They might worry about: “What will people think of me? What if I embarrass myself?”

During a social event they might feel overwhelming levels of anxiety, sickness, dizziness, not able to swallow or speak, hot flushes and racing heart, sweating and shaking. But it doesn’t end there.

After the event there may be a preoccupation with how they were judged by people, how they came across and what people thought of them.

The first signs of SAD can be spotted in children and adolescents. A child who cries more than usual, freezes, has tantrums or becomes afraid of school or social situations may be displaying early indicators.

Perhaps you have noticed that your child struggles to eat in company, to speak on the telephone, join in

conversations or speak to people they don’t know well. They might start to avoid eye contact, become overly sensitive to criticism and display signs of low self esteem.

Older children may become reclusive or misuse drugs or alcohol to try to reduce the anxiety.

What makes this disorder difficult to spot is that almost all the symptoms are a part of normal childhood development. Only when these symptoms seriously interfere with the quality of a child’s life and development should we pay more attention to their mental health and wellbeing.

It isn’t just children who suffer from SAD, it can affect any of us, and can come and go in intensity, affecting us more at different stages of our lives. If you think that you or your child might have SAD, then I strongly recommend that you ‘speak up’ and see your GP for help.

It is a good idea to explain that you might find attending an appointment extremely challenging. Your GP may give you a telephone assessment or offer you an appointment when the surgery is not so busy. You will be asked a range of questions designed to assess the level of your anxiety, and also the type of anxiety that you are experiencing, as there are several anxiety disorders which share similar symptoms.

If you or your child are diagnosed with SAD then the good news is that Social Anxiety Disorder is treatable successfully. Social anxiety is no longer a life-long, devastating condition to be suffered in silence.

Since 1980 the condition has been officially recognised and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been identified as one of the most effective treatments. Generally, CBT works by helping you identify unhelpful and unrealistic beliefs and behavioural patterns. Your therapist will work with you to change your behaviour and replace unhelpful beliefs with more realistic and balanced ones. The tendency of focusing on ourselves during social situations will be removed. Your therapy sessions may also involve some learning about your condition and how it works, along with learning skills to help you cope and challenge your condition. Don’t let social anxiety spoil the best years of your life. It’s time to take back control, finding strategies that work and not missing the chance to enjoy a healthy and fulfilling social life, however old we are!

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

Visit www.heartwoodcounselling.org or call 01803 865464.

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The go-to treatment of choice

O

NE of the benefits of having practiced a therapy for many years is that you get to recognise trends in treatment patterns. And Mark Edlund Plater, who has worked as an acupuncturist for 36 years, has noticed a very positive drift towards his treatments as a first stop on the road to recovery.

“It’s true that in the past many people - and particularly those suffering with tricky-to-treat, chronic conditions - would often see acupuncture as a last resort,” admitted Mark. “But the majority of my clients today see it as their go-to treatment of choice.”

Mark’s most dramatic results continue to come from the treatment of those tough chronic ailments, including MS, ME, Parkinson’s and arthritis.

“The key to long-term health is acupuncture’s ability to get to the very root of the problem, whereas antibiotics simply suppress the symptoms.

“In the case of asthma, for example, my treatment would work to clear any conditions, such as what Chinese medicine calls Phlegm-Heat, and then to strengthen the lungs. The spleen and kidneys are also treated if necessary - the problem may not just be with the lungs being weak.”

He has also seen “amazing results”

when treating Parkinson’s Disease.

“The medical prognosis is deterioration leading to death,” says Mark. “I saw one patient 11 years after his initial diagnosis, during which time he had been prescribed immunosuppressant drugs. In fact, it is not a case of the system fighting itself – acupuncture builds up immunity and helps the body to fight back naturally.

“After six treatments, he called me to say he was 40% better – and absolutely delighted.”

Sadly, funds didn’t allow him to continue his treatments and that’s something that upsets Mark: “I feel strongly about the need for funding for all natural and complementary therapies.

“Acupuncture has been in continuous use for around 5,000 years and is one of the most widely used systems of medicine in the world today. It is growing fast in the West, but it needs to be taken seriously as part of medicine here too. An overdependency on drug therapy is unwise, while natural medicine waits ever patiently in the wings.”

To find out more about Mark’s treatments (he works at the Totnes Natural Health Centre and Ola Chiropractic, also in Totnes), call him on 07506 179808 or email mark.edlundplater@gmail.com.

Parenting without guilt (for a week)

WORDS on celebrations which raise awareness from ALAN SWINDELL, principal of Steiner Academy Exeter

W

ORLD Book Day came at the beginning of March with a flurry of Harry Potters and Hermione Grangers around the school, followed swiftly by Women’s Day, on which all my female colleagues were hoping to simply take a day off. Nice try. At least some had Mother’s Day to look forward to a few days later.

These celebrations are a great way to raise awareness and to show appreciation where it is due, regardless of any commercial interests that may be driving them.

Some events seem worthy of a week: British Pies, Conversation, Science and Glaucoma all shared the same week in March, whilst Fair Trade went for a fortnight, with Pets, Bowel Cancer and Stress Awareness laying claim to the whole month of April. I wonder whose job it is to allocate time in this way, or is it just a free for all? If the latter, then National Spontaneity Day might be one to look out for, with the date to be decided only the day before.

At the Steiner Academy Exeter we always commit to Prevention of Bullying Week in November and Screen Free Week in May. Neither of these issues is ever going to go away. Children need help and support in learning to socialize and Prevention of Bullying week is at the right time in the school year to reflect on the first half term and look ahead to what remains of the school year.

The importance of Screen Free week has grown in recent years. Once it was just about TV, then came videos, then computer games, then smart phones....and the rest is history.

It is important to embrace the age-appropriate use of technology. Steiner himself warned at the beginning of the last century that `failure to engage with technology would be an act of cowardice`. The key words here are `engage with`: Be aware. Discuss. Make informed judgements. Try to understand. It is a real joy to work with the enormous fascination young people have for change, innovation and the modern world, indeed if we fail to understand what excites them we risk losing their respect and their trust.

There is plenty of evidence that confirms the potential dangers of too much exposure to screens. The school’s role in this is to advise and inform. It is parents who have the right and the responsibility to make their own choices about the place of screen entertainment in their children’s lives, but as a school we have to take seriously our responsibility to alert parents to the possible hazards of inappropriate exposure to screen entertainment, and to remind them that their choices impact on other children within school community.

We have to do this without making parents feel guilty. We have to remember how difficult the task of parenting has become in this day and age. Managing screen time is another opportunity for parents to feel as though they are failing, that they should be doing more. It can be yet another source of guilt.

If it were my job, I would add another week into the annual cycle, up there with National Fish and Chips week and Clean-Your-Wheelie-Bin fortnight would be Guilt Free Parenting week. Ideally spent screen free.

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WELLBEING A light and airy therapy space

Rainbow’s End

HOLISTIC WELLBEING AND NATURAL CRAFTS FESTIVAL

I

T’S NOT often that you find a tranquil, light and airy therapy space right in the heart of a busy city.

The Barnfield Hill Therapy Rooms in central Exeter provides just that.

It is an inspiring suite of three calm, light and spacious rooms available to rent by counsellors and therapists.

Julie McNichol, who manages the Centre, said: “We work from a lovely Victorian building in central Exeter and have now developed additional therapy rooms that we can rent out to independent therapists. The rooms are ideal both for therapists just starting out and for those who already have an established practice.

We know that it can be hard for therapists setting up their own therapy practice so our rooms are available to book on an hourly basis as well in blocks and rates are very affordable. We are developing an on-line booking diary to make this easier.”

Rent that therapists pay goes to fund the work of The Margaret Jackson Centre, which provides affordable counselling to people from across Devon. “The counselling centre was established 10 years ago and we now see more than 120 clients a week,” said Julie. We are happy to be able to share our building with other therapists and it is great that all of the income from renting out these rooms goes towards funding such a worthwhile service.”

For more information and prices contact Julie McNichol on 01392 256711.

Civic Hall, High Street, Totnes May 20th and 21st 2017 10am-5pm Free admission All-day programme of talks, workshops and demonstrations Wide variety of readers, healers and traders All-day café 07900 824089

The healing beat

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HYTHM surrounds us in life, from the moment of our conception when we are connected to the heartbeat of our mother. Yet today, as we rush around on autopilot many sounds simply pass us by.

Sirona Therapeutic Horsemanship is offering a unique experience on 6 May, combining the healing beat of a shamanic drum with mindfulness and the therapeutic presence of horses.

Graeme Green of the Mindful Horse will be hosting this unique workshop at Sirona in Hannah’s at Seale Hayne, following a sell-out event for trustees and friends of Sirona held last Autumn. He said: “The communal act of drumming grounds us mindfully in the moment, creating community and re-connecting us with the very heart of our humanity. In this unique experience we will move to share this primal and rhythmic communication with ourselves and with the horses.”

Sirona’s founder, Dr Hannah Burgon was inspired by the way the horses responded to the drum during the Autumn event. She said: “It was amazing to see how much the horses loved and responded to the drumming - Chapas placing his damaged lip against the drum - I am a total convert!”

For more information, or to book, email: Graeme@themindfulhorse. org or call 07981 440977. www. themindfulhorse.org

Psychocallasthenics for body and mind IF YOU’VE ever wished that there were a form of exercise that combined working on your body with working on your mind, welcome to Psychocallasthenics!

Michael J Traynor, who was the first facilitator of Higher Brain Living in Europe, and is still the only one in the UK, believes that transforming our bodies is about learning to calm our minds, as well as exercising our bodies, and has launched new classes at The Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot on Tuesday nights. He explained: “The weekly classes include Falun Gong (a form of Chi Gong) and Psychocallasthenics.

They will improve energy and

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fitness as well as covering goal setting, life balance and visualisation.”

This promises to be a busy year for Michael, who is returning to Chicago in April to recertify after two years delivering Higher Brain Living workshops and presentations in Totnes, Exeter and London. He is also doing Stroke Rehab in the Torbay area (in people’s homes) and has a busy clinic in Exeter in the Multiple Sclerosis Therapies Centre.

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

BioEnergetic Health

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

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

www.bioenergetichealth.net

Mark Edlund Plater

Member of the British Acupuncture Council

Acupuncture Integrated Method

Acupuncture integrated method

Practice for 19 years in Totnes Fees are based on income or means

01803 556038 07506 179808

mark.edlundplater@gmail.com

For more information, visit: www.michaeljtraynor.co.uk Or call 07956 409300.

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WELLBEING

Therapy in the comfort of home WHY go to the spa when the spa could come to you? Two South Devon holistic therapists have launched a new concept in spa treatments called Retreat At Home.

Helen Hoyte and Romina Martinez launched the new company before Christmas, covering the whole of Torbay, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth.

Helen, who has run Ancient Elements in Torquay for nearly seven years, said: “We specialise in exquisite, relaxing and therapeutic massage in the comfort of your own home or chosen venue.”

Romina, who qualified eight years ago and has trained with the prestigious Steiner Training Academy

in London, added: “One of the drawbacks of having a massage in a spa or salon is that you have to drive home afterwards. With Retreat at Home you get the maximum benefit because you can just relax afterwards with no need to travel.”

A 75-minute massage starts at £65 per person. The host needs to provide a quiet, warm space for treatments.

All equipment and oils are provided.

Retreat at Home can cater for groups of four people or more, with treatments including hot stone massage, reflexology, Indian Head massage and facials.”

For more information visit: www. retreat-at-home.co.uk or call 07923 469456 or 07414 648858.

Gentle massage to improve mobility

M

ANUAL Lymphatic Drainage is a very gentle type of massage that can help to ease the symptoms of lymphoedema, fluid retention, puffy ankles or tired and heavy legs, and can improve mobility.

Amanda Morris, who practices from the Arcturus Clinic in Totnes, studied Lymphology at the Földi Clinic in Germany. She qualified in Manual Lymphatic Drainage and multi-layer bandaging in 2008 and became a Certified Lymphoedema Therapist. This enabled her to work within a team of specialists in the Lymphoedema Clinic at St. George’s Hospital, London, treating patients with advanced stages of both primary and secondary lymphoedema.

Amanda now divides her time between Devon and London, seeing clients on a private basis. She also offers home-visits.

She explained how Manual Lymphatic Drainage works: “MLD is a gentle, rhythmic,

pumping technique that moves the skin in the direction of the lymph nodes. This stimulates the lymphatic vessels, which carry substances vital to the defense of the body, and removes waste products, excess fluid, toxins and bacteria. In turn, this encourages the immune system to function optimally.”

Lymphoedema is a swelling that can affect any part of the body, although it is most common in the arms and legs. The condition develops when the lymph system can no longer function effectively, either because it has been damaged (e.g. through cancer and radiotherapy) or failed to develop properly. Amanda added: “Clients often say that they didn’t realise there was anything that could help them, and if they had known about MLD they would have started having it years ago.”

Amanda is a full member of MLDUK, the professional association of Manual Lymphatic Drainage practitioners, and is qualified to work on people who have had cancer and lymph node removal.

Amanda is also a Bowen Practitioner and does ScarWork. She is able to treat clients with a range of presenting symptoms, employing various methods suited to each individual’s presentation.

For more information call Amanda on 07931 505 312 or email amanda@ amandamorris.co.uk l Manual Lymphatic Drainage therapist Amanda Morris, left, and (insert) the compression garment and kinesio-taping.

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WELLBEING

Communicating with patients

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visit to the doctor can be an anxiety-producing experience and it’s something that most of us avoid if we possibly can.

Whether or not we come away feeling better can often depend not only on what we have been told during the consultation, but how well the Jeff Sleeman (left) with some of doctor has interacted the first year students he teaches. with us. For GPs in particular, the ability to listen carefully to units at the University’s School of their patients, express appropriate Medicine using a combination of concern and give information drama improvisation, coaching and advice which the patient can and comedy techniques to help the readily understand are key skills - as students to learn in an enjoyable important as the ability to diagnose and effective manner. and treat the problem. Unfortunately Said Jeff: “Experiential learning not all doctors have mastered these is by far the most efficient way of important communications skills developing one’s skills and the use and some patients come away of appropriate humour can be a from a doctor’s appointment feeling key technique for creating rapport that they have not been properly and putting a patient at ease. I try understood or listened to. to help the students to develop selfAt Plymouth University Peninsula awareness and to have confidence in their own natural abilities in Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, order to be more effective in their however, these interpersonal ‘soft interactions with patients and fellow skills’ are highly regarded and health care professionals. The field considerable emphasis is placed of Medical Humanities is rapidly on developing students’ abilities becoming recognised as a very in this area. Medical Humanities, important part of a doctor’s training which encompasses the nonand Plymouth University Peninsula clinical aspects of health care, is Schools of Medicine and Dentistry an important part of the curriculum is very much at the fore front of this and all students undertake various exciting field.” courses and workshops in this field as part of their training.

More information about Jeff’s work can be found on his website www.

Actor and Life Coach Jeff Sleeman jeffsleeman.com teaches workshops and study

Wellbeing and natural crafts

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HE THIRD Rainbow’s End Holistic Wellbeing and Natural Crafts Festival comes to the Civic Hall in Totnes on 20 and 21 May, 10am to 5pm.

More than 40 exhibitors will be taking part, including healers, therapists and readers. Among the products on sale will be crystals beautifully presented

by Dan Rox, artwork by Brenda Lambert, jewellery, Neal’s Yard products, essential oils and remedies by Heartsong.

Organiser, Sandi Clark said: “The free all-day programme will feature workshops and talks on a variety of topics, and there will be demonstrations of mediumship.

Therapists and healers will be grouped together in the hall to allow the energies to build and blend. The readers will be in a separate quiet area, and it will be possible to book your reading with your chosen reader via the bookings desk.”

Café Rainbow will be open all day serving fresh coffees, a variety of

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teas, sandwiches and cakes, The regular weekly market will be happening on Saturday in the square below the Civic Hall and on Sunday the Good Food Fair will be there.

Sandi added: “Regular visitors will know, the wellbeing and crafts festival is a great day out with lots of great therapists and healers all together in one place.

It is free to come in and there will be great food, great exhibitors and beautiful things to buy. If there is a particular therapy you are interested in, this is a fantastic opportunity to find out more.”

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TERESA WICKSTEED Sound Healing Practitioner

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WELLBEING Green Wyse skincare is now available online

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Pictured are just a few of the items in the Green Wyse range now available online.

OVERS of Green Wyse Botanical Skincare will be delighted to hear that there is now an online shop selling its complete product range.

Since it was launched in 2003 by qualified medical herbalist, Dawn Ireland, Green Wyse has built up a loyal following of people who love its ethical policy and natural, vegan products.

The range uses beneficial herb extracts and natural ingredients.

There is no animal testing and the products are created in small batches with low production costs, so cost-savings are passed on to the customer. Products contain no chemical fragrances, synthetic colours, parabens, palm oil or SLS. Until now the range has been available locally at Oats Healthy Living Store in Brixham but the new online shop means that it is easier than ever for people to try

out favourites like: Chamomile Face Cream, Calendula Hand & Body Lotion, Rosehip Night Face Balm and Natural Toothpaste.

Founder, Dawn Ireland said: “I am passionate about natural skincare and created the Green Wyse range here in Devon using natural vegan ingredients – organic wherever possible – and herbal extracts. Packaging is kept to a minimum and we use reusable glass bottles and jars, wherever possible and recyclable containers.”

To see the range of botanical skincare, visit www.greenwyse. co.uk For consultations with Dawn visit: www.torbay-herbalist.co.uk

Crowdfunding success for adventures with horses

H

ATS OFF to Adventures with Horses, which successfully raised £8,636 in just 50 days through December and January via its Crowdfunding Campaign. The money raised will go towards developing programmes for children and young people locally who are disadvantaged

or have special educational needs.

Sue Blagburn, the Founder and Director of Adventures with Horses CIC said: “At one stage getting anywhere near our target of £7500 seemed like a distant dream, however we had applied for the Santander Changemaker funding that Crowdfunder UK had available, and just three days before the end of our campaign their pledge of £3750 came through. We went on to raise 115% of our target. I’d like to say a big thank you to Crowdfunder UK and Santander Bank for believing in us and to everyone who has supported us.”

The money raised will go towards providing a safe learning environment for children and young people aged 9-25 years who are vulnerable and/or excluded and who may have special educational needs or other challenges. Adventures with Horses offers learning and growth through Equine Facilitated Learning. Sue explained: “Our work uses the naturally occurring therapeutic

Stimulating a student’s imagination Wellbeing isn’t just about the mind and body it’s also a key part of education.

Kaycee A Fordham explains how a Steiner education nurtures students, and prepares them for life.

I

N A time when the world’s future appears uncertain, none of us can predict what information our children will need to know twenty years from now, but we do know that to be successful they will need the ability to think and solve problems creatively.

Steiner education is based on an understanding that key to developing problem solving skills for the 21st century is an active imagination and a commitment to pursuing one’s purpose in life.

Intellectual flexibility, independent judgment, and moral courage

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will be essential to our children’s success as creative and responsible human beings. To nurture these characteristics, the Steiner curriculum carefully balances academic, artistic, and practical activities to stimulate the imagination and prepare the students for life. Rather than relying on rote memorisation of standardised information, Steiner education seeks to engage the whole child in the learning process.

Every subject is taught artistically, using movement, drawing, painting, music, storytelling, and rhythm. Teachers bring the material to life and endow the developing child with a lifelong sense of wonder and a joy of learning. Whether they become anthropologists, zoologists, tree-surgeons, mathematicians or musicians, or all or none of the above, the creative capacities developed through a Steiner education, give students the

opportunities that come from connecting, engaging and working with horses. We also offer professional leadership, personal development and art of horse whispering workshops and oneto-one sessions to help finance the young people programmes.”

Adventures with Horses is a Community Interest Company, which means they are not-for-profit. It offers one-to-one sessions or group programmes and can work privately, with schools, YOTs, YISPs, CAMHS, local charities and other agencies.

For further information visit: http://www. adventureswithhorses.co.uk

Class 10 students giving a cabaret performance in Pforzheim, Germany

foundation they need to be successful and adapt to changing circumstances.

Devon is lucky enough to have an established independent Steiner School, providing students aged 3 to 18 years with the opportunity to experience an ‘uncompromised and full Steiner curriculum’. That is, students at the school, including those joining their upcoming college (opening September 2017 for 16-19 year olds), will not pursue a traditional SAT / GCSE / A level programme, and will instead follow the broad Steiner curriculum which can be assessed from Class 10 (16 years) against the Steiner School Certificate framework. These young adults will, at Level 3, be

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able to apply direct to universities from this ground breaking school in Dartington, with the benefit of an extensive education across the disciplines (Humanities, Arts & Crafts and Sciences) forming a foundation for a purposeful journey into life. The school will be celebrating the ‘grand opening’ of its brand new College building on Saturday May 13 2017, as it prepares to launch its first class 11 in September.

What better gift could the adults of the future receive?

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WELLBEING Ritual of a ceremonial undertaker

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OST ritual looks baffling from the outside, a blend of make believe and gestures, but for the participant, the real workings are happening inside the head and the heart.

Contradictions are balanced, secrets and sadnesses acknowledged and let go of. When you work with death, you need to move things through or you go under, burn out. The edge which makes you care needs to be repeatedly whetted and sharpened.

We manage a natural burial ground for the Sharpham Trust, a charity whose beautiful land sits above the winding Dart just downstream from Totnes. From the burial ground one can see from HayTor to Harldon hill, out to the lighthouse on Berry Head. The sun rises out of the sea at dawn and climbs up the river. It is magnificent.

We played a big part in visioning the site, and one of our main ideas was a central firepit where families could gather to gaze into the flames. It has now been beautifully surrounded by a sculpture of iron and wood created by Robin Lacey on which the words “In my beginning is my end” are emblazoned. He traded his time for a piece of ground in which to rest his bones. Generous, wise and poignant.

Ritual involves a surprising amount of housekeeping duties, and as Claire and I are now sextons as well as undertakers, these have increased.

We feel a deep obligation to the bodies that lie in our meadow. We wait just the right amount of time until the flowers left by their families have wilted before composting them.

The Green Funeral Company’s RUPERT CALLENDER talks about ritual. The emotional anchor, the stop knot that keeps us from unravelling.

I hoe the firepit, remove the tenacious weeds, make sure there is a fragment of wood from the last fire to light the next, the charcoal holding the soul of the fire deep inside, continuity, energy contained waiting to be reawakened amongst the ash.

And before and after each funeral, I rake the soft sand that is the floor of our ceremonial shelter, a Cobb roundhouse that crowns the hill.

I sweep the sadness out, swirl patterns and simple mandalas into the dust, so as each family carry the coffin through the portal, they are treading new footprints into a sacred space.

All of us are walking an ancient path leaving just footprints. There is nothing new under the sun, except the passing, unique shadowed patterns we make as individuals.

After fifteen years of being a ceremonial undertaker, I know no more than this. Love is stronger than death, and ritual is the way we show this. Go well.

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for groups and individual practice.

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Finding the answers to those questions I ADVISE people what may be focusing on they could do not ‘when is the best time what they should do, to put your house explained psychic and on the market’ or medium, Bell Bartlett. how to best resolve a difficulty in your “It is important to life, the undertone remember that, of my readings are ultimately, the choice looking at how you is yours,” she said, can enrich your life “but it can be helpful with loving kindness to have a sense of towards yourself and the likely outcome deepen your ability of difference courses Bell Bartlett to receive the source of of action before all love into your life,” she said. committing to one particular path.”

During a tarot reading, Bell Alongside her psychic work, Bell is encourages people to ask currently studying Clean Language questions that they would like and is offering sessions on a answers to. People often want donation basis. The approach uses to know when is a good time to the specific language or phrasing act or if they should wait and do employed by clients to help them nothing. understand themselves better. Bell commented: “Even at my stage Clients choose to have a reading of practice, I am witnessing deep with Bell for all kinds of reasons, shifts in ‘old stuff’ and I am in including support with their awe of the power of working with personal and professional lives. metaphor.”

She has even had people ask her which stocks and shares to buy!

For more information about readings or Clean Language “Underlying all of the work I do coaching, call Bell on 07796 is my personal commitment to spiritual growth, so while we 900509.

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Come Home to Your Body Sexuality is central to our wellbeing.

I offer support with sexual challenges, trauma, scar ?ssue healing from birth injuries and pelvic surgery I use Soma?c Coaching, Body work and Energy work to facilitate embodied living and loving

1:1 healing sessions Workshops Individual retreats catherine@tantricawakening.org

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Women going elemental with Landmatters

WELLBEING Yoga workshops for restless minds YOGA therapist Natalie Austin offers classes and workshops in taking control of your healing and health for those who feel stressed out or frazzled, or those looking for a good night’s sleep.

IF YOU wanted to book onto Natalie Austin’s sell-out Lower Back Relief workshop in February and the Neck & Shoulder Release in March, but couldn’t, the good news is she is planning to hold another soon. Dates are to be confirmed but you can register an interest by emailing Natalie.

Other forthcoming workshops are Mindfulness, Meditation & Yoga for Busy Heads and Yoga & Meditation for Better Sleep. Natalie said: “I have created these workshops for people who find their minds are restless, who feel stressed out or frazzled and people who have difficulty relaxing.”

Natalie also holds a monthly massage clinic on the first Saturday and Sunday of every month with prices from

T

HIS year is shaping up to be a busy one at Landmatters, with a packed calendar of talks, workshops and events.

Landmatters is a rural permaculture project near Blackawton in South Devon that promotes landbased community living.

In August, community representatives from all over the world will be converging on its 42-acre site for the second annual international Community Conference.

There will be talks, workshops, experiences and advice relating to every aspect of community life, as well as music, good food and the chance to meet and share experiences with like-minded people. The conference is on August 5-6 and costs £60, which covers music, food, camping, children’s area workshops and talks.

Book online at: www.landmatters.org.uk/ communityconference If you are interested in finding out about permaculture, the Introduction to Permaculture on April 8 will cover all of the basics. There is also Introduction to Composting on May 6. Each day costs £60 or £50 if you book early. The price includes all course materials, as well as vegetarian lunch and refreshments. For details, email randymayers@yahoo.co.uk or call 07968 743242.

Always popular at Landmatters are its Wild Medicine Workshops which teach people how to harvest and prepare their own medicine chest. Throughout the summer there will be four monthly workshops, with costs ranging from £50 (waged) to £30 (unwaged), including course materials and lunch. Book for all

Land based community living

£20. She advises that places get booked up fast so early booking is recommended.

Her popular Yin Yoga class is held on Mondays at 6.30pm and Wednesdays at 10.45am at Chapel House Studios in Totnes and there is Vinyasa yoga on Thursdays at 6.30pm.

Natalie added: “The hardest part of yoga practice is finding the motivation and courage to start and getting yourself to class. If that sounds like you, here is a wee quote I like: ‘I really regret going to yoga today’ said no-one ever.”

Call Natalie on 07516720246 or email natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk For more information visit www.loveyogatree.co.uk

four and get them for the price of three.

For more information visit: kalequeenkale@ gmail.com 07952827868 The benefits of reclaiming our untamed selves are leading more of us to seek out opportunities to reconnect with nature.

Landmatters is hosting three women-only retreats called Women Going Elemental.

These weekend retreats provide nurturing experiences for women in nature, offering them the chance to take time out to reconnect with themselves, with other women and with nature. The retreats take place on June 23-25, July 7-9 and July 21-23, from Friday 6pm to Sunday 4pm.

Book before the end of May and you will save £60 off the normal price of £195.

The cost includes food and shared belltent accommodation. Visit: http://www. untamed.org.uk/women-going-elemental/ marenfreeland@gmail.com or call 07906 399990 Teaching the next generation about nature is another way that Landmatters is helping to re-establish our lost links with the natural world. Catkins is a weekly group for home educated children that helps them get a weekly dose of Vitamin N (Nature!!). http://www.untamed.org.uk/catkinschildrens-program/ And, if all that’s not enough for you, look out for the new Permaculture for Children course coming soon.

Feeling pleasure with touch

F Try something different…

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 Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling: 2 years’ professional training (taught element), accredited by the BACP and allows qualification as a counsellor.

Experience our college & learn more at our Taster Days - 25th March or 13th May For further information or to apply: 01392 219200 / enquiries@ironmill.co.uk

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EELING unsatisfied with our sex lives is often a symptom of “lack of embodiment”, according to Sexual Shamanic Healer and Sexual Empowerment Coach, Catherine Hale.

Many of her clients describe they find it hard to feel much pleasure during sex or that it has become very routine. Catherine points out: “A ‘lack of embodiment’ means not living in the body. This is common in our fast-paced, modern life with our attention pulled in different directions. The majority of people experience life from the head and can feel disconnected from their body.”

“This tendency to live from the mind rather than the body causes the genitals to go quiet and numb. Over time we may believe that the only way to stimulate them is through the mind - with fantasy/porn and we become reliant on fantasy to simulate arousal. Consequently sex becomes disembodied, detached and mechanical, or in partner engagement one partner feeling objectified. This is hardly the ideal environment for love and intimacy to flourish!”

Catherine explains that, while mindbased sex can create arousal, it’s only one of many routes to pleasure.

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Known as the indirect route to pleasure, it means that pleasure comes from outside and not through the body. The other route to pleasure is the direct route, which comes from us feeling sensations in our bodies.

She says: “When we can feel our own bodies through our own touch or the touch of another we light up the parts of the brain that say “I feel pleasure”. In doing so, we create a neural pathway between our body and the experience of pleasure, which reinforces with every use. This means that the more of our body we touch and the more we connect with our own pleasure, the more easy it becomes to feel it!!”

Learning to touch ourselves and other bodies is fundamental to our satisfaction and well-being.

Connect with me to learn more about conscious touch.

Catherine is offering anyone local to Totnes a discount of £50 on a two-hour session (down from £200 to £150). She is also offering three super discounted sessions per month of £100 for the first three people who claim them. l For more information or to book email: catherine@tantricawakening. org or visit her website www. tantricawakening.org

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WELLBEING Bees are our ancient allies

Re-defining Education

BEES are our ancient allies and have much wisdom to share with us, according to Belinda Bluebell, who runs Heart to Hive, a workshop that introduces people to the spirit of the hive.

B

elinda was Belinda suggests that inspired to anyone who feels explore Bee a connection with Shamanism more bees might benefit than 10 years ago, from spending time after reading Simon simply being around Buxton’s book The them. “That is what I Shamanic Way of the did for a long time.

Bee. She explained: I sat and hummed, “I trained with The and learned the Sacred Trust. It was different sounds the the beginning of bees make. I recently my journey to come took two women to into my power as a do the same. We Belinda Bluebell shamanic healer, as walked in silence on well as a personal a pilgrimage to my healing journey at a deep and bees. Neither of them had had any profound level.” contact with bees before, but they both had deep experiences.”

Belinda believes that natural and intuitive beekeeping is the way forward Belinda will be running a guided for bees, for us and for the planet. goddess bee pilgrimage on Sunday April 9 10am-4pm for a group of “When I observe the bees, I see up to five people for a suggested life in a microcosm - death, birth, donation of £10. Contact Belinda procreation, community, sharing, before for more details.​ doing the work that needs to be done. The difference is that bees The next Heart to Hive session is on behave in a sacred way, which I feel Sunday May 14, 10.30am-5.30pm, we have lost. They share their tasks, at Easton House, Langport, priced at and do everything to a 100% of £50 in advance. their ability. I know I don’t do that, For more details email: but I am aware my relationships bluebellinindia@gmail.com, would be better if I did.” call 077547792982 or visit: Heart to Hive uses sound, movement www.shamanicthaimassage. and meditation to take us deeper into co.uk or Facebook.com/ our senses to connect to our intuition. thaishamanicbodywork

String theory and distance healing A BEAUTIFUL room overlooking the sea is the usual environment for Teresa Wicksteed’s energy healing sessions.

But recent enquiries from overseas clients have led her to begin offering Distance Healing sessions, with some very positive results.

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T

ERESA explained: “Modern physics now supports the ancient belief that all matter consists of vibration/sound.

Physicists have found that the physical world is made up of vibrating energy: the so-called String Theory. This means that, even if a client is not physically present with me in the room, I can reach out to them using the vibrating energy field created by sound and they can experience the same healing benefits as if they were here in the therapy room with me.”

She points out that it is about having a clear, strong intention in order to carry the sound healing session to the client as s/he relaxes comfortably at home. “Unlike music therapy, sound healing uses an eclectic mix of sounds to create sound waves that impact the client physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually.”

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Clients describe experiencing a range of benefits after treatment, including the release of emotions and trauma, a change from negative to more positive thought-patterns and the elimination of physical pain. They also speak about feeling relaxed and calm, and about gaining deeper insights into challenging life situations.

“The after-effects of sound healing can extend and evolve for days after a treatment, and sometimes even for weeks or months,” said Teresa.

For more information, email: teresa@ teresawicksteed.co.uk

Riverstone, the home of Heart & Soul Funerals, is friendly and comfortable, situated on the banks of the River Dart near Austin’s Bridge at Buckfastleigh.

The hall provides sanctuary for vigils and a beautiful space for a funeral ceremony.

You are always welcome to visit us.

Traditional, individual & green funerals and plans Riverstone,18 Dart Mills, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0NF

www.heartandsoulfunerals.co.uk

01364 643522 (24 hour service 7 days a week)

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The Sea Light at Dawlish.

WELLBEING

School explores consent and touch

R

ELAXED emotional intimacy is at the core of what makes our lives meaningful and our relationships loving, passionate, and stable, according to Sea Light, Dawlish.

Currently being transformed into a community venue for Sea School of Embodiment workshops and training, Consensual Life training and Eye of Sound live performances. As part of its busy programme, Sea Light hosts regular Cuddle Parties. These evening events allow adults to experience the positive benefits of non-sexual touch, including hugs and back rubs.

Katie Sarra explained: “If we are touched in ways we don’t want, it can lead to us feeling and wanting less as our nervous systems close down to protect us. This may produce a loss of libido or difficulty making decisions. Cuddle parties help people to reconnect to the nurturing power of touch. They are gently guided by a trained facilitator and

Eye Of Sound with Adam Westcott and Katie Sarra

help participants to communicate clear boundaries and make respectful requests. The next one takes place on Saturday April 30.

“Attendees have frequently asked for the chance to spend longer exploring consent and touch. In response to this, we have created the Consensual Touch weekend, the first of which takes place from April 29-30. The Consensual Touch workshop is built on, incorporates (and also designed with) Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent. It will provide a tender and relaxing way to learn to feel more and trust again. When we receive touch that feels good, we imprint this with our bodies. We can then apply this to other arenas of our lives, enhancing relationships, creativity, decision-making and confidence.”

The Sea Light hosted the third international UK & Ireland 2017 Certificate in Sexological Bodywork at the end of March. This intensive 14-day training programme attracted 36 students and four teaching staff from as far afield as Australia and the USA and Europe, who came to learn and teach. In the same month, the centre hosted “Galactic”, its first Eye of Sound performance with Adam Westcott and Katie Sarra. One observer said: “Besides witnessing the births of my two daughters, this is the most beautiful act of creation I’ve seen.”

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iessaiah.com 40

Eye of Sound is an intimate community experience for a maximum of 20 people. The next one takes place in May – booking essential. The centre also recently hosted a moving performance by Tarte Noire women’s playback theatre.

Kian De La Cour, who is Chair and

co-founder of The Association of Somatic and Integrative Sexologists and a founder of Sea Light, said: “We’ve been renovating and developing our Dawlish Venetian palace over the last year. We are on schedule to complete our renovations this month, so we can shine our light brightly as a beacon in Dawlish for community experiences like Eye of Sound and Tarte Noire playback theatre, musical evenings, training in consent and embodiment and a place where people can buy works of art to bring beauty and nature into their homes. Katie Sarra has a new selection of prints available in different sizes printed on board for immediate hanging without the need to frame.”

For more information about the gallery and the programme of performances, workshops and events, visit www.thesea.co

First conference planned for Iron Mill

C ‘

ONNECTING Through Creativity: Facilitating relationship, healing and wellbeing in the therapeutic and helping professions’ is the name of the first annual conference hosted by Iron Mill College in Exeter.

The one-day conference on Saturday July 8 will include guest speakers Dr. Margot Sunderland, Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health London, and Karen Huckvale, Co-Director of independent Arts & Health training provider, Insider Art. Iron Mill College Principal, Rose Bedford commented: “This is another first for the college in 36 years of innovation. We will be bringing together mental health and wellbeing professionals to explore ideas for creative and innovative

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working. The aim is to refresh our skills and practice. We are delighted that Dr Margot Sunderland and Karen Huckvale will be leading some sessions, and we will also be hosting a range of seminars, workshops and networking opportunities.”

The conference is aimed at all those working or training in helping professions, such as: counsellors, psychotherapists, counselling psychologists, clinical psychologists, supervisors, education professionals, mental health and learning disability services, CAMHS practitioners, health and social care professionals, social services and family centres and others.

For more information visit www. ironmill.co.uk or telephone 01392 219200. enquiries@ironmill.co.uk.

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WELLBEING Inspired to help others to change

A

URA Mediator, Sarah Jennings was extraordinarily inspired to help others by the experience of being helped herself. She describes being stuck in an exhausting cycle of self-repair before she encountered AuraTransformation, the process that changed her life: “I had a career and a beautiful daughter, I was working hard and, on the face of things, I had a good life,” explained Sarah.

“Yet, I was profoundly unhappy and full of nagging doubts and negative self-talk. I tried to resolve things myself, but I found I had to do a lot of work every day just to stand still. It felt like something was broken. I was leaking energy and could not stop it. Then I heard about AuraTransformation and something clicked.”

Sarah describes AuraTransformation as being like “a radical upgrade for the body’s operating system”.

She explained: “Our bodies, minds, and consciousness have endured phenomenal change in recent decades. The pace of technology, work, even our leisure time has increased and become more demanding. No wonder so many people feel close to overload.

AuraTransformation is a pragmatic, grounded approach to ourselves and to our energy. The aura is the collected energy of our life’s experience. It is also something we can repair and bring into line with the new energies we encounter in modern living – this is exactly what Aura Transformation does.”

After experiencing AuraTransformation herself, Sarah said she felt clearer and more certain of her life’s purpose. “I also found myself free of the mental chatter and negativity that had plagued me for so long. Over the next year I became brighter, more radiant, and really clear about my direction. It really felt like every cell in my body was transformed.”

Sarah believes that AuraTransformation gives people

C afe

C o p ywr iter

Saturday April 22 10am - 5pm

Totnes (venue tbc)

WRITING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA the perspective and heart space to release harmful patterns and beliefs. “The year after I had AuraTransformation, many old wounds reopened yet, despite this, it was the best year of my life!

Rather than being haunted by these troubles I felt ready to face them.

The traumas and memories arose so that they could be washed away.

There were tears of relief in letting go and I was then able to work towards doing what I loved.”

A complete AuraTransformation treatment lasts four and a half hours.

The first session is three hours during which the client lies down while the mediator holds their ankles and talks through whatever issues come up, as well as dissolve the old aura, and integrates the new aura. Clients then come back for a Balancing session at least 2 days later, or up to 2 months later, which lasts a further one to one and a half hours.

Sarah said: “If you feel stuck in a rut or depressed, if you find you are reliving old hurts or are plagued by doubts and negative self-talk, you may be living with ‘old software’.

Another classic symptom is appearing to cope well with modern life but not being able to connect with a feeling of happiness. Since I had AuraTransformation, I still face challenges in my life but I now relish them and use them to grow stronger and more open. Feeling so consistently grounded and balanced is such a gift.”

To find out more about AuraTransformation visit: www.withsarahj.com Email: daretobe@withsarahj.com or call 07812571141

a workshop from The Cafe Copywriter

An introduction to the essentials of writing for social media with experienced commercial writer, Kate Philbin & social media enabler and entrepreneur Katie Whitehouse.

You will learn: What makes a great social media campaign How to write clear, concise, compelling copy How to write a brilliant blog How to write for Facebook, Twitter & Linked In

• • • •

Cost: £75 (£65 if booked before Mar 31st) Book online: cafecopywriter.bigcartel.com

or Call: Kate 07970 107123 or Katie 07832 200980 Email: kate@katephilbin.com katie@fromthewhitehouse.com facebook.com/cafecopywriter

twitter.com/cafecopywriter

#cafecopywriter

Somatic Movement Education in Body-mind Centering® Exploring the dynamic relationship between body and mind Individual Lessons, workshops and courses in Body-mind Centering® with Rosalyn Maynard MA BMCA. Rosalyn is certified by the School for Body-mind Centering®. She has been practising and teaching somatics for over twenty years.

www.tsoel.org.uk | rosalynjmaynard@gmail.com | 07966 403 574

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Visit us at www.reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING

Copy clinic: No more truffle hunting

O

EXERCISE, MEDITATE, TRANSFORM A New Kind of Exercise Class now on Tuesday nights from 7-8.30pm The Courtenay Centre – Newton Abbot. £10 per class.

(or book Higher Brain Living* Sessions before/after the classes).

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NE of the things that often strikes me when I’m editing the articles that our lovely contributors send in is how good people are at burying their message in amongst peripheral detail.

Sometimes I liken my role to that of a pig on a truffle hunt. I know the truffle is there – I can smell it – but sometimes it takes a bit of digging to root it out.

All of which is fine because I have a good snout for truffles, but the danger for you is that I won’t find the truffle you intended me to find.

Okay, I’ll stop with the truffle hunting metaphor now and get straight to the point.

Editors, features editors, wellbeing editors are busy people (who isn’t?) and some of them may not always be as patient as me [Scott, why are you laughing?] in teasing out the story. The last thing you want to do is to make them hunt for the gold in your article because they might give up before they find it.

So, rule number one is always put the most important part of your story in the first couple of paragraphs. If you’re not sure what the most important part is, stand in the editor’s shoes. What will s/he be interested in? What sort of stuff is the magazine full of? What do you really want your potential clients to know?

It might be a new class, a new service, an award, something very topical or seasonal, a fantastic breakthrough with a client…

Whatever it is, say it first.

Write simply. Google “Plain English” for some great writing guidelines. Your writing doesn’t have to be clever but it does have to be clear. And – you’d be amazed how often this gets forgotten –

Barnfield Hill Therapy Rooms

remember to include all of the relevant details, such as your name, your website, the date, time and venue of any event, cost, how to book etc.

So, now you’ve all read this, there will be no more truffle hunting for me, which means I can lie in my sty all day with my snout in the trough.

Excellent.

Café Copywriter runs copywriting workshops. The next one is Writing for Social Media on April 22.

Kate also offers copywriting and one-to-one mentoring. Visit www. cafecopywriter.com or call 07970 107123

2017 Events Aug 5/6 The Community Conference April 8 Introduction to Permaculture May 6 Introduction to Composting

New therapy rooms for rent Light and airy rooms with own waiting room. Flexible hours and low rates for counsellors and therapists

Wild Medicine Workshops June 10 Flower Essences and working with Plant Spirits July 8 Herbal Oil Infusions and Healing Balms August 19 Tinctures, Decoctions and drying Herbs and Roots September 9 Syrups and Honey Elixirs

Central Exeter location

Women Going Elemental Retreats June 23-25, July 7-9, July 21-23

Contact: Julie McNichol

Plus Catkins - a weekly group for home educated children

01392 256711 4 Barnfield Hill, Exeter, EX1 1SR

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Welcome to the copy clinic. In this series of short articles our Wellbeing Editor, Kate Philbin, aka The Café Copywriter, will be sharing some tips and advice on how businesses and sole traders can get their message across more effectively. This issue she is looking at how to write an article…

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

For more info on Landmatters check www.landmatters.org.uk

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

The Bowen Technique Arcturus Clinic, Totnes Home Visits AMANDA MORRIS

Recover our place in nature

M

OST of us live our lives at a frantic, jarring pace.

We have lost our sense of belonging and our connection to the natural world. Over time this can leave us feeling exhausted, drained, burned out…

Brad Richecoeur and Daverick Leggett are on a mission to help us to recover our place in nature and to restore a sense of calmness to our hectic, busy lives. They founded the Holy Brook Meadows summer camps to give people the chance to step off the non-stop roundabout of their lives and experience the restorative peace of being out on the wild moors.

Daverick said: “Slowing right down and rediscovering our place in nature helps to re-energise our tired bodies and minds. Holy Brook Meadows is a truly magical location in the heart of Dartmoor. When we founded these camps more than two decades ago, Brad and I shared a vision that bringing people together in a heartful community, living close to nature and engaging in soulful practices like singing or meditation would provide the perfect ingredients for deep and lasting healing. Over the years, we have been proved right and people have experienced fantastic transformations on the camps.”

Brad added: “Each camp offers a unique holiday experience. You could find yourself singing your heart out, learning the graceful art of Qigong or sitting deep in Buddhist meditation, all against

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amanda@amandamorris.co.uk www.amandamorris.co.uk

the backdrop of ancient forest and accompanied by the soft sounds of a moorland stream.”

The camp attracts people of all ages from across the UK and Europe. Children are also welcome, with a range of exciting play and creative activities facilitated by an experienced team of volunteers.

Brad points out that not only do the camps provide a healing retreat for individuals, but they are also kinder to the environment. “We offer a low-carbon alternative to the energyintensive rush to hotter climes that is 93 x 132 many people’s idea of a holiday,” he said. “But, if you think this means some kind of hairshirt deprivation for a week you should check out our carpeted yurts and riverside sauna!”

A video and more information about the camps is available at www.qigong-southwest.co.uk and www.riseupsinging.co.uk

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Counselling & Psychotherapy.

FOR TALKING THERAPIES AND HOLISTIC HEALTH

www.thepracticerooms.co.uk 15 - 16 Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PT

S e aL i g h tDAWLISH Op e n i n gt h eS e n s e sGa l l e r y Leading-Edge, International Trainings in embodiment and consent.

Consensual Touch™ Weekend 29th-30th April with Kian de la Cour CSB & Katie Sarra CSB

Cuddle Party™ Sunday April 30th 5:30-9pm Trauma Training for Bodywork Professionals '

'I didn't know how to feel so I learnt how to touch' Jul 20th – 23rd with Caffyn Jess CSB & Katie Sarra CSB

Quodoushka Levels 1 & 2! Aug 22nd -30th With Rose ThunderEagle Fink & Batty ThunderBear Gold Essential maps to guide relationships to heal separation.

Foundations of the Somatica Method of Sex and Relationship Coaching Oct 13th -15th with Celeste & Danielle authors of 'Making Love Real'.

www.seaschoolofembodiment.com

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WELLBEING The Facilitator’s Path Holding Space, Making Change 2016: Part One TOVE ERIKSSON the co-creator of the first Holding Space, Making Change training for Catalyst Alumni at Embercombe, shares how she realised this vision.

Under a catalyst sky at Embercombe.

2

   

016 was a year that many of us were happy bit of magic in our to leave behind. We otherwise not always saw reproductive so magical world. rights being Needless to say, I challenged, refugees wanted to return, and being met with a in September found glaring absence of myself as a Back support from our Row (the Alumni who governments and the support the Catalyst election of a man Course) of the next who models so much cohort, and in the of what many of us subsequent Catalyst. spend our lives trying I was responsible for to dismantle. holding the group of Tove Eriksson But in times like these, Back Rowers. we need to support and strengthen Through this period, I began to each other, and constantly find new realise what an immense learning ways to create the change we want opportunity this was. A way to really to see in the world. walk the twin trail of leadership As a contribution to this, I created the one of the foundations of Catalyst facilitation training The Facilitator’s - holding and growing ourselves at Path: Holding Space, Making the same time as we make things Change together with the Catalyst happen in the world. facilitators Ben and Kanada last summer. As we reach the end of As I was growing, I was also this programme, I would like to take frustrated at the lack of space to the opportunity to share reflections, really go into what was happening. insights and cast a glance forward to I found myself asking what are Ben the rest of 2017. and Kanada doing and why is it working? How can I handle this The story of how I got to meet trigger coming up for me, when Embercombe starts in July 2014, conflicts arise in groups? How can I when I arrived to the valley of learn more about being present with Embercombe from Glastonbury groups and share tools with others?

Festival. I also arrived from 24 Why does this work matter? Perhaps years in life, 3 years at University a better way for frustrated is to say and 2 years out in the ‘real world’ that I was eager for more. Ben and feeling slightly lost. One week after Kanada had for a long time held arriving on the Catalyst programme (a programme in authentic leadership the vision of a facilitation training for Catalyst Alumni, and with my for young people aged 18-25), I newborn energy for facilitation and had made some key decisions in social change we started planning. life, felt overjoyed by spending time with a group, and was highly This energy and the accumulation of inspired by Ben and Kanada’s my questions led to the creation of beautiful facilitation. Something I the Facilitator’s Path: Holding Space, Making Change 2016… have later come to describe as a little Find out what happened with ‘The Facilitator’s Path’, and what people said about it, in the next issue of Re-connect!

Embercombe offers programmes built on naturebased and indigenous wisdom including The Journey and Catalyst that seek to help us awaken as authentic leaders. Visit Embercombe.org.

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l Tove Eriksson has been active within social change, particularly gender equality, since her early teens, and is currently a scholar at the International Masters in Adult Education for Social Change. Visit about.me/toveeriksson.

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WELLBEING Sweeping away the blocks to growth

A

A chance to Manifest connectiveness

F

OR over twenty years men and their sons, and young men in the company of older adult friends or mentors, have gathered to camp in the wilds of Dartmoor.

Spending four nights and days, doing the things that have meaning for them, and with a freedom to participate as much or as little as they want, or need to.

Last year’s Manifest was a success at the cracking new site at Dunnabridge Farm on Dartmoor, between Badgers Holt and Two Bridges.

The new site created a fresh energy around Manifest and a few of the original Manifesters came back last year, and intend to do the same this year. Organisers hope that many who have been before, will also return in 2017.

The camp generally takes place in the half-term week of the Summer term, and this year it will take place from Wednesday May 31 to Sunday June 4.

But it’s not just for those who already have experienced the camp. For the new and the curious, maybe this is the year to check it out for themselves?

What’s unique about the camp is that nothing is decided until the first morning, when everyone gathers to find out about each other, and to put ideas, wishes and offerings into the melting pot; the camp is shaped around the fire, where Manifesters cook, eat, listen and laugh together.

Some may be put off by the idea

that it sounds a bit ‘wild’?! Well, it’s true, there is no portaloo, and cooking is over the fire, but it’s not a rough camp; it’cafe s safe and fun, whilst also offering the space for a bit of the wild warrior within to emerge.

Activities in the past have been many and varied, from sharing spaces, woodcarving, archery, dancing, qi-gong, storytelling, capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, ceremony, walking, swimming, sitting around the fire, blacksmithing, making a fire sculpture, singing, wild art, and watching the sunrise and set.

Committee member Lloyd Skett (who, impressively has been at Manifest around twenty times), said: “Manifest is a place to slip out from under the yoke of everyday responsibilities for a precious few days. To roll your shoulders around, take some long deep breaths and let the eyes brighten. In the company of earth and sky, we can rediscover and build our connection with ourselves, our sons and other men.

This is a place to salve our wounds, rest and reinvigorate our creativity and inspiration for this life. This is a place to enjoy and celebrate being alive with our brothers.”

If you’re interested in coming to this year’s camp or would like to find out more please contact either Jason Burns (jaybee9933@gmail.com / 07886 353504) or Lloyd Skett (lloydlove21@hotmail.com / 07591 452716) or checkout the Facebook page Manifest Southwest, to look at the photos from Manifest 2016.

S WE come into Spring, we start to shake off the integrative, inwardlooking energy of winter and experience an urge to manifest, create and grow, according to energy healer, Iessaiah.

“This is the time of year when nature is starting the process of germination and new growth and, consciously or unconsciously, we are subject to the same forces. It is the ideal time to create a new vision for ourselves and start to manifest our desires.

However, there can be a part of us that is resistant to this urge to move forwards. I can support the process of transformation by helping to release anything that is inhibiting us or holding us back.”

Iessaiah works in a gentle, intuitive way. She is trained in a wide range of different processes including: integrated energy healing; advanced therapeutic bodywork and massage; soul midwifery; family constellation facilitation; channelling and ecstatic awakening dance. She also calls on her own life experience and intuitive healing abilities.

Iessaiah works face-to-face with clients and also remotely via Skype. One client from the USA commented, after receiving a series

of sessions: “I can now see what holds me back from clarity and divine union.”

Another said: “I would like to share my joy at meeting this gentle, loving, wonderful powerful healer that is Iessaiah. Each and every session I have had has been profound and the catalyst to the healing change and purge that I needed.”

Iessaiah practices from The Arcturus Centre in Totnes and Exeter Natural Health Centre. For Reconnect readers, she is offering an exclusive 30% discount on the first session on presentation of this issue. l For more information: call 07568 504347 or email info@iessaiah.com www.iessaiah.com

Living with illness and loss retreat A meditation retreat for those currently living with illness or bereavement

Cost £245

26 - 31 August 2017

Financial assistance options available

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

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

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BOWEN THERAPY

classifiedads - HAVE A BROWSE THROUGH THE RECONNECT SMALL ADS -

CAROLINE JONES practices this light touch reprogramming therapy at Natures Larder in Ivybridge Call for appointment on 01752 894197 or pop in the shop.

unwanted energies.

Based Totnes Natural Health Centre/ Plymouth Natural Health and Healing Centre. Distant healings also. Raquel,shantiom@ hotmail.co.uk 07815650204

and Soul. Central Exeter, Totnes and Plymouth. www. davidoxleycounselling. co.uk, 07876051093.

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

FOR ADVERTISERS... an affordable way to get your message across.

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

THE DEADLINE... for the June/July issue is May 1. Call Scott on 01392 346342 or email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk.

SINGING

COUNSELLING

CREATIVE counsellor.

Heartful, Supportive Counselling, Creative Exercises including Art, Sandplay etc.

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

SATURDAYS

WORKING as a GP in Plymouth I have a solid medical background, but my passion is highly individualised sessions of Energy Healing, for physical, emotional and spiritual health. I offer this with the use of herbs if appropriate. If you are interested please email me on agniescalkoen@ googlemail.com or 07816 217135 (text message only)

EMERGENCE: Somatic Therapy and Creativity Coaching for Women: Freedom from trauma, neuroscience and mindfulness based.

Personal Story work for all. Agata Krajewska ATH 07795002816 www. yournaturalpresence. com

GRIEF SUPPORT

GRIEVING and want relief? Supportive sessions BY DONATION @ Bowden House, Totnes with counsellor/ author, Carmella B’Hahn. carmella@ heartofrelating.com 01803 867005 www. heartofrelating.com

PSYCHOTHERAPY

ENERGY HEALING

VORTEXHEALING ® Divine Energy Healing / Reiki Experienced healer. Relaxation; body’s energetic system; emotional/ karmic issues;

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SING WITH CONFIDENCE Discover greater power and richness in your voice so you can become a strong and confident singer.

With Voice Coach Selena Mara, www. comealivesinging.com, Tel: 07904-218461

TREE CARE JAY RAMSAY MA: Oxon, UKCP. 20+ years experience with individuals and couples, Psychosynthesis-trained, now working in Totnes: www.jayramsay.co.uk 07752-719331

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

WORKSHOPS&COURSES

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

Psychosynthesis and Core Process. Working with Relationship, Depth, Integrity

REFLEXOLOGY

YOU NEXT? YOU could advertise here for just 90p a word - a minimum of 20 words. And you can have a free picture too, while space allows. Call Scott on 01392 346342 for more details.

April FRI 7 Stone Lane Gardens Chat with the garden manager and the volunteer team at the garden and sculpture exhibition from 10am.

Paul.bartlett@ stonelanegardens.com www.stonelanegardens. com 01647 231311

SAT 15 BODY ACCEPTANCE Workshop in Totnes 10am-1pm Email dinah. gibbons@yahoo.co.uk.

TOMMMY HUTCHINSON BSc (Hons) Forestry, ND Arboriculture, NPTC Qualified. Sensitive, professional tree care.

Free consultation. Call: 07837486388 Email: universaltreecare@ outlook.com

YOGA RELAX, cleanse, balance, full-hour, discount for course of 3 treatments, SPECIAL rate on Monday’s £25, 07522344291 - based Totnes Natural Health Centre - nicolasuzanne@ hotmail.co.uk

MOVEMENT MEDICINE open classes with Ailsa Lucas. Monthly Saturday mornings in Totnes / Dartington and Plymouth. Find out more at www.movement medicineassociation.org. ailsa.clare.lucas@gmail. com, 01803 849039, 07999 486059.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

FRI 2 - SUN 4 THE LEAFU WEEKEND Learn all about Leafu on a weekend camp.

Beautiful peaceful valley.

Fully catered. www. leafcycle.co.uk

FRI 23 CRAFT FESTIVAL Holistic Wellbeing and Natural Crafts Festival at Kennaway House, Sidmouth. Free admission.

THE BIG PAINTING CHALLENGE Feeling inspired?

Art course with Angie Seaway, Exmouth Thursdays, starting June 8 1-3pm 6 weeks, only £65 Email angieseaway13@ gmail.com or call 07971032927

MIXED MEDIA COURSE

may

Come and have a go!

Suitable for all!

Starting June 7 and June 9. Wednesdays 7-9pm, Fridays 2-4 pm, 8 weeks, only £85. Email angieseaway13@ gmail.com or call 07971032927

SAT 20 - SUN 21

YOUR EVENT

SAT 15 BALANCED VIEW Open Intelligence Training and walk on Dartmoor Discover peace and stability regardless of circumstances.

CRAFT FESTIVAL Holistic Wellbeing and Natural Crafts Festival at the Civic Hall Totnes. Free admission.

1-to-1 gentle Yoga and deep relaxation.

Affordable rates.

Specialising in spinal/ joint issues, gently getting you back into alignment. Many years experience. Paula Victoria 0797 4444 778

June

ADVERTISE your event here for just 90p a word!

To find out more, call Scott on 01392 346342 or email adverts@ reconnectonline.co.uk.

£18.00 Small ads with BIG impact!

You can advertise in this classified section for as little

as £18 (therapists also get a free picture, while space allows - first come, first served). Call Scott now on 01392 346342 or email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

T HE N AUTILUS R OOMS

EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, COURSES AT THE NAUTILUS ROOMS 22nd March 7.30pm

Crystal Sound Bath • Scott Grant

Email: interdimensionalhealing@yahoo.co.uk Call: 07723 313005 Visit: www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk

April - starting

The Work of Byron Katie • Sylvia Karathanos A supportive and small group to learn and practice the work of Byron Katie (Fortnightly on Sunday evenings 7-9.30pm) email: skarathanos@phonecoop.coop Call: 01803 868379 Visit: www.thework.com

5th April 7.30pm

Crystal Sound Bath • Scott Grant

Email: interdimensionalhealing@yahoo.co.uk Call: 07723 313005 Visit: www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk

19th April 7.30pm

Crystal Sound Bath • Scott Grant

Email: interdimensionalhealing@yahoo.co.uk Call: 07723 313005 Visit: www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk

April Date tbc

Treat Each Other Massage Workshops • Anna Karthauser Seated massage workshop

Ruth and Peter Baker founders of the Nautilus Rooms, had a vision of creating a peaceful, nurturing space in the heart of Totnes for use by counsellors, psychotherapists and coaches. The result is The Nautilus Rooms which is going from strength to strength.

Ruth said: “We have attracted many highly-qualified therapists who offer a wide range of different treatments.

We have practitioners who work with children, young adults, adults and older people and specialists in working with families and couples.

We offer a range of mind-based therapies, including counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, hypnotherapy and coaching.

Alongside these, we have fantastic massage therapists, Craniosacral, Bowen, Ayurvedic and Shamanic Healing practitioners.

Mark Wri

ght Contemp lative psy chothera Exeter an py d Totnes watermar ktherapy. net 07799 22 6989

If you would like an individual Yoga or Pilates session or to get together with some friends for a bespoke session please contact us to discuss it.”

There is a regular programme of events which includes: Scott Grants wonderful Crystal Sound Healing workshops. Sylvia Karathanos the Work of Byron Katie specialist has two upcoming workshops: On the 20th May, Developing SelfCompassion and on the 17th and 18th June, Effortless Living: Using a Mindfulness Based Approach.

Anna Karthauser, a holistic massage therapist, runs ‘Treat Each Other’ massage workshops for nontherapists. She said: “Giving and receiving massage builds trust, confidence and social relationships, it is a great thing for people to learn.”

Mark Wright has ’30 years experience tending to the soul’. He is a Contemplative Psychotherapist whose approach emphasises bringing the healing and integrating power of our subtle awareness to our minds, hearts and bodies.

For more information go to his website www.watermarktherapy.net .

Fellow psychotherapist, Julie Best Clark completed an intensive six-year masters degree course in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy at the Minster Centre in London. She uses a variety of therapeutic models, such as relational therapy, psychodynamic, attachment theory, person-centred and neuroscience, depending on the individual’s need. Julie has experience of working in a children’s centre, with children and women who have experienced domestic abuse and in the NHS and in private practice.

The Nautilus Rooms host the Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists South West courses.

A programme of introductory and advanced courses are available. Look out for the popular Introduction to Integrative Sandplay training course – aimed at therapists, counsellors and psychotherapists and others - is an interesting and intensive two-day introduction to becoming a sandplay therapist. Contact Ruth Baker for information.

For more information visit: http:// nautilusrooms.uk

Empowering and fun workshops offering effective and straight forward massage techniques to enable people to help treat one another. Tailored to your couple or group Email: anna@karthauser.co.uk Call: 07912 612462

May Dates tbc Weds eves 7.30pm Crystal Sound Bath • Scott Grant

Email: interdimensionalhealing@yahoo.co.uk Call: 07723 313005 Visit: www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk

May Date tbc

Treat Each Other Massage Workshops Anna Karthauser Seated massage workshop Empowering and fun workshops offering effective and straight forward massage techniques to enable people to help treat one another. Tailored to your couple or group Email: anna@karthauser.co.uk Call: 07912 612462 Visit: www.annakarthausermassage.co.uk Visit: facebook.com/ Anna Karthauser Massage

June 17th and 18th June

Effortless Living : Using a Mindfulness Based Approach based on The Work of Byron Katie Sylvia Karathanos Email: skarathanos@phonecoop.coop Call: 01803 868379

September 2017 :

Certificate in Integrative Sandplay Therapy facilitated by John Daly Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com Call: 07736 334454 Visit: www.sandplaytherapy.co.uk

REGULAR GROUPS & EVENTS

Introduction to Integrative Sandplay Therapy Ruth Baker - Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

A 2 day course to get you started Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com Call: 07736 334454 Visit: www.sandplaytherapy.co.uk

Introduction to Integrative Therapeutic Art Ruth Baker - Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

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

A 1 day course Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com Call: 07736 334454 Visit: www.sandplaytherapy.co.uk

Waking Women Katheryn Hope - a group to support women in awakening their potential Call: 01647 441235

Resonance Repatterning Katheryn Hope Call: 01647 441235

Creative Therapy Group Using Sand and Art Fortnightly group.

For more information please contact Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com.

Call: 07736 334454

Journeying the Labyrinth Lisa Garvey Williams Email: lisa@lisagarveywilliams.com Call: 07879 405925 Visit: www.lisagarveywilliams.com