Failure.. or a different sort of success?

I love gardening and usually have a very productive organic vegetable plot. However, earlier this year I didn't get on top of the weeding and only managed to deal with about a third of the garden where I planted some potatoes, beans, onions, garlic and salad. The veg I did plant is growing happily, the borage and himalayan purple poppies have self seeded and are appearing in strange places. Some potatoes are appearing unexpectedly so I must have missed a few when I dug them up last year. The currants, gooseberries and raspberries are laden with ripening fruit but I haven't done anything to them!

Bistort and Buttercups

Like most parts of the country the weather has alternated between hot and sunny and torrential rain and so the bits of the garden I didn't weed have gone absolutely beserk. The wild grasses are about 5 feet high, the nettles and wildflowers are prolific and it is far too late to try and get on top of this unruly garden now. I was a bit frustrated that there won't be as much produce as I would have liked but now I've just decided to let nature take over. I have weeded around the veg and cut down a few nettles so I don't get stung on my way to the washing line but there is something quite amazing about how quickly the garden has gone so wild.

Cornflower

My apparent failure in trying to control the weeds has actually turned out to be extremely beneficial in other ways. There are many more buttercups, bistort, cornflowers, daisies, lemon balm, wild thyme and cornflowers than I would have liked.. but the garden is teeming with insects, bees and butterflies so it's actually been a huge success in attracting the wildlife. As there are more insects and wildflowers I have also seen many more birds in the garden than usual, especially green and gold finches.

 
The whole business with the garden reminded me of a poem about the joy and triumph in failure by Pete Armstrong. I know Pete through a local mindfulness meditation group, he has a website with the wonderful title Holy Bloke Many of his poems are on the website and some collections are also available to download.

Don’t keep your failures to yourself

Don’t keep your failures to yourself:
you and they will get lonely.
Share them with those who will listen,
then you and they can transform into joy.

Enjoy your failures as they appear:
like waves approaching the shore,
emerging perfectly formed from the sea;
like the moon emerging from behind a cloud,
illuminating a golden road across the sea.

Celebrate the perfection of your failures
as heartily as your more mundane triumphs,
and then you will double and redouble
the joy you bring into the world.

If you like that then you might be interested in Pete's book  The Commitment of the Lark: Poems for Looking Deeply

Jo Rhodes is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

It's festival time!

It's June, it is pouring with rain, gale force winds are forecast so it can only mean one thing ..  the summer festival season has started!

Summer for me, and many fellow homeopaths, means helping out at festivals with the Travelling Homeopaths Collective (@THChomeopaths on twitter) who have been providing low cost clinics at festivals and events since 1990. I usually work at Glastonbury and a couple of local ones but with no Glasto this year I'm staying closer to home and will be off to the wonderfully quirky Beat-Herder Festival at the end of the month.

 

The Travelling Homeopaths Collective is a charity set up by Marcus Christo and we see thousands of people every year at festivals throughout the country. We offer treatment for acute conditions such as hay fever, sunburn, hangovers, cystitis, digestive upsets, coughs and colds, anxiety and panic attacks.

One of the best things about festivals is that many people come back to tell us they are feeling better. Most people we treat have no idea what homeopathy is or they are a bit sceptical and so they are often very surprised about how effective the treatment has been.

It is not appropriate to treat long term problems at festivals but if it is something that we feel might be helped by homeopathy we can put people in touch with a registered practitioner in their area.

Many people just pop in for a chat and want to know what homeopathy is - that is fine too. We have plenty of books and leaflets for people to read and we all like a chat over a cuppa!

This year we will be at over twenty festivals throughout the summer from Wychwood this weekend at Cheltenham Racecourse to Bestival in September on the Isle of Wight so have a look here and see where we'll be.

Glastonbury in 2005

Since 2008 the Travelling Homeopaths have held an annual camp which is like their own mini-festival. This year it will be held between 9th and 12th August on an organic farm close to the Uffington White Horse in the Oxfordshire countryside. There will be an array of well-known homeopaths doing talks and workshops but there is plenty for partners and kids too and there will be a children's area, circus skills, story-telling, Indian Music workshop, Night time entertainment, showers, sauna, camp fire and a fabulous Vegetarian Cafe.

For more info and to book your place at the camp

Follow @THChomeopaths on twitter

Some festive Remedies!

I generally offer advice to my patients on healthy living, but I know it’s also important to have fun and let your hair down occasionally – so here is some holistic help for some of the ailments that come up over the festive season.

A particular favourite with my patients is the homeopathic remedy Nux vomica, which many people use to help with the symptoms of a hangover. We all know it's not healthy to drink too much alcohol, but from time to time, we do it anyway. Nux vomica works in most cases, no need to take time off work!

 Nux Vomica picture from the Natural History Museum site

Plants and Fungi in Homeopathy

Remember that homeopathic remedies are always prescribed according to a specific set of symptoms, and in most cases, different people will need different remedies for the same ailment, because their symptoms and how they experience them, will differ. But, in the case of Nux vomica, it perfectly fits the symptoms of a hangover in most people.

For long standing or chronic ailments, it's important to see a practitioner, but there are other homeopathic remedies which might help with minor symptoms of over indulgence over the festive period:

Nux vomica: this is known as “the hangover” remedy but can also be used for the general symptoms of over-indulgence. Symptoms include heartburn, indigestion, and nausea, a headache, sensitivity to noise and light, and irritability. Particularly suits people who tend to burn the candle at both ends, who keep going with coffee and feel the cold.

Arsenicum: this remedy comes into play when the symptoms are like that of food poisoning, with vomiting and diarrhoea, loss of colour in the face and anxiety. Could also be used when the diarrhoea is anxiety-induced, worse at night with burning in the stomach and a desire to sip water. It suits restless people who are fearful worriers, need to plan and feel the cold.

Sulphur: symptoms include smelly diarrhoea which drives the patient from bed in the morning, excessive sweating, and burning feet. Suits stubborn people who need praise, worry about their health, can be peevish with lots of big ideas they find difficult to actualise. They crave sugar and spicy food.

Lycopodium: symptoms include bloating with wind, a huge appetite, and waking as if from a fright. There is heartburn with sour burping. Suits fearful people lacking in confidence who don't like undertaking new things. But can be bragging and assertive at home.

Arnica: this is a great remedy to help with bruising and that “battered” feeling you get after last-minute Christmas shopping or bargain hunting in the January sales!

Silent Sunday #6

A walk in the Dale

This is really just some pictures taken on a walk I did with my husband a couple of weeks ago. We really are very fortunate to live in the Yorkshire Dales and have all this spectacular scenery on our doorstep.

We headed from home to Feizor to the wonderful Elaine's Tea Rooms which serves fantastic homemade cakes and enormous pots of tea, ideal for thirsty walkers. Due to a bit of bad planning on our part, we got their just too late for lunch and so just had to have lots of cake instead! From there, the plan was to go and have a bit of a wander in Oxenber Woods. In May the woods are a riot of colour with bluebells, wild orchids, primroses, cowslips, violets and much more. Here is a picture of Oxenber on an earlier visit with the bluebells in all their glory.

There aren't so many flowers in September but the old trees and ferns are wonderful any time of year, so we thought we'd go for a wander, however, when we got to the stile leading to the woods - this was what greeted us!

There were several very hairy cows all munching away quite happily on the long grass, one was having a very energetic scratch on the information board so we decided to leave them in peace and head for Helwith Bridge. It was a glorious day and this was the view as we looked down the track with Penyghent in the distance.  

 

From Helwith Bridge we walked up and over the hills to Stainforth and back home through the old limekilns at Langcliffe. Have a look at this blog post from Out of Oblivion for some history of the well preserved Hoffman kiln.

Silent Sunday #5

Open Day at Sole to Soul on 7th September

Lots happening all day 

Bring a friend who is new to Sole to Soul and you BOTH get £5 off ANY treatment

10.00am Welcome

10.30am Relaxation Techniques to Still the Mind with Marie

11.00am A Tale of Two Slippers

Viv’s story of Mind, Consciousness and Thought

11.30am Helping Yourself with Jo’s Homeopathy

12.00noon Mediation Session with Tracey

12.30pm Sole to Soul´s Open Forum and “Ask a Therapist”

1.30pm First Aid with Herbal Medicine by Amanda

2.00pm Stories our Bones Can Tell with Matthew

2.30pm Journey Therapy, the Power of Cellular Healing with Sarah

3.00pm Treasure Hunt

3.45pm Raffle Draw &  Prizes

Sample Alison’s Freshly Cooked Savouries - Living Foods available 11-2pm

How To Build Community

How many of these things do you do? We do a lot more since we got rid of our TV!

I came across this when a friend posted it on Facebook and thought it was worth sharing. It comes from the Falcon Heights Neighborhood Liaison Handbook from Falcon Heights, Minnesota. 

Courgette surplus?

When I was young mum always grew courgettes on her allotment and some years they just kept on coming. We'd deliver some to all the neighbours but there comes a point when everyone has had enough. So .. then it was time to experiment!.

 Photo from botogol on flickr

These are some of my favourite courgette recipes - the courgette is well disguised so you can convince yourself it's something else or get your kids to eat it!

I can't actually remember where these have come from so apologies for not giving credit to the original creators.

Banana and Courgette Cake

Ingredients

8oz plain wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Bicarb of soda
1 tsp salt
8oz soft brown sugar
1oz walnuts or pecans
1oz sultanas
2 whole ripe mashed bananas
3 large eggs
8oz finely grated courgette
5 fl oz sunflower oil

Method

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar, nuts and sultanas.
Mix well, then add mashed banana and beaten eggs. Stir in grated courgette and oil.
Beat the mixture thoroughly for one minute.
Butter or line with greaseproof paper, a 9in cake tin or large loaf tin.
Put mixture in and bake for 1 hour at gas mark 4 (350f/175c) until a skewer comes out clean.

Courgette and feta fritters

Ingredients
900g/2lb courgettes, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
bunch spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
3 free-range eggs
1 tbsp paprika
225g/8oz feta cheese
225g/8oz plain flour
Oil for deep frying
slices lemon, to garnish


Method                         
1. Sprinkle the courgette with salt and allow to drain for 20 minutes.
2. Place the grated courgette in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the water. Mix with the onions, dill, parsley, eggs, paprika and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Work in the feta cheese and flour.
4. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. It is ready when a breadcrumb that is dropped in will sizzle gently in it.
5. Carefully fry tablespoons of the mixture in the hot oil until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels. Garnish with slices of lemon and serve immediately.


These fritters are really tasty with a tomato salsa and salad. 

Courgette and Spinach Soup 

4oz Spinach

1 large courgette

1 medium potato

Parsley

1 onion

Olive oil

3/4pt vegetable stock

Pinch of nutmeg

Fry onion in olive oil, until soft.  Add diced potato and sliced courgette. Fry for further 5mins.  Add spinach, stock, nutmeg and parsley and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 20 minutes then whizz using hand blender. Add cream or milk if required.

I came across the wonderful The Boxing Clever Cookbook: Twelve Recipe Books in One a while ago when I was working for an organic veg co-op. It has a huge number of unusual and tasty recipes for people who don't know what to do with their weekly veg box or who have a glut of veg in the garden or allotment. Includes  kale pesto, parsnip cake, satay sprouts, stuffed mini pumpkins and many more.

Jo Rhodes is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

Carnivorous plants, homeopathy and Darwin

I saw a news article today on the BBC website about a plant which had apparently 'eaten' a blue tit.

Blue tit in pitcher plant - BBC

Pitcher plants are one of a group of carnivorous plants which use variety of tactics to trap and 'dissolve' insects or larger things for food. They have various methods of trapping and devouring their dinner and if you are curious have a look at the International Carnivorous Plant Society for lots more photos and info. 

You might be surprised to learn that we use remedies made from some of these peculiar carnivorous plants in homeopathy and in herbal medicine.  

A remedy made from the whole Sundew (drosera rotundiflora) plant has been used for over 200 years in homeopathy to treat respiratory problems. It was mentioned in herbal medical texts from as early as the 12th century where an Italian doctor, Matthaeus Platearius described the plant as a treatment for coughs. It has been used in herbalism for hundreds of years for spasmodic coughs, bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. Culpeper mentions that the juice from the plant was used to remove warts and corns and that ladies used a mix of the juice with milk for skin to reduce freckles and relieve sunburn.

Close up of Sundew (Drosera Rotundiflora) leaf

The chemical composition of sundew perhaps sheds light on some of the medicinal properties. The plant contains high levels of various flavonoids and in particular quercetin which is the subject of a great deal of research especially looking at inflammation and allergies. 

Here are a couple of examples of current research into its properties

Anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic activity of extracts from Droserae herba

Identification and quantification of flavonoids and ellagic acid derivatives in therapeutically important Drosera species

Drosera is also interesting because Charles Darwin did some work and found that very dilute solutions of ammonia salts had an effect on the leaves. Darwin is also known to have been treated by a homeopath and more about this can be found in Dana Ullman's Huffington Post article The surprising story of Charles Darwin and his Homeopathic Doctor  

From the botanists perspective have a look at Talking Plants blog on the Drosera and Darwin story

Silent Sunday #4

Mud, mud, glorious mud.. and sunburn

I went to Glastonbury and then the following weekend to Beat Herder. At both festivals I was working for the Travelling Homeopaths Collective who provide low cost homeopathy clinics at various events over the summer. Glastonbury seems a long time ago now but thought I'd leave you a few words and pictures. the weather really wasn't great for most of the time - loads of rain and then scorching sun so a weekend of extremes but we still had a good time.

I really do need to mention the mud. It always amazes me that we only have one word for mud in English, when faced with a wet Glastonbury 'mud' just isn't enough to describe the array of conditions underfoot. Squelchy, rutted, slippery, spongy, welly-sucking are just a few of the words that spring to mind.

In the clinic at Glastonbury we saw the usual dodgy tummies, insect bites, hangovers and a lot of hayfever. On the Sunday when the sun came out we treated a fair bit of sunburn, cystitis and headaches. The clinics are always a great way of introducing homeopathy to people who haven't tried it or who want to find out more about what we do. It's great to get the instant positive feedback as many people we have treated pop back in to say they are feeling much better.

There are always loads of bands to see and highlights for me were Elbow and Mumford and Sons but there is so much more to festivals than the music. There are always some unusual outfits on display amongst the acts and the punters. See here for Cee Lo Green and his extraordinary shoulder pads! I can honestly say that one of the best dressed gentlemen on site this year was my husband, Lyndon. He was sporting a suit made from previous years Glastonbury cotton bags which was made by his very talented mum, Joyce. Whilst walking around we came across Colin the Oxfam steward. He had made himself a hoody out of bags whilst working in a quiet night shift.

Colin and Lyndon - snappy dressers

There are many great cabaret and circus acts too. We usually end up in the cabaret tent for a few hours - we saw Mitch Benn on Sunday who is best known for his musical contributions to radio programmes like The Now Show

Here is Mitch with his homage to Bruce Springsteen - 'Glastonbury - Born in Mud'

Beat Herder in the Ribble valley was a very different experience - much, much smaller and the sun was shining! It is a great venue with some quirky features like shops and a stage in the woods. They also have the unique Beat Herder and District Working Men's Social Club with real ales, barmaids in drag, Beat Herder's Got Talent, bands, cheesy disco and 70's pics on the walls. I could have spent all weekend in there!

A number of local organisations got involved which was nice to see. Project 6 from Keighley were there with info about what support they offer for people struggling to cope with drink and drug issues, Hudson's Ice Cream from Chatburn, Bowland Brewery had brewed a special Beat Herder ale just for the festival, Clitheroe Transition Town stall were giving away veg plants and fruit bush cuttings. The highlight for me was the Clitheroe Ladies Circle tea and cake stall. They were so dedicated to their task of providing cake to festival folk that some of them went home on Saturday night to do some more baking.

We were very busy with the homeopathy clinic at Beat Herder and the festival organisers had offered us a free tipi. Our tipi was opposite the Ladybird Project who were offering free workshops all day to show kids (and big kids) how to juggle, unicycle, hula hoop and much more. Ladybird are at several festivals over the summer and well worth a look - I can recommend their cabaret, great entertainment for all ages.

A pic of the THC Beat Herder team on Sunday night after we'd finished work.

Jane Clifford, me, Angie Zajac and Jenny Howarth

Here is the list of festivals the Travelling Homeopaths Collective will be at over the summer includes Larmer Tree, Cambridge Folk Festival, Stainsby Folk Festival, Kendal Calling, Solfest and many more - I'll be at Beacons Festival near Skipton in mid August so pop by for a chat.

Silent Sunday #3

Silent Sunday #2

Silent Sunday #1

Wild food and foraging

Living in the coutryside my hubby and I often eat foods we pick up on walks such as apples, many types of mushroom, nettles, sorrel, chickweed, borage, wild garlic, many different berries and rosehips. After doing a bit of weeding in the garden yesterday I was a bit disturbed to see some ground elder creeping its way through the rockery.

But then I thought.. hmmm.. 'free food'. For those of you that haven't tried it, ground elder is actually quite tasty and can be cooked like spinach. The small waxy looking new shoots are very nice eaten raw in salads and are quite spicy, a bit like rocket.


If you are going to eat anything wild please make absolutely sure what you pick is safe. I strongly recommend you get a good book but if you aren't sure whether foraging is for you The Wild Food School offer a free 50 page Urban Foraging Guide which is available to download from their website.

Food For Free by Richard Mabey is, in my humble opinion, the definitive foraging book. First published in 1974 and reprinted many, many times since then. There are several versions available but my favourite is the handy pocket size book.

When it comes to mushrooms I would urge you to be extra cautious and never pick anything you are unsure of. There are some excellent mushroom identification books around. We have the pocket guide which is pretty good but seem to often forget it when we go out on foraging walks!

Mushroom Picker's Foolproof Field Guide is a much larger book and is definitely not pocket sized but has some great information and tips on drying and preserving too. it also has a chapter on the poisonous ones so clearly identifies which mushrooms to avoid.

When you have got some goodies you need to know what to do with them. Our favourite is an ancient book Hedgerow Cookery by Rosamund Richardson-Gerson but there are many more trendy versions around now including a Hedgerow Handbook from the River Cottage folk

There are a growing number of excellent websites and news articles with information and recipes for wild and foraged foods. A recent one I came across was Wild about Weeds in The Ecologist

Fergus Drennan has been foraging for years and has appeared on TV and written many articles in the press. Wild Man Wild Food is his website and he offers foraging courses in the Canterbury area. There are a vast number of unusual recipes in the magazine articles on the website including some fantastic nettle recipes and a Japanese Knotweed and Quince Crumble - that's not one I've tried myself yet but there is some knotweed up the road so might give it a go later in the year.

Eat Weeds near Sidmouth in Devon and The Wild Food School in Lostwithiel in Cornwall have some excellent recipes on their websites and also offer foraging courses.

Some people are also advocating eating insects, they are a great source of free protein and eaten in many countries, but I think I'll write about that another time! 

I have set up an Amazon AStore with a selection of my favourite foraging and  wild food and medicine books. Have a look and see what you think - and let me know if you think I've missed out some good ones. 

Jo Rhodes is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.