Changes Start with... THE SPARK "at the heart of the alternative west country"
Mr Spark Delivery Man
We got off to a bad start despite the glorious sunshine when our first contact in Wotton-under-Edge said she had cancelled her order months ago. Oops, an out-of-date distribution list! At least we got to deliver a copy of The Spark to her personally :) The problem in Wotton, she said, is that the shops tend to be quite small and don't really have the space, so that is why she had to cancel.
A little downhearted we set off for our next distributor in Dursley, but as luck would have it there was a lovely farm shop just a mile or so down the road - and, even better, it was spacious!
We had a great chat with the people working there. They love the magazine and especially our new arrivals on the contents page. So if you're near Wotton, pop along to the Wotton Farm Shop on Bradley Road (postcode GL12 7DT, or call 01453 521546 for directions) for your latest Spark.
The Honey Pot on Parsonage Street in Dursley was our next drop-off, just in time for lunch, which we had by a stream next to the church of St James the Great. We noticed a complementary health clinic in the centre of the village called the Courtyard Clinic and dropped a couple of copies off there. Hopefully they'll ask for some more.
From there it was on to Nailsworth, where we are stocked by Ruskin Mill, Green Spirit organic shop and the White Practice osteopathic clinic, both on Market Street.
In Stroud itself, you can now pick up your new Spark at the Tourist Information Office in the Subscription Rooms, Woodruff's Café, Mills Café by the Shambles, Stroud Natural Health Clinic, Hawkwood College, Stroud College, Star Anise Café, Five Valleys Foyer, Stroud College of Art & Science, Ecotricity's brand spanking new offices by the Four Clocks and The Old Convent, Beeches Green.
We're also stocked in the Green Shop in Bisley.
One place we weren't stocked before and I thought we should be is the Organic Farm Shop at Abbey Home Farm just outside Cirencester. Dom's parents had been there and spoke very highly of the food, so we went there one Monday only to find it closed. This time we went on a day the shop was open and owner Hilary was more than happy to take a bundle of Sparks. You can read more about what I found there in this short article. 
The universe was with us that day as who should be in the shop by Davina Wynne-Jones of Herbs for Healing just down the road in Barnsley. She invited us to visit her amazing garden, which has at its heart what I want to call a font as it is used for rituals, but I should probably refer to as a Cotswold stone bowl. As it's winter, the garden has died back and the water isn't gushing soothingly from the bowl, but you could get a real sense of how lush and vibrant it will become by summer.
There is a workshop with shelves of magical bottles and phials where she teaches small groups to make creams and ointments (you can read a bit more about that here) and there are plenty of plants for sale. We got a black willow tree for a nephew who has just turned 18. We're hoping to plant it next week.
Davina has a yurt on site that she is busy moving in to. She really does seem to be living the good life in the heart of the Cotswolds.
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