Creative Arts Club for Older Adults (60+): Printing with Light

On Friday 22nd July 11, a group attended this club launch workshop. Sarah Wetherall was our tutor - a local artist, who is going to run the Arts Club on a regular basis offering a variety of taster 2 hour workshops to introduce different creative processes.

This time it was - Cyanotype - a contact photographic print made with paper impregnated with a light sensitive chemical and using UV as the developing agent. Simply, you place an object - we used foliage picked from the Bell House garden - onto the light sensitive paper, expose it to UV light and this makes a beautiful white and blue print.

As it turned out, there was a group of 11 ladies - and as the class title stated - all over 60!. Although understanding why the limit had been made - the ladies did find the description difficult to accept. But this is not the place for that discussion!

Everyone was able to follow Sarah’s lead - there was only one moment of ‘stress’ during the whole workshop - the need to “QUICKLY place your design onto the impregnated paper and then cover with Perspex.” Once successfully completed - and everyone did - we all returned to a very zen state of creativity.

Look out for the next Creative Art Club workshop in September.

Sarah’s work can we seen at www.clockworkstudios.co.uk

Monthly Garden Round Up - June

Dear fellow gardeners

As we pass the summer solstice, we focus this month on the wildflowers of the Bell House garden and a summer bee experience with Beekeeper Annie.

First up, the wildflowers - over in the House garden, there have been numerous Ragged-robin found at the back of the Rose garden and close to the Bog garden and pond. This is a rare sight as wild wetland sites disappear across the UK. These moisture-loving perennials with pink, frayed flowers and star-shaped blooms attract bumblebees, dragonflies, butterflies and Honeybees. Thanks Sara for the Ragged-robin photo.

Over in the meadow in the Walled garden at the back of the vegetable beds you’ll see Crimson clover, an annual with a flower head that is a rich crimson to red colour and shaped like a cone. You’ll also spot the upright, blue flower spikes of Viper’s-bugloss that is often seen on chalk grasslands, sand dunes and cliffs. Its spotted stem is thought to resemble a viper. Another blue presence are the beautiful Cornflowers and the endangered Corncockle (now virtually extinct in the wild). Look out for its slender purple/pink flowers in our meadow. Other residents include Wild Pansy, Burdock and the Scarlet pimpernel. My favourite fact about the Scarlet pimpernel is that it is also known as “Old man’s weathervane” as the flowers close when atmospheric pressure falls and bad weather approaches.

All of these flowers are loved by our Honeybee colonies. Beekeeper Annie will be inspecting the bees and need help with honey extractions over the summer and has very kindly asked if the gardeners would be interested in these sessions. If you are, please read on!

• Sessions will mostly be on a Saturday morning at 11am and last for approximately one hour (if you cannot make a Saturday then Annie may be able to run a session on a Tuesday or Thursday).

• Sessions are open to all gardeners from the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday sessions.

• Two people (adults only) maximum per session (there will be one full bee suit available and one jacket/veil/gloves. Please wear boots or wellies and long trousers so all skin is covered).

• Annie is not allowed to carry or administer adrenaline for anaphylactic shock so if anyone knows they are allergic they should provide their own EpiPen or not sign up for a session.

• Planned summer sessions: Saturday 2 July, Saturday 9 July, Saturday 23 July, Saturday 30 July, Saturday 20 August, Saturday 10 September, Saturday 17 September and Saturday 24 September.

• Please email me Annie directly ([email protected])with your preferred session and include your phone number. This will be on a first come, first served basis and Annie will email you back to confirm your session.

• Please note that sessions are weather permitting. If it’s too hot then the wax is so soft that the nest may be damaged during an inspection. If it’s too cold or wet then it chills the brood and the bees need to use too much energy to get the internal temperature back up.

Big thank you to Annie for this opportunity. It feels like a real privilege and I am super excited.

Finally, the Bell House July Open Garden is on Saturday 2 July from 11.30am to 1pm. If you are free to help on the day then please email Ellie on [email protected]. It’s always a lovely day and great to see our visitors enjoying the fabulous garden, now in full bloom.

Thanks, as always, for your continued hard work in the Bell House garden.

Monthly Garden Round Up - May 2022

Dear Fellow Gardeners

I do apologise for the lateness of this newsletter. A holiday in the sun and the Platinum Jubilee got the better of me!

May was certainly a busy month in the Bell House garden, with plenty of work being carried out across our three gardening days each week. Here’s a few highlights of what we achieved:

• Let’s start at the front of Bell House. The ha-ha certainly had a lot of love in early May. Any brambles that were starting to set up home were dug out, as were a number of Horse Chestnut seedlings. The ha-ha is a lovely location for bluebells and they have been a success this year, brightening up all of our days when we arrive at Bell House. More bluebells will be planted out in the ha-ha, along with geraniums.

• Over in the House Garden, we let the grass grow for “No Mow May” except for a mower-wide strip around the edge of the lawn. A couple of gardening sessions were spent weeding the Rose Garden and also creating a new path across the bed close to the entrance to the Rose Garden (right next to the bird feeder). The Bog Garden planting has been a great success. Everything is growing well and looking fabulous…the photo below is my best effort but doesn’t really do it justice! Another success has been the planting of forget-me-nots under the Hornbeam, these are looking beautiful along with their iris neighbours.

• In the Walled Garden, we had an exciting discovery when we were moving the compost bins around – a bumblebee nest. We’ve protected the area so we don’t disturb them, and all groups still managed to sieve lots of compost ready for the vegetable beds. Already we are getting some lovely produce including broad beans and lettuces. Courgettes have been potted on as have some of our cutting flowers - cosmos and morning glory.

• Towards the end of May, many of our gardeners were able to make the first group outing together. The first order of business was lunch - a delicious picnic lunch was shared in our very own sunny Bell House garden. An NGS garden at 5 Burbage Road was then visited, where the gardeners explored the beautiful plot to gather inspiration and met the creator, the lovely Rosemary. The trip was a roaring success and we hope it is the first of many. Thank you to Ellie for organising the visit. A fruit tree expert also visited the Bell House garden in May and suggested apple, pear and soft fruit trees that we could grow. A return visit will be made in the autumn to offer fruit growing workshops for our gardening group. Definitely something to look forward to .

Finally, for those who love a few numbers, 86 gardening sessions have been completed to date this year and we have 56 volunteer gardeners. Keep up the great work!

Thanks, as always, for your continued hard work in the Bell House garden.

Gaynor

Volunteer Profile – Rosie

Cast your mind back to December and you’ll remember that we were fundraising for Bell Health films as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge. This month we shine a spotlight on Rosie, who coordinates the Bell Health project. Here she tells us why the work she and the rest of the team does is so important!

If you’re interested in health and like the sound of what Bell Health does, we’d love for you to join us! Our steering group meets monthly and always welcomes new members – please get in touch with [email protected].

What is your role as a volunteer?

I coordinate the Bell Health project, where we host insightful and accessible talks about a range of health topics. Once our steering group have decided on a topic, I help source experts to speak at the event. I usually contact local and national charities relevant to the topic to partner with and with whom we split any donations.

I've also helped to introduce social prescribing at Bell House, where health professionals can 'refer' people to us to engage in a social activity like gardening or quilting. Good company really can make a huge difference to mental and physical wellbeing.

How long have you been involved with Bell House?

I’ve volunteered at Bell House for about 18 months. I got involved shortly after moving to London.

What do you do away from Bell House?

When not working or volunteering, I’m usually out and about with friends. I enjoy art galleries and live music. I’m also a keen swimmer and love getting out of the city when I can – like to the alpaca farm in my photo!

What do you think you bring to Bell House as a volunteer and what do you get out of it?

Volunteering at Bell House gives me an opportunity to feel like I am having a positive impact in the community. I’m passionate about empowering people to be aware of their health and I am proud of the work we do! I think I bring enthusiasm and hopefully some good ideas here and there…!

What is the best project or event you’ve been involved with at Bell House?

I’ve been involved in the organisation of lots of interesting talks at Bell House. Some personal favourites include online talks on PMS and on miscarriage.

What have you been working on recently?

I have recently been involved in the Big Give campaign, where we successfully raised £4,000 to fund the commissioning of educational Bell Health films. We have previously commissioned films around what to expect when you start your periods and about cervical cancer screening, which you can see on Bell House's YouTube channel. By making films, we can reach many more people than with live events and so they are a great way of promoting health.

Are there any forthcoming projects, events or initiatives that you are particularly excited about?

I'm very excited to be putting on a second event about periods for young people. We first put this event on in 2019 and it was really successful! Starting your period can be a daunting time and so equipping young people with an understanding of what's happening and what to expect can be really beneficial. We're hoping this can be a recurring event every few years going forward.