Wandering Into Wellness

Finbar McHugh - Lydia & Finn Go To Spiritual Academy With A Very Special Human

Finbar McHugh is an artist. In the broadest sense and in the acutely focused 'paint on paper' sense too. We expected some mild chitchat about how he paints what his thoughts look like while he's meditating. So it was always going to be interesting. But then....OMG...the wisdom just started pouring out of this man's mouth and...we could have stayed the night. Honestly.

We get into the nitty gritty of raising kids without judgement, of finding the right spiritual guide for you (through finding many of the wrong ones first), and on to some very very personal learnings for young Lydia Sasse. Stay tuned folks, you won't want to miss this.

Finbar is reachable through his lovely website https://www.finbarmchugh.com

And also his social media channels - @finbar247

The Best of Irish Produce @ The Dublin Christmas Flea Market

Jingle those bells!  This one is our showcase for all of Ireland's greatest makers, food producers, craftsmen and women.

Choosing who to chat to at the Dublin Christmas Flea was like picking a favourite child..but we didn't have time to talk to every single one of the more than 200 amazing small Irish businesses present to show their wares, and demonstrate the passion, creativity and sheer brilliance of grass roots businesses in Ireland. 

 

We spoke to Pin of Village Markets, who facilitates women within a specific tribe in Kenya who are specialist basket weavers in their community, using unique dyes and techniques to produce stunning, individual pieces, that Pin buys from them and ships around the world, helping to preserve this long held skill, and enhance the sense of value within the community so that they can retain resilience in a global economy. 

 

Then we had a chat with Jasper of White Mausu, one of the most exciting food brands to emerge from Ireland in the past few years.  Their Peanut Rayu is quite literally the ultimate food addiction, and we're both quite serious addicts at this stage - listen to us as we wax lyrical about its mulitiplicity of uses, and then we get a quick insight to what Rayu actually means and the synthesis of the ideas that brought about what is quite quickly becoming a food revolution.

 

Next up we spoke to the guys from Ballyshane, who produce a beautiful range of wooden chopping boards and bowls from sustainably sourced beech trees, that are either dead or dying, and with the care and art that comes with a true passion for their craft, and a desire to highlight the individuality of each piece.  Having picked up his father's passion for lathe work after he had passed away, Will has gone on to become a master craftsman in his own right, and has a real understanding of what it is to preserve woodcraft in this way.

 

Last on our list was a new clothing company called Grown - whilst we didn't get to have an actual chat with lovely founders, we did have a great time talking about their gorgeous range of organic cotton clothing, with its aquatic prints and delicate colour ways.  We also had a general chat about our own thoughts around ethical fashion, and why we treat it as a fundamental focus in our own lives.

Kevin Callan - Big Boy's Don't Cry

In the second part of our podcast series on Patriarchy we met with Kevin Callan Acupuncturist and Naturopath and one of Lydia's great friends.

As a member of the queer community who grew up in rural Ireland Kevin has a deep insight into the effects of patriarchy on men in regional communities in particular. Having spent a large part of his teens being labelled a ‘freak’ ( because he has style) and a ‘sissy’, he had reason to spend a significant amount of time wondering why traits that were seen to be ‘female’ were necessarily viewed as ‘less than’.

We discuss the powerful effects of traditional Male archetypes on the way that boys are taught to behave, think and feel. We discuss how fear manifests in the men that he sees on a daily basis in his clinic both at an emotional and physiological level and how as a society we have a lack of awareness around the reality of this and a lack of tools to deal with it because small town values have taught us that ‘real men don't cry’.

Join us as we dive deeper into the discussion around the term ‘toxic masculinity’ and ponder the possible solutions to the wounds we carry as both men and women from having grown up in society governed by Patriarchy.

If you want to find out more about Kevin or visit his clinic go to his website www.callanacupuncture.ie

Sceal Sourdough Bakery - In Love With Live Yeast

Sceal is an epic loaf story.  A tale of two people (Shane and Charlotte) brought together through their shared passion for flavour, whose relationship spiralled and intertwined just as organically as their journey into food.

In our chat, we delve into the synthesis of their conjoined careers at top bakeries in San Francisco, and touch on the quirks of sourdough culture and the revival of ancient wheats (a la Fintan and Turlough Keenan), along with some of Charlotte's favourite flavour combinations that she used in the pastries they produce.

The bakery produces what is hands down the finest sourdough loaves in Ireland, along with stellar pastries, such as croissants and cruffins.  We're lucky enough to stock them in the Hopsack, and they can be found in a handful of markets and cafes such as The Fumbally and Proper Order around Dublin.

To keep up to date and see their schedule you can find them on www.scealbakery.com or through their drool-inducing instagram @scealbakery

 

Katie Sanderson - Try It Taste It Pass It On

Katie Sanderson is a truly unique food entrepreneur - carving a path with no particular template, following flavours, and listening to her instincts, as opposed to attending to any grand scripted career.

...we should mention she is also the maker of one of our single favourite food items in the whole damn world...the joy that is peanut rayu...

In this chat we explore what fuels her passion in all the various food projects she engages, the wanderly path that has got her where she is today, and what changes have come about recently in her life, most especially since the birth of her baby boy Rui.

We also chat about some great little food ideas - watch this space where we'll be posting links to those recipes in the coming days...

Find out more about Katie and her food projects at the below links
Insta: @katiejsanderson
www.katiejanesanderson.com
www.whitemausu.com

Dessie Fitzgerald - A True Phoenix

Sometimes you meet someone and within minutes you just know that this meeting will stay with you for the rest of your life; that it will impact the way you think, it will make you re-evaluate the things that you believe to be important in your life, the things that you thought defined you.
Our meeting with All Ireland winning inter- county Hurler , Dessie Fitzgerald is the perfect example of this ; his personal story is one that includes extreme physical and emotional hardship and yet he has managed to navigate his way through these challenges and emerged as a beacon of hope and inspiration for his community and the future generations of young hurlers to come.

Here we talk to Dessie about his journey from lying paralysed in a hospital bed to where he is now, having finished his training as a life coach and set up a practice that will enable him to share the wisdom he has gained along the way with others. We discuss the need for alternatives to the conventional male role models especially in the world of professional sports. We learn about the steps he took to find his way through depression and grief,and discuss the support structures that are keenly needed in the area of men's mental health especially in sports and rural communities in Ireland.

Unpacking Modern Man - Is Masculinity a Dirty Word?

The role of man is in a tight spot. Caught between two worlds, embarrassed by its past failures, losing its agency to be a useful voice in the current social and political climate. Something needs to change and an evolution must happen.

In this panel discussion Finn and Lydia talk to a group of men, all faced with these questions and struggling to find answers for their own sake as well as for the wider world.

Joseph Devlin - in his day job Joseph works as a physical therapist, who as an empath has the skills to develop great emotional connection with his clients. He also is involved in men's sheds under the banner of the Man Kind Project https://mankindprojectuki.org/

Danny Groenland - Danny is a musician and parent who has had personally faced up to the challenge of self examination posed to men by the Repeal movement, reassessing his role in the household, and writing a tune related to the moment. Check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgkPGTSGzpA

Olivier Barre - Olivier is a Taoist Healing Teacher, also an acupuncturist and capoeira teacher, who was in Ireland offering a Taoist men's sexual health workshop through universaltao.ie

One Life One Chance - Chef Takashi Miyazaki in Ichigo Ichie

We were so privileged to have this chance to chat with Takashi Miyazaki, just awarded his first Michelin star, recently after opening his new restaurant project in Cork, Ichigo Ichie, where he serves a 12 course kappou style kaiseki service, which gives him an opportunity to elevate his food to high art, with an experimental approach his cuisine and an emphasis on local ingredients.

Miyazaki chatted openly about his childhood, and early memories of food with his grandmother, allowing us unique insight into the workings of this great chef. We also discuss his journey into food, and some of his favourite ingredients like daikon radish, along with some of his uniquely creative approaches to food preparation, such as kombu cured oysters and his 12 day aged tuna.

The Death Discussions - Living With Grief

In this episode Finn and Lydia discuss the ways in which we approach death and grieving in the modern day.We compare the different death rituals used in cultures around the world and ponder on how we could learn from them and even look at begining to ameliorate our attitude towards the cycle of life and death and integrate that into daily life so that we are better placed to process the emotions both physically and emotionally when we are faced with them.

We talk about ways in which we can help ourselves and those around us through the grieving process, via supplements to calm the nervous system, breath practices to ground us back into our bodies and our favourite resources both in print and on the web to draw wisdom from.

We mentioned a few handy reading references during this episode -

No Matter What - Debi Gliori
Michael Rosen's Sad Book - Michael Rosen
It's Ok To Not Be Ok - Megan Divine
The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying
Elizabeth Kublor Ross - On Grief And Grieving
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion
Goodbye Mog - Judith Kerr

 

If you hop over to our Youtube you can catch Lydia doing a short yoga sequence that you can practice along with, to help bring balance back to the physical, emotional and glandular systems of the body.  

Holly White - Pure Driven Vegan @ Vegfest 2018

"Pure As The Driven Snow" wouldn't be inappropriate commentary on the delicate and forthright Holly White.

With her first cookbook, "Vegan-ish" fresh off the press we went to town on her mission as a vegan, how she models herself and what questions she asks as a conscious consumer, and her take on the epic rise of social media and its potentially positive impact on our society.

You can catch up with Holly on hollywhite.ie, or find her through Instagram @hollywhite.ie, and you can pick up her book, Vegan-ish at all good bookstores, and as part of our selection at The Hopsack