Exclusive Offer for Stays at Middle Piccadilly, Rural Retreat, Dorset.

Peaceful Lane where Middle Piccadilly can be found. Honest!

If you've taken an interest in my last few posts about Middle Piccadilly, the lovely little Healing Retreat in the heart of the Dorset countryside, you may be pleased to see that, exclusively for my readers, they are happy to offer a 10% discount on all stays AND therapies booked before the end of July and taken before the end of this year.**

Seeing as the rooms and full board are only £120 or £135 per person per night anyhow and also seeing as their sole aim is to provide the opportunity to help you re-connect with yourself away from the stresses and strains of every day life and we wouldn't bat an eyelid about spending it to keep our cars going, it must be worth giving some serious thought to?

I really felt quite invigorated on my return and am definitely going to visit again.  It's gladdening they have stayed true to their roots, that their ethics remain pure and that their treatments are still top notch. There's nothing like investing in yourself - some time, energy and attention - for real rewards and most of us mums and dads just don't do enough of it!

Much is made of the food there and it's fundamental to a stay.  Dominic Harvey, son of the founders and resident chef as well as all round Manager, has maintained their tradition of serving vegetarian cuisine. The reasoning behind this is it puts far less strain on the digestive system and body in general and, therefore, much more can be gained from the holistic treatments undergone.

Over the years, he has experimented and explored and created a unique and adventurous repertoire, driven mainly by demand and a passion for puddings and all things healthy, without being boring.  He has amassed a wealth of knowledge - like how most cashew nuts aren't really raw, so genuine ones have to be specially sourced - and recipes galore - juices, salads and full on Cordon Vert cuisine - which he's finally put into a book, to launch soon.

It's called Feed Green and the best way to find out about it is to sign up to Middle Piccadilly's Newsletter -  and / or follow his brand new blog  - The Lifestyle Chef and / or Instagram account.  He showed me some of the pictures and they're fab.

One thing is for sure, you never go hungry or without home comforts here!

Food is fundamental to a stay at Middle Piccadilly. 

You can also follow Middle Piccadilly too on Facebook and / or Twitter (@midpiccadilly) / Instagram (@middle_piccadilly).  They're a bit new to Social Media and most information is available on their website, but I urge you to think of yourself - perhaps for a change - and consider re-connecting with who you used to be or who you really are, not only in the way that they provide opportunity for, but in general.

I spoke about my rage and about how hard things can be for many mums (and dads).  Sometimes, just taking a short spell away from everything can be an amazing tonic and help us seize the moment more as our childrens' milestones speed swiftly past.

Here's what some of the other guests wrote and there were copious pages and cards in a similar vein -

Taken from the guest book at Middle Piccadilly. 

It seems there's a great deal to be said, therefore, for just being still and this rather rustic place in the middle of nowhere gives you you through that or a great kick-start and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for it all.

Disclosure - I was a guest of Middle Piccadilly and provided with two treatments for the purposes of this review.  The requirement was only for one honest post, but considering my history with them, my passion for natural medicine and the real healing that occurred, I wanted to do more. All words and pics are my own.

**This very generous 10% discount cannot to be taken in conjunction with any other offer.

Turning Back Time to Middle Piccadilly Healing Retreat in Dorset.

Day One: Eat, Treatment, Sleep, Repeat.

Day Two: Shamanic Healing and Shamanka School.

Anya XX

Middle Piccadilly Retreat, Day One: Eat, Treatment, Sleep, Repeat.

They warn you about it on their website nowadays:-

The Middle Piccadilly Story

So we can meet your expectations and goals, please be aware that, however much we love traditional health spas, Middle Piccadilly is not a 5 star pampering spa, with fluffy robes, giant thelasatherapy jacuzzis and swimming pools... but you will get outstanding 5* therapies, comfortable guest accommodation, freshly created vegetarian cuisine, a charming rural setting and the peaceful ambiance that makes Middle Piccadilly truly unique!

You can imagine my surprise, therefore, when I was met by a fluffy robe, slippers in the wardrobe, and some gorgeous toileteries!

Whereas we used to be able to stay in the house - the actual absolutely idyllic little thatched cottage that is the heart of the retreat (pictured on my post yesterday), European Law has decreed it to be a fire risk and seeing as it's listed, the necessary alterations to make it legally habitable by guests aren't actually allowed.

Therefore, we can't sleep there anymore. The founding family either had to shut up shop or swap residences, so they moved out of their home which was on site anyhow, and we've moved into theirs!

This meant a smaller room for me.  A bit too small for my liking, to be honest. And a shared bathroom.  Again, not ideal, but that's certainly not the case for them all.  There are only six bedrooms in total (all charged at the same rate and allocated on a first come first served basis), two doubles, a twin and three singles, one of which has doors which opens on to the garden - I took a sneak peek while it was still empty - and the others are bigger.

Seeing as I was a guest of Middle Piccadilly and it was all a bit last minute on my side, there really wasn't anything to complain about.  It was clean, with its own basin and tea and coffee making facilities and just across the way was a compact but comfortable 'Media Room' - the only place in the house with WiFi.  The rest of it - including the quite-large-with-sunset-views communal sitting room - is a Digital De-tox zone.

Talking of de-toxing, I was delighted that Dominic is, indeed, still doing the cooking and, yes, there really is such a thing as Cordon Vert cuisine!

Nowadays they offer three choices of it - Cleanse, Vegetarian and Raw Food.  They have also added a 'Living Smart Living Clean' programme - four to fourteen days of a combination of all three, together with tailor made holistic treatments.

Best of all, I was delighted to see Eliana Harvey is still hands on at the Retreat.  At age 86, she continues to teach workshops and is presently training up 17 Shamanic Therapists!  Her husband, Jerry, isn't so well, but he's still there, aged 90.  The whole family are incredibly inspiring examples of this kind of healthy living.

Eliana took my initial consultation and gave me a different kind of food - the type for thought - asking what I wanted to get out of my short stay with them.

The very short version is that I wanted to be less cross, more me.  Oh and there was the matter of the head injury I sustained a few years ago, from which I've never fully recovered.  And the usual feelings of (not necessarily just single) motherhood - overwhelm, anxiety, fatigue, frustration and never-ending guilt.

It transpired these consultations can be a bit hit and miss and aren't necessarily included in certain packages but I think they're an integral introduction to getting the most out of a stay there.  They kind of open up your mind to what matters to you and help to tailor the holistic treatments on offer.

These vary from £35-£85 and inlcude facials, therapeutic massage and a body scrub as well as the more Alternative or 'Energetic' ones that you can't always get elsewhere.  In my twenty odd years of exploring Natural Medicine, the therapists at Middle Piccadilly have always been of the most outstanding calibre and I'm pleased to say that there is never a 'push' or 'sell' of any description at any point, still.

After a delicious dinner - a hot nut roast, new potatoes and ratatouille plus a chocolate pudding (or the raw versions for those who chose so) - I took a wonderful walk, watched the sunset and retired early ahead of my Spiezia Hand on Heart session the following morning.  Everything was still and peaceful and felt home from home (well, apart from the still and peaceful bit, obvs!).

The Blurb:-

Spiezia Hand on Heart

This treatment centres the mind with the body, sharpening awareness of the feelings and sensations stimulated during the slow rhythmic massaging of both hands and feet, enlivening the energy flow on the body. These massages are orientated towards a number of sensitive and powerful pressure points, which stimulate energy interactions throughout the body, releasing mental and emotional blockages. The treatment culminates in gently rebalancing the chakras.

The small spa room at Middle Piccadilly.

It takes place in a small spa room.  The lights are dim, the candles are lit and the music is gentle Native American stuff  - flutes and drums - which I fell in love with on my times here before.

The Practitioner, Claire, was very intuitive, working on the hands up to the elbows and the feet up to the knees, on all the points and energy pathways that affect whole of the body.  She could feels in hers what was going on in mine and you know you're with a good one when that happens.

And there it was.  In my abdomen .  A great big fat ball of rage.

I tried to transmute it and make light of it.  I've known it's there, but have been too stubborn to want to shake it off.  Things have been very hard as a single parent and sometimes I think perhaps it's the only thing that's kept me going!

It's probably not very healthy, however neither was it going to disappear in an instant.

It is said that there's nothing wrong with anger per se, it's how we use it that matters.  It can move mountains and be used very beneficially, but I felt it was time to shift it now and I gave it a go.

Afterwards, in my room alone as the work continued to take effect, I had a feeling I owed myself some compassion and that's not something that comes naturally to us Brits, but, again, I tried and think it helped somewhat.

As is encouraged here, I slept afterwards.  Eat, Treatment, Sleep, Repeat, is how it seems to go, with a wonderful walk around the village if you fancy if it's not raining, which it was when I was there, so I just went for more of the same.

It's easy to see who the new guests are -they're comparatively loud!  But it only takes a morning to get them into the Zen zone.

Seeing as I was there, it wasn't walking weather and I liked and trusted the Therapist, I booked in for an Indian Head Massage, to see if it could help heal the concussion issues that still flare up.  It appeared a bit steep at £65 but it was for the best part of an hour and, in retrospect, really was worth it.  Cranio-sacral therapy and Acupuncture have made an enormous difference over the last couple of years, but I hadn't had the courage to try one of these until today.  It felt like right thing to do and I was glad to have gone with my gut instinct.    

Tomorrow I would be in the good hands of the main lady and founder of Middle Piccadilly, herself, Eliana Harvey, for Shamanic Healing.

In the meanwhile, another super supper was waiting without me having to lift a finger for it myself - always a plus!

Not having to lift a finger for the excellent Cordon Vert cuisine at Middle Piccadilly.

Turning Back Time to Middle Piccadilly Healing Retreat in Dorset.

Day Two: Shamanic Healing and Shamanka School.

Exclusive Offer for Stays at Middle Piccadilly.

My Beautiful 11 Year Old.

My eldest son, now 11.

My eldest son isn't here as I write.  He's on yet another sleepover at yet another mate's house.

The last time he went there on a Friday for a couple of hours whilst his little brother was at his Dance class and I worked late, he didn't actually come home until Sunday evening!

He just tootles along at his own pace, humming his own tune, doing his own thing.

As is right.

It seems only five minutes since the day he turned ten and, oh my, how things have changed since then.

All of a sudden he seems ready for Senior School, which is a good job because he'll be starting there soon!  He's all grown up in some ways and still very young in others.

He didn't want a party this year, but just to be at home with his brother and me.  He asked his Godmother to make him his cake because she does them so brilliantly (think M&Ms secreted in the middle and spilling out when you cut them, something most mums can't compete with).  I pretend to be offended but, really, I just want the best for him and, as a bona fide chef, she undoubtedly is that.

He makes me very proud in so many ways - how he gets on with his work at school, how he works out a tune on his keyboard, how he ploughs through books at a rate of knots, how much he loves. He's very sensitive and kind and yet stroppy as a stroppy person in a strop can be.  Can't imagine where he gets that from ;).

I admire the fact he's feisty and sticks up for himself.  It's something to encourage, not wanting him to be ridden roughshod over.  His comebacks are brilliant.

He has a beautiful singing voice, but is too shy to do much with it.  The thought of it breaking..... well, let's not go there yet.

He is a Gemini.  So we have the both - the one who stands up strong, the other crippled with a lack of confidence.

The answer is generally food.  Like most other 11 year olds, his appetite is his main priority and from what I hear, this is how it will be from now on.  He will be eating us out of house and home this summer and I fear it will be our last as just us.

I will treasure our times down the beach together even more than usual, because he is going off into the big wide world from September.  He has to travel by bus to get to his new school and will be increasingly independent.   He'll be dressed in a blazer, have his own mobile phone and will make a lot of his own decisions.

He'll make new mates for his little brother to torment with hugs.  They will all be embarrassed as hell and, as a result, most of the sleepovers will happen elsewhere (with any luck!).

But while he's here, still with us, still fairly little but almost as tall as me and his world still revolves around us, we are very blessed to know someone like him, very blessed by his company, very blessed in general.

At the moment he's mad about James Bond films, since they started showing them on a Sunday afternoon on TV.  I bought him the whole set seeing as he didn't want a party, but, technically speaking, he's not old enough to watch them all.

And I find myself in a similar dilemma with his new bike.  He now goes off on his own to his friend's house, which is hard when we've been a tight little unit for so long and done everything as one.  But it's impossible to present him with it and ask otherwise.

*Sigh*  We're at that inbetween age, where he still needs his mum, but it's all on his terms now, not mine.

It's all come too soon, but it's here and the tables turning isn't always a bad thing.

Yesterday, he helped me a great deal, by putting his hands on what was a painkful ankle.  He used his intuitive healing abilities to manipulate it a little, told me which way to turn it a bit here and there and before very long, it had clicked back into place.  What a ruddy genius.  I'd been limping all day!

But that's my Beautiful 11 Year Old for you and the wondering what time he'll be home has begun!

The Power of a Walk.

The other day I went for an amble.  I love the fairer weather.  I am a fair weather walker, you could say.  

Living on the seafront is wonderful in the winter with the gales and gusts and the sea in the storms, but those aren't the days the car is left somewhere after the school run and a saunter home is taken. The time has come for burning the midnight oil and mooching in the mornings in the sun. Spring brings a fresh wind and it's invigorating to let go for an hour and just be.  

In fact, it's the best thing on earth.  No matter how overwhelmed I'm feeling, no matter how many times I've been woken by the students / kids / dustmen refuse collectors / seagulls / next door's pigeons / dogs / cats / a mouse in the house / a random beeping from a car or a handset somewhere - there really is light at the end of some tunnels!    

I'll get right up close and personal with the water's edge and breathe and all will be well with the world.  It gives me a feeling of coming home.  I love the bright sky, the expanse of space, the smells, the sounds of the waves rolling in, the peace yet the noise.  The salt in the air makes me smile.  I feel part of something special - something big, something beautiful and something better.

Little things get perspective, big ones come to the forefront of my mind as I wander and I just listen - to them come and go, come and go, as the tide comes and goes, comes and goes.  It is wonderful and I rejoice in being able to do this.  It is probably the singular thing that prevents me looking for an office job.  I would hate to give this up.  I would miss it.  

This is where my heart is.  Where's yours?  

Thank you to all of you who nominated me in the #Bibs 2015 Best Writer Category.  I'm thrilled to have made it to the shortlist and it would be awesome to make it into the final five.  If you can find it in your heart to vote me through, then please click HERE.  (Thank you very, very much!).  

New Year, New Blog.

This badge is me, my new blog.

I am going back to my Healing work, after taking a break to have my children, although, it could be said that you never really take a break from this kind of thing.

I have helped friends and family - and their children - from time to time, so kept my hand in, if you'll excuse the pun for hands-on healing work!  With my little one starting school in September, it feels like the right time.

This blog will continue as normal. I hope both will serve as platforms for books that need a shed load of editing.  

I hope you will follow me over there too.  I have never hidden this aspect of my personality / life.  Indeed, I hope it has come through over here. 

'Hope, hope, hope' seems to be fitting as a theme as we hit a New Year, which will come, whether we are ready or not (and, sadly, I am not, as yet!).  I suspect many of us are filled with a premise such as this?    

Tell me what you're hoping for as we approach 2013.  I sincerely wish it brings you everything you wish yourself and more.  You deserve it.  Let it be full of wonderful surprises.

In the meanwhile, thank you for your kindnesses and continued support on this blog. I do hope you like the new one too.

Happy New Year!

     

Anya X

The Next Big Thing.

There are great plans over Polly at Caughtwriting.  She's going on what is being referred to between us all as 'The Big Adventure' - travelling around France with her small son for a month next Summer. Plans are afoot for a book through various blog posts and it's all spelt out in this post called 'The Next Big Thing.'

This is a project being passed between bloggers at present, answering these set questions about our 'Next Big Thing,' before, naturally, as is always the case with these memes, inviting some others to do the same.

I've actually got serious plans with my writing work so was glad to be asked these questions and set out my replies here:









What is the working title of the project?

I have two projects next.   The first is getting my Older Single Mum Diaries published and the second is starting a second blog as a platform for another book I have written - about exploring natural medicine while working in the City and discovering my own gift for Hands on Healing. 

Where did the idea come from?
My real life.   Both single mums and Healers have common mis-conceptions about them.  You could say these opinions are narrow-minded if you like, but I believe they're due to a lack of information more than anything.    

What genre does the project fall under?
Both non-fiction.

Picture - National Geographic

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
People used to say I looked like Demi Moore when we were both a lot younger , but you'd need someone in their forties for the first and someone about to hit thirty in the second, someone half-Indian, 5'0".   Any ideas anybody please?

What is the one sentence synopsis of your project?
1)  Only 2% of single mums are teenagers and I believe that the rest of us - older, wiser, with exes in tow, have something to say that 'll make you laugh and feel proud to know us.  2)  When you look at the sea, you don't see the whole world that lives underneath and I want to guide you to the world that is deep within you, for you might not see it yet, but it is there!

Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?
You know me, I've seen how hard those self-published people work, so preferably the latter, but I appreciate that won't get me off the hook!

How long will it take to write the first draft?
They have taken years, but I have written stuff at the time, while it's still fresh.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I only really know of Single Mother on the Verge - blog and book re the first project and for the second, it would probably be the very famous 'You Can Heal Your Life' by Louise Hay. 

Who or what inspired you to write these blog posts / books?
I really enjoy the other Single Mums' Stories - other people who defy the myth of who single people are supposed to be.  They surprise me and regarding the other project, I'm starting the new blog in January when I go back to my Healing work properly.  I love watching people 'open up' a part of themselves they haven't been used to.

What else about your project might pique the readers’ interest?
People always love a good story.  Both books demonstrate courage and going against the grain.  I want to inspire and many people are intrigued, particularly when they find out about me shunning a six figure salary because I was unfulfilled.  Re the Healing one, They identify with the 'something missing' and a niggling, never-ending tiredness.  I believe their instincts will pull them to want to feel happier in their own skin.   

I know these three women have some really exciting new projects, so let's ask them what their 'Next Big Thing is!'    

Liska at newmumonline
Hello it's Gemma.
Jax at liveotherwise

Yo I'll tell you what I want ....

1)  I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...

...is Mel B back on the X-factor judging panel. What a breath of fresh air, making an otherwise dreary show with the others spewing stuff as dull as dishwater suddenly up their game to make for a hugely enjoyable and watchable entertainment show.  I would even go so far as to say heartwarming. 

Ratings?  Pah!   Bring her on.  She needs the money.  Well, someone does.  Oh, that's me - see no. 2).

I tell you this because Anna Tims has revealed her innermost desires at Adventures of a Middle-Aged Matron and has passed the meme baton on to me.  Now we all crave happy and carefree kids, health, wealth and holidays, World Peace etc. but all this is a 'given.'  What she really, really wants to know about is stuff like this:

2)  You know, the important things in life, such as this fab dress from Phase Eight.  

Heaven knows how it has happened, but I have been bestowed with the good enough fortune to win a much sought after ticket for the MAD Blog Awards in two weeks time.  I clocked it in a shop window in Eastbourne recently, then remembered I never go anywhere nowadays to wear such a beautiful creation.  But that was then.  This is now.  I want it. 

3)  I also want free Osteopathy, Healing and Acupuncture for everyone, everywhere who is in any pain.  You might as well throw in Aromatherapy Massage and Reflexology and anything else 'Alternative' you can think of, but my favourite is Shiatsu, so make sure that's included and I know, hand on heart, they will receive some relief and, perhaps, get some semblance of their lives back and the NHS will be less overloaded and save£Trillions in the long run.

4)  And cheaper public transport.  Who doesn't want that?  Honestly, they should have me running the Department of Transport in government.  When I lived in New York it was so cheap to go on the subway, everybody used it.  It utterly inspired me, but, unfortunately, still makes me rage when it costs £4.40 for a 15 minute bus ride to Brighton or £4-6 to park there for a few hours.  You want us out of our cars?  Make the buses a quid and watch it happen!

5)  I want what is the Holy Grail for many of us - a night's uninterrupted blissful slumber, because where my kids might have left off after SIX YEARS of waking me up between them, my lovely man's sciatica has taken over.  I try not to mention that to him all that often but *blushes furiously and grimaces* just can't help myself.  Frustration and yearning make my main aim in life bed by 9.30, but it never, ever happens!


So, 'tis with pleasure I pass this baton on to some lovely ladies - to declare their most inherent wants to the world and do you know what my boyfriend just did, having read this blog post?  He's only offered to buy me the dress!  They say Fate moves in mysterious ways, so watch out, girls - 'they' also say 'Be careful what you wish for!'  Good Luck!


http://mummyratesit.co.uk/
http://www.largerfamilylife.com/
http://older-mum.blogspot.co.uk/
http://mummyplum.blogspot.co.uk/
http://lynseythemotherduck.blogspot.co.uk/
http://tattooedmummy.blogspot.co.uk/




  
     

    

Is Life Like a Sat. Nav. Drive?

Are we guided - spiritually or otherwise - when we go off our course?  I think so.

We all have feelings inside that guide us.  They start of as little messages - or 'intuitions,' even 'inner-tuitions' it could be suggested, like whispers. Then they become louder as we veer further and even vastly off our course.

It is the hardest thing in the world to be true to yourself.  People fear what they don't know and nobody knows how we truly feel.

I agree that our outlook is, or can be, heavily influenced by our upbringing, that we can inherit fears and phobias and attitudes, small or worldly minds and loves and hates, but those little inklings inside, perhaps aspiring to better / different things, our individual loathings and passions that we might be afraid to voice and things that just don't feel right or, indeed, draw us to them, belong to us alone and we should own them.

We have recently returned from Nottingham and it was a pleasure to use a Sat. Nav. for the first time, having borrowed it from a lovely friend who helps with everything now and then and who kept us company for the long journey.  It would be a physical impossibility or plain stupid to attempt to travel with two young children such as mine - and the distractions naturally occurring - without a companion and we used this marvellous tool for the nitty gritty bits around the city itself.

Its gentle and polite corrections amid the duration it took me to learn to pay proper attention were quite touching.  I reckon the nice lady talking could have told me to 'turn around as soon as possible' at any point after age 16, the end of my school days, because my life went all downhill from there.  It was deemed 'not enough' for me to be a Nurse, by other people, yet, inside, there was a yearning they were not able to feel.

So working in a Bank was miserable and a disaster from day one.  Not to mention boring.  It was just not me.  Did I pay attention?  Not really.  Was I brought up to be true to myself?  Was I Heck.

It is a common reality for most of us, to be on the wrong path, to please other people and to be gently guided from within, slowly albeit sometimes, back to ourselves.

Fate..?

Now from the outside, my life looked fabulous.  I ended up earning a fortune, travelling frequently, driving a flash car and generally throwing my weight about among the big shots in London's Financial Markets.  Yes, all very glamorous to those onlookers who had no idea it nearly killed me.

It would come as no surprise, however, years later, to those who knew me better, when I gave it all up and went looking for something more meaningful and eventually discovered my gift as a Spiritual Healer.  This took enormous courage and was very lonely for a long time, but, at least I did it, penned a book about it all (which is still in progress) and, ultimately, found out more about me than anyone else could ever tell me.  It is a form of helping people akin to Nursing, it would not be unreasonable to suppose.

Nowadays it is much more mainstream than I ever could have originally dreamed was possible.  It made me feel more whole, despite the uphill concept and struggles to contend with, not least other peoples' opinions.  It  never ceases to amaze me how differently people treat you when you're dressed in a suit and high heels as opposed to what I wear as an older single mum.  Never. Really.

So.  Is life like a Sat. Nav?  Are we drawn back to who we are supposed to be, to fulfil our potential, to do what we came to do?

Is it mapped out, or 'written?'  Is there a blueprint, like those in spiritual circles believe?  Heaven only knows!

It seems my Nursing days would have been over by now, because my writing work has taken over since having children.  It is not unfeasible or inconceivable that a teaching element would be appropriate on any path  at my time of life.  Would my two lovely boys have come earlier?  And not been subjected to a divorce, if heed had been paid to my gut plan?

We are driven by instinct, when we pay attention.  There is a potent force pulling us in a direction that is right for us.  There are millions of us who put blind faith in a complete stranger's voice, yet, within our soul, indeed, by its very essence, we all possess a mightily more powerful one of our own.