The last 10 days or so in the Village; Christmas preparations, a visiting artist and journalist, a poetry workshop, the welcoming new monastics ceremony and a beautiful card from my niece (look for the reindeer in the pictures below 🙂 )…
Other photographs – a visit from artist and activist Paz Perlman and former Guardian and now Huffington Post Joe Confino who gave a live interview about how the Plum Village have shaped their work.
Appreciation also to the poets who came to my poetry workshop at New Hamlet – each week on community day afternoons there have been times for these – everything from 5 rythumns dancing to sharing and music relaxations. We wrote poems on our intentions for the New Year – pictured here Franci from Austria, Annica from Germany, Manu from France, Mick from Ireland and Andy from England – appreciating the internationality 🙂
This week also saw the ceremony to welcome 17 new monastic residents to the community who will be here looking after Plum Village going into the future – some who have visited in the last few years may know some of them.
And so to the first recording this post… in the week before the ceremony, the mentor (Phap Tien) for these 17, came to the recording room with a poem…
‘can we make a song from this?’….’sure we can try …’
So here is ‘No Wind No Waves’ which we sang after the ceremony – Phap Tien is a little shy – though I’ll try and get his photograph by next post
Visitors to the recording room this week…
Ruth Bentley and Family Fournier….
Friend of the village, songwriter and sound therapist Ruth Bentley came by along with a family of instruments, Guitar, Karimba, Ongoni (spelling?) and a custom made hand pan from a gas bottle…amongst others…
we are part way through – going to continue in the coming weeks – here’s a little bit of ‘River People’ inspired by the slow peace walk the Village takes daily…also featuring friend Jeroen on trumpet.
The Fourniers are a musical bunch – you’ll remember Francois from other posts. Just yesterday we also welcomed in Lucia, Elea and Mum, Sabine – they recoded two songs together with Francois (know in the Village as Brother Bienveillance) in English ‘kindness/gentleness’ loving the name.
Here is ….
‘Cambia’ and ‘Liberta’
Christmas wishes everyone love Joe
6 months in Plum Village 