Monday 30 April 2012

The week got off to a good start...

Today was busy...Yoga Babies had lots of new babies.

I have a been sorting the final details for the Cake, Craft & Food Fair this Saturday as well as organising a tea party tomorrow for people who have helped get the hub started. We are going to need another tea party really soon as some people can't come to this one and some emails have bounced back so if you are reading this and thinking...where was my invitation?...it may well be a bouncer.

Tomorrow morning I am making 8 times our normal quantity of scones and our normal quantity feeds 16 so we are going to need an appetite!

Lauren came by to finalise the details of the Exeter Baking Club which she is starting at the hub on Wednesday afternoons. The first meeting is on Wednesday 16th May from 1:30-3:30pm. The club will meet on a fortnightly basis. If you would l like to join, please email me at joey.lee@sustaincare.net and I will forward your details on to Lauren.

There were new class members in today's Margaret Morris Movement too and Make and Take Club was the best yet according to my Lottie. Just typical when I didn't have my camera to take any photos (Hannah, did you take any?). And as usual Janette finished off a Monday with her Lazy Daisy Active Birthing Classes.

Tomorrow we start with choir at 10am-noon (you are welcome to just come along). Peter has planned their first performance for those who want to take part.
Hannah will be running her crafting workshop on crochet at noon-1:30pm. It is £4 a session. If you have a crochet hook then please bring it along but Hannah will have hooks you can borrow.


World Tai Chi Day

The World Tai Chi Day Celebrations on Saturday were a huge success. We were based at The Hub on the Green with Tai Chi demonstrations in Princesshay and Workshops on the Cathedral Green. It was such a wet night but the skies cleared ready for the 10am start and it stayed dry until we finished at lunchtime. The hub makes a good space to warm up, chat and drink copious amounts of coffee to keep warm.


A big thank you to Angus Clark who organised the event and for Sue Daniels (our tai chi teacher at the hub) for suggesting that we base it at the hub. If you would like to come to Sue's class, it is on a Wednesday evening from 6:30-7:45pm and costs £6. Your first session is free as a taster. Just come along.

Today we were in the Western Morning News...











PRESS RELEASE - WORLD TAI CHI DAY EXETER 2012 - SAT 28 APRILRoss Fitzsimmons: Living Movement Spokesman
Tai Chi enthusiasts from all over the South West - from primary school children to a group fromAge UK - gathered in Exeter on Saturday (28April) to play their part in celebrating World Tai ChiDay.The event was organised by Dartmoor based Angus Clark, an internationally acclaimed tai-chiinstructor, author and founder of Living Movement Tai Chi.
On the last Saturday of April each year at 10 am, tens of thousands of people in hundreds of citiesin over 70 nations come together ... to breathe, to move and to offer the world a vision oftogetherness. World Tai Chi & Qigong Day begins at 10 am with groups in New Zealand, and thenquietly spreads time zone by time zone across the globe, to finish with the final events in Hawaii.In Exeter, several different Devon groups shared their tai chi art with the public with free classesand demonstrations. The day started at 10am on the Cathedral Green with over 100 people fromunder 9s to over 90s joining in to celebrate the theme of ‘one world, one breath’. First Angus andthen Rob Byrnes of Mid Devon Tai Chi led the group with some moves that everyone was able tojoin in with.Angus said “there was such a good atmosphere - it really felt like we were part of the global pulseof goodwill that was travelling around the world that day from New Zealand to Hawaii”Boosted by refreshments at the Hub on the Green, Exeter’s centre for sustainable health, thegroups then led a series of colourful and exciting demonstrations in Princesshay Shopping Centre.Tai Chi is now recognised as an exercise that creates wellbeing for an exceptionally diverse rangeof people and this was reflected in the demonstrations, which included a group from Age UK ledby Barbara Morris of Living Movement and two childrens’ groups, one from Living Movement andone from Tai Chi Nation and the Exeter Steiner School.** Spokesperson for Living Movement, Ross Fitzsimons was delighted with the event “We couldn’thave asked for a better turnout or outcome. It was a success all round. Today we saw people of allages, men, women and children all coming together to practice an exercise that’s becoming moreand more relevant in playing a positive role in our society todayEvent organiser: Angus Clark http://www.livingmovement.com




Friday 27 April 2012

Tomorrow at the Hub...

Last night I went to a meeting of ESENCE (The Exeter Social Enterprise & Cooperative Network) at Real Food. We had a talk from Jonathan Alder from Alder & Alder about Branding. It was really interesting. I may need to tweak a thing or two as a result. TED got a mention or two. 


Everyone seems to be TED mad at the moment. If you don't know about TED google it and watch one of their videos every day. It is inspiring stuff. Even my Lottie's assembly was a little TED-ish - with a video screen playing behind the children and the theme...a game where they take roles in governing Australia (farmers, loggers, the tourist board etc.) and make changes to ensure a good future for Australian in years to come. 


This morning I had a surprise delivery of flapjack and coffee which was much appreciated. The Shillingford Van delivered all the vegetables for Penny's Order and Collect Scheme and Kat from Love Local Food delivered Penny's other groceries for delivery. It's wonderful to see the vegetable orders continue to grow each week and Penny will be selling Shillingford at our Craft Fair on Saturday 5th May.


The lunchtime was a busy one. The new A-board is working it's magic at the entrance. More people have popped in to see what's going on at the hub this week. David dropped off more of his homemade jam. We had someone come and check out the hub for a 5th birthday party and Verity and the girls brought sunshine to the hub on a soggy day. 


This afternoon flew by. It's a busy couple of weeks at the hub. World Tai Chi Day celebrations start tomorrow at 7:50 when Angus Clark will be interviewed on BBC Radio Devon before opening the hub at 9am for teas and coffees (and cakes that are in the oven now) and the Tai Chi starts at 9:45am on the green before moving to the hub and then to Princesshay for some seriously cool demonstrations. I am looking forward to the sword demonstrations most of all especially as it was an effort to double check that all agencies were happy for people to waggle swords in Princesshay on a Saturday lunchtime. 
The timetable looks like this:

Free classes on Exeter Cathedral Green from 9.45 am
TAI CHI DEMONSTRATIONS IN Princesshay Shopping Centre 

11.30 Barbara Morris with Age UK 
           Short Form to Cross Hands
11.45 CMC Short Form with Living Movement 
            all players welcome to join
11.55 Angus Clark from Living Movement
           applications with kids
12.00 Chen groups   
silk reeling lao jia, canon fist, sword, pushing hands
12.20 Joe Salmon from Tai Chi Nation  
           with children from Exeter Steiner school
12.30 Charmouth 
           Tai Chi   24 step form
12.40 Open Palm 
           pushing hands
12.50 Wuji Acadamy 
           9 fighting methods; da lu
13.00 – 13.15  Living Movement 
San Shou  2 person fast form and tai chi straight sword 
The hub will be open between these times for tea and cake and shelter from the rain! Come and keep me company. 
9am - 9:45am
10:15-11:15pm
1pm - 1:45pm 

We are closing it during the demonstrations so I can go out and enjoy the fun too. It's it's tipping it down it may be open more!!!

So the cakes are in the oven. I have made a fab raspberry and vanilla sponge with katy cinnamon streusel topping. Yum!

Tomorrow at the Hub...

This is the final timetable. The hub will be open for tea and cakes from 9am. I am looking forward to the sword demonstrations...we do have permission for swords in Princesshay - hurray!


WORLD TAI CHI DAY IN EXETER  SAT 28 APRIL 

Free classes on Exeter Cathedral Green from 9.45 am
TAI CHI DEMONSTRATIONS IN Princesshay Shopping Centre 

11.30 Barbara Morris with Age UK 
           Short Form to Cross Hands
11.45 CMC Short Form with Living Movement 
            all players welcome to join
11.55 Angus Clark from Living Movement
           applications with kids
12.00 Chen groups   
silk reeling lao jia, canon fist, sword, pushing hands
12.20 Joe Salmon from Tai Chi Nation  
           with children from Exeter Steiner school
12.30 Charmouth 
           Tai Chi   24 step form
12.40 Open Palm 
           pushing hands
12.50 Wuji Acadamy 
           9 fighting methods; da lu
13.00 – 13.15  Living Movement 
San Shou  2 person fast form and tai chi straight sword 
                                 WWW.LIVINGMOVEMENT.COM

Thursday 26 April 2012

Working with Self-Destructiveness


A One Day Workshop
With Andy White
Working with Self-Destructiveness
This one day workshop is for practicing counsellors who would like to strengthen their ability to work with issues of self-destructiveness in their client group. We will look at the subject from psychodynamic, humanistic and transpersonal perspectives.This day will be as much about how we sabotage our potential and prevent ourselves from growing as it will be about self harm per se. 
Venue; The Hub on the Green, 8Cathedral Green, Exeter 
Date   ; Sat 19th May 
Time   ; 10am- 4pm.
Cost    ; £40 concessions available.
Contact; 01769 581 720
Andy White, Dip Adv Ex Psych., Dip RF., Dip Adv HIPS., Dip Psychosynthesis., has been a practising psychotherapist for 20 years and is author of ‘Going Mad to Stay Sane’ a psychology of self-destructiveness (Duckworth 1996), and ‘The Living Dream’ ( Self and Society 2001). He has taught transpersonal psychology at Birkbeck college in London, Findhorn in Scotland, UDLA in Mexico, The Iron Mill in Exeter and the Centre for Humanistic psychology and Counselling. Images and words at www.andywhiteartist.com 

World Tai Chi Day on Saturday

This is the final timetable. The hub will be open for tea and cakes from 9am-ish. I am looking forward to the sword demonstrations...we do have permission for swords in Princesshay - hurray!



WORLD TAI CHI DAY IN EXETER  SAT 28 APRIL 

Free classes on Exeter Cathedral Green from 9.45 am
TAI CHI DEMONSTRATIONS IN Princesshay Shopping Centre 

11.30 Barbara Morris with Age UK 
           Short Form to Cross Hands
11.45 CMC Short Form with Living Movement 
            all players welcome to join
11.55 Angus Clark from Living Movement
           applications with kids
12.00 Chen groups   
silk reeling lao jia, canon fist, sword, pushing hands
12.20 Joe Salmon from Tai Chi Nation  
           with children from Exeter Steiner school
12.30 Charmouth 
           Tai Chi   24 step form
12.40 Open Palm 
           pushing hands
12.50 Wuji Acadamy 
           9 fighting methods; da lu
13.00 – 13.15  Living Movement 
San Shou  2 person fast form and tai chi straight sword 
                                 WWW.LIVINGMOVEMENT.COM

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Tuesday's Crafting Workshop

Hannah and the group were starting on their papier mache bowls today. There was a lovely buzz and it was cosy in the hub while it was bucketing it down outside.






Monday 23 April 2012

Cake & Craft Fair - Saturday 5th May

At the Craft & Cake Fair we will have...

Penny with her wonderful Shillingford vegetables and amazing prices as they come straight from the farm first thing on Saturday morning thanks to Farmer Martyn

Sarah Hewlett will be giving Acupressure sessions (10 mins to 30 mins) which you can come along and sign up for.

Sparkly Sonia will be face-painting and Hannah K. will be running the family making table. 

There will be a tombola comeback - hurray!

Local craft stalls with lovely crafters

Fabulous cakes and our pop up cafe
 

Hannah's Photos from Today's Make & Take Club

These are Hannah's photos from Make and Take Club today where the children and adults were making papier mache puppets based on their own likenesses. So they were using the mirrors to sketch themselves before using balloons and papier mache to make their heads.








Monday at the Hub...A-boards and Puppets

I did it...I finished my A-Board for the end of the alley. It's taken me six months and within minutes of putting it out late this afternoon, Lottie came running into the hub shouting, "Mummy, Mummy, someones reading your board!" So it works! 


It's been a productive day. We have had Yoga Babies, Coffee Time, Vegetable Ordering, Margaret Morris Movement, Papier Mache puppet making in Make & Take Club and then Lazy Daisy Active Birthing Classes. Monday is a busy day at the hub. 
Tomorrow at the hub...CHOIR is back at 10am- noon, it's PAPIER MACHE BOWL MAKING in crafting at noon as well as COFFEE time as usual, BABYCCINO at 1:30-3:30 pm...and none of it is weather dependant!!! :)
Then Wednesday at the Hub...YOGA at 9:45am, WALKING GROUP with me at 10:45am - whatever the weather we'll meet at the hub's front door - or you can come along and help dry me off during COFFEE time at noon, then TAI CHI at 6:30pm and we will be building up to WORLD TAI CHI DAY celebrations on Saturday. These celebrations are for everyone so please don't miss out. There will be lots of fabulous demonstrations as well as chances for all the family to join in.

Nikkie (Yoga Babies), Penny (Vegetable Order & Collect) and I came up with a plan for what Nikkie calls a WRITE-IN. I mentioned this a little while ago and now it's ready to be put into action. It is a chance for writers to come to a quiet space and settle to their writing. There will be coffee and tea and an hour of quiet between 1:45-2:45pm on Tuesdays. Then from 2:45pm onwards there is a chance to chat, swap ideas, shoot off home... So if you are a budding writer, have assignments to do, are part of a writing group and have 'homework' to do but find it hard to find a space without distractions this could be for you. Keep you eyes on the diary on the right for the starting date. It will be on alternate Tuesdays when Babyccino isn't happening. 


THIS SATURDAY: Come & celebrate World Tai Chi Day





































We will start on the Cathedral Green at 9:45am by joining the global energy wave with some easy to play tai chi and qigong moves 
Then from 10:15-10:45am free tai chi classeswith local groups on the Cathedral Green 
Followed by inspiring Tai Chi demonstrations from a variety of local groups and players in Princesshay Shopping Centre: 
11.30 Barbara Morris with Age UK Short Form to Cross Hands
11.45 CMC Short Form with Angus - everyone welcome to join
11.55 Short and Sweet – Angus and kids, applications
12.00 Chen groups – silk reeling lao jia, canon fist, sword, broadsword and pushing hands
12.20 Joe Salmon from Tai Chi Nation with kid’s group
12.30 Charmouth Tai Chi
12.40 Open Palm – pushing hands
12.50 Wuji Acadamy
13.00 – 13.15 Living Movement – San Shou and possibly sword.

UPDATE: Crafty Swap for Oxfam's International Women's Day


  Do you remember this?

Message from Oxfam: 
Great to chat to you earlier and I hope the birthday celebrations were a success!


Thank you once again for your fundraising efforts for 'Get Together', your donations could help us to train 5 teachers in Mali who can teach over 250 girls and provide a whole generation with skills to work their way out of poverty.
So thank you to everyone who supported the crafty swap and The Craft Hub ladies for all their hard work. 

Friday 20 April 2012

TEDx Exeter

I have been a hopeless blogger this week and that's a real shame as it has been an amazing week.

Monday was getting back into the swing of hub life for me after a week off.

Tuesday was the start of Choir for the Summer term but poor Peter was ill (which is a rare event) so we have postponed the start until next Tuesday. Peter was amazing. Despite being really ill he rang around and emailed everyone so no one turned up and was disappointed. Great job Peter.
At noon it was coffee time and crafting group with Hannah. We made corsages.






In the afternoon, Arabella had a really busy Babyccino group. A chance for new parents to meet other parents and try out slings with great advice and lots of variety. Arabella is an expert on slings and real nappies.
Then lovely Janette finished off the day with an evening of Lazy Daisy Active Birthing Classes. The great news is that Janette is starting Saturday morning couples workshops with us soon.

Wednesday started with yoga and I lead my first Walk 4 Health down to the quay and despite it being a grey day, we had a great walk and we were back for a busy coffee time and knitting group. We had a visitor from WEA who was looking for prospective venues. I need a few more signs up but then it looks like we may have more bookings.
In the evening, Tai Chi started in its Wednesday slot and I think it worked so much better than a Friday (for me anyway!). Sue Daniels (our teacher) is so excited about the up and coming World Tai Chi events at The Hub on the Green on 28th April. We are going to be using the Cathedral Green and Princesshay Square as well as the hub. Everyone is welcome to come along. The more the merrier.

Thursday was a quiet day but today was incredible. I was at TEDx Exeter at the Northcott Theatre and it was inspirational. TED are amazing at sharing their conference videos online and if you don't know about TED, I urge you to watch some of their videos. I bumped in to a doctor who used to work in the centre where we had our previous hub. He told me that he watches one TED video in bed every morning with his fiancé. I thought that was brilliant. I am going to make it my resolution to follow suit.

A big thank you to Mum and Penny for looking after the hub today and Darren for taking care of the Sustainable Health Centre. The hub had Pilates, Wriggle Rhythms and coffee time with Penny's Shillingford Organic vegetable order and collect today at coffee time.

Tonight the Brownies started at the hub. I went straight from TEDx to meet them at the hub and settle them in. They have such lovely leaders Sarah and Rachel. I grabbed my vegetables, headed to Pipers Farm for accompaniments  and now I'm home. I am looking forward to digesting the day. There was a lot to take in. It's all good.


Monday 16 April 2012

Thank you Hub Team

I have been on holiday for a week at had a wonderful time. The hub has been in the safe hands of Simon, Darren, Jo, Davy and Penny and it's a huge thank you to them for everything.

This week we hit the group running. A lot of the local schools had an inset day while the teachers were looking at community resources and so we had a hubful of teachers and Todd Grey leading their session. Lunchtime was a quiet one (apart from the sound of torrential rain hitting the windows) but Penny sorted her vegetable orders and Lottie and I did a puzzle and a half.

Margaret Morris Movement and Lazy Daisy Active Baby Birthing Classes fill the rest of the day.

There is definitely change in the air. I thing the Easter break gave everyone a chance to make plans for the future so there are new excitements coming...We have our new Baking Club, Creative Zone, The Brownies, The Olympic Torch is passing by the door, I am leading my first walking group on Wednesday, we have Reiki Mums starting soon, our next Cake and Craft Fair is on Saturday 5th May, World Tai Chi Day is on Saturday 28th April with events all morning, we have life-coaching sessions and two new yoga groups. I should go on holiday more often.

Hannah Coopland-Smith will be running the next 7 sessions of Crafting Workshops on Tuesdays at noon. Tomorrow we will be making corsages. If you would like to come along, there is no need to book but if you could bring a broach that would be wonderful and Hannah will have everything else you need (including broach pins for those that need them).

There will be no Community choir tomorrow as poor Peter is ill.

At 1:30-3:30 Arabella will be running an extra Babyccino meeting to celebrate Real Nappy Week. So if you would like to pop along you would be more than welcome.

Thursday 5 April 2012

Next Week at the Hub

I will be on holiday next week but I am leaving the hub in the hands of some wonderful people.
Here's what's happening next week...

Tuesday 10th April:
12noon - 1:30pm Coffee time with Jo and Simon. Crafting group will start again on 17th April
1:30-3:30pm Babyccino
7:30-9:30pm Exeter Homebirth Group 

Wednesday 11th April:
9:45-10:45am Gentle Hatha Yoga with Roberta Hutchins
10:45-11:45am Walk with Davy (head down to the river for a fun walk and then back for coffee and a play - meet by the hub's entrance at 10:45am)  
Davy
Luke at Knitting Group
12noon - 1:30pm Coffee time with Davy & knitting group for those that would like to come...the knitting group leaders won't be there but there are always knitters in the hub to help. Please bring your own project.
 Thursday 12th April:
Evening...Advanced Argentine Tango Group
Friday 13th April:
9:45-10:45am Pilates (contact Teresa on 07970 490768 to check holiday times)
11-12noon Toy-Making Workshop
12noon - 1:30pm Coffee time with Penny and vegetable collection time

Penny 
On Monday 16th April Hub activities go back to their normal pattern. 

Have a wonderful Easter everyone.