Reconnect 49

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon JUNE/JULY 17 ISSUE 49

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

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letting it grow locally All that our bountiful earth has to offer

SEEKING devon on earth Finding schemes that can reconnect

rewilding our children

A slice of festival life

Encouraging wellbeing at all ages

and other ways to enrich your spirit

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pages revering our rich red earth and inspirational ideas for the summer - 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.

Please call on 01392 422555 for more details.

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

MORE EXETER NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE PRACTITIONERS MO MORRISH RSHOM Homeopathic medicine www.thehomoeopathic practice.co.uk Authentic Ceremonies www.authenticceremonies. co.uk ANNA PARIS Ac.M.MBAC Traditional acupuncture, Toyohari 5 element & Manaka styles E: amparis1@btinternet.com SARAH HENDERSON Remedial and Therapeutic Massage Therapist APNT Dip, BCMA reg, www.renewmassages.co.uk TANYA DESFONTAINES Craniosacral Therapy T: 07971 913002 E: Tanya@fifthworldcranial. co.uk LISA TATE Sports, remedial & pregnancy massage. Myofascial release T: 07561 519344 E: lisa@lisatatetherapies.co.uk

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Starts at only £50 per month for unlimited ad hoc hours!

THE DEVON SCHOOL OF REFLEXOLOGY

Contact: Samantha Goddard, Principal 07870 167701 • info@devonschoolofreiki.co.uk www.devonschoolofreiki.co.uk www.reikirascals.com

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 REWILD YOUR CHILD 26 WILD CATS RETURN 28

COVERSTORy...

IT'SWHAT WE'REABOUT

Broughttoyou by...

INTHISISSUE...

OFF-GRID

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Low impact festivals EDITOR Scott Williams

GOING OUT 11

Our own what’s on guide

GARDENING TIPS 14 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Williams

WELLBEING EDITOR Kate Philbin

Healthy soil, and plants

NATURAL FOOD 17 Waste reducing

COMMUNITY HOMES 21 Get involved

FRACK FREE DEVON 24 Stopping a real threat

COUNSELLOR WRITER Leigh Smith

CULTIVATE GOOD SOIL 25

With Laura Lengnick

Inner landscapes page 31

Kid power - page 10

At school and play

A schoolboy’s dream

WAYS WITH WORDS 29

Dartington’s own Lit Fest

NB: NEW NUMBERS!

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

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

Please take one

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Being the change

WELLBEING PAGES 31

Our holistic health guide letting it grow locally All that our bountiful earth has to offer

SEEKING devon on earth Finding schemes that can reconnect

Events at Sharpham

Reconnect’s small ads

TECHNICAL AIDE Zelah Williams

JUNE/JULY 17 ISSUE 49

FORGING NEW LINKS 30

CLASSIFIED ADS 46

WEBSITE EDITORS www.doetsdesign.com

Scott x

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon

SUMMER HAPPENINGS 45

FEATURES WRITER Jon Stein

FOOD WRITER Jane Hutton

WELCOME...

...to the June/July issue. My favourite time of year because it’s festival season. This issue has a slight tie in to Glastonbury Festival with founder Michael Eavis and his affordable housing he’s providing in a rural setting on page 22. I’ll also be strolling around his Greenfields this year and will bring you a full report on all things permaculture, green and healing in a future issue.

However it’s this issue I should be talking about.

The main theme has grown into one of earth and soil, farming and growing sustainably, with features on low impact festivals, permaculture, smallholdings, community farms, produce, transition homes, and the dangers of fracking. I’ve also added a section specially about children. Don’t worry, I’m not changing the formula here, the magazine hopefully still will be just as interesting and still has plenty for you to feel good about.

There’s a reason to party next issue - it sees Reconnect reach it’s 50th milestone, a definite cause for our gold anniversary edition celebration.

Enjoy the summertime and please do get in touch soon if you’d like to be in our next issue.

rewilding our children Encouraging wellbeing at all ages

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A slice of festival life and other ways to enrich your spirit

pages revering our rich red earth and inspirational ideas for the summer - powered by people!

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COVER IMAGES Main pic by Samjana (www. samjhanamoon. com). Below that from left; Down the side pics, from top: children play on Earth Wrights (www. earthwrights.co.uk); goats at Bath City Community Farm; and low impace fun at Exeter’s Off Grid Festival (www.offgrid-festival.co.uk).

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AUG/SEPT issue out end of July - next advert deadline July 1 THESMALL PRINT...

PUBLISHED BY Reconnect Magazine, 18 Millin Way, Dawlish Warren EX7 0EP PRINTED BY Kingfisher Print, Wills Rd, Totnes www.kingfisherprint.co.uk WEBSITE Visit our website at www.reconnectonline.co.uk.

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

It is printed using vegetable-based inks and biodegradable fount solution. The paper is 50 per cent post-consumer waste and 50 per cent virgin fibre (from a sustainable source), chlorine-free and FSC Certified (www.fsc-uk.org). All by-products of the production and printing processes are recycled.

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COPYRIGHT © Reconnect Magazine.

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

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Business for sale READERS will be familiar with Totnes Wholefoods (previously known as Sacks Two). Owner David Saunderson is currently selling the business as a going concern. David’s keen to move on to new things, and he says: “The shop has great potential but is in need of TLC, and so there’s no cost for what could be a great potential community interest.” The owner will give guidance, or even offer a try before you buy option. For more information contact David Saunderson on 01803840667, or 07971843723 or email david.saunderson@gmail. com and details can be found on Rightmove.

250 milestone

DAME Hannah Rogers Trust is 250 years old this year. To mark this milestone they’ve launched the Hannahs Big 250 fundraising campaign.

Founded in 1767 following a £10,000 legacy left by Dame Hannah Rogers, the wife of a Plymouth MP, for “the poor and unfortunate children of Plymouth”, today the Trust works from two sites in Ivybridge and Seale-Hayne and that legacy has helped hundreds of thousands of children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities over the years.

My world has exploded a little bit

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new play that did brilliantly at the Edinburgh Fringe last year will be coming to Exeter’s The Bike Shed running for a week from June 13. The subject matter of My World Has Exploded A Little Bit is a darkly comic account of writer Bella Heesom’s personal journey through grief following the deaths of her parents.

Her play challenges the taboo around death, and The Bike Shed will be hosting a Death Cafe at the theatre alongside the production.

Part true story, part farcical performance lecture, the show mixes tender intimacy, live music, philosophy and clownish silliness. Heesom, whose mum, Yasmin, lived in Devon (Buckfastleigh), bravely lays herself bare while presenting an increasingly absurd ‘Logical, Philosophical Guide to Managing Mortality’. She is joined onstage by Eva Alexander, who plays her hapless assistant; a mischievous, clown-like character who ineptly demonstrates the awkward, sometimes comical realities of patient care, and sings inappropriate songs about brain tumours. The show’s multimedia design is by Elizabeth Harper, featuring projected text and dreamlike sketches, and is supported by an enchanting live piano score composed by Anna O’Grady.

“I can’t wait to come back to Devon, and share my story with the people there,” Heesom told Reconnect. “It’s such a warm, welcoming part of the country, with its own vibrant creative character, so I’m excited to see the response we get to the show.”

The theme continues when Jack Rooke’s show Good Grief, which celebrates lost loved ones and finding happiness after tragedy, also comes to The Bike Shed the week after.

Book tickets from bikeshedtheatre.co.uk or telephone 01392 434169.

A craft showcase BOVEY Tracey’s Contemporary Craft Festival always offers something a little different and pushes the boundaries of new technologies alongside traditional crafts on June 9-11 at Mill Marsh Park. See www. craftsatboveytracey.co.uk

Library of things TOTNES Share Shed is now open for members to borrow useful things.

Located on the Guildhall Yard, it’s open every Saturday from 10am to 1pm. In order to become a member, bring ID and a contribution between £1 and £10. If you are able to donate any item or are interested in becoming a volunteer, please get in touch via info@shareshed. org.uk

MARTHA Tilston headlines A Mid-Summer Dream at The Hillyfield. An intimate woodland gathering. 100% of profits going towards The Hillyfield appeal.

More information at www. thehillyfield.co.uk or www. acoustichaven.co.uk.

Dartington summer festival DARTINGTON’S International Summer School & Festival returns again this year. Each day, from early evening the beautiful estate at Dartington transforms into a thriving venue for concerts and events. At the heart of the 1,200-acre Dartington estate sit the Grade 2 listed gardens. With a rich sense of history and a host of features to explore – from a Henry Moore sculpture to a yew tree at least 1,500 years old – the gardens at Dartington are often featured in best gardens lists. Against a backdrop of ancient buildings, what better a location in which to experience some of the world’s best musicians and enjoy Dartington’s warm hospitality?

Tiverton fest

WITHY Fest, the friendly local music festival, takes place at Witheridge Parish Hall, Tiverton on June 30 and July 1. Withy Fest will host over 20 live acts over 3 stages with camping.

Tickets https://somethingelse-witheridge.myshopify. coms

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THE English Riviera Film Festival and Festival Awards takes place on Saturday June 17, across two entire suites of the Riviera International Conference Centre. One will be a screening room hosting talks, interviews and film premieres. The other an interactive film room with stalls and exhibits. The notfor-profit event is dedicated to raising the profile of film in Devon and Torbay and promoting local emerging talent. For more information see erfilmfest.co.uk.

Mid-summer dream

Sculpture trail

COCKINGTON Court now has a sculpture trail and exhibition, The Art Path, which lets families and children discover diverse and dynamic sculptures such as a giant caterpillar, Zimmer frames built high into the sky and moving sculptures. The trail runs throughout the summer until September 10.

Riviera of Film

Advertising: 01392 346342

Recycled batteries

Week 2 of the summer school places a focus on the English identity, from Purcell’s mythic Restoration opera King Arthur, and John Milton and William Blake’s visionary imagination, to English folk music, street ballads and nature poetry.

Sally Davies and Paul Hutchinson, two experienced and visionary folk musicians and composers, will be leading Folk and the Landscape, a creative course that explores the connections between folk music and the landscape, using the beautiful grounds of Dartington estate. Exploring the links between nature, traditional and contemporary folk music, participants will be able to create some of their own music along the way, for performance later in the week.

There will be classes and courses run during the day throughout the festival, and up to three concerts held each night featuring all kinds of music from opera, jazz, chamber music, folk, poetry, and musicla theatre to illustrated lectures, Brazilian rhythms, gospel, film music, and more.

Dartington International Summer School & Festival 2017 takes place from July 29 to August 26, see www. dartington.org/summer-school for more information

BATTERIES that have powered electric cars around the UK will get a second life providing energy storage for households, as they will get recycled into a British-made home battery similar to the one made by Tesla.

Real food finds a new home

EXETER’S first community owned food store, the Real Food Store, will be moving in July to a new home at Exeter’s Central Station.

Currently celebrating their sixth year they continue to make local, organic food accessible to all.

Animal lenity

AS the finale to the three week Vegan Festival of Britain, Animal Aid has joined forces with Exeter Friends for Animals for Compassion @ The Castle on June 10 in the grounds of Exeter Castle.

Museum takes us into the wild abyss

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Taiko drumming KAGEMUSHA Taiko are hosting the 12th UK Taiko Festival from June 30 to July 2, which will include two feature concerts. The first at Exeter Northcott on July 1 sees the group joined by Shogo Yoshii and Shoji Kameda. On July 2 Exeter Phoenix hosts Brother Drum, where taiko drumming embraces folk and traditional music from Europe and Japan, featuring Kagemusha Taiko, Tsuchigumo Daiko and special guests Hibiki Ichikawa, Shogo Yoshii, Damian Clarke, Shoji Kameda and George Whitfield. See www. taikofestival.org.uk.

Art Exhibition

NEWTON Abbot’s Art Group are holding the first exhibition in the centre of Newton Abbot for many years in The Passmore Edwards Library on July 29-August 5 with free admission, and a cafe in the library as well.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

ATURE and spirituality in a time of accelerated technological change is explored at new exhibition at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) starts on June 9.

Into The Wild Abyss takes its title from Milton’s poem Paradise Lost (1667).

The poem tells the story of the fall of rebel angels, the temptation of Adam and Eve and their consequent expulsion from paradise. Paradise Lost can be read as a metaphor for how we have entered the 21st century, with a series of international crises, ecological concerns and political instability. The contemporary artists Gordon Cheung, Rui Matsunaga and Nahem Shoa reflect on these and invite visitors Into The Wild Abyss.

For the first time their works are exhibited together and share a desire to express hope through hallucinatory, shimmering and imagined forms reflecting on the human condition. The artists have also been inspired by the museum’s own collection, and have selected some natural history specimens to complement their artwork. The exhibition runs from June 9 to September 3. Entry is free. For more details phone 01392 265858, click www.exeter.gov. uk/RAMM email ramm@exeter.gov.uk or www.facebook.com/RAMMuseum and twitter.com/RAMMuseum.

Amendment

OUR feature on sustainable local businesses in the last issue of Reconnect (48) had an article about Robert Vint’s financial support of several local projects and suggested there is still funding available.

However, the funding came from the Invest in Devon Fund and this fund has now been depleted.

Cllr. Vint doesn’t have £10k to give away.

Permaculture

THE SW Permaculture Convergence takes place on June 9-11. Be part of something special, part of a movement of people bringing into being a new kind of economics that is just right for a an abundent, fair, and resilient region. Find out more at www.permaculture.org. uk/south-west-regionalconvergence-2017

South Brent Folk

THE 6th annual South Brent Folk day is being held on Saturday July 6 with singing, dancing , workshops and children’s entertainment; all welcome.

For information visit www. southbrentfolk.org.uk

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Traffic action

DARTINGTON village’s traffic situation has reached such a point that over forty Dartington residents felt they had no option but to take to the streets with direct action to highlight the problem.

The aim was to raise drivers’ awareness that village streets are spaces to be shared with pedestrians, school children, dog walkers and cyclists.

Share your Sun NEW Devon-based Bird Sunglasses offer high quality, sustainable sunglasses, and for every purchase, they will distribute a solar light to families in Malawi, Zambia and Uganda through their ‘Share Your Sun’ partnership with Solar Aid. See www. birdsunglasses.com

Poetry Island

ON June 22 Ian Beech and Tim King will be performing a ‘Song for Sustainable Crediton’ at their ‘Poetry Island’ CredFest event at the Crediton Community Bookshop.

Jo loved a party!

Regular contributor PETE SCOTT reminds us it’s now a year since Jo Cox was killed so brutally during the EU Referendum.

O mark the anniversary of her death, on the weekend of June 1618, her husband Brendan is asking people to come together to celebrate all the good things which unite us as a nation, by holding an event under the banner of The Great Get Together. (https://greatgettogether.org) “Jo loved a party and I hope this will be a national moment of joy” said Brendan Cox. Our two choirs, SING Exeter and SING Plymouth (www.singdevon.com), are having a ‘Great Get Together’ in South Brent on June 17 in aid of The Kambeng Trust, a charity based in South Brent which supports the rural village of Bakary Sambouya, 4km south of Brikama in The Gambia, with healthcare, education and sustainable community development.

This is a fundraising event - tickets are £8 from Artworks, in South Brent call 01364 649424.

It is titled ‘A Right Song and Dance’ and features the combined choirs, led by Pete Scott, singing well known popular songs of an uplifting nature during the first half, followed by Pete’s Half the Hothouse Band, playing guitar led music with an Afro/Latin infectious quality, ideal for a ‘Jo Loves a Party’ atmosphere.

Please come and join us, have fun, and show your solidarity with Jo’s values. Taking place at South Brent Village Hall, TQ10 9BE on Saturday June 17 from 7.30pm.

Thanks for the opportunity Brendon. We will love having you both there in spirit!

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Have a day on an eco farm

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ARMING’S national open day, happens on Sunday June 11 this year, and presents a wonderful opportunity to visit Dartington’s Huxhams Cross Farm. The farm has extensive views over the rolling Devon hills. A beacon of sustainability, the land is community-owned by the Biodynamic Land Trust (see advert on page 15).

The open day will offer the chance to meet the farmers who are weaving biodynamic and permaculture methods to create a living, working farm. Meander on guided farm walks through fields of newly-planted orchard trees and say hello to the farm’s White Leghorn chickens (their eggs are a local foodie sensation) and Damson and Daffodil, the Shetland heifers.

Huxhams Cross Farm also runs a farm club for children, a local vegetable delivery scheme, and is part of a pioneering agroforestry project (trees planted to alleviate climate change, produce food and create livelihoods) at Dartington Estate.

Huxhams Cross Farm is one of four Dartington Estate farms opening their gates on Open Farm Sunday, Sunday 11 June 11 am - 5pm. Their address is Huxhams Cross Farm, Dartington TQ9 6NT and for more information email bob.mehew@apricotcentre.co.uk.

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 7th-9th Jul & 15th-17th Sep 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 6th-11th Aug & 1 st-6th Oct 2017 “The experience, on so many levels, was one of utter transformation” (The Journey) Embercombe offers programmes that help you realise your passion, your gifts and your purpose... to live authentically and make the most of being alive! Coaching models, naturebased and indigenous wisdom lie at the core of our work.

We aim for you to feel ready and able to care for, and act from, the fire of leadership within.

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

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Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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 & 3rd-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

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Greenlife customers discover Abeego beeswax food wraps

Greenlife helping you to stop spending your plastic on plastic

Derrys Cross by Robin Oliver

L Creating a real buzz in Plymouth

URBAN Buzz, the project that uses innovative techniques to create ‘Buzzing Cities’ for our declining pollinators, has been busy again this year. Plymouth Urban Buzz have been transforming mown and unused areas of land creating a whole array of new flower-rich habitats throughout the city, working closely with local communities to improve their local parks, nature reserves, road verges and unused patches of land.

Vibrant swathes of flowers and new nesting sites have brightened up many corners of Plymouth, and have not only improved the city visually; they have encouraged even more bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other insect pollinators.

Laura Larkin, Plymouth’s Urban Buzz Officer said: “Urban Buzz, with the help of some fantastic local volunteers has now added over 60 new places for pollinators right across Plymouth, including new wildflower meadows in many parks and road verges.” To learn more about buglife visit https:// www.buglife.org.uk/

OCATED at the top of town by the market square, Greenlife has been supplying Totnes with a choice of wholefoods, vitamins and herbal remedies for more than 25 years. Greenlife offer a wide range of organic, Fairtrade, vegetarian, vegan and raw foods, plus organic fruit and vegetables and natural body care products.

They are now expanding their range of green household products and sustainable goods.

“We are always looking for new eco lifestyle products that our customers might be interested in” says Jon, one of the marketing and buying team at Greenlife.

“We have a popular range of Bamboo Coffee cups, plus stainless steel drink bottles and organic cotton bags.” New in Greenlife this year are A Slice Of Green stainless steel food containers which are a great sustainable alternative to plastic lunchboxes and containers and are non toxic and non leaching. “Our new Abeego beeswax food wraps have proved very popular too.” says Jon. These clever wraps protect your food from

air and moisture and let it breathe just like nature’s lemon peel or avocado skin. They are a great eco-friendly alternative to other plastic food wraps like cling film and can be washed and re-used. They should then last for over a year.

Jon told us: “Greenlife recognise that many of our customers have become aware of the impact of the disposable culture we live in and want to try and live in a more sustainable way. Both plastic production and plastic pollution are huge environmental issues now, and the reduction in the use of plastic bottles, containers and bags is a simple way in which we can all make a difference to the growing problem of plastic beaches around the world which is why environmental groups are campaigning to change the way we think about plastic. It is madness to continue using a material that lasts for hundreds of years for throwaway packaging.

According to Greenpeace, more plastic has been produced in the last 10 years than in the previous 100 years!

Globally, we produce around 300 million tonnes of plastic

per year, and an estimated 8 to 12 million tonnes of this ends up in our oceans. That’s equivalent to one garbage truck every minute.

“Most of our customers now come prepared with a shopping bag or use cardboard boxes, so use of our biodegradable plastic bags is falling.” According to Jon, the business is also committed to tackling plastic use in other areas of the store. We recycle all of our plastic packaging from deliveries through our wholesalers, and our vegetable department have recently replaced their polythene bags for reduced items with biodegradable bags.”

Greenlife’s range of eco-goods are also available online at www.greenlife.co.uk

Community fruit trees get funding

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S PART of its ‘Growing Orchard Communities’ project, South Devon’s AONB has secured funding from Centrica in partnership with South Hams District Council, and will use it to improve local orchards through practical landscape enhancements, planting schemes to improve biodiversity and creating ways for the local community to get involved in looking after their community orchard.

The project involves five Orchards within a five km radius of the Langage Energy Station: Modbury, Sparkwell, Wembury, Hemerdon and Holbeton. The fruit trees will

be planted as cordons and trained along wires and fences to ensure that a maximum fruit yield is gained from a small space. A total of 135 trees will be planted and should start bearing fruit for the communities in the next couple of years.

DO YOU WISH YOUR TEENAGER SPENT MORE TIME IN NATURE?

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

wildwisehungergames.co.uk • 01803 868269 www.reconnectonline.co.uk

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

Tel: 01392 410759 Mobile: 07773282861 Email: info@evolution-exeter.co.uk Website: www.evolution-exeter.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/evolutionexeter Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views Dangerous dads and muddy mums get busy across Reconnectland

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HE months ahead are busy for the Dangerous Dads. With groups now running across South Devon, thanks to funding from The Big Lottery’s Awards for All Programme, there are some great activities each Saturday. The activities are open to dads and male carers with children of all ages, wherever they live.

Co-ordinator Ian Blackwell explained: ‘’Every Saturday there is something going on somewhere in South Devon

- our advert tells you where our groups are located. There are wild walks with foraging and cooking up nettles, a couple of beach trips with experts to explore rock-pools, a bow and arrow making workshop and a summer camp in July with archery and whale-watching, as well as many other fantastic activities from now until the end of the year.” There are also Muddy Mums groups and lots of family events too, to which anyone can come. Most events are by

Art gallery seeks artists

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RT gallery Harbour House in Kingsbridge will be available to hire next year and applications are now being received for their 2018 exhibitions. The large, light, versatile ground floor exhibition space hosts both solo and group exhibitions. There’s plenty more information on the website, www.harbourhouse.org.uk/ galleryapplications.shtml, and applications need to be submitted online before 1 July. Forthcoming events at the gallery include showcasing new work by ten members of the South Hams Arts Forum (June 6-18), new works by Cherry Lyons, Wendy Chudley and Caroline Whitehead (June 20 – 28), drawing-related works by Sue Bown, Helena Clews, Susanne Lowry-Smith & Linda Tudor (June 30 – July 5), painting, printmaking and sculpture from Alison Veazey and Sally Fisher (July 7-16), and painting, textiles, printmaking and handmade books by Diana Booth, Jill Cooper and Caroline Barker (July 18 – 30).

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donation and no booking is required.

Information is on The Dangerous Dads Network Facebook and their website www.dangerousdads.org.uk New groups are springing up all the time and there will be Dangerous Dads activities starting in Exeter, Exmouth and East Devon this month.

To find out more about how Dangerous Dads can get involved in a town near you, get in touch dangerousdads@btinternet.com.

Totnes Community Development Society (TCDS) have been awarded an initial development Heritage Enterprise grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund of £199,000 to finish the pre-development work on the Brunel Building. Subject to approval of this first stage of work, a second larger sum will be awarded, taking the total grant for the Brunel Building to approximately £2.9 million.

The Brunel Building will include workshop space, offices and a cafe as well as flexibility for the whole building to transform regularly into larger space for sizable events.

Get training in natural building

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he School of Natural Building does not have a physical location, there are no terms, and anyone can take part in their modules and courses at any time.

They offer a chance ot learn about natural building whether you want to be a natural builder and work in construction, want to understand how these materials really work, design better buildings, or just have a general interest in the subject and want to know more,

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or if you are just looking for a fun and active way to spend your time. The training course is suited for people who are self-employed, or work part time, as work and training do not generally follow a linear path. It’s flexible and designed to fit around other commitments you have in life.

To find out more see the SNaB website schoolofnaturalbuilding. co.uk and their Facebook page.

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south westerlies...

SCOTT considers the power of transition after he joined the community of dragons in Totnes to support the growth of five new local businesses.

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came to Reconnect with some background knowledge. I have experience of wellbeing and mindfulness, I know a bit about permaculture and agro-forestry, eco homes, and I am a big supporter of environmental issues. Having trained in catering I know about local produce and healthy eating.

But, what I didn’t know much about was transition and sustainability.

Transition Town initiatives began in 2006, and we all know Totnes is world renown, having been there from the start. But this was off my radar with my time being dedicated to festivals.

Fundamental to transition is local resilience and regenerative development, where local people take ownership of projects and build new networks through their social economy. Transition Town Totnes and the Reconomy Centre are at the centre of creating a strong local economy, and an incubator of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive businesses. It’s a model that’s been replicated around the world, offering a way out for small rural towns who are being left behind by globalisation.

Each year there is a chance to be part of a transition community in action at the annual Community of Dragons event in Totnes.

This the seventh year of the event sees the community of Totnes and district helping young local resilient businesses grow. Unlike the Dragons Den TV show there weren’t just a handful of investors offering money for a stake in their company. Instead everyone in the room was able to offer financial and non-financial investment.

The event is timed to take place during Global Divestment Week and offers real opportunities for investors to use their money closer to home and put it to work creating a vibrant and healthy Devon economy.

There were a few familiar faces there. The evening of cultural shift was hosted by Katie Tokus from Sharpham Trust, and Transition’s Jay Tompt and Hal Gillmore, and began with stories of success from previous enterprises. These included many of those who feature in Reconnect articles including CSA Farm (see page 20), The Kitchen Table, Wild & Curious, Grown in Totnes, New Lion Brewery (see page 18), and Transition Homes (see page 21). Those in the audience included previous pitchers who were also able to offer guidance to those hoping to take their businesses to the next level.

The five minute pitches were made by Bob Mehew from the Apricot Centre at Huxhams Cross

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Biodynamic Farm (see page 6), Emily Reed from Black Bee Combe, Richenda Macgregor from Studio 45, Al Tompiste of Woodland Presents, and Jay Jacoby from Yew Media.

We heard about a forest ‘nest’ - a mobile structure and performance space which Woodland Presents hope to see providing forest events and reinvigorate woodland culture.

Heard about resilient native ‘black bees’, and a bespoke personal legacy film company that could provide personal stories as a digital heirloom. Learned that Bovey Tracey is home to the largest clay producer in Europe and plans to start a ceramic and pottery open plan learning college to train a new generation of potters. I also found out what a ‘biodynamic Stirrer’ is, handled population wheat and yin-yang beans and heard plans to create a pool of loanable farm machinery.

All delivered a fascinating insight into their businesses and their wants from their local community.

The audience offered the local entrepreneurs their time, their skills, and their assets. It was during the offers of entrepreneurial support that this community of transition really shined.

It was inspiring to see all the community offer their support to these new businesses. There was offers of help, food, parties, kegs of beer, technical know how, sponsorship, pledges of funds, of freezers, offers of experience and services, to build websites, to mentor, to child mind, to provide wood, to build, to paint, and even offers of accommodation.

Pledges to loan machinery, to help with training, to volunteer, and I got carried away too, offering each business an article in a future issue of Reconnect.

John Elford of the Totnes Pound revealed the recipient of the annual Totnes Pound award of £100 to the enterprise project that best embodies the spirit of Totnes innovation to Huxham Cross, and also gave a £21 note to all the other pitchers.

It was truly fantastic to see the citizens of a community displaying such neighbourliness to new business schemes. The Community of Dragons showed me that when local people come together a vibrant, healthy economy can grow, providing opportunities for young people and new life for our High Streets. I look forward to finding out more about ‘Reconomy’ projects in future, and I’ll ensure they’re highlighted inside these pages, it’s what Reconnect is all about.

Planting big ideas in a field of dreams Devon based organiser Victoria Whelan brings her festival of good intentions to Stroud for a third year.

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AWKWOOD’S Seed Festival – Planting Big Ideas takes place on July 7-9 at Hawkwood, near Stroud. The UK’s most exciting Ecology & Arts Festival features a line-up of Green New-thought Leaders including BBC’s Bruce Parry, Green party’s Caroline Lucas and Molly Scott Cato, Eden’s Tim Smit, Ecocide Lawyer Polly Higgins, Satish Kumar, Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett, Good Energy’s Juliet Davenport, Futerra’s Solitaire Townsend, Head of RSA Matthew Taylor; Transition Network’s Rob Hopkins, Soil Association’s Helen Browning, Rathbones Greenbank’s John David with Triodos Bank’s Kit Beazley. Plus great films like Bruce Parry’s Tawai, Demain and Plastic Ocean.

Alongside this bill of great inspiration the festival will host performances from Rising Appalachia from USA on their Slow Movement Tour, Permaculture Darlings Australia’s Formidable Vegetables Sound System, Three Acres and a Cow share the history of land rights and protest through song plus Seize the Day’s Shannon Smy and her new solo album. BBC Radio 4 Poet Matt Harvey, Ganda Boys, AMJ Collective, Chloe Leigh and The Willow Trio, Thee Ones, April Blue, Vojta, Owen Shiers, Poets Chris Paradox, Jay Ramsay and Danny Chivers, Storytellers Shonaleigh, Steph Bradley, Caspar Walsh, Lisa Schneidau and much more.

On Friday during the day, as a pre-festival event, is the FemmeQ

Rising Appalachia

Pop Summit featuring Scilla Elsworthy, Mac Macartney and much more.

Plus, loads of family fun and workshops that focus on either practical skills like permaculture or others that help you integrate all this inspiration like Ecopsychology, writing in the woods, dancing in the garden, singing in the field or simply just chill out enjoying beautiful Hawkwood.

Set high on the hill above Stroud, Hawkwood is the perfect location to absorb yourself in this great content, set in a biodynamic farm, country house, Victorian walled garden, woodlands and natural springs that provides a nourishing space in which to reflect, dream, play and get inspired.

Victoria Whelan said: “Hawkwood’s Seed Festival provides a fertile ground for you to explore your own personal connection to the earth and the challenges of environmental change through music, poetry, debate, nature and community connection. The Seed Festival plants big ideas, exciting seeds that can grow and take root to shape a new world that thrives with nature. “ Tickets are on sale now, priced from £69, or visit www. seedfestival.co.uk

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

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NEWS&views Summertime is the time to reconnect through low impact festivals

For many of us we’d like to live a more fulfilling and sustainable life.

Writer of the website ‘Living in the Future’, HELEN ILES, has been living a low impact life for years.

Helen recommends attending a low impact festival like OFF GRID to nurture your soul.

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HEN did you last put your hands in the earth? Or lie down on the grass and gaze at the sky?

When did you last sleep under the stars or wake with the sound of birdsong? If you’re lucky

enough to experience these natural treats on a regular basis, you’ll know how nurturing they are for the soul. How they add to our general sense of well-being and simple delight in the world. But if you’ve been starved of them lately, it may be time to invest in some re-connection.

Many people who live off grid, or in low impact developments, agree that some of their most impactful sensory experience of a low impact lifestyle has come from attending festivals such as the Off Grid Festival in Exeter, Devon.

Off Grid is one of those ‘small is beautiful’ festivals - a family-friendly space to relax and enjoy the natural surroundings but also to engage brain and brawn in low impact learning.

The Off Grid College offers workshops such as green woodworking, weaving, foraging, composting, permaculture, forest gardening, ecobuilding or breadbaking in a cob oven.

If this sounds outside of your comfort zone, well, good! When we stretch ourselves, don’t we get that feel-good

buzz of satisfaction which brings on a really restful night’s sleep? Joining in with activities, whether it be yoga, meditation, ecstatic dance or just jigging with some great live music brings our body and senses to life and brings us to the end of the day feeling happy and fulfilled. What’s more, that healthy burger or vibrant, locallysourced salad tastes all the better for it!

For Festival Organiser Roxy Piper, the Serenity Zone is where she most likes to spend her free time. While therapists address achy backs and dodgy shoulders, the Thrive area offers tools for our own well-being in the way of permaculture ‘people care’. On the other hand, if the festival is simply about having some time out from hectic schedules and slouching in a sweet little cafe all day, who could blame you?

Off Grid Festival is a taste of life as it could be and whether you learn a few things, meet some new friends, or get inspired to change something your life for the positive, the hard-working organisers will have done their job. Perhaps the planet with thanks us all too. l Off Grid Festival takes pace from August 1013 at Goffins Land, near Exeter. Find out more, and buy tickets at www.off-grid-festival.co.uk.

Ground-breaking college and qualification Independent Steiner education in Soutth Devon is now available from 3-19 years with new internationally-recognised qualification.

A new education college opened on May 13 2017 in Dartington, Devon offering independent schooling for 16-19 year olds, based on the Steiner curriculum and a new University-recognised Steiner qualification.

The South Devon Steiner College which will welcome its first cohort of students in September 2017, and provides an alternative route to University education based on Steiner teaching and the new NZ Certificate of Steiner Education.

Kaycee Fordham, head of admissions, South Devon Steiner School, said: “The South Devon Steiner College will carefully balance academic, artistic, and practical activities to stimulate the imagination and prepare students for life”.

She continued: “Students benefit from extensive choice across disciplines including the Humanities, Arts & Crafts, Sciences and Physical Education and will be assessed from Class 10 (16 years) against the new NZ Certificate of Steiner Education framework; they will be able to apply through UCAS to any UK and many international Universities. “ Dr Phil Wright, Geography and Maths teacher, South Devon Steiner College, said: “A key element of our education is learning through practical experience and engagement with nature, which encourages students to develop an awareness of ecology and sustainability. If students learn in this way then it is always more meaningful. “We are deeply committed to the new Steiner College and look forward to taking students on a journey of academic achievement and selfdiscovery while stretching their imagination and developing new perspectives.”

Fordham added: “Students will learn from experts in their fields who encourage intellectual flexibility, independent judgment and moral courage to develop resilient, creative and responsible human beings who lead lives of purpose and direction.

For more information, to visit the College or to apply contact: Kaycee Fordham at South Devon Steiner School on 01803-897377.

Photos feature the newly opened Hood Barn, Future College Students and Kindergarten students celebrating the opening of Steiner College and Future College Students ready for the Grand Opening - the untying of a green ribbon!

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Horses can teach us about ourselves

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F YOU have ever fancied finding out more about Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning, Adventures with Horses on Dartmoor would like to invite you to one of its special offer taster days or half days throughout June and July.

Sue Blagburn, who runs Adventures with Horses, points out that through connecting and engaging with horses in equine facilitated experiential learning horses have a lot they can show us.

The conventional way of thinking is that humans have something to teach horses. We turn this on its head and focus instead on what horses can teach us about ourselves, others and the world at large.

“We will be holding professionally run full day and half day workshops, in the Art of Leadership, Personal Growth and the Art of Horse Whispering,” she said. “Equine Facilitated Learning can benefit people of all ages - whether that is finding the courage to move forward with a project, improving leadership skills, reconnecting with nature, or simply stepping into what has meaning and harmony for you.

Our kind, wise horses, our beautiful environment and our innovative workshops add up to something very special that we are offering here.”

The days will include working with

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horses to develop new approaches to leadership. Sue explained: “There is something very powerful about getting out of the office and into nature. Participants get to experience clear intentional embodied leadership and teamwork in partnership with horses and explore strategies for responding to uncertainty, conflict and the unexpected. Our Art of Horse Whispering workshops are about meeting the horses in ‘their field’, in their culture and learning to build connection with them based on equality not power over. Working in partnership with horses helps us to developing aligned leadership and greater self-awareness.”

The taster days are suitable for adult groups, children and young people’s groups and family groups. For dates and further information visit: www. adventureswithhorses.co.uk or phone 01364 631444 or 07831 865259

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Goingout JUNE/JULy 2017

OUR BIGGUIDETO BIG LOCAL EVENTS ARTS/CRAFTS ARTISTS WRITING GROUP 1 June Exeter Phoenix

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.

DAWLISH ARTS FESTIVAL Until 3 June Dawlish WISH YOU WERE..?

Until 4 June Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, Torquay SWANSONG BY SIMON DOBBS Until 4 June Harbour House, Kingsbridge INTO THE WILD ABYSS 9 June - 3 September RAMM, Exeter (see page 5) JUNEAU PROJECTS: MAKERS OF THE MULTIVERSE Until 10 June Spacex, Exeter OFF THE SURFACE 9 July Contemporary hand-embroidered work.

Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey JOYOUS - AN EXHIBITION OF WORK TO UPLIFT Until 15 June Baxters Gallery, Dartmouth SEATON DOWN HOARD: A FIRST GLIMPSE Until 18 June RAMM, Exeter CONTEMPORARY PASSIONS 6 June - 18 June Harbour House, Kingsbridge PLYMOUTH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS MEMBERS SHOW Until 24 June Artmill Gallery, Plymouth WALKING THE WILD SIDE 20 - 28 June Harbour House, Kingsbridge INSIGHTS: AN EXHIBITION BY THE DRAWN GROUP 30 June - 5 July Harbour House, Kingsbridge ALISON VEAZEY AND SALLY FISHER 7-16 July Harbour House, Kingsbridge SIGNPOST 6: A STRING OF THEORIES 10 July - 04 August Cube3 Gallery, Plymouth

PLYMOUTH CONTEMPORARY 15 July - 2 September Peninsula Arts Gallery/ KARST, Plymouth.

CLASSICAL

BIRD SKETCHING DAY 16 July Occombe Farm, Paignton

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY CHORAL SOCIETY WORKSHOP 1 July St Paul’s Church, Yelverton

3 MEDIA MIX 18-30 July Harbour House, Kingsbridge SUMMER FILM SCHOOL 31 July - 4 August Exeter Phoenix

CHILD ACTIVITIES

PLYMOUTH PHILHARMONIC CHOIR & ORCHESTRA 1 July Cathedral Church & Saint Mary and Saint Boniface, Plymouth

COMEDy

PIRATES & MERMAIDS Until 2 June Powderham Castle, Exeter

HENNING WEHN 2-3 June Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

STORY TIME WITH CLAIRE BARKER 2 June Dawlish Library

KNIGHTMARE LIVE 14 June Exeter Phoenix

TOT’S GO WILD! 20 June Occombe Farm, Paignton TOT’S GO WILD SUMMER CLUB 24 & 31 July Occombe Farm, Paignton KID’S HOLIDAY CLUB DAY 25 & 27 July Cockington Country Park, Torquay KID’S COOKERY CLUB SUMMER 26 July and every Wednesday in the Summer Holidays Occombe Farm Cookery School, Paignton.

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DANCE

BACH AND THE BLUES 10 June St Margaret’s Church, Exeter

KID’S HOLIDAY CLUB DAY MAY HALF TERM 1 June Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, Paignton

THE SECRET’S OF OUR GEOPARK QUEST! Until 4 June Occombe Farm, Paignton

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

KATY BRAND 1 June Exeter Phoenix

JOEL DOMMETT 16 June The Watermark, Ivybridge MARK THOMAS 20 June Exeter Phoenix TOM ALLEN & SUZI RUFFELL 24 June The Watermark, Ivybridge AYESHA HAZARIKA 5 July Exeter Phoenix

NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPANY: TARANTISEISMIC 25 June House, Plymouth A CHORUS LINE 4-7 July Barnfield Theatre, Exeter

FESTIVALS/EVENTS MANIFEST SOUTHWEST 31 May - 4 June Dunnabridge, Dartmoor KINGSBRIDGE FOOD AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2-4 June The Town Square, Kingsbridge EXETER RESPECT FESTIVAL 3-4 June Belmont Park, Exeter LEMONFEST 9-10 June Newton Abbot Racecourse

STONE LANE MUSIC FEST 11 June Chagford OCCOMBE BEER FESTIVAL 16-17 June Occombe Farm, Paignton 3 WISHES FAERY FEST 16-18 June Mount Edgecumbe, Cornwall OCEANFEST 16-18 June Croyde Bay TEIGNMOUTH FOLK FESTIVAL 16-18 June Teignmouth SOUTH BRENT CARNIVAL WEEK 17-25 June 2017 South Brent A RIGHT SONG AND DANCE 17 June South Brent Village Hall

BRADNINCH FESTIVAL 9-11 June Bradninch

THE SHALDON FESTIVAL 22-27 June St Peter’s Church

THE SW PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE 9-11 Goffin Land, Exeter

A MID-SUMMER DREAM 24 June The Hillyfield, Dartmoor (see page 4)

THE CONTEMPORARY CRAFT FESTIVAL 9-11 June Bovey Tracey

GANDY ST SUMMER FETE 25 June Exeter

ANIMALS FOR COMPASSION 10 June Exeter Castle

WITHY FEST 30 June - 1 July Tiverton

JOHN HEGLEY 15 July The Watermark, Ivybridge

BUCKLAND MONACHORUM SUMMER FAIR 10 June Buckland Monachorum

GARY DELANEY 21 July Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

THE COLOUR RUSH 11 June Teignmouth Beach

IVYBRIDGE DOES EDINBURGH 29 July The Watermark, Ivybridge

HUXHAM CROSS FARM OPEN DAY 11 June Dartington (see page 7)

EXMOUTH PRIDE 1 July Exmouth SOUTH BRENT FOLK DAY 1 July South Brent LET’S ROCK EXETER 1 July Powderham Castle EXETER CRAFT FESTIVAL 6-8 July Exeter’s Cathedral Green GLAS-DENBURY 7-8 July Fairfield Farm, Denbury

WONDER FIELDS 7-9 July Dunsford WORLD YOGA FESTIVAL 7-9 July Reading SAMPHIRE FESTIVAL 7-9 July Exmoor National Park SEED FESTIVAL 7-9 July Stroud (see page 9) BUDLEIGH SALTERTON FESTIVAL 7-15 July Budleigh Salterton THE ROWCROFT SLEEP WALK 8 July Torbay Leisure Centre WAYS WITH WORDS FESTIVAL 7-17 July Dartington Hall, Totnes (see page 29) QUINTASENSUAL 8-13 July near Glastonbury, Somerset OPEN DAY AT SHARPHAM 9 July Sharpham House Totnes (see page 45) BUDDHAFIELD FESTIVAL 12-16 July near Taunton, Somerset TORBAY GREEN DAY 22 June Occombe Farm (see page 23) CHAGSTOCK 21-22 July Whiddon Down, Chagford YEALMPTON SHOW 26 July Kitley Lawns, Yealmpton QUEER SPIRIT 26-30 July Chapmanslade, Wiltshire PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL 27-30 July St Germans, Cornwall WOMAD 27-30 July Malmesbury, Wiltshire LAPSTOCK 28-29 July Lapford Mill, Lapford KOZFEST 28-30 July Bobbie Watts Farm, Uffculme LEOPALLOOZA 28-30 July Bude, Cornwall Turn over the page for more GoingOut listings

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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GOING OUT FOOD FLAVOUR FEST 2-4 June Plymouth Totnes Good Food and Celebrate EXETER STREET FOOD MARKET Southernhay Gardens every Friday CREDITON FOOD FESTIVAL 17-18 June Crediton SUNDAY STREET MARKET 18 June & 16 July Totnes MEDITERRANEAN FOODS WITH TIM HARRIS 25 June Occombe Farm, Paignton AFRICAN COOKERY WITH MALCOLM RILEY 2 July Occombe Farm, Paignton TOTNES AND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SHOW 30 July Berry Pomeroy

GARDENING MEMORIAL ROSE GARDEN OPEN DAY AFTERNOON 27 June Cockington, Torquay

HEALTH & WELLBEING

ASHBURTON 5 days a week: Tuesday – Saturday Tuckers Yard, Ashburton

BOVEY TRACEY Alternate Saturdays every month Town Square, Bovey Tracey BUCKFASTLEIGH Every Thursday Near The Globe Inn, Town Centre BUDLEIGH SALTERTON Last Friday of every month Polle Car Park, off High Street CREDITON Every 1st Saturday of the month The Market Square, Crediton DARTMOUTH Every second Saturday of the month The Old Market, Dartmouth DAWLISH Every second Saturday of the month The Lawn, Dawlish EXETER Every Thursday Junction of South Street and Fore Street

5-17 June The Lamb Garden, Totnes

EXMOUTH 2nd Wednesday every month The Strand Gardens, Exmouth

BABY AND CHILD FIRST AID COURSE TOTNES 14 June Daisy Play Centre, Totnes

ILFRACOMBE Every 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month St Peters Church, Highfield Road

GARDENING FOR HEALTH TOTNES

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.

FARMERS MARKETS

IVYBRIDGE Third Saturday of every month Hartford Road Car Park, Ivybridge KINGSBRIDGE Every first & third Saturday of the month Town Square, Kingsbridge NEWTON ABBOT Every Tuesday Courtnay Street, Newton Abbot PLYMOUTH Every second & fourth Saturday of the month Town Centre Plaza, Plymouth PLYMOUTH (GOOD FOOD MARKET) First Sunday of every month Royal William Yard, Plymouth TEIGNMOUTH Last Saturday of every month The Triangle, Teignmouth TORQUAY Every Friday Union Street, Torquay TOTNES GOOD FOOD MARKET Every Third Sunday of the Month Market Square, Totnes

MUSIC GIGS THE FAB BEATLES CONCERT 1 June Dawlish Community & Parish WHILE SHE SLEEPS 2 June The Hub, Plymouth

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

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

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IAN PROWSE 2 June Barrel House, Totnes

THE VIBRATORS

KEITH JAMES: THE MUSIC OF YUSUF 3 June The Watermark, Ivybridge

THE ROARING TWENTIES GALA CONCERT

THE FRASER WEEKES/ NEIL MAYA QUINTET 4 June Plymouth Jazz Club, Plymouth KEITH JAMES: THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN 6 June Exeter Phoenix BRIDGE JAZZ CLUB 7 June Exeter Phoenix NOEL COWARD AND HIS LEGACY Kit Hesketh-Harvey and James McConnel 9 June Peninsula Arts, Plymouth ROB ROUSE ‘ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY’’ 9 June Kingskerswell Parish Church NEIL MAYA QUARTET BRUBECK PROJECT 10 June Harberton Parish Hall, Totnes NEW CENTURY SINGERS 10 June Abbotsbury Church

10 June The Junction, Plymouth

Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta + Alwyn Mellor 10 June Minster Church of St Andrew, Plymouth GUADALUPE PLATA 11 June Exeter Phoenix I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUDDY! 16 June Barnfield Theatre, Exeter MATTHEW AND ME 16 June Exeter Phoenix HERE AND NOW 17 June Unit 23, Totnes A WORLD OF SONG TORBAY SINGERS 17 June St John’s Church, Torquay PLYMOUTH JAZZ CLUB PRESENTS BLACK CAT JAZZ 18 June Plymouth Jazz Club, Plymouth LAURENCE JONES Sun 18 June Exeter Phoenix

NEW CENTURY SINGERS 20 June P>T>T> church, Bovey Tracey EMMA STEVENS 23 June Unit 23, Totnes BEVERLEY CRAVEN 23 June Pavilions Teignmouth BA BA BOOM Sat 24 June Exeter Phoenix COUNCIL OF GIANTS 24 June Unit 23, Totnes EXETER FESTIVAL CHORUS 25 June Exeter Phoenix SALLY BARKER & BROOKS WILLIAMS 27 June Kingskerswell Parish Church CARMINA 30 June Kingskerswell Parish Church KAGEMUSHA TAIKO PRESENT PULSE & ROLL 1 July, Exeter Northcott KAGEMUSHA TAIKO PRESENT BROTHER DRUM 2 July, Exeter Phoenix ROGER MARKS’ MAINSTREAMERS 2 July Plymouth Jazz Club

BANG SAID THE GUN 9 July Exeter Phoenix HARP & A MONKEY 14 July Unit 23, Totnes NEWTON ABBOT ORCHESTRA 16 July The Teignmouth pavilion JAZZ AT THE TOWN HALL 21 July Tavistock Town Hall, Tavistock THE OPERA BOYS 22 July Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay PUDDLE OF MUDD 22 July The Hub, Plymouth

MAGIC OF THE STARS

THEATRE

ALICE IN WONDERLAND until 2 June Kent's Cavern, Torquay

Until 31 July Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

FANTASTIC MR FOX 13-17 June Theatre Royal Plymouth, Plymouth

VEHICLES SOUTH DEVON 1940S FESTIVAL

MY WORLD HAS EXPLODED A LITTLE BIT 13-17 June Bikeshed Theatre, Exeter (see page 4)

1-2 July South Devon Railway, Buckfastleigh POWDERHAM HISTORIC VEHICLE GATHERING

DEREK ACORAH WHISPERS FROM HEAVEN 17 June Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

8-9 July Powderham Castle

WALKS

SUPERSONIC 70S 23 June Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

FAITH, FOLK & ANARCHY Steve Knightley, Tom Robinson & Martyn Joseph 22 August Exeter Phoenix

OUTDOOR CINEMA

WALL’S HILL NATURE RESERVE

LEGENDS OF THE WEST END Until 29 June Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay

Bitton Sports Field, Teignmouth 7-8 July

BEDROOM FARCE BY ALAN AYCKBOURN with Ivybridge Theatre Company 6-8 July The Watermark, Ivybridge

BOVEY CASTLE 14-16 June Bovey Castle, Dartmoor

PETER AND THE WOLF 21 July Palace Theatre Paignton, Paignton

TEIGNMOUTH OUTDOOR CINEMA

11 June Anstey’s Cove, Torquay BERRY HEAD BAT WALKS 23 June & 21 July Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Torbay EVENING WILDLIFE WALK WITH EXPERT MIKE LANGMAN 4-6 July Cockington Visitor Centre, Torquay

Rainbow’s End

HOLISTIC WELLBEING AND NATURAL CRAFTS FESTIVAL

Kennaway House, Sidmouth 24th June 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

Rainbow’s End

SCHOOL OF MEDIUMSHIP

“Mediumship for All” - this course will allow your mediumship to grow and flourish at all levels in all areas! £475 per person to include all tuition, accommodation and meals.

Hafan y Coed, Brecon Beacons 15th - 21st July Contact Sandi and Mike on 07900 824089 for more details and to book your place.

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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ORGANICGARDENING JOA GROWER offers advice for gardeners as the days are long and the so are the lists of things to be done.

Welcome to the busy summer days

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ELL here we go again its summer already, where does the time go? I hope you’re all spending lots of time on your vegetable plots. It doesn’t seem to matter how many hours you do, you could always do with a few more!

Early June is a good time to direct sow some of the more tender crops, and by direct sowing I mean straight into the ground rather than into pots or trays.

Prepare your soil by raking it until the soil is loose and crumbly.

Courgettes, squashes, outdoor cucumbers, peas, French beans, and runner beans can all be sown in this way.

Carry on earthing up maincrop potatoes. If you’ve been plagued with the dreaded blight, remove all the affected leaves and bin them (but not in your compost bin). You will still get a crop, it just might not be quite as big as you were hoping for. By removing this foliage you may stop it reaching your tomato crop, which really couldn’t survive being stripped of it’s leaves.

While on the subject of tomatoes don’t forget to keep on tying them to their stakes or supports. You don’t want any accidents at this stage of their growth. Continue to keep a look out for side shoots that will need removing. These are the small shoots which grow immediately above a leaf not to be confused with the flower trusses which appear half way between one leaf and another. Now is also the right time to increase feeding your tomatoes and also most other

plants. Always water first before adding a liquid feed otherwise on very dry containers or pots it will just run straight through, and organic fertilizers are usually expensive or have taken you long time to prepare from nettles or comfrey. (By the way, we now sell our very own concentrated ‘Comfrey Liquid’ - no need for big barrels of smelly leaves soaking for weeks on end.)

Isn’t it nice to see all the butterflies about, all except the white ones that is! Better known as cabbage whites.

Be vigilant and remove the small bright yellow eggs or caterpillars which appear on the underside of brassicas leaves as soon as possible, and protect your crops with a fine meshed netting.

Every year on our stall at Totnes market we attract a lot of cabbage whites, fluttering around our vegetable plant packs, the most we ever had was about 30. I think a few people may have gone home with some unwanted guests that week.

Towards the end of July you may want to start thinking about your winter vegetable crops such as leeks, winter cabbages, kales and of course my favourite purple sprouting broccoli, plan where these will go as and when you harvest and clear beds. Give the brassicas plenty of distance between plants, approximately 3045cm and then you can interplant with things such as lettuces or kohl rabi which is one of the faster growing brassicas. These will then be picked long before the kales and broccoli are ready.

A naturally fertile soil supports healthy and abundant growth of plants

Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy People CAROLINE AITKIN is a permaculture consultant, teacher, and author with a few tips for a fertile soil.

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HERE’S nothing better a gardener can do for their plants than to add compost to the soil each year. We may think we’re feeding the plants, but we’re actually feeding the soil. Compost is teeming with all kinds of tiny creatures from worms to bacteria which turn our scraps and lawn-mowings into a rich, brown, crumbly substance. Most mineral nutrients in compost and soil are non-soluble, so plants can’t absorb them, White clover growing under Swiss Chard but the processes of all of multiplying them; and it excessively these organisms converts them into aerates the soil - this means that soluble nutrients that plants can microbes get over-activated, use. They also protect plants from consuming too much organic matter diseases and keep them healthy (humus), and reducing fertility. and strong. The compost looks after Compost can be added as a top the microbes and the microbes look dressing or mulch, rather than being after our plants. dug in. Worms and beetles will So, if you want to care for your incorporate the compost from the plants, you must care for your soil top down as they do in nature, and and the millions upon millions of microbes will deliver the nutrients organisms which live in it. to your crops. Having a system of Regular digging is very damaging permanent raised beds makes it to soil life and soil structure. easy to avoid standing on the soil Occasional digging may be and causing compaction. Extra necessary to relieve severe nutrients can be added with ‘green compaction or lift root crops, but is manures’: cover crops of nitrogenbest kept to a minimum. It breaks fixing legumes such as clovers and up the structure, making it more vetches. These protect the soil while prone to compaction, water-logging there are no crops on it and add and erosion; it causes a flush of nitrogen and organic matter as they weed germination by exposing grow. You could also choose to seeds; it chops up roots of perennial make your own bio-fertilisers which weeds like buttercup and dock, thus will boost the soil food web A top-dressing or ‘mulch’ of compost

Would you like some salad with that?

HARVEST time is here (well for the early crops anyway), so start digging your early potatoes as and when you need them. Just like digging up treasure, kids love helping with this job. Don’t forget early spuds won’t store, so eat lots of new potatoes and salads that will use up all the tasty produce you should have by now. There will be plenty of lettuces, chard leaves and spring onions to pick.

And don’t forget young, freshly picked broad beans are lovely raw in a salad.

Peas and mangetouts are just like flowering sweet peas the more you pick the more they will produce and what a nice snack they make when your pottering on the plot. My daughter’s favourite!

Garlic will be starting to die back towards the end of July so try and harvest before the tops disappear completely, otherwise you might never find them until they start popping up next Spring when its too late.

Right that’s me done for now, things to do, I’m off to pick a few peas!

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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and add nutrients.

These include ‘compost teas’, comfrey juice and nettle infusions.

It is easy to work with nature when we garden, by adopting some simple soil care approaches such as these.

Upcoming Courses: June: Kitchen Gardening: Summertime, The Sustainability Centre, Hampshire July: Permaculture Design Course, Ragmans Lane Farm, Gloucestershire October: Introduction to Permaculture, Dartington, Devon For more info: www. patrickwhitefield.co.uk

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NEWS&views Business wins prestigious award

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delighted to get the opportunity to REEN Shoes, the handmade further expand my skill set and with footwear brand who were a company I am passionate about”. founded in Totnes, are celebrating after they were awarded Established in 1981 by Alison, apprenticeship funding by the Green Shoes are now based in Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Moretonhampstead, handmaking (QEST) to help their apprentice leather and vegan shoes, boots and continue to develop her skills and sandals to order in their workshop training. where the material is Supporting hand cut, high-quality machine and British hand stitched, craftsmanship, designed and the QEST made using apprenticeship traditional and funding is contemporary awarded once techniques. The a year to funding will those learning provide Polly from a master Alison Hastie and Polly Collins with further craftsman, training in these techniques, assist who display a high level of skill with material costs and part fund and are looking to reach a level of her salary for the next three years. excellence further in their career.

The funding will help Green Shoes Polly Collins, 26 from North Devon, continue to thrive and sustain has been working under Green traditions and skills. Alison is thrilled Shoes CEO and master craftsman to encourage and develop Polly’s Alison Hastie for the past 6 months skills throughout the next three years and said: “It’s a real accolade for of the apprenticeship scheme. me and Green Shoes and I am

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

Devon builds success in construction comp SOUTH Devon College recently hosted the South West regional heat of SkillBuild 2017 - a national construction competition.

Students from the college ended up celebrating victories on the day.

Trainees were put through their paces in trades such as carpentry, cabinet making, brickwork, plastering, joinery and painting and decorating. In addition to the competition, there were numerous ‘Have a Go’ activities. Over 300 primary and secondary school students from across Torbay and Newton Abbot had the chance to engage in related activities.

Chris and Jules from BBC’s DIY SOS were invited to attend the SkillBuild competition. They took part in the activities and shared their hints and tips with the students.

Uniting all ages to fight waste

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WORLD News is a new series of booklets, in collaboration with Devon Community Recycling Network (DCRN), that are designed for children and grown ups alike to get involved and developed to explore man’s relationship with waste and illustrate just what we need to do. Delivered free to schools and households they offer a guide to making a difference.

Part of the 1World Unite series of resources, they are aimed at helping young people develop the knowledge they need to help them make informed choices, get involved and be the change.

DCRN’s Ben Bryant said: “I think a key element is empowerment and positive solutions to inherited World problems, and giving young people a chance to make a difference.

It provides a call to action whilst demonstrating that simple and small lifestyle choices do help. They provide ideas for fun projects and activities that can be undertaken

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at home, at school or within local communities. 1WorldUnite is both factual and upbeat encouraging youngsters to ‘be the change’ they’d like to see in the world.”

The link up with DCRN will help form a bridge between generations, forge community action and bond all ages, not just the established community groups which traditionally consist of the older demographic.

Ben added: “We need inclusivity and to encourage intergenerational fun, skillsharing and learning to address local and global environmental and social problems and make a better world for future generations. We absolutely can help people and the wonderful diversity of living things who share this planet.”

The free publications are designed around the United Nations sustainable development goals, and available by visting 1world-news. com and subscribing.

The Biodynamic Land Trust Stewarding land and conserving a living, working countryside Invest in Huxhams Cross Farm, Dartington TQ9 6NT

A local community-owned farm that • Uses biodynamic organic and permaculture farming • Revitalises the soil • Revives wildlife • Creates community

Invest in community shares and/or donate to build a farm biodynamiclandtrust.org.uk/huxhams

Contact: 01453 367233 / info@biodynamiclandtrust.org.uk Community Benefit Society number 31448R Exempt Charity number XT33649

Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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LOCAL PRODUCE Offering a taste of the good life

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OUTH Yeo Farm West, just outside Okehampton on the fringes of Dartmoor, is home to Debbie Kingsley and her husband Andrew Hubbard.

The pair have helped more than 750 hopeful smallholders offering insight into what managing a smallholding is all about as part of the courses they run throughout the year. Debbie and Andrew are professional trainers and have been smallholding and farming on a small scale for over 25 years.

They run a range of popular, informative Introduction to Smallholding and Advanced Smallholding weekends, courses focussing on pigs, sheep and cattle, Cattle for Beginners days, Build Your Own Cob Oven courses and more.

Said Debbie: “We also create bespoke days, weekends or longer for people wanting some very focussed attention to get you up to speed, absolutely tailor-made to your interests.”

The courses all include home grown and home cooked lunches and Devon cream teas, with time to chat over the kitchen table between carefully structured sessions with the livestock, dealing with everything from the legal requirements to fencing, housing, animal welfare, health planning, basic medication and land management.

Their 108 acre farm is home to rare and native breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and waterfowl

and the pair are committed to high environmental practices for the benefit of wildlife and their livestock.

If you want to get to grips with a taste of the real good life before making a major commitment, they offer a full calendar of dates to choose from.

To book a place or for more information go to www. smallholdertraining.co.uk, or contact Debbie on 01837 810569 or debbie@smallholdertraining.co.uk. l To book a place or for more information go to www. smallholdertraining.co.uk, or contact Debbie on 01837 810569 or debbie@smallholdertraining.co.uk.

Smallholding experts Debbie Kingsley and her husband Andrew Hubbard with their dogs pictured above. A goose takes a ride on a badger faced Torddu and Olive’s new (and very cute) calf.

any container can be weighed - any container can be used

... paper bags & cups, yoghurt pots, recycled plastic bags, bottles, jars, cardboard boxes ...

thezerowasteshop.co.uk 101 High Street, Totnes 16

... well almost any!

Earth . Food . Love

— MEMBER —

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the zero waste shop www.reconnectonline.co.uk

LOCAL PRODUCE Natural food without the electric gadgets

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HANE Jordan has a reputation for waste reducing recipes including his Banana Skin Curry. He also works in promoting recycling, reusing leftovers, and sustainability in schools, universities, worked with councils and community-based organisations, and is a plan-based chef.

Shane’s not only the Love Food Hate Waste ambassador from the South West of England, but also the newly crowned UK ambassador of Fair Food Forager, a new app that encourages local cafes and restaurants to become sustainable and ethical (see panel below).

Shane’s most recent project has been creating delicious nutritious food from uncooked fruit and vegetables to resemble household name meals such as curries, sweet and sours, chips and noodles, without the aid of electrical equipment. He does away with food processors, spiralizers, dehydrators, and juicers. It’s one of the most effective ways to prepare healthy food, reduce energy, and save on buying expensive electrical equipment.

Shane points out: “Uswitch say the cost of cooking accounts for about 4% of the average gas and electricity bill. Changing the way

you cook as well as using energyefficient cooking appliances can reduce the amount of energy you use and cut your energy bills in the process.”

Shane uses manual alternatives to electric gadgets, along with fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices that can be bought locally without needing to travel to specialist stores for high price ingredients.

This natural approach to preparing food is inspired by the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic era.

Apart from meat and fish, leafy vegetables, fruit and nuts were frequently foraged. As our ancestors did, he utilises items for preparing food such as mortars and pestles.

He offers group workshops throughout the UK & private lessons and tutorials too.

CAG Devon (Devon Community Action Groups) are planning two events which he will be a part of. The first is the Electric Nights which will be happening on June 3, July1, and August 5.

More details will be on Shane’s website: www. foodwastephilosophy. com. Twitter: @ FoodwasteShane

Real food, Real life,

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

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

Jane Hutton The Functional Foodie

T: 07841 344934

The fair food forager app for businesses SHANE is a big supporter of The Fair Food Forager app which encourages local businesses to minimise packaging waste, food waste, consider food miles, lower animal cruelty and support community groups and local food production.

Cafes, restaurants and community groups can sign up for free on a basic package. The app works by providing two levels of listings. The basic package offers each business the chance to have their name listed along with a description, and basics like opening hours, sustainable icons, and their rating tracking.

The Exclusive package for a fee offer more. In addition to what’s on the basic package also includes contact details, map locating/GPS, feature image, menu tab, photographs x 5 (+YouTube Clip), a short and long Description, social media shout out, newsletter intro, and website & social media links.

Businesses on the exclusive package and also track their page’s check-ins, have a randomised Fair Food Forager front page feature, a priority position in search results, a 10% donation to partner charity, a locator tag (where their business is suggested) and a chance to promote promotions or events.

As an incentive Shane is offering businesses a 6 month trial of the exclusive package, and if they don’t want to pay a fee afterwards, the Fair Food Forager can put them on the free package listing for FREE. To find out more visit their website fairfoodforager.com.au.

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Editorial: 01392 346342 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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LOCAL PRODUCE learn at

RM

SCHOOL FA

re ted agricultu unity suppor

vegetables? g organic in w ro g t abou nt to learn Do you wa comm

Starting in September, practical courses at School Farm CSA, near Totnes, in partnership with Bicton College.

Learn about soils, compost, sowing, and much more.

For details to enrol contact Bicton: 01395 562400 or mel@schoolfarmcsa.org.uk • 07841658559

www.schoolfarmcsa.org.uk

making Ethical Easy

Totnes Stout is the best in the land

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ISTORY in Totnes has a habit of repeating itself. Early last century the town’s original Lion Brewery was renowned for making a ‘celebrated’ stout. The brewery closed in 1921. However their old posters inspired the founders of the current town based brewery. They in turn have followed their predecessor by brewing a “celebrated Totnes Stout” which has been judged to be the best cask stout in the country.

New Lion Brewery, which opened in 2013 on Station Road, took gold honours for their stout at the Society of Independent Brewers’s ‘BeerX’ event in Sheffield at which the National Independent Beer Awards were held.

New Lion Brewery’s Ann Monroe said: “It’s a thrill for us to be

shane@fairfoodforager.com hello@fairfoodforager.com Join now and support local, sustainable business

recognised in this way. We only just celebrated our third birthday, and here we are picking up the award for the nation’s best cask Stout. We are very proud to be putting Totnes on the map in this way, alongside the many big-hitters at BeerX, and I’d like to thank Mat, Jacek and Josh, our team whose hard work has made this possible”.

Having won Gold for the nation’s finest cask stout, New Lion’s pale ale Pandit, named to celebrate the visits to Dartington Hall in Ravi Shankar in the 1930s, was awarded Silver in the ‘Champion Keg Premium Bitters and Pale Ales’ category.

New Lion Brewery prides itself on celebrating the local food culture of the area with their occasional and more experimental brews. It recently released ‘Berries on Brett’, made using chuckleberries from Dame Hannah’s Trust at Seale Hayne, and will soon be releasing a barley wine called ‘Barrel Thief’, brewed using bread from The Almond Thief bakery at Webbers Yard, which has spent months ageing in wine casks from the Sharpham Vineyard.

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 OUR foodie JANE HUTTON reveals there’s much more to herbs than just a flavouring, garnish or condiment.

Power of one for the planet THE problems on our planet can often seem overwhelming and out of our control, but the power of one has never been so important.

Earth.Food.Love, the zero waste shop in Totnes, has officially become a member of 1% for the Planet; an organisation that brings ‘dollars and doers together to address the most pressing issues facing our planet’.

Through businesses donating just 1% of their annual turnover, an impressive $150 million has been given back to environmental nonprofits since 2002. The network consists of more than 1,200 member businesses, numerous individuals, and thousands of nonprofit partners in more than 40 countries.

In being a member, Earth.Food.Love will be donating 1% of our turnover (not profit) to a nonprofit of our choice (tbc). They said: “Being the first business in Totnes to do this, we hope to inspire lots of other local businesses to jump on board too and get involved…imagine the collective impact we could have?!?!”

Every time you spend money at their shop in Totnes, you now know that 1% is going directly towards helping the Earth! Head over to their website to read about them further, Co-owners Richard and Nicola are urging other local businesses to also become members.

Abundant herbs are a great tonic

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Food revolution at people’s cafe

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USTIN Crook opened the Totnes People’s Cafe in Totnes eight years ago. It’s housed within The Mansion on Fore Street, the one with posters highlighting local activity pinned along it’s railings. The building was the original home of KEVICCs (King Edward VI Community College).

Back then the Mansion Cafe was standing empty and Justin was looking to return to cooking for people, having grown restless in a job away from the stoves in an office job selling kitchens and bathrooms. So, he jumped at the chance to take on Justin Crook (centre) and the the community cafe. staff at Totnes’ People’s Cafe It provides a space for the building’s artists, Naval College gave him the chance to musicians and those with learning settle his family back in Torquay. disabilities. It’s provided lunch for many Various head chef posts in the of the building’s visitors, and those area followed including working at who work within it including those from Winners 2000, the healthy eating Transition Town Totnes, Proud2Be, the cafe where his expertise in organic language school, the nursery and the and vegan food expanded. A short nearby library, and continues to evolve stint at Kranks near Totnes also Justin’s ethos with a family cooking developed his love of what he calls school planned for later this year. ‘real food’ and it’s this organic Taking place in the early evenings, the seasonably avilable food he serves school will offer the chance to go as daily at the community cafe. far with cooking as those taking part It’s great food too. It’s all fresh, want. Central to the idea will not just organic and made fresh, offering be the chance to learn to cook, but daily culinary delights on the also how to save money too, offering blackboard including Justin’s gluten tips in zero waste, and sourcing locally, the chance to learn the recipes free curries. All served up in a nice airy space with art adorning the red of cafe favourites. walls. There are also garments for Justin trained as a chef locally in sale, a noticeboard of local activities Torquay, before working in Switzerland and services, wifi, decent coffee, where he developed a passion and a kid’s space. As the days for snowboarding, and spent the warm Justin also assures there will off season preparing food at the be handmade ice cream to enjoy on Bricklayers Arms in Shoreditch in ‘97 the wooden picnic tables outside. and ’98. He was then head chef over the winter season at Ser Che in France.

Justin continues to lead a local seasonal food revolution at his Returning to England he was cafe, where his staff have learnt providing corporate food for bankers all aspects of the trade and then in Docklands at the time of the Twin gone on to continue their culinary Towers disaster. By then he was settled journeys across Reconnectland and in Hackney with a young family, beyond. Next time you’re in Totnes dabbling in the Shoreditch scene, but take some time out to pop in and try he longed to return to the South West.

Working for the MOD at Britannia one of his recipes.

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S we ease into summer, with plants and flowers bursting out all over, gardens planted and tidied, and the winter slipping into distant memory, our thoughts turn to lighter eating. One thing I really love about sunny summer food is the abundance of herbs available, especially in my dedicated herb garden.

Herbs are often overlooked as anything more than a flavour hint, garnish or condiment; herbal highlights go far beyond that, though! Did you know that parsley has more iron, weight for weight, than spinach or steak? Not that you’d necessarily think of eating more than a sprinkle of parsley at one time, and that, of course, is the point. We can, and definitely should!

While we’re familiar with herbal medicine, and are turning to more natural personal care products, often featuring herbs, we don’t usually consider using them as natural edible healthcare we can incorporate in a bigger way. The first step is pinpointing what the nutritional benefits are, and then picking which ones to use more extensively.

Basil doesn’t just go well with tomatoes and slices of creamy mozzarella; it’s known for helping digestion and calming an overactive nervous system.

Coriander, marjoram and oregano have similar digestion-soothing properties, though if you have a tickly cough or tension headache,

get oregano and marjoram into your meals too.

Certain herbs have become linked to particular foods or dishes over time, and considering the knowledge of nature and the environment that our forebears had, it will be no real surprise to find these pairings grew from a reliance on natural methods of healthcare. Rosemary will help to digest fats and stimulate circulation, which may be why it’s traditionally used with fattier meats like lamb and beef, while sage, tarragon and thyme Herbal have an medicine efficacious wheel effect on rich food and digestion.

Our ancestors certainly knew a thing or two, without the aid of scientific labs and testing equipment!

Medicinal properties go even further with many herbs, making targeted eating easy to achieve.

Turmeric, sage, garlic, lemon balm, and borage, to name but a few, all have researched effects, from antifungal and antibacterial properties to soothing rheumatism and anxiety.

So, how do we get more of these wonders into our food? The answer is easy – replacing some of our usual lettuce choices with herbs as a leaf creates salads that are not just spectacularly fragrant and delicious, but powerfully healthy too. Add edible flowers for a work of art on a plate that’s almost too pretty to eat. Have a herbally healthy summer!

Give this one a try, bursting with ingredients particularly high on the alkaline scale, and heaving with such a broad spectrum of nutrients, you’ll be dancing on the ceiling! Adorn with whatever other leafy herbs you’re growing, and any extra toppings you choose – cucumber, tomatoes, red/yellow peppers, spring onions, chicken, avocado, goat’s cheese, feta, halloumi, salmon, chorizo, smoked mackerel, the possibilities are endless. Your body (and mind) will thank you!

This Supercharged Salad Base serves one for a big summer boost.

INGREDIENTS: 1 handful of spinach; 1 handful of rocket; 1 handful of coriander leaves; a scattering of mint leaves; 1/2 head, cos lettuce, chopped; 1 bunch of parsley, chopped; 3 celery stalks, chopped; 1 pepper, sliced; and a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds and almonds Mix the salad greens together in a bowl. Top with celery, green pepper, almonds/seeds, parsley, and the other toppings of your choice. Dress with a light lemon and olive oil dressing or a balsamic glaze.

Enjoy!

Make a supercharged salad base

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

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MORE FOLLOWS...

With his smallholding also home to a variety of livestock MARTIN gets to grips with the ethics of eating meat, and the accountability of animal welfare.

Livestock from farms not factories

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HE smallholding on which I now live, Tigley Tump just outside Totnes, is also home to chickens, lambs and pigs. Some of which, it probably won’t surprise you, will ultimately make it onto our dining table.

The practical, moral and emotional issues surrounding that process seem to come up in conversation with almost everyone who visits us here on the land. It’s a subject that stirs the emotions, as befits something that involves the taking of life. What are those of us who have decided to eat meat really saying? ‘I am the superior animal and choose to kill and eat other lesser creatures’… A tough line, perhaps, but isn’t that essentially our argument?

Consequently, once we’ve made our personal meaty decisions, we can get quite evangelical about our view of things. And if you visit someone who is living a matter of metres from his future carnivorous delights… happily we still count both vegans and carnivores among our friends.

Personally, although I do eat meat, I feel passionate about animal welfare and I despise the way we abuse creatures in the name of cheap meat. More important, I believe, than what personal decision you make about eating meat, is that you do make a conscious decision. Life, and especially the taking of life, always matters. Please don’t do it, or let others do it on your behalf, without even giving it a thought.

But how does my tucking into a bacon sarnie stack up alongside my claim to be an animal lover?

I would argue that I am doing my bit for animal welfare by helping ensure our poultry, pigs and lambs live full, and as near natural as possible, lives: they are genuinely free-range, with access to chemical-free pasture (where weather allows – have you seen what pigs do to pasture over the winter?); they have plenty of space, which helps reduce stress and disease; they are fed on nonGM, soya-free feed (better for them, us and the environment); and they are treated naturally using herbs – and no antibiotics.

And I am also doing nothing to support the meat factories (I really can’t bring myself to call them farms) that supply many of the supermarkets and fastfood outlets.

But what if you want to eat high-welfare meat but can’t raise your own animals?

Fortunately, there are an increasing number of local, high-welfare producers – including us here at Tigley Tump.

Commercial break: we will have Tigley Tump pork and lamb available over the coming months. If you’d like to be notified about it nearer the time (no obligation to buy), please email me – martin@foster42.eclipse.co.uk. And now, back to the main feature…

For maximum accountability around welfare, buy straight from the producer.

You can meet some at your local farmers’ market, or check out any meat box schemes in your area. Mr Google will point you in the right direction (other less well-known but ethically superior search engines are available).

Your friendly high street butcher will

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also know all about welfare standards at the farms that supply them: if they don’t, go to another butcher.

If you’re shopping in a supermarket (oh come on, we all do), look out for labels that say Outdoor Bred, RSPCA Assured, Free Range or, best of all, Organic.

You can see a full rundown on labelling at www.farmsnotfactories.org, whose director Tracy Worcester made the documentary Pig Business.

Suffice to say here that: the highest standard is the Soil Association’s Organic (find out more at www.soilassociation. org) - and note too that the much-hailed Red Tractor scheme actually only “assures UK consumers that meat products comply with UK minimum legal requirements”.

According to Farms Not Factories: “In 2012, advertisements falsely claiming that British pork sold with the Red Tractor label were ‘high welfare’ were banned by the ASA due to being misleading.”

You can read more about Red Tractor in their own (very carefully chosen words) at www.redtractor.org.uk.

Of course, the pro-cheap meat lobby will argue that producing affordable food, to feed all the world’s hungry mouths, is more important that animal welfare.

Surely it costs lots more to keep animals to higher welfare standards? Yes, it does. And doesn’t that make the meat is more expensive? Yes, it does.

And does that mean that many of us wouldn’t be able to afford to eat as much meat? Yes, it does.

That, my friends, is the price we pay for not exploiting animals. That’s the cost of deciding that if we are going to eat meat, we should at least keep the animals humanely.

And some of the thousands of acres that are currently used to grow animal feed could actually be used to grow veg and grain for people – check out www.grownintotnes.co.uk to find out more about a scheme to encourage local farmers (and retailers and consumers) to do just that.

If animal welfare isn’t enough reason for eating less meat, there are huge environmental considerations too.

Research published in March says that growing food for the world’s burgeoning population is likely to send greenhouse gas emissions over the threshold of safety - unless we cut our meat consumption. A widespread switch to vegetarianism would cut emissions by nearly two-thirds, said the research, led by scientists at the Oxford Martin School.

In three decades, emissions from agriculture and food production will account for about half of the world’s available ‘carbon budget’. We’ve all been made aware of the part energy generation, transport and buildings can play in reducing emissions, but the impact from food production has often been left out.

And if you want more stats, try these: if we stick to current health guidelines on meat consumption, more than five million premature deaths could be avoided globally by 2050. More than seven million if we went for a veggie diet.

Anyone fancy a Happy Meal?

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Growing on the community farm

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N THE beautiful Dartington Estate near Totnes, you will find School Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a three acre organic community farm. The CSA model is a membership scheme where the community receive vegetables for the growing season. All their produce is grown on site, and there are opportunities for everyone to engage with where and how their food is grown, through volunteer days, community events and training opportunities.

Over the past eight years School Farm has hosted accredited courses, and from September 2017 will offer level 1 and 2 practical horticulture courses in conjunction with Bicton College. As midsummer approaches the season is in full swing, they’re harvesting the first vegetable boxes, sowing and planting out crops. This years’ students have opportunities to learn about the whole organic growing cycle, from how they plan their crops, to preparing the soil, sowing seeds, caring for the plants and harvesting.

Former student Clare said: “It’s such a beautiful site, brimming with wildlife and the chatter of birds.… The teachers and staff at the farm really know their stuff and make the days really fun as well as informative. I’ve made a lot of new friends and lunchtimes are special when held under the apple tree by the hammocks.”

Another former student Lizzie, said that “I have enjoyed the process of planting seeds, seeing them turn into plants and produce food. All in all, it’s been a real education.”

Teacher, Melissa Harvey, added:

“There is such a range of skills and experience in the student groups, and a real atmosphere of learning from each other: from new knots, to wildflowers to perennial vegetables.

As well as learning about the classic organic vegetable growing, we also look at more unusual approaches such as forest gardening and no-dig growing, it is a hub of practical innovation in this area.” l For more information on the Practical Horticulture courses and veg boxes contact: Melissa on 07841658559 or email mel@schoolfarmcsa.org.uk or visit www.schoolfarmcsa.org.uk l And to enrol on the courses contact Bicton College on 01395562400 or visit www.bicton. ac.uk and search for ‘Practical Horticulture Skills at Dartington’

Read the diary of an aspiring mother Being Bridie is a first novel for Devon based writer Casey Oconnor. The diary of Bridie Kelly is both funny and poignant, she has been wishing all her life daydreaming of the things that other women seem to get so easily. Bridie is desperate with a capital D to be a mother, but its not happening, despite fertility treatment and other therapies.

Bridie finds herself spinning from one crisis to the next until when her ultimate dream comes true. When it

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does life implodes and she’s in danger of losing everything she hold dear.

The novel has been receiving rave reviews on Amazon and Good Reads.

One review said: “A great read combining humour of Bridget Jones with reality of fertility, fostering and adoption. Well written amusing and honestly informative. I look forward to the sequel.”

Casey has been delighted with all the good reviews, and so she is now writing the sequel.

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NEWS&views Get involved with transition homes

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RANSITON Homes Community Land Trust is offering those living in Reconnectland an opportunity to be part of an inspiring project creating a low impact, resilient community of sustainable and affordable homes in Dartington.

The offer is open to people from Dartington, Totnes and the surrounding parishes who can get involved by becoming a member, a Trustee or a volunteer.

Project Co-ordinator Nicola Lang explained: “A Community Land Trust is a non-profit which develops and manages affordable housing for the local community, and other community assets too. Transition Homes was set up because there is a huge need for affordable housing in the Totnes area, and also conventional development does not do enough to address issues around sustainability. Anyone in the local community can get involved - I started as a volunteer because I am passionate about eco-housing, and I’ve now been with the group for three years during which we’ve submitted a planning application for 27 timber frame and straw-bale houses on a site, called Clay Park, between Dartington and Totnes.”

Anyone living or working in the community can join the CLT as a member (it only costs £1).

Members play an active part in the CLT’s work, supporting and guiding the work, making sure it is community-led and electing the board of Trustees.

Transition Homes Trustee, Erica Lewis says “At the moment we are agreeing the finishing touches to the planning conditions with the council, so hope to announce good news about planning permission soon.

We are keen to involve more local people, bringing new skills and energy to the team. They will help us to make Clay Park the best it can be and to explore other opportunities to meet the community’s needs.”

The CLT will be holding several open events in June and July, which are an opportunity to find out about Clay Park and ask questions, to contribute your ideas, and discuss how you can get involved.

If you are interested in attending one of the open events or getting involved, please email communication@transitionhomes. org.uk and details of the open meetings & membership will be sent as soon as possible.

Discover the art of shopping locally SOUTH Devon is home to many local and independent shops and craftspeople relying on shoppers visiting them rather than the big chains in out of town shopping centres. One such area is South Brent. Artwork’s Penny and Jane gives us a quick guided tour of stores in the area.

COME and spend your pound in South Brent on the high street, and it will very probably stay in South Brent, circulating around the businesses and shops that support a vibrant village community. Visit Cosy Corner Crafts, a new shop to the village in 2016. Visit the well-stocked South Brent Pharmacy.

Buy friends and family, plants and flowers from South Brent Flowers.

Shop for groceries in both the Co-op, and Premier Stores and Newsagents who also provide the full range of Post Office Services.

Visit your friendly south Brent Butchers. Take a break at Crumbs and Cuppa or The Friary Fish and Chips, before a visit to the Mobile Bank at the Old School Community Centre, an electrical purchase or computer wizardary at Moortek,

Artworks in South Brent recently moved to the Old Police Station at Sanderspool Cross, a visit to Gildersleves for an antique or two, a second hand purchase at the Mare and Foal or a trip to the Luscombe May the local estate agent, because you can’t wait to move here. All this, before or after a visit to other ‘out of centre’ businesses in and around the village and at Brent Mill Industrial Estate.

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

Emma Charlotte 07933 595147 Basepoint Business Centre, Exeter EX2 8LB payroll@a-count.org.uk

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eco homes Open eco-homes weekend returns

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RANSITION Town Totnes is now getting organised for this year’s Open EcoHomes weekend and EcoHomes Fair. If you’re interested in opening your home, or having a stall at the fair, now is your opportunity to get in touch with organisers.

Open Eco-Homes will take place on October 6-8 and the search is on for people who would like to inspire others by opening the doors to their home.

All properties are considered homes featured in the past range from the off-grid to renovated older properties, high-spec new builds and eco-communities. Last year’s properties can be viewed at tinyurl.com/TTTeco16 The event offers a chance for people to learn about ways to lower their home’s environmental impact, from simple measures like draught-busting and secondary glazing, to the use of natural

materials, or cutting edge technologies, or considering the consumption of water, waste, food and transport too.

Homes are opened to suit the owner, and people across the wider area can take part - properties as far afield as Dittisham and Ilsington have been featured, and Bob the Bus trips from Totnes can be arranged to more remote locations.

If you haven’t opened your home before and would like some support, there’s advice on offer prior to the event.

The open weekend is followed by the Eco-Homes Fair on October 21, at Totnes Civic Hall. This is an opportunity for people to meet suppliers, installers, builders and architects (many of whom have been involved with properties featured on the open weekend), as well as community organisations, working in

The Glastonbury land donor

the areas of eco-housing and renewable energy.

The fair typically attracts at least 500 people, and also features talks and demonstrations, children’s activities to give parents time to look round, and a café.

Those interested in opening their home for the Open EcoHomes weekend, or having a stall at the fair, please contact this year’s organising team led

by Phil Long, on ecohomes@ transitiontowntotnes.org. The deadline for participating in both events is July 31.

Last year’s Open Eco Homes attendees visit a cob house.

Inside the EcoHomes Fair, and a straw bale demo at the 2016 Fair.

Students create new camping experience AFTER all the council housing in his home village of Pilton, Somerset was sold under right to buy, farmer Michael Eavis has for over 35 years had a plan to provide affordable homes on his farmland. He was milking his cows and listening to Radio 4 when he heard about planning permission allowances for social housing. He decided to form a plan to provide affordable homes for locals to rent to keep the village flourishing.

So, in the early 1990s, he donated six acres of farmland for a scheme to build housing for those with local ties. Eavis still owns the land so the properties built on the site are for rent only, so there will be no profiteering, or right to buy. He also gifts the stone they are made from (about a £100,000 year) quarried from his farm.

His grand plan is to celebrate the 50th year of the Festival in 2020 with 50 affordable homes for rent on the site, run by The Guinness Partnership.

The houses are all intended for local people with a strong connection to the village – for families with young children and people wanting to start a family. The aim is to provide homes for young local families so they don’t get drummed out of the village by high property prices.

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THE Tiny House is a new eco-pod designed by students from the University of Plymouth that has been unveiled on the Dartington estate. Created using materials from the 1,200-acre estate, the building has also been finished to a high standard by the students in conjunction with the Dartington Hall Trust’s craft education programme.

It uses local and sustainable materials including larch, Douglas fir and sheep’s wool, while craft tutors on the Trust’s wide-ranging

The first homes are already occupied, called John Burns Cottages after the 19th century socialist and trade unionist. The red roofed cottages also have allotments and fruit trees and lots of green spaces.

Ironically just up the road is the old council estate where all the properties have been old off under the right to buy scheme. Eavis hopes more landowners around the country will follow his lead in providing affordable social housing to keep our communities vibrant, and young families in the rural villages they were born in.

craft education programme are now working to create a bespoke interior.

The pod will be available for the public to rent out later this year and will provide guests with a unique experience as part of the Trust’s new camping initiative.

And the University and Trust have now agreed to work on similar projects for the coming three years, offering more students this kind of opportunity and creating a unique camping experience.

Students (from left) Tom Kimberley, Elliott Dennis and Matthew Fox, alongside second years Tom Simmons and Callum Swift in the Tiny House

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Visit us at www.reconnectonline.co.uk Green Day in Torbay for the first time

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LI-WAY Scrapstore in partnership with the Devon Community Recycling Network (DCRN) and Torbay Council Recycling are planning Torbay’s first Green Day which will be held on Saturday July 22 at Occombe Farm in Paignton.

The event is intended to raise awareness about the environmental impact of textiles and clothing production; urging people to consider the lifecycle of their clothing, where it comes from, where it ends up and what it’s made of. At the same time the event will be demonstrating that the possibilities for reuse, remaking and ‘upstyling’ are endless…..and that clothes recycling is easy!

Attendees can be assured of a day of fun and learning for the whole family with a focus on textiles upcycling and recycling. Fun activities like SWISHING (clothes swaps) will give people a chance to swap fancy dress costumes, whilst children’s fancy dress costume making and scrapstore ‘monster’ workshops plus ‘Morsbags’ (reusable shopping bags from waste fabric) will provide something for all ages.

There will also be a massive textile recycling collection to help raise money for the Aliway Scrapstore to support its quest to find new larger premises which are better equipped and more accessible to families across the Bay. Other community recycling solutions will be featured including talks and information on home composting, community composting and reducing and composting food waste as well as advice on real nappies. There will be entertainment from Elfic the Jester and also ‘The Seagalls’, Torbay’s very own female voice choir.

Occombe Farm education team will provide nature related workshops and ladies from ‘mudtots’ will be helping out with some of the children’s upcycling activities. l For more information and to get involved with the event contact Ben Bryant of Devon Community Recycling Network at info@dcrn.org.uk or call 07510 916 384.

Torbay Green Day Join us at Occombe Farm to celebrate Torbay's first Green Day On Saturday 22nd July, 10-4 You can learn about; composting, real nappies, Torbay's food waste recycling, Devon Community Recycling Network.

You can; make a scrap monster, make a bug house, make a fancy dress costume, a MORS bag, swap seeds and plants.

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FREE COLLECTION of reusable furniture, appliances & other household goods.

Bring a fancy dress costume to swap Entertaiment from; Professor Elfic, the Seagalls Meet the teams of Ali-way Scrapstore and Phoenix Crafts, Bring bags of unwanted, clean clothes to recycle with the Salvation Army And bring; buttons, broken beads, lace, ribbon, knitting wool for the Scrapstore

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

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23

land matters Keep Devon Help wanted with Exeter Community Farm frack free

By Dr. Larch Maxey

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RACKING is an unconventional way to extract gas or oil, pumping toxic cocktails of chemicals, vast quantities of water and sand, at immense pressure, deep into the earth to fracture rocks.

The risks of fracking include: l Ground and surface water contamination l Air pollution from escaping methane, toxic chemicals and radioactive gases l Earthquakes l Toxic slurry spills l Escalating road accidents, noise and fumes l Costing taxpayers £millions l Diseases e.g. cancer, infertility and brain damage Due to these risks, public opinion is strongly against fracking and research shows that the more people know about fracking the more they oppose it!

Is there a risk of fracking in Devon?

Most people mistakenly assume we are safe from fracking in Devon.

Indeed, Frack Free Totnes, a growing group of over 300 people living in and around Totnes, formed this year in order to show what we can do to support the UK Frack Free movement even if there’s no threat of fracking on our doorstep.

However, fracking is a real threat to Devon:1) Government license areas cover 65% of the UK, extending well into Devon right along the DevonSomerset border and into Torbay!

2) Water travels 100s miles underground (e.g. springs in South Devon are fed from S Wales and Brittany!) so we could be drinking fracked water from elsewhere!

3) As those affected leave fracked areas they will move to Devon, further pushing up house prices and jamming our roads.

4) Fracking will exacerbate climate change, a distraction from the real energy solutions of energy efficiency and renewables! The UK’s Climate Change Act and Paris Treaty promises would both be broken by fracking!

As experience in Australia shows, to stop fracking hurting us here in Devon we must stop fracking now, before it starts! We can’t leave it to politicians, but we can act ourselves. The most effective action is to Switch energy supplier from companies like British Gas, which use our money to fund fracking and fossil fuel exploitation, to 100% renewable suppliers like Ecotricity.

Ecotricity only invest in renewables, including Green Gas Mills, so the UK can become 100% renewable for gas and electricity! They’ll also donate £60 to Frack Free Totnes and give you a free LED lightbulbs worth £40 which can save you £60/year! www.ecotricity.co.uk/ frackfreetotnes or 08000 302 302.

For more info contact healthyliving004@gmail.com 01803 862980/07726195412

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GROUP of Exeter residents who are working to establish a City Farm and Community Garden in the city are looking for volunteers to join their steering group or to become trustees to help bring their exciting plans to life.

Project Co-Ordinator, Naomi Taylor, said: “We are so excited about this project. It is something that we strongly feel the community in Exeter and the surrounding areas could really benefit from and we have had an overwhelmingly positive response to our plans.

“Our dream is to create a welcoming community space where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to socialize, learn and thrive. The benefits of spending time in nature have been well documented in recent years. Not only does getting outdoors increase self-esteem, health and mental wellbeing, it reduces isolation and enables people to reconnect with the community, make friends, have fun and build skills and confidence.”

The group, who plan to lease a site in the city, are currently draughting a business proposal to St Werburghs submit to City Farm Exeter City Council. Their plans include events and activities for all ages from young children and families, school groups and youth groups to adults

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The Exeter City Farm project aims to set up a thriving community hub in the city, a place of recreation, education and therapy for local residents. Based around animals, food, nature and the environment, their plans include providing a wide range of services, facilities, workshops, activities and events for the whole community.

and older people (including those with dementia). They are especially keen to include those in the local area with physical disabilities or long term health conditions, people with learning difficulties or disabilities, people with mental health needs and disadvantaged, isolated, vulnerable and marginalised groups.

Even though we live in a predominantly rural county, 43% of children in the South West haven’t had a picnic outside their back garden (Source: OnePoll) and children continue to become disconnected with nature.

Some areas of Exeter are amongst the most deprived fifth in England (Source: Indices of Deprivation 2010, Department for Communities and Local Government.) Many sections of the local community have felt the impact of the closures of local services due to lack of funding over the past decade (such as youth centres, day care centres for older people, mental health services and learning disability services). It is against this backdrop that the City

Farm hopes to make a difference.

Naomi added: “We are setting up as a charity and are now looking to establish a board of trustees and to find more volunteers to join our steering group. If you are happy to give a few hours of your time each month and are willing to share your expertise and knowledge to help us get the project up and running – we would love to hear from you. We are looking for a broad range of people – whether you are employed, retired, have a family or have skills in any of the areas we are looking for – then we would love to hear from you!” l For more information on the project, becoming a Trustee or Steering Group Member or to sign up for news updates - visit www.exetercityfarm.org.uk.

Windmill Hill City Farm

New Devon on Earth fund celebrates reconnec THERE is a new fund dedicated to reconnecting people to nature, Devon Community Foundation’s LAURA HEWITT tells us more…

HILANTHROPISTS are people who want to make a positive difference – with their money and with their energy. Devon Community Foundation (DCF) brings them together with the many amazing local social entrepreneurs, community groups and volunteers who can make that difference happen, most effectively, at the grassroots.

As part of its 20th Birthday “This course has taught me that I can achieve things. Everybody at school celebrations DCF is building a new thought I was thick, so I stopped going but fund – Devon On Earth – dedicated I haven’t missed one session here and I’m to the support of grassroots projects learning loads.” Work Skills South West that are working to reconnect people –

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physically, intellectually and, above all, emotionally – with the wider ecological community. We are reaching out to potential partners, whether they represent individual, family or corporate philanthropy, to help us channel resources to this vital mission.

Human society now has ample evidence for the negative consequences of any estrangement from wider nature. Yet it’s also reclaiming an understanding of the positive – we could even say healing – qualities of reconnecting with our wider ecology, as numerous modern studies attest.

Here in Devon, as elsewhere, we are witnessing a growing number of projects seeking to facilitate such relationships, and this is especially so

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for d DCF typic disco Onc have Devo supp char indiv learn shar or so inter land We d man more wide

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Healthy soils are climate smart!

Bath City Farm

Visiting Schumacher College speaker Laura Lengnick agreed to write something exclusively for this issue of Reconnect!

Laura Lengnick leading a soil health workshop at Schumacher College with the Sustainable Horticulture class, lead by Jane Gleeson. The group are measuring the capacity of the soil to absorb precipitation.

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The vision is to provide a thriving community hub, a place of recreation, education and therapy for the local community.

Community Farm Projects

Spitalfields City Farm

There are various community-owned social enterprise farms in urban areas up and down the country whose aims are to help people develop a better understanding of where their food comes from, reconnect with the land on which their food is grown, and learn more about sustainable farming.

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for disadvantaged groups who are DCF’s prime focus as well as those, typically, most affected by nature disconnection.

Once enough local philanthropists have joined together to build the Devon On Earth fund, we envisage supporting community groups and charities working with disadvantaged individuals, through outdoor learning or food education projects, sharing and community resourcing or social economy initiatives, and intergenerational skills transfer or land-based (wellbeing) recovery work.

We do not wish to be too prescriptive; many activities can benefit from being more empathic and connected with the wider world.

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At DCF we have the joy of witnessing the transformative power of community, week in week out. We are now eager to amplify the profound effects of those changemakers across Devon who are working with what is ultimately our foundational community – planet Earth.

We know there are many people across Devon who want to give more locally and have a passion for their community and the environment. l For more information on the Devon On Earth fund and how you could be a part of helping to build a fund to support this essential reconnection of people and nature, please contact Laura at Devon Community Foundation by email, laura@devoncf.com, or calling 01884 235887.

unique style, but if you soil surface from the put these principles damaging effects of into practice your soil wind, water, direct will help you produce sun, and physical bountiful, high quality compaction. fruit and veg no matter It surprises many the weather. As an gardeners to learn added plus, you will that soil life needs a also be cooling the lot more than compost planet and contributing to be healthy. Recent to community resilience! research has proven International soil scientist that soil life needs a Laura Lengnick has diverse mix of living explored agricultural roots, decaying plant sustainability for more matter like green than 30 years. Her book, manures and other Resilient Agriculture: cover crops, plus Cultivating Food Systems residues of food crops, for a Changing Climate and animal manures.

(New Society Publishers), Compost contributes examines climate a lot to soil health by change, resilience and increasing water and the future of food. Learn nutrient storage and more about Laura and buffering pH, but it her work at www. doesn’t feed soil life cultivatingresilience.com or stimulate the metabolic 10 steps to a climate activity in the Resilient Garden soil that builds REDUCE ENERGY USE soil health.

Gardeners have many options to reduce the use The kind of soil of fossil fuels at home and in community RETHINK, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE protection that Avoid unnecessary purchases, use salvaged also cultivates recycled, home grown, carbon-neutral materials soil health best is a living plant THINK LOCAL Make necessary purchases from local and canopy and regionally owned, sustainable businesses the next best is KNOW YOUR CLIMATE VULNERABILITY organic mulch.

What are your garden’s exposures & ensitivities?

Aim to keep What can you do to enhance adaptive capacity? your soil warm PROTECT, ADAPT, PREPARE in the winter Use of mix of practices to enhance climate and cool in resilience and prepare for future changes summer and SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDCE, LEARN FROM OTHERS protect it from Support and participate in community-based wind and rain. research and education programs The specific KEEP CAREFUL RECORDS plants and Climate change effects are highly variable and are determined by local landscape relationships practices will OBSERVE, DESCRIBE, COMPARE, CONTRAST likely change Use best practices to document and explain the with location, changes you are noticing in your garden available CULTIVATE FUNCTIONAL & RESPONSE DIVERSITY materials, scale and each Design your garden to provide multiple services under a broad range of weather conditions gardener’s BUILD SOIL DUALITY High quality soils buffer weather variability, For more information on courses at promote plant health and slow global warming Dartington’s Schumacher College see www.cuItivatingresilience.com www.schumachercollege.org.uk

ARDENERS all around the world are noticing changing weather patterns.

Winters are warmer, springs more variable, and the growing season is lengthening.

Flooding rains are more common, as are longer dry periods. Traditional pests and diseases seem to be flourishing, arriving earlier and staying longer in larger numbers. New pests and diseases are making debut performances in many gardens.

There is one action you can take that addresses all of these new weather-related challenges: cultivate healthy soil. Healthy soils buffer extremes of precipitation and support healthy plants that are better able produce abundant high quality fruits and vegetables despite these new challenges of temperature, moisture and pests.

Managing for soil health is the gardener’s (and farmer’s) most important tool for successful gardening in a changing climate.

No matter the scale of production or local growing condition, the principles underlying soil health are the same.

It all it comes down to feeding and protecting the life in the soil. You can do this by offering soil life a diverse diet and protecting the

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25

rewild your child Only in the job a few months and your new editor has decided to add some new sections to Reconnect, including a ‘Rewild the Child’ section devoted to children related articles. Not that Reconnect has been child free in the past, but just that we’d like to make it a regular feature. This issue we look at education and play and we’ve enlisted the help of Exeter Steiner School and Totnes based Earth Wright’s to provide the main content.

Tara Milford, the parent and child coordinator at Exeter Steiner school talks about the start of the journey.

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S YOU move through your parenting journey you may be lucky enough to walk into a room full of other parents that feels like home. That is what I found when I entered my Steiner parent and child group. In a world full of over stimulating parenting groups, I had found an oasis, a beautiful thoughtful space that

became my sanctuary in a week full of nappies, breastfeeding, toddler tantrums and the stress of educational choices.

I became so dependent on the space that when my fourth child moved into kindergarten I became a parent and child group leader myself, ensuring that I could give to others what I had been fortunate enough to receive.

Within a Steiner parent and child group you find a consistent small group of parents and children.

It becomes an extended family, offering peer support and inspiration.

The gentle rhythm and

repetition ensures the babies and children feel safe and can anticipate and welcome every element of the morning.

The seasonal crafts are really quite addictive and even the reluctant find themselves drawn in and proud of their achievements.

I was fortunate enough to set up and run the parent and child groups within the Steiner Academy Exeter.

We started in September 2016 with three mornings and now we are open five mornings a week.

We meet in the ‘Garden Room’ within the main Grade Two listed Thomas Hall building, a beautiful space with wonderful views. We make bread, play, create, sing and then eat our bread with “stone soup”, so everyone leaves the morning with all their

senses gently satisfied.

Of course all these parents will need to make decisions about their child’s education, these decisions are often difficult: choice is a good thing but can sometimes be confusing. In Exeter we are fortunate to have the choice of state-funded Steiner education. As part of the parent and child group we can feel part of the school whilst being protected from the busyness of a large school.

We can watch the school children take part in their daily life, and this weekly visit to the school can help parents make an informed choice based on fact rather than myth, feeling rather than assumption, knowledge rather than hope. As the weeks go by parents can make a decision organically as to

whether Steiner education is the right choice for their family.

From Easter the school is offering the families commencing reception 2017 a weekly opportunity to attend a parent and child group in the afternoons. This will familiarise them with our school and allow time to have questions answered without time pressure or restraints. We are committed to increasing the provisions for the 0-4 years within our school so when parents are applying for their children’s school places they are confident in their choice and feel supported in their decision. l For more information please email parentandchild@ steineracademyexeter.org.

Life in the classroom with Exeter’s Steiner School JESS Lynch Thewless, class 4 teacher at Exeter Steiner School says that giving a clear-cut definition of what Steiner education is is difficult.

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S A class teacher, I experience it primarily as creating a space in which the children can form images, questions and thoughts independently. This leads eventually, in the developed adult, to capacities of compassion, freedom of thinking, interest in the world and an inner knowledge of personal power to affect change/creative potentiality. I rarely know beforehand the breadth of what will organically arise within personal experiences or open discussion, and I could never fully anticipate what will, in the future, bear fruit. The key, for me, is to see sparks forming as the curriculum meets the children and to have the freedom to enable fires to catch from these - thus enabling individual and collective future possibilities. This week’s Main Lesson has reminded me of this!

Recently the children in class 4 have been studying the Exmoor Red Deer, with particular emphasis upon stags. When we visited Exmoor as a class earlier in the year we were lucky enough to have two breath-taking sightings of deer herds, and many of the Queen Elizabeth t children in Class poin to like uld wo I .

Teo is My name 4 have also on r dee red out that the number of had personal uld wo I n. dow g goin encounters, Exmoor is rapidly r dee whole on other like it if you could stop the hunters al occasions. leg rs, che poa ng, thi g huntin Some of the lly rea uld wo I d. kin are murdering deer words that the ss. me s thi p sto ld cou like it if you children have

Long live the Queen!

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used to describe stags particularly are ‘majestic, powerful and beautiful’.

We follow a framework for our studies: Meaning of Name; Scientific Name; Anatomy/ Appearance; Movement; Diet; Food Chain; Design for Environment/Habitat; Life cycle/ Reproduction; Behaviour; Defence/Offense; Enemies; Species Survival Status and ‘Something else special’.

Questions around the ‘Enemies’ and ‘Species Survival Status’ have risen to the fore particularly. A question around legal hunting and illegal poaching arose one day (prior to my giving the class an indication of population numbers, etc.) which developed into a wellconsidered discussion. One child expressed an opinion that legal hunting is entirely unjust.

He was appalled that people can kill deer and that, if they’re licensed to do so, the police do nothing to stop it. Another countered this view with the assertion that illegal poaching is worse because it isn’t monitored or controlled, and therefore more deer could be killed.

They added that perhaps some hunting was needed to prevent the deer population from becoming too great and therefore a potential risk to the moorland and/or farmer’s crops. A third then passionately brought forward their belief that human beings are the most fearsome predators on earth. That whether or not human beings kill other creatures legally or illegally, murder is murder. He argued that ‘thanks to humans, some whole species of animals had been driven to extinction.’ The whole class, including myself, were greatly moved by this discussion.

From here we went on to look at the numbers of the red deer population. Five years ago there were approximately 3,700 and now

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there are only 2,500. We did the maths and worked out that, if the decline of red deer follows this trend, there is a possibility that they will indeed become close to extinction within ten years’ time. On Thursday the children thought about ways in which this course could be averted. Their many ideas included: forming protest groups; entering into dialogue with hunters to change their minds; dictating stronger punishments; petitioning ‘the courts’ to change laws; enlisting the support of powerful people and raising awareness so that people stop eating venison altogether (thus reducing the demand). It became clear that the children strongly felt a need to ‘do something’ and so I set them a task of writing to ‘powerful’ people, to raise awareness.

Some children addressed their letters to the Queen, some to the Prime Minister, some to the Army, some to the Police and some to any and every person/organisation of power that could possibly help.

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rewild your child Letting nature lead the way Rewilding play

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IKE Jones and Mark Renouard think a lot about children’s play needs.

They also think a lot about the needs of the natural world. As directors of Earth Wrights, they design play ‘habitats’ – natural spaces where active, social and imaginative play arises naturally from the environment – and believe these can encourage a reciprocal relationship between what both humans and the earth require to thrive.

“Conventional playgrounds made from metal and plastic may look enticing at first, but offer only limited pre-set play opportunities.

In addition, their construction and disposal cause real concern for the environment. When we create natural play spaces both humans and nature benefit.”

This benefit can be experienced in the many projects Earth Wrights has undertaken in recent years.

Buckfastleigh is an area with a high bat population and home to the largest colony of greater horseshoe bats in Europe.

When asked to design a play space for Victoria Park, Mark decided to incorporate a planting scheme robust enough for kids to build dens in – amalanchier, elder, buddleia - while simultaneously providing food and habitat for the bats and other wildlife. At Bishop Cornish Pre-school in Saltash, Earth Wrights created a brushwood tunnel which became a home for insects and small animals and offers magical play opportunities alongside a troll bridge with a whispering tube.

Now work has started on a new play space in Parkers Way in Bridgetown. An area with ageing

We all know the rejuvenation of land recycles it for a new purpose, but how often is land allocated for play? Reconnect regulars will be familiar with Totnes based Earth Wrights who lead the way in rewilding spaces for our kids to connect with nature.

Alice in Reconnectland

metal play structures and ongoing drainage issues will get a new lease of life by combining the science of good play with the wisdom of nature.

“Children need spaces that offer a variety of types of play. They want opportunities to be active – running, jumping, climbing - places to be quiet and contemplative, spaces that encourage interaction, a chance to explore their surroundings. At Parkers Way we are building a play tower with a climbing ramp and slide, living willow tunnels, balancing log bridges and grassy mounds for younger children. Older children will be able to enjoy climbing up to the hill-top look out tower via a web of ropes and traversing the log agility structure co-designed

with local parkour teacher Kyle Perkins from Parkour Experiences.”

Working with, rather than against, the area’s natural character they will be using Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and targeted planting schemes to turn what appeared to be an inconvenient bog into a flower rich marsh and creating access to the stream via a shingle beach with boulders. “Biodiversity does not have to be at odds with humans.

Sensible design brings humans and nature together.

Rewild the child An overview of research into outdoor education by King’s College London found that children who spend more time learning in natural environments ‘perform better in reading mathematics, science and social studies.’ Many other studies back this up and report sharp improvements in attention when children are exposed to wildlife and the great outdoors.

HANNAHS at Seale-Hayne is exhibiting some of the most famous illustrations in the world this summer at an exhibition entitled ‘Looking In Wonderland’ showcasing Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s two Alice books.

The exhibition features a selection of the best illustrations from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there (1872) in which the creative genius of both Carroll and Tenniel is shown at its best.

The original drawings were made on wooden blocks and then engraved by commercial engravers in London and the prints in the exhibition are perfect examples of the skill of both illustrator and engraver.

The stories were an instant hit with children and adults alike, and a major part of their success was due to the unique and imaginative illustrations supplied

by John Tenniel.

The illustrations will be on show at Seale-Hayne from June 1 to August 28.

Emotional families find the power of the woods

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EVON families and individuals living with intensity, super-sensitivity and hyper-reactivity, are invited to learn skills, play outdoors and connect in nature at PowerWood weekend camps, where they can also get support and advice tailored to their individual needs.

Sensitive people may be highly emotional, find tastes, touch, smells and sounds overwhelming, or have a powerful imagination.

These factors can be overwhelming, and have a serious impact on their everyday lives. Parents can feel inadequate

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and desperate and often blame themselves or get blamed for the behaviour of their child.

“The reality is that these young people need a different style of parenting and teaching,” says PowerWood founder Simone de Hoogh, “We hold regular events where families can understand and celebrate difference, while learning skills to help them deal positively with any challenges.”

‘Power of the Woods’ activities will take place over weekends this Spring and Summer at the PowerWood Camp site near to Tawstock, North Devon. Thanks

to a grant from the Big Lottery through Awards for All, families do not need to pay the full cost of the weekend camps, but are asked for a contribution based on their ability to pay.

Camps run from June 2-4, and June 30 – July 2. All ages are welcome, from toddlers up to teenagers.

For more information, visit www. powerwood.org.uk or call Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during term time from 10am – 2pm at 0749 1964 697 (mobile), you can also send a text and you will be called back.

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rewild your child Fundraising for Farms for City Children

IN JULY there will be two theatre performances in aid of Farms for City Children.

The first is on July 2 at Pentillie Castle in Cornwall, where charity founder Michael Morpurgo will be telling the powerful and deeply moving story of War Horse accompanied by the highly acclaimed and former War Horse National Theatre songman, Ben Murray. The second event will be on July 14 at Nethercott House near Okehampton, Farms for City Children’s Devon Farm, where Illyria will be performing the play “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

Tickets for both events are available via Farms for City Children’s website www. farmsforcitychildren.org. or please phone for tickets on 01392 276381.

Schoolboy walks for wild cats return

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N JUNE schoolboy Mahni Clear is holding a sponsored walk to raise money to help bring back the extinct British Lynx to the U.K. The sponsored walk will see Mahni hike from the source of the River Dart on Dartmoor to the estuary where the river meets the sea in Dartmouth. He will cover around 52 miles, with some of it by boat (places between Buckfastleigh and Dartmouth where there is nowhere to walk alongside the river) and he will camp along the way.

Mahni explained: “As I walk I will imagine that one day I may be walking here or another wild place in the UK and catch a glimpse of a lynx in the bushes or see their footprints and know that I have been part of their being here.”

The Lynx was known by ancient cultures around the world as the mysterious ‘Keeper of Secrets’. Ancient hunters accorded great spiritual significance to the lynx and believed that dreaming of them would bring a man magical stealth and hunting powers.

Mahni has been inspired by successful reintroductions of the cats over the past decades, across Europe. The best managed programs have constructed whole new eco-friendly industries around their presence, breathing new economic life into remote rural communities.

Mahni hopes to raise £350 for The Lynx UK Trust which was founded in 2014 by a group of experienced conservationists

Free your player

and scientists, with specialisms in wild felines, genetics, species reintroductions and wildlife education, and experience working on conservation projects worldwide.

The Lynx UK Trust is dedicated to reintroducing the Eurasian lynx to Britain in order to restore an iconic species which disappeared from our forests around 700 AD due to habitat destruction and human persecution.

Reintroduction elsewhere has confirmed The lynx present no threat to humans or livestock, and help in the process of protecting and regenerating forest ecosystems. The project could also bring financial benefits to rural regions through the project’s ecotourism potential.

To find out more or donate see Mahni’s Just Giving Crowdfunding page www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ mahniclearreintroducingthelynx

ARE you brave enough to play with what is here and now ? That’s the question asked by Christie Animas in her Introductions to Fooling Workshops and Play Days held monthly in mid Devon.

Christie is offering the chance to free your inner player with embodied practices based on the work of the performer and director of La Pedredra Ltd in Cornwall, Franki Anderson.

Christie said: “After the weekend you will feel nourished and inspired by your Inner Player. You will feel supported by your connection with the audience and ready to play more.”

Her introduction weekends take place on June 17-18, July 1-2, and August 5-6 priced at £70 (£60 concessions) at Bowacre Farm in Hittislieigh with camping available.

Contact Christie Animas 07980371335 or christiede@ hotmail.com.

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NEWS&views Getting back to a happy medium

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Photography on the waves TONY FITZSIMMONS the documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Plymouth returns with the third part of his story.

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THER than having an almost burst appendix removed a few years prior, along with a week of severe reactions that followed with the various antibiotics administered, making my whole hospital experience somewhat touch and go for a while, I don’t remember another time when I was as ill as I was during my second week at sea; my January 2016 return trip onboard the Brixham Beam-Scalloper Emily Rose.

For five days straight I was an utter mess. From daily bouts of throwing up to legs like jelly, looking back I am surprised I even managed to take a photo. It wasn’t until the penultimate day of returning to port did I even manage my first meal; a delicious serving of dried toast. A year on and I still haven’t quite got my sea legs, though there are times where I feel like I am getting close. I honestly wouldn’t wish sea sickness on anyone. Well, almost anyone.

After the publication of my second pictorial feature in Fishing News, I was contacted by an Exmouth company and family, the Carters of Greendale. Having seen my recent article, they were taken by my imagery and style (and perhaps because I was the only photographer daft enough to go out

to sea in all manner of conditions) and offered me a commission documenting a series of vessels from their fishing fleet, Waterdance.

Being someone still trying to find my way in this industry, I couldn’t believe my luck and I immediately jumped at the chance to continue working at sea, only this time being paid for my services.

Over the next few weeks I was given a list of trawlers operating out of Brixham and Newlyn, a series of Beamers and Netters, along with contact details of various managers and skippers to arrange each week at sea. In April 2016, I began my Waterdance commission onboard a stunning vessel that made the Emily Rose look tiny in comparison; the majestic Margaret of Ladram, skippered by Adam Cowen-Dickie, with a crew of five. I honestly couldn’t wait to head back out to sea. And this time I came prepared with all manner of sea sickness tablets and travel bands.

You can view my Emily Rose series at www.tonyfitzsimmons.com

F you’re tired of TV, fed up with Facebook and traumatised by Twitter, maybe it’s time to go back to the tried and tested medium of radio for your news and entertainment.

Despite the rise Jeff in the studio with Scott Goodaire and Hannah of more modern Brooks of ‘Tic Tac Theatre’ media, radio has maintained a devoted following so hosting a radio show is a and listener numbers have wonderful opportunity for doing actually increased in recent this. Our guests, who usually years, due partly to the upsurge have an arts, music or wellbeing in locally based community radio connection, are invited to talk stations - Sound Art Radio in about their current projects and Dartington, Bay FM in Exmouth, interests and to share their stories Plymouth Community Radio and as well as playing some of their Phonic FM in Exeter to name just favourite music. We are always a few. on the lookout for new guests so anyone who would like to come Reconnect advertiser, actor and on the show is very welcome to life coach Jeff Sleeman has get in touch.” been presenting the ‘Happy Sundays Show’ on Phonic FM The Happy Sundays show goes since January 2012 and with out live between 2pm 4pm on the his co-host Camilla Joyce aims first Sunday of each month and to entertain, inform and inspire can be heard in the Exeter area listeners with a mixture of easy on 106.8 FM or on line at www. listening music and interviews phonic.fm. You can get in touch with local guests. with Jeff and also hear podcasts of recent shows via his website Jeff said: “I really enjoy meeting www.jeffsleeman.com and talking to new people

Dartington hosts ways with words

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AYS With Words Festival of Words and Ideas returns for a 26th year to Dartington this July. The 10 day festival from July 7-17 covers a range of topics including Time, Istanbul, Fake News, The Art of Losing Control, Muslim Britain, Lenin, Mindfulness, and the world of Beatrix Potter.

Individual tickets can be bought for talks/events/discussion/ workshops. Guests include the Rev. Richard Cole, Nick Clegg, Alan Johnson, Harriet Harman, John Simpson, together with about another 100 speakers.

“Just come with a curious and open

mind”, says the festival director, Kay Dunbar “and you will enjoy being at Ways With Words.”

Most tickets are £10 for events.

Day Tickets are available along with Rover Passes to see multiple events. See wayswithwords.co.uk or call 01803 867373

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29

The Change in Spain

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OR years seekers have been Following a previous article on exploring Andalucía with its whitewashed villages, sun-soaked the Totnes Malaga Association cities and vibrant culture. And whilst (TOMA), JON STEIN explains these traditional attractions continue to draw visitors, especially during the how a group of friends from South winter months, there is another side to the Spanish story that connects with the Devon are ‘being the change they progressive values we take for granted in want to see’ in Andalucía.

Reconnectland.

Spain has a vibrant network of ecovillages, intentional Photos: Left: Dragon dreaming with Spirit of Alozaina communities, course group. Above: Jon’s trusty camper van Bubs heading to centres and social Alozaina. Below: Nick, Yan and Jon movement projects offering alternative experiences to more adventurous travellers particularly those able to speak the language.

This year more than a dozen visitors, many associated with TOMA (Totnes Malaga Association), visited Andalucía to pursue personal and professional projects ranging from building guitars to speaking at Malaga’s Global Forum on the New Economy.

Totnes’ Sky Chapman to host an event on a Spanish theme, possibly at meditation retreat near Seville, based on the spent several months in the region exploring Aller Park, Dartington’s new centre for spiritual teachings of Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, and themes of “land and sea, people and growing.” education (see local press for further details). also stayed in Alozaina where he “hopes to This included working on organic farms and a bring his experience in international development We’d like to hear from anyone wanting to join food dehydrator project in Alozaina, a small us, particularly those able to offer practical skills to the vision of a community/cohousing project agricultural town in the Sierra de las Nieves e.g. with organising/admin/social media. that’s also a resource for local people.” region of Malaga province, as well as exploring To this end, Sky and Nick helped me launch a In a future article I hope to report on the the coastal resort of Nerja where he attended a ‘Spirit of Alozaina’ community group, working activities of TOMA, the Spirit of Alozaina raw food camp and went mountain hiking. with local residents to support new initiatives project, and other related initiatives. Until then, Sky’s travels also took him to Andalucía’s capital within the town. Using the innovative ‘Dragon hasta luego!

Seville, to meet Jenny Gellatly, co-founder of Dreaming’ project design and delivery tool, Dartington’s School Farm Community Supported the group began a process of creating “a Agriculture (CSA) project. Over the winter, natural space to inspire and promote community Alozaina: www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/ Jenny worked with various groups including El wellbeing”. Schoolteacher Yan de Gea, who alozaina/home.htm Enjambre Sin Reina (the Hive without a Queen) moved to Alozaina from Alicante two years ago, Intentional communities: www.constructedutopias.

- a collective which runs a CSA project and said: “We share the same environment and have wordpress.com wholefood shop in Seville, and La Transicionera, similar dreams so I feel inspired to undertake a Transition Towns and related projects: www. who offer training and facilitation related to common journey with the group.” transitionnetwork.org/country/es the transition towards a degrowth society.

Seville: www.latransicionera.net and www.

As I make my own journey towards a life in “I’ve learnt so much from the way people work elenjambresinreina.eu Spain, I value increasingly the progressive spirit together here,” says Jenny, “the sheer focus on Ecovillages: www.rie.ecovillage.org of South Devon. TOMA is a bridge to help the collective, like a colony of bees!”

Learning Spanish: www.duolingo.com connect this with the energy and passion of Psychotherapist Nick Cape, who lives near Andalucía, as well as bringing people together Gara Bridge in the South Hams, used his winter Jon Stein divides his time between to share experiences and celebrate. After a visit to develop links with the sangha (Buddhist Totnes and Andalucía. Read more on successful launch last Christmas, TOMA aims next community) of Andalucía. He invited me to a his blog at www.jonstein.co.uk

Useful websites:

First funds delivered to provide vulnerable with housing and tenancy support

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ULNERABLE people are getting the chance to live independently thanks to funding from the social impact fund, the Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (South West) who have provided their first investment of £90,000 to Exeter based charity Hollywell Housing Trust.

The investment will allow Hollywell to expand their operations, reduce their waiting list and reach new areas across the region. They offer bespoke housing and tenancy management services for vulnerable people with learning disabilities and autism who might otherwise not have access to a sustainable home or manage a tenancy.

CEO of Hollywell, Katie Sherjan said:

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“The upfront cost of renting property for vulnerable people is high, meaning we are under cash flow pressure in order to grow the business and increase the number of people we support. Our primary purpose is to provide as many people as possible with a safe, sustainable place to live. We also provide the housing and tenancy support they need to maintain their home but we were struggling to keep up with the ever increasing demand. Investment from the Fund will enable us to grow the business much faster than we would have been able to do alone.”

The £5m Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (South West) is managed by Resonance, which is a national social impact

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investment company. The social impact fund offers money to social enterprises that are working in the health and wellbeing sector in the south west, to help in areas including dementia, diabetes, obesity and depression. They create and manage impact investment funds, focused on delivering the capital needs of multiple social enterprises with expertise in community-led projects, homelessness, education, health, social care, and criminal justice.

Resonance wants organizations in the South West to get in touch with “big ideas” that improve the health and wellbeing of people and could be an effective challenge Katie Sherjan, CEO to the status quo with the right financial Hollywell Housing Trust backing.

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wellbeing email: wellbeing@reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING

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

Finding Active Hope

Reclaiming soft power Supporting shared grief The key to future happiness Where are the mindful men

32 33 34 35

Inner and outer landscapes

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The gift of compassion

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Tibetan Master returns to Totnes 41

Summer at Sharpham House Funding offered for healers The classified adverts

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And there’s lots more to read inside

ALKING, swimming or just sitting in nature brings each of our senses more fully alive, says Emma Cunis who runs Dartmoor’s Daughter which offers a range of walks and activities to strengthen our connection with nature.

“The simplicity of putting one foot in front of another and meandering through aweinspiring landscapes can transform our inner landscapes – physical health, emotional wellbeing, mental acuity, and spiritual succour,” explained Emma. “We can feel happier, healthier, and perhaps more productive. Daily stresses seem to melt away and we are able to appreciate more the present moment – to notice the bright blue of the damselfly; the scarlet red of the carnivorous sundew; and the scent of the peaty, mineral-rich waters as you swim in the rivers wending their way from source to sea.”

Emma creates walks and experiences designed to bring about a deeper connection to self, others, and nature, leading to greater physical health, team performance, emotional wellbeing, and spiritual connection. She is

inspired by the wild and ancient landscape of Dartmoor which, Emma believes, invites us to go deeper into ourselves, into our connection with others and into life.

“Maybe you’d like to learn how to navigate so you can walk off the beaten path, or learn the language of the forest through birdsong. Perhaps you wonder which constellation you’re looking at at night, or long to walk silently through a beautiful landscape sharing in the experience of deep appreciation with others.

Some people come wanting to discover wild swim spots far away from it all, or places to have fun with their children. Dartmoor offers an untamed wilderness experience as well as deep nourishment for the soul. Dartmoor’s Daughter has been created to help people discover more about this unique landscape and discover themselves at the same time. We hope you will join us to share in the joy, challenge, fear, and passion of walking on Dartmoor!”

To find out more about forthcoming walks and nature connection activities, visit: www. dartmoorsdaughter.com or email: info@dartmoorsdaughter.com

Kate Philbin

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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 why having a laugh is serious business, and investigates how laughter really is the best medicine.

We hope you’re having a laugh

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HEN was the last time you had a really good laugh?

If you can’t remember, then, that was way too long ago.

Did you know that having a good laugh can do wonders for your health, both psychologically and physically, and that humour can help improve not just your mood but your overall physical well-being?

Laughing and smiling couldn’t be more natural, within days of being born we learn to smile and within weeks we have learnt to laugh.

Even before we learn to talk we have learnt to communicate through the very human connection of joy.

This connection is fundamental to our very survival, it draws people towards us and creates bonds which are beneficial to getting our survival needs met. There is nothing quite like the sounds of a child’s laughter to draw a crowd and attract attention.

We are hardwired to move towards the sound of laughter, a smile is contagious and a funny story just must be shared.

Even animals laugh! The sneezy sound a dog makes is a signal of pleasure and an invitation to play, and the ‘hough hough hough’ sound made by monkeys when at play is said to be the origins of our ‘ha ha ha’. Laughter is a natural way of communicating openness, and expressing that our defences are down and we are available for intimacy.

It’s interesting to note that children laugh hundreds of times in a day, whereas adults tend to laugh only on occasion and sometimes very rarely.

How often do you laugh?

As we get older the opportunities to laugh seem to reduce and are replaced by everyday stresses and anxieties. Pressures from work, family and the ever increasing demands on our time leave us very little energy left to laugh.

But it’s time to change the record, replacing the gloom with glee, and the niggles with giggles! It’s time to see the positive effects and the health benefits of putting joy on the agenda.

Are you having a laugh?

Laughter is indeed a strong medicine, it unleashes a rush of stress-busting endorphins and boosts your bodies natural immune system, helping you to fight infections and combat the negative

effects of stress. Laughter can even help reduce pain and increase your tolerance of long term medical conditions. When we laugh and smile it signals the brain to activate the release of endorphins, the hormones that both make us feel happy and that block our pain receptors. These endorphins can also lift us out of low moods and feelings of depression.

Think of endorphins as our natural opiates, ready and waiting in our internal pharmacy, natures cure to lift the spirits and create a sense of pleasure. So how do we write ourselves a prescription of joy?

It’s no joke!

Dr Lee Berk of Loma University Medical Centre, California, has been conducting laughter therapy research since the late 1970s. Berk’s research has shown that the level of natural killer cells (a type of immune cell that attacks virus and tumour cells) is increased through laughter. These same cells are suppressed if the body suffers consistent long-term stress.

You Must be joking!

It couldn’t be more simple, we just crack a smile, and force a laugh, even if it doesn’t fit the mood, even if it feels false, try it, give it a go, have a good laugh, even if you are feeling low and there really is nothing to laugh about. It still works, the brain will still pick up on the need to activate the release of endorphins.

Your body cannot distinguish between real or fake laughter So what have you got to lose?

Why do we ‘laugh until we cry’?

Laughing and crying are both ways in which we turn emotions into energy and into a form which can be moved out of the body. There’s evidence that the same part of the brain is responsible for both crying and laughing. This is why some times sobbing turns to laughter and tears can follow hysterical giggles.

But it’s all good, laughing or crying is a way to avoid suppressing our emotions, which can cause all sorts of emotional problems.

It’s time to let it go, find as many ways as you can to have a good laugh, reduce stress, ease pain and save yourself a fortune in therapy bills. And just remember if someone’s judging you as you giggle insanely to yourself, the last laugh is on them!

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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Reclaiming your soft power

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HAMANIC body worker and natural beekeeper, Belinda Bluebell is inviting women to reclaim their “soft power” through her work with bees.

Belinda explained: “What is on offer is a more easeful and graceful connection to life through coming into connection with the gentle but powerful bee spirit. In my workshops, I create a space for women to connect to other women at a deep level, receiving nurture through touch, reconnecting to their own inner wisdom and reclaiming their inner goddess. The age old wisdom of the bees guides us into the realm of the bee goddess and provides the conditions for us to regenerate and start afresh with new ideas born of ancient wisdom.”

Over the past two years Belinda has been caring for her own bees and has found them to be a source of powerful inspiration and solace: “I have such a profoundly beautiful connection with them,” she explained. “I hang out and listen to them, they give me such peace of mind, they are a true inspiration for my healing work with clients and for my workshops.”

Belinda has created a free bee meditation which is available to download from her website and she holds Heart to Hive workshops to support others to connect with the

profound energy of bees. Cathy, a recent workshop participant said: “I experienced a deep sense of relaxation, particularly during the sounding part of the session. The vocal toning and the singing bowl vibration felt very nurturing and restorative. The whole session was a marvelously harmonious experience.

And, I also learnt a lot about the life of the hive, and sheer wonder and magic of the life of bees!”

Another participant said: “This workshop has encouraged me to believe in myself to follow the path I realise I am meant to be walking.”

The next workshop is on May 14, 10.15am to 5.30pm at Eastdon House, Langport , near Glastonbury.

It costs £50. There will be further workshops in the Autumn.

Belinda will also be starting a new Shamanic Thai Massage practice in Plymouth in June, with £5 off your first session for Reconnect readers.

In what promises to be a busy summer, she will be leading bee play shops at Colourfest in Dorset on June 3 and 4 and leading a Goddess bee workshop at the Glastonbury Goddess conference on August 5 from 2-30- 4-30pm.

For more information about workshops, events or massage email: bluebellinindia@gmail.com or call 07754 7792982 www. shamanicthaimassage.co.uk

Iron Mill to host informative day

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HE first annual conference hosted by Iron Mill College in Exeter promises to be an interesting and informative day, with presentations by some of the leading names in mental health and wellbeing training, as well as an innovative programme of workshops and seminars.

The conference, on Saturday 8 July, will feature lectures by Dr Margot Sunderland, Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health in London and Karen Huckvale, Co-Director of independent arts and health training provider, Insider Art. There is also an exciting programme of seminars, including: Ecotherapy: Bringing the Outside in; The Zen of Counselling and Psychotherapy; Dancing into Relationship and The Neuroscience of Creativity, Mark-

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making and Attachment.

The conference is aimed at counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, supervisors, education professionals, mental health and learning disability services, CAMHS practitioners, and health and social care professionals.

College Principal, Rose Bedford said: “We’re privileged to have some amazing guest speakers and workshop leads joining us to help explore many aspects of working creatively within the helping professions. I’m sure the day will be useful and inspiring for everyone involved in working therapeutically with others.”

For more information visit: www. ironmill.co.uk or call 01392 219200. Email: enquiries@ ironmill.co.uk

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WELLBEING Supporting people in shared grief

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A key part of Azul’s work focusses around ritual and being in nature. “We open ourselves up to art, poetry, beauty and nature and our connection with all living things. It is about hearing ourselves in a soulful way.”

For this reason Azul has called her website SOULand. As well as details of her regular circles and one-to-one sessions it also features Conversations with Grief, a series of video interviews with some of the leading thinkers on grief, death and living joyfully.

Visit www.souland.org or call Azul on 07765 257 517.

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sessions called Soul and Sanity.

“Sometimes people are not ready to become part of a group, no matter how gently we hold the space, so the one-to-one sessions offer a chance to work through whatever they working through with someone who deeply understands the process.

Building wellbeing together weekend ECONNECTLAND based charity the Network Of Wellbeing is taking its ground breaking work in Totnes and spreading it to the Hawkswood Centre in Stroud with its Building Wellbeing Together weekend featuring world-renowned speakers, workshops and impromptu activities.

The weekend will include talks by TED speaker Nic Marks, ranked #1 world’s most influential ideas

by Forbes, for pioneering the Five Ways To Wellbeing and the Happy Planet Index, Karen Creavin, Head of Wellbeing Services for the UK’s largest local authority (Birmingham City Council); Chris Johnstone, co-Author of Active Hope and Founder; College of Wellbeing and Katherine Trebeck, Senior Economic Researcher at Oxfam who developed Oxfam’s Humankind Index. Workshops will be led by Museum of Happiness, Simply Happy, Useful & Kind,

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NDIGENOUS peoples have much to teach us about tending to our personal, planetary and ancestral grief.

Azul Thome recently completed an MA at Schumacher College entitled The eARTh of Grieving Collectively as if Life and Death really Mattered.

Inspired by her studies and her own journeys through grief and trauma, Azul has begun holding regular Grief Composting Circles, which are ritual based meetings, intended to support people in feeling grief together, in the way of our ancestors.

Azul said “Grief is often perceived as something to avoid or get rid of quickly, a painful inevitability of life and death from which nothing good comes. In our grief we can become stuck and lose our connection with love and creativity. The Grief Composting Circles are a way of moving with grief and using the process to reignite our creative and loving spark.”

She points out that, as a society, we are brought up to believe we should grieve alone unlike indigenous people who grieve collectively. “There is a wisdom in these indigenous cultures that we seem to have lost. Whereas we expect someone to have completed their grieving process after a few short months, they recognise that it can take years.

As well as hosting Grief Circles herself, Azul is offering Trainings to enable other practitioners and community leaders to host them.

She is also offering one-to-one

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 Happy City, Action for Happiness, Creative Wellbeing, Natural Happiness plus activities for creativity, mindfulness and health!

Further details: www. networkofwellbeing.org to book visit www.hawkwoodcollege. co.uk/courses-and-events/wellbeing/building-wellbeing-togethernow

Fees are based on income or means

01803 556038 07506 179808

mark.edlundplater@gmail.com

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

4-7 September 2017

Cost £183 Financial assistance options available

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

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

The key to our future happiness

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OW are you feeling? It is a throwaway question that we all use everyday. But, according to Isabel Aimee Berkeley PhD, it could hold the key to our future happiness and fulfilment.

Isabel is an award-winning artist and coach, specialising in dramabased activities, scriptwriting and song writing in groups or one-toone. She also runs short courses in singing, dancing, acting and confidence training from age seven to adult.

“We need to understand what we are feeling because we know from medicine that our thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings affect our body chemistry and health,” explained Isabel. “Our thoughts also direct our lives; happier thoughts lead to happier decisions.”

Isabel points out that if we want to live a rich, creative life we need the intelligence of our emotions to guide us to make good decisions.

“I work with the stuff of life… our emotions,” said Isabel. “While I might be able to coach and inspire you to become the genius actress/ singer/ performer/writer/director/ songwriter that you were born to be, what is more important is that I can give you ways a means to understand your self.

“Through personal and artistic development, I will show you the emotional scale and how to move

up it. I will help you recognise your emotions and shape your imagination. The key to success in life is expecting it, and acting is one of the most powerful tools to develop and explore new roles, expectations and emotions. It also builds trust in your powers of imagination, creativity and confidence to deliver your messagewhatever that may be.”

Over the last decade Isabel has helped more than 30 students to obtain arts scholarships to top schools in the UK. She has been a teacher of Performing Arts at the renowned Perrott Hill School, Somerset, UK since 2007.

For more information about one-toone coaching and workshops, visit: www.facebook.com/TheActingSelf or www.inspirition.biz/coaching/ index.html or call 07877539421

The profound benefits of reflexology

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’VE always been fascinated by the idea that different areas of our feet correspond with different body organs and structures so I read this simple explanation of Reflexology by Nicola Moulton (MBRCP R, Assoc M BRCP OM) with great interest. Far from just being a relaxing treatment (which it is!), it seems that Reflexology can have profound health benefits for body and mind.

Nicola explained that Reflexology was redeveloped in the early 1900s in America where doctors, amongst others, recognised that therapeutic massage of ‘reflex’ areas on the feet corresponded to the body’s organs and structures.

She said: “Reflexology works through the nervous system and natural energy pathways within the body to flush out toxins and strengthen and re-balance body structures and emotional wellbeing.

“Our thought processes and emotional energies are delivered energetically into our physical being. Reflexology stimulates the body’s natural healing processes to acknowledge and help release the causal factors of illness - which can sometimes be emotional and energetic - whilst simultaneously improving the health of the

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physical body.”

Nicola points out that regular Reflexology treatment can encourage improvement in wellbeing, mood, and our ability to cope with symptoms of illness and stress. “The release of negative patterns of tension within the body and mind is also a good ‘prevention’ against disease,” added Nicola.

An hour’s Reflexology treatment with Nicola costs £30 or less for a course of three. She practices at the Totnes Natural Health Centre. For more information call 07522 344291 or email: nicolasuzanne@hotmail.co.uk

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WELLBEING Bell offers ridiculously helpful readings TESTIMONIALS are a great way to gauge any business and particularly when they sound exactly like they have just come out of someone’s mouth.

Bell Bartlett is a full time psychic reader living and working in Dartington.

When she told Reconnect some of the things that people have said to her recently following a reading we couldn’t help but smile.

“I value your wisdom, what you say feels true in my heart, there’s no bullshit,” said one. While another said, in obvious surprise: “I had no idea this would be so helpful.”

Bell said: “Someone recently asked me what to expect when they come for a reading as it was “not their kind of thing”. I showed them some of the testimonials I’d been collecting for my new website and it seemed to put their mind at rest. It started me thinking what “kind of thing” they might be expecting and how people’s ideas of psychic work can often be inaccurate.”

To set the records straight, Bell is keen

to let Reconnect readers know exactly what a reading entails.

“People tend to come for a reading when they need information or answers to questions.

A reading is entirely centred around your needs, you will get to ask the questions that are important to you and we can see what might happen if you follow any of the choices that are available to you. I often make recommendations but never tell people what they should do as it’s always your choice.”

Bell added: “My favourite testimonial of all came from a young man with challenging home and work circumstances who I have been seeing over the last year. I asked him what he’d say about my work. “You are ridiculously helpful” he said after a moment’s pause. “Yes I am” I replied… and we laughed and laughed!”

For more information call Bell on 07796 900509 or visit: www. conscious-tarot.co.uk

The Acting Self: Teaching Tools for personal and artistic development Artist and coach in Singing, Acting, Dancing and Confidence Training from age 7 to adult specialising in all drama based activities plus script and song writing available for short courses (2-4 days) in groups or individual tuition on an hourly basis. Allowing increased personal awareness, confidence in public speaking, engagement and true character immersion during acting, singing and writing.

Whether your child requires the additional skills to perform confidently at school or you’re an adult who feels life skills could be enhanced please contact me on 07877539421 to discuss the best ways I can help you.

Where are all the mindful men?

CASPAR WALSH author, poet and journalist and founder of Words from the Earth wonders about retreats and workshops.

TERESA WICKSTEED

W

HAT is it about the women to men ratio on retreats and workshops these days? It teeters somewhere around 7 to 3 in favour of women. I’ve been attending retreats for nearly twenty years and that figure has played out in all but a handful. Is it about the tired old cliché of men steering clear of all but the most basic emotions? The nature of masculine energy focussed more on doing than being? No time for hanging about staring at a wall, we’ve got work to do!

I’ve dedicated the last few decades to attending regular men’s groups, circles and ceremonies throughout the UK. What drew me in was a need to find out what it is to be a mature male rather than a reactive, overly fearful boy. To then come back to mixed gender circles, groups, life with a greater understanding of what makes me tick. How can I better relate to my brothers and sisters and serve my community. I know this works, so how do we address the male/female imbalance on retreats?

Seeing the success of the women’s retreats at Sharpham House, a group of men felt there was a need for the same, for us. That the world is in an ever deepening crisis seems largely down to an insanely twisted, jacked up masculine energy and the alarming, growing disconnect from, and respect for, the feminine. The confusion of what it is to be a man in the 21st century I believe has led most men to stay well away from anything that resembles a men’s group or circle. And equally from mixed gender retreats. Sharpham took up our call and decided to see

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if there is a need for men to gather together in this way.

A friend of mine said recently he believed, deep down, men are crying out to be together in a supportive, safe, non shaming space where they can explore their hopes and fears.

To sit round a fire and connect to an ancient way of being together that is largely lost on modern man. This isn’t simply the need to connect to the weekend warrior but a need for time out where we can slow down, reflect and find ways to enhance our lives and then, maybe, we can be better resourced to help slow the global crisis we’re clearly in. How can men separate from the everyday in a safe, ritual way?

A way that’s held well and enables us to rediscover the essence of who we are; our strengths and fears.

To get honest about what’s needed in our lives in this huge time of change. Time out with my brothers is the bedrock of what keeps me sane and together and connected. Time will tell if more men start to take up the call to gather together as we once did and start the process of bailing out this leaking ship. Yes men, plain and simple, your planet, your sisters, all beings, need you now more than ever.

Sound Healing Practitioner

07968 941854 www.teresawicksteed.co.uk teresa@teresawicksteed.co.uk www.collegeofsoundhealing.co.uk

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WELLBEING Sound healing journeys

S

CIENCE AND RELIGION agree that everything in the Universe is made up of energy, vibrating at its own particular frequency. This energy has many different names, according to your culture and beliefs – Prana, Chi, spirit, Quantum Energy to name but a few.

Totnes-based Energy healer, Iessaiah believes that sound healing is one of the most powerful ways for us to expand our awareness and align with our core consciousness. She is offering soundbased healing journeys and atunements using Crystal Tones Singing Bowls, which transmit a pure, high frequency sound.

“It has been shown that certain types of sound, when used with positive intent and intuition, have the unique ability to “recalibrate” both our physical and energetic bodies. These amazing crystal singing bowls create a resonance that aligns with our heart and soul energy, immersing us in pure sound. My experience of working with them has been transformational, taking people on powerful healing journeys that clear old energies and transmute mind, body and spirit. Sound healing supports people to expand their awareness and align with their core consciousness, bringing them into greater connection with their true nature.”

Iessaiah works with the singing bowls in a number of ways, offering: Healing Light Activations; Crystal Aura Sound Baths; Transformational Sound Healing and a Lemurian Light Temple.

“Our soul has its origins in pure sound and the crystal singing bowls create a resonance with our soul’s own song.

A Crystal Singing Bowl session is an experience akin to being called home.”

So, how does it work?

Anyone familiar with the work of Japanese researcher, Masaru Emoto will recall how his amazing photographs of the molecular structure

of water showed the impact of human consciousness on water. Using a microscope, he demonstrated that prayer and positive visualisation could create more harmonious structures in water’s molecular structure, compared to water that had been subjected to more negative thoughts and feelings.

“Our bodies are over 80% water,” explained Iessaiah. “The sound frequencies emitted by the crystal bowls help to re-pattern and re-structure the water of the body. Crystal bowls have a purity of tone which means they powerfully resonate in harmony with our cellular structures. They alter the water of our bodies, impact our sacred geometry and our DNA, and help to sweep away energy blockages in our energy field and chakras. As well as this, they help to awaken and align our pure Light Body Vehicle (Merkaba).”

Over the last 20 years, there has been a growing awareness around the world of the impact of sound and vibration and it has become a key component in many different types of healing. “More and more healers are now using crystal bowls in their work and you also now find them used in a range of different settings, such as hospices, nursing homes, meditation groups and yoga studios.”

The bowls Iessaiah uses in her treatments are made of pure quartz crystal that has been infused or overlaid with precious gemstones, minerals or metals. Quartz is silicon dioxide, which creates a resonant frequency with the silica within the body, particularly within the fascia. Iessaiah’s Crystal Bowl collection includes some of the following: Moldavite, Labradorite, Kyanite, Black Tourmaline, Aqua Aura, Azeztulite, Morganite, Celestite, Andara, Platinum and Gold, each of which has a different frequency, tone and alchemy. She describes them as having “an ‘Harmonic Chorus’ to sing

Determining that recurrent condition

you home, simultaneously transformative and harmonising, bringing peace to your heart and soul.”

She added: “The body is a network of vibrational fields and energy currents.

Each individual resonates at his or her own specific vibration. A crystal bowl healing will affect the whole body. You may feel the effects in one section of your body more deeply, but the vibrational sound will also travel throughout your entire energy field.

Because the sound waves penetrate our bodies at a cellular level, rebalancing them through resonance and oscillation, people do not need to be able to hear to experience the benefits. Studies have shown that sound has a direct impact on our mental processes, muscles, nervous system, (heartbeat, pulse) digestive system and circulatory system.

“My preference is to use Singing Crystal Bowls as they are one of the most powerful forms of sound healing.”

Iessaiah practises in Totnes, Exeter and in Plymouth. For more information visit: www.iessaiah.com E-mail: info@ iessaiah.com or call 07864 631848

Feeling safe to feel more

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ECOVERING and remember ourselves with kindness and acceptance was just one of the themes of the second Consensual Touch weekend at the Sea School of Embodiment in Dawlish.

The event, which is part of the Sea School’s Consensual Life™ program, invited people of all ages, abilities and genders to explore and experiment with new ways of being or, where necessary, to go back to basics and learn from the beginning.

It was facilitated by Kian de la Cour and Katie Sarra at the Sea Light Gallery. Katie said: “Our newly-formed Consensual Touch community is a group of people wanting to feel more of themselves in a safe, nourishing, step-by-step way and to learn what works and helps them to feel again.

Becoming connected again requires repeated trusted experiences of feeling relaxed and safe enough to feel more.

I use Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent as the foundations

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of my practice, supporting others to rebuild trust and create new neural pathways which assist in this process.”

Kian pointed out that this work takes courage.

“People often feel very alone with these emotions. Sensory awakening is an opportunity to come home to yourself and be liberated from this loneliness.

Learning to re-experience our body’s physical, emotional, sensual and erotic inner and outer landscapes supports us to make more powerful choices in our relationships and intimate decisions.”

The Sea School has a busy schedule for the rest of the year, with regular Cuddle Parties, Trauma Training for Bodywork Professionals in July, Quodoushka in August, and Foundations of Somatica in October. The Trauma Training workshop, from 20 to 23 July,

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will provide an introduction to trauma-informed practice for all bodywork professionals.

Participants learn through a mix of exercises, empowerment and assessment.

There is also another Consensual Touch weekend on November 18-19 and Katie and Kian are available for individual private consultations throughout the year. As cofounders of the Sea School of Embodiment, both Katie and Kian are Certified Somatic Sex Educators and Certified Sexological Bodyworkers, teaching the Wheel of Consent.

To find out more any of the programs or to reserve a place visit: www. seaschoolofembodiment.com

IF YOU are one of the thousands of people who suffer from a recurrent condition that is difficult to diagnose, you will recognise how frustrating and upsetting it can be.

Digestive disorders (including IBS), chronic viral infections (such as ME/CFS and fibromyalgia), eczema, candida and urinary disorders, allergies, asthma, migraines and cognitive difficulties are just some of the conditions that people bring to the BioEnergetic Health Clinic in Totnes.

“The clinic specialises in the treatment of many hard to pinpoint conditions,” explained Andy Thompson. “We provide a lifeline for people who continually suffer from an illness that just can’t be shaken off, no matter how many different prescriptions they receive or how many different specialists they see.”

The clinic’s approach is based on the idea that most illnesses are caused by a specific pathogen or combination of pathogens and, in almost every case, there is a corresponding logical and natural solution.

Treatment is based on homeopathic principles of treating “like with like” - in other words, the antiversion of the pathogen is used to clear the pathogen.

Andy Thompson concluded: “The treatment works in very much the same way as you would treat a bite from a venomous snake – by treating it with an antivenom produced from the very same venom.

Often we are able to provide patients with a clear explanation of their health problems – sometimes for the first time in their lives - and a real solution that can change their lives.”

For more information or to book a free taster session call 07503 111057 or visit www. bioenergetichealth.net

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WELLBEING Nautilus Rooms a leading centre in Devon

YOU’D be forgiven for not knowing the precise location of The Nautilus Rooms in Totnes. Because, although it is one of the leading centres in South Devon for mind-based therapies, in a busy town centre location, it is tucked away along a quiet alley.

This makes The Nautilus Rooms an ideal place to have a treatment because it is easily accessible but also set apart from the hustle and bustle of the street, allowing people to focus on the session without distraction.

Ruth Baker who runs the centre said: “Our extensive range of mind-based therapies include: counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and psychology. Whilst many of the therapists describe themselves as integrative in their work (meaning they are trained in more than one modality and integrate these different approaches into their work to meet the client’s individual need) they all have a slightly different training background and areas of speciality.

I’d like to introduce you to three of them…”

Stanny Post

Stanny is a relationship and sex therapist with more than 20 years’ experience. After training with Relate and undergoing further professional development, she joined the NHS Mental Health Team in Exeter, where she worked for 13 years as counsellor and group therapist.

Stanny still works with Relate as a Clinical Supervisor. Alongside this, she works privately as a sex therapist for couples who are experiencing relationship difficulties, as well as working with individuals and families.

“You may be in the midst of a crisis, or looking for help with a particular issue,” said Stanny. “Counselling is a safe and supportive place to talk through your problems. As an

integrative counsellor, I have the skills to work in a way that is suitable for your needs in total confidence.

Taking the first step can be daunting, but by building a relationship with trust and commitment, you will be able to discover your own solutions and potentially make positive changes to enhance your life.’ www. relationshipsouthdevon.co.uk

Freddy has over a decade of experience working with addictions, eating disorders, compulsivity and the underlying conditions out of which these challenging behaviours emerge.

He uses a range of different approaches, from CBT to Gestalt through to mindfulness to trauma-

release. Freddy’s approach is underpinned by a strong Humanistic perspective, as he explains: “Each of us carries our own innate wisdom and healing potential.

Ultimately, my role is to help people access this in themselves.”

He also has considerable experience working with sexual trauma, relational difficulties, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

Clinical experience and dedication to his own personal transformation gives Freddy a level of warmth, insight and compassion that he brings to all of his client sessions. www.freddyweaver.co.uk

Mel works as a counsellor, psychotherapist trainer and education consultant. For the past 15 years, she has worked with adults, children and families in a range of settings; in schools, as part of a multi-agency team and in private practice Mel focuses on helping individuals and families to overcome trauma and loss, as well as manage the day-today challenges of stress and anxiety, particularly at times of transition. “My aim is always to help children and adults understand their strengths as well as their vulnerabilities and work together towards greater ease and self-fulfilment,” she added. “I have experience of working with children and young people diagnosed with

ADHD, autism, attachment difficulties and a range of mental health issues including bereavement, loss and separation, low mood, anxiety and self -harm.”

Mel is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. www. melmcmahon.net

Mel McMahon

Soto Zen Meditation Introductions to meditation and to retreat www.dragonbelltemple.org.uk | dragonbelltemple@gmail.com 01647-231-682 Charity no 1142973 A temple of the ORDER of BUDDHIST CONTEMPLATIVES

Freddy Weaver

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

I offer support with premature ejacula?on, 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

And, as a taster of its other therapists, The Nautilus Rooms hosts wonder crystal sound healing evenings by Scott Grant and courses from Anna Karthauser, massage therapist. There is also training in Sandplay therapy and Therapeutic Art therapy from Ruth Baker (email ruthbaker1@gmail.com or call 07736 334454).

For more information about The Nautilus Rooms, including forthcoming workshops and courses, visit: http://nautilusrooms.uk

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DRAGON BELL TEMPLE

1:1 healing sessions Workshops Individual retreats

catherine@tantricawakening.org

www.tantricawakening.org

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WELLBEING

P 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

Would you like to employ Sherlock Holmes on your health case?

Try the next best thing and consult an experienced homeopath with a sense of humour and 3000 remedies to find your perfect match.

Put us all in the same place at the same time and the results could be unimaginable!

Whatever your health dilemma, give Homeopathy a whirl in 2017 Jacki Becker RSHom

jackibeckerhomeopath.co.uk (Totnes) t: 01803 867747 m: 07792 059 867

‘Connecting through Creativity: Facilitating relationship, healing & wellbeing in the therapeutic & helping professions’

Iron Mill Conference Saturday 8th July Fascinating lectures: Speakers include Dr Margot Sunderland, Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health London.  Lively workshops / seminars: Subjects include creative interventions, holding patterns & ecotherapy.  Valuable networking opportunities: At our buffet lunch, cheese and wine reception and exhibition.

At Iron Mill College, 7 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1QT

To find out more or to book your place: 01392 219200 / enquiries@ironmill.co.uk www.ironmill.co.uk/conference

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REGNANCY and childbirth are possibly the most challenging physical transformations that a woman’s body goes through.

Craniosacral Therapy is recognised as a gentle, non-invasive way to support pregnant women, new mothers, babies and children.

Lea Zaccari, Craniosacral Therapist and Child-centred Play Therapist explained more: “Craniosacral Therapy can support the mother’s

Therapy for pregnancy and childbirth whole body, mind and spirit as she moves through her journey towards motherhood. It can bring relaxation and release restrictions in the pelvis and uterus, helping to reduce ligament pain and support an optimum birthing experience. It can be used during both pregnancy and labour to help release tension from the mother’s lower back and hips, and can be a wonderful way to assist the baby in the womb both generally and in terms of fetal positioning.”

New mothers often come for a Craniosacral treatment after childbirth to support their musculoskeletal reintegration, emotional balance and pelvic health, as well as adjusting to the challenges of motherhood.

Lea explained: “The mother can be treated while holding her baby or while her baby lies on the mother’s belly. I am flexible and enjoy finding out what works best for each person.“ After birth and beyond, Craniosacral Therapy is very supportive for babies.

“Although babies’ bodies are geared up for birth, it is still a time of intense pressure on their cranium and body as they travel from the womb to the world outside and Craniosacral Therapy can help with this immense and important transition” said Lea.

As we move into childhood Craniosacral Therapy is a great support for children of all ages.

Lea explains that she has a long standing passion for working with children and that her experience as a Play Therapist informs her craniosacral work with children in many ways. Children she says, come for a whole host of different reasons including: recovery from illness or injury; boosting their immune system; adjusting after a growth phase; finding confidence in themselves; transitioning between school classes or school changes; helping to manage social challenges and pressures; coping with loss or grief; medical trauma; adjusting to new sibling arrivals and family separation.

This list is not exhaustive and Lea is happy to talk with parents about any concerns they have regarding their child.

Sessions for babies and children can take place either on a therapeutic couch, while sitting in a chair or on the floor, while in the parent’s arms or while they are asleep.”

Lea runs a low cost children’s clinic in Dartington.

For more information, contact Lea on 07473324730 or email cst. with.lea@gmail.com

A bit of a dirty word SOCIAL media can be a bit of a dirty word for many of us. But Kate Philbin and Katie Whitehouse are on a mission to change all that.

They held their first Café Copywriter workshop Writing for Social Media: The Essentials with the emphasis firmly on fun.

When she is not wearing her Reconnect Wellbeing Editor hat, Kate P writes a lot for social media and gets to see at firsthand how much fear and uncertainty people have about finding the right things to say. Katie W is an entrepreneur, songwriter and social media enabler who supports many different organisations and individuals to use social media more effectively.

Together they have created an informative one-day workshop that is suitable for novices and people who have already taken their first steps with social media.

So, why is the emphasis on fun? Kate P said: “If it’s not fun, most people won’t do it, it’s as simple as that.

If social media feels like a tedious, boring task, people might start off with good intentions but their efforts won’t be sustained.”

The workshop includes an introduction to the different social media platforms,

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advice on creating a social media plan and exercises to get people writing with confidence. Participants on the first workshop said they felt “inspired”, “excited”, “empowered” and full of “new ideas”.

Writing for Social Media: The Essentials takes place on Wednesday 14 June at The Barrelhouse in Totnes.

It cost £75. Early bird booking £65 (before 7 June). To book visit: Cafecopywriter.bigcartel.com For more information call Kate P on 07970 107123 or Katie W on 07832 200980.

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WELLBEING Offering the gift of compassion WHAT reminds you to attend to your own needs, to be compassionate to yourself? For counsellor, Alex Moseley who practises in Exeter, it is nature.

“Lots of beautiful, deep blue bluebells, swaying gently in the cool breeze in this wood just outside Somerset,” said Alex. “The sights, sounds and sensations of a short walk through the woods today, under an unexpectedly beautiful clear blue sky, helped rejuvenate me, soothing me and bringing me back to myself. I gave myself this gift, remembering in the midst of a very busy week to attend to my own needs. How many of us get so lost in our day that we forget to attend to our own needs?”

Alex explained that compassion – for himself and for others – is the touchstone of the counselling he offers, as well as being the touchstone of his own life.

“During my training to be a counsellor, I was shown compassion again and again, from my tutors, fellow students and friends,” said Alex. “At first, I couldn’t let it in. I couldn’t believe that it was genuinely being offered without the expectation of something in return. Yet I needed it. And like a balm, it worked its magic, slowly, over time… making it safer to dare to be compassionate with myself, to occasionally let myself off the hook.”

Alex suggests a simple exercise for Reconnect readers to give them a taste

of the power of self-compassion. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Imagine the wisest, most caring and loving person possible. Give them a name. Draw or write a little about them if it helps.

Spend some time imagining what it feels like to be with them, knowing that they will always find the most compassionate explanation for your actions, for your ‘mistakes’, and the most compassionate response to your questions. Put their name or an image that represents them on a post-it or drawing somewhere where you will see it every day. When you remember them, imagine asking them for their view on whatever you are going through. No matter what their response is… listen. Write it down if possible.

And give yourself a little gift. You may be surprised at the difference it makes.

Alex practises at The Practice Rooms in Exeter, providing soulful, compassionate counselling. For more information visit www.alexmoseleycounselling.co.uk or call 07834 066150.

We are the stone beneath the grass AS undertakers for nearly eighteen years, and sextons for four, (someone who manages a burial ground) we are familiar with soil. It stains our lowering straps and our hands.

The red clay of Torquay, the deep rich loam of the far West of Cornwall, the shilletty, unyielding earth of our own ground at Sharpham Meadow, the earth our bodies return to is as varied as we are.

We bury shallow, to allow the our bodies to return to their allotted elements as quickly as possible.

The bones remain of course, almost immortal, stone-like themselves.

I remember an ancient churchyard in Lincolnshire, so old the porch had a Sheila-na-gig above the door, where every shovel from the gravediggers heft threw up a pile of bones.

Ancient skulls, ribs and knucklebones mingled with the flints. I felt like Lyra Belacqua in the underworld, or Hamlet meeting Yorick again. Eerie yet oddly comforting. We are the stone beneath the grass, the blood beneath the turf.

The land of Britain is filled with these stone bodies, marked and unmarked, peacefully lain down or hidden in darkness by dark people. We stand on our forefathers and our matriarchs.

At Sharpham Meadow, in the middle of the field, we have a fire, the Ancestor’s Fire pit, and it is lit now with almost every funeral.

Scattered in its scorched ashes lie the bone fragments of five people.

The soil has become more than chemically changed, its been ritually transformed, alchemically even. Every

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This issue has quite an earthy theme to it.

One person who is very familiar with our soil is Green Funeral Company’s RUPERT CALLENDER.

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fire that’s lit with the charred logs from the previous one reignites these sandy fragments, these frames that held and supported our fleshy puppets.

It makes them glow unseen, it takes the ash and sacralises it. To wear it as a smudge on the forehead like a Sadhu at the Varanasi Ghats would be to complete a circle that links the Ganges and the Dart, rivers and death, winding to the sea together, taking us all down into the rising sun.

It’s possible for archaeologists to see where, thousands of years before, a lone hunter stopped, just once, to light a warming fire, to cook a rabbit and wrap themselves around the dying embers for comfort as they slept before moving on. The soil is changed and marked for ever, no matter how many times it is ploughed and civilised by agriculture.

I wonder what they will make of our bone fire. Is it soil or is it soul? Will spirit and intention rise from the spot like a heat shimmer long after we have become stone ourselves?

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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

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39 39

WELLBEING An individualised retreat

W

HEN was the last time you waxed lyrical about runner beans? What do you mean never!! Kate Harris at Sandwell Farmhouse loves them and she’s keen to tell us why: “We grow lots runner beans at Sandwell Farmhouse. My daughters laugh about the endless beans, lettuce and courgettes we grow! We love finding new ways to prepare them all. It is just one of the things that I love about the business we have created.”

Sandwell Farmhouse host Kate Harris is also featured on the cover of this issue. Thank you Kate for allowing us permission to make you this issue’s cover star.

Sandwell Farmhouse is a Retreat and Bed & Breakfast that has grown and evolved into something rather special over the last 14 years.

Think peaceful spa retreat blended with welcoming family home, hosted by a qualified juice therapist with a ready smile and a relaxed, friendly approach.

“We offer a private, personal and individualised retreat for one or two people to enjoy. Guests comment that this is the perfect place to let go and relax, to be nourished and nurtured, an opportunity to think about life, to be heard, to reflect, review and recharge their batteries.

I have faced many difficult times throughout my life and I would have loved a place like this to come to… so I created it! You can lie in bed or in the garden, read, do nothing, swim, or learn about juicing, alkaline diet and how to incorporate healthy habits easily and realistically into your life. We don’t encourage perfectionism, we encourage ease and realism plus a pinch of fun and creativity!

Life Coaching is included and individualised recommendations and recipes. Guests enjoy freshly made super juice, soup and salad for three to five days.”

Kate spent 15 years working for the NHS in mental health and burned out during that time. This experience taught her what factors can really

make a difference when it comes to stepping off for a while: “I found a bit of TLC and a chance to let go of some of my responsibilities really helped me turn my life around and begin to discover who I really was.

It is mostly women who stay at Sandwell Farmhouse and they tend to have busy lives and be ready for change or seeking a safe, comfy place to relax.”

Kate is hosting an Oasis of Wellbeing Spa Day on Saturday 10 June from 10.00am to 4.30pm, with fresh juice, meditation, two hours in the onsite spa – complete with heated indoor pool, hot tub and sauna - home-made vegetarian lunch, relaxation time and afternoon

tea and cake. The cost is £95 but Reconnect readers can get £10 off by liking the Facebook page: Sandwell Farmhouse Wellbeing Retreat.

For more information about this and the private Spa Days on offer visit: www.sandwellfarmhouse.co.uk or call 01803 847674

IESSAIAH PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL THERAPIST AND HEALER THE CRYSTAL TONES SINGING BOWLS: CRYSTAL AURA SOUND BATHS TRANSFORMATIONAL HEALING

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WELLBEING Tackling funeral poverty FUNERAL poverty is a recognised problem. Funerals can be expensive and it can be hard to find out how to keep the costs down.

‘Fair Funerals’, run by Quaker Social Action Group, gets funeral directors to sign up to a pledge who: 1. recognise that funerals can be expensive and many people struggle with the cost.

2. help people to find funerals that are within their means.

3. are open about their most affordable options in initial conversations, within their price lists and on their website.

C afe

C o p ywr iter

Wednesday June 14 10am - 5pm The Barrelhouse, Totnes

Heart & Soul Funerals have been voted ‘Fair Funerals Funeral Director of the Month’ recently and is pleased to help families who want to take more control themselves and pay less.

When families participate in funerals, the cost, which is often an unprovided for expense, can be reduced. Burials often have more scope for participation and opportunities to save on cost because they are generally informal.

Simple ideas for reducing the cost of a funeral include: • Family and friends bearing the coffin; • Having a low cost coffin, such as cardboard – you can buy coffins on ebay!; or • Making a shroud using a board on which to place the body and wrapping in thick materials to cover it; • Looking after the body at home (we provide advice and a kit to help you do this); • Using one of your own vehicles to transport the coffin / shroud to the burial site, or an ordinary hired vehicle like a large estate car.: • Using one of the lower cost green burial sites such as Bidwell or South Hams (near Aveton Gifford); • If you have land, you can bury up to three family members there without needing planning permission (google heartandsoulfunerals private land for more information); • Call different funeral directors and find out about their costs and how flexible they are so you can compare the best deal and service.

These ideas could save you a thousand pounds or more, but also the sense of involvement and greater participation in the funeral will give greater satisfaction than spending a lot of money. There is a whole new ‘Home Funerals’ movement burgeoning where people do more themselves and save on costs.

WRITING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA: THE ESSENTIALS 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 June 7th) Book online: cafecopywriter.bigcartel.com or Call: Kate 07970 107123 or Katie 07832 200980 Email: kate@katephilbin.com katie@fromthewhitehouse.com facebook.com/cafecopywriter

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Simon Smith is a director of Heart & Soul Funerals, which is committed to its ‘Fair Funerals’ pledge and is pleased to advise those wanting to do more themselves. Find out more www.heartandsoulfunerals.co.uk or 01803 840779

Tibetan master and scholar returns

T

HE renowned master and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, Chamtrul Rinpoche, returns from the Himalayas to Totnes this June for the fifth year in a row.

He will give two teachings at The Civic Hall, in High Street, Totnes (TQ9 5SF), on June 14 and 15 from 7pm to 9pm each day.

Booking is not required, and the teachings are by donation, please feel welcome to go along.

The teachings will cover the following topics: Wednesday 14, Buddhism: A Science Of The Mind; Thursday 15, Inner Peace, Outer Peace.

The organisers said: “Chamtrul Rinpoche is from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the

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oldest school in Tibet. He is the eleventh in a line of recognised reincarnations, and having trained under the some of most eminent teachers of the 20th century he is a highly renowned master and scholar of the Buddhist teachings of Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen.

Through his invaluable knowledge and practical advice, he compassionately guides people towards inner peace and happiness.”

In Chamtrul Rinpoche’s own words: “No matter how rough the surface of the ocean becomes, a great stillness can be found below. So too, beneath the turbulence of disturbing emotions, a vast expanse of peace awaits.”

Visit: www.Bodhicitta.org

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WELLBEING

Pleasure comes from feeling sensations

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T’S NOT something most of us openly discuss but Sexual Shamanic Healer and Sexual Empowerment Coach, Catherine Hale wants to ask if you feel unsatisfied with your sex life.

She points out that, if you answer yes, you are not alone.

“Many of my clients describe how unsatisfied they are with their sex lives.

Often they find it hard to really feel much pleasure or believe that sex has become a routine way of engaging with themselves or with a partner.”

Catherine’s diagnosis is that, very often, limited pleasure during sex indicates a greater problem of ‘lack of embodiment’, or not living in the body.

“This is common in the fast-paced life we live, with advertising and computers pulling our attention in different directions. The majority of people experience life from the head, while feeling disconnected from the body.”

She explained that, if there is a tendency to be in the mind the genitals can go quiet and numb. “We might believe that sensation or arousal can only be generated via the mind, through fantasy/porn. This may create the need to go into fantasy to generate arousal, sometime for the whole of the sexual play with a partner. When one or both partners are doing this, sex becomes disembodied, detached and mechanical. The other person is being used objectively - hardly the ideal environment for love and intimacy to flourish!”

So, what is the solution to the problem? Catherine teaches couples that mind-based sex can be good for creating arousal, but points out that it is only one route to pleasure: “Known as the indirect route of pleasure, mind-based arousal requires that pleasure comes from outside and not through the body. The other route of pleasure is the direct route, which comes from us feeling sensations in our bodies.

“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 says “I feel pleasure”.

In doing so, we create a neural pathway between our bodies 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!!”

Catherine is offering one-to-one sessions at a discounted price for Reconnect readers of £150 for two hours (normally £200).

She adds: “I’m also offering three super-discounted sessions a month of £100 for the first three people who claim them. If you would like to book one of these sessions or want to find out more then get in touch.”

Contact catherine@ tantricawakening.org or see www.tantricawakening.org

WE’VE all been told some point to ‘take a big breath’ but have we been taught how to do that? Kate Hoskin believes something so simple can have a profound effect on us and can change how we feel. Kate Hoskin facilitates workshops based on meditation and mindfulness techniques, to provide a source of rejuvenation and inspiration to increase fulfilment of life. A ‘Foundation’ workshop, ‘Supporting Children’ is for adults who want to support their children with life tools and a ‘Supporting Yourself’ workshop.

To see if places are available see www.breatheasmile.com

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uk

WELLBEING Regular meditation offers growth

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)

P

EOPLE often meditate alone and it is easy to get discouraged, particularly at the beginning when you might not be certain how to meditate or whether you’re “doing it right”.

The Dragon Bell Temple in South Zeal, West Devon is a Buddhist Temple in the Soto Zen tradition.

It offers the chance for people to participate in the daily routine of a Buddhist temple with the support and encouragement of resident teacher, Reverend Master Myfanwy McCorry, who is licensed as a priest and can officiate at naming ceremonies for babies, marriages, and funerals.

Myfanwy explained: “Meditating regularly encourages a steady growth of confidence in our ability to meet the challenges of being alive in ways that are loving, compassionate and wise, doing our best to cause the least harm possible to ourselves, our environment and all beings.

We offer introductory mornings, group meditation evenings, meditation mornings, day retreats, and residential weekend retreats.”

The Dragon Bell Temple is situated on the edge of Dartmoor,

(Stimulates the immune system to function optimally)

The Bowen Technique Arcturus Clinic, Totnes Home Visits offering a quiet environment for meditation practice. It holds an Introduction to Zen Meditation morning each month, introducing some of the principles of the Soto Zen tradition such as Zazen - learning how to be present in your body and The Precepts paying attention when involved in ordinary daily life.

The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives was founded by an English woman, Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett who became one of the first European women to be named a Master in the Soto Zen lineage. It is one of the first Buddhist Orders to offer the same ordination to both women and men.

As well as meditation 93weekly x 132 group practices on Wednesday and Friday Evenings, and Sunday mornings, the temple holds a Festival Ceremony on the first Sunday of the month and regular weekend retreats. There is no set fee for any event or teaching as people are asked to make a donation which goes to support the work of the Temple.

For more information visit: www. dragonbelltemple.org.uk or email dragonbelltemple@gmail.com.

Tel: 01647-231 682

AMANDA MORRIS

CLT – MLDUK – CertECBS – BTPA

Opening the Senses Gallery

F YOU are “Find a teacher who is supportive a beginner, and who creates it is worth a safe, healing remembering that space,” she advised. learning yoga is a “The hardest part process, according is turning up for to Natalie Austin class. Once you are who teaches there, do what you Vinyasa and Yin can, be gentle with Yoga in Totnes and yourself (this is the hosts regular yoga best way to avoid workshops. injury). Everything Even finding the you learn should right yoga class and make sense and feel instructor might be right for you. Trust part of that process your feelings. If you Natalie Austin explained Natalie decide to continue who has this advice with a class, you will slowly and gradually absorb more for anyone who is looking to find a each time you go.” class that resonates with them: “Be patient in your exploration. There Natalie teaches Vinyasa yoga are a lot of factors to consider - style, on Thursdays at 6.30pm and Yin teacher, finding a suitable time, day yoga on Mondays at 6.30pm and and location as well as practical Wednesdays at 10.45am at Chapel things like access and parking. Take House Studios in Totnes. Her classes your time, try them out and find a continue throughout the year, including during holidays. class and a teacher that feels right for you.”

For more information visit: www. loveyogatree.co.uk or email: Natalie explained that yoga is a natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk or call science and it needs to be thought 07516 720246. about in this way.

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amanda@amandamorris.co.uk www.amandamorris.co.uk

Sea Light DAWLISH

Starting a gentle exploration of yoga

I

For an appointment please call 07931 505 312

Leading-Edge, International Trainings in embodiment and consent.

Cuddle Party™ Sunday June 4th, July 2nd 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'.

Consensual Touch™ Weekend 18th-19th November with Kian de la Cour CSB & Katie Sarra CSB

www.seaschoolofembodiment.com

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,

WELLBEING Holding Space, Making Change 2016: Part Two

The Facilitator’s Path

In the last issue of Reconnect, TOVE ERIKSSON spoke about her path so far towards creating a programme for facilitators that would support them with the intention of creating a better world.

T

HE programme is called ‘The Facilitator’s Path: Holding Space, Making Change’. Tove joined Embercombe’s Catalyst programme (a programme in authentic leadership for young people aged 18-25), and supported them as a ‘back row’ facilitator on the following programme. She wanted to understand how the Catalyst programme is so powerful, and how to support others to engage in transformative facilitation. So Tove decide to act…

“In July 2016, eleven Catalyst Alumni joined on a journey to deepen in the strands of Catalyst, e.g. nature connection, creative facilitation and peer-to-peer mentoring. My aim with this training was to create a supportive and safe environment where Catalyst Alumni could grow. I attempted to create something that would have benefited me on the journey towards creating spaces contributing to positive social change in a world filled with challenges. In the end, we created a space rich in learning for us all, participants and facilitators alike.

The participants got the opportunity to observe expert facilitation, and were supported in drawing out key learnings from this.

Structures were created where they could practice facilitating sessions to each other and the Catalyst Course with solid feedback to each other in order to grow. An active effort of being transparent with my facilitation throughout the programme created live situations where we could discuss choices and alternatives when facilitating a group. At the end of the training, those who were interested grouped together and created projects inspired by their learnings. We have now reached the official end of HSMC 2016, as some of our participants deliver their event

   

Nature Connection Walks & Events for Physical Health, Team Performance Emotional Wellbeing & Spiritual Connection

Tove Eriksson ActivateLDN, a day of workshops to encourage stepping out of our comfort zones for social change.

The Facilitator’s Path: Holding Space, Making Change is an exciting addition to the Catalyst Course – which can’t help but create action and life wherever it moves. It has been shown through Alumni events after the training, and comments from participants, that spaces such as this training play a big role in strengthening the community of people that works hard for a better world for all that live in it.

One of my biggest learnings of this training, was one of the most important skills of facilitating in my opinion: listening. I would therefore like to end with some quotes from the participants of last summer. In the current times of an increasing number of things to fight against in the world, these remind me that there are many more to fight for: “My overall sense of responsibility and respect for facilitation has increased noticeably.”

“I continue to see new ways in which it has impacted me.”

“Amazing support to explore and try out something new.”

“I got out of this the opportunity to try something new and challenging and receive constructive supportive feedback which has since helped me.”

“For me its real strength lies in the personal journey that it invited me on…it has helped me ensure I have checked my own power, privilege, ego before exposing myself to a group (or a group to me).”

In the words of Margaret Mead that I find it important and inspirational to return to: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

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.

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.

www.dartmoorsdaughter.com 44 44

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WELLBEING Further retreats for mindfulness

IF YOU’VE completed an inspiring eight-week mindfulness course, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, you might be asking yourself “what’s next?”

T

HE answer could be a three-night retreat at Gaia House specifically designed for people who have already been introduced to the extraordinary benefits of mindfulness.

Gaia House is a silent meditation retreat centre offering meditation instruction and teachings drawn from a variety of Buddhist traditions. Mindfulness: Beyond the Eight-week Course is a three-night retreat that will give participants the opportunity to deepen their practice and understanding of mindfulness alongside others who have completed the eight-week mindfulness course.

Jake Dartington, who will be leading the retreat alongside Jenny Wilks, said: “We will explore the familiar mindfulness practices in ways that can gently deepen our practice of non-reactive awareness. The retreat will include sitting meditation, walking, and mindful movement, and participants will also have opportunities for inquiry and meeting one-to-one with the teachers. Participants will take part in familiar mindfulness practices, as well as exploring more about the theory of mindfulness, including its roots in Buddhist psychology.”

Kat, who attended the retreat in 2016, said: “The teaching was exceptionally good – very helpful, inspiring and supportive. The retreat was a very nourishing experience which gave me a lot to take away.”

Summer happenings at Sharpham THERE are many events to get involved with taking place in and around Sharpham House this summer, including a summer celebration, themed Barn retreats and wild writing.

Sharpham’s themed retreats at The Barn Retreat Centre return with their famed weekly 6-night meditation retreats given a twist with various themed weeks scheduled.

The retreats, which take place every Sunday on the Sharpham Estate, are in the Buddhist tradition and attract people from all over the world.

Guest teachers are hosting a series of themed weeks at The Barn, which is set amid peaceful woodland looking down the Dart Valley. The themed retreats include • Movement & Stillness – with Jess Stein, from July 25 • Honouring our Ancestors – a retreat for people of colour, led by Dene Donalds, from July 16 • A men-only retreat, from July 30 • A women-only retreat from August 6 • For the Benefit of All, a retreat around intentions of kindness, led by Kyira Korrigan, from 17 September • Loving Yourself, Loving The World, led by Ramiro Ortega, from 22 October • Making Less The Suffering, led

by Ajahn Jutindharo, from 19 November • The Clarity Inherent in our Nature, led by Laura Bridgman, from 10 December For more information and how to book see www.sharphamtrust.org/ barn or call 01803 732661 or email barn@sharphamtrust.org

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The Sharpham Trust have a packed day of activities and the chance to enjoy exploring Sharpham House and Gardens at their Summer Celebration Open Day on Sunday July 9. The day includes a host of activities for all the family including arts and crafts, poetry, music, kayaking, storytelling, nature connection and mindfulness workshops and a beer tent too. The day runs from 10.30am to 4pm. It’s free entry, although there’s a charge for parking. There’s even a free shuttle (courtesy of Bob The Bus).

Bird expert Mike Langman will be guiding a special bird walk on the River Dart at Sharpham on Friday August 25, from 6pm to 8pm, enlightening us about the estuary waders.

Gaia House is a registered charity located in peaceful countryside a few miles outside Newton Abbot. All of its retreats are held in silence, with the exception of the bi-annual Family Retreat. The centre, which was founded in 1983, contributes to participants’ emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual health through meditation. Its retreats are led by experienced teachers from around the world and are open to both experienced meditation practitioners and novices.

Director Devin Ashwood said: “Meditation retreats in the Buddhist tradition provide an opportunity to explore and develop serenity, wisdom and compassion through meditation and mindfulness practice in a supportive environment.

Mindfulness: Beyond the Eight-week Course runs from September 4-7. To find out more about this and the centre’s varied group retreat programme, as well as personal and work retreats, visit: www.gaiahouse.co.uk or call 01626 333613.

Cancer charity seeks to fund healers THE Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust is a charity whose purpose is to make funds available to NHS hospitals, cancer centres and hospices to provide healers to work alongside conventional medicine.

The SBSHT believe this is the face of integrated, supportive medicine helping patients and carers at their time of need. The charity was created in memory of Sam, the son of Angie Buxton King, one of the Founders, Trustee and Director of the SBSHT.

Sam was diagnosed in 1995 aged seven with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and benefited greatly from healing before he died in 1998 aged 10.

The charity want to encourage more people to approach them for funding to work as healers in hospitals, hospices and cancer centres. Although if you are reading this and want to donate to the charity that would be fabulous too!

You can find out much more at www. cancertherapies.org.uk

A new retreat in the tranquil woodland of Sharpham encourages an inner journey in the Great Outdoors. The three night retreat is led by Brigit-Anna McNeill and Caspar Walsh, and begins on September 14. The retreat offers a unique opportunity to step out of your everyday life and into a place of reflection through a synthesis of creative writing, meditation and nature connection.

There is more information, and the opportunity to join their mailing list at www.sharphamtrust.org or call 01803 732542 or email bookings@sharphamtrust.org

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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

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healer. Relaxation; body’s energetic system; emotional/ karmic issues; unwanted energies.

Based Totnes Natural Health Centre/ Plymouth Natural Health and Healing Centre. Distant healings also. Raquel,shantiom@ hotmail.co.uk 07815650204

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

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Singing

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

Somatic Therapy: mindfulness and body-based, enables trauma release.

Creativity Coaching and Personal Story work.

Agata Krajewska ATH 07795002816 www. yournaturalpresence. com JAY RAMSAY MA:

tree care

Oxon, UKCP. 20+ years experience with individuals and couples, Psychosynthesis-trained, now working in Totnes: www.jayramsay.co.uk 07752-719331 KNOWLEDGE IS THE SECRET TO GOOD HEALTH! Philosophy of Yoga & Science to maintain Good Health and bring ‘EphpHatha’ relief.

Just like Jesus! Peace be with you. Yogi Sally Ann Slight sas333@btinternet. com 07523 447389

psychotherapy

REflexologY CLEANSE, relax,

balance mind/body connection. £30 fullhour, discounts for initial treatment or course of 3, book 07522344291, nicolasuzanne@hotmail. co.uk, based Totnes Natural Health Centre

YOU NEXT?

46

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

HEALING YOGA

energy healing

VORTEXHEALING ® Divine Energy Healing / Reiki Experienced

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 August/September issue is July 1. Call Scott on 01392 346342 or email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk.

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

Psychosynthesis and Core Process. Working

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.

WORKSHOPS&COURSES Are you brave enough to play with what is here and now? Introductions to Fooling Workshops on June 17-18, July 1-2, and August 5-6.

Hittisleigh EX6 6LW. £70 (£60 conc.) More info contact Christie Animas 07980371335 or christiede@hotmail.com.

JUNE SUN 11 TOMMMY HUTCHINSON BSc (Hons) Forestry, ND Arboriculture, NPTC Qualified. Sensitive, professional tree care.

Free consultation. Call: 07837486388 Email: universaltreecare@ outlook.com and https:// universaltreecare. wordpress.com

Music for a summer’s afternoon

JuLY SAT 13 The One Relationship with Tiger Singleton aka Tigmonk With great clarity, peek behind the curtain of relationship dynamics and discover how all relationship are a reflection of the relationship you have with yourself. £20 Mount Batten Watersports & Activities Centre, Plymstock. Call 07999 444 010

SAT 22

Stone Lane Music Fest and the Launch of the 2017 Mythic Garden Sculpture Exhibition (12 till 6pm).

DARTINGTON ‘Emergence Theatre - Women’s Voices’ Workshops and performances of Stories for Change for and by women. Events by donation, performances open to all. www. emergencetheatre.co.uk 0779 500 2816.

£18.00 paul.bartlett@ stonelanegardens.com or tansy.ricecaley@ googlemail.com

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.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

T HE N AUTILUS R OOMS

COURSES AND WORKSHOPS JUNE 7th & 21st 7.30pm – 9pm

Sound Healing Journey Through the Chakras Scott Grant Interdimensional Healing Transformational journey with 10 crystal singing bowl. Return to a state of happiness, peace and balance.

Tel: 07723313005 www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk Cost £10

JUNE 17th & 18th 10am-5pm

Effortless Living Weekend workshop in The Work of Byron Katie Facilitated by Sylvia Karathanos and Brid Ni Chionaola ‘When you don’t believe your own thinking, life becomes effortless’. Byron Katie Join us to identify and question the limiting beliefs that keep us stressed, create conflict with others and leave us feeling at odds with ourselves and the world. Using The Work, a simple yet radical inquiry process, discover a way to free yourself from confusion and effort and to transform your life and your relationships including the one with yourself.

Contact: 07583 473435 £120

JULY 5th & 19TH 7.30pm – 9pm

Sound Healing Journey Through the Chakras Scott Grant Interdimensional Healing Transformational journey with 10 crystal singing bowl. Return to a state of happiness, peace and balance.

Tel: 07723313005 www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk Cost £10

AUGUST 2nd & 16TH 7.30pm – 9pm Fabulously located in the centre of totnes, yet tucked away in a quiet alley, with easy access to short and long-term parking. check out our amazing list of highly qualified therapists and interesting events. Leaflets are available at the end of the alley way opposite The Mansion and next to Lloyds bank. If you are looking for a wonderful venues for a group, meeting or CPD event, do come and check out our lovely group room.

36 334454

Call now 077

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gmail.com

ruthbaker1@

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Sound Healing Journey Through the Chakras Scott Grant Interdimensional Healing Transformational journey with 10 crystal singing bowl. Return to a state of happiness, peace and balance.

Tel: 07723313005 www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk Cost £10

SEPTEMBER 6th & 20TH 7.30pm – 9pm

Sound Healing Journey Through the Chakras Scott Grant Interdimensional Healing Transformational journey with 10 crystal singing bowl. Return to a state of happiness, peace and balance.

Tel: 07723313005 www.interdimensionalhealing.co.uk Cost £10

STARTING SEPTEMBER 2017

Tuesday Evening group of Mindfulness, Sandplay and therapeutic Art Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 23rd and 24th

Introduction to Sandplay Therapy facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

ant ch & Consult & Mentor • Coa • Supervisor t • Counsellor

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SEPTEMBER 30th

Mindfulness and Creativity A day of mindfulness and creativity for all.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

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Nautilus Rooms 35a, Fore St, Totnes, TQ9 5HN 07817 510941 enquiries@melmcma hon.net

Counsellor Psychotherapist Mel McMahon

www.melmcmahon

.net

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

OCTOBER 14TH

Introduction to Therapeutic Art facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

NOVEMBER 25TH and 26th

Introduction to Sandplay Therapy facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

STARTING JANUARY 2018

Certificate in Integrative Sandplay Therapy facilitated

by John Daly – Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com

ONGOING

The Work of Byron Katie with Sylvia Karathanos a supportive and small group to learn and practice the work of Byron Katie (Fortnightly on Sunday evenings 7-9.30pm) Call: 01803 868379 email: skarathanos@phonecoop.coop Find out more at www.thework.com.

Anna Karthauser - massage therapist Offers individual and group tuition on request. To find out more contact Anna.

Call: 07912612462, email: anna@karthauser.org or visit www.annakarthausermassage.co.uk