| Learning the Good Life at Wicked Stepmother's World came into being when I organised the first of the workshops that I run regularly here at Home Farm House in Lincolnshire in 2007.
Learning the Good Life was a natural progressions from Wicked Stepmother's World The workshops have evolved slowly and are the meshing of my past experience in the food and training worlds and my country life here in the rural idyll of Lincolnshire. As years pass my interest in living sustainably become's paramount and the 2011 programme reflects this. Within the framework of the seasonal calendar workshops embrace the kitchen, the garden, living sustainably, traditional rural crafts and skills, the arts and crafts and wellbeing.
I came to England from Australia to set up Urban Espresso, a school to train professional baristas to use commercial espresso machines. Having had cafes in Sydney for twenty years I was invited to set up Urban Espresso under the umbrella of Urban Productions, a production/catering company. Coincidently it was just before the explosion of coffee culture about 12 years ago and it was a very exciting and busy time.
Fate took over when I met and married my husband bringing me to this part of the world. I abandoned the antipodes, urban culture, café society and embraced a life of married bliss with four delightful stepchildren and the magic of European springs.
These days I am growing food rather than serving it in cafes. I am keenly interested in the seasonality of what we produce and eat. I have a large vegetable garden, orchard and vineyard and run the usual menagerie of farmyard animals. We have become part of the Landshare initiative offering land in our walled garden for those keen to grow. We also have a small cooperative stall for selling extra produce to neighbouring villages, workshop attendees and passers by.
I run half day, full day and weekend workshops. 2011 sees the introduction of Lecture Days and a monthly Make do and Mend meeting, a supervised workshop where you bring along mending and enjoy a get together too. 2011 also sees the first Swishing event. I keep class sizes small to allow for optimum one to one instruction. Some intensive workshops run with 4 participants only.
The idea is for everyone to leave with a new skill or some new knowledge and to be refreshed and excited after a day of undivided attention to the subject, excellent tuition, delicious food and time out.
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| Programmes have included Building a Kitchen Garden, Larger than Life Drawing, Knitting and Crochet, AGA Cookery, Game Cookery, Keeping Chickens and Bees, Willow and Rush Weaving, The Cutting and Serenity Garden as well as Natural Aphrodisiacs, Makeup over 40, The Gift Wrap Guru and Christmas Wreath Making,Writing Fiction for Women's Magazines, the Interior Design course, The Potting Shed, Pilates, The Square Foot Garden, Cooking Fish, Pastry Making, Hats on Heads - a millinery workshop, Knife Skills in the Kitchen, The Healing Garden, Making Bread, Winter Curries, Thai Cookery, The Chocolatier, Painting with Watercolours, Building a Living Willow Sculpture and a Topiary Workshop.
2010 saw the birth of Learning the Good Life. The 2011 programme's accent is on sustainable living and self sufficiency with workshops including old favourites and the addition of new ones. Establishing a Willow and Hazel Coppice, Keeping Pigs, Grow your Own Wedding Flowers, Bread Making, Paper Making, The Nuttery, Scything, Spinning and Orchard Management. Students in the Kitchen is an initiative to help the next generation to learn the basics of cooking and an introduction to digital photography to help the older generation. So much to look forward to.
Contact Victoria for further information info@wickedstepmothersworld.co.uk or 01652 628560 |
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