northern college of beauty and holistic therapies
Penelope Ody BSc MNIMH Penelope Ody is a Member of the National Institute of
Medical Herbalists and Fellow of the Herb Society. Hello – and welcome to "Herbs
at Walnut", a series of one-day courses on using herbs now in its twentieth
year. I have been exploring the fascinating world of herbs for more than 40
years studying initially with the School of Phytotherapy in Kent, UK, and also
at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangzhou, China. I practised
as a consultant medical herbalist in Buckinghamshire UK, for 11 years while also
writing regularly about herbs and editing The Herb Society's various journals
from 1988-1994. For the past 20 years I have concentrated on writing books about
herbs and lecturing at various courses and summer schools - including Herbs at
Walnut which I started in 2002 at my home, Walnut Cottage, in Hampshire. In 2006
these courses were featured in Meridian TV's "Country Lives" series. For most of
us, herbs are familiar and readily available plants used for flavouring foods or
scenting rooms. Many of them are also potent medicines ideal for using at home
as alternatives to over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs for treating a range of
health problems. Our great-grandmothers would have been very familiar with
home-made medicines but over the decades we have lost the everyday skill of
making them. Commercially produced medicines – both orthodox and herbal – have
been readily available to meet our needs. Now, thanks to changing legislation
and tighter regulatory control, many of these herbal products are no longer
available from chemists or health food shops, so we need to re-learn how to make
these simple nostrums and to understand which are most suitable and when to use
them. Courses at Walnut Cottage cover a range of herbal topics – from using
herbs in cooking to making your own creams and ointments to replace those which
are no longer quite so easy to find in the shops. Courses are relaxed and
informal with small groups – generally no more than six – giving plenty of
flexibility to explore your particular interests. I hope you find a course to
meet your needs in this year's timetable. If you have suggestions for other herb
courses, or would like to arrange an alternative day for a special group, then
please let me know: penny@herbcourses.co.uk
