Category: Physical activity

June 2018 – Flamenco

Patricia Skeet gave us a fantastic insight into Flamenco. 

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She told us about its origins in Spain and how it has remained an important art form. Her explanation of the art – the singing, hand clapping, music and dance – was really interesting. She showed us some lovely old film footage of the Guitanos and also some film of modern day flamenco/ ballet fusion.

Patricia demonstrated flamenco dancing to us and then explained the clothing and shoes worn by men and women. She explained the differences in the male and female hand movements and the importance of the gestures and skirt movements used

She encouraged us to dress in some of the clothes that she brought and then, of course, showed us some movements which we put to music.  There was a lot of foot stamping and clapping which made it sound fantastic.

OLE! 

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March 19th 2018 A beginners guide to the Camino Way – Miriam O’Keefe

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Miriam is one of our members and came to give us a talk with slides, about her experience of walking the Camino de Santiago.  She described her journey in four words -WALK, EAT, SLEEP, REPEAT!

It was a fantastic talk.  Miriam explained the history of the Camino which was first walked by pilgrims in 821.  She explained that there were a number of Caminos which all finished in Santiago de Compostela, where the bones of Saint James are buried in the cathedral.  Miriam walked the Camino Frances which started in France and took her across the Pyrenees into Spain and across the north of Spain to Santiago de Compostela.  This is the most popular Camino and is 800 kilometres in length.

She did a lot of research prior to starting her 6 week walk.  She took advise relating to the rucksack she needed and how it should be worn, and most importantly, broke in her walking boots in advance of the journey.  She did a lot of training! She showed us the things she carried on her journey and explained the three stages of the journey which she described as- the physical stage, the mental stage and the spiritual stage.

She explained, with the aid of her photographs the places where she stayed en route, her footcare regime each day and the rituals that are done along the way.  She also told us of the many people she met and showed us her camino passport full of stamps collected along the route.

It was a lovely evening which ended with some Spanish Tapas type food. 

December Party

December saw us celebrating at our Christmas party

We started with our usual ‘stand-up-sit-down’ Bingo and then proceeded to take part in some swing dancing

Our teachers were TC and Joyce.  They gave us a demonstration of the 1940s dancing style and then taught us some 1940s strolls. This kind of dancing was very popular in the war years because it could be enjoyed by groups of people and partners were not required

Many of our members dressed in 1940 style clothing and looked fantastic

We learnt several strolls and had a really good time  We mostly remembered the steps and no toes were broken in the process!

We had a really good supper and obviously some very nice cake to complete the evening

There was a Secret Santa opportunity so many of us even went home with Christmas presents

Ruth Gosden had asked members to donate toys for the Children’s Refuge and there was a good response.  Ruth was able to take lots of toys away at the end of the evening and along with Sowood WI make the donation to the children

A great evening was had by all

 

August’s Meeting -Yoga & Relaxation

Tracy Davies from Blessingway Yoga led us in August’s Yoga Relaxation session. Tracy trained as a yoga teacher in India in 2006, returning to teach mature yoga. She encouraged us to be gentle with ourselves and listen to our bodies.

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We had a large turn out for this meeting, but we just managed to fit into a large circle in Waterfront Hall! Tracy led us in some stretches and a Sun Salutation, and got us all sleepy and relaxed with breathing  exercises and guided meditation.

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After all our ‘hard work’ we rewarded ourselves with some tasty cakes made my our talented members. 🙂

Bollywood comes to Hebden

In June, the Waterfront Hall in Hebden Bridge Town Hall was packed out with members and guests captivated by Zoobin Surty and his fabulous Bollywood Dancing class. You can see a clip here, thanks to Angela for filming.

Here we are getting to grips with the hand moves and concentrating on the order:

We  had a great laugh and didn’t mind the aching muscles the next day. We’re looking forward to a trip to Leeds to watch British Bollywood at the Northern Ballet Theatre on 24th July. We’re also hopeful that Zoobin will be bringing his class to Hebden Bridge on a regular basis. We are sure it will be a great success!

 

Invite: January drumming

Hi everyone,

Well that was some Christmas ‘holiday’, wasn’t it! Not quite what any of us had planned but I’m so proud of the way HBWI members pulled together and worked hard to help themselves and others. You’re all amazing!

I hope you’re all recovering from the flood. Please take good care of yourself, it’s been a shocking old time and I know many of us are still reeling, especially those members whose businesses were unfortunately affected. Naturally HBWI will be looking at ways we can continue to support flooded members and the wider community as we all move forwards with the recovery phase.

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