Monkton Wyld

The Museum of Obsoletion Piece

2011-11-11T10:49:00.010Z

Somewhere on the road between that Age of Stupid floating mausoleum to our society's failings and the dusty corridors of Weasel-sub-Birdport's House of Wooden and Metal Implements of the Handtool Times, you might one day come across the Monkton Museum of Obsoletion.

Among the various exhibits inside we expect you'll find one in particular that will bring back warm memories.

Monkton's Old Blue, the beautiful oil-fueled Old Kitchen Aga that's been cooking our food, boiling our kettle and drying our curry scented clothing lo these five to ten years is on its way out, and we would like to take some time to praise before burying it. (Unless somebody wants it, that is. Anybody who wants it should please get in touch. Burial's just starting to seem the likeliest option.)

We've been talking for some time now about seeking a wood-fueled replacement and saying no thank you once and for all to oil. And oil for its part gamely continues to nudge us closer to a spend-to-save leap off its ever rising price peak. Now we're starting to really survey the options, though, the landing seems less clear.

Turns out our kind of cooker can't be converted to woodburning. And woodburning cookers don't tend to come nearly as big. And ones that do will, like as not, have electrical components. Or be exorbitantly expensive, even taking peak(ing) oil prices into account. And none of them are likely to be powerful enough to feed us and feed our boiler. (The other another factor: our boiler runs off the same oily tank as the cooker when the sun's not shining. Which is, you know, a good some of the time.)

And this is before we even get into all the fun of where the wood will come from and be processed and be stored, who's going to be on the stock-the-fire rota, and where we all can go for a crash course on cooking for fifty on fire. (Answers: neighboring woodlands sustainably managed, on site by hand, woodshed, every last one of us, and just down to Fivepenny or Tinkers. But as I said, we've not even gotten to these questions, easily answered or no.) And all this without even touching on the whole wood chip v pellet v well, wood debate. Although we're more than happy to touch on those too, if you're interested.

Now, our cooker could be converted to electric. Indeed, this might look to some to be the cheapest and easiest option. It doesn't involve dismantling Old Blue altogether or removing it from Old Kitchen, for starters, and cooking on electric's like flipping a switch. But we'll probably get into all that in the blog entry about electric car refueling stations, so let's shelve it for now. In fact, let's step away from the Aga and check out another couple rooms of the Museum. As we're here.

Ah, yes. The room of Electrical Toasters, some still showing clear evidence of high speed collision with the courtyard concrete or grassy terrace. Possible explanations offered in the brochure include that special kind of rage a broken toaster inspires and the urgency that comes of a kitchenette filling with burning bread smoke. The Electric Kettle display in the next room over is arranged chronologically in two long glass cases, with tags indicating date and cost of purchase of each item. The attractively presented graph covering the room's far wall illustrates the correlation between cost of purchase and length of usage, and brings to light a gradual rise in the amount paid for each kettle followed inevitably by a drop back down to the cheapest on the market when the most expensive breaks. The reverse correlation between the steady rise in market price and drop in kettle life span can also be clearly seen here.

Some of you sharp eyed observers of truth will have noticed that the toasting and boiling implements shown in the Aga photo above are not to be found in the MoO Aga exhibit. These particular items were found in a certain Weasel-sub-Birdport basement, as it happens, and brought back into service here at Monkton. They will continue to stave off any need for their electric alternatives just as soon as we've figured out what we're cooking on.

Wish us luck, then. And in the meantime if you're looking for an old home for any wooden or metal implements of handtool times, I'm sure we could come up with something electrical we'd be happy to trade. Or if you know of anybody who might be upgrading their woodburning ESSE, we're certainly not too proud to shop second hand!

The Off-Grid Work Day

2011-09-25T12:20:00.007+01:00

As part of the international day of action Moving Planet, we spent 24 September unplugged.

Oil-fired aga and boiler gave way to bonfire and clay oven for meals (with three lovely cyclists from Bridport taking us up on our offer of free-lunch for the self-propelled). Discussions were scheduled for important topics we don't take enough time for amidst the general electric buzz. And we hid the car keys. The result, as Bex observed, was a whole lot of powerful reminders of just how autonomous we're all actually not.

Some reflections from the day:

Batteries, cigarette lighters and oil lamps exist in a very grey area, acceptability-wise; solar calculators and wind-up torches less so
The bucket-and-trivet contraption fashioned to replace the electric pump in drawing water from the well could use a little grounding; alternatively, it encourages working in pairs
Posher and basin are surprisingly effective and fun for washing nappies
The lack of computers, telephones and stereos can lead to better interpersonal communication (and bringing out Simon's victrola) just to fill the silence
Bonfire and well quickly become areas of focus (and fun), drawing people together to achieve common, immediate goals
The church bell's chimes make a welcome replacement for the wall clocks' and mobile phones' (surprisingly disparate) timekeeping
Tasks made more difficult require people to cooperate and consider things together: keeping the kettles filled on the fire for cooking and washing and countless cups of tea, for example, puts fuel use and water consumption foremost in a person's mind
Things may be a lot clearer cut for purists, but it's at the price of photos as priceless as the one above
Switching on lights when entering a room is just a little too automatic

Next time we reckon we'll do it closer to the full moon, on a Sunday. And that free lunch offer still stands!

Love and thanks to 350.org for the incentive, and to the planners and participants of the other 2000 or so actions worldwide. Sorry we didn't get our picture in for the live feed yesterday, but...

The Tale of the Two Little Pigs

2011-08-06T09:32:00.003+01:00

Once upon a time there were two curly haired little pigs. Blossom was small and ginger and Mingus was slightly bigger and white. Their adventures began when Simon and Gill brought them to live at Monkton Wyld Court and everyone there who likes pigs was very excited. The problem was that the carefully prepared pig enclosure was not as secure as it needed to be.

As they were lifted squealing out of the back of Gill’s Citroen Berlingo and into their enclosure they took their chance to escape and ran. Their escape bid was successful. Mingus only got as far as the potato patch but little Blossom disappeared across neighbouring fields. Excitement turned to dismay but Simon immediately rallied everyone to help capture Mingus. Four volunteers with hurdles tiptoed across the potatoe patch towards the unsuspecting pig hidden amongst the foliage and cornered him. Mingus was carried squealing back to the van and taken down to the cow sheds. There were mixed emotions – relief that Mingus has been captured but where was little Blossom and how would she cope out there alone in the big bad world? Everyone had their own thoughts. Realistically all thought that the fleeting glimpse of the little ginger pig was the last that anyone would see of her.

Two days later Blossom was spotted – on the front lawn at breakfast time. News spread fast and everyone was happy however, all were asked not to try to catch her for fear of frightening her away. We had to bide our time and tempt Blossom with food to stay around and hopefully an opportunity to catch her would eventually present itself! Sightings of Blossom became more frequent. Sarah saw her in the potatoe patch early in the morning. Charlotte and Nieevie saw her skipping across the meadow as the sun was rising. Catherine saw her watching the hens being fed. Almost everyone spotted her – except Mark. But the pig saw Mark. He was telling our new campers that although their tent was in the cow field and we had a pig on the loose they would be quite safe . “Do you mean that pig?” asked the campers – Mark looked behind him and there was Blossom. Now that wasn’t the last Mark saw of her. Late that night on hearing the sound of screaming, Mark ventured out with torch in hand and found Blossom annoying the cows and calves in the meadow right next to the tent. Oh dear! Rescue complete the shaken campers spent the rest of the night in the house.

The days passed and whilst Mingus spent them feeling sad and lonely in his sty Blossom was having a ball - becoming bolder and more settled at Monkton. She seemed happiest spending time with the cows and calves although they didn’t take to Blossom often chasing her away. Blossom was not to be discouraged and to be fair the calves did seem to enjoy having a new playmate, After all they were all the some colour! So Blossom joined the cows – eating the grass and even trying to suckle. She began to think she actually was a cow and that Milou was her mum. She followed the cows as they went in for milking but was always fiercely driven away them. One morning her persistance paid off. The cows let Blossom follow them right into the cow shed but the game was up as Gill quickly closed the gate. Mingus was reunited with Blossom and they both lived happily ever after in the newly reinforced pig enclosure next to the potato patch.

Delphine (or not Delphine)

2011-07-08T12:10:00.005+01:00

A special treat's arrived for August Family Week participants!

It's with great pleasure that we announce that this Tuesday night past, down in the cowsheds, Folly gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

Initially upon being asked the name of the happy, healthy young Jersey, Simon reported she would be called Delphine. This has since been nixed: seems that's the very same as the cow from Cold Comfort Farm. And therefore (clearly) inappropriate.

With one name still pending, then, we await the birth of Milou's calf later this month. Suggestions welcome. Only French names considered.

The Wish List, or 'The Recycle Shop Came Up Trumps!'

2011-04-20T17:32:00.005+01:00

In loving memory of Pepe, The Grey One, and the others

It was with a heavy heart that Catherine rode off with Sarah for the Honiton Recycling Shop this morning. The fox had been in the night, taking off five of the chickens as well as the new bantam cockerel only just settled in. The incident was a lesson in mindfulness, a reminder of the importance of focusing always on the work at hand: of not taking on too many jobs and risking letting one (like closing up the chicken house) slip from memory. But life must go on, and Sarah only had the van for a week and we needed the van to pull the trailer if there was a chance of getting any decent mattresses back. And so.

To better express the significance of what happened next, we might want a little background detail. So. One of the many pages we look forward to adding to our website one day is the Monkton Wish List, to let visitors, guests and friends know what we're particularly needing at any given time, just in case they might be looking to get rid of something similar. And at the top of that wish list when I daydream typing it is always 'Willow pattern dishware in blue'. Two birds swirling together above a bridge, pagoda and boat scene, a depiction so we're told of a Chinese tale of starcrossed lovers-- if you've been a guest here in the past I don't even know how many years you'll no doubt know the one, and you'll appreciate why we want new ones. (If you'd like to learn about any more to-be-listed items with a keen interest that just won't wait, email us for more details.)

Questioned later, Catherine claimed not to have been visualising anything much when she entered the shop. But lo and behold, right there in the display case, a complete set with cups and saucers AND BOWLS WITH LIDS (that we're not sure what we'll be using for) just recently reduced from £40 for lack of interest. Beat that, would you? Bring on the special occasions, friends: we've got the china set now!

NOT TO MENTION...
Lynden's gone and replaced those sliding doors to the kindy with something truly spectacular,

clever WWOOFer Rike has picked up juggling in her day off,

and the chickens remaining have organised their own Easter egg hunt and found a new use for an old herb spiral into the bargain!

Under the paving stones, etc.

2011-04-06T09:54:00.008+01:00

Perhaps our biggest challenge here at Monkton in our efforts to live more simply is, well, the Court. For all those who come here and find inspiration in our rectory's neo-gothic grandeur, there are more than a few who see little but an energy- and finance-drain, a money pit with nothing for it but to take the whole blessed thing down and start again, eco-style. We understand the impulse, but it's surprising how quickly such destructive notions soften as you get to know the place.

Sure we could all name one or two areas (or more, each) in need of improvement, but it should be remembered this house has been doing its best by its residents and guests for the past century and a half. For that and for everybody else out there who loves an impractical old building but doesn't have the funds to get it all fixed up at once, we hope to chronicle our slowly-slowly process of Sprucing Up The Court.

Time and money constraints make it necessary that we focus on one area at a time, and the top of our list these past few months has been that unsightly blight of mid-20th century decorating: plastic floor tiles. The discussion of replacements seemed like to last as long as the tiles themselves, though. Do we prioritise sustainability or economy, ethics or aesthetics? How much time can we afford (with a full house booking due over spring holidays) to search out the best balance of all the key factors?

New plastic tiles made with 'some recycled materials' (the rough-surface kind with the sparkly speckles to be found in many a commercial kitchen and cafeteria-style eatery) priced out cheapest. Rubber flooring had the swankiness vote, not to mention natural origin and sound absorption quality (a major attraction, you might agree, for our visitors' dining room). Wood paneling would be ideal, but the beech trees felled in February wouldn't be seasoned for years yet and even locally outsourced wood would come to more than the other two combined. Then Simon's pending slate delivery from Cumbria (to make shelves and, yes, flooring for the Dairy) made for further delays as its attractiveness and relative affordability was weighed against its propensity to chilliness and its literal weight. A heavy load to carry down from the beautiful North, it was decided, and a heavy responsibility to install it before Whitsun, much less Easter.

Somehow we never worked up the motivation to go for ugly-but-affordable, and it may have been a group-subconscious stalling tactic to put off the decision until Sean had pulled up a corner of the chipboard for a peek. It might be old stone tiles like those in the corridor, we imagined, and wouldn't that be grand...

It was then, as you'll have guessed from the spoiler at the top, we uncovered the dining room floor as it was meant to be. And the speed with which the plastic tiles, chipboard and tens of thousands of rusty old staples were ripped out of there and the beautiful old wood sanded down and coated up for its new debut suggests to me at least that we might well finish the other dining room before Christmas if we all get behind it together, even if we opt for the Cumbrian slate.

ps Thanks again to the lovely and accommodating bunch that came with slippers in hand the weekend that the varnish was still curing!

Chickens

2010-10-03T16:39:00.005+01:00

A ragged line of chickens

careers into view

around the corner

of the house;

clucking, crooning,

pushing and pecking

in the urgent rush

to explore grass, gravel and shrubs

for anything they might have missed

when they visited this morning….

One alone settles herself down

by the spreading dome of hypericum,

sprinkled with glistening

late summer gold;

leaning in towards the bush,

her outer wing is an open fan

of warmth-seeking white feathers.

Inside the green canopy

pale, scaly legs scratch and shuffle

in earth and leaves;

then a flash of scarlet comb

in the shadows, as more birds enter

to search for whatever it is

that beady-eyed, free roaming chickens

hope to find under bushes;

outside,

the white-feathered chicken

is content in the sun.

Nikki Macbeth

STOP PRESS

2010-06-14T20:14:00.006+01:00

It's come to our attention that somehow, someone in the summer newsletter forgot to mention about the new boiler cylinders.

Thanks to 'Solar' Jim Shearman, for his unflagging efforts to make this place work better and more responsibly, and to Lynden's continuing finetuning, we have a solar-powered hot water system for the house that more than meets our summertime needs! While we do turn on the oil-fueled system for busy weekends, courses and family weeks (and we've all agreed to stick to showers during the drier months ourselves), the solar-heated system is another long stride toward responsible living. What with that and the indefinite shutdown of the aga in the Old Kitchen, our oil usage is down to just about a tenth of what it was just a couple of months back. While this does mean no slow-cooked porridge for the time being, we're sure our guests will agree it's worth this sacrifice.

Post script: Lynden's note to Jim (above) had already been documented for posterity when a previous account of water-related house strategies was uncovered at the bottom of a dusty box of disintegrating books about carpentry, mostly, behind an overstuffed armchair in the New Library. It's been dated at somewhere between May 2000 (date of the event of the flier it's written on the back of) and 2009 (when I start to recognise the handwriting. Many of the plans outlined in these papers and then put into practice are being revised by Lynden even now, so that the designs doodled throughout evoke nothing so much as a timeline with cyclical offshoots. The highlight of this report, though, hands down, is Option D (not shown on this page): 'Rip out the whole blighted thing and do it properly'.

The West Dorset 6 Peaks Challenge!

2010-05-22T14:12:00.005+01:00

On Saturday 8 May five intrepid walkers set out to complete the West Dorset 6 Peaks Challenge. The 16 mile route which included the 6 highest points (we think) in West Dorset was devised by Roger Bell (former chair of the trustees) to raise much needed funds for Monkton Wyld Kindergarten. His 2 youngest children attend the kindergarten. Paul another kindy dad, Charlotte the kindergarten teacher, Mark and Catherine who live at Monkton also rose to the challenge.

At 9 o’clock we set off up our first ‘peak’ - Leweston Hill. This was a delightful climb through bluebell woods and in what seemed no time at all we were at the top and heading to our next ‘peak’ – Pilsdon Pen. We walked along lanes and across fields and were soon at the top. The weather was cold and grey but it suited us fine as we didn’t get too hot! From the top of Pilsdon Pen we could see our next peak in the seemingly far distance – Lambert’s Castle.

With Charlotte in charge of the map and Roger (who is actually a footpath officer with Dorset County Council) the route finding was easy. It was a steep ascent up to the top of Lambert’s Castle but with the incentive of lunch we made it – Mark even broke into a run but the rest of us kept to a steady plod.

Onwards we walked into the afternoon – up and over Coney’s Castle and across wet grassy fields down to Wootton Fitzpaine and on towards Charmouth where we stopped for tea and snacks. Only 2 more ‘peaks’ to go we thought – so off we set up Stonebarrow Hill and up on to our final ascent – Golden Cap. With tired legs we all made it and gathered for a photocall . From here it was simply a short stroll (?) downhill towards the pub at Seatown for a celebratory drink.

A great day was had by us all and hopefully lots of money raised for the kindergarten – could this be an annual event?

The 6 Peaks Challenge Kindy Fundraiser is still accepting retroactive pledges (or pledges for next year). Contact us to find out how to contribute to the Kindy cause!

More photos from the walk coming soon on Flickr.

Loud and Proud

2010-04-15T09:14:00.010+01:00

Passersby this Spring shouldn't be alarmed by the bellowing foghorn sounds coming intermittently from the direction of the Monkton Wyld Court meadows. Fear not! This is not the sound of the Black Beast of the Vale or a rising-water-levels strategic response drill, but something almost equally unfamiliar to our place these past few years: dairy cows!

Moss and Jane (pictured) are visiting from Fivepenny Farm, local organic smallholding and founding member of the Peasant Evolution Producers Co-operative. They're part of a growing team of land-management enthusiasts (along with Jacob sheep of all sizes, Ed and others) working under the benevolent direction of fellow Co-op member Simon Fairlie. Simon's been so good as to bring not only a dogged determination to get the grass back into shape and find out where all the phosphorus has gone, but also his renowned scythe business and scything workshops (2-4 July, spaces still available!) and the offices of The Land magazine here to Monkton.

Already this year, the project has resulted in some beautiful new fencing work and timely repairs on our beloved cowsheds (with the exciting possibility of a lime conservation and pointing course tied in). The first Monkton-based dairy cow in a couple of years (and milk and cheese) should soon become a reality as well.

WWOOFers and other potential volunteers who express an interest are welcome to spend at least one of the days during a week's stay contributing to this vital work. We look forward to hearing from you.

In the meantime, Moss and Jane send their (reverberating) love.

Miles to go before they sleep:
JP sharing some stock-
fencing wisdom with Stephen in a well-
earned break between posts

almost-Spring Cleaning

2010-02-06T16:23:00.006Z

I think it was in a Braziers Park newsletter some time last year there was an inventory from a clean-out of the barn or another outbuilding that was really evocative. Laid out like poetry, it suggested volumes of hidden histories in a (long) list of brief lines, the secret stories of the voiceless objects unearthed for reburial somewhere else. This came back to me recently listening to reports from a Cleaning of the Furniture Store, along with a very real sense of relief that I hadn't been involved. (It's not that the enormity of the task was daunting, although it most certainly was, so much as the knowledge that most of the rejected items would've ended up in my room rather than at the recycling centre or the charity shop. It's hard to let go, and comforting to have a space for all the things you don't want or need but feel deep down are part of you somehow. In Japan it's not uncommon for long-used and discarded items to take on lives of their own: I can't help but thinking of the old-mattress- and strangers-photograph-spirits we've sent out into the world with this big clean.)

Anyway, thanks to the efforts of Sean and Simon and Catherine and Ali, the furniture store is once again a room you can walk all the way through and see what's stored there. To celebrate, here's a cute photo of Catherine and Ali hard at work. This is also a chance to mark the date, in case anybody's curious to see how long it takes to fill up again.

End-of-year Reflections

2009-12-20T11:48:00.007Z

The first thing you learn living at Monkton Wyld Court is to embrace change. People come and go on a weekly basis, you make friends for a week and then may never see them again. In a world where things evolve constantly and friendships and relationships are often fleeting and transient, the lessons I have learnt at Monkton have prepared me for change. Over the many comings and goings I think this new change is the most exciting so far. Monkton has a history of resurrection and I feel positive that this is going to be a shining new era for Monkton.

All the best of the festive season from all of use here at Monkton Wyld Court.
See you next year!

Autumn Pine Hall Jazz Evening

2009-10-23T16:02:00.004+01:00

Our second jazz night of the year in the Pine Hall (October 17th) was a great success. An enthusiastic audience was treated to some scintillating solos from Azhaar Saffar on violin, Philip Clouts on keyboards and Ben Taylor on bass. Azhaar was in fine voice also and the repertoire covered a variety of styles from Bossa to swing and included some original compositions. A well-deserved encore rounded off the evening nicely and left us looking forward to the next time.

More images from the Pine Hall on the night on flickr!

Kindy Children's Apple Pressing

2009-10-09T11:24:00.006+01:00

Our kindergarten children and parent and child group gathered together on the front lawn to make apple juice from the apples we had picked from our orchard a few weeks ago. After visiting the straw bale house where the apples were stored we made our way to where Roger had set up the equipment. Roger explained that we needed to wash the apples first before cutting them into quarters. All the children helped and soon we were ready to put the pieces into the apple crusher when the children had a go at turning the handle. Once the apples were crushed Roger put them into the apple press and a jug was put in position to catch the juice. The children began to turn the handle, gradually increasing the pressure on the apples. All eyes were watching for the first signs of juice and after a few minutes to our great excitement the first little drops of brown liquid began to trickle through. There was enough for everyone. We carefully carried our apple juice back to kindergarten to drink with our snack and we all agreed that it was the best apple juice ever – it really was!

Bushcraft Week 2009

2009-08-24T18:48:00.003+01:00

So we’ve just finished the 5^th of our 6 family weeks, a fantastic Bushcraft Family Week run by the amazing Jonathon Huet. The week started off with a showing of how to use a bow drill followed by an impromptu lesson with flint and steel, which resulted in a fantastic fire where the 27 of us listened to stories about the old world, when wolves, boars and witches roamed freely around Albion (that's England to most folk).

Day 2 started with Jon teaching us how to light fires with a Special Forces survival tool, “Fire Steel”, and how to manage these fires to produce loads and loads of heat and light. With the fires we made wild teas, sweet breads on sticks, and charcoal. Although the charcoal wasn’t as tasty as the tea and bread, it would come in very useful for the days to come. After a hearty dinner we went on a walk into a wild orchard, across a flowing river and through a dark tunnel to watch and observe the Lesser Horseshoe bat, a trek that all enjoyed and survived.

After a long and deep night's sleep came more fire lighting techniques with flint and steel (the main fire lighitng technique until the invention of the match in 1805), the difficult but satisfying bow drill, and the building of dens in the wild. With fire lighting mastered we learned more bushcraft skills and tricks with woodcarving and cordage making from willow, nettle and lime trees. The woodcarving was brilliant, absolutely fantastic. I managed to carve a butter knife that was far too long and far too thin but a butter knife all the same. Others were more adventureous and managed fantastic and almost perfect spoons.

On the Friday we headed off on our walk down to Lyme Regis, which was hampered with heavy showers and a crowded beach but I had fun all the same and some of the party even managed a dip in the sea, brave souls. Upon our return we played some games and got ready for the “Pea Fair”, an event put on by two of the participants and run to absolute perfection and precision. It was a brilliant way to end the week, and after all the excitement we sat around the fire and ate plum bakewells, telling jokes and scary stories.

I have to say that this week and the group that I was with were among the best to date for me, mainly because in the evenings the kids, a few of the adults and myself played games and sports for hours and hours until too dark to see. We played all sort of games; tag bulldog, a European version of bulldog called spider, cricket, 40/40 and an in-the-dark tag (which was actually quite nerve racking never really being sure who was on and who wasn’t).

To finish I’d just like to say thank you to Jon and Christine for running the course and to all the adults and kids for making the week so memorable. I’m looking forward to you returning next year on the 16^th of August to run another. Cheers.

Thanks for reading.

Tom

This Place

2009-08-20T11:35:00.002+01:00

Hello Monkton Wyld People —

We used to come on your Family Weeks and they were an enormous help to a tired single mum with 2 little girls. I found this poem which I wrote on a family week because it was so great + we saw dolphins at Charmouth!

Hope you like it and whoever is running them now realizes what a wonderful thing they are doing!

Happy memories + gratitude,

Love,
Charlotte

This place, this place
It’s like staying with the perfect set of grandparents—
Calm and gentle, it cradles you—

It’s in the poplar leaves rustling over happy children’s shouts
In the football field alive with action,
and in the lazy cushioned moments—

It’s in the felt pen notices we soak up every day
“♡You matter far more than any material possessions”
“Thank you for taking care of our water supply!”
Thank you for taking care of us!
For saying to us: Take care of each other
Take care of yourself
Take care of the earth

This place…
You can go barefoot, you can bare your bum,
You can bare your soul, you can just have fun!
This place—It hugs you close, then lets you run free…
It’s like your best ever Granny—
warm and easy, it feeds you
It’s in the magic bottomless ever-filling milk jug,
the scented tea leaves and the comfort of soup—
It’s in the frilly leaves of a petal-starred salad—
Looks like seaweed, tastes of good earth.
It’s in a mum’s embrace and being well fed.
It’s that nice tired feeling when you want your cosy bed.
You can bang your spoon! You can have it with JAM!
You can get away with anything, you know you can.
Only eat it if you like it, you can come back for more
You can get down from the table and go running out the door!

This place—It hugs you close, then lets you free…
It’s like your favourite Grandpa—
Safe and strong, it holds you—
It’s in the old floorboards beneath our feet,
creaky, cool and worn smooth to a dancing beat.
It’s in piano music and the woodsmoke smells,
It’s in a Dad’s high lift and carry
and in the stories he tells…
You can build a fire. You can swing even higher!
You can bang your drum or you can suck your thumb.
This place—it hugs you close, then lets you run free…

It’s like your best friend
It frees you
You can laze in the Meditation Hut
In the glow of candlelight
You can dance or watch, opt out, join in,
or make toast in the middle of the night—

It makes you want to sing: ♫ ♫
♫ Oh it’s such a perfect place, I’m glad I shared it with you!

This place—it hugs you close, then lets you run free…
And now it’s time to let go—what would your perfect set of grandparents give you, for on the way—?
Remember the DOLPHINS—LEAPING JUST FOR JOY—
Joy-- here, take some home with you…
They’ve wrapped some up for you…
Joy-- There’s plenty to go round…
You might need some on the train, or in the car…
Joy-- You’ll need a bit to keep you going until teatime…
Joy-- Remember, don’t wash it all off…
like the sand in the bath…
This place, this place
It’s hugged you close—now you can run free…

Charlotte
7.8.98 Family Week

Introduction to Beekeeping

2009-07-31T13:42:00.000+01:00

So we’ve just hosted our second beekeeping course. This time it had a slightly different feel, firstly it was over 2 days not 3, secondly it rained on us for half a day and thirdly Kate Humble, 3 members of the BBC film crew and a photographer from The Times were in attendance. I had a brilliant time linking the course, it was just fantastic, an astounding group of people. My only problem was that I got stung, on the hand, not once but twice. How extraordinarily frustrating, but I took it well and didn’t cause any panic, which was important. The course was brilliantly run by David, our leader and next door neighbor, with a great mix of very entertaining chats about bees and hands on experience, in my case a little too hands on.
Just to blow our own trumpets, which is aloud I assure you, here are some of the more memorable quotes from the feedback.

About David - “Excellent. We had a very knowledgeable tutor”
“… excellent tutor and was patient with our questions”

About Us – “The welcome and the staff 100% excellent”
“Welcome v. warm, room lovely”

About the food – “Food far, far too good”
“The food was excellent”

Kate Humble and the film crew were here to film a piece for Autumn Watch to be shown in October and the photographer was shooting for a Times Supplement on Sustainability and the Environment to be published in August.

We’re hoping to run further courses on Beekeeping in September and in spring and early summer 2010.

Thanks for reading.

How to make Porridge Cake

2009-06-25T16:25:00.000+01:00

by Estibaliz Garcia, Monkton Intern February-May 2009

The beginning of the porridge cake was three months ago. There were guests in Monkton. We asked them if they wanted porridge for breakfast. They told us yes, but at the end they didn´t have it. So Laurie asked me to throw away* the porridge leftovers. The pot was full! How waste! I´ve to admit it, I didn´t know nothing about the porridge. I looked at the pot and I saw something looked like rice. I thought it was make from more than just oats and water. I couldn´t throw away all this fresh food! This day was the birth of the porridge cake (well, to be honest, I tried first to make arancini, but they didn´t work...). I told the people what was the cake made from, it was a mistake because they didn´t like the idea (Are you joking? You can´t make a cake with porridge!). Just the braves tried it, and they liked it! Little by little the people started to take a bit, the cake wasn´t too bad! I used to make a cake with every porridge leftovers since this day. Each one was different!

There is not a unique recipe, the best of the porridge cake is that it´s you want it to be. The first step is make more porridge than you need for breakfast. Make much more stuff, we want a lot of leftovers. Mix the porridge with sugar, honey or syrup. How much? The people from Monkton like it really sweet. You can use almost the same quantity of sweet you have of porridge! If you put little and the people complain (yes, it´s difficult to believe, but somebody can complain about your porridge cake. It´s not a problem, this means more cake for you!), they can put honey, syrup, jam... on the top. Then you´ve to mix the sweet porridge with... all you want! I made a lot of different kinds of cakes. For me, the best ones are the ones just with sugar, cocoa and orange, cocoa and nuts and cocoa and cinnamon. But I tried with peanut butter, cocoa and banana, cocoa and strawberry jam... It´s up to you, find your favorite porridge cake flavour! Put the mixture in a grased pan and bake in the oven. For how long? It´s your choice again. It depends on what you prefer, cake or pudding? One hour is enough for the pudding. In one hour and a half you will have a cake. Enjoy it!

*read 'give to the chickens' -ed

Cherry Blossom Party

2009-04-12T18:32:00.000+01:00

The year's first 'family week' event a great success, some of us took advantage of the perfect spring afternoon weather and suddenly empty grounds and chore lists (not to mention the fridge full of leftovers) for a traditional Japanese celebration under our flowering cherry tree, Dorset-style. That is to say, we reclined beneath it with fair trade wine and locally (well, South West and Wessex)-brewed ales.
At last count over eighty eggs have been hidden around Monkton's terraced front garden, and every last one was found again by our dedicated teams of hunters. Thanks to all the lovely families who came to join us for Easter holidays, and a warm welcome to the group due in tomorrow!

Hopping Madness at Monkton

2009-02-21T16:12:00.000Z

Something has been stirring in the pond at Monkton...a seemingly sudden explosion overnight of Frogs!

The pond is teeming with them, not just a few either near 50 have been sighted at any one time with mounds of frog spawn everywhere!

We are all so excited by their presence as last year there were none. Their appearance and the prospect of LOTS of new frogs is great news for the garden...unless of course you are a slug!

Winter Snow at Monkton Wyld Court

2009-02-21T11:48:00.000Z

Monkton was stunning in its white winter cloak with the snows of February.

With both residents and members of the Permaculture course, which was running at the time , enjoying the arrival of the snow. Snowball fights brought fun and laughter to the grounds with all ages joining the games, snowmen and even a snow squirrel appeared about the lawns!