Health & Wellbeing

Health & Wellbeing Meditations: roll out the green carpet

You know that winter is turning into spring when your garden birds begin to forage for nest material. This morning as I sit and drink my tea, I watch a pair of robins pull the moss from around my pond to line their nests. I don’t blame them, I too love the sensuality of moss; the cool, soft sponginess of those delicate fronds under my feet. It is interesting that many gardeners bemoan it or try to rid it from their lawns whilst in the Zen gardens of Japan, there is an inherent desire to preserve it due to its virtuosity, resilience and the length of time it takes for some moss species to grow; thus bringing maturity and wisdom to a garden. My own love affair with mosses first began when I explored the surviving pockets of our Atlantic coastal rainforests that reside in the temperate Western seaboards of Britain. These forgotten magical wild woods are like something out of Tolkien created by the clean, humid ocean air of the Gulf Stream. I remember how I hugged the gnarled, furry green trees and marveled at the ferns, lichens and mosses that painted the boulders, riverbanks, and forest floor in a translucent verdancy; a greenness that fed my spirit and imagination. The colour green sits at the centre of the spectrum and represents harmony, and balance. Our still primitive brains associate greenness with nourishment because where there is green, there is water and where there is water there is life, and sometimes moss. Mosses belong to the Bryophyte family and have colonised the Earth for 450 million years. We have over 1,000 species of them in the UK. Looking just like miniature rainforests in their own right, water is collected in capillary spaces in their fronds thus creating tiny rivers and lakes that house microscopic creatures. With no root system, they rely on rhizoids to attach themselves to surfaces. The complexity and variety of mosses are so easily overlooked or trampled upon. That is, until you stop and really look into their intricate world of fronds, creatures and the fine, feathery stalks that are topped with the capsules that hold their spores. As the robins fly off and I finish my tea, I recall my grandmother’s words of warning that “a rolling stone gathers no moss”. Perhaps it is good to stay in one place after all. Dr Susie Curtin curtin.susanna@gmail.com Nature writer and qualitative researcher rewildingjourneys.com

April cycling skills courses on offer

A Blandford cycling instructor is launching a series of courses aimed at getting people out and about on two wheels. Dilys Gartside of CycleWise will run three CouldUCycle2 courses starting early April. There will be a choice of day and venue and each week participants will learn a basic skill followed by a short ride on the Trailway to practise it. She said: “It’s not too late to get involved in Cycling UK’s challenge to ditch the car for short journeys and cycle or walk instead. This is the perfect season to start an outdoor habit. To register your interest or for more information, email cyclewisesouthampton@gmail .com or call 01258 860157 CyclewiseSouthampton.co.uk CyclewiseDorset.co.uk

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Age Concern North Dorset

(Sturminster Newton) Your local charity for all age-related information and advice

01258 475582

Office open 10am - 2pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday

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SENIOR GENT WANTS COMPANION to assist with odd jobs, driving, going away, gardening, renovation work, enthusiastic lady to help around country house - 07970 437 434