Autumn workshop with Mark

The Autumn workshop with Mark will run at Fetternear Hall 21st - 24th October. Paolo is finalising the schedule for 121s and group sessions, so if you want to book one of those then please let him know as soon as possible.

Summer workshop dates

The Sea Scouts have confirmed the hall hire for us so we are at our usual venue, Leander Sea Scouts, Kingston Upon Thames, UK. 22-28 July 2023. 2pm-9.30pm daily, with an hour's break for dinner around 6pm ish. 

Bring your own food, rather than big things to share, to make sure you've got something. But it's also fine to bring sharing cakes, snacks or whatever, and up to you whether you partake. Tea will be provided, as usual, and teas and milk are always welcome. Bring hand gel as there will be lots of partnerwork to make up for all the years without it!

As far as we know, camping at the venue is still fine. I will be camping there Saturday and possibly Sunday night.

Cost £50 per day, £25 per half day, (£30 per day, £15 per half day concessions)

Get in touch with Mark for more details or search this blog for 'Intensive' or 'summer workshop' as all the travel and venue details are still the same. 

Aberdeenshire Autumn Workshop

The Aberdeenshire Autumn workshop with Mark will be at Fetternear Hall 21st - 24th October, followed by 121s with Mark.  There will be more details nearer the time: please let Paolo know if you want to book a 121.

Dates for the summer workshop in London are expected to be confirmed soon.

Early Winter Taichi gathering with Mark at Twickenham

 All students are welcome to join Mark at the regular Twickenham venue from 26-18th November, 2022. Cost is £50 per day, sessions run from 2-9pm with an hour's break for food. Get in touch with Mark if you have any questions. 

If anyone in South London knows they are going to all three days and could put me up for the period of the workshop, please do get in touch, I would be very grateful (and happy to pay!) Caro.

Scottish workshops with Mark begin this weekend

From Saturday Mark will be in Aberdeenshire teaching the autumn workshops, followed by 121s with all those who booked one. If you'd like to join Mark, give him a ring, there are still places. 

Wishing a good workshop for all who go.

Upcoming workshops with Mark

Later this week I should have all the details for the upcoming autumn workshops with Mark in both Scotland and Twickenham. In October there will be a workshop at Fetternear Hall in Aberdeenshire, followed by 121s. In November there will be a 3 or 4 day workshop at Twickenham. Details soon as Mark gives them to me.

Next year's summer workshop is pencilled in for 22-28 July 2023 at the usual Kingston venue. The refurbished Petersham meadows venue is no longer available for a weeklong event, and is now three times the price it was, so is too expensive for us anyway. Leander Sea Scout hut is still really great, and I look forward to seeing you there next year. 

Any workshop queries in the meantime, just call Mark directly.

Summer news

Here's a couple more photos from Mark's workshop in July. Thanks to all who came and made this a great event. The consensus was that Mark should run a 7 day workshop in 2023, (national circumstances allowing). The venue has set aside the week for us and could not have been kinder and more accommodating this year. Thank you Leander Sea Scouts!

Salutations

Kevin assisting Mark

I am away until October, fishing, teaching, travelling and also still recovering form Covid. I have made plans to record online chi kung courses in the autumn with filmmaker Jonny Randall and we will also assist Mark with making online T'ai Chi courses. I have updated the Great River website with all the info from the instructors. If you see anything that needs changing, let me know by email. 

Lastly, Mark turns 60 at the end of the month! One of his old students and I will be celebrating with him most likely by going fishing. If you need his address for any cards, just drop me an email and I'll send it to you. Thanks to those who have already asked about it.

Have a great August, see you in the autumn. Very best wishes Caro.

The long-awaited 15th Annual summer intensive

Dear friends, at last we are able to announce The T'ai Chi Centre 15th annual summer intensive. It will be a four day event this year, to ease everyone back gently into the workshop habit. We were not able to afford the newly refurbished Petersham premises any more, and the dates we wanted were not free anyway. Our recent venue in Kingston have kindly moved a booking for us to have our preferred last week of July slot and have not raised their prices, for which we are grateful. 

Here are the details so far.

Dates: 2pm Saturday 23rd July until 9.30pm Tuesday 26th July 2022

Times: 2-5pm and 6.30-9.30pm daily

Cost: £50 per day, £25 per session. (Concessions £24 /£12) or anything between these that you can afford.

Address: Leander Sea Scout Hut, Albany Mews, Kingston Upon Thames. (No entrance from riverside, Lower Ham Rd.) Local parking restrictions may apply. No parking at venue. 65 bus stops very nearby. Train: Kingston, 20 min walk.

Food: Bring your own food for the break between sessions. Tea and soft drinks provided.

Nearer the time we will know if anyone can stay in the venue overnight. For now it is best to assume not. We have the venue from 12 noon Saturday until 10pm Tuesday. 

London taichi long weekend with Mark starts tomorrow

 I am looking forward to seeing those coming along to Mark's three day session this weekend in Twickenham. I have a cold (not Covid) that has been bad but is now clearing up, so I hope to be there the whole time. Contact Mark directly for any details. Bring your own food, tea will be provided. Cost is £50 per day or £25 per session. Concession are £24 / £12. Travel well!

London Taichi Long Weekend with Mark in February

All students are welcome to come to 3 days of Taichi in Twickenham taught by Mark at the same venue as 2021's Summer 4 day Intensive. The dates are Saturday 12-Monday 14 Feb, 2pm - 9.30pm, with a break for food between the afternoon and evening sessions. Cost £50 per day, or £25 per session. Tea is provided, bring your own snack for the break. 

Call Mark for further details. It's not 'an intensive', but a chance to have some concentrated study and practice. We look forward to seeing you there.

T'ai Chi news and classes in person and online

Mark will be teaching one more online class on Monday 20th December then taking some time off until early Jan. As soon as I have dates I'll post them here. 

Tuesday in-person classes will resume in Tooting on 11th January 2022. There is no class on 21st December.

121s are available by Zoom, Skype and in person at Mark's studio.

Caro's weekly Zoom Short Form class resumes 4th January.

Kevin Devine's Short Form class at Tooting Lido resumes in the New Year on 12th Jan.

There will hopefully be a 3 day mini intensive (sat-mon) in January or February, a great suggestion from Chris! If you are interested, drop a line to Mark so we can gauge numbers. 

I wish you all a peaceful and restorative Christmas and New Year.

Love Caro

Autumn workshop thanks

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Autumn workshop with Mark for all your work and enthusiasm, and best wishes to those who weren't able to attend. Thanks also to Mark for his teaching at the workshop, the Left Side class, and all the 121s. The redecorated hall was lovely to be in and we'll be organising future visits by Mark in due course. As it was our first workshop in 2 years I didn't take many photos, but just to confirm that we did have:

flowers,

partnerwork,

and, of course, cake!

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!

Wishing you a great autumn workshop

 I am sending love and best wishes to all who are attending Mark's Autumn workshop in Fetternear Hall next week, I hope you have a wonderful time. It will be strange not to be there too, but I will enjoy doing my taichi down here and thinking of you doing yours up there. I will see you next year. Very best wishes Caro.

one week to the workshop

The Autumn workshop with Mark will start next week, Saturday 16th October at Fetternear Hall. The details are in this post.  If you booked a 121 with Mark, but didn't get my email earlier this week with the schedule, please get in touch and I'll confirm the date/time you are booked in for.

Once I've been to the hall early next week, I'll let everyone know the practical arrangements re food etc by email and put an update on here by Wednesday. If you need any other information, please let me know and I'll do what I can to help.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying our first workshop together for two years.

Aberdeenshire Autumn Intensive

 I’m pleased to confirm the schedule for the Aberdeenshire Autumn Intensive with Mark.

The workshop will be at Fetternear Hall from Saturday 16th to Wednesday 20th October, sessions are 2-5pm and 6:30-9:30pm each day. The price is £22 per session, £12 concession. As usual, come along from the first session and then stay for as many as you like. There may be some limits on numbers of people in the kitchen etc, but I’ll advise everyone of any relevant Covid related requirements nearer the time.

There will also be a Left Side class with Mark on the evening of Thursday 21st October at Monymusk Hall. Time and price to be confirmed.

121s will be scheduled for Friday 22nd through to Sunday 24th October, and will be held at my house. Times are usually 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm. If you’ve requested a 121, please let me know when you are/are not available and I’ll put together a timetable to suit.

If anyone needs advice or assistance with travel or accommodation, please get in touch and I'll do what I can to help.  It may be possible to stay with local students, and I also have information on local holiday accommodation.

Taichi class updates in London, online sessions and Summer Intensive news.

Mark's Long Form Tooting classes are now running at the usual venue Trinity Church Hall on Tuesday nights 7-9pm. Class last 2 hours, there is as yet no partner work, due to govt guidelines. Class costs £15.

Wednesday morning Short Form at Tooting Bec Lido Pavilion is running. Kevin Devine now takes the class after I moved back to Bournemouth. Class runs from 9-10am, all are welcome. Class costs £10 or £8 for SLSC members. 

Tuesday morning Zoom class with me is running each week 9-10am, all those with some experience of short form are welcome. We do warm ups, chi kung and short form. Email me or fill in the form via the Great River T'ai Chi website for the link. Class is recorded and can be watched at any time, £5 live or recorded.

Mark will continue to teach online Short Form in detail, Long Form and Left Side sessions by Zoom for the foreseeable future, at the usual dates and times he has been using since January 2021. Class prices are £10 per session. Some sessions are available recorded afterwards, get in touch with Mark for details. 

The Summer Intensive will run differently this year for 4 days. Please let Mark or me know if you plan to come. All students of John Kells, of his students, Mark, me and of all our students are welcome.

The October workshop in Scotland and regular classes for the Scottish contingent will resume as soon as lockdown has been entirely lifted. Mark will be taking over all my previous workshops, but rather than monthly, will probably be travelling every 6-8 weeks or so, in arrangement with the Scottish students. 

Online and recorded sessions, resources and classes are available on our Dropbox, if you want access, just get in touch with me. 

Personal news: I have been away for a while recovering from the events of May and my hip condition, doing an art residency, and spending time in the woods doing bushcraft and traditional skills. I am not online as much as I was, but do plan to return when I feel able to. I have plenty more essays and pieces to add to the new website blog. If you are teaching a class and want it to be listed on the website, please email me the details. In the meantime it has been lovely hearing from you by email. I am still practising much Heartwork, short form and meditation, and as my hip musculature improves, the more advanced forms and practices can make their way back into my life. For now, all situations in life are good opportunities for practice, whether or not they looks like T'ai Chi, they certainly feel like it. I have no plans to start in-person classes in Bournemouth, despite a host of great venues. I still haven't had that planned sabbatical, as Covid and then the ensuing events prevented it. Perhaps it will happen now. Very best wishes to all from sunny Bournemouth. 

Term dates and summer workshop latest

NEWS: Easter holiday. There will be no break in online classes with Mark during the Easter period, as he is not able to go away due to lockdown restrictions - and he lives only 60 metres from the studio! He understands that you might not be able to make it to class over this period, or may want a break, and will make sure no one gets left behind on anything that gets covered. However, as many folks may also be stuck at home, he thought you might like to join him for T'ai Chi anyway.

Summer workshop: I will be meeting the Sea Scouts at Petersham soon to arrange returning to that wonderful riverside venue this summer for the 15th Annual Intensive. Of course we cannot know what, if any, restrictions will be in place at that time, how long the workshop will be, if not the usual full week, and many other things. I went to see the new building yesterday from the outside, it is mostly completed and looks fantastic, airy and big, perfect for rainy days. The outdoor space is still great, big enough for classes and camping even though there is now a cool bushcraft area. The fire site is still there with plenty of wood for bonfires. 

We will provide hand gel and the new venue toilets are going to be clean and accessible, so hygiene will not be a problem. It is likely we would all bring our own packed meals this year and have a rota for serving teas, rather than a free-for-all in the kitchen. But this is all easily doable and so worthwhile. I will post more here when I know more. Last year I also bought a 4m square gazebo for when I moved boat. I will be ideal as a dry store for bags and shoes during the day so that we can stay outside for all but loo visits. Now we just all need our vaccines.

February news & Summer workshop planned dates

Classes are continuing online until Easter with Caro and Mark. A link to the recording of last night's left Side class should be available today when I have edited it. 

We are tentatively hoping that the postponed 15th Annual T'ai Chi Intensive will be able to run this year. I will contact possible venues today and hope to have more news at Easter. The proposed dates so far are the usual last week of July (24-30th) with our usual warm-up the night before for partnerwork on eve of 23rd. Obviously everything depends on a certain virus, and on the UK government's handling of it, and on so many other variables. But I am writing this plan here, in the hope that it may come to fruition, and that we will all be able to push hands again soon. 

Perhaps we will need an outdoors venue and covered area, and to have to bring our own packed meals, not to share. We will certainly have lots more handwashing and hand gel applications, and have windows and doors wide open. Maybe tea and coffee will be made by a couple of people each break, and laid out, on a rota, likewise with washing up. We are adaptable folk, us T'ai Chi people, and with humour and a bit of planning, as well as lots of care, there is a good chance we can have our week or at least 3 or 4 days, of workshop. 

News 14/06/2020

Or rather, no news...

Please bear with us for another week or so before we make any announcements regarding the summer workshop. As some of you may know, Mark is injured, so his recovery is our main concern. The English guidelines re Covid are hardly clear, and although the event may be possible, it will take some discussions with Mark that he is not able to have right now. Quarantine guidelines mean no one flying to England from abroad would be able to attend without staying an extra 14 days first... Yet different rules apply elsewhere in UK. Frankly, it's a mess and I do not claim to understand it. If you do, feel free to send me an email!

Thank you for being patient. If the summer Intensive does not run this year, then we will have an all-singing all dancing October workshop, which had already been lengthened to 4 days by request. Perhaps it may be extended more, if people wanted it and the venue were free. I have not yet looked into it as everything is so provisional. Will there be a second wave of Covid-19 at that time? I will put news here as soon as I have it, but due to hospital plans and trebled life admin taking all my time now, it won't be sooner than next weekend. 

I also have to sell my home and move elsewhere by 2nd September due to circumstances beyond my control which I cannot mention here. I will still be teaching the short form class on Zoom each week and will do that from whatever place I find myself. All T'ai Chi family are welcome and it would be lovely to see any faces. I have work and great support, so please don't worry about me. My loved-ones, friends, neighbours, family and nature are always at the heart of my life, and in times like this, their love and reciprocity sustain me.

People have been asking what they can do to help. Drop Mark a line by text or Whatsapp if you like. But phone calls and emails are not his thing right now. All Mark's livelihood disappeared in March and will not return for the foreseeable future. I imagine September will be the earliest classes can possibly resume, July if he is well enough. You can book and pay for a 121 in your diary with him in advance if you like, either in person or by Skype. Folks said those sessions are great too, although you have to make your own tea! We both appreciate all your messages, support of many kinds, and kindness. The best thing is to keep practising and come back to class as soon as we are able to run them. 

I have a hour's daily work online for a great woodlands company, the weekly Zoom short form class,as well as other things lined up. And unlike the airlines, banks and big companies, I did have a contingency plan in place, as well as food in store, and the skills and networks I needed to get through difficulty. 'Deal with things when they're small' being a central Taoist tenet, I am attempting to crack on with that now. Forgive tardy or shortish responses to email or calls for a while from me. I was going to write to you, the T'ai Chi family, about all this for the last two weeks, but I haven't found the right words. So instead, here's this, for the ones who read this, and I trust the gentle web of shared practice and friendship that is The T'ai Chi Centre and Great River T'ai Chi can disseminate this info as it sees fit. Anyway, it'll be an excuse for some lovely phonecalls and texts between people, so that makes me happy. 

Right, gotta go now. Time to sell a boat and buy another one this afternoon. Wish me luck.