A Place to be Real Together
Othona West Dorset – the best seaside retreat on the south coast?
Creativity, community, spirituality… and fun!
10% off for newcomers applies to all residential bookings from 24 May to 30 August 2019
Here are a few you might like!
Bags of Creativity Sewing as a creative meditative gift (May 24-26)
Thomas Hardy Confidential Secret loves of his life? Exploring... Read More
Hee Hee! Not our bread exactly. Leakers Bakery is the main supplier of Othona West Dorset's bread and they have been recognised as one of Britain's 20 best bakeries in The Daily Telegraph (30.3.2019). No surprise to us!
Food has a central place in the ethos of Othona. We encourage everyone to value and enjoy preparing food and eating together, not only as a pleasure in itself but also as a powerful symbol (a ‘sacrament’) of community.
We have a polytunnel for salads, an orchard and a soft fruit cage. We serve homemade jams, marmalades and chutneys, as well as honey from beehives right here in our... Read More
Swim against the tide of our throwaway society! Our multi-skilled, multi-creative housekeeper and core member, Kate Ross will be facilitating her first Othona workshop in May, Bags of Creativity, joined by ace seamstress Jane Parker and our beloved local mindfulness teacher Sue Howse. They will be offering an experiential exploration of creativity and meditative mindfulness - and fun!
Kate has been beautifying and rediscovering many forgotten gems here at Othona West Dorset. Everything from picture hanging and curtain making to mixing moisturisers, furniture polish and mead from our honey and bees wax.
Keep a look out for future... Read More
Have you seen our new highlights (and old favourites) this year?
Thomas Hardy Confidential - early love life and poetry of Dorset's great novelist: talks, visits, walks, folk dance (June 12-16)
Listening to the Green Heartbeat - nature-based retreat (June 20-23)
See, Love, Be - mindfulness and the spiritual life (July 3-7)
Four varied family-... Read More
On 16 August 2018, Othona will have the pleasure of presenting the beautiful music of the creative, warm and funny soul that is Joanna Eden, who is in the South West launching her new album, 'Truth Tree'.
In a twenty year career, Joanna Eden has shared stages with The Buena Vista Social Club, Jamie Cullum, The Blockheads and Ronan Keating as well as her superstar student Sam Smith who was her backing singer as a teenager. The Grammy and Oscar winning artist has cited Joanna simply as “The reason I sing”. Sam studied with Joanna for nine years although she laughs:
“It didn’t feel like teaching or studying, we... Read More
In January 2018, the National Trust published a report, the results of which proved that places have a powerful effect on us.
More than 2,000 people were interviewed to find out what special places mean to them: for many, childhood memories or a link to loved ones creates a special attachment to a particular place.
Surprisingly, for over 40% of those surveyed, their meaningful places were recent discoveries.
Whether alone or in company, these are places to relax, enjoy nature, or simply get away from our... Read More
Ever been told that you can't sing? But always wanted to? Well, now you can!
NOT just for experienced warblers, our Summer Sizzler Singing Weekend (6th-8th July) offers wannabe singers the chance to exercise their vocal cords in the company of friendly and like-minded folk.
Renowned singing teachers Nick Petts* and Jon Conway** will lead us on a musical journey sampling a range of styles from sacred chants to pop anthems. No need to read music; we learn by ear and we practise until we're word-perfect! (well, almost :))
The weekend... Read More
Dorset Art Weeks launches tomorrow on Sat 26 May 2018. It's been all hands on deck here at Othona, getting ready for our 4th DAW! We are very excited (and knackered)! Mart Tebbs, who has been exhibiting here since Othona first began participating as a DAW venue in 2012, is featured in the May edition of the very snazzy new mag, Bridport Times, along with other local artists. You can read the magazine online, or pick it up in Bridport venues.
Do come and visit us over the DAW weeks (26 May to 10 June) - for art, cream teas and sea views! You... Read More
Mindfulness = paying attention to the present moment.
By being more aware of our thoughts and feelings, we can, experts say, improve our mental and physical well-being. Not a passing fad or silly nonsense, the scientific evidence that underpins the practice of mindfulness is strong and growing. Some benefits of mindfulness are:
All this - by simply stopping to notice what is... Read More
"Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist" - Kenneth Boulding (Quaker economist)
Unfortunately, this is not a view which is shared by the majority of our academic institutions or politicians! Economic theory, as taught in British universities, assumes that infinite growth is indeed possible. And although Britain uses approx 66% more resources than is sustainable (according to The Global Footprint Network), almost all our politicians talk about how to get the economy growing again (which inevitably means using more resources): the emphasis is on increasing efficiency, the language that of scarcity, and anything approaching spiritual values is considered irrelevant.
... Read More