The Sling

So here’s the thing: I seriously need to clear our cottage of a whole lot of clutter….but I’m so, SO bad at letting go of stuff (have I mentioned this before?!).  I always think things will come in useful.  (Sometimes they actually do.  Which lends no weight at all to the nagging feeling that I should ditch them.)

But the junk needs to go.  And I figure that if I have some encouragement and a big enough incentive, I might actually make it this time.  So I’ve created The Sponsored Sling!

From January 24th - 28th I shall be chucking stuff for all I’m worth.  In fact, I’m going to try to toss out one item for every pound pledged.  So the more you give, the more I give away.

Of course, I may have to draw a limit to this!  I do want a modicum of stuff left in the house (chairs to sit on, a bed to sleep in….that sort of thing).  But I’ll do my level best to keep up while there’s still rubbish to be rid of.

I’m asking you therefore, dear reader, to donate some money to my favourite charity, Jessie’s Fund.  And to cheer me on here in the blog comments (it will help, I swear).

To make it more fun, I’m going to send little thank you parcels to a few randomly chosen people from the list of those who support me.  That way, I figure everyone wins.

I will be soooo grateful for your help on this one.  The smallest amount given will spur me on and benefit Jessie’s Fund (a brilliant little outfit providing music therapy for terminally ill and severely disabled children - you can read more about their work here).

To sponsor my slinging, click here.  It’s quick and easy and Just Giving won’t pass on your details or spam you in any way, shape or form.

Thank you so much!

Oh, The Moors…

When you come to The Magic of the Moors retreat, we may well walk the lanes and cross the fields…and we’ll certainly visit the local towns.  But there’s no denying it’s the moors themselves that dominate this area and give it its distinctive beauty.

Moorland - for those who don’t know - is uncultivated upland….land too high and wild for normal agricultural purposes.  So the heather and grasses and moss and bilberry bushes run rife across the hills.

Gamekeepers manage the land, carefully monitoring the numbers of game birds; and burning the heather every few years to encourage fresh growth.  But most of the time, the moors are left to themselves, populated by wild creatures and a scattering of hardy sheep.

August - the time of our meeting - is the month when the heather blooms and the vista turns purple as far as the eye can see.  The landscape is clothed in its most gaudy finery.  It’s a good month to be here.

We’ll be staying, during the retreat, in small apartments on the very edge of Haworth moor - the same ground the Bronte sisters trod and where the ghosts of Cathy and Heathcliff still linger!  The apartments are very simple.  Their trump card is their situation; they have views across the fields and fells, and you can walk right out the door into the heather….and keep on walking for miles.

The moors have many moods, as evidenced by the photos above; and there’s no guaranteeing which will be on show whilst you’re here.  But there’s magic in them all, so we’ll take whatever comes.

I’ll be back next week with more about the two towns we’ll be visiting…but first - on Sunday - an announcement of a different kind!

Rooted in Place: The Magic of the Moors

Rooted in Place: The Magic of the Moors will be a mix of holiday and retreat.  Strictly speaking, I suppose a retreat is about withdrawing - cloistering yourself away from the world for a time.  We’ll be doing some of that….but we’ll also be venturing forth to explore our glorious surroundings….visiting the local towns, walking the moors, interacting with people and place.

We’ll begin our time together by making books which we can then use as journals or sketchbooks or photograph albums to be filled during the days that follow.  However, unlike lots of creative retreats, this one won’t be filled with classes and instruction.  Instead, the landscape itself will be our teacher.  There’s huge wisdom to be gleaned from the natural world around us, and you’ll be given prompts that will help you tap into that.  Make sure you bring your camera or paints or favourite pen so that you can respond in whatever way feels most natural to you.

It‘s my intention that by the end of the week:

- you’ll feel a real sense of connection to this landscape
- you’ll have gained some wisdom or insight from the land, relevant to your own journey
- you’ll have the tools to dig deeply into any place you find yourself - at home or away
- you’ll have a greater understanding of how place can influence us and our work
- you’ll have forged new bonds with other creative spirits on the same path as you
- you’ll have had a brilliant holiday and a lot of fun!

Rooted in Place: The Magic of the Moors runs from August 15th-20th, here in the Pennine hills of Yorkshire.  Find more information here.  Registration opens on February 1st.  To receive a reminder, sign up to the Dixon Hill newsletter.

The First Ever Dixon Hill Retreat!

It’s time!  I’ve been wanting to share Dixon Hill with you in a more immediate and real way than through the pages of this blog and finally I can.  I can invite you to actually come here - and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.

I’m inviting you to join me this coming August (15th - 20th) for four days of holidaying and retreating.  We’ll do a little creating (making books and painting pottery).  We’ll roam the moors and pick any late bilberries we come across. We’ll visit two local towns: Haworth - with its steep, cobbled main street, steam railway, vintage clothes shops and Bronte connections; and Hebden Bridge - a former mill town in a steeply-wooded valley, now home to lots of artists and bursting with craft galleries and artsy shops.

Our focus will be on experiencing place - draining every last drop from the landscape around us.  Throughout the week, you’ll be given prompts that will encourage you to truly see, hear, touch, smell and taste your surroundings - so that the moors and the stones sink into your soul and speak to you.  You’ll be able to respond in whatever is your preferred medium - through photography, journaling, writing, drawing or painting.  We’ll take a private tour of the Bronte Parsonage and find out how the Bronte sisters were influenced by the countryside around their remote, upland village.  And, at the end of the week, we’ll find ways to give back to the environment that’s fed and nurtured us during our time together.

This will be an intimate gathering and places are very limited.  I’ll be posting more information here on the blog over the next couple of weeks.  Registration will open on 1st February. If you’d like a reminder, make sure you sign up to the newsletter on the right hand side of this page.  I so hope you can come!

Trust Tending

Every once in a while, a new blog appears in the blogosphere that stands out from all the rest….and holds particular promise of good things to come.  Yesterday, just such a blog was launched.

Trust Tending is the heart work of Kristin Noelle.  It’s peppered with her cheerful illustrations (that’s one, above) and sets out to ‘tend a certain kind of trust - the kind that leads to Life beyond fear’.

I was lucky enough to spend several days with Kristin early last year and she truly is a wise and gentle soul.  If you visit her lovely new space, you’ll find it overflowing with care and compassion and the kind of insights that realign your perspective on life.

Go say hello and tell her I sent you.  She’ll be thrilled to see you….and you’ll come away all soothed and uplifted.  I guarantee it.