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Hilfield Project Programme 2008 |
10 May
A beginner's introduction to flowers of Hilfield led by Tony Barnard.
10.30am to 4pm, please bring pack lunch, drinks provided |
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17 May 2008 Wind and Fire Event 2.00pm – 4.00pm. more information: Making and flying kites and banners, finishing with a bonfire |
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23 -25 May 2008
Thy word is all
Learning to Spell with George Herbert
A Weekend led by Brother Sam and Dr Elizabeth Cook (HP0002) |
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1 June 2008
Environment Sunday |
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7 June 2008
Bees and Community Bee Awareness 2.00-4.00pm A Day looking at the social life of bees and what they can teach us about living together |
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13-15 June 2008
The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos
The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos is workshop backed by a Brian Swimme video of the same name, is an exploration into the origin, wonder and awe of the Cosmos. It is an opportunity to discuss and discover how we contribute to the creativity, meaning and purpose of the Universe’. (HP0001) |
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21 June 2008
Franciscan Midsummer Fair
11am – 4pm |
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1 August 2008
Lammas |
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19-21 September 2008
God Bless Africa
A weekend exploring the issue of peace and justice in Africa with Brother John SSF – learning something of the background to the news we see in the media and discovering how we can be engaged through our understanding, our prayer and our actions. Br John has recently made his profession in life vows in SSF; he visited the Congo in the run-up to the elections there in 2006 and has a passionate concern for the people of Africa. |
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10-12 October 2008
Living in Gratitude and Peace
Franciscan Wisdom for a Global Future
A Weekend led by Brother Sam |
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18 October 2008
Bread-making with Sarah Stancliffe and Judith Squarey.
10am- 2pm More Information Good Bread makes for wholesome living and for good communities, come and learn some of the tricks of the trade and discover the rich variety of breads that are possible. |
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7-9 November 2008
And God saw that it was very Good – Weekend with Brother Samuel More Information: A weekend of engaging with the scriptures and seeing what they teach us about the environment and our relationship with God’s creation. We’ll be looking, not just at the familiar first chapters of Genesis, but at the wonderfully rich passages elsewhere in the Bible which reveal God’s loving purpose in and through creation.
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5-7 December 2008
Living Simply in a Global Society weekend led by Jonathon Herbert More Information: Jonathon Herbert is the Warden of the Pilsdon Community in West Dorset, celebrating it’s jubilee year. He will tackle some of the issues that all of us face as we try to live peacefully, gently and simply in an increasingly busy and competitive world.
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Past Events
Hilfield Hedgerow Harvest
The rain of the morning had been blown away and we were left with one of those perfect English Autumn days, clear, sunny and fresh; a day that makes you glad to be out and about. And so it was on Saturday 22 September when we set off for our Hedgerow Harvest walk. For many days before this Saturday the volunteers of the Hilfield Project at the Franciscan Friary had been gathering fruits and nuts, leaves and flowers, monitoring the fungi activity and making preparations for the feast. It was amazing how many free ingredients where abundantly available on the doorstep. Not only were there the obvious fruits from blackberry and elder, rosehip and sloe; nuts from hazel and walnut, but we found that the haw, so plentiful, was also palatable and the hedgerows around had a number of little crab apples that when combined with other fruits made good jams and cheeses.
During the walk over the top of Hilfield Hill and along the path to Cerne Abbas we experienced the wonderful distant views into the valleys of the Cerne and Sydling. At important moments particular plants were pointed out as having certain food values and the culinary possibilities seemed endless. Each walker had been given a box to collect what ever they wanted, a competition of special things to look out for added to the enjoyment of looking with new more concentrated eyes at our familiar surroundings. We were told that our pickings should be moderate as we were sharing this harvest with the wildlife who depended on good autumn supplies of food for their winter survival and that we should not eat anything unless we knew what it was. And so it was a jolly crowd that returned to the Friary for a feast, and it was quite a feast laid out on groaning tables all beautifully set off by autumnal decorations.
There were soups of nettle, comfrey, watercress and rosehip; nettle pudding, chips of burdock and dandelion, which went well with the battered comfrey leaves that looked just like fish; nut roast and nut burgers made use of the hazel and walnut; salads of plantain, lime, yarrow, gorse flowers and clover; boiled ground elder was strangely good, but the mare’s tail was definitely an acquired taste. The deserts were made from a variety of fruit syrups on ice cream, a sloe and blackberry sorbet with hazelnut macaroons and hazelnut honey chips. All was finished off with a barrel of nettle beer and one of dandelion and burdock beer. There was enough food for the Brothers to join in the feasting after Evening Prayer. A lady from Wells won a bottle of rosehip syrup with the hedgerow gathering competition and after a further tree identification game it was time to clear up and go home with many new ideas of what is possible, it was a really good supermarket experience, educational, friendly, enjoyable and fun.
