It’s been a busy, busy, busy few weeks …

Last Sunday I gave an interview on radio BBC Berkshire, talking about Complementary Therapies, my trip to Bosnia on 3rd April 2010 and the  fundraising event I am organising on 6th February 2010 (£400 still to raise for the Bosnia trip)…  BBC Berkshire were quite taken with the story so have done a follow up piece on their website, see the following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8261000/8261130.stm 

and they want me to go back ‘on air’ before and after the trip!!

The other big news is that I have been offered a position at the University of Westminster, London, teaching Aromatherapy and Reflexology on the BSc Health Sciences and Complementary Therapied degree, and I accepted!  This is my old uni  and degree, so am delighted to be back there and very excited to be teaching at this level. I start at the end of September and will work 2 days a week in London and 1 day a week at home, leaving 2 days for my own massage practice, perfect!

I have a new website under construction and can’t wait to launch that.

Applications are now open for the 2010 Reading Half Marathon… I have continued with the running over the summer, so just need to keep it all going and maybe I can better my time next year!  If you would like to join me on training runs, that would be great, do get in touch.

Enjoy the final days of summer, autumn equinox tomorrow…….

Well, I use the term ’summer’ but despite being in August, we’ve yet to see much sunshine, but have enjoyed plenty of rain….a normal British summer then!

Sadly, the Sweat Lodge didn’t happen at the end of June due to illness … another time.

The Bosnia trip planned for September, has also been delayed to 2010, hopefully in April, watch this space.  If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.mycharitypage.com/Jayne and you can safely make a payment, or give me the cash when you see me.

I am planning a big fundraising event on Saturday 6th February 2010, gathering a group of the finest therapists, including: massage, reiki, mind de tox, aromatherapy, homeopathy, acupunture, bowen and lots more.   We shall be at RISC, London Street, Reading from 10am to 4pm offering taster sessions for a donation.  I need to raise £750, so please come along, have a go and part with some money.. do tell all your friends and family to come along too!

I’ve enjoyed working at a couple of festivals so far, one with lots of rain, one with lots of sun and very much looking forward to Shambala festival at the end of August..

This time last year I was in Greece.. what I wouldn’t give to be on a beach right now.. sun and sea sea sea…… !!!!!!  Whatever you are doing this summer, have tons of fun!

xx

Many changes since my last entry ….

I am no longer in the lovely country cottage as the owners sold it out of the blue. Quite a shock to my system, business and cats! 

Thankfully, I am now in my new home, in Reading, the business is up and running again, cats are settled and I have found some good running in the fields behind me, following the Holybrook stream and the Kennet and Avon canal.

As well as the massage and healing, I have a new part time teaching position, as tutor for an HND Health and Social Care course in Reading.  A great course, with fantastic students mostly from Africa and the Phillipines (even one from Tibet).. makes for some very interesting converstations!

Summer is definately on it’s way, the sun is warming up, we have blue skies and lots of delights ahead!!!

I shall be taking part in a traditional North American Indian Sweat Lodge at the end of June, which I am very much looking forward to.. a little bit nervous about being in a dark, hot, enclosed space.. but we have to face the fear at times and just do it anyway!

I have recently joined the Healing Hands Network (HHN) and hope to be travelling to Bosnia by the end of the year, to work in a clinic over there for 2 weeks, treating those affected by the recent war.  Despite ending over 10 years ago, the people are still affected both physically and emotionally, so it will be an honour and priviallage to support them and bring some peace and relief from pain and suffering. 

HHN also run projects in other war torn countries, so I have a feeling this will be the start of something quite big for me, as I have always felt drawn to working in this area.  Nearly all of us have a story to share of the horrors of war don’t we…

That’s me updated for now..

Enjoy the warmth and happiness of the sun and happy solstice!

Wow.. what a day yesterday… up at 6am and very nervous, this was it, the big day, the Reading Half Marathon, 13.1miles around the streets of Reading.  Thankfully the sun was shining and the skies were blue, the training complete and all that was left to do was run the race!

I ran with my brother Pete and friend Hilary.  It was very exciting (one the nerves had calmed) over 18,000 runners, lots of supporters, music and laughter.  The start point (Reading football stadium) was full to bursting and felt like a festival!  We were ushered to the start line and had to gather in the correctly coloured area, which depended on the time you thought you were going to run.  Needless to say, we were with the masses, right at the back in the white zone aiming for 2.5 hours (or at least making it round without dying!).

The gun went and we were off… well, not so much off as standing still!  It took 20 mins to reach the starting line and then we were off! It was hard not to get caught up in the speed that everyone else set off at, but I pulled back and tried to rain in my brother a bit, but he was off! 

My brother’s costume was great, he had a plastic guitar attached to a cycle helmet and speakers, playing rock music round the whole course.  He attracted a lot of attention and all the kids were cheering on the ‘guitar man’.  A lot of people took photos and he was interviewed by the local newspaper, so hopefully I was standing close enough to get my picture taken too!

The support of the crowds meant a lot and really did help you to keep going (I particularly enjoyed the firemen and did suggest they run with us!), especially at the 12 mile stage, when it was begining to seem like a good idea just to stop and forget the whole thing, aching feet, sore knees and feeling sick weren’t pleasant, but it the words of Nemo (or his fishy friend) you’ve just got to keep swimming!  Or running in this case!

The best bit was coming around the final corner at the 13 mile mark and coming into the footbal stadium, this was the tearful point and an amazing sense of achievement and happiness… the crowds inside the stadium were cheering and all the pain vanished!  I nearly tripped, but saved myself and with a shot of energy, Hilary and I sprinted for the finish line!  I was gutted when I saw the time on the clock, but remembered we didn’t start when the gun did and therefore we could knock off 20 mins… so the final race time was an amazing 2.25hours!

My brother came in 10 minutes behind me and I’ve agreed to wait a week before I start teasing him and I acutally lasted about an hour before the first comment was made!

So big pat on the back for everyone that took part, well done! 

I’ve raised a couple of hundred quid for the Thames Vally Air Ambulance which is great news.  They provide an amazing life saving service and recieve no public funding at all and need over £2million a year to keep going.  Sometimes funds are so low they can only afford to provide the service on certain days of the week…. they are therefore my new pet charity!

A few pics for your pleasure and thanks to everyone for your support and best wishes and special thanks to the lovely Carrie and Kelley for putting me back together today, with a deep tissue massage and osteopathic session!

As I write this I am also looking out of the window at the most stunning rainbow.. brightly coloured and a second one is just forming.. right at the bottom of my garden… a sign of good luck I believe!

The snow and ice have almost gone and we are left with huge puddles in the roads and fields.. but thankfully the half marathon training has resumed and it’s been great to get back to it.. another run planned for this Friday and then a 9 miler at the weekend, so should be on track for the Half Marathon on 29th March.

Business is picking up and I have been teaching at a local college and running some workshops from home, so that’s great!  It would be lovely for more people to book in and means I’ll be able to keep the heating on!

The sad news is that I have sold my Baby Girl, my camper and my second home.  I was very gutted to see her go and confess to having  a big cry, not even banking the money helped!   She has gone to a good home, where her new owners have already planned some trips away …

That’s all for now..  bring on the Spring!

Welcome to 2009 and may it be a properous and healthy one for all of us!

My new website is currently being built and it is going to be fabulous! It will include new features, like my special Members’ Area – which will give you access to me for one to one support on issues you are dealing with, articles, forums, advice and inspirations! Watch this space.

I am now offering Hopi Ear Candle treatments, which can be combined with an Indian Head Massage for that perfrect clearing and relaxing treatment.  An hour of pure bliss and warmth, which we could all do with to deal with the  January blues.. do get in touch to book in.

The half marathon training is coming along nicely after a little break for eating at Christmas!!!  I managed a 42 min run on Friday, which I was very proud of.  Tomorrow is the big day, my brother Pete is coming over and we are going to go for an HOUR’s run…  if I manage that I will have to treat myself to a roast dinner and glass of red wine!

I am heading off now to buy some more wood for the fire and to write a massage and aromatherapy course that I am starting to teach next week, but I’ll leave you with a couple of images of the beautiful fields behind me.. fresh and crisp with their dusting of frost…..

Here it is.. the new home and treatment space in the lovely Berkshire countryside!

I’m settling in well and enjoying lots of open fires!  The cats are doing well too, they are starting to go outside, but I wonder if they can hear the local wolves, as they don’t seem that keen on going out!  Either that, or it’s too cold for them!

I’ve entered the Reading Half Marathon (end of March 2009), which is quite a strange thing for me to do as I don’t run and I know it can be quite harsh on the hips and kness.  It does mean that I have to start training, which I have actually done!  Last week I managed 3 x 30 min jogs and felt really good both during and after!  A good personal challenge and will help to keep the winter blues away I hope!

The business is picking up again after my Greek trip.  Lots of clients have booked in and seem to be enjoying the atmosphere of the cottage as much as I do, which is lovely.  We just need to spread the word everyone and get more bookings! Else I’ll have to head back to Greece!

Back in the UK for 3 weeks now and there has even been a couple of hours of blue sky and sunshine in that time, horray!

A few more pics from the last few weeks of the Greek Adventure:

And so the journey continues.  Moving tomorrow to a cottage in the country, open fire and fields and my new treatment space, which is all very exciting and possibly even more exciting is that I collect my cats from their foster mother Sunday morning.. horray!

It’ll be great to have my own treatment space after so many years of sharing clinic space and doing home visits.  It’s a lovely big room, clean and simple and feels just right for giving massage and healing. Some of my existing clients have already booked in and I’m happy to welcome new ones!

I also will be having regular gatherings of like minded people, an ideal way for us to make new friends and have some fun!  Watch this space…..

So, after a few mad days of driving and a rough crossing from Calais to Dover, I’m back in Reading!!  Just trying to work out which side of the road to drive on and which language to speak!

The next few days will be spent catching up with family and friends, finding somewhere to live and getting back to work!!

I don’t think the journey is over, just having a little rest and preparing for the next stage of the adventure!

So, a couple of driving days across Italy and up the West coast. Past Florence, Genova and into France, then past Monaco, Nice, Cannes and inland and north to a village called Orange, where I met with a friend Corinne from the circus yesterday. 

The drive was spectacular…..  over mountains and then for miles it was a coastal road, over bridges and through tunnels.  Lots of green grass and trees with changing leaf colours…..  Great to be back in the van and on the road, though not sure who has turned down the thermostate, down to 20°c…..  I hope England is warmer??!!!  I MISS GREECE ! The people, the wildness of the landscape, the sun, the sea, the olive trees…… still it will always be there!

It’s great to see Corinne and spend a couple of days with her and her dog.  We’ve come down to Marseille for the day, the sun is shining and we’ve had lunch by the harbour.  I’ll stay with her tonight, then it’s back on the road, straight up through France and over to UK…..  then down to business to find somewhere to live and back to work.  Two party invitations already, so that’s good!