May 2020 Broad Sheep

BROAD sheep

may 2020

A SPECIAL ONLINE EDITION

grass roots

Government response to COVID-19 Late, Lax and Deadly!

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NTIL a few weeks ago, I assumed the government had made a series of awful blunders in relation to the coronavirus. I thought their mistakes must have been due to panic, confusion, and crossed wires. But soon after starting to research, I saw that the errors were so widespread that they could not all have occurred by coincidence.

It was not far into the New Year when Britain’s most famous medical journal, The Lancet, began to issue warnings about a new coronavirus in China, COVID-19.

On January 24, the journal carried a report by a team of doctors, led by Professor Chaolin Huang, describing an outbreak of pneumonia in about 800 people in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.

The Lancet added further analysis highlighting the possible global significance of the Chinese outbreak.

And the journal reminded readers of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS, which made world headlines in 2002 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS of 2012.

SARS killed about one in ten of those who caught it. MERS had a death rate of over 37%. So these were extremely dangerous diseases. From the early Chinese reports, the COVID-19 virus was killing nearly 3% of those infected. But in case anyone took comfort from that lower figure, The Lancet reminded its readers of the 1918-19 flu pandemic. It had killed from 17 to 50 million people. The so-called Spanish Flu - said The Lancet, “…is estimated to have had a case-fatality ratio of less than 5% but had an enormous impact due to widespread transmission, so there is no room for complacency.”

The government’s top health advisors knew from early January of the extremely worrying news about COVID-19 coming out of China. The virus was isolated on January 7. By then the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, was in the picture, says the health department. And it claims the government’s science advisors began to focus on the virus from mid-January.

Before the end of January, COVID-19 had reached Thailand, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and the USA. It had also been found in 32 provinces of China plus Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. On January 30, the World Health Organisation declared it to constitute a Public Health Emergency.

So what did the cabinet do from early January to March 23rd when Boris Johnson ordered the total lockdown? From in-depth

reports, in The Sunday Times and The Observer, one gains an overwhelming impression of complacency, drift, and delay.

For nearly two months the strategy was apparently one of achieving “herd immunity”. But, with no vaccine for the infection, that would have meant deliberately sacrificing tens of thousands of lives, given the high mortality rate and transmissibility of coronavirus. It was only on March 26 that the government made a sudden and total U-turn, going instead for curbing and suppressing the virus through drastic social measures.

The government has not denied a central charge - that from January 24 to the end of February Boris Johnson failed to chair, or even attend, five meetings of COBRA, the key body of experts and ministers dealing with COVID-19. The shadow health secretary has since accused Johnson of being “missing in action” for about five weeks. Johnson attended COBRA for the first time on March 2 – around three weeks before he himself caught the virus. He tested positive for the virus on March 26.

The government has hit back, by claiming that the prime minister has throughout been “…at the helm of the government response to Covid-19.” But Johnson and his ministers cannot have it both ways. If he really was in the driving seat in January and February, and most of March, he must surely have been sleep at the wheel.

The government has responded to the devastating criticism of its record on the coronavirus by unleashing, on April 19, an astonishing six-page blast of invective against The Sunday Times. Over decades reporting on health matters, I cannot recall such a partisan and questionable government document.

It quotes the editor of the Lancet as saying, “there is no need to foster panic with exaggerated language…”, as though The Lancet had never raised the subject of the alarming coronavirus outbreak in China in the first place.

From what I can see that quote never appeared in the journal at all, but was drawn from informal remarks by the editor in January, which he radically revised within days of tweeting them.

And now, on top of the litany of early blunders, we have the unfolding scandal over protective equipment. It is a saga which would be laughable, if only it were not so tragic.

Julian O’Halloran

pete’s page

Around the world in 80 minutes T HE important thing in these testing times is not to sit around getting depressed and thinking about the meaning of life. In fact it’s probably a bad idea to do any thinking at all. Just stick on the mask and gloves and go and stand in the queue for a couple of hours (try not to forget the carrots again) and then back to the computer and …………… Oh I know this is a tip from Colin down the road that could fill a couple of days. It’s called Radio Garden and it is effing amazing.

Radio Garden is a non-profit Dutch radio and digital research project developed from 2013 to 2016, by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, by the Transnational Radio Knowledge Platform and five other European universities.

You go onto radio.garden and that opens up a picture of the whole globe that is covered all over in bright green dots and they are nothing to do with virus outbreaks. You click on a dot and that is a town with radio stations or a single station anywhere in the world and bingo there you are listening KSMB radio in Lafayette that is playing some country music but mostly consists of adverts for Skag Mowers and Skanky small engines. What kind of reformed Junkie motor mower freak calls himself Skag Mowers? Hang on I’ll google it.

Scag Power Equipment

Since 1983, Scag Power Equipment has manufactured “Simply the Best” commercial riding, stand-on and walk-behind lawn mowers money can buy. Scag’s innovation and attention to quality is known and respected throughout the industry. If you are looking for the highest quality, best built, best cutting commercial lawn mower or leaf management equipment, proudly made in the USA, look no further.

Okay maybe I was wrong about them but anyway do you get the idea? Hang on, let’s try this one, Ramblin’ Van Radio in Houston Texas and see what they are playing. Oh it’s a song with lots of stuff about

Las Ondas Marteles

Honey Feet

Niggas and guns. So let’s head off to somewhere more exotic. How about this something very Mexican sounding with accordions coming from Radio Uno Valledupar Columbia or would you prefer Andean flutes and a sort of military drumming coming from Lima Peru. I wonder if I can go down a bit and get a some tango. Yesss, it took me about five goes but I just found classic tangos on radio Villa Luro just outside Buenos Aires. Okay what I’ll do now is spin the globe, close my eyes, just click and see what I hit. Here we go…… um sitars and tablas and drone singing, not much doubt which country we are in. Let’s check - Sandesh Radio from Belgaum on India’s west coast. One more go, aha, Turkish music from Radio Yuksel in Batman, Turkey. Batman! - How the hell did their town get called Batman! I have just googled it. It’s a really big town in eastern Turkey and now I’m cruising down the hot and very empty streets on googlemap. Have a go yourself ‘radio.garden’ is the business.

Incidentally I was looking at stuff last week and I remembered I used to have a website called Broad Sheep TV that had some really nice bits of video on it. I looked it up and although its not online it did have a great video from a band called Honey Feet who were from Manchester. I tried very hard, but failed, to get them to come to Presteigne but have a look at their video Buried my Husband on You Tube, w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = p g 6 y 7 g E O V U 8 & feature=emb_logo. And another band I’d forgotten was French rockers Las Ondas Marteles. Try this stunning version of Its Now or Never www.youtube. com/watch?v=a0yRnaMcbhQ&feature=youtu.be Any way that’s enough good advice for one day.

This 60 episode, DVD box set, of the fantastic, German epic drama, Heimat is not going to watch itself.

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Broad Sheep exclusive

Secret transcript of HMQ’s telephone call to the Health Secretary

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HMQ Good morning.

Is one addressing Mr Matthew Hancock?

Hancock Who’s speaking please?

HMQ Your Sovereign.

Hancock My what?

HMQ I am The Queen. Calling you from Windsor Castle. At Mr Johnson’s suggestion.

Hancock [springs to attention, knocking over his chair in the process] Good morning Your Majesty.

HMQ I think we met briefly when you were enrolled as a Privy Councillor.

Hancock I remember the occasion vividly, Ma’am.

HMQ Mam. Hancock I’m sorry?

HMQ It’s Mam as in ‘ham’, please. I want to talk to you about the requisitioning of the ExCel arena in Docklands as a Coronavirus Emergency Centre. An inspired idea if I may say so.

Hancock Why, thank you, Your Majesty.

HMQ Was it your idea?

Hancock Err no, Mam; it was suggested by one of Dominic Cumming’s new recruits.

HMQ One of his ‘weirdo misfits’?

Hancock Indeed. Last week we had an Endemic brain-storming session at Number 10 and…

HMQ It’s a PANdemic, Mr Hancock. Endemic is an adjective meaning ‘commonly found in particular regions.’

Hancock I do apologise, Your Majesty.

HMQ As soon as you are out of self-isolation I want you and your officials to consider extending the new Covid-19 Compulsory Requisitioning Order, which that nice Mr Rees-Mogg has just had enacted.

Hancock Certainly, Mam. Extending it to some other buildings, you mean?

HMQ Precisely. Three in fact. Will you write these down please?

Hancock [reaching for a notepad and pencil] Ready, when you are, Your Majesty.

HMQ The Shard, The Dorchester and that dreadful City office block they christened The Cheese Grater.

Mr Johnson has assured me that with a three-line whip they could all be NHS property by Easter.

Hancock May I ask why these three buildings have been singled out by Your Majesty?

HMQ Simples. The Shard offends our view westwards from the gardens at the Palace, when one is walking the corgis. It’s virtually unoccupied. One of my more indiscreet footmen was heard describing it to a colleague as an ‘up-market Chinese Knocking Shop’.

And the operators of The Dorchester are tiresome Arabic parvenues who keep winning classic horse races.

Andrew did want me to add Winfield House in Regent’s Park, but I’m advised that, territorially, it’s on American soil.

Hancock I’m told that the designer of the third building, The Cheese Grater - Lord Rogers, who you yourself ennobled in 1996, Your Majesty – has his UK offices in that building.

HMQ [snaps] All the better. Charles can’t abide him.

Hancock May I ask, Mam: will Mr Rees-Mogg’s extended Bill include compensation for the owners of these additional requisitioned buildings? At the end of the Endemic?

HMQ It’s a PANdemic, Mr Hancock!

Hancock I do apologise, Ma’am… I mean Mam. At the end of the pandemic.

HMQ Mr Johnson tells me that young Mr Sunak – supported by the new Governor of my Bank is suggesting currently-prevailing RPI minus 85%.

Hancock [hastily checks his phone’s calculator] So… really not very much at all?

HMQ ‘The Square Root of Fuck All’, as my dear old nanny Crawfie used to say, when Father told her what her annual wage rise would be during the war.

Castle Mole

sam’s page

A Short History of Self-Isolation T

HE walls of the dwelling places of the world are getting covered in the footprints of people climbing up them. This is causing much personal distress, and some are saying, almost certainly without reason, that they would rather have a bug, any bug. Calm down, we are saying here at the Institute for Irrelevant Studies. You do not know what you are saying, and baby, it’s cold outside. If you get properly nervous, stick your nose in Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year, recently reissued

by Penguin, and count your blessings. If you merely seek company in your isolation, we at the Institute consider that it may be handy to reflect that this has being going on for years. Millennia, even.

An early self-isolator was the Gnostic saint Simon Stylites, who stood on a pillar somewhere in the Levant in order to maximise his proximity to the Almighty. Other stylites, which is what someone who takes up residence on a pillar is called, accepted the nearer-my-God-to-Thee challenge, and pretty soon no Syrian summit was complete without its columntop mystic raving about the Apocalypse like the front page of the Guardian. The popularity of stylitism soon led to overcrowding, and latecoming self-isolators took to the trees, where they were known, in case you are interested, as dendrites. One monk lived in a hollow but living plane-tree trunk, communicating with the world via a small trapdoor at mouth level. It is not known if the world communicated back. If it did he no longer counts as a self-isolator, just sayin’.

Monks and nuns continued to self-isolate all the way through the middle ages, chatting away to the Almighty like hey-my-nanny and repelling clouds of demons as persistent as any virus and (in the case of St Jerome) a lot sexier. As the Age of Enlightenment came upon the world and people began to be a bit iffy about demons, the chattering classes started to think first that selfisolation was merely silly, and then that it was actually rather picturesque, darling. Payne Knight, the builder of the Gothic edition of Downton Castle north of Ludlow, knocked up a hermitage in a bijou

cave in the Downton Gorge and installed a hermit - an early case of someone agreeing to self-isolate for a wage, possibly providing inspiration for the mortgage holidays currently on offer. Several of the early Downton hermits were by all accounts carried away by coughs. A subsequent hermit, who took no shit from anyone and knew on what side his bread was buttered, demanded a fireplace. Payne Knight objected on the grounds that hermits were supposed to be ascetics, and ascetics thrived on self-denial and cold and damp. The hermit stuck to his guns, maintaining that self-denial was all very well but denial-by-mad-landlord was wicked exploitation. A fireplace was grudgingly installed, appearances being kept up by the fact that the chimney wound several hundred yards up the side of the gorge and vented the smoke discreetly in the middle of a copse.

The early modern era saw a sharp divide in the ethics of self-isolation. On the one hand there was Greta Garbo, who wanted to be alone, and was allowed to be while people sent her large unsolicited cheques. On the other hand was the 1920s vogue for flagpole sitting, in which impoverished Americans sat on the buttons at the top of flagpoles for weeks at a time, the principal exponent and boss sitter being one Shipwreck Kelly, who lasted twenty-two days and six hours on top of a pole outside Madison Square Garden.

Then flagpole-sitting faded, and selfisolation became the province of a few hippies in caves in the Himalaya and a handful of solo yachties trundling round the world, and the public stopped paying attention. And now it is back. Simon Stylites and St Jerome would have recognized it without a flicker. They had a hotline to the Divine. We have got netflix and email and the social media shambles. Unlike them, though, we have got carrots to cultivate and novels to start and tear up and start again and ocean liners to build out of matchsticks....

Any minute now the sun will come out, and we can stop climbing walls and go and stand on that flat bit on the roof and wave at the other people on the other roofs and hope that they too have been made calm and accepting of their historic lot by this bulletin from the Institute of Irrelevant Studies.

Membership is free. Relevance excludes. Onward!

Shipwreck Kelly

Sam Llewellyn

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grass roots Denial Goes Viral! Climate Sceptics Question Risks of COVID-19 M The PM, before falling ill, with top virus advisors

ANY people must be wondering why it took the Boris Johnson government so long to wake up to the threat posed by coronavirus. In Britain’s inadequate and sluggish response to COVID-19, some have seen parallels with the confused and negligent record of Donald Trump, as the US president uttered a series of casual falsehoods about the virus during weeks of delay - before he finally woke up to the scale of the threat.

It is blindingly obvious that, in Britain, the cabinet were complacent about the virus, over a period of six weeks from late January, despite stark warnings from Asia. And health officials failed to heed a prominent and explicit warning in the medical journal, The Lancet, in late January. Britain’s slowness off the blocks has clearly added to the dire toll of illness and death we are now undergoing.

Denial of scientific evidence, or refusal to heed the warnings of experts, has been a feature of the last ten years, especially over environmental threats. In relation to climate change, one body determined to challenge and resist mainstream science has been the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

One of the GWPF’s leading figures, Lord Lawson, was a cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher over thirty years ago. In the late 1980s, Mrs Thatcher was, arguably, ahead of the game on global warming when she delivered two major speeches warning of the threat it posed to mankind.

Some of her former supporters rejected her message. They felt she had been misled by officials.

In 2009, Lord Lawson and a band of friends set up the Global Warming Policy Foundation. Their aim was not to warn the world about climate change, but to claim it was either false or wildly exaggerated. They began to bang the drum loudly against climate scientists. The GWPF especially loathed Whitehall policies to cut the use of coal, gas, and oil. Nowadays, in almost daily bulletins reprinting what they see as helpful articles in the media, the GWPF emit a stream of material opposing green energy policies.

However, in March this year, they began to cast doubt on the threat posed by COVID-19.

At first sight, that was a departure from their main agenda. However, it soon became clear that this line on the coronavirus fitted in with the GWPF’s years of effort to undermine mainstream climate science. On March 21st, at the height of the crisis over how people could be made to stay at home and take the virus seriously, an article reprinted by GWPF was catch-lined as follows, BBC : Have UK Experts Over-Egged Coronavirus Deaths?

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A casual reader might have thought BBC News reckoned Boris Johnson’s medical chiefs and top scientists were hyping the total of those who might die from COVID-19.

So, I went back to the BBC piece, to check. The first thing to hit me was that nothing in the report seemed to justify the idea that its author felt the experts might be exaggerating the likely death toll from coronavirus. And nowhere did

the BBC piece use the headline above, Have UK Experts Over-Egged Coronavirus Deaths?

In fact, the very first line of the BBC piece read, “The drastic measures taken in the UK to tackle coronavirus have been justified because of the need to save lives.” The main area of doubt mentioned was how many intensivecare beds might be available in the coming weeks. To me, the “over-egged” line misrepresented the experts. And it seemed to falsely co-opt the BBC into the GWPF camp, by implying the writer doubted the government’s experts.

On climate change, the Global Warming Policy Foundation has been railing against mainstream science for over ten years. So, perhaps, contradicting top scientists now comes naturally. But a few days after the March 21st piece, the GWPF abruptly took a sharply different tack. It now claimed that the sheer cost of addressing COVID-19 meant that the UK could no longer afford policies to fight climate change. On March 24th, a GWPF statement was headlined, Give Britain a Break: Suspend £15 Billion a Year Energy Policy Costs to Help Households and Businesses.

Critics of the Global Warming Policy Foundation allege that it fails to take account of huge financial savings delivered by green policies. Just think of the plummeting cost of wind and solar power! In my view, the “£15 Billion a Year” bill for greening energy policy would be flatly rejected by many climate finance experts. Indeed, some argue that - long term - going to Net Zero will cost little or nothing.

Carbon Brief, a respected newsletter on greenhouse gas emissions, has judged that green policies over the next 30 years will largely pay for themselves. Its source? None other than the 2018 National Infrastructure Assessment, commissioned by the former Tory Chancellor, George Osborne.

It is just 143 pages - some useful light reading for Boris Johnson and other top ministers during their convalescence from COVID-19! But only after they have learned the lessons of their failure to distance, and of their much more tragic dithering and delay, for a month and a half this year, over planning for, and tackling, the deadly virus.

Julian O’Halloran

letter to the editor News from London - Plea for Tighter Measures Against Covid-19 Dear Editor, In these extremely troubled times, it is vital that we and all our fellow citizens play our full part in trying to curb the spread of illness. I don’t like to single out individuals, but it is incumbent on all of us to alert the authorities when we know, or we suspect, that others may, through their careless or ignorant actions, be endangering lives.

It is some four or five weeks since I have been to London, but I have been kept abreast of things there by a member of my family in her twenties. It is not my wish, or hers, to snoop on others, But she tells me that on her occasional walks to the shops to buy groceries, or goods from the pharmacy, she has noticed people breaching official health rules, almost oblivious of the threat their actions may pose to others.

One chap who alarms her resides in a quite upmarket cul-de-sac, more or less backing on to a park. It is in a part of town that used to be popular with visitors, in the days when there were still any tourists.

She says the gentleman in question is of slightly unkempt appearance. He lives in a top floor apartment not all that far from Trafalgar Square. In daytime hours he can sometimes be glimpsed, peering wistfully from his high window. It seems that he may have caught the virus and now be in quarantine.

Rumour has it that he has also spent some weeks as a patient at a top London teaching hospital, but was eventually discharged.

A deserted Trafalgar Square

very quickly.

As it has turned out however some of these firms were unable to make good on their offers. And others took their wares elsewhere, after the NHS opted for a highly centralised system of supply which was unable to cope with the massive size, and vast numbers, of orders.

It is also noteworthy that, back at the afore-mentioned cul-de-sac house, a young woman is in residence who is scarcely more than half the age of the main occupier.

It is possible that she is his carer. I am not sure. It is certainly brave of her, though perhaps risky, at this time, to live under the same roof as a man, well into middle age, who may have breached the chief medical officer’s distancing advice.

Apparently, some days after we were all warned to keep our distance from each other, he was in the habit of going up to all sorts of people and shaking them vigorously by the hand. At a large office building not far away, where he works for most of the year, he was also seen to take part in gatherings of his colleagues which appeared not entirely consistent with the medical rules we have been given.

It is none of my business, of course, but this young lady has a very healthy glow and a somewhat dreamy look about her. And I would not be totally surprised to discover that she was expecting a baby.

Now this person may well be a beneficiary of the coronavirus job retention scheme, and if so, good luck to him. But, whatever his exact employment status, he surely had a duty to take more care, for the benefit of his neighbours and members of his own household.

He has yet to be seen in a mask, but he does wear a rather odd scarf. It can’t be for warmth, as it is usually draped haphazardly about his frame, even in the coldest weather, as though he were trying to make a fashion statement.

It is rumoured that several other senior people at this man’s workplace have also fallen ill with the virus, not long after urging the rest of us to watch our step. It is rumoured that these people might have taken fewer precautions than ideal, because they reckoned the epidemic would be short-lived. It seems they were told that some of their business contacts were gearing up to supply the country with huge volumes of protective clothing, testing equipment and ventilators. And that the NHS, thus armed, would be able to end the crisis

Also visiting the house, more or less daily, is a rather chaotically dressed younger man - possibly about 40 years of age, whose hairline could be, with generosity, described, as receding.

The description “weirdo”, certainly in appearance, would not be wide of the mark. Indeed I am told that, since early January, a number of the available “weirdos and misfits” looking for jobs in England have been recruited into the inner ranks of Whitehall.

Should any of the above information be of interest, I would be happy to provide further and better particulars.

Yours faithfully, J.O.H. (Name & address provided).

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‘Does what it says on the tin!’ Parties/festivals/happenings/weddings etc. Call Eddy on 01691 648729 or 07796 148448. Web: eddygartry.com Email: w.gartry@hotmail. com Management also for The Werewolves of Powys and Blues State UK THE CHICAGO SWING KATZ - New Orleans Blues to Chicago Swing. 6/7 Piece band playing foot-tapping, fun music that will make you feel happy. Weddings, Birthdays, Corporate events, Festivals, even funerals - but book well in advance for those! Traditional Jazz Trios, Quartets also available. Come and hear the band every 2nd Sunday of the Month at the Wild Pig, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, SY3 9JT. Email: chicagoswingkatz@aol.com, www.thechicagoswingkatz.com Jeff: 07831 - 383636 CHRISIE J LOCAL VOCALIST! I sing Jazz. Soul, Musical Theatre, Pop and Rock. For more information or to make a booking email chrisiej20@gmail.com or phone 07968 893719. Have a look at my social media for performance videos and more information. Also looking for a band so get in touch if interested.

THE DRAGON BIG BAND - 14 musicians playing Basie, Ellington, and exclusive arrangements. Jazz to Swing to Latin. Trumpets, trombones, saxes, bass, guitar, keyboard, drums. Come and listen every Wednesday, 8.00 - 10.30, The Horse & Jockey, Churchstoke, Powys, SY15 6AE, 01588 - 620060. Comfortable venue, bar, food (book), large car park, fun and with free admission.

Band Enquiries: Mike 01686 – 668675

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KERI HOFFMAN Keri Hoffman is an energetic yet classy performer. Keri is a well-known name and firm favourite within the industry. Dynamic and versatile her extensive repertoire means she is perfect for any occasion, from small laid back intimate settings, to those high octane concerts of festival proportions.

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HOT CLIMATE Ultimate party band, best 6-piece line up ever. For top musical entertainment at your party/ wedding/festival or corporate function. Book now!

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LITTLE RUMBA This is a band that will entertain and delight any audience that has its wits about it and has an ear for beautiful melodies infectious beats and songs that tell stories.

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Contact Jacqui Savage 07966 943314 Email – jaxbass.xs@btinternet.com http://www.littlerumba.com THE LUDLOW JAZZ COLLECTIVE Local Quartet/Quintet with singer if required, playing smooth sounds of well-known standards, Latin and blues.

Available for all types of events and celebrations.

Contact Paul Brooks 07980 822014. pppbrooks@gmail. com MAMMAFUNK are a 6-piece funk and soul band available for parties, weddings, corporate and charity events. Covering classic and modern hits we are also available to offer a bespoke set list for any specific song requests you may have. www.mammafunk.com Call 078144 86028 / 079693 27030.

MELOMANICS A wacky, Shropshire-based Duo with an amazingly dynamic sound, playing their eclectic and cosmopolitan repertoire with engaging humour and infectious energy (sustainable). Far more than just great music. And stilts if appropriate. Find out how much fun a ceilidh can be with Tim calling and playing. Ideal for parties, weddings, fund-raising events, festivals, shows, pubs, restaurants, etc. Scottish, Irish and Frenchthemed specialities (Timoléon pour vos soirées francaises). For more info call Tim on 01743 719438, or Rich on 01743 718612. Email: tim@melomanics.co.uk Website: www.melomanics.co.uk

Band Directory ONLY £40 FOR THE WHOLE YEAR Just post the details of your band (around 40 words) with a cheque for £40 payable to Broad Sheep and post to: The Lodge, Westhide, Hereford, HR1 3RQ just call Clare on 01432 850444 or email: info@broadsheep.com DON’T FORGET... if you have any gigs in the area, email/phone by the 15th of the preceding month for FREE LISTINGS.

THE RAGTIME JUG ORCHESTRA A roots stringband (duo) recreating the sounds of the early 20th century America, playing a good-time mix of blues, skiffle and Americana music. We like to get audiences involved! Available for festival, events, parties, folk clubs, pubs and bars; performance presentations and workshops for all occasions too. Web: www. ragtimejug.co.uk Contact: John; 01594 861151. Email: info@ragtimejug.co.uk Facebook.com: ragtime jug orchestra.

REVEREND FERRIDAY Upbeat One Man Blues Band. Playing driving slide guitar with rockabilly flair, seasoned with a touch of Americana, a mix of stomping originals and traditional classics. Available for all occasions, large or small. Contact the Reverend: 01584 711700 - 07766 185451 - revferriday@gmail. com - www.revferriday.com RHYTHM THIEVES Funky, folky and fun. Firm favourites at festivals, pubs, parties and events around the Midlands and beyond, Rhythm Thieves are a lively must-see band who deliver an unforgettable and highly entertaining night out. “Full of fire and enthusiasm” Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2 “Great, super, lovely - our resident band” Genevieve Tudor. BBC Radio Midlands Folk Show. “If they don’t make you smile, you’re probably dead.” Wheaton Aston Folk Festival Tel: 01568 770 134, e-mail rhythmthieves@hotmail.com THE ROTUNDAS are a pair of jolly chaps who sing and play contemporary versions of industrial and social folk songs from Birmingham and the Black Country. Listen on Soundcloud https://soundcloud. com/therotundas and contact us at our Facebook page @TheRotundas or email therotundasband@gmail.com SHRED BELLY Ludlow/Shropshire based acoustic duo, playing covers of popular ‘Dad’s Rock’ songs from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and more. Full band can also be available. All bookings and enquiries please contact: Kevin on 07873 426205 or Paul on 07957 247851.

SILVER BRANCH (Ceilidh and Concert Band).

CEILIDH BAND with caller. Available for weddings/ birthday parties/fund raisers, etc. For photos/videos please see our Facebook page. For further enquiries, ring David on 01981 540832 or Anna on 07980 961187. SILVER BRANCH (UN-CALLED FOR) - Five piece cutting edge instrumental Folk Band. Concerts/gigs.

SIMON THE PIPER Highland Piper with 20 years experience. Available for all occasions - weddings, funerals, Burn’s Night, Hogmanay, festivals, processions etc. Based in Hereford. Call 07791 045831 or facebook.com/simonthepiper Email simonthepiper@ hotmail.com SINGLED OUT Experienced, 3-piece band covering the best pop and rock music from the 50’s to the current era. We focus on great tunes that don’t usually get played by other bands, but which everyone will know. Of course, we do some of the more usual songs as well! www.singledoutband.com email: info@singledoutband. com Phone 07518 291 676.

SIR DANCELOT 4/5 piece ceilidh/twmpath band. Far and away the best exponents of traditional dance music of the British Isles and beyond for miles around and leagues beneath. Concertina, mandolin, fiddles, whistles, cittern, jews harp... Available for weddings, parties and public events. For information and bookings, contact: Cornelius 01686 411147 corns@mousemusic. co.uk or Peter 07561 820509. www.sirdancelot.co.uk SLIPPERY SLOPE Silly, melancholy and beautiful music played on accordion, fiddle, guitar and steel pan. From ska to klezmer via a Parisian cafe and a Russian vodka bar. For more info please call Jo or Ben on 01981 510136 see www.slipperyslope.org.uk or email slipperyslope@hotmail.com STONED CHERRIES Are: Dave Evans, guitar, mandolin, vocals; Roger Pugh, guitar, mandola, vocals; Aly May, whistles, vocals and Matt Donaldson, bass, percussion and vocals. A dynamic folk / rock fusion of original, traditional and modern songs and tunes.

Roger 01885 483425 / 07779 694615 / pugh@live.co.uk or Dave 01886 822132 / 07817 220016 / dgand2@btinternet.com www.dgand2.wix.com/ thestonedcherries THE SULTANA BROTHERS Fine R&B from one of the best bands around! The ultimate hip swingin’, foot tappin’ party band - guaranteed to help you dance the night away. For bookings/enquiries contact Phil 07791 129391 or Adam 07855 037092.

Website www.thesultanabrothers.vpweb.co.uk or find us on Facebook.com/thesultanabros THE VILLAGE QUIRE spine-tingling harmonies sung with all the emotional clout, subtlety of expression and love of life that you get when voices are raised together in song. Sensational vocals mingled with enthralling stories. Various shows to book, including ‘Songs for Silas’ melting harmonies and tall tales inspired by H. E. Bates’ evergreen My Uncle Silas. “... Absolutely delighted that you have chosen to weave your magical sound around that old rogue, Silas.” Victoria Wicks (Skins, Shadowlands and H. E. Bates’ grand-daughter).

For bookings / further info ring 01497 847676 www.villagequire.org.uk / www.songsforsilas.org.uk VINTAGE JAZZ REVIVAL Ludlow-based, 6-piece, New Orleans/Trad band. Comprising trumpet, sax, trombone, banjo, tuba and drums, playing and singing popular foot-tapping songs mostly from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Available for all functions. See us every Tuesday at the Rose and Crown in Ludlow. Tel: Rob 01584 318088.Email: vintagejazzrevival@gmail.com Website: www.vintagejazzrevival.co.uk WHISKEY RIVER is a 5/6 piece electric Americana band that play swamp blues, Cajun, Zydeco and good country music to set the dance floor rocking. To suit smaller venues and smaller budgets, pruned down acoustic versions of the band are available as “The Whiskey River Quartet”, “The Whiskey River Trio” or as a Duo [“The Whiskey River Boys”]. Laissez les bon temps rouler!!

Contact Martin, phone: 07846 669890, 01432 342018.

Email: martin@whiskeyriver.co.uk.

Website: www.whiskeyriver.co.uk

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modern irritations

Hacked off with Bake Off?

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OVE it or loathe it, you’re going to have to endure another series of Channel 4’s ‘Great British Bake Off’, this summer, its 20th outing.

That’s if the ISIS-induced plague of locusts the Sun is predicting hasn’t arrived.

The show is probably being filmed in the grounds of Wexford Park – its Berkshire ‘home’ for the last six years - even as I write these words. In that ridiculously tidy white tent complex. The programme’s set designer clearly suffers from OCD. Perfect straight lines and polished surfaces everywhere. I bet he goes around at daybreak before shooting, with a spirit level and a theodolite. It needs to look much more like the chaotic kitchen of a Victorian pie shop and less like a Swiss pharma laboratory.

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And the team of presenters / inquisitors urgently need a make-over. Bouncy Sandy Toksvig has already handed in her notice – to be replaced for the 2020 run by Little Britain’s Matt Lucas. And that looming Goth comedian Noel Fielding’s contributions are becoming rather tedious. If they were still with us, I’d encourage C4 to sign up Frankie Howerd, reprising his role of Lurcia in Up Pompeii – “Oooo Missus, you shouldn’t have put three eggs in that cake mix!” and Benny Hill, as Ernie the Milkman. And Paul ‘shark eyes’ Hollywood definitely needs to go. C4 should draft in someone far more empathetic and cuddlesome. Andrew Neill perhaps?

Harvey Weinstein would have been good, but he’s just signed a 23-year contract with the US government.

Of course, Bake Off is hard-wired with sadism, with burned buns and collapsed meringues being gleefully shown in close-up. Sue Perkins, (pic below), one of the show’s original presenters, recently spoke on record of the underlying ‘cruelty’ that was often built into exchanges with the younger participants. She recalled one occasion when the director focussed on a contestant and asked: “Can you tell us how it felt when your Gran died?” Some viewers found Perkin’s thinly-veiled cookery innuendos inappropriate. Her most notorious (announcing the start of a sponge-baking round: “You’ve got two hours to achieve ultimate moistness”) resulted in complaints to broadcasting watchdog OFCOM.

The show’s indomitable anchor, the saintly Prue Leith, obviously has to stay. Who else is there in television cookery today who has the culinary panache to wear glasses whose frames precisely colour-match the pink cream filling of the sponge she’s about to taste? Fanny Craddock was never so cool.

My favourite Bake Off moment (OK, I do take a masochistic delight in watching the programme from time to time) was when 20-year-old Ruby Tandoh rushed out of the tent to ring her mother on her mobile phone, to tell her she’d just picked up her third consecutive Star Baker accolade.

“Bloody Hell!” comes the shocked response from the other end. “Don’t swear Mum, we’re on telly!”

Nick Jones

‘You are caller number 37 in the queue’

T

HE boffin who invented the telephone ‘caller queuing’ system was probably distantly related to one of the atomic scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project in the 1950s.

He was clearly a loner and a sadist. He begat a sibling who developed Dad’s darkly twisted tendencies by coming up with telephone caller selection. But it was his son who was the real genius. At the tender age of 15 this deviant child prodigy was to give us ‘automatic call queuing’, multiplying the number of frustrated users by a factor of five. I dread to think what this little horror’s children will come up with.

For the professional electronic sadist, the beauty of automatic call queuing is:a) the caller has no idea how many operators are dealing with the 36 calls in front of her / him; b) why the caller at the front is taking 15 minutes to purchase a theatre ticket or order a roll of lino (“But when you say there are three shades of blue in the design can you be a bit more specific? I’ll need NCS references for all the blues.”); or c) whether, in fact, anyone has bothered to turn up for work today, since it is so mind-numbingly boring. The onus is always upon you, the caller, to be patient: keep holding on (enduring endless Richard Clayderman loop tapes) and run up an enormous phone bill. BT loves call queuing.

Another little-publicised fact is that the mother of the boy who thought up caller selection worked for the multinational which controls one of this country’s largest supermarket chains. Her job title (it was in the infancy of

the popularity of initials like CEO and HR) was LBW, standing for Let the Bastards Wait. It was she – doubtless aided and abetted by her son – who invented the now universally-adopted slowmoving check-out queue technique (or SCQ).

This calls for an overly-inquisitive check-out assistant to virtually bring to a halt the free flow of customers, by engaging the old biddie at the head of the queue with puerile chatter about her chosen brand of cat litter, or a recent holiday she’s taken in Lanzarote. According to one trade source the suicide rate in UK supermarket toilets has tripled in the 21st century.

Finally, spare a thought for the cousin of the creator of automatic call queuing who now works in Mumbai as Network Rail’s Head of its Bogus Running Time (BRT) unit. This Huaweideveloped system enables the centrally-controlled electronic components of all real-time indicators, across the UK’s entire 2,500-station rail network, to be programmed to display the words: “Running 6 minutes late” whenever there is an ‘R’ in the month.

Nick Jones

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hugh’s bit

Aur dan y rhedyn E

VERYBODY loves trees. Everybody agrees we need more trees. Despite our national ignorance of forestry, trees are part of our heritage, the spreading oak that symbolises the security of a Building Society, the wooden walls of Nelson and Trafalgar, the Boscobel Oak that saved Chares II after the Battle of Worcester in 1649, Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, the largest living things on our island, and a reminder of our origins in the wild wood. Wales and England both have aspirations for “National Forests”. Shell raised £5 million on its forecourts to plant 1,000,000 trees in Scotland We need broad-leaved trees for carbon capture and the climate emergency, for a restoration of biodiversity, after several millennia of destruction, to mitigate the flooding caused by climate change and agricultural practice, and to improve our relatively treeless landscape.

At the 2019 election the Conservatives promised a modest 30 million per year by 2024, the same rate we were planting them, albeit conifers, between 2000 and 2010, the Liberal Democrats said 60 million per year, while Labour’s figure was 100 million each year to 2040. The United Nations Environment programme wants to see a trillion trees planted. The Chancellor in his recent budget would have us believe he loves trees too, announcing the planting up of 30,000 hectares of trees in the Budget - an area the size of Birmingham. It sounds impressive but it only represents c. 30 - 50 million trees in the whole 5 year period of this government, which is not remotely the multifold and urgent increase we need to tackle climate change, and is less than we were planting before the election. https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/ statistics/statistics-by-topic/woodland-statistics/ And his pleasant aspiration fails to answer a vital question. Where are we to plant these trees? Not in Birmingham. Which farmers and landowners does he seriously think are going to give up their precious land for this unprofitable enterprise?

But! - I have good news for the Chancellor. Despite the fact that every square yard of the UK is owned, and apparently has some sort of economic purpose, there is a vast surplus of suitable land out there that can be turned

into new woods and forests. It’s under all that bracken.

This is potentially the biggest revolution in UK forestry for 40 years.

“Aur dan y rhedyn, Arian dan yr eithin, Newyn dan y grug” - “Gold under bracken, Silver under gorse, Starvation under heather.” Bracken lives where the oaks were, before we slashed and burnt and felled them all and scalped the hills hundreds and thousands of years ago, like in the Amazon today. Bracken is a highly invasive, persistent, tall, poisonous native weed which smothers any growth underneath. It has no economic value, shepherds dislike it because it makes it harder to “gather” (sheep) on the moors and commons, and at its densest it has almost no ecological value and harbours minimal biodiversity, and yet there are vast tracts of it – particularly on the hills. Until recently there was no really effective or acceptable way of controlling it en masse. Intensive cutting and mowing where the site is relatively flat can eventually succeed. There are highly toxic chemicals which temporarily set it back and will kill it with repeated spraying, but this is usually applied from the air with often disastrous side effects, on young trees, aquatic life, water supplies – and us. Bracken therefore has ruled undisturbed throughout the UK for donkey’s years, anywhere where it has got a hold and the soil is golden, deep and well drained and where the land is steep or inaccessible to machines. At a conservative estimate there are 100,000 hectares of bracken in Wales alone, a big enough area in theory to plant 200 million broad-leaved trees, though glades and other provisions for the specialist habitats of birds, animals and insects and access for humans should be built in.

So how do we control the bracken? It’s no use planting trees in the winter among the bracken litter for the bracken to re-emerge in spring, shade out the saplings in summer and collapse on top of them in the autumn. I’ve planted trees in bracken and its a waste of effort without repeated intensive manual labour – on a scale quite impossible to achieve for the well-being of the millions of trees we need. The answer: Brielmaier, a Swiss-German firm (and other firms in their wake) have now designed machines which will mow sideways across a 45 degree slope without slipping. The operator walks behind it. No herbicides. I’ve seen it working and the farmer who has it is in love with it.

The implications are big – the most difficult of the three big questions about trees in Britain is at least in part answered. Spare land exists all across Britain - under the bracken.

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Hugh Colvin has been planting trees for the last 40 years, and is currently involved in a scheme to plant 1,000,000 trees in the Brecon Beacons.

Two equally important questions remain of course, as to who is going to finance the planting, protection and maintenance of all these trees. Governments, charities, community and local business fund-raising, corporate sponsorship, carbon offset, the greenwash effect? And then how are we to engage and educate communities and future generations so as to establish a better forestry tradition where we value our trees more and plant more of them.

But at least we know where to plant some of them. In the bracken.

Hugh Colvin

modern irritations

Bêtes noires Harry Enfield’s ‘Loadsamoney’ flashes his wad

now the Personalised Number Plate capital of Britain. Jumping out of the path of a top-of-therange SUV outside Waitrose the other day while researching this subject, I fully expected its smug male driver to wind down the window and yell: “Oi – wanna see my wad?” And I’ve yet to see a humorous plate; masses of Benny Hill smut, but nothing remotely amusing.

W

HAT do Philip Green, John Humphrys, ex-Pope Ratzinger and Ian Duncannobody-special have in common? They are all insufferably vain. Though not referred to in the Commandments, vanity is considered to be one of the seven deadly sins.

What other explanation than the ‘v’ word can there be for the Arcadia boss needing to own two ocean-going yachts (his ‘n hers?). Or why, after boring us rigid for 35 flaming years on the ‘Today’ programme, did the mellifluous Welshman walk out of Broadcasting House and down the road to Leicester Square, to sign on with Classic FM? Or ex-Pope Benedict XVI, lover of Guzzi mules: what’s wrong with a pair of M&S slippers, Ratty?

And the man who single-handedly dismantled the lifetime’s achievement of William Beveridge is only seen in Press photos wearing a jauntilyangled Fedora because he’s bald as a coot!

But the aspect of vanity which infuriates me the most is that of personalised number plates.

Apart from making shed-loads of money for the DVLA (£66-million pa), what reason other than vanity is there for a person to emblazon the front of their car with a) their initials b) their six-yearold daughter’s christian name or c) their cat’s date of birth? Based on research in several local supermarket car parks, I have reached the depressing conclusion that Herefordshire is

Silly ideas hoover up silly sums of money from garrulous people. Who, in their right mind, would part with £200,000 to be able to put 5 1NGH on the front of their motorcar? A rich Indian named Singh, I suppose. And the man who coughed up more than £100,000 for 6B obviously has a fixation about being a pencil!

A good friend of my daughter (he owns several out-of-town shopping centres) was recently proudly showing her his latest limo – an F-type Jaguar coupé, I think it was. When they arrived at the back of the vehicle, she expressed surprise at the car’s standard issue identification.

“Well I’m really surprised at you,” she said. “I’d have put you down for one of those very rare plates you see advertised in the Sunday papers.”

To which he snootily replied: “In a car park, I think I can find my way back to my car without having to waste money on a directional sign costing £5K!” Nick Jones

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complementary therapies Disclaimer. We would like to emphasise that these listings relate to COMPLEMENTARY medicine practitioners. Broad Sheep does not endorse any of the practitioners or healing methods listed. We provide no recommendation and take no responsibility for their content.

A is for ACUPUNCTURE & HOLISTIC THERAPIES Joanna Bruce RGN, B.Ac, MBAcC - clinics in Leominster and Kingsland. Treating pain and long term health conditions effectively since 1983. Tel: 01568 709142 or text 07984 460969. Free initial phone consultation jo.bruce@talk21.com ACUPUNCTURE. Sandy Sandaver Lic Ac MBAcC. I practice an integrated style of acupuncture using 5 element and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and am a member of the British Acupuncture Council. I also carry out home visits. Hay Acupuncture Clinic, Rose Cottage, Cusop Dingle, Hay-On-Wye 01497 821625/07980 596218 sandysandaver@onetel.com or www.hayacupunctureclinic.co.uk ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, TRAUMA, LOW SELF WORTH and emotional difficulties - our innovative approach is being used with private and NHS clients with great success. Clients attend an average of 4 sessions to achieve a substantial, some say transformative, effect on their well being. You can check out the testimonials and book a one to one session on our website www. peaceofmindnow.co.uk or get in touch for more information Mike Buckley 07931 986168 mcmbuckley@gmail.com AROMATHERAPY massage and facials - Bach Remedies - Herbalism - Reiki. For comprehensive, holistic treatment: Roz Myers Brown, Dip. Ar. IPTI, MIPTI. Kington clinic.

07967 137208, roz.brown@btinternet.com

sheep

BROAD

Complementary Therapies ONLY £40 FOR THE WHOLE YEAR Just post the details of your therapy (around 40 words) with a cheque for £40 payable to Broad Sheep and post to: The Lodge, Westhide, Hereford, HR1 3RQ

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You can amend the wording anytime during the year, just call Clare on 01432 850444 or email: info@broadsheep.com

BOWEN TECHNIQUE Bowen is a holistic, non invasive therapy consisting of gentle moves over soft tissue and muscles, interspersed with periods of rest. Suitable for adults and children. Working from clinics in Bishop’s Castle and Church Stretton. Home visits available.

Contact ROB ROWE MBTPA tel: 01588 630648, email rob@robrowe.co.uk or learn more at www.bowentherapy. org.uk BESPOKE MASSAGE THERAPY BY CHERYL LILWALL MTI. Sensitive communication through the medium of touch. For physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Clinic held at the Integrative Health Clinic, Holland House, 70 Belmont Road, Hereford. Tel: 07487 738089. www.herefordbespokemassagetherapy.co.uk CHARTERED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST & PSYCHODYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPIST with over 25 years professional NHS experience, providing psychological help to adults. Please see website for details: www.drmatthewfaull.co.uk. I am highly trained and experienced in using evidence–based psychotherapies to relieve distress and help you achieve your life goals, and offer sessions in Ludlow and Leintwardine. I also offer supervision to mental health professionals. Please contact me by email: mfaull@btinternet.com, to arrange a free initial phone conversation to consider your needs.

Registered with British Psychological Society, British Psychoanalytic Council, Health Professions Council.

CLAIRE KERBY COUNSELLING (Post grad dip Counselling, MBACP). Having someone to talk to outside your normal circle of friends / family can really help to gain a new clarity and sense of perspective. I would love it if you would call me, in confidence, with no judgement on 07971 816541, or email me at Claire.kerby@btinternet. com.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (CBT), COUNSELLING AND COUPLE COUNSELLING Hello!

CBT can work well for depression, anxiety, panic, OCD, anger, phobias, self-harm, eating disorders, low selfesteem and more. I also offer counselling for most issues, including sexuality, bereavement and past sexual abuse.

Couple counselling is available and counselling for those who have problems concerning self-esteem, relationships or lack of them. Contact Gail Venables MBACP (Accred) on 07484 766371 or www.cbtgail.co.uk for sessions in Leominster and New Radnor COUNSELLING, HEALING, MEDIUMSHIP. Spiritual Medium & Author Jenny Martin, offers one to one tuition or personal counselling/healing in Mid Wales.

Over 20 years experience. Jenny’s spiritual development manual and her biography are both available via www.jennymartinmedium.com or contact jenny@ jennymartinmedium.com for more information.

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY with Jess Pailthorpe RCST. Safe, effective, light-touch treatments to help you heal & repair. Muscle/joint problems, stress, anxiety, fatigue, trauma….Clinics in Leominster Osteopaths and Kingsland.

Phone for info: 07981 866 667 / www.touchtreetherapy.co.uk

DEEPLY RELAXING Craniosacral Therapy can increase your well-being by releasing emotional and physical tensions. Given a safe space and correct focus, your body knows the way. I am an accredited practitioner, qualified since 2004, based in Shrewsbury, Crickhowell and Mid Wales. Email: cheryljonestherapy@gmail.com Mobile: 07476 012299.

EMOTIONAL THERAPY: Anne Cummings FETC (Adv Dip), MNCS (Accred) offers this safe, effective therapy to help adults and children heal their emotional and spiritual wounds and fulfil their personal potential. If you have difficulty relating to others, or have troublesome emotions call Anne on 01547 530977. Specialist knowledge and experience of working with panic attacks, anger, stress, bullying, low self-esteem, bereavement/loss, anxiety and depression. Centres in Powys/south Shropshire.

Ffi including workshops and talks. www.thewritetofeel.com.

EQUINE FACILITATED LEARNING. Personal growth for individuals and groups through powerful yet gentle interactions with horses, with seasoned Eponaquest facilitator Angela Dunning. EFL sessions involve spending time outdoors with these beautiful sentient beings, where you will be guided to deepen your connection to yourself and your body; build true confidence; reconnect to your Soul’s purpose and bring greater authenticity to your life.

No horse experienced required. Shropshire/Herefordshire/ Borders. Contact me on: 01588 630061/07583 726207; angela@equinereflections.co.uk; or visit www.thehorsestruth.co.uk

LEOMINSTER NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE Chiropractic, Herbal Medicine, Kinesiology, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Reflexology, Emmet technique. Remedial and Holistic Massage.

Counselling inc: Couples and Family, Cognitive Behaviour and NLP Stress Management, Child Birth Issues, Psychotherapy. Telephone 01568 616411 email infoleominstercommunitycentre@gmail.com Or visit Leominster Community Centre, School Road HR6 8NJ (behind Bridge Street car park).

MASSAGE THERAPY WITH MARIAN HARDIMAN (MTI, CNHC, MLDUK). Remedial, Sports, Holistic, Indian Head Massage. Organic Facial and Manual Lymph Drainage. Clinic in Presteigne (The Retreat), Presteigne, LD8 2UF. Contact: marian@silvanmassage.com, www. silvanmassage.com, 07816 981454.

NO HANDS® MASSAGE works on every level: physical, energetic, emotional, mental and spiritual. It’s deep, transforming touch with no pain. Come and train with Wendy Mills, Master Therapist and Instructor. Clinic and Courses held in Sutton St Nicholas, Hereford.

07858137889; millsw1@tiscali.co.uk; www.wendymills.co.uk MINDFULNESS Alithea Waterfield MBCT teacher offering Mindful Walks in Nature, 8-week Mindfulness courses and Mindfulness Guided Meditations. Committed to helping you reconnect with a more authentic and compassionate self and develop skills to manage life’s challenges resourcefully, skillfully and creatively. 07899 361316 alitheawaterfield@gmail.com

HEALINGS, INSIGHT READINGS, PERSONAL GROWTH COACHING, ANIMAL COMMUNICATION Healings, insights into life path and situations, space and guidance to explore and help re-align with our inner truth.

Also offer help understanding our animals’ behaviour and needs. Enquiries: Kohra 01544 262 110, kohra@gmx.co.uk

OSTEOPATH. Mr R A Hughes D.O. Registered Osteopath and Sports Therapist. Fully qualified and registered since 1995. Established in Presteigne for over 20 years. Sciatica, Arthritis, Trapped Nerves, Back, Neck and Shoulder Pain. Headaches, Sports Injuries.

07961 352056, rahughesosteo@gmail.com The Retreat, Presteigne – free car parking.

HEREFORD HOMEOPATH Juliet Ablett RHom, MARH, MNCHM. Experienced practitioner works with you as an individual, listening without judgement; working with whatever symptoms or issues you have. Natural, effective treatment suitable for all ages. I am very happy to chat with you on the phone about what treatment you are looking for before you commit to an appointment. Weekly clinics in Kentchurch, Hereford and Monmouth. Juliet Ablett www.julietablett.co.uk julietablett@rocketmail. com 01981 241456

PHYSIOTHERAPY, CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY, REFLEXOLOGY & YOGA with Hermione Evans, Chartered Physiotherapist at Radnor Physiotherapy. For all back and neck pain, headaches, sports injuries, RSI, stress related illness and more. To discuss your needs or to make an appointment, please phone 01544 350691 or email contact@radnorphysiotherapy.co.uk or view www.radnorphysiotherapy.co.uk

HOLISTIC MASSAGE THERAPY: Meg Lawrence MTI. A listening and sensitive therapy, treating the whole person.

For relief from aches and pains, easing of occupational and postural tensions, providing relaxation and calm in peaceful surroundings, 20 minutes from Presteigne, Hayon-Wye and Kington. Email meg@radnorshire.com; phone or text 07910892172 HOMOEOPATHY Sandy Underhill RSHom. I have worked for 20 years treating individuals for many complaints, whether psychological, mental, emotional or physical. Homoeopathy is about bringing wellness to ones being by triggering the bodies natural system of healing.

It is suitable for all ages. Clinics are held at Rock Park Complimentary Health Centre, Llandrindod Wells, Powys and Kington, Herefordshire. 01597 851021.

MASSAGE, COACHING, YOGA, DECLUTTERING with Wellbeing Therapist Sophie Atkinson, Orleton SY8 Individual powerful sessions to help you create the space you need for the life you want. Web: www.sophieatkinson. co.uk 07930 353 118 Email: sophie@healing-energy.net

SOUND HEALING TRAINING AND WORKSHOP RETREATS We run the 5 part Sound Therapy training programme for the College of Sound Healing as weekend retreats in the beautiful setting of Primrose Haven with lovely gardens and sacred spaces. Also Seasonal Sounds Days and weekend retreats: Sound Healing and Nature; Magical Resonance of Celtic Sounds and Sound and gardening for the soul. Retreat stays in our cosy Shepherd Huts. Occasional evening sound and Gong meditations.

Please contact Paul Benham, paul@primrosehavenretreats.co.uk and www.primrosehavenretreats.co.uk. 01497 847299.

SPIRITUAL HEALER Naturally gifted in releasing emotional grief in present and past lives. 29 years professional experience with physical and mental health.

Private healing sessions and talks given.

Gillian Williamson, MNFSH. Field House, Kinnerton.

01547 560874.

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