Monday 7 March 2016

Shedding Skin

A second great weekend at my permie friends' place in Les Landes. It began (again) at 'the tree'.
 It went on through a mantra  session, a dance routine devised by Gabrielle Roth, shamanism/Tibetan singing bowls, building a nature mandala and an 'anthro' study in the metamorphosis of plants and people.



This being France it wasn't a 'vegan slop permie' weekend.  There was a charcuterie board with half a dozen choices: oysters and another shellfish that I' am not yet French enough to know the name of and 17 (count them) hand-crafted pizzas baked in a recently-renovated wood fired communal oven, which would have been the focal point of this forest dwelling hamlet a hundred years ago.  Not only that but we were lucky enough to have Stefan, professional pizza boss (and  ex surfer boy)  doing the honours.




The table was long and at different times fitted between 9 and 17 people. And they mostly drank like Brits!! I was starting to feel at home!



  We finished with a 'skin shedding' exercise that was sent to me at the turn of the year by Ruby May and then symbolically burned what we wanted to shed in 2016 in Bea and Gilles' turbo-designed wood burning stove.

To finish we symbolically planted some seeds to celebrate the coming spring. Everyone took home a sprouting chestnut seed from 'the tree' to propagate it's health and longevity throughout Acquitaine and we all left feeling a spring in our lives (and some of us nursing a hangover)





It was a real 'DIY' event. We didn't pay for a 'trainer'  everyone bought talent and gifts and food and we all looked after each other.  A lovely weekend. Thank you everyone who was there for being there and 'sharing'.  

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