Christmas Greetings

Happy Christmas to you all, and Thank You for all your support this year. Body and Sole has gone from strength to strength and I have been amazed at how well the transition to Clinic work has gone. Having my own premises makes me feel as though I have actually arrived. My focus has sharpened and I am feeling much more efficient both in my work, and in my home life (the house has never been so organised and tidy!) It has been fabulous to realise that so many people have been thinking positive thoughts about this project, and I assure you that has really spurred me on. Thank you.

You may remember that each year Dave and I make a donation to a charity instead of sending Christmas Cards. This year Dave chose the Help for Heroes charity and we have sent a donation to them. If you want to know more about what they do then the link is http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

All that remains is for me to wish you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Terry Smith Memorial Race 2009

At the end of November Sam and I went up to Covenham Reservoir to take part in the Terry Smith Memorial Race. The weather was very odd with a very sharp hail storm filling the boat with ice whilst we were getting ready, and then the wind dropped completely. The race was postponed until a tiny amount of breeze filled in and then whilst we were actually on the water the sun came out! For an account of the race and some photos follow this link www.covenhamsc.co.uk Scroll down to the Terry Smith 2009 link on the left

Christmas Present Idea

If you are still wondering what to buy for a Christmas present then a Gift Voucher could be the ideal present. How about one for a Full Body Massage, or a Reflexology one. Or even a DeTox massage for them to use after all the festivities. For an older person, a voucher for Chiropody might be ideal. You can contact me on 01522 704294 if you would like to discuss it further.

Anyone who mentions this blog can receive a £5 discount on the voucher of your choice.

Money Making Mondays

You will probably remember that I mentioned that Adi Green, a friend of mine, has been helping me with promoting my business (to great effect). Well, he has now started to give business advice via his email called "Money Making Mondays". I'm already a subscriber and if you are in any sort of business then I highly recommend it to you.

As a bonus for signing up you also get access to his special download page where there are lots more special reports and business tools to help improve your business.

He's promised that your email won't get passed on to anybody and that you can unsubscribe any time.

You can sign up via his website http://www.adriansgreen.com/sally.htm

Me and Pudsey

What an amazing 24 hours. The dancing and the massage just flowed all night. I must admit that it is the first time I have massaged to jive music, and it took a while to tune it out a bit so that I could slow the moves down! The tea dance was the best when they were waltzing, although the 6am to 8am slot would probably been good with DJ, Dr Chill, who played some lovely slow numbers. Unfortunately I was past massaging at that stage, or indeed standing. Apologies to anyone I danced with at that time of the morning, my brain had switched off and my legs wouldn’t have heard anyway.

I was lucky enough to be one of those interviewed for Radio Lincolnshire and you can hear the interview if you listen before Friday 27 2009 on www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0053bh2/William_Wright_20_11_2009/
You need to fast forward to 2hours and 52 minutes into the programme to hear first Oliver Dawson who was being massaged, and then me. Thank you, Oliver for being so complimentary about the massage.

In all I did around 25 massages (15 minutes each) and raised £155 for Children in Need. The ’24 on the Floor’ raised a grand total of £3711 and I was really proud to have been a part of it all. The winner of the Free Prize Draw for a Gift Voucher for a No Hands Full Body Massage was Mrs Margaret Bird of Lincoln. Well done to her.

Talking of Gift Vouchers, they do make a nice present for Christmas.

Massage-athon?

Yesterday I was given a gentle reminder that I have not posted since October (oops). My only excuse is that I have been really busy, which is fantastic. Oh, and I have been on holiday to the marvellous county of Northumberland, and on another No Hands Massage Course in Hebden Bridge. This week is actually the first quiet(er) week that I have had since the clinic opened, and I am seizing the opportunity to organise paperwork and other essential admin work. I spent fifteen years in Admin work at the County Council and it has been a very useful basis for running my own business.

The new No Hands massages include a De-Tox massage that will be a fabulous start to the New Year for any of you who overdo it a bit over Christmas, and a couple of exhibition Massages that take just 15 minutes and can be used to showcase the massage at a public event whilst still giving the receiver a lovely treatment. Some of you will have the opportunity to try this out at the ‘24 on the Floor’ event for Children in Need on Friday 20th November. It is being run by Jive Fusion in conjunction with BBC Radio Lincolnshire at the Lawn in Lincoln and it is intended that there will be 24 people dancing at any one time for 24 hours. There are various types of dancing going on including classes for complete beginners. Find out more http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/content/articles/2009/10/14/cin_dance_feature.shtml

I shall be offering massages for a donation to Children In Need and will be there for the full 24 hours (I am intending to do some dancing too). I hope to see you there, I'll be the only one with her own pillows!

The First Week

My first week in the clinic has been nothing short of amazing. I have had four new NO HANDS massage clients all of whom have booked again and all of whom are committing to regular massage. One has a shoulder injury and is having back, neck and shoulder massage, two others are having leg and foot massage to help them walk more easily and to ease leg cramps, and the fourth is having the full body massage. Thank fully this evening I was lucky enough to swop a massage with Jayne who was on my last course in Hebden Bridge. Yes, regular massage is part of my life too and I wouldn’t be without it.

On the Chiropody side I have found it so much easier to have a chair that takes the client to the proper height for me to work on them, to say nothing of having everything to hand. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the experience of coming to the clinic and several Chiropody clients are booking the other therapies too. It is so lovely to be able to offer more in this way.

I am considering putting together some packages for various groups of people, eg dancers, gardeners or sailors, that offer a mixture of massage, chiropody and stretching to enable them to achieve even more in their chosen activity. Any thoughts or requests, any one?

What a Grand Opening!

What a Fantastic Day! The day of the Grand Opening was one that I will never forget. So many people turned up to look around the clinic that I was really grateful that I had my ‘kitchen elves’ on hand to help. Mum (Sheila), Mum in law (Doris) and friend, Leona all did sterling works serving Coffee and Cakes and selling raffle tickets for the Macmillan Nurses Fund Raiser that we ran at the same time. We estimate that around 60 people came in total over the day, which was fabulous, and loads of others rang or emailed with good wishes. Thank you to everybody, especially to those who donated cakes and prizes, we have raised over £200 for the Macmillan Nurses.

It was lovely to meet Sue Chan at last. She is the clever person who came up with the name of 'Body & Sole'. We had spoken two or three times on the phone so felt that we already knew each other and we had great fun posing for photos. I did give a short speech and I really hope that I managed to thank every one who had been involved in the project. Sue then graciously cut the ribbon and pronounced ‘Body & Sole’ open, hoping that the clinic would live up to its name and bring many Bodies and Soles through the door. Thank you Sue.

I do hope that anyone who hasn’t yet managed to visit and have the tour of the clinic will one day pop in to see me. I will be pleased to see you, and very proud to show you round.

Only Two Days To Go

The Grand Opening of the clinic is this Friday, how did that get here so quickly? Getting ready for it has been harder than painting the ceilings and much much harder than a full day of massage!

However the house is pretty tidy, thanks to Mum, several people have been commissioned to bake cakes, I pick the glasses up tomorrow and Sainsburys are delivering the wine in the morning. (Internet supermarket shopping is so much easier). A gorgeous arrangement of flowers have been delivered courtesy of Flowers by Suzanne http://www.flowersbysuzanne.com/ and it now sits next to my new work computer that Jason Herrick put together for me. Thank you, Jason.

I think that I have sent out approximately 200 invitations, and more by email and Facebook, so hopefully there should be a good crowd. Ade has done a great job of calming my nerves tonight and persuading me that it is all a bit of fun, so I am determined to believe him.

My one regret is that Dave won't be here on Friday to receive the official thanks for all his hard work. I think he is secretly quite pleased to be well out of it. He has experienced my organising things before and knows they can mean hard work for him! I promise that I will take him for a good night out when he returns from Southampton or Scotland or wherever it is this time.

Anyway only a few more bits of sorting out to do (I think) and a very short speech to write and I should be ready. Oh no, I've got to decide what to wear. Help!!!!

Map to Body & Sole

Ok, I admit defeat with the embedding for the map. Ade very kindly told me how to do the embedding but for some reason I can't get the link to work. If you go to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and type in NG23 7EB then you will find the map to the clinic. So that is nearly as good.

I have been away for the weekend (on another fabulous No Hands Massage course where we spent a lot of time talking about colons and how to massage them! We did some other types of massage as well and I can honestly say that I have never had such fabulous massages. Fancy some of that? Give me a call).

Anyway, I digress. I have suddenly realised that it is less than two weeks to the Grand Opening and there is loads to do. I have to get the guest list sorted and the invitations done. We need a ribbon to cut and some wine to drink.... and I am doing the Macmillan Coffee morning on the same day as well. On top of all that my diary is completely full of client bookings. Which is excellent of course and I am not complaining, it is just tricky when it comes to delivering invitations.

So I had better get back to doing the guest list!

And the Winner is....

Tan tan tara!!!!
And the winner of the Name the Clinic Contest is Sue Chan with her suggestion
Body and Sole
Runner up is Annie Wright who came up with the same name but a couple of days later

Well done to all the entrants and thank you for all your efforts. It was fun hearing and reading them. Both Sue and Annie have been invited to the Grand Opening on the 25th Sept at 3pm and Sue will be cutting the ribbon.

You are, of course, invited too and I shall be making a day of it. As you may know I have run a Macmillan Nurses Coffee Day for the past couple of years as a charity event and have decided to combine it with the Grand Opening. The format this year will be -

10am Stalls and Drinks available.
( Phoenix Cards, Jewellery, Virgin Vie, Garden Mirrors and Dangly Doo’s, Raffle, secondhand books ) (As always cake, raffle prize and book donations gratefully accepted)
3pm Grand Opening
7pm Virgin Vie Demonstration

I have also invited other local businesses to bring leaflets showing what they do, so there should be a lot going on that day.
Please do come along and bring friends and family. You are welcome at any time between 10am and 9.30pm on the 25th Sept 2009.

IMPORTANT In order that I can get enough glasses for the bubbly for the Grand Opening, please could you let me know whether you are coming to the 3pm celebration by Monday 21 Sept.

Hopefully there will be a map embedded into this post soon but in the meantime the address is Body and Sole, Lime Grove Clinic, High Street, Harby, Newark, Notts NG23 7EB

Spring Tides and Sorting Stuff

A lot of water has passed (literally) since I last updated this. Yet again Sam and I have been to Norfolk, this time for the Regatta at Burnham Overy Staithe. http://www.overystaithesc.org.uk/php/gallery.php The spring tides meant some very high tides so here is a photo of lots of sea and a pretty boat! Believe it or not we had raced, finished and put our boat away and there was still this amount of water! Those little tufts of green that you can see are usually significant banks. (Sam and I won one race and came second in two others so we were pleased with ourselves)

Anyway, back to the clinic. I managed to find some very good end of line two drawer cabinets at Lincoln Office Furniture, and also a second hand one which are perfect for what I want. (Their website is being refurbished as I write this but it is http://www.lincolnofficefurniture.co.uk/e.co.uk/ and they have loads of stuff.) Dave has made a fabulous desk top for one of them that perfectly fits the space. I am digging out my various cupboards and hoarding places in the house and finding homes for it all in the clinic, or in some cases the bin! You will have to be patient a little longer for further photos because the battery on the camera ran out, but believe me it is all gorgeous. And I am so looking forward to the Grand Opening.

All the Painting Done (I think)

A long week with a paint brush at every spare moment but now virtually everything has been painted, including the inside of the cupboards! I am delighted with the overall effect and feel of it all. A lot of the equipment has been moved into the clinic and I am beginning to get a sense of what it will be like to use it in earnest.

I still need more storage in there and am in need of some two drawer filing cabinets. The proper metal office type that lock securely rather than the home office ones that seem a bit flimsy to me. I am happy with good second hand ones. Any suggestions?

A visit to Dunelm is called for as well. They have some nice room dividing screens that will be ideal for the therapy room and I am sure that some other bargains will be found. http://www.dunelm-mill.com/product/20196.htm

Clinic Name Competition
I am still getting entries for the competition for the clinic name; there are some very good ones and one (anonymous) one that really made me laugh! I am keeping an open mind though, so if you can come up with a name that happily reflects the various therapies that I offer, then you can still enter through http://tinyurl.com/nametheclinic The winner will be a celebrity for the day and cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony.

We Passed!

Last Thursday after some exciting drifting around Blakeney harbour (no breeze at 7am), and a slightly more exciting prize giving (we won our class), I had a phone call from Dave with the news that I had been hoping for. The Building Inspector had paid a visit to the clinic and was very pleased with what we (OK, Dave) had done with the building. He especially liked the disabled parking space, now complete with its markings. That is the last visit from the Building Inspector as he has signed the clinic off and now all systems are go, to get it finally ready for use.

By the time that I arrived back in Harby on Sunday, Dave had already left as he is working away for a couple of weeks. Before even unloading the camper van, I unlocked the clinic door to see the changes that had been wrought. Fantastic. The flooring and the door now work together. The sinks are in and hot water comes out of the taps! The internal doors have been hung and just need painting.

So once I have finished the huge piles of washing that always accompany me home after a week of sailing, I shall be grabbing a paint brush and setting to with great vigour. There really is light at the end of the tunnel.

As for sailing at North West Norfolk Week’s 60th Anniversary Event, Sam and I won one race, had a second and a couple of thirds and came third overall in our class. The most satisfying part of it was that we sailed to the very best of our ability and did not fail to sail any races due to ill health (bad backs or hangovers) or equipment failure, although a piece of string was needed to hold the mast in place for the last two races whilst at Snettisham. The photos were taken at Kings Lynn on the River, one of the muddier venues!

All of a Rush

Suddenly things have really started to happen in my clinic. Last week I had a call from Kings Flooring in Newark saying that they had a cancellation the following day and would I like them to screed the floor? ‘Yes Please’ I replied. I rushed home to clear the rooms for them and discovered a slight problem. An old table that had been taken into the old house many years before, and that Dave had been using as a work bench, would not come out of the new slightly narrower door. After some swearing and a couple of dents in the new paintwork, (Aaagh) we resorted to sawing bits of the table off and the floor was cleared for action.

Then Dave and I went to Belvoir castle for the CLA Game Fair where we were working on the High Ropes and Parachute course, and we had a great weekend. The photos are of Dave but I did do the ropes course too and had repeated goes on the Parachute jump.

When we returned home the screed had been laid and now a new problem has arisen.........The door is too close to the floor, or the floor is too high for the door, it’s not too clear which. Anyway there does not appear to be room for the flooring! I am awaiting the expert’s opinion.

And Then There was Light

In the meantime we now have the electrics finished with some rather great little spot lights. (It will be great not having to peer at people’s feet under the energy saving bulbs that appear in everybody's home.) In the therapy room there will be a dimmer switch so that a gentler atmosphere is available. Emergency lighting and fire alarms have been fitted too courtesy of electrician Tim, and of course the ever faithful labourer, Dave.

In addition the colour is appearing on the walls and woodwork. A pale Barley Twist on the walls and Terracotta on the woodwork. Over the fireplace will be a paler Tuscan Terracotta. So far it feels light and warm, which is what I was aiming for.

I am going away in the morning for a weeks sailing in Norfolk, leaving my wonderful husband Dave, to deal with the flooring and the Building Inspector! Good Luck Dave.

To the Foot of the Matter

More painting has been done in the clinic (I promise that there will be some pictures soon). Anyway this is an opportunity to tell you about Reflexology and Chiropody.

Reflexology was the very first therapy that I studied and offered to the public way back in 1994. I am a Member of the Association of Reflexologist. http://www.aor.org.uk/

Reflexology is a gentle therapy that works entirely on Reflex points on the feet. The idea is that there are points on the feet for every part and system of the body and that by working the whole of both feet it gives the body a balancing work out. It has been found to help with many ailments especially stress related ones such as migraine and IBS. A Reflexology session is a very relaxing occasion and it is not unusual for the client to doze off. However even without that ‘sleeping bonus’, Reflexology retains it great popularity in my repertoire. Some clients find that a weekly or fortnightly session helps them maintain their equilibrium whilst others like to see me monthly. To find out more about Reflexology follow this link http://www.aor.org.uk/index.php?page=what-is-reflexology

Moving On

Whilst working on some feet I noticed various problems that as a Reflexologist I didn’t know how, and wasn’t qualified to deal with. So I studied to become a Chiropodist/ Podiatrist. (I am often asked what the difference is and the simple answer is the spelling! It is a matter of preference and I stay with Chiropodist simply because that is how I started.)

As a Chiropodist I can deal with the basic nail cutting and hard skin removal and also the more complicated in-growing toe nails, correction of stance problems, and many other foot problems. Often some advice or provision of a simple orthotic or exercises is enough to alleviate a painful problem that has been around for years. The number and frequency of sessions depends entirely on the client’s requirements. Sometime a one off appointment is sufficient, others like to see me a couple of times a year for a check up and still others find that a monthly or six weekly appointment is essential for the comfort and health of their feet. In a few cases I will refer to other Chiropodists who specialise in different fields.

Despite those who think that working on another’s feet is completely gross, I get tremendous satisfaction at watching a client who has had great pain or problems, sometimes for years, almost float out after I have worked with them. And that satisfaction is worth a great deal to me too.

The competition is going great with some wonderful ideas from you. Keep it up, it could be you cutting the ribbon to the clinic on opening day.

I have been continuing with the painting inside so no pictures until I have done, otherwise it really would be like watching paint dry!

In the apparent lull I thought that it would be a good idea to tell you a bit more about the different therapies that I do. Many of you know me as a Chiropodist but I actually started out as a Reflexologist. However today I thought that I would tell you a bit more about the massage that I do and in particular the No Hands Massage.

I first trained as a Therapeutic Massage Therapist in 1997 and loved it. I quickly found clients who enjoyed the relief that my touch gave them and all was apparently rosy. However, because I did not have a clinic of my own I used to lug a heavy massage bench to their house, and that soon spelt disaster for my back. For a while I could not even stand and was visiting the Osteopath every other week just to cope with everyday life. The portable massage bench found a new home. I discovered Pilates (fabulous) and that, together with the Osteopath, regular massage and some very necessary emotional releasing techniques have meant that I was healthier and stronger than ever before. However the type of massage that I was doing at the time still took a toll on my hands and wrists so when I experienced No Hands Massage for the first time I literally jumped up with excitement, (frightening the poor girl who was doing it). She was a volunteer at the Breast Cancer Care Ribbon Walk and I was lucky enough to flop onto her bench at the end of a very gruelling 20 mile walk. That massage was the start of my journey with No Hands Massage.

So how is No Hands Massage different? Well, for the client it is a relaxing and therapeutic therapy that can work deeply into the tissues and muscles. Or it can be light and invigorating or indeed any combination that you need. As a client you learn to take what you need from the touch and each massage is as different as you need it to be. Sounds too good to be true but really the only way to find out is to try it.

For me as a therapist it is a way of delivering the touch with out having to ruin my hands or wrists. A lot is delivered using the soft part of the forearm but the whole thing is about my posture and using judicious amounts of weight, or not, depending on the client’s needs. To find out a bit more follow this link to my No Hands website. http://tinyurl.com/kl3y4d

Clinic Name Competition

Well, the whole idea of a competition for the Clinic name has taken another turn. How about this? The person who comes up with the clinic name will be the one who cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening!

Get your thinking caps on, everyone! Adrian Green has very cleverly set up a link for this (thanks Adi) http://tinyurl.com/nametheclinic where you can email me directly from my contact page, or you can, of course, ring me on 01522 704294 or text me on 07974 580 262. Remember to let me know your name and contact details as well. Best of luck, I know that you will come up with some great ideas. I look forward to receiving them!

Inside the clinic things are taking somewhat longer than I anticipated. It took 6 hours to get the place cleaned up and the first thin coat of paint onto the new plaster but it really looks so much better now. (photo of before I started) I then went over the plaster with filler to cover any tiny holes and dents. During the hot weather it really has been great working in there as it is so cool because it faces North. Roll on next summer, no more getting into a baking hot car to drive to the next client.

I had this really odd feeling as I worked, that the old house was beginning to expand and feel wanted again! Certainly the whole yard feels different and looking out onto the new work from my kitchen window is much pleasanter than looking at a derelict house. It is intriguing to learn that it is one of the oldest buildings in Harby.

I have received a letter from the council asking for the name of the new building so that they can let the postal service and emergency services know. At present it seems to be Lime Grove Clinic because our house is called Lime Grove, but I think that there needs to be a better name for the clinic. Maybe a competition amongst my clients will come up with something suitable.

Both Dulux and Crown will send out A5 colour samples if you go to their websites which saves painting the walls but does mean that you can’t mix white with them to get a lighter shade, however it is narrowing the choices. By the way Crown charge a small fee for the service and limit you to five colours, whereas the Dulux service is free.
http://www.crownpaint.co.uk/
http://www.dulux.co.uk/

Whilst I have been collecting colour charts and flooring samples, Dave has been hard at work with some tarmac. He has created a lovely disabled car parking space right next to the door. Not many of my current clients need this facility but the planning stipulated that it should be there so it is. There needs to be a person in a wheelchair painted onto it and that will probably be my job. I wonder if I can put a smiley face on it. I love these projects where I learn so much about new skills….. and Dave learns the new skills!

Dave did sterling work over the next few months but the thing that made the most difference was when the new door and windows were put in. That was when I really felt excited that it was all coming together and it looked as though it would actually be a reality. Since then the plastering has also been done and we are now waiting for the electrics to be completed in the middle of July.
However that can be the very last thing to happen and we have been busy sorting out lots of other things.

I have been looking at floor coverings and am drawn toward the idea of one that looks like reclaimed floorboards to keep a slightly cottagy feel. You can see from the picture that the windows have a bar down them to suggest the same sort of sliding windows that were original to it. The next quandary is the colour of the walls. They need to be light, probably pastel shades, without being girly.

The New Clinic

The Clinic started life as a cottage that had been abandoned sometime in the 50's and had become almost derelict. Husband Dave was bemoaning the fact that he had nothing to do and was told to 'get on and point up the brick work on the old cottage before the thing falls down completely'. Being relatively obedient, and obviously so bored that anything was better than nothing, he duly started mixing cement and pointing up the cottage. As work progressed the idea of a clinic began to evolve in my mind.

Up until now I have been taking Chiropody and Reflexology to clients' homes and as I live in a rural area this involves a fair amount of driving, which obviously limits the hours that I can work. In addition I am unable to carry out the massage treatments that I enjoy due to the constraints of carrying the massage bench around with me. Early on in my career I had done this and it certainly contributed to back trouble. In January 09 I went to a No Hands Massage course and I was reminded of how rewarding giving massages could be. These reasons also added to the idea of having a clinic at my home, and where better than in the old cottage.

Luckily Dave was in agreement with the idea and the work shifted up a gear or two. Planning and Building Regs were applied for and approved, and Dave began to renovate the building in earnest. As each stage is completed I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of working from home. So many people have shown an interest in what is going on that I am going to use this blog to let you know how it is all going.