WELCOME TO OUR 2005 NEWSLETTER!

Welcome from Aberdeen with its billions of daffodils, biting cold wet wind one minute, and before you know it, glorious bright warm sunshine the next.

You may remember that last year we put out the "Students' Magazine". Well, although this year's newsletter was not a result of the students' wishes, nevertheless, as you will see, many of the articles have been written by the students. Their enthusiasm is irrepressible! However, this time, our intention was to keep you all informed of the many changes that have taken place in Beannachar over the last year, and to present aspects of our life that may be of interest - things that go on behind the scenes as it were. Beannachar is certainly an exciting and stimulating place to live, and I hope that some of that comes across in the following pages.

It is a special thought that these words are going out to you all and the many friends, and parents, ex-co-workers, ex-students who feel connected to us. Whoever you are, enjoy it! And don't forget to keep in touch...

Richard Phethean April 2005

Who's who in Beannachar and how we work together

Beannachar is a place where there is always a lot going on: students moving in and other students moving out; co-workers coming and others leaving; children growing up and leaving home and others arriving to cheer us up! There are of course many visitors who come for shorter or longer periods throughout the year.

I will try and bring you up to date with what's been happening and I hope I don't leave anybody out! (If I do I'm sorry!)

Students

Some students enjoying tea break in
Rose House

Co-Workers

It's always busy at the smokers corner!

Visitors

As I said visitors are a really important part of our life. Twice a year we have pupils from Waldorf schools in Germany. We have people coming to learn about herb work and former co-workers come to stay during their holidays. Co-workers friends and family members often visit and future co-workers come for trial visits. So we have invested in three high-class caravans with electricity fitted in all of them so visiting Beannachar is a bit more comfortable now.

An Outing to Slains Castle

Beannachar Meeting

After a break during the autumn, the Beannachar meeting has started up again for two hours every Monday afternoon. This is a forum for all long-term co-workers and there are currently 14 members, which is a bigger circle than ever before.

Many of the issues that were formerly dealt with by the management group now go to the Beannachar meeting for discussion e.g. development and building, training; planning festivals; changes of work and sharing of concerns. We are looking forward to having a day's creative workshop together in April.

Management Group

The management group members have been very busy updating policies and procedures and writing a few new ones. This is partly as a result of our own ongoing development and partly in response to new requirements from the care commission and insurance brokers.

The management group is responsible for the day to day running of the community and is answerable to our management council, which meets every 6 weeks. We have to keep track of the finances and of any legal issues, as well as having an overview of everything going on here.

Students' Meeting

This happens once a week and has become a very important forum for discussions, information sharing and sometimes even practical activities e.g. last week the students were busy preparing their contributions to the Backpack Appeal for victims of the tsunami. They often invite speakers on a very wide range of topics and then sometimes they have an open forum on matters closer to home.

The students meeting here is linked into the nationwide gatherings of Camphill residents of which there have been three already. Beannachar hosted one of these student conferences in March. These in turn are linked to the really successful inclusive conferences at New Lanark- the second of these will take place in April.
Elisabeth Phethean

Winter View over our fields

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Beannachar's Development Plan

At the end of 2002, the Beannachar Management Group began the process of drawing up a Development Plan for the first time. There were several factors that all came together over a period of time that led us to do this.

There were questions about the following issues:

• Needing more people to carry the community into the future
• Providing appropriate care and training for the students and what type of student benefits from our training programmes and fit best into our community lifestyle
• The need to provide more single rooms for students
• Our intention to further our independence skills training course.
• Supporting the students in making plans for the time when they leave Beannachar

In the light of the many changes in recent years our Management Group and Management Council felt the need to draw up financial projections to cover the future human resource needs and overall development needs of the community. This was made more pressing by the fact that we were projecting a decrease in the number of students and an increase in the need to engage more employees.

In addition we were formulating a Training Matrix in order to plan how all the appropriate people are going to acquire the appropriate qualifications needed to continue their work.

As part of the ongoing inspection process, the Care Commission inspectors had also asked us to draw up a development plan.

Once the Management Group had made a first draft of the plan we began a lengthy process of asking all the various groups of people in the community for their feedback and suggestions, which were then incorporated into future drafts.
The groups consulted were:

• The Students Meeting
• The co-workers: the draft plan was discussed in both House Meetings and Co-worker Meetings
• The Beannachar Meeting: The meeting of all the permanent co-workers and employees
• The Management Council

Sunset over our garden

The Development Plan is intended to be a working document that will be reviewed and amended as necessary on an annual basis. The intention is to ensure that the Plan will be worked upon on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that at any stage it always covers projections for the next 5 years.

Summary of Development Plan Main Conclusions:

People:
We intend to develop students' independence skills and future planning.
There will probably be a decrease in the number of residential students from 22 to 19
We need to find people to carry Beannachar forward when the two main families are no longer in a position to do so
We intend to maintain a mix/spread of abilities and the same age group of students
We intend to increase the number of single bedrooms available for students

Buildings:
We intend to build a new small living unit with six bedrooms. This house will be designed to be as flexible as possible so as to accommodate any combination of up to 3 students (with en-suite single bedrooms), co-workers attached to the new house or one of the existing houses, a small family (new family for the future or retiring "old family").

We would seek to have the construction of this house funded by our sister organisation, Camphill Estates and for it to constructed as ecologically friendly as possible

A games / social room with a "training flat" attached that would be used for the enhanced Independent Living Skills programme. This building would need to be financed through a fundraising campaign.

Dave Nicholson

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An Article about the Candle Workshop
by Emma

Kevin with a 'cross' - for dipping
eight candles at once

I work in the candle workshop every afternoon. I hear that the candle used to be a pottery workshop a long time ago. I dip candles together with Juri, Stephen, Trevor and Tobias. I am also good at scraping, cleaning crosses, doing wicks and weights, and learned a new skill in the candles: colour pot dipping. I dip candles together with Stephen Stuart. I can dip red candles and yellow candles and fetching tea break every Monday. It's good work in the candles.

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The Farm by Paul

Paul on the farm

My name is Paul I work on the farm in the morning it is good fun. I like the farm when I came to the farm I did not know what to do. And since I have been on the farm I have got more independent I can drive The Kobuta and I can feed the animals and do other jobs. With the Kubota ---one morning I feed the animals all on my own.

Andy adds:
Several students have been taught how to drive the compact tractor (the Kubota) recently, with varying degrees of success! This certainly helps boost confidence and enables students to enjoy a different work experience.
Some of them, like Paul, are able to take the tractor and feed the sheep in the field or do other jobs without any supervision at all. Others need a co-worker walking alongside the tractor to ensure that things are kept within safe limits.

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Kerri on the tractor

Farm Update with Andy Plant

To give you readers a taste of what is happening on the farm; a recent project has been to clear out some rhododendron and laurel from the woods and fell a few small sycamore trees to create an open space so that we can plant some Scots Pine trees to replace a massive one that was felled after sustaining storm damage several years ago. In a Victorian estate like Beannachar the rhododendron needs constant work to keep it under control, so we are never short of work!
Andy

THE HERB WORKSHOP by Carolyn Seviour

The Herb Workshop is a very busy place; it has to be to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for its products. The struggle to keep the neat little cupboards of its dispensary replenished with our "best-sellers" is daily, although, of course, this daily work must also be woven around the seasons and the weather too.

Sadly, there is little time for me to be involved in the cultivation, harvesting and processing of the herbs to make our products, for my job may be more likened to that of the shop assistant, that is to say I interface with the customers. Usually, there is a nice, steady trickle of customers who call in person, these are the ones who venture into the unknown and find our delightfully hidden haven at Beannachar with beautiful buildings and gardens and intriguing workshops. This is where the Herb Workshop is a real "pull" that is to say it draws people in from outside in the wider community, which in turn promotes recognition, understanding and support for the work of the Camphill Movement. Whenever appropriate, I do try to alert the customers calling at the Herb Workshop to the fact that there are also superb weaving and wood workshops as well as candle making taking place here at Beannachar. The Herb Workshop is also the outlet for people wishing to buy from our lovely range of beeswax candles. Very recently, Richard incorporated a "new style" candle order form now carrying pictures of the full range of Beannachar candles into our Herbal Product List. This move we hope will alleviate to some extent the large orders which pour in from all over the U.K. and Ireland for both candles and herbal goods in the run-up to Christmas.

Customers who call in person are often referred to us by the Camphill Medical Practice at Murtle, the district nurse, an alternative practitioner or they've heard about us through their association with the Aberdeen Waldorf School or the other nearby Camphill Communities. All these customers who call on us are invariably delighted with what they find and ask many questions, enthuse about our products and leave vowing to tell their friends all about us.

However, these people account for only a small proportion of our customer database, which is now quite extensive. Therefore, most of my interfacing with customers is by telephone, by letter, or simply by way of a box of packaged goods with accompanying invoice in response to an order which has come by fax or via snail mail or e-mail.

Naturally, I try to learn as much as I can from Richard about the uses which our herbal products can be put to, how they should be used and health issues and nutrition in general are often discussed during our Wonderful Tea Breaks. This allows me to be as helpful as I can be in response to customer questions and often our customers are seeking advice on herbal treatments for a particular ailment.

Wonderful Tea Break in the Herb Worskhop: L-R: Richard, Alan,
Christian, Horst, Carolyn, Kier, Michael, James (not the usual herb team)

Another aspect of my work is to post out vitamin supplements to those individuals who have Down's Syndrome. All the students at Beannachar who have Down's Syndrome take these supplements and the house co-ordinators order them from me as required. Our customer database for these products is also ever increasing as the word spreads and we now send these items to various countries in Europe and we still retain one customer in Canada, although North America produces its own, very similar product. Beannachar is the only outlet in the U.K. for the powdered vitamin and mineral supplement and its formulation is in conjunction with research carried out by the Down's Syndrome Research Foundation.

By far, the bulk of my time is spent in packaging orders ready for dispatch by Royal Mail, quite often to destinations in Europe. These orders are, at times, for raw materials where others are setting up a similar enterprise making similar herbal products. Richard believes in putting his tinctures, elixirs and oils into darkened glass bottles as opposed to plastic bottles. Therefore packaging must be done with extra care. Environmental issues are another topic which come up during our Wonderful Tea Breaks and the types of packaging material we use is certainly of concern to us. I'm the one to blame if your bottles don't always come wrapped in corrugated cardboard. I've found the long time spent cutting small pieces of this material not only sore on my hands but also slower than using the plastic bubble wrap. However, I do spend time sorting donations of packing materials for re-use. If you should ever visit the Herb Workshop and find a pile of cardboard boxes on the floor of my room, please forgive me I've been hunting down the right size of box again and dragged them all down from the shelves.

Calum grinding herbs

As you may surmise then, I am responsible for keeping the accounts of all the orders sent out and if you were to ask me the task which I like least of all the jobs I do in the Herb Workshop it would be sending out "reminders" to people who have forgotten to pay us. There are always some customers who do this and sometimes I have to send out several " reminders".

When necessary, I help or guide the students with their tasks and another of my roles is to act as postmistress for the community; the nearest Post Office is at some distance from Beannachar and many of our residents are a long way from home.

I wish to end by saying that, above all, the work carried out by the Herb Workshop is a labour of love for all who come here to work; this spirit is always present even when the going gets tough - perhaps that's why our customers seem to get so much benefit, as well as pleasure from using the Herb Workshop products. And Richard's wit and humour gives us lots of laughs during those Wonderful Tea Breaks which are not only excellent nourishment for our bodies but also nourish our minds and spirits. Really you get very spoiled when you are lucky enough to work in the Herb Workshop.

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Paul labelling bottles

The Herbs by Paul

The herbs are good fun too. I am in the herbs in the afternoon I also have jobs. I can do myself I do the oils and the bottles and the tubes and the teas too in the bags and get the tea break and fetching water. Also I can do the closing of the tubes, which is a difficult job to do but if you practice every day you get better at it. When doing a job you have to know what you are doing if it is working on the farm or in the herbs you need to concentrate on the job.

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Kerri interviews Myra

Kerri: When did you start working in Beannachar ?
Myra: three years ago in March.

K: What did you do before ?
M: I worked in a garage office, in a shop, and in a commercial office.

K: What kind of things do you do in your work here ?
M: I worked in the office until January 2005. I typed letters, SVQ work for Elisabeth, I did photocopying, printing, the financial records of the students' money. I even swept the floor ! The office is always busy. Sometimes I went to students' reviews to take the minutes. I liked that because I got to know the students and their families better. I drove Richard Watt home to Grangemouth every second Thursday - he was the DJ - in charge of the music. Whenever I started to sing along, he would turn the volume up to drown me out. Now I am workshop leader in the laundry and find it very enjoyable. The teams of students are very hard working and good fun. It can be very busy, especially after the weekend, but very satisfying to see the clothes and house linen all clean and fresh. I feel a bit like a "Gran" with 30 grandchildren! It's lovely.

K: Where do you live ? Do you have any children ?
M: I live in Peterculter. I have 2 grown-up sons and 3 grandchildren.

James and Myra

K: Do you have any hobbies ?
M: I love music; I go to a needlepoint class in Banchory - I'm doing cross-stitch. I also like reading and going out with friends.

K: What kind of holidays do you like ?
M: The last 4 years I went abroad: to Turkey, Majorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Turkey was too hot and so was Tenerife - 46ºC. this year I'm again going on a 'ladies' holiday to Gran Canaria with 5 friends.

K: What things do you like about your work here and what things do you not like ?
M: I like mixing with the students and the "family" atmosphere in Beannachar. There is less pressure here and less deadlines. If you don't finish something one day, you can put it off until the next day. I can't think of anything I don't like except the drive up to Beannachar in winter, the snow makes it difficult to negotiate. I can drive all the way from home to Beannachar, but the hardest part is getting up the drive.

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Our Laundry by Myra

A wintry walk to the laundry

The laundry is a very essential part of our community and connects to each and every corner of Beannachar. The items passing through are varied: towels, clothing, aprons, table linen, garden gloves. Each morning four students share the work with a co-worker and workshop leader. Our three washing machines run constantly, with each load being hung up in our drying room. Between loads we all iron and fold the previous day's laundry, and even find some spare minutes to relax and play a quick game of cards or dominoes. Afternoons are again busy with three students who finish off the ironing, pack up all the clean laundry and deliver it back to the appropriate houses, with each student having their own basket to tidy away. It is a busy life in the laundry but we all enjoy it and take a pride in keeping Beannachar 'clean'!!

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John cuts wood

Steve talks about building the wood shed

Paul: When you first came to Beannachar, what were you trying to get out of it?
Steve: I didn't really know what I was coming to, but I wanted to move away from the crash-bang-wallop.

Rachel: What is crash-bang-wallop? What does it mean?
Steve: I mean working as fast as I can for a person who has lots of money. I should say though, my old employer was the best boss I ever had.

Richard: Why did you build the wood shed and how did you build it?
Steve: Many trees on the estate have been felled over several years, and these were recently cut into boards, and we needed a covered area to dry and store these. They include yew, holly, ash and beech. We have put about a third into the shed now. The construction method was developed by a Canadian called Segal. It is good method for self-build which also uses a minimum of concrete. Instead of using concrete for the whole foundation, you make concrete pads. You can make timber homes in the same way, and I made a shed in my garden by the same method.

Shamim gets to work on the shed

Carolyn: What is the advantage of this method?
Steve: The concrete does not need to be set out so accurately. Once one concrete pad is cast, you take it as the starting point to measure the level of the others, using a spirit level or theodolite. Then you cut the legs of the frames to suit. It is a simple method. You do not have to cast the studs plumb and hold them there until the concrete sets. We mixed a couple of cubic metres of concrete by hand using the energy of our strong young chaps.

Richard: Who helped with putting up the wooden frame?
Steve: That was Paul, Scott, Shamim, John, Adam, Richard Bowler and Kerri. Sara was also in the team but had other tasks. They all helped to cut the boards and to nail them on. We decided to arrange the boards diagonally - this created a chevron effect, which looks nice, but they also act as a brace. Horizontal boards would not have been so strong.

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Day Conference at Beannachar
by Dave Nicholson

On 10th March 2005 Beannachar hosted the latest in a series of Day Conferences for people with special needs. The previous conferences had been hosted at the Blair Drummond, Newton Dee and Loch Arthur Camphill Communities. The theme of the conference was "My Rights and my Responsibilities"

A total of 60 people participated in the conference from 13 separate Camphill and Garvald centres. Approximately 2/3rd of the participants were adults with special needs and 1/3rd were co-workers or support workers. Six people from Beannachar joined the conference: 4 students and 2 co-workers.

The day took the form of an introductory talk followed by half the participants joining small discussion groups in the morning with the other half having a tour of Beannachar. In the afternoon these groups were reversed. The day concluded with a plenum session to gather together the issues raised in the six discussion groups and to also look forward to the next conference that will be held at Garvald West Linton in September 2005.

Apart from enhancing people's knowledge and understanding of rights and responsibilities the conference also provided a valuable opportunity for people from different communities to meet each other and to be social. The generous tea breaks and buffet lunch were gratefully consumed, old friends reacquainted and new friendships made.

Despite the inauspicious start with half the participants late arriving due to horrendous traffic jams resulting from the roadworks in Dundee the day was greatly enjoyed by all who took part.

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Training in Beannachar
by Dave Nicholson

Training has always been an integral and essential element in the life and work at Beannachar. We are after all a "Training Centre for Young Adults with Special Needs".

All the students at Beannachar be they residential or day attendees undertake a training programme for the duration of their stay with the aim of helping them to prepare for the next stage of their lives.

Historically this training has mainly taken the form of working in one of our training workshops (farm, garden, herbs, woodwork, candles, laundry, weaving or kitchens) and through life skills training in the house community that they either live in or are attached to.

Lee cleans the fridge

In recent years our training programme has been expanded to include the Independent Living Skills Course (soon to be expanded further to include training for independence in cooking, laundry etc.) and through accessing facilities outside of Beannachar.

The outside training courses being undertaken by students include attending Aberdeen College (currently six students taking a variety of different courses), attending Adult Literacy courses at a local school and attending the Cornerstone Job Club.

Training for co-workers has historically been mainly "in house" or through the various Camphill Seminar courses. Whilst this training gave all our co-workers the knowledge they needed to undertake the work in Beannachar it unfortunately did not give them a formal qualification recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or the Care Commission.

The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act as regulated by The Care Commission and SSSC requires that workers in the care sector undergo training to obtain recognised qualifications applicable to their responsibilities and for all workers to be registered with SSSC.

Many students used their skills helping
out with building the wood shed

The registration with SSSC is being done in phases, the first of which is for managers in 2005. The four members of the Beannachar Management Group are nearing completion of the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) level IV and the Registered Managers Award and should all have the relevant qualifications in time for registration later this year.

Phase II of the registration process is for the other permanent workers in Beannachar and will take place in 2007/8 (this date is unclear and has changed several times over the last two years). For this group of workers we currently have one workshop leader nearing completion of her SVQ IV and another workshop leader due to start later this year. We have one co-worker with the BACE qualification, one nearing completion of the first stage of the course, two due to start the first stage in September and one due to start the final stage in April 2006. (BACE is the Bachelor of Arts in Curative Education, a course run jointly between Camphill and the University of Aberdeen, and is recognised as being equivalent to a social work degree). We also have two qualified nurses living in Beannachar, one person studying for a counselling qualification and two people undertaking the Kate Roth Seminar for homemakers.

For our one-year co-workers we provide a detailed induction course and a nine-month long foundation course. Whilst we believe that these fully equip the co-workers for their work they are however not undertaking a course that leads to a recognised qualification.

By being proactive in respect of training Beannachar should meet the Care Commission's requirement that 50% of our permanent workers are by the end of 2005 either qualified or actively working towards a recognised qualification. It is however not clear at present what position the Care Commission and the SSSC will adopt in respect of the training provided to one-year co-workers.

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Easter 2005
By Richard Phethean

We started our Easter celebrations on Palm Sunday with a gathering. Gabriele had made a beautiful centre decoration from twigs that were beginning to burst open and a bowl of wheat-grain that was beginning to sprout. These are Easter symbols, signifying the resurrection of nature from the cold of winter, as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.

The Palm Sunday Gathering

We sang two songs, heard the Bible reading for Palm Sunday, and Andy gave a talk about the meaning of Easter. He talked about the energy crisis and global warming, and how mankind needs to lift his spirit upwards and overcome the fall of man through the Christ. Man's need for energy has led him ever downwards into the realm of the earth and those forces that lie in a denser realm than the natural world - think of mining for coal and oil and the dark forces of electricity and nuclear power. In our greed for energy have we lost sight of the inequality that exists in the world? Perhaps the energy we need to discover now is our own inner light and enthusiasm that can spread joy and hope into the world. This is resurrection of the spirit in the Easter message.

Palm Sunday boundary walk

In the afternoon we had our usual "boundary walk" or "beating the bounds" as it is sometimes called. The weather was unusually very misty, but the mood of the walk was particularly harmonious, and everyone seemed to join in a relaxed and gathered way.

We had gatherings each day and examined the events in Christ's life during that very special week, and tried to recreate the mood of each day. We then split up into different groups that engaged in the artistic activities of plant drawing, nature sculpture, bell casting, painting and drama.

Festivals such as this are really high moments in the community's life, where we break up the usual rhythm and find inspiration and joy together.

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My Painting Project for the Service Room
by Katherine Phethean

The service room painting project came about in the sort of round-about accidental fashion that seems to have become characteristic of Good Things in my life. One day all the piles of ancient and dusty drawings made by me as far back as school days were taken down from the loft, sifted through and the better ones framed. The dark corridors of Beannachar have become homes for my romantic teenage notions and my tentative steps in unknown mediums. Following the framing of one snowy scene now hanging in Sycamore, various people suggested something similar for the Service Room. I was both eager and anxious at the prospect of such a project, and so it lay dormant with me while I tried to muster courage enough to embark on it. Speaking with the Beannachar Meeting Members helped me - gave me ideas and made me feel more confident in my own thoughts about the project. What I really wanted to express was something of what Beannachar meant - to the community and to me. I have spent the majority of my life there. The early years seem a rich tapestry of games and fantastical adventures in wildernesses, of Halloweens and folk-dancing and picnics by the river in summertime. Open days with ice-cream and hotdogs and pony rides, the tractor and trailer festooned with garlands offering tours of the estate for 50p. Illicit dens in the hay barn, secret rhododendron castles, hidden stashes of pilfered almonds, injured crows, rabbit sculls, and ancient glass bottles found in the forest. But as I grew, Beannachar shrank. The haunts of my childhood seemed less imposing, forests tidied up and made way for paths and lawns. Rose house was built, the workshops expanded, areas of Beannachar previously inaccessible to all but the small dedicated bodies of children were opened up to be enjoyed by co-workers and students. Part of me resisted to the slow and steady improvements to Beannachar, but I reminded myself of how lucky I have been. Although I feel connected to the place, it isn't really mine, the community works in its own ways, intricate and mysterious to me. I believe it has something rare, uplifting, full of hope for all that are part of it, since it forms the crucial part of a journey from one phase of life to another. I have also experienced this, growing up there. This is what I wanted to express in my painting, a journey through a fantasy land, where the destination is unclear, but full of light.

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ROOMMATES

Kerri and Andrew

My name is Emma Louise Millar and Alex Brankin we are roommates together I have been Alex's roommate for five happy years I started coming to Beannachar as a day student in August I came as a resident student in August eighth 2004 I am working in different workshops around Beannachar like the farm and garden workshops and wood work and weavery workshops I live in Silver Birch with Juri and Gabriele my house mother I am sharing a room with Alex for a long time she is a very nice roommate and a nice young lady just like myself I am sometimes a bit of a mischief sometimes I like going for free evenings with my friends in Sycamore like Kerri and Andrew Sheppard

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Brian fixing the
lamp at the top
of the drive

Scott Wright interviews Brian Ritchie

Scott: How long have you been working for Beannachar?
Brian: Well, I came for 3 months and now I've been here for 18 years.

S: What did you do before you came to Beannachar, in the olden days ?
B: Before I came here I was actually doing 2 jobs. One was working in a factory, making wires for going inside tyres, and I was also working on a small fishing boat. We caught lobsters and crabs and also used nets for fish in the season. I used to go to the West Coast once a year with my brother-in-law Scuba diving. I once caught a dog fish by the tail 100 ft. down underwater. When I came to Beannachar, I did not have time to go fishing anymore. I was in the Royal Navy Reserves - a Sea Cadet. I joined when I was 12. Then I used to take people all over Britain - youngsters who had never been away from home before. I taught them to shoot guns, diving, going in helicopters. Later I was the Scottish Champion for rowing and shooting.

S: Did you do any sport?
B: I didn't play football or golf, but I played cricket and basketball for my school.

S: What kind of jobs do you do in Beannachar?
B: What don't I do? I do all the painting, some electrical work. I can be a brickie one day, a farmer the next. The only thing I've not been asked to do yet is to cook the meals - but I could also do that.

S: What is your favourite job?
B: Building the barn at the farm; big jobs like that. Then you see things being done and all the students and co-workers can join in.

S: And your worst jobs?
B: Cleaning out the drains and the septic tanks.

Brian varnishes the "middle room" floor in the morning sunshine

S: Could you teach me things? I'm really interested in joinery work. Could I be your apprentice?
B: Sometimes you have worked alongside me and that's ok but I couldn't call you an apprentice because there is not enough variety and jobs for a real apprenticeship.

S: What changes have you seen in your time at Beannachar?
B: When I first came, a lot of the buildings were badly needing renovating. We did not have the money then so we did little things as we went along. Now we've built Rose House and the whole place has been landscaped.
There have been lots of changes in the ways of doing things. You have to be much more careful about safety now. The houses are a lot better now - a lot of the rooms were falling to bits. We're still finding out that some workmen in the past weren't doing their jobs properly. That's the difference between getting a contractor in and doing it myself. If I don't do it right first time, I have to go back again, and I don't like doing that.

S: What are your plans for the future? What do you wish for?
B: I wish for good health and being able to carry on with my job. I'm committed to being here for the future. Just now I am re-varnishing the service room and middle room floors before they are lazured (painted). Then I will take off the sliding doors and strip, sand and re-varnish them.

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The Service Room
Richard Phethean

The Service room is a very important place in Beannachar. It is the one place where we all regularly meet together. It is the place where we have our morning "Work Meeting"; every day from Monday to Friday at 9 am the whole community gathers in there. We start off in a peaceful reverential mood as we light a candle and hear the inspiring words of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

We find that these words speak to all people, regardless of faith or disposition. It helps us to focus on the problems and suffering of the world and to find our inner response. We started having a short "prayer" in response to 9.11, and the worrying events that followed. Sometimes, when there is a major world concern, someone might say a few words about it before the "prayer" in order to focus our minds on where healing might be needed. We then sing a song together and listen to reports from the various workshops. On Wednesday we also listen to a news report, where we can contemplate the major world events. We then talk about the events of the day ahead and listen to any information or questions anyone may have. This helps everyone to orientate him or herself, and gives each one a sense of belonging to the whole, and to experience a (hopefully) clear structure to the day. We finish with another song.

The service room is also the place where we hold the Sunday service (hence its name!), watch videos, dance folk dances, hear talks, attend meetings, celebrate festivals, conduct training, play games, have fun, listen to concerts, watch plays, perform in talent shows, groove at discos, you name it; we do it! (as long as it is legal!)

Recently, the whole service room with its attached "middle room" has had a face-lift. The floor and woodwork have been sanded and re-varnished, the gloss work redone and the walls painted and lazured. Lazuring is a special technique that involves painting several thin transparent layers of water or acrylic paint over the emulsion. For this part, we asked David Newbatt (a local Camphill artist) to help us. By then, Katherine Phethean had finished her painting. David wanted to match the lazure colours to the colours in her painting. David and I spent a weekend "lazuring", brushing on layer after layer of dilute, delicate warm colours until we were eventually satisfied with the result. The effect is a soft, breathing texture of colour, which is gentle on the eye. We hope everyone likes the effect. We hope it will enhance the many wonderful Beannachar events we hold there.

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My Life in Sycamore By Andrew Sheppard

I moved from Rose House to Sycamore House because I wanted a change. I like living in Sycamore now. I help people, especially Anja who is my friend. I help Michael when he comes in the morning. I help him to take his coat off and to put his bag in the boot-room. After breakfast my job is hoovering the stairs and all the carpets upstairs. After lunch I help with the washing-up and after supper I am free.

My favourite friends are Kerri and Stephen. We have fun together playing computer games in the evenings. Susan is the House Co-ordinator. She works in her office. She is on the phone all the time. She sorts out my College Course and she gives me a lift to College every Monday. I am learning how to use a computer at College. I share a room with Richard. He is a funny guy. We get on O.K. together. In my room I have a TV for watching DVDs. I listen to music. I clean my room on Friday afternoon. Matthias is my co-worker. He is a good co-worker.

I have a free day on Saturdays. Sometimes I buy a DVD or a CD in HMV. When I get back from town, I make my own supper and take it upstairs. On Sundays we go for outings or I have free time. Sometimes I go to my grandparents' house. Last Sunday we went to the Sea Life Centre at St.Andrews. The best thing about Sycamore is that I help all the people.

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Paul Interviews Juri

Paul: Which country do you come from?
Juri: Estonia, it is a country with 1,500 islands, next to the coast of Russia, on the Baltic Sea. Finland is to the North, Sweden to the West and Latvia to the South.

P: How is Scotland different from Estonia?
J: First of all, the climate is different. In Estonia we have four seasons, very different from each other. Here, in comparison there are only two seasons: one when the leaves are on the trees, one when the trees are bare. The Estonian climate is much more extreme. The people are very similar. The people here are rather reserved, like in Estonia. I have the feeling that it takes a while to get to know people.

P: Did you have any jobs in Estonia?
J:I had several jobs. My first job was working on a farm in the school holidays; weeding in a large cabbage field - the rows were 1 mile long. That was quite hard work! I had other jobs in the school holidays. First in a national TV studio as a cameraman's assistant. That did not last long - six months. At that time Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. I got a jacket from my Grandmother in England. It had 'New York' in big letters on the back. This was the time of the Cold War. A Communist Party official saw it and called the manager. He told me it was not politically correct and I lost my job. I then got a job in the theatre. I started off as a light technician and I worked there almost 15 years. I was a light designer for the last 7 years. After a 5 month break, I went to the Camphill Community in Estonia. I was there about 3 years and then I came to Beannachar, 4 years ago.

P: How different is Camphill in Estonia compared to here?
J: Quite different. There is only one Camphill Community - a village for people from 18 years. Some are in their 50's. Some people come from children's homes - even if they were adults they still had to live there as there was nowhere else for them. The Community has four houses. It is very isolated. 70 acres of agricultural land with woods all around and lots of wildlife. We saw foxes, deer, elk, wolves, squirrels, hares, stoat and wild boar. One year the wild boar dug up and ate all our potatoes in the field.

P: How did you find out about Beannachar?
J: Through Gabriele who I met in Estonia. She had lived in Beannachar before and we moved here together.

P: Do you like it here?
J: I like it very much indeed. It is a very nice place to live and work.

P: What are your tasks in Beannachar?
J: At the moment I have two tasks. One task is to help to look after Silver Birch house. My main task is to run the candle workshop, which takes most of the day. Before that I ran the laundry. I have also just finished doing the Youth Guidance Seminar. There is not much time left after doing all these things!

P: What do you do in your spare time?
J: Well, I go to the cinema, I enjoy walking to town. I enjoy seeing other people outside the Community.

P: Has Camphill changed your life?
J: Yes, very much. First I met my wife in Camphill. Camphill also opened up new things for me, Anthroposophy; and there are still more things to explore.

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Life of Alex in Beannachar

In the morning I'm getting up by myself. Then I'm getting dressed and brush my teeth. After breakfast I dry the cutlery and wait for workmeeting. I especially like the singing in workmeeting. Then is worktime. I'm working in the candles. There I help packing candles and polish them. I like it a lot and I'm very happy there. I have a rest after lunch till 2.30pm. I listen to Harry Potter CDs and do some knitting or sleep. In the afternoon I help to prepare supper in Silverbirch kitchen, in my house. I help to prepare teabreak for the workshops. I go swimming, to folkdancing and go to town on Saturday, and outings on Sunday. I like housecleaning on Friday quite a lot. I'm very happy to be in a great place like this.

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ISABEL'S ARTICLE

I am Isabel, and I am typing this article on Daddy's computer for our newsletter. I live upstairs in Rose house, Beannachar with mummy and daddy. I am 14 years old. I go to school in Murtle Estate (Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools), and I have lunch in Mignon House. After lunch I got job - clean the table and put the napkin bags into the basket.
I like Sara. Sara is my favourite friend. Sara is my girl friend. Poor Sara, she has got a sore tooth, but Ruth's cat Elly has broken her tail and Barbara will go to the vet with her.

Paul's puppet

I am Hannah's co-worker. (Hannah is my pretend friend.) Sometimes I like to go to my room and play. On Thursdays I always go to supper in Silver Birch and then folk dancing with Joanna.
I went to Carnival in our service room. At carnival, Rose house sang a song of Obladi-Oblada and I did dancing and singing. Paul was funny because he did a puppet show; chicken and a frog and he also sang a funny song with a pretend microphone. Susanne, Rachel and Robert all sang songs. Emma sang the song of Dido from "Life for Rent" called White Flag - I really liked it. Trevor, Iain, Kerry and Alex were singing about Australia.

I always play Uno with Suzanne. Today is Thursday. Today is my study with my (imaginary) boy friend Theo. I like him very much. I went to the gym and jumped on the big trampoline just now.
On Friday there is no school because it is my half term break.
love
Isabel

Susanne's performance at the Talent Show

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My Life in Beannachar
by Carla Whittaker

Beannachar is a place where we do work training.

I have a nice time in silver birch house. I have special needs and I am cared for in Beannachar. I take a special vitamin supplement at supper and Lunch and breakfast. We do the House jobs and cleaning on Friday afternoon and in between we have tea break in our kitchen.
We have also been doing the house jobs after breakfast.

I and some of my friends go out on Friday evening for the Doric Dolphin swimming club and when we come back we have Drinks of apples juice. I stay up late on Friday nights. We are going to a Swimming gala on the 11th of march and 19th of march in Peterhead.

On Wednesday and Saturday and Sunday evening we have a nice time with my friends in sycamore sitting room as well as lots of friends from Rose house.

I now have my own single room, but I used to share a room with Alex in 2003.

Every Tuesday I enjoy students' meetings with Andy. I am the secretary for the student's meeting.
I am going to town with my co-worker and then I come back for supper and I watch my video on my computer and in my room I Listen to my music in my free time. I am going home on the 4th of march. Every Thursday night we enjoy folk dancing.
I will leave Beannachar in 2006. I am going to Newton Dee. One day I would like to get my own flat together with my boyfriend Lee. We change our work placements twice a year.

Emma used to come and stay for the weekend and shared my room in Beannachar for stay over night. We had lots of fun talking till late in night.

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A "Sailing" trip with the Ocean Youth Trust Scotland by Stephen Stuart

On Friday the 11th of September we went with a group to Edinburgh for sailing with the Ocean Youth Trust (OYT). In the group were: Scott, Kerri, Mark, Frankie, Andy, Pam (co-skipper, OYT volunteer), Iain, and myself (Stephen Stuart, who wrote this article).

We met the skipper called Brian on the 'Alba Volunteer' who explained about the boat and sailing. He showed us how to use the equipment and we were also taught how to use our safety harnesses so we would not fall over board. Then we got a taster of sailing but we had to return to the harbour because the weather was very stormy. We had to stay in the harbour for the rest of the time but still had fun and games. We helped to prepare our meals and wash up one highlight for me was throwing the plastic plates to one another and drying them. Then it was bedtime for all of us. Unfortunately some of the crew got queasy but no one got sick.

Then in the morning we got up and had breakfast. After that we learned about knots and other things. Then we tried out the rubber dingy and had fun with that. We made one of our co-workers (Iain) walk the plank. Then we did some major cleaning on the boat. We said thanks to Brian the Skippy and went back to Beannachar.
It was a great time and hopefully we can go sailing again this year.

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Canoeing
by Stephen Stuart

On the 27th of August 2004 we had a pool practice for canoeing with two instructors. There were Scott, Paul, Steve, and I (Stephen Stuart) to practice for a canoeing session on a loch. We practised turning, reversing the canoe, capsizing, and moving sideways. It was fun even though I almost drowned (just kidding!).

On the 5th of September we went on the loch (I can't remember the name) and met with the instructors. This time Rebekka with her children and Aziz came along. The day was quite mild and some of us went for a swim after the canoeing. The water was freezing but I think it was fun anyway.

We used canoes and kayaks. One of the canoes (the wooden one you can see on the photographs) was built in by Jonathan, Steve and students in Beannachar. The instructors taught us how to keep the boat straight and we also did all the things we had practised during the pool session. We also tried to steer the boat on our own (without an instructor in the boat) by using the paddles on both sides of the boat. We had to wear safety gear (as you can see on the pictures): helmet, neoprene clothes, and life jackets.

I think it was a lot of fun and I hope that we can do some more canoeing in the future.

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Kerri's Holiday Down Under

I went on holiday to a place called Australia. It was so nice to see. I saw a lot of nice places. I went with my mother and my granny. We had two months of holiday. I went swimming in the sea, but it was too cold. I met my cousins for the first time and I made a lot of new friends and we got together a lot. I stayed at my granny's house to keep her company for a while. I stayed at one of my friends. I went to a place called Movie World. I went to a shopping mall with my friend's daughter. I had so much fun. We ate in MacDonald's. On my birthday we had sun and we went out for the day. On the other days we had rain and thunder and lighting and once we had hailstones. They were big. We stayed in a place called Brisbane. Our hotel had a swimming pool and a sauna and we were near by the river where we could see the boats. We went on a boat called "The City Cat" and it went up one way and down the other way and if you stood up at the front of the boat you could get the water in your face.

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Samantha's Move

I was in Beannnachar for 7 years. So first I had a two-week trial visit in Tiphereth to see what I think of the place, that's when I made friends with Denise. I actually got on well with Denise right from the start. I quite liked the place. So then I made preparations for leaving. The leaving date was set for the 1st of October, just after Michaelmas. And then I moved to Tiphereth on the 4th of October.
For a start my eyes wouldn't stop watering during my leaving party, and then on the very last day in Beannachar as well.
It felt strange not being in Beannnachar.
Now I'm beginning to miss everybody.
I am quite happy where I am otherwise, cos I can still get all the help I need.
And I have made a few friends - a girl called Denise in Kitezh, a few minutes walk away. Sometimes I visit her, sometimes she visits me.
The meals are very nice.
The house I am staying in is called the Hollies. My house parents are very nice - Sandy and Bruce, and Bruce is a bit of a joker sometimes. Sometimes we do things all together in the evenings - like we have been to a concert or to the pub for a drink (the odd one glass of white wine.)
I do weaving and paper-making as day activities from Monday to Friday. Sometimes I have been baking as well. One day a week or so I am cooking the evening meal for the Hollies with Bruce.
I have my own room - quite a big room near the kitchen.
We do swimming in day activities one day a week.
The weekends are very nice as well. On Saturdays we are free to get up whenever we want and we can just get our own breakfast. On Saturdays we might go into town with a co-worker. In the evening we usually have bible evening at 7.30 for everbody in all three houses (Tiphereth, Kitezh and the Hollies). On Sunday we can go to the Christian Community service if we want to. And then we have a gathering all 3 houses together at 11.30, sometimes in the Hollies and sometimes in a different house. Sometimes we go to a concert in St Giles in the evening and that usually starts at 6 o-clock.

On Thursday 10th of March 2005 I will attend a day conference in Beannachar about Rights and Responsibilities. And also that's a chance to see my old friends again - for a start if some of the co-workers are free I will have a chance to see them again as well.

Samantha Jones

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When Paddy met Shannon

Hello! My name is Paddy, I am an Angora goat and I am employed here in Beannachar as an animal companion. Farm animals don't much like to be alone and so I see to it that they have a good friend with them in the field. I don't get much of a salary only a few apples and lots of hay but it's an interesting place with lots of amusing human beings around. I was mistook one night for a ram by a silly human called Joanne (she was quite new here then.) Speaking of rams I made very good friends with the rams and was most upset when I had to leave them and become Shannon's companion.

Shannon is a Connemara thoroughbred horse. She is fifteen hands high (I know because I have counted) and nineteen years old (I know because I have seen her birth certificate.) I am a very curious goat and I am sometimes very naughty. Like when I joined Shannon in her field, I tried to escape to see my old friends the rams. I wonder who's executive decision that was? I was not a happy goat and it took a while for Shannon and I to make friends.

Shannon had been used for breeding purposes at her last home and when Beannachar got her she was not in good condition because her last pregnancy had taken so much out of her. Susan has still got her last foal. Now I bleat when Shannon comes to the field on a morning after a night in her stable. This is to greet her, as a true animal companion ought and to tell her that the night was lonely without her. I like to be good at my job, so a message to all you funny humans, if you visit us make sure you bring two apples, one for Shannon and one for me, (please chop up the one for me because I haven't got big teeth like Shannon has), it isn't much but it's a living.

Thank you from Paddy (Joanne translated)

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THE STUDENTS' MEETING By Rachel Grant

Andy tells us each week what is talked about in the coworker meeting so we students always know what is happening. Plus I am the secretary for the Students Meeting and I keep a list of all the dates and what we talk about.

The Students' meeting is really interesting and it is on every Tuesday. We have also talked about Carin's dog, Sam, who had to be put to sleep because he had cancer. We organised a students Talent Show.

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Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route Demonstration

Trevor and Joanne

On Thursday 10th March, a small group of students and co-workers from Beannachar joined a demonstration at the Mill Inn at the start of a public consultation about a proposed ring road for Aberdeen. The demonstration was organised by the "Save Camphill" campaign, which opposes the road that threatens the future of both Newton Dee and Murtle estate, (part of the Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools). The planners are hoping to situate the road between the two communities. The "Save Camphill" campaign has the support of many local people as well as groups such as the Friends of the Earth and the Aberdeen Green Belt Alliance. The press and the local television crews were there. Although the proposed route will not go anywhere near Beannachar, many students strongly oppose the road, as many have come from Camphill Schools or hope to move on to Newton Dee. Also many feel incredible support for their friends and colleagues in the two communities.
If you are interested to support the campaign, and we do need your support, please contact me or visit www.savecamphill.org.uk. You could also help by visiting the road website http://www.awpr.co.uk, downloading a comment sheet and expressing your views directly to the road team.
Richard Phethean

Demonstrators at the Waterwheel Inn consultation