Cranleigh House Wellness Centre

TwitterFacebookGoogleYouTubeEmail
  • Gallery

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Vaxxed – from cover up to catastrophe – the movie directed by Andrew Wakefield

2016-vaccine-schedule

This table shows the recommended schedule of vaccines in the US from birth upwards. Anyone who has a baby will know that the only thing that is suitable for a baby from the time of birth is breast milk, failing that formula – to assault the baby’s immune system with a jab of hepatitis vaccine…is just that – An Assault. This continues until teenage years and now into adult hood and old age with flu vaccines.

Most people trust their health practitioner/GP to give them good advice with regard to the health care of their children but the problem, as shown in this film, is that the agency that the US health practitioners turn to to give them information and resources is not to be trusted so, they don’t have the correct facts.

In the film one MIT scientist  Stephanie Seneff claims that glyphosate is a major cause of autism and that, ” Autism was effectively at 0 in 1930, at today’s rates, by 2032 80% of boys will be diagnosed with autism,” She has written extensively about Glyphosate and it’s efffects. Seneff says that socially this will be such  a major issue that families and society will be totally disrupted by this problem.

In an article by  Zen Honeycutt on the website – http://www.ecowatch.com/glyphosate-vaccines-1999343362.html

He says:

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s flagship herbicide Roundup and hundreds of other herbicides, have been found in vaccines. Moms Across America received preliminary screening results from Microbe Inotech Laboratories Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, which showed:

  • MMR II (Merk) vaccine had 2.671 parts per billion (ppb) of glyphosate

Del Bigtree a US Health Chat show Journalist introduces the film which was banned from the Tribeca Film Festival last year. It was shown on February 14th 2017 at  Regents College by the Centre of Homeopathic Education to a packed audience – Andrew Wakefield was present with a protective body guard….Why? watch the film and you will discover the lengths to which he has gone, with great bravery, to bring out the truth about the link between Autism and the MMR vaccine. After the showing of the film Centre of Homeopathic Eduction, which have worked with Regents College for 17 years, were told they could not come back.

This is a story involving cover up and tragedy. Polly and Jonathon Tommy tell the moving story of their son Billy who was a normally developing boy until he received the MMR shot. That day one of Polly’s friends had contacted her to say that there were some side effects of the vaccination and her own mother urged her not to vaccinate her son but, why should Polly have been concerned? she was following the directions of her GP and doing what all her friends with babies were also doing- the socially accepted thing.

The day Billy had the MMR vaccine he started uncontrollable shaking. When Polly called the doctors they said that it was common for chldren to have a seizure after the vaccine, as she put it, ‘He never woke up to the Billy we had before’. Billy had ‘vacancy and diaorrhea and a rock hard bloated tummy’ and later ‘a high pitched scream and constant head banging’ she siad ‘he did not recognise us as parents’. This situation was unquantifyingly distressing for both of them.

One of Jonathon’s clients was a film maker and he created a documentary of  their story – 20 years ago the email response to this film caused Polly’s computer to crash and the TV studio’s systems to crash. There were an overwhelming 250,00 people who responded to the film and they all shared similar stories. As a result of this Polly started a magazine The Autism File http://www.autismfile.com/ to help parents,  like themselves, to cope with this problem and to share information. Now Billy is  nineteen years old and they have a six foot two very unbalanced man to take care of. They are telling their story to prevent others going through the terrible tragedy they have suffered.

The collaboration of Andrew Wakefield, Del Bigtree and scientist Brian Hooker has allowed the truth of the link between the MMR vaccine and Autism to be thoroughly aired in the film Vaxxed.

   Mollie Shreffler wrote in 2016:

Del Headshot 3.18.16

Emmy award-winning medical journalist, Del Bigtree.

Del Bigtree is an Emmy award winning medical journalist with experience in producing medically-themed television talk shows on a wide variety of topics. Not one to back away from controversial issues, Mr. Bigtree became interested in the possibility of a potential link between vaccines and autism after receiving numerous viewer requests over the years for media involvement in covering the topic.  The release of audio recordings in August, 2014 of conversations between autism parent and researcher Dr. Brian Hooker and senior CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) scientist Dr. William Thompson which highlighted autism research fraud at the CDC left parents of vaccine-injured children hopeful that at last the vaccine/autism link would be widely publicized. However, the mainstream media blackout on this link has continued despite the black and white nature of Dr. Thompson’s revelations.

When Mr. Bigtree became aware of the content of the Hooker/Thompson conversations, he made some life-changing decisions, ultimately collaborating with Dr. Andrew Wakefield in producing the documentary Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe.

Vaxxed was accepted into the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and was scheduled to be shown on Sunday, April 24 2016 with its New York premiere set for the first week in June but this never happened although Robert De Niro had originally requested that the film be shown.

The information below comes from the website – http://deadline.com/2016/03/robert-de-niro-vaxxed-tribeca-film-festival-statement-1201726799/

De Niro and his wife, Grace Hightower, “have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined,” De Niro said in a statement distributed by the TFF Friday afternoon. “In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening Vaxxed. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue.”

It’s precisely that “conversation” that has drawn fire, however, from critics of the anti-vaccination movement in general and Vaxxed in particular. The film is directed by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist who first asserted the link in 1998 in a study based on 12 patients. Subsequent to its publication, Wakefield’s work was disavowed by The Lancet, the prestigious medical journal that first gave weight to his argument. After further investigation, Wakefield was stripped of his medical license.

“Andrew Wakefield has become one of the most reviled doctors of his generation, blamed directly and indirectly, depending on the accuser, for irresponsibly starting a panic with tragic repercussions: vaccination rates so low that childhood diseases once all but eradicated here — whooping cough and measles, among them — have re-emerged, endangering young lives,” The New York Times reported in a 2011 profile.

Yet the TFF promotional material could easily be taken to endorse Wakefield’s cause. “Digging into the long-debated link between autism and vaccines, Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe features revealing and emotional interviews with pharmaceutical insiders, doctors, politicians, parents, and one whistleblower to understand what’s behind the skyrocketing increase of autism diagnoses today.” Also this: “The most vitriolic debate in medical history takes a dramatic turn when senior-scientist-turned-whistleblower Dr. William Thompson of the Centers for Disease Control turns over secret documents, data and internal emails confirming what millions of devastated parents and ‘discredited’ doctors have long-suspected.”

Robert De Niro did a volte face and the Tribeca Film Festival  reversed their decision to screen Vaxxed: From Cover-Up To Catastrophe,  saying the anti-vaccine film did not contribute to the discussion De Niro had hoped for.

The whole episode was full of controversy. Wakefield through making the  revelations of CDC’s William Thompson available, was himself stung by the wasps in the hornet’s nest of fraud he had uncovered whose collaboration caused wilful damage to babies who received the MMR vaccine.

It is hard to get one’s head around the fact that there was such a wilful coverup. Wakefield is receiving no money for revealing what happened, only abuse, but, as an honourabel man he has the peace of mind of knowing that he has brought the truth out. The drugs companies, on the other hand, who make millions of pounds each year from the vaccine industry, have a lot of money to lose if the public is not vaccinated. In whose interests is it that this film  is suppressed? I will leave you to decide for yourselves.

Here is the link to the film and what Amazon say about it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vaxxed-Cover-Up-Catastrophe-Del-Bigtree/dp/B01NA0ESU7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488292483&sr=8-1&keywords=vaxxed+movie

An investigation into how the CDC, (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens, destroyed data on a 2004 study that showed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. This alarming deception has contributed to the skyrocketing increase of autism, potentially the most catastrophic epidemic of our lifetime.
Starring:Del Bigtree, Polly Tommy, Andrew Wakefield

Runtime:1 hour, 30 minutes

Natural remedies for internal bleeding

Homeopathic arnica is a great remedy for internal bruising and bleeding.
Anytime the tissues are lacking integrity – always look at increasing vitamin C naturally – Whole lemon or grapefruit blended with water, chilli, ginger and garlic is great for circulation.

S & K pics from Feb-24.4.12 038 (Custom)S & K pics from Feb-24.4.12 040 (Custom)

 

Alternative Solutions for Mental Health problems

Great discussion on mental health on one of my facebook friends timeline, thanks for tagging me. I was interested to see how many people reacted to this post when I put it on my timeline and it is awesome to see how many people are openly sharing here about their life experiences on other people’s timelines.

I got into studying health through watching my mum die of Cancer, when I was 18, 37 years ago. This was fairly closely followed by what is called a ‘Nervous Breakdown’ and I was given electric shock therapy and told that I needed to be on lithium for the rest of my life. I decided very quickly that this wasn’t the way forward for me. Luckily I applied for a textile design job in the Caribbean, which I got, and I lived in a beautiful house surrounded by palm trees near the beach and I managed to wean myself off the pills.

I have never been back on them since and have spent my life exploring ways to help people naturally through these kind of experiences. I have worked with hundreds of people, in the health food shop where I worked for 10 years in London & in my own practice, who have mental health problems and I would agree that it is true to say that for many of them Anti Depressant’s have been a temporary life saver to get them to a better place. I also agree that some people manage their symptoms with them for a lifetime. I think it is all down to personal choice and circumstances.

We like to help people, at Cranleigh House who are looking for alternative solutions in all areas of health and ones which you often don’t see in the mainstream press or which are ridiculed as the Press is controlled by those who don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart.

I practice Homeopathy as well as naturopathy and, Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of modern day homeopathy, set up a mental hospital that successfully treated many people with mental health problems, Homeopathy can perform miracles. Barnstaple Hospital has a kinesiologist working in the mental health department and there are doctors locally who are open to looking at alternative solutions. I have recently worked with a woman who was prescribed different benzodiazepine drugs, – researching these drugs is an eye opener.
https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal
… Many doctors are prescribing these drugs indiscriminately and many people commit suicide trying to come off them.

People are often overwhelmed at what life seems to be requiring of us these days. To put these mental health issues in perspective I like to look at a bigger picture. I see, from my work with people and my observations of society and the world in general that we are reaching a fulcrum point, where all the ‘shit’ is coming out of people, of places, of countries. I see this as a real healing clearing and it is all for the best but, I think, it is really important that people have choices in mental health treatment and that it is not just the drugs that are funded. For example, homeopathy, naturopathy, EFT, Kinesiology, Body Electronics, Acupuncture, Shiatsu and many other therapies have a great track record helping people but, they are not funded by the NHS.

Until we are completely out of Europe lay practitioners can be prosecuted under European law for saying, in any publicity, that they do ‘detox’, as it is stated to be a ‘medical practice’ that only doctors can do. This was very restrictive. Natural detoxification, (using juices, liver flush, herbs, coffee enemas etc) is key in maintaining any area of health and is not something that is available through the NHS. Big Pharma, if you research it, and as many people are aware, is making millions of pounds from people’s ill health of any kind. Many very successful Alternative Health practitioners have been murdered or had their practices closed down.

Naturopath Richard Schulze has been threatened by the FBI when he worked with drug addicts curing them of their addictions naturally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ8zzxXoM4k

Someone, who was on our detox retreat last month, stated that we are like a ‘Holistic Hospital’, as that is what she experienced staying with us, (a tiny one! LOL). Cranleigh House is a social enterprise and the money we make through running our programmes and operating as a vegetarian/vegan B&B is ploughed back in to offer our services to more people. We fund ourselves to do the work we do and looking at the feedback we receive we are doing an epic job but we are very open to receiving any financial help available to extend our work and also to work more closely with Barnstaple Hospital and local doctors who are open to natural healing options. We are an alternative way forward, as is The Heart Centre Combe Martin – whom we have joined forces and created a ‘Mental Health support group’ to discuss and find practical solutions to the issues talked about here. wishing you all health and happiness and let’s get out into nature and absorb those healing vibes and let’s keep discussing this very important topic….

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome

Going Raw

IMG_20160822_093852759

I was inspired to go raw again after nearly a month of eating a bit of cooked food & mainly raw. I’m excited about shedding more ‘old stuff’, feeling cleaner & enjoying some wonderful live food.

My staple for breakfast is usually a green smoothie. There are some beautiful apples & pears around, at this time of the year so that was the basis of my recipe this morning with spinach from the garden & raw cacoa nibs.

Two of our B&B guests are interested in vegan living, one of them remarked that eating raw was so different from the way they ate or had been taught to eat as a girl. An old friend rang & said she’d been on a Raw Retreat & the lady who was running it had said that ‘eating raw is political’ anything that differs this much from the norm is making a political statement.

I’d never thought of a green smoothie being political before – I would definitely vote for it in an election.

Smoothies & Shiatsu

Yummy

Blackcurrant & apple smoothie with banana, almonds & moringa

This afternoon I had an amazing shiatsu treatment from Amanda Dovell. she is a great practitioner and I’ve benefited a lot from seeing her, she helps me to connect with my body and observe the pain that I have stored over years it is quite fascinating! I now have a chance to release this! Great!

I ate raw food for about 90 days and felt so much better as a result but there were challenges of releasing physical mental and emotional symptoms. I was prepared for this from reading Matt monarchs book Raw Success and I really enjoyed the raw food especially the wonderful smoothies made with our Vitamix, an excellent blender, I enjoyed the smoothies so much that I decided to continue with a raw smoothie challenge or should I say enjoyment, as it is such a pleasure, I am still eating 80 to 100% raw food as I find it very beneficial for my health, for my mood, for increased energy and creativity. Day 5 Smootbie challenge today & letting go of anger towards drugs companies stored in my body!

Mindful May Bank Holiday

 

Those who have been fortunate enough to visit

Cranleigh House will agree with me when I say it is a

very special place. As soon as you enter the building a

state of calm envelopes you; a peaceful vibe that

enables you to leave life’s worries at the door.

 

A typical weekend at Cranleigh house gives visitors a

multitude of opportunities to take part in well-being

practices. A perfect example of this is the one day yoga

and mindfulness workshop that we hosted on May 1st.

 

The day included a lovely yoga lesson from Katherine,

talks and discussions on mindfulness lead by Jo, and

group sitting and walking meditations. There are a huge

number of benefits to being mindful, including increased

concentration and clarity of thinking, and decreased

stress and anxiety.

This workshop allowed participants

to learn mindfulness practices to take forward into their

daily life, so the long-term benefits can be enjoyed.

 

To follow the workshop, a beautiful sound bath took

place, where Zara used a wide range of instruments

(including her singing voice) to create wonderful, healing

sounds and vibrations. We were bathed in tranquility

created by sound for one hour, which initiated a deep

sense of calm and peace throughout the mind, body and

soul. When we experience crystal singing bowls,

stronger energy begins to run in the body, pushing

against physical, emotional and energetic blockages.

Consequently, sound baths offer not only the

spaciousness for self-connection, but also the incredible

opportunity for deeper healing through the experience of

the sounds and vibrations created.

 

To end the day, we had a bring & share dinner which

included a delicious array of vegetarian and raw

delights. Giving our bodies an essential nutrient boost

to contribute to physical health and vitality provides the

perfect foundation for mental and emotional well-being.

It was also a great opportunity for like-minded souls to

come together and share experiences in a non-dogmatic

space. Therefore nurturing not only our bellies, but our

souls too :)

 

Not only is Cranleigh house a venue for a peaceful B&B

getaway or a life-changing detox retreat, it is a place for

healing; for learning through sharing knowledge and

experience, where beautiful people can gather to share

love and joy. Overall, it has been a great start to May in

the Cranleigh household, a place that is bursting at the

seams with kindness and positivity.

 

Delicious lunch

Cranleigh House Raw Food Challenge Day 13

Rich Anderson says on page 15 of ‘Cleanse & Purify Thyself’ book 1

‘Foods that have been cooked, frozen, canned or processed are dead foods’ and ‘the true definition of a food is a substance that nourishes or fuels the body  with life-giving force (ie. life force, vitamins, minerals, enzymes etc) thereby strengthening, energising and building it without injuring it in any way. ….Dead or dying foods fail to give us the full potential that we should have’.

In the UK it is normal to eat cooked food and a diet very much based on carbohydrates. Norman Walker in his many books for eg ‘Become Younger’ talks about the dangers of eating starch: potatoes, pasta, rice etc and how the starch creates a calcium build up in the body which creates a furring up of the arteries and other working parts of the body, just as a kettle can  get furred up, which then prevents the systems from working optimally.

Dr. Gabriel Cousens, founder of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona (www.TreeofLife.nu) has done studies using raw food for 30 days and 21 days to show that  diabetes can be reversed in this time.

Dr Fred Bisci, raw foodist for over 40 years works tirelessly with people helping them improve their health on  a raw food diet. One of his students Matt Monarch turned his own health around eating raw food and is now running a raw food community and distribution business and has written several good books to point people in the right direction: ‘Raw Success’ and ‘Raw Spirit.’

My own motivations for eating a raw diet are to improve my own health and to improve the health of those that I work with. Those that feel anxious, depressed, unenthused by life, who are coming off alcohol or drugs (recreational and prescribed). Having seen the untold benefits of Rich Anderson’s ‘Cleanse and Purify Thyself’ protocol, using it myself and also facilitating many people to use these techniques, I know that they work and I would like to have the strength and stamina  to bring them to a larger audience, who can also improve their health.

Another day opens, time for morning yoga and pranayama two other important ingredients in the recipe for good health!

Pineapples for breakfast!

Pineapples for breakfast!

 

 

 

http://www.cranleighhousehealing.co.uk/Blog/2016/03/25/65/

sunrise over Combe Martin

sunrise over Combe Martin

Day 1 Green smoothie ingredients

Day 1 Green smoothie ingredients

DAY 2 of THE 30 DAY RAW CHALLENGE

As the sun rises over Combe Martin on what we know as Good Friday, I am contemplating what a crazy energy we have given to this day. Millions of people gather to mourn the death of Christ. How, I am sure, he would prefer to remember us is for his Resurrection. How he overcame the limitations of his physical body and set us the example of how to do this ourselves.

With the full moon and eclipse now behind us we missed the opportunity to plant our potatoes on a waxing moon but, instead we have started work to repair the beautiful 18th Century wall that surrounds our garden. If anyone would like to come and help us in exchange for board and lodging for a few days that would be great!

Back to the raw challenge. I have been reading ‘Raw Family’ by Victoria, Igor, Sergei and Valya Boutenko, they managed to go trekking and wild camping across America living off mainly wild greens and a few almonds with other food as they could find it. If they could do this I can enjoy my raw diet with all the mod cons of a vitamix, great ingredients and other gear to create some amazing raw recipes.

Yesterday, I made a great desert with the ingredients above, blended in the Vitamix to create a sweet mousse and added water and Kale to make some smoothies  which I put in jars ready for this morning.

Bolivian raw chocolate block with Kale ready for my dessert recipe

Bolivian raw chocolate block with Kale ready for my dessert recipe

My dinner: Kale massaged with Sunita Tahini, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil

My dinner: Kale massaged with Sunita Tahini, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Marinaded turnip, mushrooms and peppers marinaded with  clearspring tamari and  toasted  sesame oil. A bit of Laurie’s amazing live organic sauerkraut on the side. 

 

30 Day Raw Challenge

CRANLEIGH HOUSE RAW FOOD CHALLENGE

Today I am embarking on my second raw food for 30 days challenge.

The main thing I notice is that it is also making me feel raw emotionally! It’s only 7.45am in the morning and I’ve already noticed that I’ve been triggered to feel anger, sadness, exclusion & jealousy….a juicy combination and I haven’t even got the juicer out…..

Last time I went raw for 30 days was in March 2013 and it was one of the coldest Marches I remember with snow and frost for a few days and I found it really hard. Even though I  knew the importance of drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juice, I did  not have enough and I felt depleted so, this time around I will be making juice every day or buying freshly made juice, for example from the new juice bar in Ilfracombe, if I am out and about.

Why am I taking this challenge?

I’ve studied many naturopathic books: Bernard Jensen’s Tissue Cleansing through Bowel Management, Richard Anderson’s Cleanse and Purify Thyself Books 1 and 2 and Raw Family by Victoria Butenko. What they say makes total sense to me and any time I’ve fasted, eaten raw and practiced Rich Anderson’s Master Phase Cleanse protocol, which we run here on a regular basis I feel better, more in touch with myself, with others and more in touch with the Universe and my spirituality. So, for me this is the way to go.

I’d also like to clear up some physical problems that I’ve been experiencing:

Getting up to pee at night, tightness in my back at the top around the shoulders, some stiffness and tightness around the ileo-sacral hip joint. I practice yoga postures daily in the morning but these areas of stiffness come back.

I’d also like to take the stress of digesting cooked food off my body, feel more emotionally balanced and  eat in a way which is more sustainable for the planet. having said that I do love tropical  fruit and coconut and I know that these are flown half way round the world to the UK. I don’ think that I can give these up quite yet. But at least I will not be consuming animal products.

Another goal is to have more energy to work with clients. I know from reading about Fred Bisci and Matt Monarch and others that  they seem to have very high energy and that is what I’d like to enjoy too.

I’m aware that cleansing and eating raw can also bring up a lot of emotional ‘stuff’ that has been hidden in the body and so I will be writing about the mental/emotional journey that I am going on  as well.

As I work with many people who are going through emotional challenges I would like to find more ways to help them through this process as well. Eating raw, I think, will bring me more  self awareness to help others.

My Shiatsu practitioner says to me: you are already firey try reducing bitter leafy greens but I know intuitively that this is the food I like. They also recommended me to eat pressure cooked grains and beans  for a grounding, strengthening energy but I know that any food that has been heated beyond 112 degrees has no enzymes left in it so, I don’t want to be eating this food.

The hardest thing for me is going to be to eat no cooked  carbs, as I love baked potatoes, Singapore noodles, a slice of rye bread with coconut oil and some jam but, I also know that all these foods are comfort foods for me and I reach for them when  I want to be emotionally comforted. So, during this challenge I  am aware that I will be finding comfort for myself in other  ways.  when I feel  like comfort eating  I can do some mindful meditation, notice my emotions and discover what is going on  in  my body.

I love green smoothies and I find them very comforting to drink, I love raw chunks of coconut, I find it very satisfying and  I will  make myself some delicious satisfying tea time  foods, which I’ll be sharing, instead of toast!

I have been vegetarian for many years and eaten a plant based diet since January.

I have not  been a consumer of tea,  coffee, alcohol and sugar for many years so, I am starting with a pretty clean  body. I don’t eat wheat on a regular basis but I have enjoyed the occasional veggie pasty from our village bakery in Combe Martin or a sandwich, if I have nothing else on the motorway but, I’ve always noticed that if I eat bread it makes me put on  weight, like a little belly and then  I crave it. For me I find it very addictive.

The bread that I have mainly eaten for the last few years is Sourdough rye bread. this has been the best for my digestive system, which was very weak, for many years, from having been overdosed with antibiotics as a child and other factors!

So, this is my challenge and I’m intending it to be enjoyable and I will like sharing the journey as  well as I hope it will help other people who’d like to take this  path.

Happy Thursday!

with love and gratitude from Katherine

k pics up to 27.3.15 009 k pics up to 27.3.15 076 wild watercress and  garlic  path – Combe Martin, Devon.

 

 

 

 

Monday 7th March

k pics up to 27.3.15 076  There are some beautiful plants coming out in the mild weather, lots of wild garlic down by the small  streams and river paths. This year was the earliest that I have ever seen it growing, I even noticed some flowers in January.

k pics up to 27.3.15 029 This path, including some steep steps up to the cliff above Wild Pear Beach, is a fantastic one to get the heart rate going. A quick run up here and you’ve done your exercise for the day!

k pics up to 27.3.15 026 There are some Alexanders growing at the bottom of the steps. The leaves are edible and have a strong taste, they are good added in small quantities to salads and can be cooked up a bit like spinach. Remember to go with someone who knows their plants when you first start to forage as this plant can look a bit like Hemlock which is very poisonous. It is reputed to be the plant that killed Socrates and while it is wonderful to add a few wild greens to our salads it would be sad to die in the process.

k pics up to 27.3.15 023 Galium Aparine:  ‘Cleavers’ or ‘Goose Grass’ are it’s common names  are coming up in the hedgerows, often under the brambles at this time of the year. This is the plant that ‘cleaves’ or sticks to your clothes when you walk and it also has tiny round burrs that cling as well. They often become caught up in dogs fur. It is a great plant for unclogging the body of what it has been clinging to in the lymphatic department. We add a small amount to juice on our naturopathic cleanse weeks for this purpose but it is not a plant that I would add to salads as it would have too strong a medicinal reaction.

k pics up to 27.3.15 020 The beautiful flowers of yellow gorse smell of coconut if you get close, especially if the sun is out but, you do have to be careful not to spike your nose on the thorny leaves! just the flowers, not with the beige coloured husk are a colourful addition to salads.

k pics up to 27.3.15 012 This is what I call a ‘stream path’ they are  very common in Devon. We had a guest who I pointed this way out to on the map, when she got back from her walk I asked her if she’d found the path and she said she’d come to a gate and seen a stream. This is one of those paths,  with a stream running down it from the hills above, on a wet day.

k pics up to 27.3.15 010 These are the new leaves of the wild watercress which grows abundantly. It is important to choose carefully where you are going to pick it as it is not good to have the run off from a sheep field directly above it or running into it. Visitors can ask us where it is safe to pick.

k pics up to 27.3.15 009 These are the rosettes of leaves that develop on the water cress when it is mature and the flower grows out from the middle. I always say thank you to the plant  as I pick the leaves. The patch that I pick from has become bigger and bigger over the years and now is really lush and abundant. It is really delicious in salads, smoothies and juices.

k pics up to 27.3.15 002  These gorgeous little violets with their heart shaped leaves grown in many of the banks around here. Traditionally they were used and still are as cake decorations: ‘parma violets’ crystalised with lots of sugar. I love their scent.

k pics up to 27.3.15 001 Here is Stewart with a beautiful bank full of violets.

Recent Posts

  • Vaxxed – from cover up to catastrophe – the movie directed by Andrew Wakefield
  • Natural remedies for internal bleeding
  • Alternative Solutions for Mental Health problems
  • Going Raw
  • Smoothies & Shiatsu

Recent Comments

  • recommended detox supplements on 5th Nov 2015 – Camino Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea from Combe Martin, Devon to Glastonbury.
  • fifa 17 on 11th Jan 2015 – Alternatives to tea, coffee & squash….
  • furtdsolinopv on 11th Jan 2015 – Alternatives to tea, coffee & squash….
  • Tuesday on 14th Dev 14 Welcome to Cranleigh House Blog
  • Ivalene on Cranleigh House Raw Food Challenge Day 13

Archives

  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • May 2014

Categories

  • Latest News
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org
CyberChimps

CyberChimps

CyberChimps ©2025