Posts for March, 2022

Imagine you are about to die.
You have one meal left.
What are you going to have?

It’s the question award-winning restaurant critic, MasterChef judge and writer Jay Rayner has been asked most often by audiences across the UK. It happened so often that he decided the time had come to investigate the concept of the last supper and why it intrigues us so. Is it because of the opportunity it presents us with to let your appetites run riot? Or is it because it’s
a greedy way in which to tell the story of your own life? And if so, what would a man like Jay Rayner, who for two decades has made a living eating out in restaurants, choose to put on the menu?

In this barnstorming new show, based on his new book, Rayner investigates our fascination with last suppers and tells the stories of the killer dishes that would end up on his table: how he was introduced to oysters by his late mother, how he almost burnt down a hotel because of his love for snails in bubbling garlic butter and of the many ways by which the mighty pig has
fed him over the years. Plus, he’ll get the audience to design their own last meal. My Last Supper follows the success of his sell out shows, My Dining Hell and The Ten Food Commandments, which have taken audiences by storm across the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

My Last Supper with Jay Rayner. It’s a show to die for.

Jo will guide us through an hour long yoga practice in the stunning Lookout Hide, moving through a dynamic yoga flow suitable for beginners, whilst looking out across the stunning marshlands, abundant with wildlife.

Cath will lead us on a gentle forest bathing journey along the Invertromie trail – the calming, peaceful practice of immersing ourselves in the unique nature found at the reserve.

We will finish off the morning by coming together to share some delicious homemade food, provided by a local bakery.

Jo Armstead is yoga instructor, doctor and outdoor enthusiast based in the Cairngorms National Park. She has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and particularly enjoys teaching whilst immersed in nature. Find out more about her at: www.wildernessflowyoga.co.uk

Cath Wright is a qualified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides. Find out more about her at: www.highlandquietlife.co.uk


Cairngorms Connect have kindly sponsored this event, so the whole cost of your ticket will contribute to landscape-scale conservation work at Insh Marshes. www.cairngormsconnect.org.uk

A long weekend or day retreat, either way, you can expect good feels playfully investigating the power and adaptability of your body. Working with Carrie Wilde Yoga exploring yoga, meditation and relaxation in the tipi.

The Dell of Abernethy will be cooking delicious food, and we’ll have the horsebox sauna to enjoy.

Repair cafe Cairngorms runs monthly at the Boat of Garten community hall and works with volunteers to help fix household items.

Bring your items and we’ll try our best to fix it.

And there’s a cafe too – so you can have a cuppa while you wait.

Come and spend a relaxing time making and creating with the extremely talented Aaron Sterritt, in and around our woodland tipi. Aaron is a local green woodworker and creates stunning contemporary pieces that are inspired by the natural characteristics of the wood in which he works.

With him, you will learn a wide range of traditional “Green Woodworking” techniques. Using hand tools and locally sourced hardwood you will be guided through the process of making your very own Shrinkpot.

These wooden pots are the ultimate in pure green woodworking and are an absolute joy to make! You will come away with at least two of these beautifully practical pots, which can have many different uses.

This course is for both complete beginners and more experienced woodworkers. All welcome, no previous woodworking experience is needed. Lunch, drinks and cake are also provided by our wonderful chefs here at The Dell. A wonderful way to spend a day in the trees.

A series of writing workshops where we will explore our relationships with place. Come along to one workshop, or the whole series!

The way we each experience places can be vastly different – our unique emotions, knowledge, memories and company can all alter how we connect to the land. What and who we’re in company with shapes how we connect to a landscape.

With this as a starting point, writer, Elizabeth Reeder, will be hosting a series of writing workshops exploring the idea of companionship.

The workshops will explore what it might mean to have a companion species, or to be accompanied by a question, or to accompany someone with different knowledge of a place than you have.

And we’ll do some writing. The writing is for yourself and you’ll be under no obligation to share. (Although, we are considering collecting stories for those people who are interested in sharing them.)

No previous writing experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome. *under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

These workshops are free, but places are limited. Please sign up to reserve a space.


Tuesday 12th April, 6pm-8pm, with an optional pre-workshop outdoor activity at 4.30pm.

Wednesday 13th April, 12midday. Elizabeth will be sitting at the Loch and writing. There is an open invitation to turn up and join her! (no booking necessary)

Thursday 14th April, 6pm – 8pm, with an optional pre-workshop outdoor activity at 4.30pm. A Writing workshop with Amanda Thomson and Elizabeth Reeder using Amanda’s book A Scots Dictionary of Nature as the basis for discussions and writing!


For any questions please contact Elizabeth directly on ekr.waxwing@gmail.com

Elizabeth Reeder, together with Robbie Synge (choreographer and filmmaker) and Amanda Thomson (writer) are Artists in Residence with Cairngorms Connect through the Endangered Landscapes Artists Residency programme.

Three years in the making, Riverwoods is a feature-length documentary that shines a light on the perilous state of Scotland’s salmon and tells the compelling story of an inextricable relationship between fish and forest.

We’ve brought together a group of expert scientists, writers and filmmakers to tell a story of loss and lament, but also one of hope. Throughout Scotland, the fractured connections between salmon and the landscapes through which their rivers flow, are gradually being repaired through the foresight and positive actions of many different people.

Riverwoods is a rallying call for restoring more of Scotland’s river catchments and all the life they support.

DATE : Friday 18th March 2022

VENUE : Grant Arms Hotel – Osprey Suite

TIME : Talk starts at 7.30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.

TOPIC : Local Trails and Tours (with contributors from local organisations)

*Tickets available from EventBrite link online (preferred) or purchasable in cash from Boat of Garten Post Office and shop (but please do try to use the EventBrite booking online instead if you can, thank you).

EVENT PROGRAMME

18.00 – 19.00 – ‘Cairngorms Connect’ talk. How to restore a landscape” talk with speakers from across the CC partnership covering peatlands, woodlands, rivers and floodplains, people and science and monitoring. Including Q&A.

19.00 – 19.30 – interval #1

19.30 – 20.15 – 1st half of musical performance Hamish Napier The Woods Folk Trio

20.15 – 20.45 – interval #2

20.45 – 21.30 – 2nd half of musical performance Hamish Napier The Woods Folk Trio

*It is likely that some audience members may not be able to attend all of the evening’s programme, which is absolutely fine.

PERFORMERS:
Hamish Napier – wooden flutes, whistles, piano and stories
Patsy Reid – fiddle and viola
Innes Watson – guitars and viola
Robbie Synge – Artist in Residence for Cairngorms Connect

HAMISH NAPIER is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist and composer inspired by the heritage and nature of his native landscape of Strathspey. Join us as he performs his award winning new album The Woods (Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards) funded by local habitat restoration project Cairngorms Connect. His original March 2020 Woods album launch tour was cancelled just as the national lockdown hit, and postponed to 2021 and then again to 2022. Not one to give up easily, Hamish finally will finally get the chance to share his music inspired by the flora and fauna of Scotland’s native forests. Hamish’s music is innovative, incorporating sounds from jazz, electronica and classical music, while also celebrating and respecting Scotland’s rich musical heritage. Humorous, engaging and heart-warming, Hamish’s performances are often interdisciplinary, incorporating poems and stories about nature, folklore and communities. The Woods is album no.3 in his Strathspey Pentalogy – a 5-album exploration and celebration of his homeland, following on from The River and The Railway.He will also share a few of the work-in-progress pieces from forthcoming album no.4! www.hamishnapier.com

PATSY REID is one of Scotland’s finest fiddle players. Patsy Reid is one of the most in-demand traditional fiddle players in the UK. She has performed with Dougie Maclean, Kylie Minogue and Zakir Hussain, and recorded with Mark Knopfler, Donald Shaw, Duncan Chisholm, Bella Hardy, Treacherous Orchestra, Tim Edey and many more. With an accuracy and tone that many fiddlers only dream of, Patsy has truly mastered her instrument and has developed a unique style. https://www.patsyreid.com

INNES WATSON, from Glasgow, is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist with fifteen years of contemporary and traditional Scottish music performance, recording, teaching and producing under his belt and one of the most highly-regarded and sought-after musicians in the field. Innes Watson is a rhythmic guitar wizard and a first class fiddle player to boot, with a unique style and approach. Like Hamish, Innes also performs in ace Highland fiddle player Duncan Chisholm’s band. www.inneswatson.co.uk

ROBBIE SYNGE studied science but now makes performance, film, objects and other things rooted in choreographic thinking around the body and its meeting points and touch – alone and with others – in landscapes and with objects and materials. He lives in Nethy Bridge, a small village in the Cairngorm National Park, Scotland, where he currently focuses his time on developing community links and contemporary art activity particularly in relation to land use and restoration issues. He is developing new partnerships with artist residencies in the area (e.g. The Work Room Time Away residencies 2021). www.robbiesynge.com

SHOP: On the night Hamish will be selling all 3 albums from his ‘Strathspey Trilogy’ at a one-off special reduce rate for this local show. A chance to pick up a signed copy of the CD at a very modest price, while at the same time helping support local musicians livelihoods.

COVID GUIDELINES: We will be keeping a close eye on national coronavirus guidelines with regards to public performances. It is recommended that people take a lateral flow on the day of event, and do not attend if they or anyone in their household has Covid symptoms. People are encouraged to wear face coverings when not seated.

Fancy learning some new knitting skills? This hat workshop is an ideal step for beginners – creating a hat in adult or child sizes – or both!

Using the ‘Basic Knit Ribbed Hat’ pattern from Yarnspirations we will be creating these cosy hats – knitted flat in a simple rib stitch then sewn together & decorated with a pompom. Using lovely chunky yarn will make these a quick & fun project

Skill Level
Beginners – but familiarity with casting on & off and knit & purl stitches will be helpful (we will do a small refresher)
This workshop is open to all ages, under 10’s must be accompanied by an adult (no fee if not participating)

Tools & Materials Needed
6.5mm knitting needles
Scissors, tape measure
Yarn is included (see below)

Included:
Two balls of Chunky Yarn
Darning Needles
Refreshments

Yarn included is enough to make 2 hats, if you would like to make more we can order extra yarn for a fee
Once booked we will get in touch with colour choices