Cirencester Hypnotherapy & Health Centre Article Sept 2018: On the Other Side of the Fence

On the other side of the fence! 

The vast majority of people reading this article will be members of the public rather than therapists, which is the world I work within. Then there will be those who are employed, those who don’t work for one reason or another and then those who are self-employed. My, what a varied world we live in!

For the last 11-12 years I’ve been self-employed within the therapeutic world and it is indeed a diverse and interesting one at that. With my lecturer’s hat on, I come across therapists starting out in that career and with my clinic owner’s hat on I come across those who are more established.

Occasionally I come across therapists who, like me, have celebrated ten years or more in the industry. Like any self-employed person, this is an achievement worth celebrating and for more than one reason:

1. It takes time to build up a loyal client base in order to get that repeat business, so you have to endure those early days.

2. Then you have to be very good to survive as a self-employed person – people won’t come back to

Nicola Griffiths

you if you’re no good at what you do.

3. You have to be brave and continue onwards and upwards (sometimes downwards or sideways) when the going gets tough i.e. clients tend to go off on summer holidays and business slows or if there’s a slow-down in the economy due to that thing called Brexit – it was amazing how the phone stopped ringing the day after that vote happened!

4. As a self-employed person, if you go on holiday or you’re ill, then the bills keep rolling in but the pay stops in its tracks.

5. You survive (or not) by your own business decisions.

I’m used to greeting new therapists to the clinic who are fresh from their training and new to being self-employed. My job is to sit them down at that stage and explain that it’ll probably take two years to get established and what they need to do from a marketing perspective to let you the public know of their existence! And then

Get in touch!

there are the established therapists who join the clinic, such as Sue Drew who moved her beauty & holistic therapy to the centre last year and is celebrating her 10th anniversary and Louise Morris, our physiotherapist, who’s been in business longer than I care to remember!

So to anyone such as Sue and Louise who’ve been self-employed for the long haul, I take my hat off to you, it’s a huge achievement as you don’t have to just be good at what you do, you have to be good at business too.

Nicola Griffiths runs the Cirencester Hypnotherapy & Health Centre in Dyer Street with a host of experienced therapists for the benefit of your mind and body: www.cirencesterhypnotherapycentre.co.uk.

The Best of the Edinburgh Fringe at the Barn

FRINGE AT THE BARN

THE BEST OF EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL

at

THE BARN THEATRE

12 September – 15 September 2018

In our continued pursuit to provide inspiring, challenging and vibrant entertainment, The Barn can announce another first for the Cirencester Theatre scene.

Back to school for Potter

Hot foot from their scouting mission to the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival, our creative team have secured four of the best acts who will perform for four nights only, providing theatregoers with an eclectic mix of this year’s newest and most exciting talent, including magic, stand-up comedy and more! Something for everyone.

“It’s encouraging to see the reputation that the Barn Theatre has already built in such a short time, and we’re very excited by the diverse talent that we’ve managed to secure to launch our second season. It’s essential for us to continue building on our vision of making the Theatre accessible to as wide an audience as possible and I’m confident that these gifted performers will provide brilliant entertainment for all ages. There will be something for everyone in ‘Fringe at The Barn’.” – Iwan Lewis - Artistic Director, Barn Theatre

Magic man Tom Brace coming to Cirencester

Fringe At The Barn will take place from 12th September through to the 15th September (18.30/19.30). Tickets are £15 per show or £50

for all four nights.

Fringe at the Barn Line-Up

Tom Brace Wednesday 12th September.

Hold on to your raincoats! Tom Brace brings a jam-packed show of laughs and magic that you simply won't believe! Expect the unexpected in this mind-boggling variety show. Suitable for the entire family. This brand-new show promises to bamboozle the brain and fool even the sharpest of minds!

Tom Neenan Thursday 13th September 

Tamar Broadbent

Tom’s girlfriend has vanished, so he has done what any right-minded man would do and turned his search for her into an "important" piece of multi-character multimedia theatre. A narrative-driven character comedy show about toxic masculinity and the questionable role of the male creator

Tamar Broadbent Friday 14th September 

'Is it too much to ask for everything?!' she shouted drunkenly at a bin.  Overwhelmed by options and in a complicated relationship with Netflix. Award-winning musical comedy about ambition, anxiety and avocados that asks, how do you know if you are living your best life?

Spontaneous Potter Saturday 15th September

An entirely improvised Harry Potter play, based on a suggestion of a fan fiction title. With live musical accompaniment! Brought to you by the comedy improvisers behind the critically acclaimed and award-winning Spontaneous Sherlock. 'Unbeatably clever'

THE BARN THEATRE, 5 Beeches Road, Cirencester GL7 1BN.

Tickets £15 a night or £50 for all four. Post-Show Beer Offer £17.

From Box office: 01285 648255 or boxoffice@barntheatre.org.uk

Téatro Bar & Restaurant: 01285 648238 or info@teatro-ciren.co.uk

Rotary Club Active in Community with Radio Station Move

Community teamwork.

Rotary Help Corinium Radio Move Studio

Cirencester’s own community radio station is on the move – but we’re not going far and we’re certainly not leaving town!

Corinium Radio is moving from its studio on the top floor of Bingham House to a brand new home on the ground floor of the town centre building.

And to make sure our new studio was ready to launch we had a helping hand from members of Cirencester Rotary Club.

When Corinium Radio asked for help to make sure the new studio was bright and clean it was overwhelmed when Rotary answered the call.

Some 11 willing volunteers spent three days painting and decorating for us.

Chair of Corinium Radio Carole Boydell said, “We are all so grateful to Cirencester Rotary Club for helping to make our new home look so inviting.

“They have done a tremendous job. We are really looking forward to welcoming all our guests to our new studio.”

Added Carole, “We also want to thank Cirencester’s Bingham Library Trust and the town council, who have been so helpful in facilitating our move. We can’t wait to open our doors during September.”

Being a community group ourselves, Corinium Radio is always grateful when people like Rotary volunteer to help us out.

By the way, after the great success of last year’s whiskey and chocolate tasting evening, Geoff Carr is planning another event to help with station funds.

This time it’s all about sherry!

You can join Corinium Radio on the evening of Friday 12th October for this fantastic chance to ‘taste the sun’ and support the ‘Best Community Radio Station’ in the Cotswolds.

If you want to get involved with the station just contact Carole Boydell on 07776 144033 for more details.

Friends of City Bank Nature Reserve Opening

The launch of the new bridge Hare’s Leap in 2017.

City Bank Nature Reserve 
It’s very exciting that Cirencester is about to launch its first local nature reserve in the City Bank area of Watermoor on 5 September. The local Friends of City Bank group has been working with the Town Council over the past five years to develop a vision for the area that meets the needs of the wildlife and people alike.

Natural England supports local communities to create Local Nature Reserves which are fit for both people and wildlife and are of special interest locally. A key requirement is they must be publicly accessible where visitors will not damage or disturb wildlife.

Our vision is for City Bank area to be a great space which we all can enjoy and which is a safe sanctuary for our fantastic local wildlife. City Bank is a very special area with wild orchids, a wide range of birds and other creatures, and a fantastic open space for families to enjoy. Although the Town Council will oversee the management plan of the reserve, the Cirencester Wildlife Group (as part of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust), Friends of City Bank and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) will help the Council manage the site.

If you are interested in helping to manage this great space, contact focb_cirencester@hotmail.com for more information.

Melanie Knetsch – Chair of Friends of City Bank

Corinium Vets September 2018: Flea Facts

Pet Talk With
Corinium Vets: Facts about Fleas

The cat flea is extremely common on cats and dogs. It will live on cats, dogs, rats and rabbits will quite happily feed on humans too. Cat fleas represent the great majority of fleas in human homes. The dog flea is closely related to the cat flea and is very similar to it in appearance and biology. Despite its name it is actually less common on dogs than cat fleas.

Recent studies have shown that 5-17% of dogs and 12-23% of cats carry fleas throughout the year in Europe. And this is only the tip of the iceberg - only 5% of the flea population is found on the animal – i.e. 95% is in the environment. Damp summers and warmer winters - coupled with improvements in household insulation which provide warm, humid conditions all year round - allow the flea population to thrive throughout the year.

Fleas can cause flea bite dermatitis by irritating the skin of animals. Flea allergic dermatitis is caused by an allergy to flea saliva. Fleas feed on the blood of their host and a heavy infestation particularly in smaller animals can lead to anaemia. Fleas can be responsible for the transmission of viral and bacterial disease and other parasites to animals and humans. They are a vector for tape worms. Fleas are known to harbour and sometimes transmit cat scratch disease which can be a serious health hazard to people.

Flea infestations can be prevented. Please speak to our team at Corinium Vets about a combination of environmental and on-pet control measures. We can prescribe safe and effective flea treatments such as Spot-On Solutions, palatable tablets and collars. Your pet’s bedding should be hot-washed frequently. Treat the whole house with a veterinary recommended spray, vacuum daily and empty vacuum contents daily and outside. Don’t forget to spray your car if your animal has been in it.

For more top tips please make an appointment with our vets (Bettina and Judith) or nurses (Nicki and Alison) at Corinium Vets.

Country Matters by the Hodge Sept 2018 Harvest

Beautiful harvest produce! What's would you pick?

Country Matters

By The Hodge

“Thank heavens, the sun has gone in, and I don’t have to go out and enjoy it.”

Logan Pearsall Smith – Afterthoughts 1931

Oh, how quickly time passes as you get older! It seems no time ago I was photographing the beautiful local landscapes in the snow of winter and here we are on the threshold of autumn already. And what is worse, the uncharacteristic long hot spell has interfered with nature so much that flowers have passed all too quickly and all the fruits are ripening early. Does this mean that winter will be longer still?

Blackberries have been ready to harvest for weeks and ripe apples are falling off the trees. Those migratory birds who rely on such fruit for their winter fodder – the redwings and the fieldfares – how will they survive if it has all been and gone before they arrive? The squirrels are already plundering the hazel nuts and as I write September is still a while away.

Leaves are falling from trees prematurely as the trees themselves have been distressed by the heat and the drought. Even if it remains mild in the autumn, it will seem like winter if all the trees are bare before their due time. So, if you enjoyed the hot spell, be prepared for the after-effects for it’s bound to impact on the coming months!

* * * * *Farmers too have been badly affected by that hot, dry spell. With the lack of rain, most cereal crops just stopped growing but began ripening prematurely with the result that, while the harvest has been gathered in early, the crop is much lighter than expected. Prices will be higher and this will impact on the price you pay in due course, but not favourably!

Similarly, vegetable and fruit crops have also been affected and there are likely to be shortages and price rises. A hint perhaps to fulfilling your dream of growing your own – now’s the time to start!

And for livestock farmers, the situation is truly dire. There is very little grazing for cattle and sheep and as a consequence, preserved fodder – hay and silage being kept for winter feed – has had to be fed during the last couple of months to compensate. The harvest of that was adversely affected, firstly by a wet, cold spring which delayed the first cut and the hot weather stopped the regrowth so few farmers even had enough put by for the winter. As a consequence, the markets are full of stock as farmers try and reduce the pressure but buyers faced with the same difficulties are few and far between. And pig keepers are no better off either. Pigs rely on a cereal-based diet and with the wheat and barley shortages itemised above, feed prices are already rising but not the prices paid by the supermarkets. As usual, it is the risk-taker – the farmer – who gets squeezed by the big boys.

So, one way or another, getting hotter and drier, even for a matter of weeks, is likely to impact of all of us adversely. The climate change brigade will say it’s all the fault of global warming and they may well be right but adverse weather – hot, cold, dry, excessively wet – has been going on in our fair islands for centuries. As recently as 1814, the Thames in London was frozen over to the extent that one of the Frost Fairs was held on the river. Hopefully, it won’t be as cold as that this coming winter!