Monday...we've started the holidays!

It was a bit of a crazy day today. Not anything like a normal Monday.

I had a great paperwork morning, That was very satisfying. But it was downhill from then onwards. We had our busiest Monday in ages.

It was lovely to see Nigel and Cameron again. They are holiday visitors to Exeter so we haven't seen them since half term. Someone gave us a Scalectrix-y set to build. I went out to get batteries and left the boys to build. We got there eventually. The blue car lasted 5 mins but we had fun with the red one. It brought us a lot of pleasure. Thank you U.D. We also had lot so of holiday visitors who popped in to see the roof. I like it busy.

Margaret Morris Movement carried on throughout the holidays so it was lovely to see Sheila today. Then the visitors kept on coming. Tom who came to the fair came by for a coffee but a bit too late so he's coming back tomorrow, Eve popped by to say hi and the lovely man who was knocked off his bicycle came by too.

At 3pm I got really peckish so collected my lunch and sat on my new outside sofa. By chance it was the perfect time of day as the end of the alley where the sofa was had become a sun trap. Lovely Audaye came by. So he helped me eat my tortilla chips and then we decided to encourage a bit of pavement art tomorrow by starting today.

So if you fancy coming to help me decorate the path until the rains come pop by tomorrow between 12noon and 1:30pm

See you tomorrow :)

And the bonus news...I am going to be Barbara's case study for her colour course...there is hope for my wardrobe yet!

Saturday Craft & Cake Fair...

Saturdays Cake and Craft Fair was great. I didn't have the usual team helping me and they were much missed but I had a great team of helpers step in to fill their shoes. So a HUGE thank you to Nigel, Andy, Jo, Zoe, Jane, Sean, Dad, Sal, and Ben for giving up their Saturday to come and help in the cafe and a BIG thank you to Hannah K, Lauren, Mum, Zoe, Dawn and Victoria for all your baking. I had a slice of Zoe's Victoria sponge today and it was fab. 

Hannah K. ran a fabulous making table all day and there were some amazing Easter baskets in the hub as a result. 

It was lovely to see everyone at the fair and meet lots of new people. Sarah Macdonald put the poster on the council's internal noticeboard which brought lots of new people to us. Clever. It is the chat, buzz and fun of the day that I love. It's like a party. In fact that is exactly what Zoe said. Sean added a certain mischief to the day and then continued into Sunday with his April Fools (still not forgiven). It was lovely that Jo came to help and I hope she'll do the same in the future. 

The Alley looking busy with Penny's Organic Shillingford Vegetables on sale...

Chocolate browies with chocolates on top

Chocolate browies with rabbits on top

Sarah Hewlett who was offering acupressure treatments
with Sean (make of the chocolate beetroot cake)

Zoe and Co.

Kat and Co.

Vanessa and her bunting

Lynne and Maddie

Paint Me a Picture

Hannah K and Dan making Easter baskets

Little Stitch

Hannah K's Cakes

Sean and Rach

A slightly nervous looking Joey

Lauren's Cupcakes

Ruvina

The Making Table

Ellie and her basket

Ellie's basket

Hannah K's making table

Sal's coffee and walnut cake

Peter, Sal and Ben

Olivia and Ella with their chick cakes

Yum!

Yum #2

Verity and Co.

Mahalia making her basket

That's a fab photo of Zoe and Rach

Lovely Jo

Add caption

Mahalia and (I can't see the shoes!) Dominique?!

Sarah testing the baking

Our Cake & Craft Fair...

Marvellous Davy's Alphabet

Hopefully everyone knows by now that there is a short, 1 hour, health walk from The Hub every Wednesday. We leave at 1045 from the Cathedral Green end of the passageway. We return with tales of the marvels we have seen, normally by the waterside, to drink coffee and knit, or chat, in The Hub. You will certainly be aware that walking is the best and easy cure for a multitude of health issues. The "dementia time bomb" can almost certainly be offset by walking and activity, watch this space for new government initiatives. Walking also especially favours ladies of a certain age with regards to bone density issues and absolutely everyone benefits from the mental positivity walking brings. There are so many good reasons to walk but from A-Z here are 26 of them:

Anxiety: Distraction from worry. Escape the source of torment. Space and time to consider your issues.

Blood Pressure: 25% of adults suffer from high blood pressure resulting in a significant increase in the risks of heart attack. Walking can reduce this as rapidly as 3-4 weeks with daily and increasingly longer walks.

Cancer: Walking and other exercise helps to prevent cancer (as part of an overall healthy lifestyle) and during recent trials it was found that incorporating walking into a recovery plan helped sufferers to get better quickly.

Diabetes: 18 million people in the UK suffer from diabetes, a rise of 30% since 1996. Walking can significantly reduce the risk that you will develop diabetes.

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Esteem: Walking will improve your self esteem especially if you walk within a group.

Flexibility: Walking maintains joint flexibility. It also strengthens muscle and tissue around the joints promoting a greater range of movement.

Gradients: Get your heart and lungs working and help improve fitness.

Heart Disease: You can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by up to 50% by walking.

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Introducing Others: Your friend/partner/relative will discover the benefits and you will have more people to walk with.

Joy: Walking, especially in Green Spaces provides a proven sense of well-being. Walking by water gives a healthy dose of negative ions.

Kids: Couch potato children are constantly in the headlines. Walking is an excellent, non-competitive way to introduce youngsters to exercise.

Longevity: Walk More=Live Longer. It's official. One study of retired men showed that walking 2 miles a day cut their mortality rate in half.

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More in the next exciting episode! Best, Davy

Exeter Homebirth Group - April Meeting

April meeting: Tuesday 10th April at the Hub on the Green from 7.30 to 9.30pm. Having learnt about the Doula role we can focus on the Midwife role at a Homebirth. Supervisor of Midwives, Gwenllian Riall, will be giving an informal talk for us including what happens at a homebirth, homebirth safety, when babies are born before the midwife arrives.

Hub Pixies...work your magic!

It's all change on the helping front. I have managed to persuade Sal to make a coffee and walnut cake and Crafty Hannah K. will be making something special too. 
The cafe team now is as follows:
10:30-11:30 Nigel (now confirmed)
11:30-12:30 Andy
12:30-1:30 Lynda
1:30-3:30 Zoe with Jo at 2pm
3:30-4:30 A rather sleepy Jane (it's all the swimming) 


Dad, Sal and Ben will be popping in in the afternoon to lend a hand too. Loving the community spirit everyone-thank you. 


Choir was lovely today. I wasn't there as I had to look after the reception desk in the health centre but I didn't miss out. I put Isabel's baby monitor in the hub so I could listen from reception. 

Lisa was on a day trip with her mama today so Hannah looked after crafting. It wouldn't have been safe in my hands. We were decoupaging eggs. I decoupaged an excellent chicken but you will have to take my word for it as I forgot to take a photo. 

these were make and take club's eggs

And Jane drew us. Jane has an exhibition soon at Inc in Exmouth but I already have my own original. Thank you Jane. That is very special. 

This afternoon Babyccino (I've just learnt to spell it) was lovely and busy. It's a very special group. When I peek in I see new mums supporting each other and having a good time. Just how it should be but in a lovely relaxed, happy environment. 

Arabella (babyccino) spent a lot of her time sending people up to the reception where I was, in fact I think she brought up five people during that time. It just goes to show that I should be in the porch, by the red door, permanently which was the original plan and my long term aim. One of the visitors was Chloe who would like to run a 'make your own baby sling' sewing session and another was Susan who came in to see the roof and as a result she is going to run some wool spinning workshops at the hub. That's what it's all about.


Today has been a model of what I imagined the hub would be...full of laughs, full of people, learning and sharing, supporting and having a good time. 


The other wonderful thing about today (and yesterday) is the planning. Yesterday Nikkie and Penny came up with the plan for the quiet, creative zone (alternate Tuesday afternoons). Then today Lauren came in with her plan for a baking club. She had floated the idea on Facebook and today it became a real club for Friday afternoons at the hub on a fortnightly basis. Lucky us! There are still some details which need finalising but I will keep you posted as to her plans. On twitter use #ExeterBakingClub and click here for the Facebook page


Hannah K who is running the crafting table at out Cake and Craft Fair on Saturday popped by to make some nest material for the Easter baskets. We managed to make the 'straw' and accidentally fixed the shredder at the same time. Bonus!

Hannah has been busy tonight. She has just texted me this photo. This is what Hannah will be making with you all on Saturday. It's very cool! And she will have chocolate eggs for you too. 

Tomorrow Davy's walking group will be leaving from the hub doors at 10:45am. I so wish I could go with them but I look forward to hearing all about it on their return. 


Then knitting group starts at noon or just pop in for a coffee. Last week was so much fun. I love Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mum has made pumpkin seed brittle for knitting group (she just rang to tell me) so it will be worth turning up. It's my sister Tama's recipe so it'll be a goody.  Then it's a quiet afternoon and evening at the hub. I'm going to ask for something special to fill the gap here and now as yesterday when I asked on the blog for something on Friday, something turned up. Come on Hub Pixies...work your magic!


The other scoop of the day is that I think (everything crossed) we will be working a lot more closely with the Exeter Homebirth Group in the future which is very exciting as they bring such a lot to the hub. This week has been particularly productive. Good work hub people. 


And finally, a message from my step-mum Sal (although she didn't ask for it to be shared publicly it seems a shame not to). She said that community initiatives and hairdressers are what we need for a happy future. What do you think? It is important to note that she was, at the time, in the company of both her hairdresser and her step-daughter.