The Bridge Community's Web-blog

Life in The Bridge Community in 2011

2011-12-24T19:22:00.001Z

2011 was a busy year in the Bridge Community. It all started with big changes in the new year. Minna and Kalle and their children Arne and Helmi who were coworkers here several years ago had, to the delight of everybody decided to return from Finland.

And when we all looked at how we would make this possible we did find that the best place for them would be Isserín and that made it possible for Mischa and Gese to move to a small house in Kilcullen and for a while to live just as a family while continuing to support the community. So the community had a new house at No. 1 Newberry Castlemartin Lodge. However that was not the only new house in the making as throughout 2011 as a building site right in the middle of the community announced other changes to come.

A small new wheelchair friendly house for Siodhna and Marion as well as three coworkers, as well as a 2 bedroom apartment for Lorna and one coworker were raising out of the ground on the car park area between Manna and Isserín. The new house will be called Cruinn Roth and some people have already moved in from the beginning of December and Siodhna and Marion will move in on Stephens day. We also just received the news that Ross who had been a coworker in the Bridge and at Grangebeg many years ago has decided to rejoin the Bridge in January and we all look forward to see him again..

The community did a lot of future planning and looked at the question of management and leadership in a year that so many changes and a renewed vision for the future.

We had a short visit from a new day attendee by the name of Catherin for three months before she moved on to Ballymoney and two new day attendees by the name of Ana and Eimear joined throughout the year. But probably greater news for some of you will be that Holly finally joined the community as a resident and moved into Brìgheen in November. This had become possible because Michele had decided to join Mischa and Gese in Newberry to live a little in a more quieter household. Mischa’s and Gese’s Daughter Tara had been to Germany for 5 months as part of her transition year experience and she was sadly missed by many in the community.

There were of course other goodbyes this years, as last year’s coworkers left and new ones joined in the summer. Andre left the community after 2 years of service and the community wishes him all the best for his future back in Canada. Also Maelisa decided to pursue a different future after many years of helping in the coffeeshop and a new employee called Marietta joined to take on some of Maelisa’s responsibilities.

Joe and Marietta revamped An Tearmann to be ready for the Christmas season and made a huge effort to stock up with crafts and decorate the place. There seems to be a renewed buzz around the place and even though Ireland is in a recession we have managed to survive and keep going.

Manna has now become the main food provider for all the houses and the cooks go “Shopping” in the morning on a daily basis rather then buying on a large scale from Cash & Carry. This has also created opportunities for some of the people with special needs to run errands and avoids food going off in the houses. Pauline had to enlist the help of some people like Eimear and Siobhan to manage the extra workload but Manna seems alive and well.

Siodhna and Gese receiving a cheque from Annette McCarthy from the Kilcullen Lyons club fundraising for our new “Kilcullen Farm & Nature Trail”.

The land group has really worked very hard at the idea of a farm & nature trail open to the public of Kilcullen which would include a riverside walk, a wildlife preserve and some educational signs about animals and wildlife. The area down by our piece of swampland has been worked on to make it more accessible and many other changes are envisaged for next year. Our poultry is really a huge success , with turkeys and geese chicken and ducks populating much of our small farm and the orchard and garden.

The sheep were causing a bit of a stir this year as the particular breed that had been recommended to us as being very low maintenance turned out to be rather antisocial and not very community minded at all and we had to swap them with another breed that enjoyed human contact more and did not mind to be handled.
We had many local volunteers whose contribution to the community is invaluable and also some third level students in social care who did their work placements with our community.

As always our young coworkers have been fantastic this year and made such a huge contribution to the life here that it would be difficult to imagine a life without them. Thilo in particular did a fantastic project for his certificate course and produced a very moving life book with Kevin which was presented to the community in a very memorable evening that showed many photographs of Kevin’s past and was a real celebration of Kevin’s amazing life.
Geraldine became grandmother when her daughter Lisa had her first baby by the name of Zak, Margaret also became grandmother when Daffyd & his wife Ashling had a baby girl Sophie and Martha became great grandparent, opening the future for a whole new generation.

But these were not the only new arrivals. Our Sow had a miraculous litter of 13 piglets all of which survived and are healthy. The runt was handfed with goats milk by a hoard of volunteers and the piglets seemed to be the main tourist attraction of Kilcullen at one point this year with “cute” and “gorgeous” being frequent attributes assigned to them.
Sadly this year Justine’s mum Jean Nolan died at the age of 79 and many of us went to the funeral and the house afterwards where many memories of her and her husband Eamonn were relived to music chat and also laughter.

Arthur & Annemarie joined our community for a short stint as temporary house parents to help train in the new crew in Brìgheen and many people enjoyed seeing old familiar faces. Govinda & Binu took a longer visit to Nepal, their home country , which they had not been to, for over 3 years and had a chance to introduce their family to their son Suriansu. Kevin O’Kelly meanwhile did a guest appearance in Annamaes to stand in, to the delight of all his old friends from the past who loved to have the opportunity for chat and banter.

Ciaran finally moved into his own apartment behind Bardon’s only a stone’s throw from where he used to share a flat with Justin. Justin now decided to become independent and live on his own with some support given by people in the community but mostly from Joe who supports Justin with shopping-, cooking- and other skills. Justin is looking for a supported employment placement outside the community and only time will tell where all that is going to go. Siodhna meanwhile is working with a key worker from KARE on her own future and what she hopes to do in her day time hours. Many ideas are floating around but the new year will see what is possible. Marion this year has worked in Grangebeg two afternoons a week and Colm has joined the National Learning network group for basketball once a week.

And there has been much learning going on this year. Many people took night time classes in computers or cookery or other pursuits and there have been a load of training courses in the community from CPI to patient handling and advanced emergency epilepsy training. Gese and Joe are doing a training as Care Assistants at FETAC level 5 and people are going to many conferences and training days all over the place.

We had many parties and discos and in September hosted a cultural evening with poetry reading and songs and music which was part of a national event the was happening all over Ireland. We got many friends and neighbours to join in bell ringing and Lyre playing and many described this as their first time to play a musical instrument. Of course many in our community have been very busy practising as part of the Camphill County Kildare Orchestra which after several sessions with John Billing that kick-started this impulse, was busy throughout the year learning musical pieces and performing at several occasions largely headed by Vicky from Grangebeg and Gese form the Bridge. The whole thing culminated in a massive music week in Dingle in November where over 90 musicians from throughout Camphill in Ireland and beyond had a wonderful week of music and fun ending with a full scale concert which was performed to the public.

The community of course went on villager holidays again this year which were enjoyed by everyone. The destinations were Munich, Spain, Wales and Vienna, where a small group joined a European congress on the theme “Living in the Encounter” and Siodhna even managed to get into Austrian television.

The community was very busy producing a play for Easter Michaelmas and Christmas, and the hall which is used for so many events has finally been christened and received the name “Artaban”.

As our community is busy preparing for Christmas and our Santa sleigh is getting ready for its appearance on the streets of Kilcullen I want to take a moment to wish all our ex-coworkers, volunteers and friends a wonderful Christmas time and a happy 2012.

P.S.

I know that it is very early but 2013 will be the 21st Birthday of the Bridge Community and we plan for a week of celebrations in mid August 2013 and would like all ex-coworkers and friends of the community to come and join us for a reunion of so many people that we have not seen for a long time. We will in 2012 set up a facebook page to keep in touch about more plans but maybe it is enough for people to know now that this event will take place and to pencil it into their calendar for long-term travel plans for 2013.

Farm & Nature Trail Initiative Receives Boost From Kilcullen Lion's Club

2011-06-23T10:11:00.007+01:00

Our community is working on a project to create a Farm & Nature Trail through our garden, farm and the natural wildlife along the riverside boundary to our land. The Project is still in its early stages of planning. We would like to make this accessible and safe for both the people in our community and the local people in the town. This would be a great asset to the local community. We would hope to make this trail an educational experience where people can learn more about nature, animals and wildlife.
We are extremely fortunate to have the support of the local community. Kilcullen Lion's Club has decided to support our project through fund-raising. A concert with " The Moon & Sixpence" in the local Town Hall and a Coffee Morning in Angela Murray-Headon's house was held recently which has raised awareness and funds. The Lion's Club aims to support this project in the future, both financially and humanly.
Last night the Lion's Club Presented a cheque of 1000 Euro towards the project. We had coffee and biscuits in our community hall and walked around the proposed trail. It was an event that highlighted the warmth and support from the local community.

Siodhna receiving a cheque from the Kilcullen Lion's Club for € 1000. - towards our Kilcullen Farm & Nature Trail. Also in the picture Annette Mc Carthy from the Kilcullen Lion's Club and Gese Muecke from the Bridge Community

2011-04-25T16:23:00.000+01:00

The Other Wise Man - Video Post

2011-04-25T10:45:00.000+01:00

Here is the video recording courtesy of Kevin Prendergast our camera man of the play "The Other Wise Man", performed by a large cast of members of the Bridge Community on Good Friday 2011. Some of you will recognise Kevin O'Kelly who of course took the part of Artaban

Watching The Sunrise At Old Kicullen

2011-04-24T15:42:00.001+01:00

Here is a picture of the group of early risers that went to Old Kilcullen this morning to watch the sunrise on Easter Sunday Morning

Posted by Mischa

Location:Newberry,Kilcullen,Ireland

Revelling in the moment

2010-10-23T09:29:00.005+01:00

Posted by Mischa

The Bridge Community receives highest "Kilcullen Community Award"

2010-10-23T09:25:00.001+01:00

Bardons is still what makes a friday night

2010-09-18T11:43:00.001+01:00

Guess what - yes even after all these years Bardons pub our local within rolling distance of our front gate is still the main attraction as to what makes a friday night.

And of late a band called distraction that plays classic rock and Irish rock tunes in an acoustic set is great entertainment and Kevin Siobhan Julie Siodhna and all the coworkers are having a ball even Justin who doesn't often let his hair down was seen to join in a dance and had a great time.

I suppose the atmosphere and character of this old traditional Irish pub is a great pull and integration of our community is not a question but a fact. Good to see that everyone is enjoying themselves. As you know some things don't change.

I had a dream...

2010-08-29T20:13:00.005+01:00

These famous words of Martin Luther King have inspired many. When an opportunity arises to follow a dream, one will work hard, and be persistent.

Colm, a young man of few words had a dream. Only his was difficult to communicate. Colm has autism and communication can be difficult. It was when Colms sign for airplane kept being used consistently (he has travelled on a plane before), and when pictures of New York in magazines were constantly pointed to, that those living with Colm started to investigate this further.

Colm one day in Eason’s in Newbridge went straight to the travel section and browsed travel books for New York. And then there was this poster he acquired one Saturday afternoon in HMV. It was a treasured buy, that when eventually revealed on the wall of his bedroom showed the “Statue Of Liberty” the obvious symbols for the often dreamed of “New World” in all her glory. Magazines, books, posters and cards kept appearing. Yet such a trip seemed out of reach as Colm’s and his family’s financial resources are limited and the support he would need would mean at least two people travelling.
It was when suddenly a request for an exchange with another person from a Camphill Community in upstate New York arrived in the inbox of the Bridge Community and when a recent volunteer co-worker in The Bridge Community was about to return to her home in New York City that this trip to the “Land of Opportunities” came into reach.

And so we are hoping that You may be the one that helps making this special young man’s dream come true and contribute towards sending Colm to Big Apple.
Send any donations to the Bridge Community, Main Street, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare

Brendan's Book Launch 2010

2010-06-28T09:03:00.000+01:00

Brendan's Book Launch

Living Communities

Get your copy today, contact the Bridge Community

Arthur and Annemarie's Leaving Party

2010-05-03T19:06:00.002+01:00

And King Arthur had a medieval banquet with a whole pig roasted on a fire !!!!!!
A good time was had by everybody with very emotional goodbyes and chat and laughter into the early hours

The Tale Of King Arthur and Maid Marie-Anne

2010-04-30T14:07:00.005+01:00

Arthur and Anne-Marie are leaving this Saturday
and since they have been in the Bridge for a long time
here is a story for their amusement !!!

It was in a time long gone by when knights were still courteous and maids were still virtuous, in a far corner of Eireann where the man drank stout out of bottles by the name of Arthur Guinness and had their hair in wild strands. It was in these strange lands that a boy appeared. He had come out of the nebulous wars where he had fought barbaric battles with the Angle Saxons and he came with tales of woe that could grow bigger by the minute. And he had a deep love of all creatures weird and wonderful . And he brought his gifts to a place called Grangebeg where he served as an apprentice squire and had to work very hard. And while he courted the ladies dug the grounds and fed the swine his days in this place on a hill soon came to an end and he was sent to travel the road to a pace called Cill Cullin.

Now as it happened in this place there was a giant turnip that was buried deep in the ground and ancient lore told that nobody would ever be able to move this turnip unless they were of royal Ulster blood and a descendent of the true fairy king of times long gone by. And the wizard called Merlin the black who had a beard and was a big man said he would declare anyone king of the fairies if they would move the turnip from the ground. And many people had tried to move the turnip over the years but it wouldn't budge.

Now Arthur on his way to Cill Cullin had met three knights called Spotty, Stripy and Pinkie and they were wild and barbarian knights and had tormented and plundered the lands with their grunts and snouts. And Arthur fought these knights and in his wit he outsmarted them all, even though he had to fight with stripy to the last in the middle of the riverbed and wrestle him to the ground. But in the end he made them his squires. Arthur vowed never to forget the battle in the riverbed and that he would wear the red garment he wore that day till the end of his days.
And when this merry entourage arrived in Cill Cullin and heard about the legend of the turnip, Arthur felt that by rights the turnip was his and but he asked spotty to pull and when the turnip didn't move Pinky gave it his best and Stripy tried his last but it was Arthur that finally went up to the turnip and with a little pull held the turnip in his hand like a sword. And a mighty weapon it was. And the peasants rejoiced and they were all in awe and they built a cathedral in his honour and Merlin the black, the large magician crowned Arthur in this mystery centre and declared him King of the fairies.

Now Arthur met a maiden in this place called Marie Anne and she was of the Saxon descent from a land far away. She was shy and small, beautiful and virtuous and her heart was so large that it encompassed anyone in need. And Arthur brought her flowers and courted her , he was so in love the he even forgot about his squires Spotty Pinkie and Stripy and he would stare in her eyes and she would blush. They were under a magic spell. So deep were their feelings that for three months they could not see or hear anything around them . But when Arthur awoke from his spell he said to Marie Anne that he had to go forth and find fellow knights .

And Arthur went through the lands and discovered the knights of the poultry and three of them followed him in his every footsteps loyal to the last, and other knights of the poultry soon joined the band of knights. The biggest and proudest of them all was Sir Turkeylot. He wore black armour and had a red helmet with a blue face shield and he was brave and fierce and beautiful to behold and he kept all the other Knights of the poultry in cheque , so that there was discipline and order.

It was Arthur that would mark his territory with empty mugs that were left as a gift to the peasant at regular intervals. They soon became the currency of the land and his generosity in supplying mugs was such that it emptied the state coffers and the treasurer called Geraldine the stern would soon replace them with a new currency of mugs made of paper because of the current economic climate.

And Arthur and the Knights went to the cathedral and had a large table there and they had banquets of grain and told each other tales of their adventures late into the night. And they became known as the knights of the poultry cathedral. Every now and then some went on far away adventure - some returned and some didn't. They fought the knights of the fox and the knights of the mink and many were wounded and some went to a place called holiday and never returned. And in the deep mid winter there was the massacer of the 12 white knights of the geese, but let us talk about more pleasant things. Arthur as their king rejoiced in the circle of the knights of the poultry cathedral and in their ever increasing number.

But Marie Anne was wooing for Arthurs time and did not want to share Arthur with Sir Turkeylot and Spotty and Stripy and Pinkie and often lured him away from the knights and she made him vow to give up the filthy habit of the cigrette and made sure that he slept enough to be refreshed for his fights with the knights of the fox and knights of the mink and all the other battles he had to face in his day.

And Arthur met many other noble kings the Three kings of de Isserín called Sir Leonardo the Noble and Kevin de Recycling and Sir Colm the Cheeky. And he united the clans of the Brigheen with noble man like Sir Patrick and De Sirrka and the knights on other side of the river with the Knights of the Poultry Cathedral .
Meanwhile Maid Marie Anne wove beautiful garments and became a friend to Marion de Prickly and Lorna de Tea. And she served the knights in the halls of An Tearmann together with Christine the Bold and Lady Nolan the Just with meals and cakes in abundance and her smile charmed many princes in the Curragh of Eireann. Her Eye for beauty and talent with the needle enchanted much that she touched and she was very popular with all the subjects in the kingdom

But King Arthur and Marie Anne were still on their search for Avalon and so the day came when they made plans to sign the treaty of dole and move into the wild plains outside the kingdom of the knights of the Poultry Cathedral. And much was the sorrow and big were the tears when they said goodbye and they vowed to return and said goodbye to Sir Turkeylot and rode into the sunset on their search for Avalon. But in the land of the knights of the Poultry Cathedral they will always be remembered and their tales will be sung in the halls of An Tearmann and the friends they made will always remember Marie Anne's large heart and King Arthur's mighty adventures.

Brendan Reid Publishes his Auto-Biography

2010-04-20T20:52:00.008+01:00

Living Communi...

A Biography Of Sorts

By Brendan Reid

Book Preview

We hope to invite everybody on Wednesday the 23rd of June at 7pm to join us on the special occassion of the Launch of Brendan Reid's Auto-Biography with a cheese and wine reception in the new hall of the Bridge Community. Everybody is welcome

Living Communities by Brendan Reid | BOOK INFO

Manna's Openday and Re-launch

2010-04-05T21:19:00.002+01:00

Hatching Time in The Bridge Community

2010-03-28T22:37:00.003+01:00

Our hens and cocks have been busy at it and low and behold the first of this years chicks have appeared and are adored by everyone that sees them plenty of aaaaaahhs and ooooooohhhhs and Arthur becoming protective and all........

Eastern Neighbourhood Disco

2010-03-20T22:50:00.000Z

The recent Eastern Neighbourhood Meeting ended on a high with a disco and everybody from Dunshane, Greenacres, The Bridge, Grangebeg, Duffcarrig and Ballymoney that was there seemed to have had a good time!!!

Less Meetings and more Discos!!!!!!!

Annamaes in Kilkenny

2010-02-15T13:10:00.001Z

Kilkenny is about an hours drive from Kilcullen. When we arrived I couldn’t believe we were already there- on our little holiday with the house. The hostel was cosy and Rosie made sure that everyone felt comfortable. It was the ‘four girls’, Julie, Siobhan, Maive and Barbara, in the large room and a double for ‘the lads’, Anthony and André, and Brendan in his single domain.

We didn’t do much. We had breakfast at the latest; we made sure each day we had some time at home just having a nap. And although Julie announced that she won’t sleep at night if she did that, she always slept well after coming home from the pub. We went to see the castle and Holy Mary Church, we saw the Castlecomer discovery centre and the lovely town of Kilkenny with its shops and street musicians. We did some shopping, a lovely CD –yes, another one- for Anthony and some for the house, loads of cake and sweets for Julie, some computer stuff for Brendan, and again the unsuccessful quest to find Siobhan a poster with birds.

We all did our share. Brendan reminded us to take it slowly, Julie reminded us to have plenty of tea breaks, Anthony reminded us to smile and celebrate extra hard when ever we pocketed a ball playing pool- no matter whose ball it was, mind you…- and Siobhan reminded us to look after ourselves. André always knew where everything was, Maive knew what it was called in Spanish and Barbara found the love heart polar bears… Yes, we had fun.

For me personally I found that living in the same room with the people ‘I look after’ for the holiday time and going new ways with them opens horizons. Siobhan never had seafood chowder before, Julie reluctantly managed to walk a forest trail, Anthony won in pool against the cool lads from town and Brendan showed me the paths of his past. We are blessed to be in touch in such a way that we actually touch people’s lives and let them touch us. To put it in Julie’s words: can’t we stay just for one more day?

Siodhna's Book Launch

2009-11-27T21:28:00.000Z

2009-09-07T22:41:00.000+01:00

2009-09-07T22:40:00.001+01:00

The Fairies are back!!!

2009-07-26T12:37:00.000+01:00

Progress at our community room

2009-07-20T09:22:00.002+01:00

The walls are slowly but surely going up and gradually one can see what will be a great and much needed building.

Eilish at 40th birthday party

2009-07-17T21:10:00.002+01:00

Someone is having fun

2009-07-17T21:03:00.002+01:00

2009-07-17T21:03:00.001+01:00

40th Birthday Party !

2009-07-17T21:02:00.003+01:00

2009-07-17T21:02:00.001+01:00

2009-07-17T21:01:00.001+01:00

40th Birthday Party !

2009-07-17T21:00:00.005+01:00

What a Birthday Cake!!!

2009-07-17T21:00:00.002+01:00

Ben says hi!!!!

2009-07-13T13:38:00.000+01:00

New community space

2009-07-09T21:00:00.001+01:00

Here is a picture of the Walls going up for our new community space

Julie at our shop outing

2009-07-04T16:18:00.002+01:00

Here is a picture of julie at our recent shop outing to Johnny Fox's
in the Dublin mountains. a moment of rest after a great meal

it's party time!!!

2009-06-26T13:33:00.006+01:00

Hello everybody,

it's me again! 2 weeks ago I was on holidays but now the day-to-day life is back and with it all its work and duties but also its pleasures ;) Especially because we had a lot of parties last week.
Ann Meehan's birthday had to be properly celebrated just as well as Minna and Kalles Farewell. That's actually not nice at all: they are going back to Finland after staying in the community for one and a half years. They were great houseparents for Brigheen and everybody misses Kalle and Arni already now, Minna and Helmi will leave for good next Wednesday :(
This time I've got some pictures here:

Then we continued with the St. John's celebration. Each it's a great fire and we included a barbecue. It happened on our field where we collected all sorts of old wood and branches and it was an immense pile. First I had some concerns that it wouldn't burn properly but soon they dissolved into smoke just like the timber. I personally enjoyed it very much - later on Mischa called me a "Pyromaniac" ^^
I even took a video although it seemed much more impressive in reality...

And the day after we finished with Brendan's 56th birthday. It was rather relaxed with a few drinks and stuff. Amongst others Julie looked after everybody's entertainment with amazing dancing performances. So also Julia, our new co-worker got a pretty good impression of the liveliness of our community ;)
But now I'm personally quite happy to just have a few normal working days...sometimes work can be relaxing too! :D

However... that's all from me for today.

Best wishes
Martin

it's summertime!!!

2009-06-03T13:54:00.002+01:00

Hey hey hey!!!

What a nice day today! The sun is shining and everybody is convinced that a weather like this hasn't hit Ireland in ages for such a long time (already one week - ohooo)! =) =) =)
But it's great because it's the time for going to the beach, for making barbecues (we had even two on the long weekend) and going swimming in the river. And not to forget: water fights! Yesterday I had one with Emer and, well, I definetely had to change afterwards :D
Unfortunately the heat can also be difficult especially during the wotkshops. Working in the garden in the full sun or baking in the kitchen that is already very warm can be quite hard. But everybody tries to give his best I think ;)
Actually I also have some more good news! 5 people from our community will go on their summer holidays this Friday. It also includes me that's why it's even better ^^ I just hope the weather will stay to be as great as the last few days because I want to make a big cycling tour to the westcoast and from there I will see how far I get. So actually it could be a little bit cooler ;)

But it's still two days to go and time for the community meeting. We want to talk about what to do Friday evening. It's things like going to the pub, going out for a meal or doing some crafts.

Have a nice day and by the way: if you have time we always like to see guests enjoying their time in our garden, and why not after having had a little something in our coffeeshop ;)

best wishes
Martin

news about the community

2009-05-26T14:07:00.002+01:00

Hi there!

greetings to everybody from the always sunny Kilcullen ;)
(at least it was sunny for the last three days)

It's nearly June slowly everybody's getting excited about the changes that will happen soon. Most of the short-term co-workers will leave in the next 2 or 3 months and lots of new people are to come. And of course it's like always: pretty, ugly, nice or lazy - everything is good to talk about :D
But fortunately everything's still a little bit away although we already had to say good bye to Tine. Good luck to her back in Germany with her studies especially because she wants to become a teacher for children with special needs.
But enough words for the faded ones, let's talk about our latest rookie. It's Inger and she comes from the USA. She has the pleasure to share a portacabin with Christine and, well, I hope for Inger that she gets along with her ;)
By the way, today is a special day because.....

it's Anthonys birthday!!!!

so happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,.... =)

This should be most of it for now, the garden is calling me. Actually the garden and all the buildings are doing very well these days. With the great help of Sean, Michael, Mike and Kirron a lot of structural things are improving that really needed doing for a while. It looks so good, if you enter the community, you see benches and flowers and then you can go through one of the arches into the garden and enjoy the company of our ghoats who finally seem to be very well.

Best wishes and have a lovely day!

Martin

rainbow over the garden

2009-05-15T21:59:00.001+01:00

Must be the Irish weather

2 week old gosslings

2009-05-15T21:52:00.001+01:00

Our newly hatched gosslings are 2 weeks old now and they follow Arthur wherever he goes on his tours through the garden

Sunset over new chicken house

2009-05-15T21:50:00.001+01:00

Friendly Pigs

2009-05-09T10:50:00.001+01:00

Arthur and Arnie getting up close!

some pictures

2009-04-28T13:47:00.007+01:00

Hello hello!

The best wishes to everybody who reads our blog on such a nice day like that. The last few days were really a bit depressing, always cloudy and rain every 10 min but today the summer seems to be back!
I took some photos of our garden that will soon look like a little zoo. =)

Thats us, the garden team, working on the beds to get compost in. Everybody tries to do his best... ;)

That's the chicken house. RIght now there are only two chickens because the majority is still too small to be outside. I didn't even see them yet, Arthur watches them as if they were his own children...
These are our two cute little goats! Here they are still very new and they seem to be a little bit scared but the picture is already a bit out of date. Today they were brought outside and share their home with the chickens. That's because the space we fenced of for them is now occupied by 4 more pigs we got on the weekend and they don't get on well with the old ones...

Finally that's our tractor (with Anthony posing in front ^^). We don't have it that it long and it's really not big but I think for our purposes it's just right. In the back you can see a part of the barn.

Yeah.... that's all from me for today... Have a nice afternoon everybody! =)

Martin

news about the community

2009-04-22T13:51:00.005+01:00

Hello again!

It's been a while since the last blog entry so loads of different things happened.
The most obvious changes you can definetely see on the farm land. The whole area around the barn changed, everything is getting tidu and inviting there. We also have three pigs that are on the big field next to Brigheen. We got them in February and since then they grew like mad. Not long and we can enjoy ham, sausages,.... all kind of nice stuff! ;)
But that's not all. Yesterday Kalle drove together with Colm and Arthur down to Clare to pick up our 2 little goats. They are only 6 weeks old and still a bit skinny, but soon we will have our own goatsmilk (I'm very curious who is supposed to drink that O:-) )
We got a new beautiful chicken house on the oppsite side of the polytunnels. It's maybe best to describe by quoting Mischa: "It puts a smile on people's face." And that's really true! It's made in some kind of a Norwegian style - Sean, Michael and Kiron did a very good job - and everybody needs to comment it in some way. The apple orchard is surrounded by a fence as well to make home for a few geese. Let's see how many we will have in the end, they are still in our incubation room. At least they got a very caring mum with Arthur.
Last but not least the coffeeshop got a brandnew kitchen, the health inspector won't be able to find the smallest dirty spot. I personally must say it's brilliant. It's the first time I can actually do the dishes there without ruining my back ;)
By the way I'm Martin, a co-worker from Germany who arrived last July. Now I need to hurry to our weekly community meeting but for the next entry I might have some nice pictures to show you.

Best wishes
Martin

The latest...!

2009-01-27T20:16:00.004Z

Hi all,

Welcome Christine, a new co-worker to Isserin house. I hope you enjoy your time here!

Happy Birthday to Colm and Leonard who had their birthdays recently. Leonard held a party and we all had great fun dancing and playing games!

Adult Education has been a great success before Christmas and we have continued with the different groups!

Some People are starting some set dancing for one evening a week, I hope its fun!

Tara

More news and gossip

2008-11-17T16:18:00.003Z

Hi!!

Last week we got a new co-worker. His name is Arel and he is from Israel. He is living in Isserin. He is very nice and he likes to cook nice things for us all!!
This week for Adult Education, the Art group went to a Sensory Garden in Carlow. They had a geart day out and really enjoyed the experience!
Last week in Annamaes there was a house warming party for the new house parents Barbra and Ingo. There was lots of singing and dancing and everyone had a great night and hopefully there will be another part soon.
This afternoon, instead of going to the bakery I helped Laura (who is here on work placement from college) with her college portfolio. I was answering questions about Camphill. But next week we will be back in the Bakery making a mess!!

This Thursday will start a long weekend for the villagers here. Most people go home to their families on Thursday and return Sunday evening.

Until next time....

Siodhna!

Adult Education

2008-10-20T16:33:00.003+01:00

Today we started our Adult Education classes. There are many different groups from Dance, Drama, Discussion Group, Womens and Mens Group, Reading and Writing, Art and Computers. It was alot of fun today as people from the Dunshane and Grangbeg Community and we all joined our groups. Aside from all the confusion it went well and everyone enjoyed themselves!
Siodhna is not partaking in the drama but she will be witing a short piece for the play. She is very excited!!

Until next time!!

Villager Holidays

2008-09-29T16:58:00.003+01:00

For our Community holidays one group went on a trip to Vienna in Austria and the other group went to Spain and the Grangebeg group are currently on their holidays in Tunisia. On our holiday to Vienna we went to the wedding of a form co-worker that worked in Kilcullen. It was a great day and we sang and danced all night! We also went a big fun fair that was on in the local town. We went on the rollercoaster, the bumpers and the go-karts. Every evening we went out for dinner to sample all the nice food, my favourite part was the ice-cream! The weather in Austria was very cold and nobody was prepared for it so we all had to buy jumpers. But it was a brilliant holiday and I can't wait till next years' one!!

We now have new co-workers in Kilcullen, and we have two new house parents in Annamays. It is a big change for us getting used to all the new co-workers but everyone is very friendly and we are all getting on well.

More next week!
Siodhna:)

Hello, Goodbye

2008-01-21T21:00:00.000Z

We have had to say so many hellos and goodbyes in the past few weeks. Two weeks ago today, Noga left. That same week, the new family from Finland arrived. Lastly, Rune returned to Denmark this morning.

Rune and Noga, we miss you both very much!

Welcome, Minna, Kalle, Helmi and Aarni!

(Tara and Helmi)

(Colm, Sirrka, Mischa, Aarnie, and Minna)

The Advent Blog

2007-12-10T17:31:00.000Z

As usual in Camphill, there is a lot of preparation for advent. Wichtels are sneaking around, houses are going mad to get the Christmas shopping done, and the decorations are in place.
Although I do not normally go up to Grangebeg, last night I did. In Ard Glas , Fergus shared a Christmas story, which was followed by two birthday celebrations. In the weeks to come there will be music and more stories...but I will let you know about them later.
-Siodhna

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOUNG COUPLE OR FAMILY

2007-12-07T10:53:00.000Z

We have an immediate vacancy for house parents in our community. The placement will come available at Christmas. Are you feeling up to the challenge? Contact Ben, Nicola or Mischa

October Holiday

2007-11-05T17:07:00.000Z

Sunday evening, Annamaes threw a party for everybody who did not go home for the Holiday. It was very nice and everyone had fun!

Monday, Brida and Noga prepared a delicious brunch for everybody to enjoy. We were very full afterwards.

(Anna enjoying a mug of hot chocolate)

Tuesday was Nicola's Birthday and we went to a party up in Grangebeg that night.

For Halloween Noga, Debbie, Brida, and I dressed up and went for a walk around Kilcullen. Joel and Jung Soo joined us for an evening of celebration.

(Noga and Brida)

(Jung Soo and Noga)

(Debbie and Joel)

Thursday we went to the Camphill's coffee shop in Thomastown.

Friday, Soo, Anna, Brida, Sebastian, Kevin, Siobhan and I took the train to Dublin! We walked around then went to the cinema. Afterwards we did some shopping. All in all, it was a nice day!

Kevin took me to the theater on Saturday. Once we got out of the bus, I was shocked to see Sara Lee running towards me! I had no idea she was coming!!

Today it's monday, and as you can see, I am back to work!

-Siodhna

Siodhna's First Blog

2007-10-08T19:04:00.000+01:00

Today our new time tables were put into place.
Now, my Monday afternoons are to be spent writing this blog and getting my hands dirty in the bakery with Brida. I know what everybody is thinking, "So, what about Manna?" Don't worry. Pauline hasn't disowned me. I still work there in the mornings and one or two afternoons each week.

I still get regular visits from Kevin and letters from Sara Lee.

Last week, Noga and Michelle moved into Brigheen with Brida, Jung Soo, Sirrka, and Colm. Everybody seems to get along well!

In Isserin , we painted the kitchen this past weekend.

Also, we await the arrival of Sara Rose, Toby and their little baby Finn, next Tuesday.

Further, Congratulations to Micha, who is now able to drive the villagers!

Two new Familys Join our Community!

2007-10-03T21:09:00.000+01:00

We would like to welcome our two new familys .....Rita and Fergus with their two sons Conor and Mourice and the other family Cliona and Mark with their two daughters Siomha and Iseult.
Rita and Fergus are in Ard Glas in Grangebeg and Mark and Cliona are in Anamaes in Kilcullen.
We hope they have an exiting experience here in The Bridge Community!!!
Tara :)(:

Michaelmas Celebration

2007-10-03T20:57:00.000+01:00

The community has recently had a Michaelmas celebration in Grangebeg, on Friday we did different workshops, such as two baking workshops, one making the harvest table and another harvesting fruit and vegetables!! On the Saturday we had discussion groups talking about the future of the community in the afternoon and in the evening we had a large bible evening with the whole community and there we also an opportunity for everyone to say something about the future of the community!!
Tara :)(:

Portacabin learns to fly

2007-08-13T11:23:00.000+01:00

Recently the portacabin that used to be the somewhat first impression standing in the carpark was moved to the back garden of Isserin house in an operation that involved a gigantic crane and the ESB to cut off electricity for half the town (for a short time).
The pictures for this move can be seen on flickr
Click here

Congratulations Pilvikki

2007-08-03T10:17:00.000+01:00

Pilvikki who was a coworker in the Bridge community about five years ago has got married to Mikael in Helsinki on the 28th of June.
Pilvikki will be fondly remembered by everyone in the Bridge. She was here for two years and helped us in a time of change.
Congratulations!!!

Goodbye and hello!

2007-07-25T22:05:00.000+01:00

Lena & Hannah

We like to say goodbye to Lena, who has left the community.
And and a huge welcome to Hannah!!!

Goodbye Ross

2007-07-25T21:46:00.000+01:00

We will miss you!
You have been a great friend!
Please keep in contact with us!

Tara and the rest of the community.

Eamonn Nolan passes away

2007-07-15T10:51:00.000+01:00

It is with sadness that we would like to share the news of Eamonn Nolans Death on Sunday the 8th of July.

Eamon is Justines father and he would be very familiar to many people in Camphill in Ireland.
he worked over many years as part of the Dublin parents and friends of Camphill through fundraising and will be sadly missed most of all by Justine, who was able to see him still on the day of his death in the morning and share some very special moments.

New additions to Grangebeg

2007-07-01T19:22:00.001+01:00

The farm is starting to grow bigger. We have acquired four pigs recently that add to the atmosphere of the farm. Four all pink pigs two males and two females all of the Land Race variety. They are helpful additions for they will eat a large part of your kitchen waste, being fed twice a day by Dan Hughes and Ross Townsend.

In addition to the pigs we also have twenty new chickens, Around the age of five to ten weeks old, still quite small but we can expect eggs in a few more months. Coming from a small organic free-range farm just outside of Dunlavin we acquired a few white sussex hens and a few Rhode Island Reds. An old caravan which was used to go on holiday has been turned into a very handy chicken house by the farm team here. Annie Shiffer does a great job looking after the chickens.

Justine finishes her Life Book

2007-06-04T12:03:00.000+01:00

Wednesday last week was a special day. Justine and Noga gave a presentation to the community about a project that nearly took 6 months from the first idea to the finished product.
We often think about our life in terms of memories and it is those that form us and are precious to us.
Well Noga and Justine made the attempt to collect all of these memories, the special moments, the people and faces that have been part of Justine's life and also the events in the Bridge Community that Justine has been a part of over so many years and to capture them in a unique life book that includes pictures and photographs.
They started on this journey through time by writing letters to all the past co-workers that have been important to Justine over the years asking for memories and photos that they might be able to share. It took a while to unscramble Justine's old and much loved tattered address books and gather all the important addresses.And then they interviewed many people who are still around as well as Justine's parents. Old childhood photographs were unearthed and special moments relived. The biography of the Bridge Community became visible as a parallel timeline that has a close connection to Justine's own life.They gathered nearly 300 photographs and together wrote nearly 25 pages of small print text.
In the end all these photographs and memories were compiled into a giant lifebook, which we all saw on Wednesday.I can't help feeling that Justine's life has truly been a special life, lived to the full with all the good and not so good moments and that it is well worth celebrating this achievement.
Congratulations

An inside look at Grangebeg

2007-05-29T19:28:00.000+01:00

Here it is:
Grangebeg. As you can see when the rain stops we are actually able to do some landscaping.

This a shot of the half finished barn across one of the fields.

A few of our cows enjoying the nice day. Ard Keen house and our view in the background.

A shot of the garden in the sun, getting a little a weeding done.

2007-05-27T22:25:00.000+01:00

Although now nearly two months ago I just could not resist from posting these pictures from our cast of the "Good Friday Play ".
they were taken before the performance, as we did not allow any picture throughout the performance.

Whitsun

2007-05-27T21:54:00.000+01:00

In what was a very special event (no photos were taken) the whole community gathered in our new hall to celebrate whitsun.
Everybody received a bell and we explored the universal language of music together and practised listening to each other. And then we passed a bowl of grapes around the circle and whoever had the bowl shared (if they wished) with the rest of the group how their last year has been how they are and what was special, after which they passed the bowl to their neighbour, having of course taken a few grapes for nourishment beforehand. it was wonderfull to hear most people express themselves (even some who rarely do) and to see that we were able to listen and to create a space where that was possible.
Thank you all

Mischa

Grangebeg takes to the water

2007-05-25T18:33:00.000+01:00

What has now become a regular weekly outing at Grangebeg the Ard Keen household has decided to flee the muck and go canoeing. We head to Avon Ri adventure center on Blessington Lake for a couple of hours of great fun. After the hard work of putting on the wetsuits some of us get into single kayaks and others use the Canadian canoes and paddle down the lake. Come and join us!

Annie, Ross, Emily

Ascension Outing To Powerscourt

2007-05-21T21:06:00.001+01:00

The Bridge Community went to Powerscourt Waterfall for this year's Ascensionday outing.
As planned we met up with Greenacres and Duffcarrig Camphill Communities and had a great barbque. It was a wonderful sunny day and everything just fell place for this great outing in this beautiful location. All 130 people were well fed (sausages and burgers were plentiful) and had fun being with each other playing games and exploring this beautiful place through walks.

It also happened to be Sirrka's birthday and Sirrka together with groupies Siobhan Maria and Ayelen sang her whole repertoire of songs containing all time favourites like "Swing low sweet chariot" or "When the saints go marchin' in" and many others to a highly entertained audience

Mischa

The early days of the Bridge Community

2007-05-19T10:36:00.001+01:00

This photograph was taken before the coffeshop was renovated in 1991.

The building was a simple two up two down house at the time with a very narrow staircase and a spookycellar that had a door to the rear.
In the picture you see Diane Glynis and Anne who at the time had set up a tempory kitchen upstairs and were training to make scones and provide a lunch for the lads who were out the back chopping firewood and clearing the rubbish and debri that was at the back of the building.
Anne at the time had never before gone up or down a staircase and was kind of scared at the time, but managed remarkably well.

Well life was simpler then... but I wont go on about that

Mischa

Leonard becomes uncle

2007-05-10T19:49:00.000+01:00

Back in march Leonard became uncle for the first time.
This picture shows him holding his niece Anu for the first time.
Congratulations also to Leonard's sister Louise
and her partner Anthony.

A Picture from the Past

2007-05-09T19:25:00.001+01:00

I just came across this picture from the early days of our community in 1991. At the time all of us in the pioneering group were still living in Dunshane and commuting from there to this interesting new and unchartered territory.
We had just bought the land and the shop on the main street and temporarily opened a shop over christmas before the big renovations started in 1992.
It was only then that the building and shop became known as "An Tearmann" which was a name that was recommended by the then parish priest father Supple meaning safe place sanctuary or place of piece.
I will try to see whether I can post some other pictures from the past over the next weeks.
Mischa

Isserin House Visited The Altamont Gardens

2007-05-07T20:50:00.000+01:00

Today (May 7th) Isserin House went to the Altamont Gardens for a Picnic together with Chris` parents who came to visit him. (On Saturday was Chris` birthday.)

In the Altmont Garden we watched the plants and the animals. There were ducks and a lot of different birds. We had chicken and sandwiches for lunch, und fruit salad for dessert.

It was a nice day and all of us are happy.

Heinz, Tara and Shiodhna...

A Warm Welcome To Our Two New Co-workers

2007-05-05T09:16:00.000+01:00

We would like to welcome Heinz to our Community.

He is originaly from Germany, worked as a librarian, and has worked with people with special needs before. Heinz came to Ireland because he wanted to learn better English (although his English is pretty good) as well as experiencing life in a Camphill Community!

Hye Soo Chang is from South Korea. Soo wanted to have an experience before she started working and she found Camphill on the internet having heard about it already before.

Heinz and Hye Soo are both living in Isserin house. They are both fitting in very well and both are very good at English!
Tara

Going Away Party or Cyrill and Julia

2007-05-02T18:39:00.000+01:00

Having a great disco, dance competitions and a little fun a as we have a great party in Isserin to say goodbye to a couple of great co-workers.

Cyril and Julia who were both coworkers in the Bridge Community for longer than a year.

They both move on to bigger and better(?) things.

We'll miss you.

Path completed!

2007-04-26T19:57:00.000+01:00

Patrick, James and Cyrill have recently completed building the path from Isserin House's laundry to the soon-to-be-completed drying and recycling shed in the back garden. They built it with coloured bricks, with an arched surface in order to allow for Ireland's 12-month rainy season.

This is what this Blog could look like!

2007-04-20T19:39:00.001+01:00

For many years parents, brothers and sisters as well as ex-coworkers have asked us whether we could post a regular newsletter so that people can stay in touch and know what is going on in the Bridge Community as well as more recently up in Grangebeg.

So we hope now to involve people here in the Bridge in writing this Blog and share moments like in the pictures below with all our friends near and afar!

So watch this space and check regularily what is happening!

Greetings to all of you

Mischa