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Thursday, May 20, 2021

Newbury Weekly News

NEWBURY NEWS

Bookshop promotes the Well Read Mind Hungerford author talks are centred on mental health and wellbeing

Couple walking in woodland at Blenheim

Walking research project BLENHEIM is piloting a new ‘social prescription’ programme aimed at ad- dressing the mental dis- tress, social isolation and physical inactivity caused by lockdown. ing as a matter of urgency. Increasingly people are look- ing at the benefits of ongoing interaction with nature and the natural world as an alter- native to traditional medical interventions.

wellbeing to register for some of these inspiring free events.” The series of talks will also include Caroline Williams dis- cussing her book Move! The Science of Body Over Mind at Hungerford Hub on June 22, which looks at how fitness can affect how mentally fit people are and Dr Stuart Farrimond, author of The Science of Liv- ing, sharing his tips on how to get a better night’s sleep, which will be followed by a yoga session. For more information or to book, visit the Hungerford Bookshop https://www.hun- gerfordbookshop.co.uk or Hungerford Hub https://hun- gerfordhub.com/ websites. You can find more help and

advice from the following or- ganisations: Time to Talk – www.t2twb. org or call (01635) 760331. You can also find help and advice on the charity’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (all @ t2twb) or by emailing hello@ t2twb.org You can visit recoveryin- mind.org and find a number of resources to help you look after your mental health. Eight Bells for Mental Health – www.eightbellsnew- bury.co.uk – call 07387 962220 – email coordinator@eightbells- newbury.co.uk Talking Therapies – www. talkingtherapies.berkshire- healthcare.nhs.uk – call 0300 365 2000 Mental Health Crisis Team – call if you need urgent help, but it’s not an emergency 0300 365 0300 or 0300 365 9999 Sane Line – www.sane.org. uk – call 0300 304 7000 The Samaritans – www. samaritans.org – call 116 123 – email jo@samaritans.org Childline – www.childline. org.uk – 0800 1111 Mind – www.mind.org.uk – 0300 123 3393 or text 86463

HUNGERFORD Bookshop is holding a series of events centred around mental health and wellbeing in as- sociation with the Hunger- ford Hub. The Well Read Mind series of free events spans from the end of May until July and in- volves online and in-person talks by authors with accom- panying spin-off workshops. The event will start on Thursday, May 27, with a talk on Zoom by author Sue Stu- art-Smith about her Sunday Times bestseller The Well Gar- dened Mind , which discusses how gardening can reduce stress levels, and will be ac- companied with a soil draw- ing workshop with garden de- signer Emma Binns. Bookshop co-owner Emma Milne-White said: “We real- ised that, especially in the wake of the pandemic, it would be good to have a sea- son of events all about how we can make positive changes to affect our mental and physical health. “Books have been really important in the pandemic because when we couldn’t go

By EMMA COLE newsdesk@newburynews.co.uk

anywhere you could still sit in your armchair and visit dif- ferent places in the world. “Books are an enormous source of comfort and escap- ism.” Hungerford Hub manager Andrea Hodgkin added: “We are really excited about this project, which we believe will truly benefit our wonderful community after what can only be described as a very challenging year. “We encourage anyone who wants to learn about the changes we can make to im- prove our mental health and

The six-week programme requires a group of volunteers take part in two-hour walks and mindfulness activities around the Oxfordshire es- tate. Overall, the project’s aim is to increase the participants’ wellbeing by engaging them in social activities connected to nature and the great out- doors. Activity trackers will monitor their progress and questionnaires will be used to gather data and assess its effectiveness. Blenheim has partnered with Aspire, the Oxford- shire-based charity support- ing homeless and disadvan- taged individuals, the Eden Project and the University of Oxford on the project, which is being funded by Research England. Blenheim’s estates direc- tor Roy Cox said: “The pan- demic has highlighted the urgent need to address issues of mental health and wellbe-

“By joining the natural resources of our land with the health service, our wood- lands, green spaces and fresh air can begin to be prescribed as the most natural of health solutions “Society is living longer and developing long-term health conditions, which in- clude mental health issues and loneliness. GP surgeries are struggling to cope when, as a nation, 20 per cent of con- sultations are for matters of housing, employment and re- lationship breakdowns. “Social prescribing is in- creasingly a government pri- ority and as a landed estate, deep-rooted with the commu- nity, we are uniquely placed to respond.” Blenheim is hoping the pilot results will encourage other local community and health service organisations, including GP surgeries, to get involved with the scheme.

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We encourage anyone who wants to learn about the changes we can make to improve our mental health and wellbeing to register

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