Guerrilla gardening at the
Port Eliot Lit fest

The Port Eliot Literature festival is situated on the landscaped grounds of the 18th century Port Eliot House at St Germans in Cornwall. Taking part over three days, the Lit fest attracts a diverse range of performers, and has something for all tastes. Whether you want to catch some music, listen to poetry, see talks by authors about their work, watch films, or take part in a pub quiz, the Port Eliot Lit fest will not disappoint.

One of the highlights of the festival this year was a talk by Richard Reynolds, a guerrilla gardener. Guerrilla gardening is essentially about reclaiming land which has been neglected and transforming it into a beautiful garden. The land they work on is often land which councils are responsible for, such as traffic islands and road side verges, land the councils consider unimportant, and not worth spending money on. Once a piece of land has been identified, guerrilla gardeners will go out at night or early in the morning, dig it up, plant plants, and give it a new lease of life.

Although Guerrilla gardening is getting more media attention today, it goes back about 2000 years, with references to guerrilla gardening in Matthews Gospel. One of the first guerrilla gardeners was Gerrard Winstanley, who in 1649 decided to dig up some common land and grow vegetables to feed the hungry people in the village. The name ‘Guerrilla Gardening’ wasn’t created until the twentieth century, when Liz Christy, an American living in New York, noticed children playing amongst litter and broken fridges. She set about getting a group of volunteers together who then transformed the vacant lot into a garden which is still there today.

Richard’s talk was accompanied by a selection of slides of successful gardens that have been created all over the world, including land alongside the torn down Berlin wall, and outside a school in Singapore. Guerrilla gardening also has a serious side as in poverty stricken parts of the world; guerrilla gardening is a practical solution to providing communities with food. In Uganda, for example, we saw a photo of a woman growing onions outside her house on public space as she needs to eat.

With the population rising and land becoming a finite resource, Guerrilla gardeners feel it is wrong that there is so much land going to waste. They are politically motivated but also pragmatically motivated as they want to make the places people live in more pleasing to the eye.

The reception guerrilla gardeners get from residents in the areas they garden is generally supportive. Many people thank them for their work, which is voluntary and relies on donations of plants and equipment. While talking about his work, Richard showed a photo of an area of Plymouth they had worked on and a member audience called out:

“That’s outside my Mum’s house.”

She went onto say her Mum was really pleased with the planted area, as it really brightened up the area. She had had no idea, that it was Richard and his team who were responsible for the transformation.

Richard’s enthusiasm for guerrilla gardening was evident throughout the talk, and even while he was down for the festival he couldn’t resist having a go at brightening up the run down St German’s station. Early Saturday morning Richard and his team arrived at the station, dug a gravestone size bed and planted some Verbena and Mallow.

Guerrilla gardeners often finance projects themselves. However some gardens can also be self-sustaining. One project where wasteland in central London was planted out with lavender, was then harvested at the end of the summer, and lavender pillows were produced which raised around £700 they could use to buy more plants.

Anyone can have a go at guerrilla gardening themselves, after all the land is there for us all look after. Richard believes a sign of success of the guerrilla gardening movement is when:

“everyone feels they can do this, and that this isn’t the activity of some hardcore cult or extremists.”

If people find a bit of land in their community that is neglected then Richards suggests they adopt it. Unfortunately trying to do this legally is a frustrating long drawn out process. He says it’s much easier to go out there do the gardening, and then when people see the results they are more likely to endorse it.

He offers tips for successful guerrilla gardening such as; wearing a yellow jacket so people think you’re a council worker He also suggests you tell people what you are doing, as they may be able to donate plants or even want to get involved and help. Many other tips are available, alongside success stories all over the world, on Richard’s website www.guerrillagardening.org, and Richard’s book on guerrilla gardening is due out in the spring next year.

Look out for more articles on the Port Eliot Lit fest in the coming months on Jax Writers spot

Spreading a little happiness

Are you searching for happiness? Many of us spend our lives looking and never quite get there. We may think we would be happier if we had more money, lose weight, or find a love in our lives; however Annie Seager believes it’s not necessarily our circumstances that we need to change in order to find happiness, but our attitude to life. Happiness is easier to find than we imagine, she says:
”It’s all about unlearning negative ways of relating to the world around you and gradually substituting more positive ways”.

Annie’s interest in happiness grew after studying psychology, and finding her studies focused more on misery and suffering, than joy and contentment. After graduating with honours, in a quest to find out more about positive psychology she came across Robert Holden a pioneer in the field of happiness, who has spent much of his life studying positive emotions.

She soon embarked on Robert’s ‘Teaching happiness’ course at Oxford University, and was so inspired by his teachings that she decided to share what she’d learnt by running happiness workshops all over Cornwall.

In the workshops, Annie starts off by using an African method of greeting, which she finds breaks the ice and relaxes everyone. The workshops are friendly and informal, and participants can contribute as little or as much as they want in the discussions.

She then leads a variety of exercises designed to encourage people to explore the psychology of happiness, looking at what makes us happy, banishing negative thinking, the importance of smiling, and why we all deserve to be happy.

Annie says the first obstacle to overcome is that often people feel it is selfish to want to be happy, because it’s focusing on themselves and not others.
“Happy people often exude warmth and caring for other people,” she says.

Happiness can be contagious, and even just smiling at people can make their day. Therefore searching for happiness is not selfish, as becoming happier can have a beneficial effect on people’s families and communities.

Becoming happier can also help us become healthier. Research such as a famous study carried out by David Snowdon in the 1990’s, supports the link between happiness and health.

After analysing almost 200 short autobiographies written by nuns on first taking holy orders, he found that those who expressed a more positive outlook on life, lived longer than their less positive peers.

Annie believes that anyone can learn to think more positively if they are committed to change. She uses the techniques she learnt on the happiness course to help people challenge their deep-seated attitudes and beliefs, and replace them with more positive ways of thinking.

People who have attended her workshops have said they have thoroughly enjoyed the day, and one participant said:
“I definitely will be able to reflect on the day and remember the positivity of becoming happier.”

The cost of the workshops is usually between £25 and £35, and she does offer concessions. To find out more about Annie’s happiness workshops you can phone her on 01736 850738 or email happiness.cornwall@yahoo.co.uk.

This article is published in July’s edition of Vitality Matters a free Cornish Health and Wellbeing magazine Check out their website: vitality matters

Making the most of Nature

Spiezia Organics

With a rise in the sale of organic unprocessed foods, as people become more concerned about the foods they eat, it's a wonder why anyone would choose to put a chemical based product on their face and bodies. Chemicals in skincare products can actually act as an irritant to the skin and some skincare ingredients have been found to be carcinogenic. Luckily nowadays there are many companies committed to producing natural chemical free skin care products. One such company, Spiezia Organics produce the first and only collection of skin care products to all be accredited with 100% organic status by the Soil association.

After graduating in medicine and surgery in 1981, Dr Spiezia worked in hospital emergency departments in Italy for many years, before deciding to follow a gentler approach to healing. Dr Spiezia and his wife Loredana, have always had a passion for nature and a healthy lifestyle. He began to research natural remedies that in the past were more a part of everyday life. He felt the passing down of knowledge of the properties of herbs and plants through the generations, has been lost over the years.

After 10 years extensive research and moving to Cornwall, Dr Spiezia and his wife set up Spiezia Organics in 1999. The human skin will absorb most of what is applied to the skin, and with skin care products today often full of chemicals, he was convinced nature provided a safer alternative. By using the whole plant, flower or herb, and combining it with carrier oils and essential oils, Spiezia products can be produced that safely moisturise and revitalise the skin.

All their products are made by hand. In their greenhouse, they firstly infuse the herbs used in organic olive oil, which are then left to warm exposed to the sun and the moon. When they are ready, they are pressed and the resulting oil becomes the main ingredient for their range of products.

Most creams include water, which Dr Spiezia says encourages the growth of germs and requires other preservatives to be added. None of the Spiezia skin care creams contain water.

They produce a wide variety of creams and balms for all occasions, including a foot balm for sore and tired feet, and a moisturiser using rose petals and vanilla pods. They also provide an excellent ‘nappy salve’ to sooth dry skin and nappy rash. Men haven’t been forgotten either, the Spiezia range for men includes an aftershave oil, and a nourishing cream. Their Lemongrass and Marigold soap won best organic beauty product in the 2006 Organic Industry awards. Their soaps combine flowers with cold pressed extra virgin oil, which helps cleanse, without drying the skin.

Looking to the future Spiezia Organics are hoping to increase their range of products.

Julia Azopardi from Spiezia said “We are often asked whether we can produce other products, and we hope to introduce a range of body scrubs in the near future.”

Dr Spiezia believes that everything we need to be healthy and fulfilled can be found in Nature. It is this passion, drive and enthusiasm, which have made Spiezia Organics so popular, with their sales trebling since 2004. As if he isn’t kept busy enough with the business, Dr Spiezia also manages to find time to practice holistic medicine at the Walsingham clinic in Truro (01872 263163). With 20 years of experience practising holistic and herbal medicine, combined with a medical background Dr Spiezia and his team, are able to produce products you can trust.

For more information look at www.spieziaorganics.com
Or phone 0870 850 8851

This article is published in the July/August edition of Cornish World magazine.

A good night’s sleep

We all know what it’s like, we have a busy day coming up and need a good nights sleep, but as soon as we get into bed our mind starts racing and we just can’t drop off. Sleep rests the body and the mind and not getting enough can lead to irritability, lack of energy and poor concentration levels the next day.

Typically during a night we experience ‘deep sleep’ and ‘dream sleep’. It is the deep sleep that’s important to allow our bodies to re-energise, and this occurs during the first five hours of falling asleep. Therefore someone who only sleeps for six hours can get the same amount of quality sleep as someone sleeping for eight to ten hours.

Our ability to get a good night’s sleep can be affected by physical illness, pain and/or psychological problems such as depression. This article looks at ways of achieving a quality night’s sleep.

What we do in the day will have an affect on how we sleep at night, things we can do to help us sleep better include:

Getting out of bed as soon as we wake. By trying to go back to sleep we’re only likely to experience dream sleep, and not quality sleep.

Trying to get up at around the same time every morning can help re-programme our body clocks, so we are ready for sleep at night.

Do some physical activity in the day, such as getting out for a walk in the fresh air.

Do not nap in the day. If you do nap, you’ll be less tired when you go to bed and you’ll probably take longer to fall asleep.

Avoid drinking caffeine after around 4pm and cut down on your caffeine intake during the day.

If you’re finding you don’t get off to sleep because of worrying, set aside time in the day to address these worries.

Having prepared ourselves in the day, there are many things we can do in the evening to help ensure a quality sleep:

Allow yourself time to wind down before going to bed. Do something relaxing such as a having a bath with calming essential oils or reading a book (see extra help for a good nights sleep).

Don’t go to bed too early as your body may not be ready for sleep yet. Around 10.30 is a good time to head for bed.

Watching television in bed is not a good idea. Television is stimulating and more likely to wake your mind up than switch it off. Try to use your bed only for sex and sleep, and you will learn to associate your bed with sleeping.

Avoid using alcohol to help you sleep. Alcohol causes you to sleep less deeply and to wake more frequently.

Make sure your bedroom is quiet and cool. If you’re too hot you won’t go into a deep sleep.

Don’t go to bed hungry or with a full bladder.

Don’t be tempted to take sleeping pills, they can be addictive, and you’ll find it more difficult to sleep without them. Try putting a few drops of some relaxing essential oils on your pillow instead.


For some people sleeping problems may last for months or even years, which can lead to worrying about sleep and create a vicious circle which is difficult to break. This can be the case for people suffering from depression. If you have long term sleep problems staying in bed when you’re restless and anxious, is unlikely to result in sleep.

If this sounds like you, then it’s probably best to get up and do something quiet and relaxing until you feel tired. If your mind is racing, then pick an activity that distracts you from your thoughts. When you find you are feeling sleepy, then go back to bed. If you don’t fall asleep shortly after getting into bed get up again and repeat the process.

Extra help for a good nights sleep

Some essential oils can help us relax and aid sleep, a few drops can be added to a bath, or an oil burner can be used in the bedroom prior to sleep. Oils which can help us relax include lavender, chamomile, hops, valerian, and lemon balm.

Try relaxation exercises. Lie on the bed, and focus on every part of the body in turn, starting with your feet. Start by tensing your muscles and then relaxing them so your limbs feel heavy, while doing this be aware of your breathing which should be slower than normal.

Some people find quiet relaxing music can help them drop off. There are a number of CD’s available which are specifically composed using tempos which match the resting heart rate of the listener, to promote relaxation and to calm the mind ready for sleep. A wide range of these CD’s are readily available in shops and on the internet. Try looking at http://www.newworldmusic.com/ or http://www.ambientmusic.co.uk/

Having a cup of a relaxing herbal tea, an hour before bed can also be useful in helping us get to sleep. Choose from Valerian or Chamomile tea or try some of the special tea mixes such as ‘Sleepytime’ made by Celestial seasonings available at most health food shops.