Reconnect june-july no.43

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon JUNE/JULY 2016 ISSUE 43

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

EATING THE SCENERY Where the wild meals are...

Pleas e tak e one

FREE !

STAGING A REVIVAL Volunteers back theatre project

FUN IN THE SUN

COMMUNITY ENERGY

Festivals, gigs and other events

Plugging into local enthusiasm

48pages!

Inspiration and information 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.

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MORE EXETER NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE PRACTITIONERS MO MORRISH RSHOM Homeopathic medicine www.the homoeopathicpractice.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 LISA TATE Remedial, pregnancy & therapeutic massage, Myofascial release T: 07561 519344 E: lisa@lisatatetherapies.co.uk IESSAIAH Psycho-spiritual holistic therapist and transformational energy healer T: 07568 504347 E: info@iessaiah www.iessaiah.com KATHERINE JENKINS Hypno-counselling T: 01392 811836/07890 364847

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TANYA DESFONTAINES Craniosacral Therapy T: 07971 913002 E: Tanya@fifthworldcranial.co.uk JULIA RYDER Wellbeing and workplace coaching with NLP therapies and tools T: 07952 956418 E: lifescenecoaching@gmail.com www.lifescenecoaching.com RACHEL CAREY Bi-aura Bio-energy Healing, Tui Na Chinese Medical Massage, Therapeutic Oil Massage, Reflexology www.rachelcarey.co.uk T: 01392 758439 NOVA JONES MASSAGE Traditional Swedish Massage Therapy T: 07939004890, Nova Jones Massage on Facebook JESSICA OATES Hypnotherapy and NLP T: 07590 821199 E: unruffleme@hypno4swans.com W: www.hypno4swans.com

SHYRON MAIDSTONE Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) practitioner, Wellbeing Coach and Reiki Master T: 07541 510317 E: healingforyoumail@gmail.com W: www.healingforyou.org

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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

e: info@enhc.org w: www.enhc.org

SAMANTHA GODDARD Reiki, Massage, Sound Healing, Hopi Ear Candles, Mindfulness, Stress Advice T: 07870167701 E: sam@devonschoolofreiki.co.uk LESLEY HARPER Nutritional Therapy www.lesleyharper.co.uk DR SARAH BRYAN PH.D Holistic therapeutic, sports, remedial & deep tissue massage, Myofascial Release, Clinical Aromatherapy T: 07949 654779 W: www.sbholistic.co.uk

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Upfront IT'S WHAT WE'RE ABOUT

Broughttoyou by...

IN THISISSUE...

RECONNECT FOR SALE Foster’s movin’ on

EDITOR Martin Foster

4

NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 5

Warning of ticket sell-out

CITY SCHOOL LATEST 7 Can you smell garlic?

WELLBEING EDITOR Kate Philbin

Unique what’s on guide

GARDENING TIPS SALES SUPPORT Melissa Merrington-Pink

Page 17

GOING OUT 9

12

The fruits of your labours

BEE FOR ACTION 13 New wildlife scheme

WOODLAND APPEAL 14 ADMIN MANAGER Beth Foster

Can you help Hillyfield?

GLUT REACTION 17 Using a surplus

POWER TO PEOPLE

New city solar farm

19

MOON ON MOON 20

Samjhana’s lunar facts

REWILD TIME 23

WELCOME... ...to the June/July issue.

And it’s a classic - full of news of good living across the region, plus a little news of our own.

Turn the page and we will reveal all!

As I write this, the sky’s a delicate shade of grey and rain’s lashing across the windows of Reconnect Towers. But hey, the growers will love it (see page 12 for Joa’s priceless gardening tips) and the endless days of glorious sunshine are obviously only just around the corner, so we’ve got an issue stuffed full of Summer events, including a whole range of festivals - and lots of new ones.

Look out too for a few unusual features - why you should check the moon before making life decisions; why having things you don’t like in your veg box is actually a good thing; and how a Plymouth landmark is gearing up for a theatrical comeback.

Enjoy your Summer and get in touch soon if you want to be in our next issue.

Martin

COVERSTORY...

The good living and community magazine for Exeter, Plymouth and across South Devon JUNE/JULY 2016 ISSUE 43

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

EATING THE SCENERY Where the wild meals are...

Please take one

FREE !

Get the family outdoors

STAGING A REVIVAL 24 City theatre comeback

WELLBEING 26

FEATURES WRITER Jon Stein Page 23 FOOD WRITER Jane Hutton

TWITTER EDITOR Matthew Rochford

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jenny Foster

STAY IN TOUCH...

EDITORIAL: 01803 868455 NEW ADVERTISING: 01803 868455 CURRENT ADVERTISERS: 01392 346342 EMAIL US: editor@reconnectonline.co.uk or adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk SEND US STUFF BY POST: 45 Punchards Down, Follaton, Totnes TQ9 5FD FOLLOW US AND READ US ONLINE: www.reconnectonline.co.uk facebook.com/reconnectmagazine twitter.com/reconnectmag www.reconnectonline.co.uk

STAGING A REVIVAL Volunteers back theatre project

Our natural health guide

EMOTIONAL HEALTH 18 Take a five-minute holiday

howto advertise...

PLACE an advertisement in Reconnect and we’ll put your message out across South Devon - 8500 copies every other month.

We do everything we can to keep down the cost of advertising and to help in every way we can to make the process simple and effective.

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If you book a series of three adverts, you get a discount of 10% - and the chance to pay monthly by direct debit.

FUN IN THE SUN

COMMUNITY ENERGY

Festivals, gigs and other events

48pages!

Plugging into local enthusiasm

Inspiration and information for the Summer - powered by people!

And if you book six, you pay for just five - a saving of 16% Our 1/8-page advertisements These cost £93 for one issue.

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Main image: forager Brigit-Anna at Sharpham (pic by Jon Howell). Below that, from left: larger than life at Womad; the Palace Theatre at Plymouth - see Jon’s story of its restoration on page 24; and another big Plymouth project - the massive new solar farm at Ernesettle - see story on page 19.

discount, so you pay £845.10.

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Or book at least three issues and pay £234.90 a month.

All that and editorial too!

Editorial is free for advertisers and is written by our team of professional journalists who will get your message across without compromising your ethos.

Like you, we are a small, ethical, independent business doing what we love. And we’d love to help you. Call us now for a chat.

AUG/SEPT issue out end of July - the ad deadline is July 1 THESMALLPRINT...

PUBLISHED BY Reconnect Magazine, 45 Punchards Down, Follaton, Totnes TQ9 5FD PRINTED BY Kingfisher Print, Wills Rd, Totnes www.kingfisherprint.co.uk WEBSITE Visit our website at www. reconnectonline.co.uk. And visit our Facebook page at www.facebook. com/reconnectmagazine

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.

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

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

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Flowers have been sown to attract bees to Plymouth. Picture: Rory Dimond.

Adding the beauty and the bees THE centre of Plymouth will this Summer be blooming and buzzing with bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects as part of the Urban Buzz project.

Buglife and Plymouth City Council, along with volunteers, sowed colour mixes of flowers throughout Millbay Park, St Andrew’s Cross, Derry’s Cross roundabouts and along Western.

Laura Curry, Plymouth’s Urban Buzz Officer (now, THAT’S a job title) said “Over a third of Plymouth is identified as green space and there are many exciting opportunities for creating wonderful new homes in the city for these essential insects.

Find out more at www.buglife.org.uk or call Laura Curry on 07464828624.

Art in the woods - the Heathercombe EDGE Sculpture Trail.

Wanted: new home for a much-loved magazine

Sculpture trail in the woods

ECONNECT is for sale. How’s that for a punchy first sentence?

But yes, it’s true. After seven years as editor and publisher, I feel ready to pass on the business to someone who wants to continue what I like to think has been my good work.

Why I’m selling, and what I plan to do in the future, is something I’ll touch on in a moment (for those of you who are interested), but it feels like my priority should be to first talk about how a change of ownership might impact on you, the reader.

As I write this, I have no idea who that new owner, or owners, might be. But one thing we all know is that Reconnect is a successful magazine dedicated to exploring and inspiring sustainable living in South Devon.

That’s why readers read it. That’s why advertisers advertise in it. And that’s why someone will buy it.

So will new owners change it?

Inevitably, yes. Primarily because putting each issue together is a creative process and everyone creates things differently.

But it will also change because the new owner will want to improve it - to make it a better magazine (and I’m certainly not arrogant enough to believe it can’t be better).

We have been delighted, excited and humbled by everyone’s response to the magazine and, as you will all have seen (magazine publishing is a very public business), it has continued to grow over the past seven years.

But, and this is where things get really exciting, Reconnect still has enormous potential.

There is always so much going on in South Devon - too much, in fact, for us to fit in the magazine - and with a new

THE Heathercombe EDGE Sculpture Trail is back – a series of artworks along a path through the Dartmoor centre’s grounds and woodland.

The exhibition runs June 18 - July 10 and the theme this year is Renewal.

Heathercombe’s Mel Bambury said: “EDGE is a creative exploration of where art and nature overlap - a celebration of diversity. The work comes from all parts of the community, with professional artists showing alongside work made by a range of community groups.”

The exhibition opening is at 11.30am on Saturday June 18 and throughout the opening weekend there will be performances and family friendly activities around the trail.

The Sculpture Trail and Heathercombe gardens/woodland walks are open Tuesday to Sundays 10am-5.30pm (adults £6, under 16s £2). Refreshments will be available at South Heathercombe tearooms.

Visit www. highheathercombecentre. org.uk, or call 07791 601737.

Work on show CHECK out the work of local artists at the Newton Abbot Art Group exhibition.

It runs from June 4-17, 10am-5pm daily, at the Teignmouth Arts Action Group gallery, 4/5 Northumberland Place, Teignmouth.

You’ll find original paintings, prints, cards, pottery and quality crafts.

Admission is free.

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The good living and comm unity magazine for Exeter , Plymouth and across South

JUNE/JULY 2016 ISSUE 43

produce ❋ energy ❋ land ❋

EATI NG THE SCENERY

Where the wild meals

homes ❋ community ❋ wellb

eing ❋ arts

are...

Devon

Plea se ta ke on e

FRE E!

STAGING A REVIVAL

Volunteers back theatre project

FUN IN THE SUN

Festivals, gigs and other events

48pages!

Inspiration and inform

COMMUNITY ENERGY

Plugging into local enthusiasm

ation for the Summer

- powered by peopl

Visit us online at www

e!

.reconnectonline.co.uk

team behind the Reconnect operation you could see some or all of the sections within the magazine growing. As well as new ones being added, of course.

And, crucially for a free magazine, there are sustainable, ethical businesses (and therefore potential advertisers) beavering away in every area of the market.

The eco homes section could be built on, perhaps. The region is rich with green building projects and alternative ways of living.

There’s plenty of growing space in the local food section. Again South Devon is a fertile area for food and drink producers.

The Wellbeing section could be even healthier - in fact it already grows steadily with every issue.

Or maybe the new owner would want to get out to more of the events in the area and expand the Going Out pages.

Then there’s the possibility of new, associated projects. We know people who are crying out for a new Reconnect Cornwall; or what about Reconnect North Devon or Reconnect Somerset?

Did someone say ‘franchise’?

Another possibility is associated publications looking at any of the subjects we cover in the magazine, plus some others we have up our sleeves.

Or there’s the whole online realm to be explored – I have geeky friends who’ve suggested some very exciting projects.

A new owner could make any or all of these new projects (and more) happen, so I am really excited about where it could go, and I hope you are too.

And what next for ol’ Foster? Well, I’m planning to explore pastures new literally. Regular readers will know that my wife Jenny and I have been part of Doug King Smith’s land project The Hillyfield, where we helped set-up The Hillyfield Hens poultry project.

Recently, though, we’ve moved our share of the birds and our focus to a new land project just outside Totnes just up the road from where we live.

I’ll still be writing about the things that move me, for anyone who’s interested in reading it, and I might even continue to contribute in some way to Reconnect if the new owner will have me.

And if you’re part of one of the many groups we’ve featured in Reconnect over the years, you might even find me dropping in to take part instead of just writing about you!

For now, though, if you’re interested in buying a wonderful little magazine, get in touch! Call me on 01803 868455 or email editor@reconnectonline.co.uk.

Martin

Pots and lots of other things at craft fair THERE’S a strong pottery theme to the Contemporary Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey – but lots of other things to see too.

The winner of the BBC TV series The Great Pottery Throw Down, Matthew Wilcock, and his fellow finalists - Tom, Sally-Jo and Jim - will be special guest potters at the festival.

Visitors can meet Matt, Tom, Sally-Jo and Jim throughout the weekend, buy the ceramics they

make and challenge them in The Festival Pottery Showdown.

The festival, which runs June 10-12, will feature over 200 of the UK’s finest makers and the programme will be brimming with workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, cinema, children’s activities and entertainment, street theatre, festival food and live music.

Visit www.craftsatboveytracey. co.uk.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

British Sea Power top the bill at the Sea Change Festival - don’t miss them.

Got YOUR Sea Change ticket?

Big names at book fest

THE top national (but to us local) literary festival Ways With Words is back in Dartington, from July 8-18.

The big names are there again – among them, George Monbiot (above), Alice Roberts, Mark Watson, Helen Dunmore, Mark Haddon, Joan Bakewell, Shirley Williams, David Aaronovitch, Vince Cable and Ken Livingstone.

Programmes are available in Tourist Information Centres in the South Hams, libraries and directly from Ways With Words - email admin@ wayswithwords. co.uk or call 01803 867373). For more information go to www. wayswithwords.co.uk.

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NEW festival promises to “turn Totnes into one huge party for the bank holiday weekend, with more than 30 gigs, street markets, food fairs and a beer festival.”

Sea Change Festival, August 26 and 27, is the brainchild of Rupert Morrison of the town’s multi-award-winning record store Drift.

The line-up has already proved a winner with festival fans: British Sea Power, TOY, Heavenly Recordings, Bo Ningen, Richard Dawson, THROWS, Yorkston Thorne Khan, BC Camplight, Rival Consoles and Ultimate Painting – and more. As we go to press it’s already more than 50% sold out.

“The premise is very simple,” says Rupert. “You buy a weekend wristband and you can go in and out of any of the venues across the whole weekend, watching live music and performances in the Civic Hall, The Barrel House Ballroom, The South Devon Art Centre, St Mary’s Church, Birdwood House and a whole host of more intimate spaces.”

Rupert is quick to recognise the work already done by venues in the town.

“The last thing we wanted to do was to run roughshod over the town,” he said.

“People have been working hard for years to build up these venues and nights and we respect that massively - they are carrying the torch for the spirit of Totnes.

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We’re all about celebration and acting more as an umbrella - we just want to throw a huge party to show off Totnes in its best light. It feels to us that even Totnes itself has forgotten what a genuinely different place it can be - it deserves a festival of scope and audacity.”

Rupert says the response has been amazing.

“We just wanted to avoid going horribly into debt on our first year, but the rate at which tickets has sold has been incredible. I think the only problem we can foresee is that it is perhaps a little too appetising. As of early May we have sold just over half the tickets, but the biggest problem for me is that 90% of those ticket sales have come from outside of Devon - people are traveling far and wide to come and experience both Totnes and the festival.

“We act as a box office for various festivals and club nights, so we’re familiar with the Totnes ‘casual’ approach to ticket buying.

“But I think the danger here is that the

biggest thing to happen to Totnes since Charles Babbage is happening this August and loads and loads of locals could miss out because they were too slow buying tickets!

“I am genuinely worried that I’ll end up spending the whole festival just explaining to people that we sold out without them...”

To “combat the balance between selling tickets and selling tickets to locals”, the organisers have introduced a ‘deposit’ ticket for just £10 to ensure that as many Totnes (and surrounding areas) residents attend. The deposit is available online at www.seachangefestival.co.uk and in person from The Drift Record Shop. For a small upfront cost you can avoid the last-minute panic and ensure you make it to Sea Change.

Weekend tickets are on sale now priced £45 (also a £37 student rate) and like the deposit scheme, they are available online at www.seachangefestival.co.uk and in person from The Drift Record Shop.

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views

Discover Dartington Hall’s hidden spaces at secret gigs.

Totnes Pride

Wildheart returns at coastal site

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FTER being “delightfully received by the Devon community” with a sell-out success last Summer, the Wildheart festival is back in August at a new venue.

Over the weekend of August 12-14, say the organisers, “a fantastic array of music, workshops, speakers, crafts, permaculture and yoga will be dreamed into being” at the ASH pony sanctuary, close to the beaches of Slapton and Blackpool Sands.

“Come along to wild meadows in a secluded valley to be inspired and celebrate the joy of being alive,” says Wildheart’s Thomas Schorr-Kon. “You will be able to fill your days with exciting and enlightening workshops, wake up to yoga and tai chi, pamper yourself in our healing garden filled with skilled healing

Wildheart festival 2015 - back this year at coastal pony sanctuary.

Explore secret gig spaces

D practitioners, dance your starry nights away to wild and wonderful music and giggle into the early hours at our cabaret.”

The line-up includes the return of The Turbans, Undercover Hippy, Bob Hillary and the Massive Mellow, Rodney Branigan and more to be announced.

All site fees will go to ASH’s charitable work.

Find out more at www. wildheartgathnering.com or search for Wildheart Gathering on Facebook.

ARTINGTON Hall is shining a light into its hidden, dormant and previously inaccessible spaces with a series of secret gigs and events.

Writer, storyteller and composer Daniel Marcus Clark, working with producer and digital performance-maker Becca Gill, have put together six unique experiences.

Inspired by the ‘secret’ gig format, audiences book a ticket to a gig or event and the actual location on the 1200-acre estate is announced in a text message just half an hour before it begins.

Audiences will follow an unexpected route to the gig, through newly unbolted doors, allowing them to explore maze-like hallways, hidden interiors and unseen woodland vistas.

The route culminates at the gig or event, which will be located in a space previously inaccessible or unseen to the public.

The six-event programme includes five intimate folk-based gigs, including exceptional acoustic string band, The Mountain Firework Company; a double bill of Oh Pep! and multi-platinum Fiona Bevan; singer-songwriter Adem; and wildly alternative cellist and vocalist Laura Moody.

The gigs are scheduled between April 28 and July 21 – including a secret gig on the last night.

Find the full details at www.dartington.org.

TOTNES Pride will this year be held on Saturday, September 3, with a theme of Together We Are Stronger.

And the social enterprise Proud2Be, the driving force behind the event, has been nominated for the LGBT Community Organisation Award at The 2016 National Diversity Awards.

The awards will be presented in Liverpool on September 16.

Visit www.totnespride. co.uk and www. proud2b.co.uk.

Womad fest

WOMAD festival is outside our area but is hugely popular with Reconnect readers we know – and this year the line-up includes John Grant, This Is The Kit, Roots Manuva and the improbably funky George Clinton as well as a massive line-up of world music artists.

It’s at Charlton Park in Wiltshire, July 29-31.

Visit www. womad. co.uk.

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Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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news&views

Lupton House and grounds home of a new festival.

Tel: 01392 757328 Mob: 07831 630956 Talk to Brian Durkin at Kestrel Find out more at www.kestrel.biz

Grow yourself, grow your business One-to-one coaching and mentoring support for your business, project or career Learn tools and insights you can continue to use in your life and business Discover how to grow your business without compromising your ethos

Lupton’s festival dream comes true

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SOUTH Devon trust will realise a dream in July when it hosts the first Lupton Holistic Festival.

Lupton Trust was set up in 2008 to create a centre for the wellbeing of the community, community groups, charities and social enterprises.

“It has always been a vision of the project to create a Summer holistic gathering,” said the trust’s Janet Howard.

To help them make it happen they called in event organiser Elaine Fenton, who runs the successful Healing Weekend festival in Somerset and other UK festivals.

“I am thrilled to be able to help create this new festival at Lupton,” said Elaine.

“We set out to achieve The Village Festival Experience and we believe we have achieved that. We will have 80 stands for visitors to explore, relaxing therapies to experience, children’s area, daily

workshops, music and good food.”

An evening concert will feature tribal folk band Touch The Earth.

“Other guests will include UK ‘wisdom keeper’ Barbara Meiklejohn-Free and popular mystic Flavia Kate Peters and many other amazing speakers,” said Elaine.

The Holistic Festival is very much a family event and the children’s area will include woodland fun, arts, crafts, storytelling, children’s massage and reflexology.

The Lupton Holistic Festival will be held July 23-24, 10am-5.15pm.

Admission will be £10 daily (to include all talks and workshops) and under-14s get in free.

The Touch The Earth concert is 6.30-9.30pm on Saturday 23 and tickets are £8.

Find out more at www. luptonhouseholisticfestival.com, call Janet on 01803 845800 or email janet@discoverlupton.com.

What’s that smell at Steiner Exeter?

THERE’S been much debate lately about the use of testing in mainstream education – so what happens at a state-funded Steiner School? ALAN SWINDELL, principal of Steiner Academy Exeter, has the answers…

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PRING Watch at the Steiner Academy Exeter would make for very interesting viewing.

Now in our third year, but in only the first Spring on our new site, every change in the seasons is greeted by the children, parents and staff with surprise. The smell of wild garlic, the young rabbits in the long grass, the deer and badger tracks in the mud are the outer signs. Inside it is the growing confidence to sing, move, paint, form letters beautifully, tackle complex algebra, understand the Industrial Revolution or the nature of acoustics.

In common with other state funded Steiner schools we do not use the

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National Curriculum, nor do we administer Key Stage One tests, which made us interested observers of the recent SATS controversy. We assess in lots of other ways, but the whole cycle of anxiety and teaching-to-the test is something we are free of. The opportunity to explore new ways of tracking progress and supporting a child’s whole development is just one reason the government supports innovative schools such as our own.

Every fourth Friday we open our doors to ever greater numbers of interested parents and children who delight in the lessons they observe and the impression they receive.

Friday morning taster sessions for those who want to experience a Steiner early years setting are a new development. We are still growing at Reception age and year 9, so do check out the Friday morning sessions - but don’t complain if you come away smelling of wild garlic!

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Bodywork practitioners.

FOR TALKING THERAPIES AND HOLISTIC HEALTH

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

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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NEWS&views

Imagine dreaming on the wing SUMMER is an abundant time for wildlife. CHRIS SALISBURY of Wildwise looks to the skies to enjoy some vibrant African visitors...

HIS time of year sees the completed mobilisation of the bird kingdom in the UK, boosting bird numbers to their peak, with the last of the migrants having arrived in May, including the swallows, martins and the exotic swifts.

One of the quintessential sounds of Summer is the high-pitched whistle-scream of these extraordinary birds.

If you live in town, you’ll also appreciate these vibrant visitors from Africa turning up on your doorstep to put on quite a street party and get you in the mood for Summer. Squadrons of swifts patrol many of our urban streets with their noisy, acrobatic displays, like a military airshow coming to town. They are also the ultimate long-distance endurance athletes - on average the swift flies 500 miles a day, clocking up millions of miles over an average lifespan.

The mystery of where they go to sleep

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has only relatively recently started to become clearer. It was a widely held belief, for example, that swifts have no feet; that they are unable to land on the ground. Indeed their Latin name apus means ‘footless’. We know now this is not true, although they rarely need to set foot upon terra firma and younger birds are able to roost on the wing, possibly airborne for their first few years until mature enough to breed.

You may have slept in the air too, of course, on one of those dreadful long-haul flights, but imagine what it would feel like to circle for hours at high altitude in the cold and the dark....imagine what dreams you might have sleeping on the wing! Enjoy the swifts while you can they’ll leave in early August.

To ensure you don’t miss out on the feast of sights and sounds piled high on Britain’s nature table, you are welcome to ‘dine’ with WildWise on one of our many acclaimed bushcraft and wildlife-rich camps for kids, teenagers and families.

Visit our website www.wildwise.co.uk, call us on 01803 868269, or email info@wildwise.co.uk.

Short Courses at Schumacher College Transcribing Landscapes 20 – 24 June

Explore your relationship with landscape; part of Schumacher College’s Art and Ecology Programme, convened by poet and T.S Eliot Prize shortlist Fiona Benson along with artist-researcher Richard Povall and special guest Garry Fabian Miller, renowned photographic artist.

How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body 24 – 26 June

Join best-selling author David Hamilton as he discusses different ways the mind impacts the body and learn practical visualisation strategies used by people around the world to help facilitate recovery from serious illness and disease.

Ecological Food Systems: Sustainable Food For All 4 – 9 July

Join us to learn more about the ecological, social, economic, cultural and political dimensions of a new agricultural paradigm and how it talking shape around the world and in the UK, whilst visiting some of the most pioneering agro-ecological projects in the local area.

Becoming Indigenous 2016 Finding Our Way Home 09/09/2016 to 21/07/2017

With residential teachers Colin Campbell, Lucy Hinton, Mac Macartney and Martin Shaw And special guests Pat McCabe, Charles Eisenstein, Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook, Chris Salisbury, Carolyn Hillyer, Bayo Akomolafe, Jonathan Horwitz and Zara Waldeback This 10 month programme is a deep journey into the question of what it means to be indigenous to our place, our land and our community.

Did you know, we offer locals £150 discount if accommodation isn’t required? Call us when booking: 01803 865934

Book online: www.schumachercollege.org.uk/short-courses 8

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Goingout OUR BIGGUIDETO BIG LOCAL EVENTS ARTS&CRAFTS ARTIST POSTERS Until 07 Jun Prints by many of the world’s leading artists, Brook Gallery, 1 Barnfield Crescent Exeter.

INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Until 31 Jul Top entries from International Garden Photographer of the Year 2016, RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter, 10am-5pm.

PINE FERODA WOODBLOCK PRINT EXHIBITION Until 03 Jul Five UK artists working together make dramatic large-scale woodblock prints of North Devon coast, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey, 8am-4.30pm.

PATHWAYS Until 05 Jun Work of three painters who share an interest in geology, geography and moving through space, Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am5pm.

TOUCH WOOD. DARTMOUTH GALLERIES FESTIVAL Until 16 Jun Work by artists who work with wood alone or incorporate it in their work, Baxters Gallery, 12 Foss Street, Dartmouth, 10am5pm.

IN A LANDSCAPE 07 Jun to 19 Jun Paintings, pewter, copper and mixed media works and printmaking,

JUNE/JULY 2016

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 sales@ reconnectonline.co.uk or call 01803 868455.

Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am5pm.

HOT June 10-23, Plymouth University’s Art and Design Degree Show, Peninsula Arts Gallery, 10am-5pm.

EDGE SCULPTURE TRAIL June 18-July 10 Series of artworks along a path through High Heathercombe grounds and woods, 10am-5.30pm.

THE WORKS: AN EXHIBITION BY DAVID HAMLING 21 Jun to 03 Jul Work inspired by a lifelong love of geology, Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am5pm.

PLYMOUTH YOUNG CONTEMPORARY OPEN 02 Jul to 09 Jul Exhibition showcasing wealth of creative talent Plymouth has to offer, Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth, 10am-5pm.

ILLUSTRATING HARRY POTTER 03 Jul to 23 Sept Original illustrations, sketches, models and

NO FEATU W FREE RING ENTR ONLINE MOR IES AND E IN EXPO -MAG SURE

final prints from new edition of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Hannahs at SealeHayne, Howton Lane , Newton Abbot, 10am4pm.

PRINTING BETWEEN THE LINES 05 Jul to 17 Jul Original prints made in response to a chosen text, Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am5pm.

MOOR TO SEA 11 Jul to 29 Aug Alan Cotton selects work from UK artists with a love of the West Country, Brook Gallery, 1 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter.

NATURAL FORMS Jul 19 to 24 Jul Jane Gabbatiss explores natural, organic forms through ceramics, oils, watercolours, acrylics and silk painting, Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am-5pm.

EXHIBITION 23 Jul to 03 Sep Head Above Water explores swimmer’s experience through film, photography, sculpture, drawing

and poetry, Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth, 10am-5pm.

PASTELS PLUS 26 Jul to 31 Jul Vicki Archer works with pastels using her fingers, Harbour House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10am5pm.

DEVON ART SOCIETY SUMMER EXHIBITION 30 Jul to 14 Aug Work by professional and amateur artists, Devon Art Society, St Annes Hall, Torquay, 10am-6pm.

FAMILY WILD NIGHT OUT 04 Jun to 05 Jun Tune into bats, listen for night predators, revel in woodland smells and natural patterns, sleep under canvas, WildWise, Dartmoor, Moretonhampstead, 5pm-11am.

SOUTH BRENT SUMMER CARNIVAL 25 Jun Floats and majorettes and all things carnival, South Brent, 6.15-8pm.

CHILDREN AND FAMILY EVENTS

THE SHALDON FESTIVAL 16 Jun to 19 Jun Programme includes London Winds, Chetham’s School of Music Saturday, Brahms’ Requiem and Busch Trio, Shaldon Festival, St Peter’s Church, Shaldon, 7.30-10pm.

MUSIC FOR SOPRANO AND ELECTRONICS 18 Jun Programme of recorded and live music, Peninsula Arts Theatre 1, Plymouth, 5.30-6.30pm.

CELESTIAL 18 Jun Collage of songs,

DARTINGTON COMMUNITY DAY June 1 Free, family day out on Dartington Estate with live music, workshops, games, activities, theatre, tours, food and drink, 11am-late.

EXTRAORDINARY SCHOOL FOR KIDS 01 Jun A day of challenges skills and adventures for 8-12-year-old kids who love messing about in the woods, WildWise, Dartington Estate, 10am-4pm.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

words and projections by composer Paul K Joyce, Peninsula Arts, The House, Plymouth, 7-7.45pm.

FAIRE IS THE HEAVEN 19 Jun British choral gems throughout the centuries, Torbay Singers, St Luke’s Church, Torquay, 7.309.30pm.

VERDI’S REQUIEM 02 Jul Coast to Coast Choir, a chorus of 200 singers from North and South Devon with professional soloists, South Devon Choir, The Assembly Room, Torquay, 7.30-9.30pm.

SACRED ANTHEMS 02 Jul Sing a selection of sacred anthems, motets and madrigals from the 16th and 17th-century Europe, Peninsula Arts, St Paul’s Church, Yelverton, 8-9pm.

PLYMOUTH PHILHARMONIC CHOIR 03 Jul A vocal compendium from John Rutter, Plymouth Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra, Plymouth Guildhall.

WIND IN THE WILLOWS 03 Jul Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows, Exeter Festival Chorus, Dartington Hall, 7.3010pm.

STEINER ACADEMY EXETER FAYRE 09 Jul All manner of Summer fun and games, Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter, Summer fun and games, 11am4pm.

CONTINUED

Left: Joan Bakewell - Ways With Words, July 8-18.

Right: Pine Feroda wood cut, right - Devon Guild of Craftsmen until July 3.

Far right: Les Moulettes - at Dartington Community Day on June 1.

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Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

9

GOING OUT

Sahrawi singer and actress Aziza Brahim - at Womad, July 29-31.

WILDWISE

Summer Events JUNE 4 - 5: FAMILY WILD NIGHT OUT - DARTMOOR JULY 2: WILD DAY OUT FOR FAMILIES - DARTINGTON JULY 23 - 26: SACRED HUNTING CAMP (12-16 YRS) - DARTMOOR

Exmouth.

ILFRACOMBE Every first and third ENGLISH MUSIC 16 Jul Saturday Handel, Purcell, Elgar, St Peter’s Church, Holst and Williams, Ilfracombe.

Ashburton Singers, St IVYBRIDGE Luke’s church Hartford Road car Buckfastleigh park, Ivybridge.

7.30pm to 9.30pm.

KINGSBRIDGE Every first and third Saturday ASHBURTON Town Square, Six days a week Kingsbridge.

Tuckers’ Yard, MANATON Ashburton.

Third Thursday BOVEY TRACEY Manaton Parish Hall Alternate Saturdays Manaton.

Town Sq, Bovey Tracey.

NEWTON ABBOT BUCKFASTLEIGH Every Tuesday Every Thursday Courtney Street, Globe Inn car park Newton Abbot.

9amTHE till 12NEW noon WAY TO GET EVENTS PLYMOUTH DARTMOUTH EveryMAGAZINE first Sunday INTO RECONNECT Every second Saturday Royal William Yard, The Old Market, Plymouth.

Your event Dartmouth.

TEIGNMOUTH willlastalso gain EXETER Every Saturday Every Thursday The Triangle, valuable Junction of South Street Teignmouth. and and Fore Street. immediately EXMOUTH Every second exposure online Wednesday PLYMOUTH FRINGE The Strand Gardens, CONT FROM PAGE 9

westdorsethub

AUG 9 - 14: ANNUAL FAMILY CAMP - DARTMOOR

AUG 22 - 25: WILD SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS (8-12 YRS) - DARTMOOR AUG 26 - 30: WILDWISE MOCKINGJAY CAMP (11-17 YRS) - BRISTOL SEPT 3: WILD CANOE DAY OUT FOR FAMILIES - TOTNES

For more info and our full programme of events: 01803 868269 | info@wildwise.co.uk | www.wildwise.co.uk

Get your events in RECONNECT mag FARMERS MARKETS Register at: reconnecthub.co.uk then add your events.

It’s easy & totally free.

FESTIVALS AND EXHIBITIONS

FESTIVAL 02 Jun to 04 Jun Celebration of live performance featuring some of the most exciting companies from across the UK. In various venues including Theatre Royal Plymouth, Barbican Theatre, The House and some unexpected places too.

OCCOMBE BEER FESTIVAL 03 Jun to 04 Jun Beer and cider tasting, live music and a feast of food. All profits go to local charity Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust, Occombe Farm, Paignton, 4-11pm.

THE CONTEMPORARY CRAFT FESTIVAL 10 Jun to 12 Jun One of the UK’s most prestigious and high quality craft fairs with an added festival vibe, Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey, 10am-5pm.

EXETER RESPECT FESTIVAL 11 Jun to 12 Jun A celebration of the city’s diversity with

reconnecthub 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 (August/September) 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 Martin now on 01803 868455)

10

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Exeter Respect Festival - find it in the city’s Belmont Park, June 11-12 music, dance and food, Belmont Park, Exeter.

EXETER COLLEGE MUSIC ACADEMY BIG BAND 13 Jun The Exeter College Big Band returns to the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter, 7.30pm.

TEIGNMOUTH FOLK FESTIVAL 17 Jun to 19 Jun Featuring top folk artists including Jeff Warner & The James Brothers, Jeff Warner, The Claque and Magpie Lane, venues across Teignmouth.

TEIGNMOUTH FOLK FESTIVAL CEILIDH 18 Jun With local band Red Shed, Teignmouth Folk Festival, Teignmouth Community School Teignmouth, 8-11pm.

OPEN GARDENS WEEKEND 25 Jun to 26 Jun Gardens small and large, rural and urban, in and around Chudleigh open to the public, The Square, Chudleigh, 10am4pm.

CHUDLEIGH SUMMER FESTIVAL 30 Jun to 10 Jul

Ten days of fun, including Summer beach party, quiz, literary festival, comedy club, music hall, disco and Grand Summer Fete, exhibitions, children’s parties and more, Chudfest, Play Park, Chudleigh.

SOUTH BRENT FOLK DAY 02 Jul A day of singing, music, dancing, concerts and workshops, The Old School, 11am-11pm.

WAYS WITH WORDS 08-18 July Top-name writers read and talk about their books, Dartington Hall.

THE SLEEP WALK 09 Jul to 10 Jul Rowcroft Hospice’s 80s themed Sleep Walk - more at www. rowcroftsleepwalk.org. uk, Rowcroft Hospice, Torbay Lesure Centre, Paignton, 7.30pm2am.

GLAS-DENBURY FESTIVAL 15 Jul to 17 Jul Independent festival hosting artists from all over the southwest

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

and further afield, Fairfield Farm, Newton Abbot , 5.30pm-12.30am.

EXETER CRAFT FESTIVAL 15 Jul to 17 Jul Three days of art, craft and entertainment, Cathedral Green, Exeter, 9.30am to 6pm.

MIDSUMMER DREAMS July 23-24 New theatre and arts festival, Dartington, Totnes - see story on page 21.

LUPTON HOLISTIC FESTIVAL July 23-24 New holistic gathering with stands, workshops, therapies, children’s area, music and food - find out more on page 7.

YEALMPTON SHOW 27 Jul All the wonders of a local agricultural show, Kitley Lawns, Yealmpton, from 8.30am WOMAD FESTIVAL July 29-31 Top line-up of world music, plus other genre artists like John Grant, This Is The Kit and George Clinton,

Charlton Park, Wiltshire.

TOTNES AGRICULTURAL SHOW 31 Jul All things rural with a little added Totnes, Great Court Farm, Berry Pomeroy.

OFF-GRID FESTIVAL August11-14 Workshop ‘college’ and conference around low-impact living, Biophilia Project, Exeter - see page 21.

WILDHEART FESTIVAL August 12-14 Weekend of music, workshops, speakers, crafts, permaculture and yoga, ASH Pony Sanctuary, South Devon.

SEA CHANGE FESTIVAL August 26-27 More than 30 gigs at venues across Totnes see page 5.

IS COMING TO TOWN

AUGUST 11-14TH

GARDENING

MONDAYS WITH GARDENING FOR HEALTH Until 22 Jul Garden session for the benefit of health, The Lamb Garden, Totnes, 2-4.30pm.

THE BIOPHILIA PROJECT, EXETER MORE INFO: WWW.OFFGRID-FESTIVAL.CO.UK

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

11

The renamed Evolution in Exeter.

ORGANICGARDENING LONG Summer days mean more time in the garden - but there’s lots to do, including direct sowing tender crops and looking out for butterflies...

Busy Summer months ahead

W

ELL, here it is! Summer is officially here which can only mean one thing to us gardeners - spending lots more time in our vegetable gardens and allotments. But somehow, no matter how many hours you spend out there, you could always do with a few more!

- and most other plants too.

Always water first, before adding a liquid feed - otherwise on very dry containers or pots it will just run straight through and organic fertilisers are usually expensive (or will have taken you a long time to prepare from nettles or comfrey).

Early June is a great time to direct sow some of the more tender crops. By ‘direct sowing’ I mean straight into the ground, rather than into pots or trays.

It’s around this time that the cabbage white butterfly may start to appear. Be vigilant and as soon as possible remove the small bright yellow eggs or caterpillars which appear on the underside of brassicas (cabbage family) leaves. Even if you protect your crops with a fine meshed netting, it’s amazing how they find you. I remember many years ago when the plants on our market stall at Totnes market attracted over 30 cabbage white butterflies, fluttering around our vegetable plant packs. I think a few people may have gone home with some unwanted guests that week!

Start by preparing your soil - rake it until it’s loose and crumbly.

Courgettes, squashes and outdoor cucumbers can all be sown in this way. Don’t plant your seeds too deep -1-2cm is enough. Protect them with a plastic bottle as a mini cloche.

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

While on the subject of tomatoes, don’t forget to keep on tying them to their stakes or supports - we don’t want any accidents at this stage of their growth. Still keep a look-out for sideshoots 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

Now, I know I started this article talking about Summer but as we move 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. Try and plan where these will go as and when you harvest and clear beds. Give the brassicas plenty of distance between plants (approximately 30-45cm) and then you can interplant with things like lettuces or kohl rabi, which is a particulary quick growing member of the brassica family (lovely grated raw in coleslaw). These will then be picked long before the kales and broccoli are ready.

Crafty moves

YOU will have read before in Reconnect about Artworks, the gallery of local arts and crafts in Ashburton.

We heard a couple of months back that they had to move due to the sale of the building – but we’re happy to report they’ve moved just three doors up, to a bigger shop.

The old shop closed on May 20 and they have things to sort at the new premises (lighting, flooring, etc) but expect a reopening some time in June.

More info in the next issue.

Library latest

PLAYWRIGHT Michael Morpurgo spoke at the official launch of Libraries Unlimited, a staff and communityowned social enterprise that now runs 50 libraries across Devon.

Ciara Eastell, Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited, said: “We are so pleased Michael was able to join us and share not only in our continued commitment to providing a modern, vibrant and sustainable library service but in celebrating this wonderful evening of community spirit.”

Find out more at www. librariesunlimited.org.uk.

THE REconomy Centre in Totnes, as well as being the driving force behind the recent Local Entrepreneurs’ Forum, is beavering away behind the scenes helping to support local business.

Over the past two years the total usage of the workspace and conference rooms is about 5,900

‘person hours’ – around 56 per week. That includes the hosting of 525 meetings and events in their conference room. The centre estimates they’ve delivered around 300 volunteer hours of business support to members and nonmembers. Find out more at www. reconomycentre.org.

Katheryn Trenshaw Passionate Presence Centre for Creative Expression phone: +44 (0) 1803 863552 skype: katheryntrenshaw email: post@ktrenshaw.com

Re-Membering l Re-Invention l Re-Vision Two-hour, one-to-one sessions for professional, personal and artistic development - by phone or Skype

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.

12

EXETER’S long-established holistic/ethnic shop and healing centre, at 117 Fore Street, has reverted to its original name of Evolution.

The shop had been known as Revolution for the past year or so but when the original owner, Mike Davies, took it on again after the then owner left, he felt a return to the original name was appropriate.

“I had no problem with the word Revolution as such,” said Mike. “Revolutions can be peaceful, but in many people’s minds the word suggests violence. I thought changing back would be difficult but we took down the Revolution sign and there, like magic, was the old one. It felt good to be Evolution again!”

Mike says the shop is going from strength to strength.

“I’ve had great fun changing things around and choosing nice things to restock it,” he says.

“We now have more incense than ever, essential oils, beautiful clothes and bags, wonderful handmade candles, greetings cards, books (including a great secondhand section), crystals, Buddha statues, singing bowls, wall hangings, original art and lots more. And we have lots of very colourful stuff - I’ve got a particular fetish for anything with rainbows!”

Mike and his team have also reopened the upstairs Healing Centre upstairs and a former user, Julie Bramley, is back there giving Crystal Healing and Psychic readings. “We are looking for more practitioners and there may be more on offer by the time you read this!” said Mike.

They are also working on reopening their large (7mx 5m) room at the top of the building to be used for classes and workshops.

To find out more, or if you are interested in using the space, call Mike on 01392 410759.

REconomy supports local economy

Sorry, you’ll just have to eat all those spuds

HARVEST time is here (well for the early crops anyway), so start digging your early potatoes as and when you need them. Don’t forget early spuds won’t store, so eat lots of new potatoes and salads - by now you should have plenty of lettuces, chard leaves and spring onions to pick.

And don’t forget young, fresh 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 in the garden. Hands up how many of you actually manage to pick peas and get them to the kitchen uneaten...

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

Right, I’m off too pick a few peas!

Evolution of shop name

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

Feel welcome to sign up for our free newsletter at

www.passionatepresence.org www.reconnectonline.co.uk

The Sharpham estate - photographed from the Reconnect helicopter.

NEWS&views

Celebration of the British landscape

Finding the write place

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HERE’S a chance to explore and celebrate the British landscape and our relationship to it when Sharpham throws open its doors for a series of events over the coming weeks.

The nation is this year celebrating the 300th anniversary of famed landscaper Capability Brown, who some believe designed Sharpham House and grounds. Thanks to a collaboration with Play Torbay, families and young people will be able to go on ‘Quests’ throughout the grounds to explore whether he really did.

Each quest includes interactive music and drama performances and a trail of clues, leading participants through the breathtaking gardens of Sharpham.

Quests will take place from Friday to Sunday, July 1-3 (including throughout Sharpham’s Summer Open Day), and tickets for each quest will be on sale from the Sharpham Trust website, www. sharphamtrust.org “Thanks to the Quests, lots of people will get to explore Sharpham in a fun and unusual way,” said Maya Herbolzheimer, Programme Manager at The Sharpham Trust. “We’ll be highlighting our place in the map of Capability Brown landscapes, while continuing our work to connect people with nature and themselves.”

Sharpham’s Summer Open Day, on Sunday July 3, offers everyone a rare

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

opportunity to explore Sharpham House and grounds.

It runs from 10.30am-4pm and will include activities for all the family, with arts and campfire crafts, music, storytelling, nature connection workshops, mindfulness taster sessions, tours of the historic house and gardens - and even a beer tent (alongside Sharpham Wine & Cheese).

There will be a chance to explore the ornamental gardens, swimming pool, woodland and wildfood walks, the 18th century kitchen garden and the peaceful atmosphere. Admission is free but with a £4 charge for parking to encourage people to arrive by Bob the Bus - there are free shuttles between Totnes and Sharpham throughout the day (timetable online) - or by walking or cycling along the path from Totnes.

From June 29-30, in the week running up to Sharpham’s Summer Open Day, a symposium staged jointly between Sharpham, Schumacher College and Dartington, will bring together artists and thinkers from every continent (except Antarctica) to discuss “the poetics of the landscape”.

A SERIES of creative writing day retreats are designed to “allow time to slow down so you can connect with yourself and the natural world.”

“We write, meditate, walk, eat and share together,” says Lucy Pearce of Sacred Life Writing Retreats.

The next one-day retreat is on June 15 – “We will continue to deepen and explore our relationship to ourselves and nature in our writing,” said Lucy.

To find out more, visit www.writeplace.co or call 07795 817935.

This two-day symposium draws together participants from a wide range of disciplines to explore ways in which landscape – and the ways we represent it – connects deeply to our lives and underpins our relationship to the world.

The event will look again at the fundamentals of the quintessential English landscape through the work of Capability Brown. Find out more at http://languagelandscape.info/.

Visit www.sharphamtrust.org.

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

13

LOCAL PRODUCE

Just three of the many volunteers who’ve worked at The Hillyfield

Health shop ethos holds true

T

HE key to successful business is getting the formula right at the start – and then continuing to provide the same high quality, dependable service over the years.

But markets change – so it’s also important to keep an eye on, and respond to, changing tastes and demands.

David Gillingham, buyer at Greenlife in Totnes, the largest health food shop in the South West, said: “Our ethos has remained the same for over 25 years. Fair Trade, organic and sustainability are major considerations, but we have always tried to stay in touch with the changing demands of our customers.

“Our selection of raw foods has expanded massively over the last 12 months and we are now proud to offer

the widest range of raw foods of any store in the area.”

They have also recently extended their range of natural bodycare and green household products.

Greenlife, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, continues to stock a wide range of Fair Trade, vegetarian, vegan and wholefoods, plus organic fruit and vegetables from local suppliers and vitamin and herbal supplements.

They have recently extended their opening times and are now open 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am-5.30pm on Saturday.

“Staying open later means visitors can make the most of their day out in Totnes, whether they have time to browse or just want to pick up a healthy snack,” said David.

For those who can’t make it to the shop (on the market square at the top of the town), the Greenlife range of quality herbal and nutritional supplements, eco goods and ethical natural bodycare products is also available online at www. greenlife.co.uk.

Hillyfield plea for help in campaign

Y

OU will have read about The Hillyfield before in Reconnect – not least as the home of Hillyfield Hens, the poultry project created by Reconnect editor Martin Foster and his wife Jenny with Hillyfield’s owner and woodland manager Doug King-Smith.

The Hillyfield is a working organic woodland farm on the edge of Dartmoor, the magic of which hundreds of people have experienced over the years – but now its future is threatened by planners.

Doug’s the first to admit that caring for the 45 acres of woodland and pasture has had it’s ups and downs over the years - especially when served with two Statutory Plant Health Notices demanding all the Japanese larch within the woods be felled within just three years.

Said Doug: “With the help of lots of volunteers and willing workers, felling the larch trees turned out to be a really engaging and enjoyable task.

In the last five years, volunteers have invested over 25,000 hours of physical support! It’s been amazing.

“But the situation we are in now is much more urgent and could put a stop to all the good work we have achieved at The Hillyfield.

“Dartmoor National Park refused us planning permission for a tool store and log-drying barn - critical for our firewood and home-grown timber business. And when we appealed against this decision, they served us with two enforcement notices - without any discussion whatsoever.

“We now have a huge planning appeal to put together - asking for the

barns that we need, and trying to overrule the planners’ decisions to force us to take down all of the temporary structures we require for forestry. It is ridiculous - even our compost toilet is being given the chop!”

The Hillyfield has always also been a creative force and there is a creative media flurry in support of the appeal.

Several musicians who performed at Acoustic Haven in Totnes (a fundraiser for The Hillyfield) have released original new songs as a crowd-fund EP. And local video makers have put together film responses to support the appeal, including Waxfilms, defacto and BRS Images, who flew a drone across Dartmoor to the woods!

Rupert Lane, senior woodland officer at the Dartmoor National Park for over 30 years, has spoken up in support of The Hillyfield saying the woods are a great benefit to the biodiversity, character of landscape, and community.

The Crowd-funding campaign kicks off at a special launch event in The Bay Horse in Totnes, on June 3, 6-8pm.

There are great rewards for those supporting The Hillyfield Appeal, including tickets for The Great Celebration on August 28, a feast of wonderment featuring Martha Tilston, Alex Roberts and Martin Shaw – a magical day and night of music, feasting, stories and star-gazing with Dartmoor Skies. Other rewards include tree-friend gifts, chopping boards, and original artworks.

Pledge donations at www.crowdfunder. co.uk/hillyfield or find out more at www.thehillyfield.co.uk.

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For more information visit www.schoolfarmcsa.org.uk

E: members@schoolfarmcsa.org.uk • T: 07898 117890

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LOCAL PRODUCE FRESH local produce in a regular veg box? Great idea. But what to do about veg you just don’t like?

School Farm CSA member Harriet Bell has a theory…

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PLaNners threaten smaLl wOodland on dartmOor

THE HILlYFIELD

WOodland

NEeds Your Help

NOW

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THE HILlYFIELD APpEAL

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S much as we may enthuse about the glories of locally grown, organic veg from our incredibly friendly neighbourhood farm, most of us will have a vegetable we don’t like.

This will be the veg that sits in the salad drawer until it resembles an extra from Ghost Busters or hides in the cupboard with the roots until it transforms into Yoda, wizened and sprouting tufts of questionable white fluff - at which point you surreptitiously toss it in the compost, guilty about the food waste but recovering your virtue with the thought that “at least the worms are getting a healthy organic meal.”

Some veg boxes give you the option to exclude varieties not to your taste but if, like me, you’re a member of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme then the principle is you get a fair share of everything that’s growing.

Everything.

I’m a member of School Farm CSA who for the past three years have fabulously provided all their members with a weekly box of delicious organic vegetables, all grown on the farm in Dartington.

Now heading into their fourth season, this year they have provided members with a detailed list of their planting, so we know roughly what’s coming when. There is plenty in the plan to get excited about: fresh crunchy cucumber; pots of fragrant basil; flavoursome

tomatoes; and another chance to try a delicious broad bean bruschetta recipe I was given last year.

However, there it looms, coming into crop in July – beetroot. I really don’t like beetroot.

I do have escape options. There’s a swap box where members can put items they don’t want and exchange them for something else they prefer – but, oddly, that’s not what I did.

Not only did I keep hold of all the beetroot in my box, I took home extra from the surplus pile. Quite a lot extra. It was a good growing year with a bumper harvest and having taken the initial financial risk with the CSA, pledging my vegbox money for the year, I got to reap that bumper reward.

The thing is, my dad loves beetroot, particularly pickled, as does my Auntie Pat, to the point where we have put it in their Christmas stockings. They’re both diabetic though and supermarkets seem to think that people will only enjoy food if they stuff it with as much sugar as possible.

So, I also bought a lot of vinegar and got to work making pickled beetroot using amazingly fresh, organic veg from my friendly neighbourhood farm.

Sharing the bounty of my share of the harvest with the people I care about most, turning a vegetable I don’t like into something delicious and good for them… that’s that joy of a CSA scheme, feeding the community well.

School Farm CSA are currently signing up new members for the season. If you’re interested in receiving their organic vegetable boxes contact jenny@ schoolfarmcsa.org.uk or visit www. schoolfarmcsa.org.uk/membership.

TH

What about the veg you don’t like?

against unjust planning enforcement that will stop us being able to care for the ancient woodland at The Hillyfield

SEe HOW YOU CAN HELP Visit Www.THEhiLlyfield.co.uk

• Wholefoods • Remedies • Natural Bodycare

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15

PJ and friend on the farm at Stallcombe House.

news&views Natural connection of holistic care Stallcombe House Farm, near Exeter, won the top honours at the 2015 Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) Awards for their ‘holistic approach to care and the environment‘.

M

OST of us have, at some time, experienced the difference that being in nature can have on our health and wellbeing. The simple act of cultivating food or caring for animals has the power to soothe us and reconnect us to ourselves in a way that other activities cannot.

A local charity that has been offering these activities to adults with learning difficulties for 30 years has been recognised for the difference it makes to their care and to the environment.

Stallcombe House Farm is home to 33 adults with learning disabilities, as well as being a place of work and personal development.

The 55-acre site includes a five-acre organic fruit and vegetable garden, accredited by the Soil Association), and a 50-acre farm, mainly laid to pasture. There is a small animal corner with horses, goats, pigs, alpacas and ducks, as well as a thriving free range egg business.

Stallcombe was founded in the 1980s, when many larger institutions were closing. Its aim is to provide a holistic approach to the health of its residents and the environment. The adults who live there have a wholefood diet, organic wherever possible and, as part of their care plan, each individual has a daily schedule that incorporates real work and social activities.

Stallcombe has its own indoor woodwork centre as well as an art, craft and pottery centre where residents and day placement guests produce work, some of which was recently displayed at an exhibition in Newton Abbot.

Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) holds its awards ceremony annually to recognise environmental best practice within the county.

Stallcombe House scooped the Overall Winner title, and the Sustainable Ethos category.

The judging panel was particularly impressed by the site’s farm. Judges said that by using the land to grow vegetables and fruit, and nurture small animals, the management team was empowering adults under their care to sustain themselves and form a close connection with the land and its natural cycles.

DEBI chairman, Peter Morgan said: “Residential care for people with learning difficulties has received negative press in recent times.

Stallcombe House is a shining example of how, by working with the natural environment and engaging staff and residents, a positive care service can be achieved. The Stallcombe team is attentive to every detail, from renewable energy and Soil Association accreditation to food sustainability.”

The DEBI judging panel also acknowledged the fact that all cleaning products used on the site are biodegradable, which ensures the health of the reed bed. There is also biomass boiler providing all the heating and hot water necessary and a solar array has recently been installed in one of the fields. This close attention to energy conservation and the extensive use of renewables on site has resulted in a substantially reduced carbon footprint as well as reducing their running costs.

The DEBI awards

The 2015 DEBI Awards winners were awarded at the Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) Awards, held at the Met Office. The winners of the respected ‘green’ awards were chosen from a cross section of organisations, including local producers, tourism and charities.

The other category winners were: Environmental Education - Devon Wildlife Trust; Made in Devon Ostlers Cider Company; Enjoyed in Devon - Higher Wiscombe Holiday Cottages; Environmental Champion - Steve Whiteway. The new Member Award, chosen by public vote, was won by City College Plymouth, with Devon Wildlife Trust a close second.

We are Kingfisher Print & Design.

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

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

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Thinking outside the box - ways with wood and, below, ploughing.

Naturally nourishing

Enjoying a world of learning outside

ONE person’s bumper crop is another’s glut - but our nutrifoodie JANE HUTTON has some useful advice...

F

OR many of us, our most memorable school days were those spent outside.

South Devon Steiner School offers an extensive outdoor curriculum for all ages, making use of its extensive grounds.

Gardening teacher Mark van Vliet said: “In Kindergarten, children as young as three enjoy whittling and planting seeds as part of the purposeful ‘work’ they carry out each day.

“Further up the school, children from eight have gardening lessons each week, ranging from making cob bug houses in Class 2, riding a traditional plough pulled by horses as part of their farming Main Lesson in Class Three, growing produce on an allotment as part of

Make the most of bumper crops

L a business maths exercise in Class 6 to learning to lay hedges in Class Ten.” The school gardens also support the wider curriculum - including the sciences!

Said Mark: “With a charcoal kiln onsite for chemistry experiments, and the opportunity to learn how to graft fruit trees as part of a biology Main Lesson, students at SDSS learn practical skills alongside the academic.”

Visit www. southdevonsteinerschool. org or attend the Prospective Parents Afternoon on Friday, June 2, 12.45-15.30pm.

Application boost for new school THE Dart School, the project that aims to set up a new free school in South Devon, has been awarded a place on the New Schools Network’s Development Programme.

They will now receive help submitting their free school application to the Department for Education.

The school, which is applying for government funding, will be free to attend for students aged between 11 and 16 and will offer “opportunities to step beyond the walls of the classroom to engage with projectbased learning in the outdoors and within the local community”.

Provisionally named The Dart School, South Devon, it is set to open in September 2018 pending government approval.

The organisers are holding a fundraising evening of music, song and story in The Refectory, Hannah’s at Seale Hayne. It’s on June 10, 7-9.30pm and tickets are £5.50/£2.50 from www. wegottickets.com/event/360439.

Find out more about the school at www.thedartschool.org, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ thedartschool/) and Twitter (@ thedartschool), or email @ thedartschool.

Jeff Sleeman Life Coaching, Personal Development and Wellbeing

“Simple and profound techniques to get you to where you want and need to go” T: 01392 811 168 | M: 07977 272 174 contact@jeffsleeman.com | www.jeffsleeman.com

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

AST issue I talked about the joys of local, seasonal eating, especially the pleasures of growing our own produce in whatever ways we can.

Alongside the exercise benefits of gardening and growing, the extra nutrients and the convenience of popping out to harvest your breakfast or supper, the downside (and it’s a small one, let’s face it) is the Summer glut.

Anyone who grows their own will tell you their tales of eating tomatoes until they turned red, or being buried in beans and berries. We can hardly complain about Mother Nature rewarding our efforts with bumper crops, but it certainly helps to have a selection of recipes and ideas to hand for making sure every last bit is used.

Freezing is our modern equivalent of salting and preserving. Many veg freeze perfectly well for eating into the winter, with sauces, purees and compotes another way to use up extra produce.

Some are trickier than others though – courgettes are beautiful when small and fresh, but if left unpicked can easily become marrows all too quickly. With a high water content, freezing isn’t courgette-friendly, but cooking into tomato sauces along with other veg is a great way to prevent waste and up the health benefits of the sauce.

Fruit is often the hardest to preserve if the glut isn’t to become gluttony.

Berries grow and ripen rapidly, and while jam is the usual option, Summer’s big star isn’t a friend to the freezer – I mean, of course, the strawberry.

There are many ways to use strawberries apart from the everwonderful lusciously red slivers drizzled with cream. They go surprisingly well with pepper, basil, and in salads and savoury dishes, expanding their versatility beyond cakes, desserts and preserves.

Strawberries, like all brightly coloured fruit and veg, are high in antioxidants and phytonutrients that fight inflammation.

Inflammatory states and oxidative stress have been implicated frequently in the development of a number of diseases, from cardiovascular disease to cancer, with strawberries cresting the charts for their variety of beneficial compounds and high levels of vitamin C, folate and manganese.

So here’s a way of maximising the seasonal bounty beyond sweet creations, and optimising this beautiful berry’s nutritional benefits by adding them to more meals. Get your strawberries every time you have a salad with this simple dressing, combining natural partners strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Chop a few up and add them to a leaf salad too, making this dressing (and the salad) sing even more. Happy Summer!

Strawberry balsamic dressing INGREDIENTS: A sterilised bottle or jar; 250g strawberries 200mls white wine vinegar; 75mls balsamic vinegar; 50g sugar (vary according to how sweet you like the dressing).

METHOD: Mash the strawberries well in a bowl with a potato masher or fork to create a juicy pulp. Heat the vinegars and sugar in a pan, keeping the heat low while the sugar dissolves, and then bringing

to the boil. When boiling, pour into the bowl with the strawberries, and set aside to infuse for at least 24 hours. Strain through a sieve, pressing down gently to extract all the juice, leaving the pulp in the sieve. Bottle and enjoy. For stronger flavour, leave for up to 2 days, or for a thicker consistency, simmer after sieving to reduce the volume of liquid.

Experiment and have fun!

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: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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ECO HOMES

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DO you want to learn how to build raised beds in your garden? Or maybe even have a bunch of keen workers come round and build them with you?

You might have read in our last issue that Ross Adams, aka Abundant Gardens, is offering his gardening skills and creative enthusiasm to develop and/or maintain your garden to ensure you’re getting the best from it.

His latest idea is to run gardening workshops in people’s back gardens, providing a hands-on learning experience and a task force to get the work done.

“I’m looking for people who want

raised beds in their garden and who are happy for a workshop to take place there,” he explained.

“And I’m also looking for people who want to come along to a workshop to learn how to build raised beds.”

Groups will be kept small, between three and six people, to ensure everyone gets hands-on experience and the workshop will cover: the pros and cons of raised beds; where to position them; how to build one; and what to grow in them. Ross plans to use local and sustainable wood from The Hillyfield (see page 14).

Find out more at www. abundantgardens.uk.

Trev’s no-fuss compost loo design

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OMPOST loos, once just a smelly nightmare at festivals in fields, now seem to be popping up everywhere.

Flushing, as most of us are well aware but conveniently choose to ignore, is a waste of energy, drinking water and plant nutrients.

But a well-designed and carefully installed compost toilet uses no water, produces effective garden fertiliser without fuss and gives off none of the odour (you might have used a stronger adjective) associated with their cruder field-based cousins.

Once you start looking into compost loos (I know, I know) you discover a whole science of theories and designs, ranging from the simple hole-cut-in-board-above-a-bin field design to the recent flush (I know, I know) of up-market massproduced items that look much like conventional toilet bowls.

Trev Miller has been using compost loos, in a range of off-grid homes, since the Eighties and reckons he has found a design with the perfect balance of qualities – which he now sells complete and as the subject of a workshop where you can learn to build one yourself.

Without going too far into its practical workings (simply a matter of space limitations not squeamishness); it’s built using only low environmental impact materials; it separates solids

and urine – both of which can be used in the garden (he gives full instructions there too); it’s selfcontained and modular (with a solids bin that needs emptying only every six months or so); and any smell (the thing that attracts insects and larger pests, as well as upsetting your visiting Aunt Gladys) is extracted using a small battery or solarpowered fan through a ventilation system.

Ready-built units (ready to fit in your shed or existing building) are £480 and Trev is also planning to run buildyour-own evening courses from July.

For more information, visit http:// wavesculptor.com/post-loos or call Trev on 07414 933590.

How green is YOUR home?

IF you live in an eco house, or run a business that makes other people’s houses greener, we’d love to hear from you. Call Martin on 01803 868455 or email editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Ernie - Plymouth’s largest solar farm. Who said that Reconnect helicopter was an extravagance?

ECO HOMES

ABUNDANT GARDENS Helping you get the most from your garden

It’s time to plant and prepare for an abundant year ahead.

I can help with: * General tidying * Organic Vegetables * Wildlife gardens * Permaculture * Raised beds * Composting * Pruning Call Ross today and LET’S GET GROWING!

07811 608359 www.abundantgardens.uk

Buy a share of city solar farm action

T

WO community organisations in Plymouth have defied the odds to build ‘Ernie’, the city’s largest solar farm, generating clean energy and long-term funds for the community that own it.

Four Greens Community Trust (FGCT) and PEC Renewables (sister company of Plymouth Energy Community (PEC)) teamed up last year to bring a former landfill site, located between the sewage treatment works and MOD armament site in Ernesettle, into economic use.

FGCT is a local economic development trust, set up to provide local jobs, enterprise and training in the north of the city. The land is part of a package of land and property being transferred to the trust, by Plymouth City Council, for use by the community for the community.

With a range of services helping residents reduce their energy use and an impressive portfolio of 32 community-funded solar roofs in the city, PEC and PEC Renewables, are award-winning, communityled organisations passionate about changing the way people buy, use and generate energy.

The 1500-member strong group are determined to establish a community energy ownership model that’s financially sustainable; delivering returns to investors, clean energy solutions and profits that are invested in other local fuel

poverty and energy projects. Alistair Macpherson, CEO of PEC and PEC Renewables said: “Switching on Ernie means we have smashed our target to deliver 5MW of new clean energy generation - three years early!

“The government’s systematic dismantling of support for solar power and community energy meant this was a ‘now or never’ project. To deliver a scheme of this scale is a huge achievement.”

PEC Renewables have used a construction loan from Pure Leapfrog, a charity whose mission is to enable energy projects to deliver positive social impact for local communities. This allowed the project to be completed in advance of the looming subsidy cuts; and means PEC Renewables will be able to launch another opportunity to own part of it through community shares.

The solar array, generating equivalent energy to power 1000 homes, started supplying clean energy to the grid on March 22.

PEC Renewables are now inviting the public to purchase community shares in the project with a target interest of 6%. With a minimum investment of £50 and maximum of £100,000, they aim to raise £1.23 million.

To find out more visit www. plymouthenergycommunity.com/ ernesettle.

Compact Compost Toilets with Character

Handmade Garden Gates & Fences Natural rustic style Bespoke Designs in Green Cleft Wood Alastair Inglis 07796 805453 al.inglis@yahoo.co.uk

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Practical, odourless eco solution Suitable for indoor or outdoor use Produces superb garden fertilser Low environmental impact materials Installed, or build-your-own evening course

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Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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New Moon with Pleiades, April 2009, Super Moon in Aquarius, Aug 2014. Pics: Samjhana

news&views

Why the moon should figure in your life plan

O

UR relationship with the moon is often only acknowledged through negative behaviour and mystical creatures like werewolves, vampires and witches. But there is a lightness to the moon that can help us to improve our lives and be healthier, happier and more productive.

The phases of the moon and their influences on our body and mind can be used as an effective time management tool that supports us to create new things with greater ease and with grace let go of things we no longer need.

If you think this is all just some hocus-pocus, think again. The term lunatic was born of reports that mental institution patients are more troublesome and expressive around a full moon. More babies are born around the full moon and the police put more bobbies on the street because they’ve learned to expect more drama and accidents.

So what is it that makes us all ‘lose it’, around the full moon? Well, our body is 70% water and we react to it’s gravitational force. Just as a plant’s sap rises to promote leaf expansion and sinks to encourage root growth, we too respond to the waxing and waning of the moon. We feel expansive and more expressive at full moon and have a desire to socialise more and be active out in the world.

The three days either side of the full moon are the best time for hosting gatherings and events when we have more energy and need less sleep. Conversely, they are the worst time for any

WORDS and pictures on the moon - by photographer and natural cycles mentor Samjhana Moon, naturally... kind of operation because the body is less able to heal and wounds are more likely to bleed.

The opposing new moon - when we enter a naturally meditative state and enjoy spending time alone - is the ideal time to explore our inner-world. The perfect time too for releasing old patterns and welcoming new beginnings.

Our bodies, naturally detoxing and fasting on the day of the new moon, can actually help to reset and improve our immune system.

By tracking the lunar phases we can schedule our self-care, social events and personal goals at the time our intentions are most supported.

As a result, we enjoy more success, feel more in the flow of life, more confident and, with that, all your dreams are within reach.

Samjhana Moon, right, is a Photographic Artist and Natural Cycles Mentor who helps women align with nature’s rhythm and live a juicy fulfilled life by working with hormonal and lunar tides. She is co-creator of the world’s 1st moon and menstruation clock, The Women’s Wisdom Dial and was recently awarded People’s Choice Speaker for TEDx Totnes. Visit www. samjhanamoon.com and www.innerseasons.com.

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Kindergarten taster sessions

Every Friday 10.30 – 11.30 visit with your child and experience kindergarten together

Ring or email to book 01392 757371 admin@steineracademyexeter.org.uk www.steineracademyexeter.org.uk

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The amazing Elfic The Jester - at The Midsummer Dreams Festival.

NEWS&views

Midsummer Dream festival is a reality THERE’S a new theatre and arts family festival coming up in July.

Midsummer Dreams runs July 23-24 and promises to “inspire and entertain all ages by bringing national touring theatre companies and artists together with regional Devon-based artists to create a varied programme of exciting and original events including theatre, dance, comedy and music.”

The full programme is TBC as we go to press but the line-up for this “Summer weekend of theatre and arts” includes storytellers, bands, dance, drama and more.

Full story from their website, www.midsummerdreams festival.co.uk.

Empowering families across Devon & Cornwall since 1999

Off Grid is back - in Exeter

T

HE Off Grid Festival, which ran in Somerset 2009-2014, is back – and it’s now on the edge of Exeter.

Described as “an experimental innovation lab for a new paradigm of economic, ecological and community thought” it will be held at the Biophilia Project in Exeter, August 11-14.

Over the years, the festival has educated and informed thousands of people about the skills and knowledge required for a lowimpact ‘off-grid’ lifestyle. “This is done,” say the organisers,“ via our unique Off Grid College, a 12- module programme in

practical, sustainable living, and our Conference programme – three days of mini-conferences on topical themes, including: practical demonstrations of eco-build; alternative technology; wildcraft and traditional crafts and skills; and Off Grid Inside, where we explore the inner-dimension of off-grid living and the systemic tools that help us co-exist as a society.”

Off Grid is a 100% participatory event collaboratively self-organised by a volunteer-led team limited to 400 people. Tickets are on sale now.

Find out more at www.offgridfestival.co.uk.

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Therapy and Healing.

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Back to his roots with business skills

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roots” and using his ACK in his 40s, personal and effective and proven business coach techniques helping Brian Durkin imagined individuals and social he would retire when he enterprises in the was around 55. Now in sustainable business his 60s, he continues to sector. share “the sort of insights “It’s where it all began we don’t usually get from for me,” explained the education system”.

Brian, who back in “What happened was the 70s worked with that I realised I had a Devon-based personal vocation,” says Brian. development centre and And that is to make a a wholefood distribution Brian Durkin positive contribution to businesses. Together people’s lives and to we experimented with the effectiveness of businesses and new ways of doing things; ways of other organisations.” making business more humane and democratic.”

Much of his wealth of experience comes from time he spent as part When the businesses were struck of Quarto, a four-person team by the recession, Brian went back of development and training to school, studying for a masters consultants who worked with degree in organisation development major clients across the UK and and going on to build his training internationally. and development career.

Together they created “tools, “I’m now semi-retired,” says processes and insights”, which Brian, “and am enjoying helping are now used under license by individuals and not-for-profit global training company Wilson enterprises focus on finding and Learning, and some of which are maintaining more positive and encapsulated in Quarto’s book, I fulfilling directions.”

Just Love My Job. Visit www.kestrel.biz, or call Brian on Today, Brian is “getting back to his 01392 757328 or 07831 630956.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Exeter’s Holistic/Ethnic Shop and Healing Centre 117 Fore Street, Exeter EX4 3JQ

Mike, the original owner is back and the name has reverted to Evolution Shop selling holistic and ethnic goods including incense, essential oils, books, crystals, candles, greetings cards, clothes and accessories, drums, didges, singing bowls, original art and much more.

Our Healing Centre is now open and is offering Crystal Healing and Psychic Readings. We may have more by the time you read this.

Please call for latest info or if you are interested in renting the space.

We also have a large room available suitable for classes, groups and small events. It has been closed for refurbishment but should be open by the time this advert goes to print. Please call for latest information.

Tel: 01392 410759 Email: info@evolution-exeter.co.uk www.evolution-exeter.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/evolutionexeter Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

21

Alhadi Abdu, Sami Maheri and Marianna Riddle at Embercombe.

MORE FOLLOWS...*

V

RECENT activity, including the writing of this column (how’s that for recent?), has reminded MF of the power of community...

Creating a community of doing

T

HINGS feel a little different as I write this issue’s Foster ramblings. First because it’s in the light of some dramatic Reconnect news (check out the story on page 4 - it’s a biggy); and second, because all my other editorials have been written while I’ve been alone in my office, high in Reconnect Towers. Just think writer’s lonely garret. With a dog.

And occasional but lively visits from my inquisitive grandson.

But I’m writing this one in the office of my friend Katheryn Trenshaw, whose Passionate Presence Center and In Your Own Skin project you’ll have read about here in Reconnect.

Katheryn, like many of us, is currently sorting through big chunks of her life, including a backlog of admin - much of which is stacked around me in boxes. As I write, she too is busy. To the accompaniment of pianist Ludovico Einaudi (not in person, you understand - no space in here for a harmonica, much less a piano) she is sorting, filing and recycling. Her industry is truly inspiring.

Why am I here? Well, I’m helping.

Not in any practical sense - her paperwork is personal to her, so I couldn’t make any decisions on its value, and I really do need to get this editorial written, but we discovered when I last visited during one of her sorting sessions that she is helped (more focus, improved productivity) simply by my presence.

So when I arrived today, we had a cuppa, caught up on what we’d both been up to since we last met (and we’ve both got some big changes going on right now, so it included some really juicy stuff) and got down to work: Katheryn doing the admin shuffle, me tapping out these words. We’re not talking (well, the occasional comment or shared joke and I just told her how much I’m enjoying the music - I’m new to the restful, soulful sounds of Mr Einaudi), but us being in the same room, sharing a space, combining our creative energy, is somehow making it easier for both of us to work.

During that initial chat, Katheryn reminded me of a concept she’d mentioned before, and which I’ve referred to before in an editorial.

We’re all familiar with the term Do It Yourself, and I have scars on my clumsily typing fingers as proof of my proficiency, but I (no, make that ‘we’ - there is of course a degree of collaboration involved here) humbly suggest you consider the concept of Do It Together.

The ‘many hands make light work

22

theory’ is obvious: co-opt a friend (or maybe trick one of your kids) into helping with the weeding and you will cover more ground than you would on your own. It’s not just about more hands pulling more weeds - you’re also chatting, joking (I appreciate this might depend on the sort of relationship you have with your children) and just being with each other. Sure it’s still work in the literal, physical labour, getting the job done way of things, but it’s also more than that.

It’s also companionship and sharing and mutual understanding… it’s really just community, I guess.

I mentioned earlier that I’m making some big changes in my own life and, as is the nature of these things, one in particular is a bundle of contradictory good and bad news.

The bad news is that we (my wife Jenny and I) are no longer working with Doug King Smith on his organic Dartmoor woodland farm, The Hillyfield. It was a painfully tough decision to move away, and it’s been an awful wrench but the good news, and the only thing that could have won us away from the idyll that is The Hillyfield, is that we are now involved in a land project on the edge of Totnes - just a few minutes from where we live.

The reason I mention the move now is that this too has reminded me of the importance, power and delight of working with others.

The Hillyfield has ‘community’ running through it like a key line (which is, I think, why planners don’t really ‘get it’ - more on that on page 14) and while there we have worked not just with Doug but also with his lovely family, his friends and volunteers and the Hillyfield WWOOFers (www.wwoof.org.uk).

Just one highlight was the working together to create a stone circle magical in so many ways.

And then the team already working on the new land project helped us move some stuff there from The Hillyfield (fear not - the Hillyfield Hens are still happily pecking their way around the riverside pastures).

Moving is never easy: there’s that aforementioned emotional conflict but also the sheer practical effort of it (what - it won’t fit in the trailer!?), but good company, and the willing labour and spirit that comes with it, made the physical move a lot less painful that it could have been.

Let us recognise and celebrate the wonder of community in all aspects of our lives.

in

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OLUNTEERS at Embercombe have been taking action towards creating a more just world by supporting refugees arriving in Devon.

They set up a group to work with organisations across Devon as part of an initiative to reach out to less advantaged members of our local community.

And over the Winter several volunteers travelled to Greece to address some of the immediate needs of the people arriving in the camps there. They also sent donated clothing and supplies and continue to gather items to help refugees across Europe.

In collaboration with START (Students Teachers and Refugees Together) in Plymouth, Embercombe has just completed a six-week program to help refugees and asylum seekers gain basic work experience in the UK. Participants have been able to develop skills to transfer into a professional working environment in their new country. The volunteers at Embercombe have likewise gained

Volunteers support refugees from the skills of the refugees and have delighted in lunchtime dishes from Pakistan and Kurdistan!

The gardens at Embercombe have been providing vegetables for the Cultural Kitchen, organised by START so asylum seekers and refugees in Plymouth can socialise and make new friends over a good meal.

Friendships have also developed at events held by Embracing Refugees, an organisation that aims to ‘build resilience and overcome social isolation’, giving people a platform to ‘embrace their differences and celebrate their individuality’.

To find out about volunteering, visit www.embercombe.org/volunteering.

Ponies help teens complete Tors trek THREE Dartmoor ponies and a team of volunteers enabled 16 teenagers with a range of challenging life issues to take part in the gruelling Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor.

Ten Tors approached Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust (DPHT), a charity that runs an equine-assisted learning programme, to ask for their help.

Led by Dru Butterfield, DPHT created Fresh Tracks specifically for the Ten Tors Challenge and students from Teign and Ivybridge Secondary Schools and a combined group from Ratcliffe and Oakland Park Special Needs Schools at Dawlish, along with teaching and support staff, DPHT volunteers and Moorland Guides, trained over eight weeks to prepare

for the 10-mile trek. They successfully completed the challenge and it is hoped that the ‘Fresh Tracks’ event can be extended and become a regular element of Ten Tors.

Visit www.dpht.co.uk.

Magical Potter artwork goes on show THERE will be something of the One of the illustrations Hogwarts about

by Jim Kay. Seale Hayne this Summer.

The centre, near Newton Abbot, is hosting an exhibition called Illustrating Harry Potter, showcasing original illustrations, sketches, models and final prints from the new it opened in Newcastle at the end edition of JK Rowling’s Harry of 2015, say the it will be the Potter and the Philosopher’s inspiration of a whole summer Stone, illustrated by Jim Kay. of magical events, and the full Over the next few years, Jim will programme will be announced by be reimagining all seven books. the time you read this.

Hannahs at Seale-Hayne, the first Visit www.discoverhannahs.org. venue to host the exhibition since

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NEWS&views Summer fun

It’s time to re-wild!

CHECK out the grounds (off Cowley Bridge Road) and enjoy all manner of fun and games at the Steiner Academy Exeter Summer Fayre, 11am-4pm on Saturday July 9. Visit www. steineracademyexeter. org.uk.

AS we welcome longer, sunnier days and warmer, starry nights, MORWENNA ALLDIS of the RSPB has tips on how to re-wild the family this Summer Explore a Bug Safari

All around us we share our daily lives with a secret world: underground, under rock, under plant pot, under log, even under your garden gnome - it’s the creeping, crawling, flying, scuttling and slimy world of minibeasts. And the best thing is that you don’t need a large garden to enjoy them. You’ll be amazed at the beastly life lurking in even a window box, potted plant or street hedgerow. All you need to do is to bend a little bit closer and look for them.

The fun then begins as you identify which species of creature you’re looking at. The RSPB have a range of online ID sheets to help you – find them at www. rspb.org.uk/for professionals/teachers/ resources/school-grounds/index.aspx Once you’ve made a positive ID, research on the web or at your local library to discover more about their key characteristics.

Dip in ponds, pools and streams

In June and July our watery habitats team with life; everything is growing, hatching and feeding. Tadpoles start their transformation into frogs; fish swim

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after each other in the hope of spawning; and water plants enjoy a growth spurt.

You actually don’t need a pond to take part.

Your nearest rockpool, stream or even water butt will play host to a variety of aquatic wildlife.

All you need is: a net (you can make one out of a pair of tights and a wire coat hanger); a light coloured, shallow tray in which to observe the wildlife; an ID sheet or book; and your eyes and ears to study the wildlife’s behaviour.

Again, the RSPB has tips on how to successfully explore your local water wildlife – visit www.rspb.org.

Starry, starry night

A clear, star-filled night is one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world and it’s right there hanging above our heads every evening.

Star-gazing is a fun, free and lifeaffirming natural experience whatever your age. Pop out to your garden, local

No entry ahead

park or beach, look skyward and feel yourself fall into the stars.

RSPB Big Wild Sleepout

Friday-Sunday, July 29-31 Our Big Wild Sleepout event encourages everyone to get their friends and family together and spend one night sleeping outside.

Camping out makes you realise that nature doesn’t shut-down as the sun sets like we do - it comes alive. You’ll hear many different snuffles, grunts and rustles just the other side of the canvas keep a notebook nearby to record your sensory experience by torchlight.

We have a range of resources available on our website to help make your sleepout memorable - visit www.rspb. org.uk.

ENTRIES for the Exeter Phoenix gallery open submission contemporary art exhibition must be in by June 13.

The exhibition runs September 15-November 5, with awards of £100, £500 and £200 up for grabs. Details at www. exeterphoenix.org.uk.

Day of folk WATCH, listen and join in at the South Brent Folk Day – concerts, dancing, singing and musicians, on Saturday, July 2.

Visit www.southbrentfolk. org.

Bard in the Yard THE Barbican Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is at Royal William Yard, August 5-21. Visit www. barbicantheatre.co.uk.

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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Pat McCabe, aka Woman Stands Shining - coming to Dartington

Community stages a revival at city theatre JON STEIN slaps on the grease paint and finds out how volunteers in Plymouth are giving new life to an historic theatre

Our birthright of connection WHEN Pat McCabe (Woman Stands Shining of the Navajo nation) arrived in Dartington last November she came with a proposition to hold a reunion and healing ceremony for the land, the people of this land and for indigenous people around the world.

In April she returned with women from the indigenous traditions of North America, Chile, Malaysia, Australia and Colombia to perform the ceremony on Dartmoor, preceded by three days of potent storytelling and sharing, hosted by Embercombe and Schumacher College at Dartington.

The invitation, she said, was for each of us to remember and revive our birthright of connection with the land and with each other, and to put life back at the centre of everything we do. With this, the world will have to change.

This year Schumacher College celebrates 25 years of providing world-class learning in the field of ecology and spirituality. Over this time, the College, and Totnes, has welcomed some of the leading authors and activists who have shaped humanity’s thinking on how to live sustainably and equitably in the 21st Century, including James Lovelock, James Hillman, Arne Naess, Thomas Berry.

To celebrate the birthday there will be a speaking event in the Civic Hall on September 27, with a lineup that includes Charles Eisenstein, Pat McCabe, Bruce Lipton and Fritjof Capra.

More details to be announced soon at www. schumachercollege.org.uk.

Weekend courses at Schumacher College include: Satish Kumar, June 3-5, Nourishing the Soul; David Hamilton, June 24-26, How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body; Jon Young, July 8-10, A Weekend With Jon Young.

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E

VEN in our digital age, there’s a certain magic about going to the theatre: the plush seats, the lights and the curtain, the buzz of the crowd… And the atmosphere is better still when the theatre occupies a beautiful historic building.

Built in 1898, the Plymouth Palace Theatre of Varieties on Union Street has been home to many of the greats: Lillie Langtry performed there and even Charlie Chaplin appeared briefly on its stage. It has survived a backstage fire, several changes of use and even The Blitz, which did so much damage to the rest of the city.

But after a chequered history as a night club, the Palace finally closed in 2006 and fell into dereliction.

Despite its Grade II* listing, the building - along with the Great Western Hotel next door - now

stands empty, a shadow of its former self.

But things may be about to change. Last year a new charity, GO! (Great Opportunities) Together, bought the building and has been providing work placements at the theatre for the young and disadvantaged of the city. To date, more than 200 volunteers have been involved in cleaning up the place and the charity was recently named England Winners of the UK-wide Epic Awards recognising excellence in voluntary arts groups.

Ian Wren is chairman of the Advisory Board charged with overseeing the project. As he took me round the theatre he admitted “there’s still a huge amount of work to do.” Even if the planning application gets a green light from the council there’s a lot of fundraising required. Ian estimates redevelopment will cost £30m but stresses that the project will also generate funds.

He says: “The hotel next door will be a commercial venture, subsidising the theatre as well as providing employment and work experience.”

Though the project has received support from

Graffiti artwork tells climate story TWO local artists have worked with young people to transform the route between Exeter Phoenix arts centre and Exeter Library with a new graffiti artwork.

It’s the brainchild of Cleo Heard, who runs Miss*C’s Graffiti Academy, and Clare Bryden, an environmental artist, who joined forces with Freefall Youth Group to ‘bluewash’ the wall, create stencils and wield spray cans over three workshops and a five-hour painting session.

Freefall Climate Graffiti, features maps of the UK showing how our climate could change in future decades, and is a public artwork, available to view anytime.

Visit www.facebook.com/FreefallClimateGraffiti/.

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a number of celebrities in show business and the media, there’s no sense of it being only for ‘luvvies’.

Ian recognises that austerity and increasing ticket prices threaten to make live performance a luxury, but believes the Palace could work against “the continuing elitism of theatre” by involving local people as volunteers as well as giving opportunities (including apprenticeships) to the young.

If all goes well, says Ian, the building could be open by 2020.

In the meantime GO are planning an August concert with the Palace Theatre Philharmonia and Chorus, which formed last year for a fundraiser at the city’s Guildhall.

The charity’s slogan runs: ‘If we can dream it, anything is possible!’ So if you’d like to help turn a bit of theatre history into a community arts space for the future get in touch with GO!

Interior and exterio of the project, abov left: writer Jon Stei volunteer Adrian B The Palace Theatre Street, Plymouth PL 426203; email con org.uk; visit www.g also on Facebook a Jon Stein is a write Totnes. See and he www.jonstein.co.uk

Camps encourage teens’ natural

S

INCE the first Hunger Games book and film came out, Robin Bowman and Wildwise have run seven Hunger Games camps, two Catching Fire camps and last summer their first Mockingjay camp.

Inspired by the teenage survivalists in the stories, the camps are designed to get teenagers to connect with nature.

Said Robin: “Last summer was an amazing success – all the teenagers formed one giant Rebel army and attempted to overthrow the Capitol and track down President Snow (me!).

“Of course this also meant the teenagers lived out in the wild woods for three days and had a deep immersion in nature connection.

“They had an amazing time building their own teenage Rebel base and mapping out

the whole Capitol hidden food stores they had to form a scouts, spies and d and eventually ove “It’s a totally uniqu for the teens which their hidden skills, abilities and requi communicate toge There are two gro Summer: Hunger ages 11-16 from A Mockingjay camp August 26-30. Ea person.

Find out more on Hunger Games) a wildwisehungerga

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NEWS&views

or and exterior shots at various stages project, above, right and below. Below riter Jon Stein with Ian Wren (right) and eer Adrian Bridgman. alace Theatre is at: 121 -123 Union Plymouth PL1 3NB. Call 01752 03; email contact@greatopportunities. k; visit www.gopalaceplymouth.com (and n Facebook and Twitter). ein is a writer and musician living in . See and hear more of his work at jonstein.co.uk.

natural connection

hole Capitol (woodland), finding our n food stores, arsenals etc. Together had to form a strategy, elect leaders, s, spies and double agents to infiltrate ventually overthrow the Capitol. a totally unique and exciting camp e teens which brings out many of hidden skills, inner-qualities and es and requires them to work and municate together as a team.� are two groups planned for this mer: Hunger Games camp for 11-16 from August 20-24; and ingjay camp for ages 12-17 from st 26-30. Each camp is £260 per n. out more on Facebook (Wildwise er Games) and at www. isehungergames.co.uk.

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Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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wellbeing email: wellbeing@reconnectonline.co.uk

THE natural health and personal development PAGES Liz Turner - yoga at her agroforestry project. Pic: www.fitchimages.com

Inside wellbeing...

Finding Active Hope

The importance of ritual Free counselling session Sarah champions register Centre celebrates first year

28 29 30 31

Drawing on mindfulness

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New look for training company Enjoy a taste of the wild Take a five-minute holiday Transformational energy healing

36 38 41 42

01392 422555 e: info@enhc.org w: www.enhc.org

And there’s lots more to read inside

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How can we help?

Explore yoga and nature with Liz

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HERE will be more opportunities this Summer to enjoy yoga and nature, thanks to Liz Turner’s Trees for Health and Into Yoga and Nature.

Visit Trees for Health, the agroforestry project at Beeson on the South Devon coast, to learn about: the one-acre forest garden, windbreaks, living willow, alleys, fruit/nut orchards, edible native hedge and wildlife/edible plants in the thriving pond!

Says Liz: “You could see dragonflies plus sample water-loving plants, Vietnamese coriander and meadowsweet, alongside perennial kale, sweet cicely and lime leaves!”

Tours will be held there on June 20 and July 18, 10.30am-1pm. The cost will be £10, booking essential. There are also volunteering opportunities, where you can have a go at scything.

Visit www.treesforhealth.org.

Kate Philbin

Liz, who runs Trees for Health, is also a yoga teacher and has set up Into Yoga and Nature, which invites you to “experience a connection with yourself, the Earth and with others”.

Says Liz: “Come to a class to strengthen, relax, breathe and meditate or a day retreat where a deeper yoga practice will help to clear body, mind and senses ready for nature exploration afterwards.

“This Summer there’s the chance to experience meditative walking, wild food, Goethean Science – observation, drawing, sharing. Plus massage guidance with Pippa Griffin to help us connect with others before connecting with nature - tbc on the website.”

In Autumn, the projects will combine for a weekend yoga and nature retreat in the agroforestry project and on the beautiful south Devon coast.

Visit www.intoyogaandnature.co.uk.

IF you are looking for complementary therapists or personal development practitioners in South Devon, you’ve come to the right place.

And if you work in natural health and want to spread the word, this is your natural home.

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

And our Wellbeing editor, Kate Philbin, will write the editorial free of charge.

Our designers will even put the artwork together for you - for prices that would make most graphic designers run for the hills.

The Wellbeing deadline for the next (Aug/Sept) issue is July 1 - get in touch and let’s talk.

Call Martin on 01804 868455 or email adverts@ reconnectonline. co.uk

Open to new possibilities with Hypno-counselling Remember how magnificent you truly are - and always have been Your life is not wrong and ways in which you ‘suffer’ do not need fixing You have forgotten your joy of existence It is there and always has been - let me help you remember

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Katherine Jenkins

Catalyst for Change Hypnosis Practices at Halscombe Cottage, Halscombe Lane, Ide (EX2 9TQ) and by appointment at the ENHC, Exeter.

01392 811836/07890 364847 info@hypnosisexter.com www/hypnosisexeter.com

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Healer and shamanic practitioner Hannah Pearson at work

WELLBEING

Discover the catalyst for change

F

ACING poor health, low vitality or other major challenges in our lives can be the catalyst for change. After the initial shock has passed, we might begin to reflect on our lives and open ourselves up to healing and greater joy in ourselves.

Healer and shamanic practitioner Hannah Pearson, who works at The Practice Rooms in Exeter and Bath, believes there is a profound link between our wellbeing and our willingness to engage with self-development. She described witnessing this development of awareness taking place while leading treks in the Indian Himalayas.

“People were on a physical journey, dictated by the environment, but they were also on an inner-journey of personal transformation,” said Hannah. “Typically, they would begin the trek with a huge amount of effort and determination. Yet, by about the third day, they would be ready to give up.

“I believe this comes from the Western belief in willful effort – pitting one’s limited human physical and psychological forces against the external world. Once that had broken down and they had accepted they just did not have what it took to continue the uphill battle, their outlook would change, leaving space for a completely different way of being supported by and interacting with the land. At

this crucial point, when they’d give up forceful action and reconnect with their centre, they’d discover a subtle, more feminine and yet powerful inner-strength.”

Hannah explained that she encounters this process of yielding and unfolding in her work as a healer: “I help my patients to reconnect with their natural state of wellbeing. As the layers of habit and conditioning dissolve, people typically enjoy an exhilarating spaciousness in their centre, and discover strength and stability.

Inspiration, creativity and joy then naturally follow, in all their different forms.”

A healing session with Hannah involves her using her voice, breath and intention and placing her hands slightly above the patient’s body.

After clearing day-to-day stresses and strains Hannah engages with “finding the root causes of dis-ease and releasing blockages, traumas, stress and misalignment”.

Hannah is an internationally renowned healer, Reiki master teacher and shamanic practitioner.

She offers sessions from The Practice Rooms in Exeter and Bath and from the Leatside doctors’ surgery in Totnes.

For more information call 07506537559, email hannahsrpearson@gmail.com, or visit www.hannahpearsonhealer. com.

TOTNES Tension/Trauma Release Exercises TRE® is a sequence of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma.

Weekly group sessions or individual sessions available.

Nandan O'Leary 07825 447860 nandanoleary@gmail.com www.reconnectonline.co.uk www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Handmade, herbal, vegan, natural & eco-friendly body care products Local outlets: •

The Chelston Wellbeing Centre, Torquay

•

Oats Healthy Living Store, Brixham (or mail order)

www.greenwyse.co.uk --Consultations with Dawn Ireland Medical Herbalist www.torbay-herbalist.co.uk 07962 664 294

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Don’t take our word for it, call us for a free two-week trial today and prove for yourself what an improvement DAILY makes to your everyday life and situations.

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email: wellbeing@reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING

Affordable therapy at city centre

Mark Edlund Plater

Member of the British Acupuncture Council

Acupuncture Integrated Method

Acupuncture integrated method

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

01803 556038 07506 179808

mark.edlundplater@gmail.com

SHAMANIC BODYWORK The Birth of Miracles UK Tour 7~28 Sept, 2016 - Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Massage Training, Ho’oponopono Sacred Circle, Hawaiian Shamanic Bodywork for Families & Sacred Alignment with Kealohi from Kauai

‘THE WAY OF ALOHA’ OFFERS INFINITE POSSIBILITIES Location: South Devon / Info & Registration: Karen: 07703784129 / Fran: 07939936193 www.shamanicbodywork.com

A

BEAUTIFUL, lightfilled space for counsellors and therapists in the heart of Exeter with plenty of nearby parking...

Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?

But The Barnfield Hill Therapy Rooms is definitely not the product of your brain’s nocturnal ramblings but a genuinely wonderful suite of three calm, airy rooms available for counsellors and therapists to rent. And what makes this an even more attractive proposition is the fact that the rent that therapists pay goes to fund the work of The Margaret Jackson Centre, which provides affordable counselling to people who need it.

There are more than 40 counsellors volunteering with the charity at any one time, seeing around 120 clients a week.

Barnfield Hill offers very affordable rates and is suitable for both newlyqualified therapists and counsellors, as well as those with an established practice. The rooms, which have their own waiting area and kitchen, plus toilet facilities, are located in central Exeter with plenty of on-road parking nearby. All rooms are set up with a minimum of three comfortable chairs and side tables and one has space for movement therapy or a bodywork table.

Julie McNichol, who manages the Margaret Jackson Centre said: “Our centre currently provides counselling

Light-filled rooms at The Barnfield Hill Therapy Rooms in Exeter.

but we hope that the new rooms will attract a range of holistic therapists.

This is an exciting development for us and we are looking forward to being able to extend the positive and healing work that takes place in our building, with practitioners who share similar values to our own.”

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

A ritual is a journey of the heart IN this, the latest in his occasional series A Postcard from the Edge, SIMON SMITH (right) of Heart and Soul Funerals looks at the power of ritual…

S

OMEONE said to me the other day that these modern, more individual funerals for the ‘babyboomer’ generation might be seen “not as a fitting conclusion to a life well-lived, but as the last selfcongratulatory gasp of a lifestyle made possible by unfair accident of birth.”

It is certainly a danger and therefore it is important that non-religious, more individual funerals have beauty and ritual to give them depth.

Theatre director James Roose Evans wrote in Creating Ritual, “all great faiths have precise rituals for the dying and the dead – what rituals do we have to offer to those of no specific faith or tradition? A ritual is a journey of the heart, which should lead us into the inner realm of the psyche, and ultimately, into that of the soul, the ground of our being.

Rituals, if performed with passion and

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devotion, will enhance our desire and strengthen our capacity to live.”

I couldn’t agree more. Rituals can be made around the time of death and we have witnessed and been part of many at Heart and Soul.

For example, some women came to wash and sing to their friend who had died; another group to bind the body in white cotton; vigilling – perhaps all night, family and friends coming together to tell stories whilst decorating the coffin and our hall at Riverstone for the funeral the next day; and during the service, with candle rituals, the laying of rosemary and symbolic flowers, singing together.

It is about working creatively towards rituals that match the culture and beliefs of the person who has died and their community, to give meaning and depth to each funeral. In this way, the modern funeral will keep a sense of the sacred, of being part of a larger fabric of life and death, holding universal meaning – truly a funeral with heart and soul.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING The simple power of a gentle touch

S

O just how much do you want to know about how a therapy actually works?

It’s a question that frequently comes up in natural health circles and it’s something we constantly work with here in Reconnect.

Take Metamorphic Technique, for example.

Ashburton-based practitioner Vicky Rippin, above right, can tell you: “Metamorphic Technique supports a process of profound transformation. A series of gentle stroking movements on the feet, hands and head creates an environment that will allow your life force to flourish in the way that is perfect for you.

Imagine the caterpillar going into its cocoon and then emerging as the beautiful butterfly that it was always destined to be.

“My personal experience of receiving a course of Metamorphic Technique was that it changed my life immeasurably and set me back on my true path, freeing me from negativity, fears and phobias that had held me back.”

And perhaps that, how people feel after the treatment, how it changes their lives, is the most important thing of all.

Reconnect editorial assistant Jenny Foster received treatments from Vicky and said: “Some sessions I felt quiet and inward-looking – others I felt lively and wanted to chat. Either way, it was a lovely thing to do and Vicky made it very easy, “The theory might be complicated, but for the client the practice is very simple – I just had to lie down (fully-clothed!) while Vicky gently touched my feet, hands and head in a non-obtrusive way. I could leave my head behind and let my body receive and process... yum! Afterwards I always felt deeply relaxed but not zonked out.

“Over the time our sessions took place, I made some profound changes and important life decisions, and yet it all happened very easily.”

To find out more about Metamorphic Technique, call Vicky on 07890 660183.

Free counselling intro eases anxiety

I

T’S a sad and worrying fact of life today that many people suffer from a form of anxiety, stress or depression, whether it be mild or acute.

And while some of us (and certainly all the ‘experts’) recognise that counselling could probably at the very least ease their situation, some are still reluctant to give it a try.

So a free introductory session can help in several ways: most importantly, it will hopefully make the person feel less anxious; they’ll feel relieved that they haven’t wasted any money giving it a go; and they might even feel sufficiently secure and at ease to continue having sessions.

Juliette Medder, a counsellor who works in Totnes, Newton Abbot and Torbay, offers a free introductory session for that very reason.

She said: “Depression often accompanies prolonged anxiety and stress when there is a sense of loss of power and hopelessness about how to make changes, which can then become a vicious circle.

“Being really heard by someone can help to re-establish a sense of worth, clarity and direction.

“I have seen a lot of very anxious and even despairing clients positively turn their lives round, learning how to identify the sources of the anxiety and depression, finding ways to address it, manage it and eventually be free from it.”

A major part of this process is having an attentive, neutral, compassionate, non-judgemental listener - and the time and space to say out loud what is troubling or confusing them.

“Being able to express one’s fears

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IESSAIAH TRANSFORMATIONAL ENERGY HEALING

support to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential

07568 504347 | info@iessaiah.com

iessaiah.com

University courses in counselling in Exeter…

Foundation Degree in Integrative Counselling Starts September 2016 - applications open: A 2 year foundation degree

Validated by the University of Worcester

Qualify as a counsellor Juliette with a client and worries,” says Juliette, “can often bring quite rapid relief from psychological symptoms such as panic or nervousness, especially in social settings, difficulty concentrating, irrational anger and restlessness - but also physical complaints like pains and aches in the body, trouble sleeping and associated fatigue.”

After the initial free session, the cost is £40 (some concessions). To find out more, call 07923 894499 or 01803 529892, or email info@ juliettemedder.co.uk.

Successful completion qualifies you to practice

Eligible for student finance applications Help cover fees and living costs

Learn more about our range of university courses - book onto our next open events: Saturday 11th June, 11am - 3pm

 Wednesday 29th June, 6pm - 7pm For further information about all our courses and to apply: 01392 219200 / enquiries@ironmill.co.uk

www.ironmill.co.uk

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WELLBEING

Sarah Bryan at work in the Exeter Natural Health Centre

EFFECTIVE DEEP AROMATIC MASSAGE WITH SARAH COLLIER “I went to see Sarah and she was welcoming, professional and knowledgable.

Sarah is able to target specific aches and pains or more general body issues such as tiredness.

She gave me the most wonderfully relaxing aromatherapy massage.”

Try it for yourself, give me a call.

My practice is in central Exeter.

SARAH COLLIER MASSAGE THERAPY Call: 07946 836073 www.sarahcolliermassagetherapy.com

Sarah C ReC ad Feb 2016.indd 1

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Sarah champions therapy register

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HERE are so many great therapists out there that it is shocking to realise someone can legally practise as a complementary 14:01:17 therapist with no training, no qualifications and no insurance.

Dr Sarah Bryan, who owns SB Holistic, believes the public deserves to be safeguarded against unsuitable therapists. She has recently become the first Exeter and Devon champion for the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and is eager to spread the word about this government-backed scheme throughout Devon.

She said: “The CNHC is great and not enough people know about it. It was set up with government support to protect the public by providing a UK voluntary register of complementary therapists.

“The register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for

Health and Social Care (PSA) which means that all the therapists listed have completed training that meets the National Occupational Standards and abide by a rigorous code of conduct. If you choose a therapist from the register you can be confident that they are suitably qualified and insured. If you are an eligible therapist, then you are also greatly encouraged to join the register” Sarah, who is based at the Exeter Natural Health Centre in Queen Street, offers holistic, sports and remedial massage, myofascial release and clinical aromatherapy. She also makes personalised aromatherapy products for her clients.

Call Sarah on 07949 654 779 or visit www.sbholistic.co.uk. You can find details of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council at www. cnhc.org.uk.

Still inspiring after 35 years

I

T’S 35 years since Iron Mill College ran its first training courses and it’s now established as a leading provider of education and training in the fields of counselling and psychotherapy.

Iron Mill’s Principal Rose Bedford explained that it’s always prided itself on offering the highest standards of inspiring and creative teaching, delivered by highly experienced professionals who develop long-lasting partnerships with their students.

Based in a historic building on Barnfield Crescent in the centre of Exeter, Iron Mill College offers a special learning environment for its diverse range of students, who represent a variety of cultures, backgrounds and age groups.

Rose said: “From professional courses to university degrees, whether you’re interested in exploring counselling or psychotherapy for the first time or are an existing practitioner, Iron Mill College has an opportunity for you.

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“Check out the range of courses starting at Iron Mill College this Autumn, including: the entrylevel Certificate in Counselling; the Advanced Diploma in Counselling (accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy); or one of the higher education courses offered (validated by the University of Worcester), including the Foundation Degree in Integrative Counselling.

“There are also upcoming open events and Taster Days where you can explore the college for yourself and see what it has to offer.”

Visit www.ironmill.co.uk, call 01392 219200, or email enquiries@ ironmill.co.uk.

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The Nautilus Rooms

We are celebrating our first birthday with an Open Day on Saturday June 11th. Check out our fabulous rooms, meet the team of therapists or check in for a mini treatment or talk. The programme includes: mini massages, Let’s Talk About Sex, mindfulness, Trauma Release and Stress Relieving Practices (TRE), Shamanic Circle, Journeying the Labyrinth, Sandplay Therapy, Resonance Repatterning, Macrobiotic Life, psychospiritual psychotherapy. r R u th Ba ke

36 334454

Call now 077

gmail.com

ruthbaker1@

therapy.co.uk ruthbakerpsycho

07419 7459

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info@mares amae.co.uk www.mares amae.co.uk

Counselling & Psychotherapy

sultant • Coach & Con sor & Mentor llor • Supervi pist • Counse

Psychothera

| Exeter | Totnes

COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

JUNE 4TH AND 5TH Introduction to Sandplay Therapy facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay and Therapeutic Arts Ruth Baker Email:ruthbaker1@gmail.com JUNE 11TH NAUTILUS ROOMS FIRST BIRTHDAY AND OPEN DAY – have a look around,meet therapists, book a taster massage, find out about Psychospiritual psychotherapy, Journeying the Labyrinth work, TRE, or come for a taster of sandplay therapy. For more information, check our website and Facebook page and pick up a leaflet at the entrance to the alley way opposite The Mansion.

JUNE 17TH, 18TH AND 19TH (1st Module) Certificate in Integrative Sandplay Therapy facilitated by John Daly Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com JULY 2nd and 3rd Introduction to Sandplay Therapy facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com JULY date tbc Waking Women’s Workshop with Katheryn Hope - awakening our inner-potential and moving beyond self-limiting beliefs.

Call: 01647 441235 SEPTEMBER 16th -18th (1st Module) Certificate in Therapeutic Art facilitated by John Daly Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 24TH Mindfulness and Trauma with Sarah Clevely - using mindfulness skills as an important resource in the process of recovery.

Sarah Clevely Email: sclevely@gmail.com, or call Call:07779470746/ 01392 432952 Visit: www.sarahclevely.co.uk OCTOBER 1st and 2nd Introduction to Sandplay Therapy facilitated by Ruth Baker Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists accredited course.

Ruth Baker Email: ruthbaker1@gmail.com PLEASE ENQUIRE FOR DATES Energy Work with Lori King - Munay Ki: Ancient Rites for a Modern World PLEASE ENQUIRE FOR DATES Seated Massage Workshop with Anna Karthauser - simple and effective back, shoulder, neck and head massage treatment using Indian and Swedish techniques Anna Karthauser Call: 07912612462, Email: anna@karthauser.org or visit Visit: www.annakarthausermassage.co.uk PLEASE ENQUIRE FOR DATES Treat Each Other with Anna Karthauser - massage for beginners Anna Karthauser Call: 07912612462, Email: anna@karthauser.org or visit Visit: www.annakarthausermassage.co.uk

REGULAR GROUPS & EVENTS

Lisa Garvey-William s

Creative Therapy Courses

in Specialising d Sandplay an Art Therapeutic

07879 405 925 lisa@lisagarveywilliam s.com

lisagarveywilliams.co m

Accredited

By Aist Contact Ruth

Baker -

gmail.com ruthbaker1@

Essence of Touchwith

of the matter “Get to the heart and bodywork.” ge ssa ma ch tou light nt, , Spinal Alignme eing, Scar Healing ilable. ava o als Emotional Wellb ge ssa & Post-Partum Ma Reiki, Pregnancy 008 e on 07833 545 Call Julia Rowntre uch.co.uk www.essenceofto

Emma Cunis

Macrobiotic Health & Life Counsellor, Coach, Chef and Teacher In your Element Transform your health and life using natural foods as medicine; bodywork;and emotional release. +44 (0)7817 329584 emmacunis@hotmail.com www.facebook.com/emm a.cunis

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) Sylvia Karathanos Call: 01803 868379 Email: skarathanos@phonecoop.coop Visit: www.thework.com.

ALTERNATE WEDNESDAY EVENINGS STARTING JUNE 1ST Waking Women with Katheryn Hope - a group to support women in awakening their potential (7-8.30pm) Katheryn Hope Call: 01647 441235 DATE TO BE CONFIRMED Monthly Women’s Journey Circle with Lori King Lori King courses Email: lori.king27@gmail.com Call: 07896 569678, Visit: www.beatthatdrum.com Enquire for date Mindfulness for Therapists with Sarah Ward – this course is also an introduction to a level-4 course later in the Summer Sarah Ward call 07860 102047 email sarahj.ward@btinternet.com

The Nautilus Rooms • 35a Fore Street • Totnes • TQ9 5HN www.nautilusrooms.uk info@nautilusrooms.uk www.reconnectonline.co.uk Call Ruth on 07736 334454 Editorial: 01803 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk or Peter on 868455 07826 414404

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WELLBEING

Inside the 300-year-old cave home and, below, the beautiful landscape.

WOMENs POWER find strength explore and connect your energies into a broader field Uli Baysie is a shaman living in practise of the one-woman-tradition info@baysie.co.uk facebook.com/shamanUliBaysie/

Recharge in beautiful cave retreat

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WEEK of deep relaxation in a beautiful 300-year old home carved into the rocks of an Andalusian hillside could be just what you need to recharge your batteries this September.

David Boldick is an experienced healer and teacher who has been holding retreats in his Andalusian cave home for the last six years.

He said: “The beautiful nurturing energy of a rural Andalusian cave house, the warmth of late Summer in Spain and the mix of therapeutic treatments is a potent combination.

Whatever you are facing in your life, I invite you to come and let this wonderful location work its magic.”

During September there will be three one-week retreats for small groups, or individuals.

David added: “Mornings begin with a

leisurely breakfast after which people are free to walk, swim, relax or explore the local area. After lunch, participants enjoy a therapy session of their choice, including massage, Aromatherapy, Reiki and Craniosacral. For those wanting to go deeper, I facilitate a gentle inner-exploration which can be life-changing.”

For more information contact David on 07831 336 762 or email david@boldickhealing.co.uk.

The transformative power of sex

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of intention, whether EX for we are aware of it or transformation is not, has the ability not an idea that to profoundly shape is familiar to most of our lives. When us. We know about coupled with sexual sex for procreation or energy, which is so pleasure, but the idea potent it brings life of sexual energy as onto this planet, we having the power to are providing the restore and transform fuel for all we wish to can seem pretty alien. manifest.”

Sexual Shamanic From July 2-3, Healer and Sexual Catherine Hale Catherine will be Empowerment Coach running a two-day full Catherine Hale body orgasm workshop for men wants us to reconnect with the and women, couples and singles. extraordinary power of sexual It is a fully-clothed event that will energy and is holding a number of show participants how to use sexual workshops to introduce people to energy for restoration, healing and this new way of thinking about sex. transformation using energetic She said: “As a society, we carry touch and bodywork. a deeply ingrained experience of sexual shame, guilt and fear, which Catherine also hosts monthly gives us a limited understanding of moon lodges for all women. The this powerful life force energy. next one takes place on June 22 in Totnes. From September 12-18 “When sexual energy builds she is hosting an intensive Spiritual in the body we are creating a Sexual Shamanic Experience potent healing power, capable of for men, women, couples and restoring our wellbeing, and deeply singles. Catherine added: “All my nourishing the body, mind and workshops are about returning spirit. In the space that is created, home to your body, to rest deeply the body can return to its natural and to connect with your birthright state of being – which is that of of pleasure.”

PLEASURE. For more information visit www.

“Also, when we work with intention tantricawakening.org or email we can focus sexual energy into catherine@tantricawakening.org. transforming our lives. The power

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Daniella Saunders of Synergy Holistic Health

Holistic approach addresses all aspects in your life

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ONG-TERM health conditions are often exacerbated by stress. We know that everything we experience day-by-day directly impacts our mental, physical and emotional health.

dysfunction, sleep disturbance, mood disorders, pain, and severe fatigue.

When the body is in a stress response the adrenal glands release hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. Physical reactions are triggered, such as muscular tension, digestive problems, headaches, insomnia and high blood pressure.

She explained: “A holistic approach is often the most effective way to improve long-term health conditions because you address all aspects of your life. Tools such as meditation and mindfulness can help with increasing awareness of tension in your life. Massage, EFT, and acupressure can release the effects of stress, and coaching can help you to incorporate new healthy behaviours and relationships in your life. On a spiritual level, chronic health

If sustained, these initial short-term reactions can deteriorate and potentially lead to more significant, longer-term health concerns including IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), allergies, joint inflammation, immune

Daniella Saunders of Synergy Holistic Health, runs a Holistic Health and Wellbeing Group at Plymouth Natural Health and Healing Centre.

conditions can also become a journey to discovering your authentic self, and achieving your best health and happiness.”

Synergy Holistic Health offers holistic therapies, wellbeing coaching and workshops. Daniella runs the Holistic Health and Wellbeing Group at Plymouth Natural Health and Healing Centre on alternate Tuesdays from 10am to 11.30 am. £7 per session. For more information call 01872 278123 or visit www.synergyholistichealth.co.uk.

Explore centre at birthday open day

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HE Nautilus Rooms in Totnes celebrates its first birthday on June 11 – and they’re holding an Open Day to mark the occasion.

The Nautilus Rooms will be open all day from 10am-5pm when everyone is invited to drop in to meet some of the therapists, have a free taster session and listen to talks introducing the work and ideas of individual practitioners.

Since opening in June 2015, The Nautilus Rooms has grown to become a base for 18 practitioners with a wide range of specialisms covering both body and talking therapies. The open day will reflect this diversity with the opportunity to find out more about areas including: psychotherapy, counselling, psychosynthesis, sandplay therapy, massage, macrobiotics, labyrinth work and resonance patterning.

For a full schedule of events and how to book a session, visit the Nautilus Rooms website (www.nautilusrooms. uk) or pick up a leaflet outside the centre, directly opposite the Mansion in Totnes.

Said co-founder Ruth Baker: “Most recently the Nautilus Rooms have welcomed Nandan O’Leary and Maresa Mae. Maresa is a qualified nutritionist specialising in digestive health complaints, but sees clients with a whole range of concerns, including weight management, fatigue, recurrent infections, poor

immunity, chronic stress and healthy ageing. Nandan will be giving a talk on Trauma & Stress Releasing Practices (TRE) during the open day.”

The Nautilus Rooms has also become an increasingly popular venue and has recently hosted Introductory and Certificate courses in Sandplay Therapy run by Ruth and John Daly.

The open day is a chance to see Ruth’s impressive display of sandplay symbols and to discuss the content and applications of the courses she and co-founder John Baker run. Often seen as mainly relevant for young people, Sandplay Therapy can be used highly effectively with people of all ages. You will be offered a chance to have a go yourself and get a taste of how it works. You will also be able to create an evolving group sandtray during the day – come and contribute to this experiment.

The Nautilus Rooms has also hosted courses in Therapeutic Art, Alchemy and regular group sessions with Katherine Hope’s Waking Women’s workshop and Sylvia Karanthos’ group, who study the work of Byron Katie. Further courses and groups include Sandplay, Therapeutic

The restful Nautilus Rooms waiting room, above, and, left, Ruth and John Baker.

Art, Mindfulness and Trauma and massage.

Ruth says she’s delighted that The Nautilus Rooms has been chosen to host an event during the Totnes Party in the Town. Six acts will be playing from 7-11pm: Singing Heart, Amber Sky Higginson, Kuki and the Bard,

Finn Bognuda, Lisa and Libby, and topping the bill and starting at 9pm, Jambones, a Totnes-based collective of multi-instrumentalist composer/ songwriters sharing their creativity.

Says Ruth: “Through their eclectic range of styles, they weave together a rich and delicately triumphant mix of mandolin, folk and classical guitar, flute, violin and vocal harmony.”

To keep up to date with what’s new at the centre, visit www.nautilusrooms. uk and the Nautilus Rooms Facebook page - and don’t forget to pick up a leaflet at the end of the alley way

by Lloyds Bank and opposite the Mansion.

“ Imagine the Caterpillar going into its cocoon and then emerging as the beautiful butterly it was always destined to be” Call Vicky on 07890 660183 Working from Wholesome Life Chiropractic, Ashburton

METAMORPHIC TECHNIQUE www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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WELLBEING

Friends Tonja Mills and Beth Heaney are combining their skills to run Drawing Through Meditation workshops and retreats

Workshop uses therapies to work on all aspects of back pain

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F you’ve ever suffered from lower back pain, this is one you won’t want to miss.

The Yoga Therapy Workshop for Lower Back Relief is taking place at Chapel House Studios in Totnes on June 19, 1-4pm, hosted by Natalie Austin.

Using the principles of yoga, meditation, pranayama and visualisation, participants will learn how to cope with pain/discomfort, stiffness and/or reduced mobility.

It costs £25 and booking is essential as places are limited.

Two days later on June 21, Natalie will be hosting a celebration of International Yoga Day at 6pm. As part of yoga celebrations taking

place all over the world, she will be holding a free outdoor class at Chapel House Studio in Totnes. The class is free but donations are welcome and will be given to a local charity SANDS (Littlefootprints.org). All levels and abilities are welcome.

And, if you’re inspired to make yoga part of your regular practice for life, Natalie holds a Yin yoga class on Monday at 6.30pm and Vinyasa yoga on Thursday at 6.30pm at Chapel House Studios in Totnes.

Natalie said: “Classes will run all through the Summer so it’s a great way to keep fit, keep calm and breathe easy!”

For more information, call Natalie on 07516 720247, or email natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk.

Face your anxiety with curiosity and it will begin to soften

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ROUBLING find something to be anxiety can be very anxious about. debilitating and Fiona says she found wearing. As someone the most helpful who experienced chronic thing was to listen anxiety over a long period to it. of time, Fiona Parr says “Instead of running Focusing has helped a away from it and great deal. wishing it wasn’t “I remember how the there, or trying to get anxiety used to come Fiona Parr rid of it, if you turn and go,” she says. “I can your attention to it, now see how the anxiety the anxiety itself, with interested pattern operated in my life and curiosity and even friendliness, it how it searched for something to begins to soften and ease. attach itself to - it could always

InnerSense Animal Communication and Healing

“Moved by Horses” Workshops on June 16, 18, 23, 30 and July 9, 14, 19, 28

07886 036102 anto@innersense.me.uk

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for groups and individual practice.

FOR TALKING THERAPIES AND HOLISTIC HEALTH

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

34 34

“It often turns out that this is a part of you that is really hurting, like a small child. It wants to be treated with that kind of love and care, as if you were sitting with the small child inside.

“You can find this anxious child inside by sitting quietly and asking yourself where you feel it the most.

Pay attention to your body, and notice what subtle responses are coming. There may be a tight squeezing feeling in your stomach, or a shortening of breath in your chest.”

An important key to Focusing with anxiety is to find a place of Presence, a resourced place in your body that enables you to step back from being immersed in the feeling. Then you can begin to acknowledge the feeling.

It comes more alive. It starts to tell you things - what it is afraid of; what it is not wanting to have happen.

Try to keep it company, very gently, like you would with an anxious child. It is worried, anxious, afraid, not sure what to do. See if you can continue to stay with it, hearing how it feels and hearing its needs.

“Doing this is very reassuring and strengthening,” said Fiona. “From this sense of Presence, you can keep that anxious place company. It feels heard and understood, and more than that, it releases the tension that it has been holding. There is an easing, a letting go and a relaxation.

You may have more energy after the Focusing session and feel less worn down.

“The anxiety shows you specifically what it needs.

Listen to its needs and follow up by taking action - the adult in you is taking care of the child in you.”

Find out more about Focusing by calling Fiona Parr on 01626 821110, or 07799 027332, or visit www. fionaparr-focusing.co.uk.

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Mindful drawing

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S children, we draw naturally and freely. But, as adults, the innercritic can inhibit this form of self expression. Now two friends are coming together to offer drawing as a form of meditation so people can reconnect with the freedom to draw and also learn to be in the moment.

Drawing Through Meditation, a programme of workshops and retreats, is the brainchild of Tonja Mills and Beth Heaney, who have been friends for more than 30 years. Their next workshops are on July 8 and September 9.

“We wanted to exchange skills, bringing together my experience as an artist with Tonja’s work as an intuitive healer and lifecoach,” said Beth. “Integrating meditation - or a mindful approach with creativity is nothing new, of course.

Creativity threads through the history of Zen Buddhists, Indian mandalas, Tibetan drawings and Zen gardens. In these traditions, making the art becomes a meditative process and subsequently the artwork becomes a focus for further meditative practice.”

Tonja added: “There is a phenomenal benefit to combining mindfulness with drawing. Patience, calmness, clarity, insight, perspective and openness occurs. A continuous cycle of growth and expansion emerges. The act of drawing physically informs memory which enables future meditation to be transitioned more easily.

Drawing, acts as a handrail and prompt to come back to the being mind, just as conscious breathing does.

“Conversely, approaching drawing mindfully – noticing our movements; the feel of the paper, the sound of the pencil, being aware of breath, focusing on the present, being absorbed - in a simple way dissolves and takes the power from the inner-critic. Mindful mark making beautifully opens the way to drawing without self-criticism, doubt and all the other baggage of the thinking mind.”

Beth has touched on this in her work as a practicing artist and produced drawing performances and installations exploring and excavating the latent sensation of a meditative state for both artist and viewer.

Tonja specialises in enabling people to release themselves from blocks, using meditation, creative visualisation and energy healing.

A lot of people who come to a Drawing through Meditation are initially afraid of drawing, but the courses are as much about releasing old habits of thought as they are about drawing. Tonja pointed out: ‘The process is the key, not the outcome and this in itself is a lesson for life. Enjoy the journey; the destination is incidental!”

Visit www.drawingthroughmeditation. weebly.com, or email bethheaneyart@ gmail.com.

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WELLBEING Cave Healing Retreat September 2016 A magical week of nurturing, healing and innerexploration in a cave house in rural Andalucia.

Be totally looked after, relax and connect with your inner-wisdom under the guidance of David Boldick, a very experienced healer and teacher.

The retreat includes visits to lakes, mountains and local markets.

Email boldickdavid@gmail.com Phone 07831 336762

Coaching course with different focus

Q

UALIFIED counsellors and psychotherapists who are looking to add professional Life Coaching to their list of skills can sometimes be put off by the amount of curriculum time dedicated to teaching communication skills, awareness and the use of self to create supportive relationships.

Ken Rabone, director of Safe Space for Counselling and the Dartmoor Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy, believes therapists who have spent many years developing these skills in their professional practice don’t need to focus so intensively on this as part of their training. He runs a Diploma that, instead of this, focuses on the differences between counselling and coaching

and the business of personal and professional transformation.

Ken said: “I’m excited about the opportunity this course offers qualified counsellors and psychotherapists to expand their field and make Life Coaching an important and profitable dimension of their working life. As well as providing a means of developing their professional skills, the course offers an inspiring and insightful opportunity for creatively and practically enhancing life goals.”

For details of the Diploma Life Coaching conversion course and all courses with Safe Space for Counselling and the Dartmoor Centre, email Ken Rabone at office@safespaceforcounselling. com or call 07801 248421.

Evolution’s healing centre reopens AS part of recent changes at Evolution, the holistic/ethnic shop on Exeter’s Fore Street (see story elsewhere in this issue), the upstairs Healing Centre has reopened.

The centre had fallen into disrepair but the original owner Mike Davies and his team have been working on it and a former user, Julie Bramley, is now back there offering crystal healing and psychic readings.

www.cavehealingretreat.com

They are also working on reopening the large room (7m x 5m) at the top of the building, which is suitable for groups, classes and workshops.

Mike says they are looking for more practitioners and there may be more on offer by the time you read this.

To find out the latest news, or if you are interested in using the space yourself, call Mike on 01392 410759.

Sick and tired of being sick and tired?

Would you like to have an abundance of energy, vitality and health and to enjoy life to the fullest?

JOIN GABRIELA LERNER, raw nutrition health coach and raw food chef, on one of her raw food holiday retreats.

Gabriela will show you how you can discover your inner healing power through raw, plant-based culinary delights and a body-mind-spirit approach. This is your time to recharge your batteries and explore a new way of living.

Visit www.radiantonraw.co.uk to find out more about Gabriela’s classes and retreats in Dorset, UK and retreats in Algarve, Portugal.

radiant on raw www.reconnectonline.co.uk

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WELLBEING New look at mindful training company

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www.gaiahouse.co.uk

INSIGHT MEDITATION IN THE BUDDHIST TRADITION

www.gaiahouse.co.uk

Counsellor and Psychotherapist With optional use of Sand Tray and Drawing/Painting as Therapeutic Tools w w w. j u l i e t t e m e d d e r. c o . u k 01803 529 892 | 07923 894 499 | info@juliettemedder.co.uk

Health & wellbeing

OTUS Training, the Plymouthbased company offering mindfulnessbased counselling, has a brand new logo and website.

The company is run

by Julie Jeffs and Heather Morfett, who have many years of clinical practice and training experience in a broad range of organisations, including Plymouth Working outside in fine weather at Lotus Training’s University, the NHS, Crownhill Fort base. Below - their new logo youth services and colleges.

“Our tutors have a genuine commitment to mindfulness and a Feedback from students has been passion for supporting people in their hugely positive and comments personal development,” says Julie. include praise for Julie and Heather’s “The tutors hold the learning group tutoring (“…rooted in much wisdom with the core values that underpin the and experience which they share approach: equanimity, compassion, with a genuiness”) and their base sympathetic joy and loving kindness.” at Crownhill Fort (“The learning space itself always feels safe and Lotus Training courses are comfortable with a choice of rooms accredited with the Counselling and to work in, and in the warmer Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body dryer months the outdoor space is (CPCAB) – the largest awarding body beautiful…”). for counselling in the UK and the only one run by counsellors for counsellors, For information about our September says Julie.

2016 intake, our Level 4 mindfulnessbased counselling diploma and Level “We offer a progressive pathway 5 Psychotherapeutic counselling whatever level you are studying, your diploma, call Julie on 07966 003872 personal development is an important and visit www.lotustrainingco.co.uk. part of our training.”

Shaking is natural stress release

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Seek peace of mind?

Contact Peter Crowe Counselling & psychotherapy 01392 966845 www.petercrowe.co.uk 36

Nandan explained: ORKING with “TRE activates traumatised a natural reflex communities in Africa mechanism of and the Middle East, shaking or vibrating Dr David Berceli that releases observed that shaking muscular tension, appears to be the calming the nervous body’s own in-built system. When this system for quietening muscular shaking/ the brain and healing vibrating mechanism itself from chronic is accessed in a stress, tension and safe and controlled trauma.

Nandan O’Leary environment, the body is encouraged Yet, as humans have evolved we have learned to suppress to return to a state of balance. this natural response. Unlike most “TRE empowers us to trust the other animals which naturally shake innate intelligence of the body and when stressed or traumatised, our reconnect with the wisdom of our highly-developed brains tell us that ancestors. After a TRE treatment, this is inappropriate behaviour and people often report feelings of peace we have learned to control it. and wellbeing.”

Dr Berceli set out to reverse this Group and one-to-one TRE conditioning by developing a sessions are offered at The sequence of exercises that would Nautilus Rooms in Totnes on a allow people to reconnect with their Thursday morning. Nandan is body’s natural way of releasing also a Biodynamic Craniosacral tension, stress and trauma. He Practitioner, Bioenergetic Therapist called his approach Tension, Stress and Masseuse. and Trauma Release Exercises, or For more information email: TRE. This highly effective treatment is now available in Totnes from nandanoleary@gmail.com or call certified provider Nandan O’Leary.

07825 447860.

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Participants on a recent Spiral of Possibility programme.

WELLBEING

Starting to live a life of possibility

Explore how love works

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IVING a life of possibility means living a life free from limiting beliefs, not one given to us by circumstances, and living in a way that is consistent with who we choose to be rather than this being dictated by what happened in the past or what we fear in the future.

Easier said than done for many of us.

But, a weekend training programme run

by InterBe at Seale Hayne is showing people how they can begin living a life of possibility.

On the Genesis programme, participants have found themselves able to let go of disempowering thoughts and beliefs - some going back decades - discover new ways of relating to themselves, to other people and the world and take on new commitments that support who they want to be in their life.

Emily Faircloth was a recent participant on Genesis and its follow-up programme. She said: “Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, these programmes are about creativity and revelation, and the subject is you. I discovered that the expression of myself through images, words and even music led to an explorative journey that was insightful, and at times confronting, within a safe and gentle environment.

“Pampering spa weekends and mini breaks away are like ‘chicken soup for the soul’ to escape the exhaustive chaotic circus of life. Genesis and Spiral are a kind of cool nectar, refreshing and

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deeply enriching after a hot, laborious day. I’m left rejuvenated in body and mind, re-awakened and ready to take action and live a life to fall in love with, again and again.”

Genesis is the first of three transformative learning and development programmes run by InterBe, followed by The Spiral of Possibility and The Mastery of Nothing. There are also monthly Conversations for Living, which participants come along to assist their transformative journey and Narrative Coaching is available for anyone who wants more in-depth one-to-one support.

The Genesis Programme takes place on June 10-12 and September 9-11. Conversations for Living are monthly and primarily designed for Genesis graduates, although there are four guest evenings a year which anyone can attend.

For more information visit www.interbe.co/ archive/experience-living-genesis/ or call InterBe on 01392 346224.

THE theme of love affects the most intimate parts of our lives. For countless generations, artists have celebrated the many aspects of love and mourned the loss of love.

Scientific research has now laid bare the ‘secret’ code of how love works, making it available to us in ways that are no longer a matter of chance, or good luck, even good genes.

Now co-owner of the site www. howloveworks.com, Philip Jones (above) will be offering a series of three talks at Birdwood House in Totnes. He will be drawing on the contribution that psychology, meditation and neuroscientific research can make to our deep and enduring fascination with the eternal mystery of love.

The first talk looks at how love begins with our families of origin, while the second two talks will focus on how love works in intimate partnerships. It will show how we are wired to love, the reasons why we fall short of our best intentions to love well, and what we can do to deepen our love connections and create a life where love supports us to thrive.

The talks take place at Birdwood House in Totnes, from 7.30-9pm on Tuesdays June 7, 14 and 21 and cost £7-10. For more information call 07753 604739 or visit www. howloveworks.com.

Editorial: 01803 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk

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WELLBEING Do you have a sense of purpose?

Do you have work you enjoy?

Do you feel your gifts are appreciated?

Is your work aligned with your personal values?

Meaningful Work; Fulfilling Life Gain a deeper understanding of your unique gifts; find more clarity about the difference you want to make in the world; create steps towards doing work you love, or being more fulfilled/effective in the work you already do.

1:1 sessions at Staverton, Totnes or via Skype * Free exploratory session, with no commitment GILL COOMBS Coaching Dip (Distinction), author of Hearing our Calling www.gillcoombs.co.uk · gillcoombs@gillcoombs.co.uk · 01803 762840 · 07729 331676

Discovering ways to go wild

A

SOUTH Devon charity is encouraging people to go wild on its land this Summer.

The Sharpham Trust is hosting events and retreats based around wild food and medicine finding; new artistic retreats in Sharpham House exploring mindful enquiry; and woodland retreats taking this enquiry into the great outdoors.

“Our ethos is about connecting people to nature and themselves, so we’re really walking our Sharpham’s Brigit-Anna (left) talk this Summer,” says Maya Herbolzheimer, Sharpham’s New artistic retreats will be held programme manager. in Sharpham House itself. A fiveday women-only retreat entitled Sharpham’s first foraging retreat, Creating Space, July 17-21, will July 7-July 10, features one of encourage participants to increase the UK’s leading foragers, Robin their capacity to be in their “natural Harford, and Sharpham’s resident creative flow of wellbeing”. wild food-finder Brigit-Anna McNeill – all set in tranquil woodland.

Then a three-day musical retreat, Singing with Mindfulness, from Says Robin: “Sharpham is quite August 1-4, offers an opportunity simply gorgeous, and has an to bring mindfulness to singing and astounding diversity of plants in singing to mindfulness. various habitats ranging from beautiful wild gardens to woodland All these new retreats sit alongside the to a majestic river. regular programme of Mindfulness for Beginners, mindfulness & walking “We’ll be wild camping in furnished and mindfulness & yoga retreats, bell tents, hanging out around fires, including: one-day Introduction to star-gazing, meeting plants at a Mindfulness sessions on June 25 and deep, intimate level and feasting on July 23, from 10am to 4pm, in the beautiful wild food,” he said.

South Wing of Sharpham House; a Alternatively, there will be foraging programme of eight-week courses and wild food and medicine days, (developed by mindfulness pioneer on June 19 June and July 16 - both Jon Kabat-Zinn) running at Sharpham days are £45 each and are suitable and also in Totnes and Torquay; for people aged 16 and over. a mindfulness drop-in session And on July 17, Brigit-Anna will lead in Sharpham House on the final a Forage & Feast wild food-finding Thursday of each month, 7-8.45pm; day, where participants can gather and on June 25, a Day of Silent nature’s bounty and return to prepare Meditation, which begins with a walk and cook a delicious meal around from Totnes along the beautiful foot/ the campfire. The day costs £45. cyclepath to The Barn Retreat Centre, where participants spend the day in Sharpham’s woodland mindfulness silence, alternating periods of sitting retreats continue and include and walking meditation. There is a women-only events which allow for contribution of £5-£10 for the day. a safe space for women to explore mindfulness and nature connection, Find out more at www. with experienced leaders. sharphamtrust.org.

Katherine’s gift ‘as a catalyst for change’ SINCE 1981, Katherine Jenkins, right, has offered her gift as a catalyst for change using Hypnotherapy as a tool.

“I traveled a spiritual path long before that time, so I recognise everyone as part of divine essence,” she says. “When clients come to see me, they are guided to see their lives and all their perceived issues as part of a journey in which they are waking up to their divine connection with all - rather than judging them as problems and making polarized judgments.

“In this way, the state of fight or

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flight or defensiveness, which has been created over time from events creating feelings of inadequacy and insecurity essentially, are released and transcended gracefully and easily.

“Recognising we are all part of the whole, beautiful creator consciousness and that is our natural state, helps all who seek me out for help, to move into this state, as it is already there. We are simply ‘waking up to this.’”

Call Katherine on 01392 811836/07890 364847, or email info@hypnosisexeter.com.

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Bell Bartlett - working fulltime as a psychic reader.

WELLBEING Raw food retreat in Algarve

Tarot reader takes a leap of faith

R

S

OMETIMES in life we have to choose between love and fear. That was the situation that Bell Bartlett faced just over a year ago.

She needed to choose whether she was going to remain financially ‘safe’ by sticking with the work she knew but that didn’t nourish her, or take a leap of faith and commit herself to working full-time as a psychic tarot reader – work that she loves and has been doing part-time for around 30 years. She chose the path of love and, a year on, reflects on her journey: “I have done nearly 500 readings in the last year and am so glad that I chose love over fear.

“Most people come to see me because they, too, have an important decision to consider personal, professional or financial.

Often timing is an important part of the response to those questions.

When people are in a stressful

situation there is a tendency to want to do something when, actually, it can be better in the long run to wait and act later. A reading can help you to do the right thing at the right time.”

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

Opening to a depth of wisdom

AW nutrition health coach Gabriela Lerner will be known by some Reconnect readers for her Ripe for Radiance Dartmoor retreat that featured in the magazine some time ago.

Now there’s a chance to enjoy and learn more about a healthy raw food lifestyle at one of her holiday retreats in the stunning Algarve.

Gabriela, author of the new raw food recipe book Food Heroes, says her Raw Food Vitality Weeks are a chance to “relax while learning more about raw, unprocessed, Learn about a healthy raw-food lifestyle on a plant-based meals and luxury holiday in Portugal. how this way of eating can boost your immune system, The next retreat is in October and give you more energy, help you lose the cost per person is 2000 Euros weight and support your health and (1800 Euros early bird if booked fitness - all without any hardship or before June 15) and includes early deprivation.” morning green juice/smoothie, all “These wellness weeks offer a unique meals, luxury accommodation, group raw food experience that allows you to transfer from/to airport, five early unwind, recharge and nourish yourself morning yoga sessions, five half-day both inside and out,” she says. “Fun, raw food workshops, swimming pool, casual raw food classes will inspire sauna, steam room and a wealth of you to continue to prepare and eat nutritional information provided by indulgent, delicious raw food. This raw Gabriela. living week is all about upgrading your To find out more, visit www. lifestyle step-by-step.” rawfoodholidays.co.uk, or call Gabriela at Radiant On Raw on The venue is the Vivenda Miranda 07545 501124. You can read more Hotel, with its beautiful Mediterranean about Gabriela and her raw food gardens on top of the cliffs above the lifestyle at www.radiantonraw.co.uk.

Atlantic.”

S

because we OMETIMES are accessing it seems a part of our easier to being that rush around remains out finding things to of touch when do rather than we’re on take a pause, autopilot. Like stop and come our breath with back to self. its own inward Katheryn Eliane outward Hope, who motion or our offers coaching heartbeat that and Resonance follows its own Repatterning, drum, we come explains: Katheryn Elaine Hope to know that “When we our way in are in fear we life is our own, not determined frequently feel we have to ‘do’ by outer things or others, but something about it, but this impulse guided by our own innate generally arises from a place of rhythm. disorientation and anxiety.

“We can then be in tune with “Consciously pausing gives what deeply calls us. The access to our inner-witness source of our fear may not when we listen deeply we find have disappeared, but it takes answers beyond our outer-mind. its proper place. It’s no longer We open to a depth of wisdom central, filling our thoughts and only accessed at quiet times when the focus of our waking hours. our minds chatter has ceased, It is seen for what it is – an our body is still and we are at peace.” opportunity for growth, for risktaking and a leap of faith beyond But this takes practice and time, the minds limitation. admits Katheryn.

“We begin to resonate with what “It’s not immediate and in a is more meaningful in our life.” world that constantly calls for instantaneous results it goes To find out more about Coaching against the grain. Yet, when we and Resonance Repatterning, to find these inner resources we support you to rediscover that also find our own rhythm and we inner-flow and feel empowered to attune to our own flow. live on purpose, call Katheryn on 01647 441235.

“From calmness arise answers

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WELLBEING Maresa’s menu of nutrition services

I

CFS/ME Recovery Programme Individual Health Coaching Workshops - Stress & Fatigue Health & Well Being Group Online Health Store

Daniella Saunders Tel: 01872 278123 www.synergyholistichealth.co.uk

simply a quick look f you’re a regular over their diet to in Greenlife, check they’re getting Totnes, you might the right balance recognise Maresa of macronutrients, Mae as one of the vitamins and friendly faces working minerals.” there for the last two and half years.

“I always work with my clients, listening to She’s now offering their likes and dislikes nutritional therapy and helping them to consultations in design a manageable Totnes, Plymouth and health plan that fits South Devon, with a easily with their current clinic at The Nautilus Maresa Mae lifestyle and time Rooms in Totnes. commitments.”

“Good nutrition is simply about eating Maresa believes the key to a healthy the right foods for you in your current diet and happy lifestyle is balance situation,” says Maresa. “And when she doesn’t promote any extreme or you get it right, you really can feel fad diets and her advice may include amazing!” diet and lifestyle changes, as well as Although Maresa sees people with supplement options. a wide range of issues, she focuses “My recommendations are grounded mainly on digestive health and the impact that has on the rest of the body. in science, on what has been proven to work in clinical studies, or “So if you have problems with through years of traditional use. In bloating, cramping, headaches, IBS, consultations, I use Tanita scales which fatigue, recurrent infections, excess provide measurable health markers weight, allergic reactions or eczema such as hydration levels, muscle and for example, then I’m your woman!” fat mass, metabolic age and visceral she says. fat levels, all of which are easily improved through simple diet and Her aim is to provide a personalised lifestyle changes.” service.

To find out more, and keep up to date “Some may want to come for a full with events, health tips and recipes, consultation to look at how their diet follow her on Facebook at www. can support a particular condition facebook.com/maresamae, visit www. or optimise their health.,” explains maresamae.co.uk, or email info@ Maresa. “Others may want to maresamae.co.uk. arrange a food intolerance test or

Rebalance, refresh and reconnect SHAMAN of Hawaiian-style bodywork Wayne Kealohi, whose Birth of Miracles UK Tour around Totnes we mentioned in the last issue, is also holding a four-day residential course in Glastonbury.

“The Body Tune Up is the most comprehensive system for elevating many of the aches and pains that many people have,” says Kealohi.

The BTU Trainings will address the “integral flow of toxic waste through the digestive and intestinal tracks”.

“Using applied Kinesiology and Orthobionamy to realign the body’s toxin flow and it’s structural integrity,

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the body-mind can return to optimum health and radiant Joy!” Kealohi says. “It can be the perfect medicine for many who have leaky gut, or a negative attitude, or who carry any symptoms that won’t go away, like anger, depression, upset stomach, balloting, gas, low energy, headaches, shoulder pain, skin disorders and allergies.”

The course will be held September 8-12 at Healing Waters Retreat Sanctuary in the heart of Glastonbury.

For more info about other courses, including The Birth of Miracles Tour in Totnes from September 7-28, visit www.shamanicbodywork.com.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

WELLBEING

EMOTIONAL HEALTH IN this issue Leigh Smith explores the importance of ‘taking a break’ - and how to get the benefits of a holiday without going away...

Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)

Taking a five-minute holiday

The Bowen Technique

AMANDA MORRIS

For an appointment please call 07931 505 312

amanda@amandamorris.co.uk www.amandamorris.co.uk

CLT – MLDUK – CertECBS – BTPA

BEAUTIFUL ROOMS for Counselling & Psychotherapy.

FOR TALKING THERAPIES AND HOLISTIC HEALTH

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

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

C FA

I L I TAT E D

LE

AR NI NG ·

soul, not just your sugar craving.

Relax – a long aromatherapy bath, a sauna or steam can create a feeling of deep relaxation in the muscles.

Chill – relax your exercise routine, slow your pace, take the edge off and try tai chi or yoga in place of your circuit training.

Laugh out load – tune into a comedy show on the radio on the way to and from work. The news can wait until tomorrow.

Skippidy do dah – next time you are walking down the street try skipping.

I believe it creates happy hormones.

No tech computer light is similar to natural daytime light, which tells our brain to ‘wake up’.

Not such a good idea just before bed.

Change your pattern - one little thing, a slight alteration of your routine like where you eat your lunch, or where you sit at work.

A change is as good as a rest.

Clinical psychologist Deborah Mulhern has found that people who don’t take enough time to relax may find their ability to relax, when they have a chance to, is impaired.

She tells us: “Without time and opportunity to do this, the neural connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker, making it actually more difficult to shift into less-stressed modes.”

So while we plan and save for the holiday we really need, we can help ourselves by exercising our inner-ability to relax and resource ourselves.

And if you catch a glimpse of a fully-grown woman skipping out of the car park and giggling to herself, don’t be concerned - I’m just having a five-minute holiday.

Arcturus Clinic, Totnes Home Visits

QUINE · E

A

S the warm weather arrives my thoughts turn to long days relaxing in the sun, picnics and down time. I find myself browsing holiday websites, and country spa hotels. But then I think of my ever increasing ‘to do’ list, my bank balance, and launch myself back into reality and a far too busy schedule.

Burn-out, exhaustion, stress and anxiety can be resulting conditions of not taking an occasional break away from the demands of our busy lives. It has become an expectation in the workplace to over-stretch ourselves and give 110% when we know we are running on empty.

Neuroscience is showing us we actually require some down-time in order for our bodies to go through the process of restoration. It is only when we are safe from external stresses that our bodies can relax enough to activate restoration.

And for some of us the option to down tools and head to the beach is just not realistic, so what can we do to lose the stress without losing our jobs?

Here are a few tips to help if you are exhausted and cannot realistically take a holiday: Sleep – try to squeeze in a little more of it. Going to bed just 20 minutes earlier will give you more than two hours extra over a week.

Walk don’t run - notice if you are charging around frantically and slow your pace. This will send a different message to the brain.

Take time to smell the roses.

Breathe – indulge in luxurious long breaths, several times a day, a few deep breaths can calm your nervous system and restore balance.

Indulge – treat yourself to some nutritious food, and snack on things that feed your heart and

(Stimulates the immune system to function optimally)

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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Visit us at www.reconnectonline.co.uk Need nutrition advice?

personal consultations food intolerance tests diet assessments bespoke programmes clinic or home visits Totnes, Plymouth & South Devon

07419 745916

info@maresamae.co.uk www.maresamae.co.uk

TROUBLING ANXIETY

A short course for people who are struggling to cope with anxiety, to help you gain confidence and trust in life.

Sunday mornings with Fiona Parr and Carol Poole at The Gandy Centre in Exeter on October 9, 16, 23 and 30, 10am-1pm.

More information and bookings ring Fiona on 01626 821110 / 07799 027332.

The Dartmoor Focusing Centre Courses and one-to-one sessions www.fionaparr-focusing.co.uk.

Facilitating a return to innocence

F

ACING emotional, physical or spiritual challenges can be a lonely time in our lives.

We may be aware of the habitual behaviours or state of mind that hinder us but not know how to overcome them. We may feel that we have not yet reached our full potential but feel blocked from doing so.

Iessaiah (pronounced ee-sai-yah) is a transformational energy healer who works with people seeking personal and spiritual growth.

She said: “Sometimes I describe my work as facilitating a return to innocence. Through a mix of healing and gentle bodywork, I enable people to reconnect with the peace Iessaiah - transformational energy healer and harmony of their heart. This work prompts a consciousness or a profound sense profound process of self-reflection of peace following a treatment. and inquiry, creating awareness, Sometimes one session is sufficient, release and integration. It is, in sometimes people may choose essence, a pathway to peace.” to come for a series of sessions, depending on their needs.”

A session typically consists of discussion, gentle hands-on healing Iessaiah’s experience includes and fully-clothed bodywork on professional training in Energy the treatment couch. Iessaiah is a Healing, Advanced Bodywork, highly intuitive healer who has 25 Soul Midwifery, and many years years’ experience in complementary of somatic movement practice therapy and spiritual practice. such as 5 Rhythms and Ecstatic She has a deep connection with Awakening Dance. She was others and combines her extensive recently invited to be the keynote experience and training with an speaker at the Healers United ability to simply ‘know’ what it is Global Summit. She works in Totnes that people need in order to return and Exeter, providing one-to-one to wholeness. transformational healing sessions.

She added: “Clients often For more information call 07568 experience a letting-go of limiting 504347, email info@iessaiah.com, beliefs, a transformational shift in and visit www.iessaiah.com.

Enter the arms of Old Mother Dartmoor

TRADITIONAL MASSAGE FROM EAST & WEST

Holistic Oil Massage Deep Tissue Massage Thai Yoga Massage Thai Foot Massage Tok Sen Available to teach Thai Yoga Massage

Call Isha Olsen-Wells on 07805419864 ishahahaha@hotmail.com Based in the Totnes & at the Ola Centre

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DO you long to get closer to the wild side of nature?

A unique camp for women takes place this July 5-10 on Dartmoor .

Run by international permaculture teacher Klaudia Van Gool, ‘re-wilding’ and bushcraft expert Jessie Watson Brown and yoga teacher Nikki Chambers, it aims to help you do just that.

“Stop the clocks, put down your load, turn off the phone and come with us into the woods”, says Klaudia, “held in the arms of Old Mother Dartmoor, we will create our village, make fire, forage for wild foods, and cook delicious meals”.

Expect to deepen your connection to nature and sense of belonging, to share crafting, laughing, story, song and sisterhood. Yoga and deep relaxation, a sleep out under the stars and the ancient Lakota practice of sweat lodge.

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For details see http://klaudia.co.uk/ womens-wild-hearth/ or ring Klaudia 07816 841129.

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

Horses have plenty to teach us below, Sue with her equine team.

WELLBEING

Why our bodies need minerals too

W

Horses offer non-judgemental feedback

T

HE conventional thinking is that we have something to teach horses. But Sue Blagburn focuses instead on what horses can teach us.

“Horses by their natural biological make-up have a lot to teach us,” says Sue, who runs Adventures with Horses. “For example they pick up on our body language and respond with incredible accuracy to how we are in the present moment. Equine facilitated learning works with the wisdom and body language of horses for personal development and growth.”

Sue says, the benefits of working with horses in this way can include: l Awareness of our emotions and non-verbal communication; l Greater confidence, self awareness and self-esteem; l Calmness and focus; l Assertiveness, direction and initiative; and l Building relationships and leadership skills built on empathy, trust and respect.

“When we engage with horses, there is a fine line between being too assertive and not assertive enough,” says Sue. “Horses can help us to find the middle ground – to step into our power

without dominating. They respond not to our outer-persona but to our inner-story, our body language and our commitment to what we really care about.”

“We simply hold a space of safety, trust and confidentiality and allow the horses to do the work. By their very nature, horses provide honest and non-judgmental feedback. This will allow you to learn more about yourself and how you can transform who you are being and what you are doing.”

Anyone can benefit from equine facilitated learning. You don’t need previous experience with horses - just a willingness to engage and ‘listen’ to the feedback that the horses provide.

“Safety and sensitivity for humans and horses is paramount in everything we do,” says Sue. “We offer one-to-one sessions as well as group workshops and programmes.”

To find out more, call Sue Blagburn on 07831 865259 or visit www. adventureswithhorses.co.uk.

Award winning, family owned funeral directors and celebrants for 24/7 care “Your skill, kindness, compassion and sensitivity to me and the children in every situation was extraordinary.... Your work is remarkable and if

Real health

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Lizzie Hubbard

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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.

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ranging from improved sleep and energy levels, to normalised blood pressure and blood sugar levels, significant or total reduction in arthritic/ joint pain and skin conditions such as psoriasis clearing up.

“Nutritionists, health consultants, beauty experts and sports trainers around the world have been searching for decades for the answer to optimum health and performance, and are now discovering the benefits of plant minerals,” says Katherine.

Plant minerals are different to the metallic minerals that are typically found in shops and online.

Katherine added: “Metallic minerals have little effect because the human body is not designed to absorb them. Plant minerals however can be very effective for restoring good health and optimising athletic performance.”

For more information or to order direct call Katherine on 07971 287830.

est. 1999

Real food, Real life,

email: enquiries@trinityholistics.co.uk

E tend to focus on our bodies’ need for vitamins, but studies show that without minerals, vitamins have very little effect.

Pioneering nutritional opthamologist Dr Gary Price-Todd goes as far as to say: “Vitamins are basically useless in the absence of minerals and the human body needs at least 60 minerals to maintain a disease and ailment-free state.”

But actually getting these minerals into our system can be a challenge these days. UNICEF and the World Health Organisation studies show alarming mineral deficiencies in modern food and soil, which is having a detrimental impact on our health and wellbeing.

Katherine Bower is a local agent for Sizzling Minerals, an extremely potent supplement containing 75 plant-derived minerals. She regularly hears from customers reporting significant benefits in conditions

Totnes 01803 840779 Buckfastleigh 01364 643522 Jane Hutton The Functional Foodie

www.heartandsoulfunerals.co.uk

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Jane Hutton - knows from personal experience how important diet can be.

WELLBEING

Why diet is a vital part of your ME recovery toolkit A DIAGNOSIS of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME or fibromyalgia can be met with a mixture of relief and dismay. On one hand you finally have a name for the frustratingly random and numerous symptoms that have been plaguing you; on the other, you have to get your head around a condition that has no tablet to treat it, just a long road to recovery.

So, what can you do to help yourself return to vibrant health?

Reconnect’s very own Jane Hutton, aka The Functional Foodie, knows from personal experience exactly

how it feels to receive such a diagnosis – and she believes that one of the most important weapons in your recovery toolkit is your diet.

She said: “Food is a direct source of fuel and nourishment, so it makes sense that what you put in your mouth has a direct impact on your whole body. With every system affected in some way, ensuring a broad, nutrientpacked daily diet provides the best environment for optimum functioning, allowing you to strengthen, and ultimately, regain your health.”

Jane was first commissioned to put

together an educational programme for the patients of a specialist NHS clinic.

Now she is offering the same support to anyone with these conditions. The course covers what to eat, how to eat, and what to avoid; the basics of what your body needs to create energy, boost mood, and heal; an eating plan, shopping list and a host of easy, delicious recipes; and food and nutrient lists.

Enrolling on a Functional Foodie course provides lifetime access to any updates or additions to the modules.

Visit www.functional-foodie.com/ store/products/

Tapping into your higher potential

D

ESCRIBED by its founder, Dr Michael Cotton, as “not just an evolution but a revolution”, Higher Brain Living is now available in the UK. Michael J Traynor is an experienced private neuro physio who has worked at the Exeter Multiple Sclerosis centre for the past 12 years.

He has trained in Acupuncture, Bowen Technique, CranioSacral, No Hands Massage with Gerry Pyves, Holotropic Breathwork, The Reconnection with Dr Eric Pearl and much more over the last 15 years.

He says: “The higher part of the human brain – the pre-frontal cortex - has been shown to be associated with untapped potential.

It is the part of the brain where we can see the goals we want to accomplish and the actions to make that happen. It is where we have deep spiritual connection and where we can elevate our consciousness to achieve our life’s dreams.

“Higher Brain Living cues the body’s pathways to release energy into this untapped part of the brain, provoking a breath response which metabolises rapid and transformative change.

“I was the first person in Europe to train in Higher Brain Living and now I’m offering this in Totnes and Exeter. It is the most amazing form of bodywork which produces a large wave-like motion in the body,

Love Nature?

Love Yoga?

Michael J Traynor bringing an intensified breath to the higher brain. Through daily practice, it enables people to address all aspects of their life in a very simplified and intuitive way to give a huge change in a short time.”

Clients report having more energy, clarity and a heightened perspective.

Others say it feels like every cell in their body gets filled with an amazing clarity and they feel that they just wanted to take larger and larger breaths. Michael is offering a day workshop for small groups at the Totnes Natural Health Centre on June 19 and July 2. Workshops are also planned for Exeter and London.

Visit www.MichaelJTraynor.co.uk or call 07956 409300. www.treesforhealth.org www.intoyogaandnature.co.uk liz@treesforhealth.org liz@intoyogaandnauture.co.uk 07765 631877

Yoga classes & nature retreats Pop-up yoga outdoors Agroforestry volunteering, tours & camps, wild food Advice on edible gardens/landscapes 44 44

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WELLBEING Reconnecting with your surroundings

I

F we’re asked how the name Reconnect came about, we always do that enigmatic artist thing and say the title means what ever you want it to mean.

For hearing specialist bloom, that sense of reconnection is all about getting back in touch with your surroundings – with conversation, music, birdsong, plays and the theatre, social gatherings.

Reconnect with your surrounds with new hearing aid technology.

“They’re all about reconnecting by strings attached. Says John: “If, sound,” says John Morey of bloom. after two weeks, you don’t want to “And as we mentioned in an earlier buy from the new DAILY range, just issue of Reconnect, new hearing hand them back. And they start aid technology costs less than a from just £395 each.” few years ago, in real terms – and Call 0800 612 7994 - mention delivers more.

Reconnect - and bloom hearing bloom makes the reconnection can arrange a free demonstration and trial wherever you live in the process even easier by offering Westcountry. free trials – a genuine offer with no

Tibetan master and scholar in Totnes

T

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

He will give three teachings at The Mansion in Fore Street, Totnes (TQ9 5RP) on June 9, 10 and 11, 7-9pm.

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

The teachings will cover the following topics: Thursday 9, The Relationship Between Mind, Body, and Energy; Friday 10, How To Prepare For Death and Rebirth; Saturday 11, The Nature of Mind.

The organisers said: “Chamtrul Rinpoche is from the Nyingma

tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet. He is the eleventh in a line of recognised reincarnations, and having trained under some of most eminent teachers of the 20th century he is a 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.

Barnfield Hill Therapy Rooms New therapy rooms for rent Light and airy rooms with own waiting room. Flexible hours and low rates for counsellors and therapists Central Exeter location Contact: Julie McNichol 01392 256711 4 Barnfield Hill, Exeter, EX1 1SR

Domestic Abuse Awareness Training & Pattern Changing Course 15-session course Phone text 07562 380 703 sueley222@gmail.com endabuseuk.org.uk

NEW TO THE UK – ONE DAY WORKSHOP INTRODUCING: Uses breath, bodywork and energy release to activate the Higher Brain, together with the Integral Systems approach in a daily practice to move into a fearless, authentic, deeper adventure that is your true potential.

One amazing day to upgrade your physiology and truly shine!

www.MichaelJTraynor.co.uk

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

Editorial: 01803 01803 868455 868455 editor@reconnectonline.co.uk editor@reconnectonline.co.uk Editorial:

45 45

COUNSELLING

FOCUSINGORIENTATED Therapy and Counselling.

For people who are experiencing anxiety, stress or overwhelm.

Giving you the resources to get space, peace and calm back into your life.

Fiona Parr MBACP, at The Gandy Centre, Exeter, and in Liverton.

01626 821110 / 07799 027332, www. fionaparr-focusing. co.uk.

classifiedads - WELCOME TO THE RECONNECT SMALL ADS -

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 Aug/Sept issue is Friday, July 1. Call 01803 868455 or email adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk.

Buckfastleigh, Newton Abbot and on Skype.

B’Hahn, carmella@ heartofrelating.com, 01803 867005, www. heartofrelating.com.

MAGAZINES

HOLISTIC COUNSELLOR specialising in trauma/ abuse, and for those feelings/emotions difficult to put into words. Working with art, sand and outside among nature. Annie, www. natureswaycounselling .co.uk, call 07760 439760.

BACK issues of the American Quest Magazine. Details and price to Mr. D. Palmer, 19 Home Meadow, Totnes, TQ9 5XY DAVID OXLEY MA Fully qualified Accredited BACP counsellor and psychotherapist.

Psychosynthesis and Core Process. Working with Relationship, Depth, Integrity and Soul. Central Exeter, Totnes and Plymouth. Www. davidoxleycounselling. co.uk 07876 051093.

GRIEF SUPPORT

CREATIVE COUNSELLOR Heartful, Supportive Counselling. Creative Exercises including Art, Sandplay, etc.

Adults, Young People, some concs available.

Ruth Jenni Adv Dip Couns, 07974097787, www.oakflower. co.uk. Dartington,

REFLEXOLOGY

RELAX, cleanse, strengthen. Full-hour, £5 off first treatment.

Discount for three treatments. Nicola – Reflexology Practitioner, based Totnes Natural Health Centre. MBRCP R Assoc BRCP OM, 07522 344291, nicolasuzanne@ hotmail.co.uk.

SO IS IT HEALING

GRIEVING and want relief? Supportive sessions by donation @ Bowden House, Totnes, with counsellor/ author Carmella

USING Words, Sound, Music, Movement, Energy, Mudras. To help any problem (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual). Bookings, call 01752 500426. Many blessings from illona.

FIND SOME SPACE IN THE CITY Exeter rooms to hire on demand – pay as you go • • • • •

Training room for up to 25 people seated Smaller spaces for one-to-one client meetings Affordable rates (from £12ph) - pay as you go City centre location with nearby parking Perfect for any green business or group

Exeter Natural Health Centre, off Gandy Street Contact Ali on 01392 422555/info@enhc.org

46

WORKSHOPS&COURSES TUESDAYS

HOLISTIC Health Group, 10-11.30am, 2 x monthly, £7 session, Plymouth Natural Health Centre. Daniella, 01872 278123, www. synergyholistichealth. co.uk.

YOGA, especially relaxing for the mind to end the day! 7.309pm, Chapel House Studios, Totnes, liz@ intoyogaandnature. co.uk, 07765 631877.

WEDNESDAYS

YOGA for Every Body - a new Dru Yoga class on Wednesday afternoons in Dartington.

Extremely gentle, nonjudgemental and fun, specifically designed to help relieve pain and increase flexibility in those with limited mobility or chronic pain. Suitable for absolutely everybody, no experience needed and sitting in a chair throughout the class is completely OK. If you have a body you can do this style of yoga! At Wayfaring, Dartington, 1-2.30pm, £10. Call Vicky on 07890660183 for more details and to secure a place (classes limited to 10 people).

THURSDAY

YOGA, 10-11.30am.

Harbour House, Kingsbridge, liz@ intoyogaandnature. co.uk, 07765 631877.

Playback Theatre Company: What sets you on fire? 8pm (doors open 7.45pm), Bogan House , High St, Totnes, TQ9 5NP. £10/£8 Donation on door.

Women only.

WEDNESDAY 22

JUNE TUESDAY 7

TARTE Noire Women’s Playback Theatre Company: What sets you on fire? 8pm (doors open 7.45), The Ice Factory , 10 Somerset Place, Teignmouth TQ14 8EN. £10/£8 from the Ice Factory or on the door. Women only.

THURSDAY 9

MIRROR Mirror Playback Theatre Company: What sets you on fire?

8pm, (doors open 7.45pm), Bogan House, High St, Totnes TQ9 5NP. £10/£8 donation on door. All welcome.

WEDNESDAY 15

PUBLIC TALK: ‘What Meditation Really Is’ – Ringu Tulku Rinpoche.

Studio 1, The Space, Dartington Hall, Totnes, 7.30 pm, www. bodhicharya southwest.org.uk.

THURSDAY 16

BUDDHIST Teaching: ‘Relaxing in Natural Awareness’ – Ringu Tulku Rinpoche.

Studio 1, The Space, Dartington Hall, Totnes, 7.30pm, www. bodhicharyasouth west.org.uk MONDAY 20

AGROFORESTRY Tours, Beeson, learn about the agroforestry project, uses of trees/plants, 10.30am-1pm, £10, liz@treesforhealth.org.

MONTHLY Moon Lodge for All Women, Totnes, catherine@ tantricawakening.org, www.tantricawakening. org.

JULY SAT 2-SUN 3

FULL Body Orgasm, two-day workshop (men and women), Totnes, catherine@ tantricawakening.org, www.tantricawakening. org.

SATURDAY 16

YOGA and Nature Connection, Barefoot Barn, Chagford, 10am-5pm, £40, liz@ intoyogaandnature. co.uk, 07765 631877.

MONDAY 18

AGROFORESTRY Tours, Beeson, learn about the agroforestry project, uses of trees/plants, 10.30am-1pm, £10, liz@treesforhealth.org.

AUGUST SAT 20-WED 24

HUNGER Games camp, giving teenagers a fun connection to nature, ages 1116, £260, www. wildwisehungergames. co.uk, Facebook: Wildwise Hunger Games.

FRI 26-TUES 30

HUNGER Games camp, giving teenagers a fun connection to nature, ages 1217, £260, www. wildwisehungergames. co.uk, Facebook: Wildwise Hunger

£18.00 TUESDAY 21

TARTE Noire Women’s

You can advertise in this classified section for as little as £18 (therapists get a free picture, while space allows - first come, first served). Call Martin now on 01803 868455.

Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk

www.reconnectonline.co.uk

MINDFULNESS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE. SAT MORNING OF MINDFULNESS 11TH JUNE AND 16TH JULY 2016 8-WEEK MINDFULNESS COURSE FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING FRI 3RD JUNE, 10AM – 12.00 8-SESSION MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR-T) FOR TEENS COURSE TUES 13TH SEPT 4.00PM – 5.30PM 9-WEEK MINDFULNESS COURSE FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING MON 3RD OCT, 7.00PM-9.00PM

www.barefootmindfulness.co.uk

Contact us for more information: T: 01752 777239 E: mindful@barefootmindfulness.co.uk A: 1 Officers Quarters, Crownhill Fort, Crownhill Fort Road, Plymouth PL6 5BX

Genesis

Create a life you love

The Genesis programme is a two and a half day programme that will change your life.

In this extraordinary course, will introduce you to the exciting, life-changing power of Narrative Transformation.

You will learn: ▶ What’s holding you back in life ▶ How to become the author of your life not a victim of circumstance ▶ The secret to creating a life you love By changing the negative beliefs, perceptions and ideas that hold you back, anything becomes possible.

If you only do one thing for yourself this year, do this.

Here’s what people say about Genesis: “I got a huge amount from the programme. Far more than I could ever have imagined. It was brilliantly conceived, perfectly paced and really exciting.”

“I got reconnected to a part of myself that I have been missing for a considerable time.”

The Genesis programme costs £199. It is part of the Experience Living series.

For more information call 01392 346224 Dates of the next programme: June 10-12 September 9-11 To book, visit https://www.interbe.co/archive/experience-living-genesis/

Changing stories, changing lives

“I made a massive shift at the weekend and let go of something that had kept me stuck and caused me pain and anguish for as long as I can remember.”

“I would love to have the opportunity to send every member of my family on this course (and friends) what a wonderful gift that would be…”