Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: Summer solstice

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Summer solstice

Last night Zac, Liza and I and Steve's mum (Steve was still in London) went to visit some dear friends, Matt and Lou. This is their home. They are a source of great inspiration for us at Pickwell, just by their philosophy of life. I think we can learn so much through the simplicity of their lifestyle. They live in the Yurt all year round and bath outdoors in water from a stream which is heated by a fire underneath. They eat and drink mostly from things they have found in the hedgerow or grow themselves. Everytime i see them i come back feeling slighter lighter...

When we arrived we found Lou in the garden picking raspberry's. The kids ran in to help and we found all sorts of brilliant things growing.

Gooseberries, blackcurrants, squash, beans, peas, garlic, onions even goji berries. Lou had us eating chick weed. She even had Zac eating all this stuff that if you put on a plate he would never eat in a million years!

We ventured up to the Yurt, laden with fruit, and found a sign in the ground as we approached..

It was a welcome and an explaination of what happens at summer solstice.

The kids had a great time playing on the swings

and we had a great time drinking wine out of jam jars..yes i know what it looks like...

We all wittled sticks so we could toast marshmallows and Lou had us playing some great games..

When we came back down to the car Lou had left me a gift of a garlic bulb on the windscreen!

For most of the journey home we followed a hare who was running for its life! You can just about see it in this pic..

Thank you Matt and Lou, we had a lovely time x

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Our Story

Many people have asked what the story is, how did the Bakers and Elliotts come to be at Pickwell?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Tracey and Susannah became friends at 6th form college. Steve and Tracey lived in the same village in Sussex. Steve's dad was the vicar and Tracey's dad was Steve's scout leader. Even more wierd, Susannah's dad (also a church minister) and Steve's dad were friends, but Steve and Sus never met.

One summer Tracey took Susannah along to a youth summer camp. Steve was one of the leaders (read : heightened attraction) and a little later Steve and Sus got together. During their 6 on/off years they met Richard, a blue eyed boy from Guildford.

At a club night run by Steve, somehow through the dark and crowded room, Tracey and Richard bumped into eachother (if you have seen the shapes they pull on the dancefloor you would know how easily this happened)..

In the year 2000 they all got married. Tracey and Susannah were eachother's bridesmaids. They have remained firm friends ever since.

When Steve and Susannah came across Pickwell Manor, they knew they couldn't manage such a project on their own. They asked the Elliotts if they would give up their house, their jobs and their community to come and live and work with them and own the project together. They knew there weren't many people they could ask to do such a thing knowing they would still love each other by the end. So they all left everything in Sussex and came to Devon.

They moved on the same day in August 2008. It has been a crazy, wonderful, scary, emotional and beautiful experience so far. All of them would say they feel very ALIVE!

Since they moved they have run 51 successful and wonderful weddings (with more to come), many, many holidays, built or totally refurbished 6 apartments from scratch, updated carpets, painted white throughout, put in quite a few kitchens and bathrooms (including 2 baths on concrete plinths), changed much of the furniture, converted a laundry and have started to convert the chapel. Every year they also have a bonfire gathering in October, an Easter Eggstravaganza fundraising event, and anything else that is not-for-profit that they can fit in. Tracey has completed a dissertation and gone back to nursing for 2 days a week, Steve has started up a new company in London, Richard has mastered a lot of the running of the house as well as training as a coach, specialising in stress management, Sus has taken on the interiors and Tracey and Susannah have learnt weddings in at the deep end! All with 4 young Pickwellians by their sides.

"Our passion is for making life count. Our values lie in
friendship, celebration, valuing others, and social justice. We see Pickwell as a reflection of these things but also a place for rest, recouperation, laughter and conversation. We want to support charities and social enterprises to fufil their dreams and make a difference."

"We love Devon, we love the community here, we love seeing our children grow with nature and discovering the great outdoors. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes when we think about our life here, it is amazing".