Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: Herman The German

Saturday, 3 December 2011

Herman The German

As a belated birthday present our lovely Pickwell Holly gave me a baby 'Herman the German' friendship cake.

Along with this little creamy looking liquid were some strict instructions in how to care for Herman.

It involved ten days of focused stirring, a lot of love while doing so, and a good feed every now and then in order that Herman can be split into babies to give away to loved ones.

We all lived in fear of Holly's last words that as long as the bubbles were there, Herman was still alive.

Given my track record with plants, i was terrified of being responsible for the sudden absence of bubbles and thus the death of poor Herman.

The kids got the concept immediately and it was love and first sight for Zac.

Each day Herman grew and grew in the bowl

Until at last Day 9 arrived and we were able to separate Herman four ways.

Zac chose to give his to his teacher, Liza chose to give hers to her friend Daisy and I gave mine to Tracey.

The baby that was left was ours. We fed Herman a good hearty meal that day, added in some banana and chocolate chunks and cooked him.

It did actually taste great (i don't mean to sound so surprised)and I am sure i felt all that love that Holly had put in as I swallowed and it nestled somewhere around my soul x

2 comments:

Cafe De Sammy4 December 2011 at 11:46
I absolutely love this. I gave Holly one of my baby Hermans in Southampton at the beginning of November. My baby Herman came from my mother at the end of July in Oxfordshire. What an amazing love trail! x
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Susannah5 December 2011 at 04:40
Wow! Lovely to hear of how far Herman has travelled! So, my baby Herman must have had a number of lovings before coming to me. No wonder he tasted so good! 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".