Letters about TM Camp 2011
Oh what a glorious slice of perfection you dished up for our family!
Thank you SO much xxxx ~ Sarah Grundy
THANK YOU Veronika, Paul, Bethany and Eliza for holding the camp, and all the loving hard work you put in!
Sylvia van Bruggen
I wanted to express my deepest thanks for all the effort you both, and Bethany and Eliza, put into camp.
I experienced so many wonderful things at camp and learnt a lot too. It is a magical place, not only for where it is, but mainly, for the people who fill it up with their life and ideas. I have always felt like I make friends with great difficulty, but at camp I didn’t get those feelings. It was so nice to feel accepted for whoever you are and to have so many lovely people to learn from and ‘just be’ with.
You are a beautiful family unit, and you all work so effortlessly together (at least that’s how I saw it), and you’re an inspiration to me, for my family. So thank you for that too. I never expected to feel such a close connection with you, mainly because I expected you to be typical ‘event organisers’~ up on a pedestal ~ and I guess I put you there because of all the things I have learnt through your books and other writings. But it turns out you are all so down-to-earth and generous of heart. I feel very happy to have met you all, and am looking forward to meeting up with you again.
Best wishes, Keean (and Ryan and Nabeela)
Beautiful people, Well.....what is there to say after living in a bubble at family camp.....Our Heaven on Earth does exist! Blessed to know there are others out there who seem to care for the little big people, each other and Mother Earth...
Grateful for all the sharing and connecting, being part of a tribe, feeling the love, unconditional life, the beauty of mothers and fathers in all their different shapes and colours, the free-range angels running around taking care of themselves and each other...A rainbow was sung, and we can still hear the song in our hearts...But back in Wales, we feel a bit lost, like there are parts missing...a little anti-climax. We’d like to come and visit you if that is possible?
In light and love, Fred, Kim, Mayi and Leo
We all have had a wonderful time. The meals were delicious and we’ve met some amazing families. Mike and Petra’s wedding was a very special occasion, and I thought it was lovely how the children could enjoy the space without it upsetting anyone. I’m especially grateful for the men’s circle. The following day Alex told me he reckoned freebirthing was a good idea, and he’d gone off the idea of vaccination. I hadn’t even discussed freebirthing with him, as I thought he wasn’t open to the idea, and we’ve had many discussions on vaccination which hadn’t altered his opinion! We are considering an addition to our family next year, so the freebirthing info is quite timely. I was able to catch enough of the astrology workshop to rekindle my interest ~ I suspect I’ll be in touch about that once I’m back at work. Another huge thanks to Paul for the help with getting the van to and from the garage ~ Alex thought it was only a couple of miles and considered walking, which would have taken him all day! We’ve all had a wonderful time, and enjoyed meeting other families with some ideas in common. After wondering about the camp rules, well, I’m a complete convert. It’s been lovely to know my children won’t find E number sweets lying around, or a drunken adult to contend with ( or worse). A few days of consideration to others is a small price to pay for that. The Camp has also really made me realise how lucky we are ~ we’ve had 4.5 months of living peacefully, meeting other families who care about the land. For us, The Mother Camp was a lovely continuation of our journey. However, talking to families who were having a few days’ peace from the busy-ness of daily life ~ well, it’s made me appreciate what we have right now (and I’ll just try not to think about returning to work too much). Thank you so much for creating such a lovely space, Vikki, Alex, Kate and Jasmine xx
It was brill, and ‘helping’ was for me like the work/play duality ~ they can be the same thing, and my favourite times at camp are when I’m being part of the community ~ whether that’s cooking, chatting, washing up, eating, doing a workshop or just being.
Sara
Dear Veronika, Paul, Bethany and Eliza,
We just wanted to thank you all so much for all your hard work organising camp. We all had a great time, and Reuben, especially, was in heaven with so much space and freedom and other children to play with without us having to worry about his safety. Our first-ever camping trip was far less traumatic than many friends had led us to believe it would be, so we were pleasantly surprised on that count too; in fact, I’m beginning to wonder if my regular observation that I’d never survive in the wild may even be untrue! We also wanted to thank Mike and Petra for letting us be part of their beautiful day even though we had never met. How lovely of them to have everyone at camp as their guests, and what an amazing ceremony. We really enjoyed all of the activities and, of course, the food was amazing. It’s fantastic to know that we can recreate it from The Mystic Cookfire. What a gift!
Limetree Farm is such a beautiful place.
Hope to see you all again soon. Sarah, Kieron, Reuben and Rosa
Dearest Veronika and Paul
We had such a wonderful, uplifting time at camp. It is strange to be back in the “real world”. Last night I was able to let go of the sadness I felt at leaving such beautiful people and such a beautiful place, and this morning I woke feeling full of the love and energy I had gathered at camp. Those magical five days have shifted my perspective on life. It was so good for my relationship with Shaun, also. I loved the handfasting ceremony; it was wonderful to be a part of that. I loved the company, the food, the food preparation, the fire, the shower, the singing, the violin and guitar playing, the water (best tasting water), the views, and even the compost loos!
About your book: I am only about 40 pages in, but I absolutely love it!! You know, with the cousins here and us being out all day we ended up having pub food tonight (pubs don’t seem to know a great deal about veggie/vegan cooking), and it was so awful compared to the nourishing cuisine we were treated to at camp. I love the content, the illustrations, the quotes and the layout of the book. We have dinner guests tomorrow and Saturday night, and they will be getting Mystic food:) Ayla has already requested the Moroccan soup.
Thank you both for the warm and inspiring conversations at camp. Thank you for the massive effort you both put in to make it work so well, and to make it so special. I hope and pray that you get a great deal out of it too. I have every intention of being back next year (please let there be a next year!).
Lots of love to you and your lovely girls.
~ Lindy
Oooh it was so lovely! Thank you so much from Iain, Ola & I. Much inspiration taken, and empowerment felt after spending such lovely days with such wonderful families.
Much love to all xx ~ Emily
Dear Veronika, Paul, Bethany and Eliza,
I hope you all had a smooth journey home and are getting unpacked from camp. I want to let you know how much we all really enjoyed camp, and to thank you all for the huge amount of energy you put in to create what was a special, affirming and magical experience. There was something really special about bringing together like-minded families in such a beautiful place. The rules, which seemed a little daunting initially, made perfect sense once we were there, especially not having the constant interruption of mobiles (something I’m keen to continue!). I really enjoyed being in the company of like-minded families, and have come away feeling energised, inspired and smiling inside and out. Seeing the children play so freely in Nature, away from the confines of toys and organised activities, really brought home to me their true free-spirited natures, and I realise how ‘less really is more’ for their learning and play. Thank you all so much for all of the thought and energy you put into the camp and for sharing the experience with us. We have definitely come away restored and uplifted, and Shanti taking her first steps there was magical!
Best Wishes, Clare, Surya, Shanti x
Dear Paul and Veronika
Thank you for spending time with my girls; they missed their Daddy dreadfully at camp, and it was so kind of you to ‘fill in the gap’ so to speak. Love to you all and I hope that you have all had a lovely few days reconnecting with your home and cats and friends.
~ S
Dear Veronika, Paul, Bethany and Eliza,
Thank you so much for such a wonderful camp, in such a blessed beautiful place. Your hard work in organising before, during and after is greatly appreciated. Both Elfric and myself were deeply touched, and still are filled with so much warmth and joy. It feels so incredibly special to have been there. I definitely felt the sense of community towards the end after getting to know people, and greatly appreciate the sharing between like-minded people in our parenting and lifestyles. It was so wonderful to be breastfeeding a toddler alongside another mum feeding hers. It also was a great inspiration for me to see so many couples together parenting in the way I choose. I don’t hear of or see many men so sensitively connected to their children as I did, and that was really nice. One thing I noticed was there were so few arguments among the little ones ~ they all seemed to play in harmony. Many thoughts and memories of a beautiful time. Both me and Elfric grew and learnt a lot and are filled with strength. Elfric now associates holidays with woodpiles, asking if my mum, who is away on holiday at the moment, has wood there!
Sending you lots of love, Bessie
Dear Veronika ,
I’ve no words to thank you and your family for giving us this experience. I know many were worried about a very long trip (we’ve made 3500 km in total), but we’re home more rich. Rich because we’ve learned so much in only four days. We’ve learned to take care of ourselves with natural remedies: we usually use them, but Ale was less faithful about it before the camp. Today I can say to you that in my home I have only three conventional medicines, and I’m sure these will go out before the end of this year. I was happy when I knew I had all the remedies for Alessandro when he was sick…and my homeopathic box (I saw your little blue box, I don’t think we have it in Italy...but I can have one made).
I’ve always thought the kitchen could be a sort of “health room”, and thanks to this camp I see this little room as it is: a health place. Our pantry is full of things that are good resources for our body, and in the corner I have homeopathic remedies, essential oils, Bach remedies, a Nature corner, and your book. My kitchen is a mystic cookfire, too…I’m happy because I understand how to cook your recipes, and from the first day we were back at home (we arrived on the 29th at 2 am!), I’ve served some recipes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the way Mattia eats…he’s the most challenging child (not only in the kitchen, but I love him and thanks to him I’m learning a lot; he’s my teacher…we’ve “only” to trust him).
Veronika, I’d never eaten raw vegetables, only cooked…and at camp I’ve learn to eat raw vegetables, too. After 37 years of life, it’s a success! Even if I’ve read about raw food and I would love to eat 70% raw, it’s only after the camp that this happened. Maybe it’s the positive energies, maybe seeing many families eating some raw, maybe because I trust you and your family. I love to read books, too, to relax myself, and I’m always searching for something that will help me and my family grow …but it’s difficult for me to translate the books sometimes. This happens when I see families in a practical way. This is why The Mother camp was important for us.
Me and Marta have learned to knit thanks to Denise (what a joyous woman she is!), and Marta taught Mattia and Tommaso on the boat, too. This was possible because Denise gave us a big gift: all the material to knit during the long trip!
What we see is your way to live simply. You have the Sun in your face, and you inspire life. Alessandro says Paul was very gentle with him. He says that Paul would like to speak with him but Alessandro doesn’t understand English, and Paul understands these difficulties (Alessandro was very worried to not understand all!). He says Paul has a voice that calms the spirit and (it’s the first time he speaks about energies) ~ it gives him a positive energy.
I asked him if he’d like to go to the Men’s circle, and he answered that if he could understand, he’d be there. Generally he doesn’t like “radical people” yet when he saw you and your family he understood that it’s possible to live a conscious life not necessarily with a “radical appearance”. We’re very happy to know your girls. They gave us the best gift: to see how a child, born in a conscious family, could be a little adult even at 13 or 15 years.We’re fascinated to know they know what to do in life. Thanks for sharing your clear thoughts about the camp in your blog. Yes Veronika, you, Paul, Eliza and Bethany have anticipated all our needs, and much more.
What you can do next time? When we arrived, Alessandro saw the beautiful sign THE MOTHER CAMP and said: “And The Papà Camp?” so I explained that on the magazine it is written “for dads, too”, but this could be an idea.
About hygiene: your kitchen is really really clean. We’ve loved this approach so much. It’s possible to be clean with natural oils and water. We do the same in our home, too.
Love, Chiara. Italy
Thank you all so much for a wonderful camp! You created such a supportive and nurturing space for us all where it felt safe to truly be ourselves and to connect and communicate with others in openness and honesty. Such a welcome
change from living in our everyday reality...more, please! Rowan was delighted to lead the Friendship bracelet workshop, and is very proud of herself for having done so. A great experience for her to teach both children and adults, and a fantastic boost to her self-esteem. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I’m excited about the prospect of organising a group craft project for next year’s camp, and will let you know as ideas evolve... Could you please send me a copy of The Mystic Cookfire. I look forward to receiving it and creating some of the yummy meals...starting with the rice pudding I think!
Thank you again, and warmest love to you all. ~ Emily and Rowan
Thank you so much for the inspiring, uplifting and nourishing event that was TM camp 2011. We have taken so much from our time with you at Limetree Farm. My highlights were baking bread with Eleanor (I have always assumed she’s too young); our time in the roundhouse; and all the kind things said about Jack. So refreshing to hear such positivity! Take care, and enjoy the rest of 2011.
~ Sarah-Jane, Adam, Jack, Eleanor and Anabella-Grace.
Thank you for a wonderful camp. We really appreciate all your hard work. Enjoyed spending lots of time with you, and miss having you just ‘next door’. Sending lots of love, Emma, Paul and family.
We all enjoyed camp so much, it was a beautiful, relaxing and nurturing space held with such grace and generosity by your family. Thanks so much for enabling the whole event and working so damn hard. I was so glad we had the opportunity to connect on the final evening. Much love to your whole gorgeous gang.
~ Ali, Matt and tribe