Fetternear Hall housekeeping information

 I’ve visited the hall to see the changes as a result of the refurbishment work and here are a few things you need to know:

There is no longer access into the hall via the kitchen, so please come in through the main front door.

As usual the small hall will be laid out as our dining room - please leave any cold food on the “buffet table” in there.

If you are bringing food that needs to be reheated, bear in mind there is no longer a microwave. If a number of folk need to be reheating/cooking, please agree amongst yourselves who will take care of watching / stirring to minimise the number of people in the kitchen at one time. Where possible, bring hot food through to the small hall for serving.

Update: you can bring food to share or your own packed lunch - whichever you prefer.

There is a brand new urn in the kitchen for teas/coffees (so no more waiting for kettles to boil!). Mugs, milk, sugar and a selection of teas will be available in the small hall.

We will use the hall’s plates and mugs and I will bring cutlery and some basic utensils. Feel free to bring your own plate / mug / cutlery if you prefer.  

We will use the dishwasher in the kitchen rather than washing up by hand. If you have anything you don’t want to go through the industrial-strength machine, then please take it away with you to wash at home.

The notices in the hall stating that masks must be worn apply to events open to the public. You may wear a mask if you wish, and guidance is to wear a mask if <1m from another household. As always I’m sure you’ll be considerate of your fellow students - remember you may not be aware of their personal or household situation and circumstances.

Regarding payment for the workshop, I can take cash on behalf of Mark. Let me know if you are paying by bank transfer and also if you need Mark’s payment details. 

If there is any other information you need I’ll see what I can do to help. See you soon!

Aberdeenshire January workshops

The first workshops of 2020 with Caroline in Aberdeenshire are this weekend, 17-19th January. All sessions, except weapons, are at Balvack.

Friday 6:30-9:30pm: Weapons, Fetternear Hall - entry via the "front" door not the kitchen
Saturday and Sunday sessions are 1-4pm & 5:30-8:30pm.


The price is £20 (concessions £12) per 3 hr session. Please bring food to share on Saturday and Sunday. Get in touch with your instructor if you need travel directions or feel free to contact me with any other question.

Autumn workshop - venue information

If anyone intending coming along to the Aberdeenshire Autumn workshop didn't get my email with information about the impact of the hall renovations, please get in touch so I can send you the relevant details.

Also I've just noticed there was a typo in the printed invitations saying accomodation is available in the hall. That only applies to the summer intensive at Kingston, so if you need somewhere to stay then let me know as some local folk still have room available.

davina[at]greatrivertaichi[dot]co[dot]uk

Aberdeenshire Autumn Workshops-updated

Caroline's next visit to Aberdeenshire is on 6-8th September. The weekend will follow the usual workshop format. We'll also be going on our annual fungi foray on Monday 9th. Let Caroline or me know if you'd like to come along.

The October workshop is the annual 3 day intensive with Mark at Fetternear Hall 12-14th October, with a session on the evening of the 11th for those studying weapons. The summer workshop in Kingston was interesting and deep work but technique-light, so I'd really encourage any of the Aberdeenshire students, past or present, regardless of level of experience* , to come along on the Saturday afternoon to share this great teaching with a group of other lovely people. Then stay for as many sessions as you can...
All the details are available here, but feel free to contact me if you need any further information or help.

Caroline's remaining workshops of 2019 are 8-10th November and 6-8th December. 2020 dates will be scheduled around Oct/Nov time so please let Caroline know if there are weekends you would prefer her to avoid if possible.

* update: subject to having covered key elements of the syllabus - please talk to your instructor for more information and to discuss suitability. New beginners or students with less experience are encouraged to attend the monthly Saturday sessions with Caroline which cover Short Form and related Partnerwork.

Turriff class, Easter holiday

There will  be no Turriff class on 1st & 8th April. Sessions will restart at 6:45pm on Monday 15th April.

No Turriff class 18th September

There is no class at Turriff this Monday, 18th September. We'll be back at the Gateway Centre from 6:30pm on Monday 25th.

Shorter session this Thursday

Sorry for the late notice but have just found out that we can only have the small room at Monymusk from 8-10pm this week, 8th December.
Next week is the final session of the year and we'll be in the Main Hall 7-10pm.
First session of 2017 will be on Thursday 12th January.

Aberdeenshire Thursday sessions

Here's the rota for the final block of Thursday sessions this year. We'll be in the Small Hall 7-9pm and Large Hall 9-10pm at Monymusk except where stated. The price is £35 for 10 weeks or £5/week.

13-Oct    Janet
20-Oct    Marie
27-Oct    Sandy
3-Nov     Paolo
10-Nov   Scott
17-Nov   Janet   8-10pm only (Small Hall) Update: Cancelled
24-Nov   Davina
1-Dec     Marie
8-Dec     Update: Sandy 8-10pm only (Small Hall)
15-Dec   Update: Paolo 7-10pm Main Hall

If you can't make the session that you're due to lead then please contact someone on the list to arrange a swap.

Inverurie and Turriff classes - Spring Break

Both the Inverurie and Turriff classes will continue until Monday 11th April. There will be a break from 18th April until 2nd May.  Classes will restart on 9th May at the usual times & venues.

Shorter Thursday session this week

As the bowlers are in the main hall the Thursday session at Monymusk will be in the Small Hall from 8-10pm only.

Blogging

I have been thinking about blogging recently, and as I was updating the info here today, I had a brief look back at my first posts from May 2005. Almost 11 years ago! It's not just my hair that has changed in the intervening years. I am happy if this blog has been of use to the T'ai Chi folks in our schools. Also, as I do not allow ads (as Google puts it 'monetising your blog' - eugh) I feel happy that the blog remains a useful thing, and it's a place to pool all the info we need for the schools to run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. If you don't already know the main websites for the schools, then follow the links at the sides, as this is where the longer-form writing lives: our approach, syllabus, resources, etc.

Though I don't do Twitter and Facebook, let alone Instagram and WhatsApp, I do still appreciate blogging, and am not in any way averse to getting things done online. However, as with email, the blog can be a more considered format, and I am very glad of both these channels. I do not allow unmoderated comments, considering the amount of commercial drivel and barely hidden bile that they can contain. If you want advertisements, controversy and argument, I hear they're available 24/7 on other websites... Perhaps if I had something to sell, or was desperate for more students then I might use every medium at hand to 'maximise my advantage'. However, considering the Tao, and how great are the students who wind up finding us, I will leave things as they are for another year.

Now I shall get back to making the 2016 event print-outs for everyone, sorting the photos and updates for my site, and generally staring at this screen for a while longer.

No Long Form session this evening

Update: weather and roads getting worse so  tonight's session is cancelled. See you next week!

Monymusk school and others in the area have been closed due to deteriorating road conditions, so please don't travel to class tonight unless it's safe to do so.