Books for Cafe Opening

Just ordered books for the cafe opeing on 9th Dec. One tick in one box on the To do list :-).

Got to get the cards sorted next ...

Gardening with the Moon & Stars

Biodynamic Workshop 2011

Just been asked to set up a biodynamic course for next year, 2011.

It will be one Saturday a month prob beginning next Feb/Mar.  We'll likely work 1030-1630, with a shared lunch.

We're also going to have a monthly discussion group on what we've done, at the cafe, The Garden in the City.

Keep looking here for dates

Getting things together ...

There is never enough time !!!

Lots to do for the the cafe opening and although 9th December seems a whole month off those weeks will go past really fast. Jennie and I are getting together today for a further conflab to make sure we have everything and it all goes smoothly.

I need to get some books together, order from Lulu, so we have a small stock for the first comers. Must get onto that today. Must also start putting together some second-hand books for exchange, there's some on the shelves that could well go to be read by new people :-).

And I think Jennie wants some cards so we must talk about how to get those printed. This is an example of some of the cards that will be for sale ...

Wye's Women

Elen Sentier & Jennie Russell-Smith

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Halloween Cafe

 The Garden in the City Cafe dressed for Halloween ...

Womb of the Mother

Kilpeck font is amazing ... this is it.

It is the belly of the goddess, with her arms around it and stands on the four feet of animals, for the four elements.

Kilpeck is an ancient site, standing on a mound below a tump where the Normans later put one of their stone castles ... but the site is far, far older than that.

 Kilpeck also has as a gargoyle on the guttering around its roof the most famous Sheelagh Na Gig in Britain. It's a beautiful picture, of the goddess opening her womb to the world. I take this as both inviting us in and letting us out, giving birth to us and taking us back within the fold as we die. It fits well with the font too.

Many historians associate the Sheelagh with the goddess as Hag, the Old One, the Wise One, the Crone who holds the wisdom for the people. The Mother is the wise one in her Grandmother form.

The return to the womb is part of the death/rebirth cycle and ritual we work with at Samhain, re-entering the cave, going back into the dark, re-emerging into the light. We express it in the pumpkins we carve, the weird hag-face, hollowed out and lit with a candle. It begins as dark, full of seeds and pulp all of which need to come out of the cave-shell and be composted or sown to make new life. then we make the goddess' hag-face, carving out her eyes, nose and mouth into the shell of the pumpkin. Finally we light the candle and she gives us light, warm golden light streaming through the bright orange-gold skin of the pumpkin.

In 2011, at Samhain, we'll be holding a workshop where you carve your own pumpkins as well as telling the stories of the goddess and learning her lore. the date is likely to be Sunday 29th October 2011, but watch this space for more details and also go to, and join, the Wye's Women group on Facebook where we also post events and happenings.

Wye's Women

Elen Sentier & Jennie Russell-Smith

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Bridge Magic

This is one of the places we use for the Wye's Women workshops. It's a beautiful piece of woodland, not large but intimate with the Cage Brook chuckling through it. Sometimes, at the full of the moon in winter, the moon gets all tangled in the branches, twining with them, as she shines through. This day was at Samhain and daylight though, a beautiful walk with lots for the Lady of the Land to remind me about:-)

Wye's Women

Elen Sentier & Jennie Russell-Smith

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Cafe Opening .... the Garden in the City

It's happening - the Garden in the City open on thursday 9th December at 10am.

It's at ... 

The Garden in the City
65 Whitecross Road
Hereford
HR4 0DQ

Book Exchange

As well as enjoying superb, home-cooked vegetarian food, cakes, coffe, tea and herb teas, you can exchange books - and sit and read them there in the cafe, or buy one by a local author ... try before you buy. The cafe is also a small art gallery for local artists, you can buy theb pitcures and ther will be cards as well .

Workshops

Then there are the workshops ... Wye's Women is about the spirt and nature of the river Wye, one of the mother-rivers of Britain, so the workshops will be about ways of getting in touch with this for yourself. They include making spirit dolls, en-chanting or singing up the goddess, numerology, mask-making, ley lines ... did you know their discoverer, Alfred Watkins, was a Hereford man?

And ... we're going to do experimental workshops in art, water colours, acrylic, chinese style painting, drawing, jewellry, craft-work. 

although we're called Wye's women the workshops and activities are not restricvted to women, men are very welcome too :-)

Come along on the 9th December, have a coffee. snack, cake, meal. Bring a book to exchange, enjoy the art, get that special card you need ... and chat with us.

We're looking forward to meeting you ...

Wye's Women

Elen Sentier & Jennie Russell-Smith

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