Juice It Up - be inspired!

Do you ever feel that you march to the beat of a different drum? Are you an optimist but feel that you sometimes miss out on opportunities? Are you destined for greatness? Are you waiting to make that leap?

Radical Simplicity by Dan Price is not the kind of book I would normally buy for myself. But because the author was recommended by someone I admire (Danny Gregory who wrote The Creative Licence and Everyday Matters) I picked up a copy. At the end of the book Dan writes:“Some of us are born with unrealisable and unattainable dreams: they push and pull our beings through life…Most of your family and friends will contend that the safest course lies with the herd…. “Security” is coveted….Conventionality has become societies mantra….There are a few pioneers however. Souls who feel the pull of the cliff edge…and when no one is looking, leap off, falling, falling…But don’t search for their remains amongst the boulders below because the very faith that convinced them to jump down that precipice quietly caught them half way down and took them to a whole new place. A new world bright with endless possibility. These people discover an unknown secret about life and are forever changed. When you’re willing to give something up the rewards you receive are always more interesting than what you had.”

Do you have the faith to ‘fall’? Does conventionality keep you tied to the same-old-same-old, as the saying goes? If like the characters Dan Price is describing you feel pulled by unquenched dreams and desires, going with the herd a little bit more than you’d like, are feeling there’s something more, something different you should or could be doing, then perhaps our new workshop is for you? Juice It Up is a bodalicious bounty of tools, tips and techniques to feed your fire, blackberry-jam-packed with activities to help you identify your most delicious of dreams and turn your motivation from mouse to mammoth! Want to feel inspired? Want to soar with the stars, to dive into your daydreams? Maybe now is the time. Come join us for a day of magnificent moments, a structured day of learning that puts in the shade all those self help books that, well, lets face it, never really helped you first time round.

You’ll answer the questions you’ve been avoiding, you’ll get the answers that were always there. By the end of the day you’ll be clearer, faster, more certain, more secure; you’ll know where the Universe wants to help you go, you’ll have ideas about how to get there. For all those who feel its time to light their fires and rev up their engines; for all those who want a change, need a change, who know there’s Something More. You deserve a lip smacking luscious life, to feel the ‘feel good’ factor every day. If it’s time for you to be the best, to have the best, then be prepared. Step up. It’s time to Juice It Up - 13th July 2009.

To find more about this workshop or sign up to the news letter vist us at: www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

My Turkish Experience - A student's perspective

Two weeks, hotel, hot country and best of all it has a purpose! But how did it come about that I was stepping off a plane into the balmy, sun filled air of Turkey to study for a Sports Injury and Massage Diploma? Let’s go back, way back, way, way back…to the autumn of 2007.


“This won’t just be a sun seekers escape from the beginnings of a cold and wet British autumn, but an extravaganza of pathologies, a veritable cornucopia of massage techniques wrapped up into two weeks of sun on foreign soil, it will be fantastic!!!”…

Now, I can’t recall if this was quite how Jane Johnson actually sold the idea about what she and her partner in crime, Zoë Fitzpatrick, wanted me to join them on, but it encapsulates the enthusiasm with which I have come to know and love from Jane and it had the desired, and rather infectious, effect on me!

As Jane had just finished teaching me all I needed to know about Anatomy and Physiology, I had no doubts about her ability to turn me from a relative novice into some sort of Sports Massage Guru! Now look, there’s no harm in aiming high, so I was aiming for Guru, ok!!!!

I was determined to go on this course, even if I had to sell my house to do it, which, coincidentally, is what I did!

The idea of an intensive didn’t sound scary with the knowledge that Jane and Zoë were on the case taking the everyday worries out of the equation by taking us to studying abroad. It was an added bonus. So, armed with course file and a whole load of enthusiasm I boarded the plane with a group of like-minded therapists keen to have some fun in the sun, massage style!

I won’t go into massive detail about the course content as you can have a look at what you would have in store on The London Massage Company website. It’s all about my experience and what I got out of it.

The hotel was great, the rooms simple but more than adequate and the staff brilliant. This of course lulled me into a false sense of security as I began to believe I was on holiday!

Suffice to say the first day blew me away! It was like taking the amount I learnt in my previous course, putting it in a blender and making me drink it down in one! I think I am safe in saying that the whole group was shell shocked after the first day and scared about the next!

The relief came when we recapped the following morning and started to realise how much information we had retained. At this point I have to say hats off to Jane and Zoë’s advanced training methods, they work wonders! With this revelation we all soon began to unwind and relax into being students again and little routines began to enter into my day.

Every morning would start for me with a swim in the empty pool as the sun rose above the mountains. I would greet a couple of the other students who also swam at bleary eyed o’clock in the morning and watch as the cold water jolted them, like it had jolted me, into the land of the living! I miss those mornings!

A quick shower and change and then down for copious amounts of breakfast, then a short shuffle with my coffee to the veranda to look over the ocean before lessons. The lessons started on the same ‘coffee’ veranda with a run down of the day and a recap on the previous one. And then…let the learning begin! If you’re like me and you get excited by knowledge and training this course was like being a child in a sweet shop!

There were a variety of teaching methods mixed into the theory and practical sessions. Demonstrations from Jane and Zoë and client sessions galore! Once the locals caught wind of what was going on and that it was all above board you couldn’t keep them away with their aches and pains. Many of us massaged people from the town out of teaching hours as demand was high and practice was what we all needed. Free meals and discounts in carpet and jewellery stores being the unsolicited, but gratefully received, payment!
As is the nature of small close knit communities once word spread we were all greeted warmly as the people from Club Phellos Hotel who “do good massage!”.

Lessons finished at six and the nights where ours to do with as we pleased. For dinner we would find a nice restaurant, of which there are many, or stay and relax at the hotel. The group had quickly gelled and so going out in force was frequent and a joy to be part of.

With every fourth day to do as you please, it gave you time to look back at the trail of devastation you had left and check to see if there was anything your learning whirlwind hadn’t quite grasped hold of and shaken to bits! Sometimes it was just a case of relaxing and letting the knowledge sink in with a sunbathe by the pool, a walk into town for some retail therapy, or a well earned drink! It also helped you recharge your batteries and get fired up for what was to come in the next set of lessons.

This continued for an amazing two weeks of learning and laughter and I was very sad when I realised we had reached the end of the journey. It was an experience I will never forget and one I miss on a daily basis. I also miss the group, the people, the staff, the location and strangely the call to pray from the minaret of the mosque, which has a rather soothing quality to it. Although at six in the morning I’m not so sure!

I can’t thank Jane and Zoë enough for the chance to learn in this way and feel intensely jealous of the next group of lucky people who choose to go out and face jumping in the deep end of learning, and the pool…chilly! On reflection, now that I have seen and been taught intensively, I think I may like to look again at the word intensive! This was one roller coaster, thrill seekers, hold onto your knickers experience! I don’t think intense really covers it. Prepare to be thrilled and scared in equal measure with the speed of delivery, but amazed at the amount you will have retained without even realising your learning. I had forgotten what my comfort zone looked like at the end of the course and quite frankly I don’t want to go back to it! I am now happy living by the seat of my pants where learning and massaging are concerned and I’m sure you will be too!

And as a parting note for those who go…don’t leave having a Hammam until your trip is almost over it’s a wonderful experience that you will want to have again and Club Phellos have the best Hammam in town, on site! Enjoy!


To find more about the Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey or see student testimonials visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Intensive Turkey

Like most teachers, I like to review my own teaching at the end of each class or workshop and make notes on what went really well, as well as identifying any aspects of the day that I wish to amend or improve. Back in London and, I have to say, a far colder environment, I have now had the chance to reflect on the last Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey and how that went from a teaching point of view. It was one of the best diplomas I've been fortunate enough to be involved with and both Zoë and I spent considerable time mulling over why this was so. It may have been because of its location—the Southern shores of Turkey—or it may simply have been because the students who undertook it were highly motivated. Being away from home obviously played a large part in everyone's enjoyment of the course. None of us had any commuting to do, we didn't have to get up early and fight our way onto and off of crammed tube trains or along busy streets both at the start and the end of each day, we simply rolled down to breakfast and were already in the training venue. So we all began each day feeling relatively fresh. Also, not having to prepare meals, collect kids, pay bills, answer calls or do any of the usual 'chores' meant that most of us soon began to relax, slept better and began to feel more alert and more alive. Located on the shores of the Mediterranean we all ate well, with fresh fish and salads and had the benefit of pollution-free coastal air. It was warm, varying between 24-29 degrees each day, so everyone felt inclined to drink plenty of water. Prone to dehydration, that too must have done me good in particular.

The change of routine helped too. Each morning I stood in silence on the balcony and watched as the sun slowly rose. Some of the students went for a dawn swim, slipping through cold water doing their lengths before others were awake. Each evening some of us sat on the balcony and watched the sun dip behind the Greek islands and then in the warm night air wandered lazily down to the town for dinner. Most nights before retiring for bed I lay on my back on the patio and let my mind go blank, staring up and into the stars and their wonderful configurations, clear in the October night sky. The local plant called Melissa was blossoming everywhere and the air was filled with its jasmine-like scent. It took around three days before I stopped feeling like there was something else I ought to be doing but eventually relaxation lead to laughter and a letting go of anxieties.

However, the course was not without its challenges and, in a way, that made it a great course from a teaching point of view because it kept me on my toes and stimulated me to find new ways of working. One of the biggest challenges was working in a Muslim country. Clinic and practice days had to be managed carefully so as to respect the cultural norms of the society in which we were working. We got around this by never treating male and female clients at the same time in the same room. On one day only men were treated, on another day the women on the course went into town and treated the female residents, clients who did not feel comfortable coming into the hotel for their treatment sessions. With everyone we had to start by working through clothing, and once we started using oil, made sure that only very discrete parts of the body were ever exposed at any one time. When treating the male clients in supine the female students avoided making eye contact and were careful and respectful of the kind of body contact that is actually perfectly normal and acceptable by westerners receiving sports massage treatments.

Once we had gained their trust, many of the staff were keen to receive massage and it was interesting to note how all of the waiters had exactly the same musculature, with hypertrophy of their left rotator cuff and thoracic extensor muscles, the result of constant loading of that side as one-armed, they carried multiple layers of plates to and from tables, seven days a week for seven months of the year.

Another interesting aspect was the language barrier. With my basic smattering of Turkish I was able to formulate basic commands and solicit simple answers. (According to the Turks, I apparently speak Turkish “the way a Welsh person speaks English”). Zoë, having worked as a therapist in Morocco, also with Muslim clients, had a natural flair for gaining rapport with pretty much anyone we came into contact with and chatted away happily in French to the owner of our favourite restaurant when she discovered that he was also fluent in that language.

I know from past experience that students studying on intensive courses such as this often get very tired, and I was expecting this to happen in Turkey too. So to counter this Zoë and I had scheduled in a free day following every three days of training and in fact this worked very well. Some students chose to remain in the hotel and practice what they had learnt in the training room, others sat around the pool or in the shade reading through their notes. One or two chose to go off exploring and spent the day in town or on the beach or wandering through the zig zag maze of tiny alleyways with their jewellery and carpet shops. Some even chose to visit the nearby village of Kalkan, and two even hired a car and went further a-field. The net result was that when we returned for training the next day we were each of us more refreshed and ready for study.

Hotel staff enjoyed our company and were delighted by the students who practiced saying 'hello' and 'thank you' in Turkish. This greatly elevated us in the eyes of the town and I feel sure was the reason behind some free lunches some students enjoyed. Hotel staff no doubt observed everyone milling around with large files of notes and textbooks, happily reading and making notes either alone or in small groups. They also noted that most of us, most days were laughing. In fact, many of the students reported this as being one of their key memories, the fact that they laughed so much. One day the manager, most impressed by everyone's diligence, leant over his coffee and said "your students, they are very clever people, yes? They working very hard, yes? They are very clever peoples I think? Very good peoples?". What could I say? He was delighted at the thought that myself and Zoë had selected his hotel for to bring these good, clever people, people who tried to speak his language and laughed a lot. "Yes," I nodded, "They are clever. They are good," and I meant it. Students are always clever, and they are always good. And I realized that here they had simply been afforded the opportunity to let that aspect of themselves shine. They hadn't necessarily done it consciously. The sunny days, fresh air and finding themselves amongst like-minded people had enabled that. And that, I decided, was what had made the difference for me from a teaching point of view. Having it revealed to me that once people are given the environment, emotional space and just a little bit of support, their natural ability to learn thrives like there is no tomorrow. And that’s why I choose to believe that all the students I work with are good, all the students I work with are clever.

To find more about the Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Death by Bleeper

My road is yet again being excavated. This morning there were no less than SEVEN industrial vehicles (only one that could actually fit in the rd) and 10 men in wellies all standing around a huge hole gushing with water for the third time in a month. Their resurfacing vehicle, which sounds a safety beep as it reverses, has needed to go back and forth across this hole doing whatever it is doing, so for the last two hours it has been death by bleeper.

When I was at the Thames festival and a photographer for a French magazine asked permission to take my photo. I said 'sure' and then wondered if this was going to be the How Not To Dress shot, a kind of 'before' picture she was going to flaunt as an illustration of the unfashionableness of eccentric British 40-somethings.

High pressure water jets are now being used outside and there are bright orange-and-black vehicles forming blockades at both ends of the street. The workmen seem bemused at their inability to staunch the flow of water and have been taking turns to kneel down by the hole, stand in the hole, and push their arms down the hole. Turning off the main supply is obviously too simple a solution. The resurfacing vehicle does not seem to have resurfaced anything. My mum has been out and told them they don't know what they're doing whereas I offered them tea (that may account for why she has no water but I do). Off to find the ear plugs.

To see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Holistic Health Show, Donnington Exhibition Centre, September 2008

On a sunny Saturday evening in September I found myself idling through thenew (and very polished) St. Pancras Station, looking for a train headed forDerby. I balanced a cup of tea and my ticket in one hand and pulled a heavywheelie trolley in the other. Whilst waiting for the platform number toappear on the departures board I kept asking myself 'have I got everything,have I got everything?' and mentally checked off the contents of my bag:hotel details, venue details, entry pass, handouts, sweets, etc. I was on myway to the Holistic Health Show where I had been invited by the Federationof Holistic Therapists (FHT) to present two workshops. I was curious aboutthe event as I was used to presenting at CAM Expo here in London, but hadnever been to this show, held at the Donnington Exhibition Centre abuttingthe famous Donnington race track. I wondered what sorts of lectures andworkshops were being offered in addition to mine, and what sorts ofcompanies and products had been set up for the massage therapists. Moreimportantly, I was wondering about the environment in which the workshopswere to be delivered and had all the usual sorts of questions teachers askthemselves: how much space was there going to be? Would the couches bethere as requested? Would there be oil and towels? What temperature wouldthe room be? How many therapists were booked onto each workshop and did Ineed to give them feedback forms (as is often requested by show organizers)?Would they have pens? My first workshop was planned for 10.30 on Sundaymorning, the first day of the show, and I planned to get up early and makesure I had everything I needed.


In Derby I arrived at the hotel at about 8.30pm and found it full of veryhappy wedding guests. The bar was heaving with posh frocks and smart suitsand there was an atmosphere of celebration that made me smile. It's a goodfeeling to be amongst happy people. If, like me, you live in a flat crammedwith textbooks and teaching aids, a nine year old and a huge dog, you may beable to relate to what I did first on entering my hotel room. I lay on myback on the floor like a starfish and moved my arms and legs up and down asyou do when you make sand angels. It was great. You could fit most of myflat into this hotel room. So for the first 15 minutes I revelled in thespaciousness of it, stretched on the kingsize bed, the sheets of which I hadnot had to iron, and searched for the tea and coffee drawer which hoteliersseem to get better and better at hiding.


The next morning was bright and sunny as I crunched over the carpark whichwas already starting to fill with cars. FHT staff were on hand to greet meand show me to where I was to teach. I like the FHT people. They are kindand helpful and for the most part seemed very well organized. They had astand at the entrance to the show and told me that throughout the show theyhad had people trying to book onto workshops which were already sold out, 'amessage for next time,' I thought. I had 30 people attending each of myworkshops and was pleased to have brought with me an adequate supply ofhandouts, despite it making my trolley to heavy.


The venue was cold, with a high ceiling, like an aircraft hanger, and thestallholders were already fully set up, smiling and waiting for customers.Smaller than CAM Expo there was still lots to look at, including a bookstalland many stalls selling clothing for therapists, and crystals and schoolspromoting different forms of massage training; there were equipment sellersand couch sellers and lots of beauty and skin care products. The smell offresh quoissants and coffee emanated from the two cafeterias as the FHT tookme to where I was to teach.
Both workshops, Deep Tissue and Muscle Energy Techniques, went well, and Ireally enjoyed meeting the 60 therapists who attended them. It was however,quite challenging from a teaching point of view, for several reasons. Theteaching 'rooms' were areas cordoned off from the rest of the show and thefloor was concrete and the back wall brick. It was therefore very cold.Secondly, despite requesting many couches, the show organizers had assumedthat the therapists attending would be satisfied to watch the presenters,and would not necessarily want to take part in practicing the skills beingdemonstrated. A camera had therefore been set up in the centre of the roomwith a cameraman assigned to project everything he filmed onto a screen. Thechairs were in regimented rows.


Those of you who have attended my workshops before will know that I'm notoverly fond of the chalk-and-talk style presentations when it comes toteaching hands-on practical skills. I like attendees to have the opportunityto actually practice the skills they are learning and to ask questions.People began to arrive early so while the FHT checked everyone in and gaveout my handouts, I quickly messed up the beautifully set out room. I draggedall 30 chairs forward, making a circle the best I could, politely dismissedthe cameraman, placating him with handfuls of Foxes glacier mints, andscrounged two additional couches.


Even with a microphone it turned out to be difficult for people to hear whatwas being said as there were workshops going on to each side of me and thevast ceiling height meant nothing was contained. Perhaps the strangest­andfunniest‹aspect of teaching here was that every now and then there would bea colossal droning sound, like the approach of a plague of bees or anaircraft about to take off, which I was told were the motorbikes revving upfor the start of a race, their track being right behind the 'room'. Threecouches between 30 attendees is not great, but then those of you who teachknow that you need to work with what you've got and sometimes, adaptabilityis the key to success.


On the train on the return to London I reflected on just how adaptable youneed to be sometimes as a teacher. I would have liked it to have beenwarmer, less noisy, with more couches and with time to chat to everyonefollowing the workshop, but overall everyone seemed to take away somethingthey found useful and could incorporate immediately into their practice. Imade notes, as always, and felt satisfied in myself that I'd done what Icould with what was available. I would certainly be willing to work at Donnington again, but would definitely take a vest.

To find out what we do in the class room, or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Riding the Rapids in Spain

I'm back from Spain and a water sports activity holiday with my son. It was the best holiday we've ever been on. I am KNACKERED. I did canyonning (abseiling down waterfalls foran hour, totally exhausting, don't ask me who invented it but gorgeouslyhunky guides who strap you into all sorts of ropes and harnesses if you likethat sort of thing), kyaking on a lake (easy peesy) and river (deathdefying, huge rocks, strong currents, masses and masses of rapids and reallyexhausting when you capsize and have to be rescued from beneath the craft),horseriding (cannot sit down for two days), football, volleyball and, mostscary of all, white water rafting (7 people, 4 of whom kids, in a dingy with mad Spanish raftsmen hurtling you down rapids and weirs and going backwards and spinning round like a wheely bug and huge bolders and jagged rocks andcrashing water and them shouting "forward!" "back!", "stop!" and aching,aching arms....) You really do do what's in the brochure, its not just publicity shots of people in safety helmets.

I'm booking it again next year but will this time do a ton of upper body strength training to make iteasier and increase chances of handsome Spanish man falling madly in love with blond tattooed 44 year old.

On a quieter front I'm feeling pleasantly satisfied having read two books, one autobiography about a Cornish childhood and another, all about the Natural History Museum here in London. I could relate to this behind-the-scenes biography of the place, the drawers of insects, the deer heads, the oddball tweed-suited characters who've spent too long contemplating the mating habits of trilobites.

I am now in the middle of a variety of books, dipping into them all at once. One is called The Art of Domesticity. I just LOVE it. I am trying to make a patchwork quilt and the kitchen table is covered in fabric squares of various sizes and patterns. Very Little House on the Prairy. This book is a real inspiration. The author is delighted by colour and design and plays with making cupcakes decorated as noughts-and-crosses and jelly beans. It's not just a coffee-table book full of wonderful photographs, but is full of personal insight into why women create quilts, tablecloths, cakes, etc. If I could have anything I wanted I should like to be a kept woman and spend my time knitting strangely baubbled jumpers adorned with pom poms, sketching, journalling, and doing my PhD (a physio doctorate programme starts at SouthBank uni Sept, just 8 days taught attendance required in each of the first 2 years and I'm VERY tempted!). I would throw women-only picnics and have tea weekly at the Dorchester and learn five languages just for fun. I would potter around all the museums and bake extravagant cakes with all the wrong colour icing and instead of tea, would take a bottle of wine with me when I walk the dog and sit and paint leaves upside down when I've had half the bottle and I no longer care what people think. Then I would waddle home and watch a movie like The African Queen and book jive lessons which I would do in a flared skirt with a small waist and heavy make up.

Back in the real world....I today took my son to the Ian Flemming exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. He was dressed as James Bond, but security tookhis p.k.walt 45 (it's a gun apparently) off him on entrance. I can understand why and he was philosophical about it. Anyway, we enjoyed the exhibit, had a fantastically expensive lunch (as always) and then went to Tate Modern to see the exhibition called Street Art. The outside of the building had been decorated with huge pictures a la graffiti style but nicer if you know what mean. The shop was heaving with books on graffiti and street art and I bought yet another very inspiring book about journal keeping, full of the most delightfully evocative watercolours.

I have the weekend tomyself. My in tray is heaving with work-related stuff but I would much rather do other things. However, no work, no holidays, no books, no wine, no.......

To find out what we do in the class room, or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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The Saga of the Herniated Disc

The biggest irony being in the ‘massage business’ that body workers of all disciplines never ‘walk the talk’. We can give home advice to our clients until we’re blue in the face but, get any of us in a room and it’ll be a battle of the injuries – who’s got the longest list. Jane and I between us could keep many a body worker happy for years. So the latest to be added to the list of war wounds was an operation for a herniated disc.
So what is a herniated or slipped disc? Well most of you reading this will know that a herniated disc is when the pulpous found inside a vertebral disc is ‘pushed’ out through a tear in the disc’s annulus.
In around 90% the soft pulpy nucleus of the disc is gradually reabsorbed into the disc, easing pain on associated neural structures (the sciatic nerve being the main one) and a conservative approach to treatment can be made eg, unilateral or bilateral tractioning.For the other 10%, the pulpous does not reabsorb and they could being to experience loss of sensation and/or mobility, in their lower limb/s and feet. In this instance surgery is the only option. To my shock and horror I had fallen into the latter category.
I was under the firm belief that with a herniated disc, you felt a sudden sharp pain, usually when in an unsupported forward flexion position, ie lifting and twisting whilst holding something heavy. However, my sudden sharp pain happened when walking and not even briskly! No strain involved there, so I came to the conclusion that I already had a tear in the disc wall (the annulus) which had recently been disturbed by Trigger Point and Osteopathy work which I had undertaken to correct a long standing muscular problem. I was further back than square one.
The herniation was confirmed on the Thursday afternoon and I was in the clinic for the op the following morning. No waiting lists to be had in Casablanca! At least I didn’t have time to worry about it. The op went really well. On the Saturday the surgeon got me up and walking, Sunday I went home. I was amazed. I’ve been going from strength to strength ever since and have recently started my physio to re-educate the back, abs and foot. But that’s another story……

Zoë

To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Downtime

When did you last have some quality downtime? Many people move into therapies because they want to get away from office work and yet once you start to get busy and build a client base, or decide to set up a company!, then you find yourself busy as ever. Of course, it is GOOD busy, but it's still busy.

I am today enjoying a creative long weekend, painting, sticking bits of paper onto other bits of paper, threading beads, and sorting through all the wonderful 'junk' things I find on my walks. I got out all of my creative things and just fiddled about....for about 2 days. It felt great. Last night I painted some pictures using bright pink paint, today I made a collage. It's taken me a while to wind down and let myself do stuff that stimulates me creatively rather than do stuff that I think will make me money. Though of course one wishes for the ability to do stuff creatively THAT makes money!

I went to a car boot sale and succumbed to some very cheap (£2) but absolutely adorable wooden kids playing bricks in primary colours, cubes, rectangles, pyramids and cylinders sitting in their own wooden box. I have a cupboard full of them. I can't help myself. There's something so beautiful about their simplicity. I have a huge box of plain wooden ones, slightly smaller, but wonderfully 'used' if you know what I mean, worn slightly smooth by little hands. I have an absolute passion for these 'simple' wooden toys. There's something so nostalgic about them. Perhaps when I am in my 70s I'll have cupboards heaving with them still? Sometimes I get them out and stack them myself. They cannot be broke, cannot be scratched, and need imagination to make them 'work'. Some days need to be wooden brick days. And I bet a lot of people out there collect weirder things than wooden bricks.

Jane
To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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We've been away....

.......but now we're back! Other things took over for the first half of 2008, but rather than keeping the blog empty, the mid-year resolution is to turn those "things that take over" into experiences to share and learn from. So to see what we're up to out side of the class room keep on reading.

To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com