Today we have an interview with Alix Davies of Chalice College. Chalice College is a recognised Penny Price satellite school and will be exhibiting next at Elsecar 24th and 25th August.
We've loved reading this interview and want to thank Alix for taking the time to answer our questions.
Now, for some reason one section of this interview has decided to stand out - I've tried to un-highlight it but it seems to have a mind of it's own. Maybe we need to pay special attention to that bit!
To start with could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I qualified as a teacher in 1971 and worked many years for Rotherham Borough Council in several local schools, I have also taught piano and adult literacy as well as teaching therapies.
As a little girl I loved plants, scents, discovered crystals, yoga and various other fascinating subjects and this interest has continued all my life. I have always had an interest in Complementary Therapies, particularly Aromatherapy and have qualifications in many areas including Clinical Aromatherapy, Infant Massage, Lymphatic Drainage Massage, Daoyin Tao, Indian Head Massage, Reiki, Crystal Therapy, Beauty therapy, Hot stone massage and others
I still work as a practising therapist so have an understanding of the every-day needs of a successful practitioner. My teaching is based on practical skills as well as theoretical knowledge.
When was Chalice College established and how did it originate?
Loving teaching and having a passion for holistic therapies it was logical to combine them, so Chalice College developed. I love sharing the knowledge and skills I have and encourage my students to do the same; many bring here their expertise in a wide variety of areas and we share what we know so that we have more skills and information to draw from when treating people.
Working as a therapist I had tried oils from several sources and found that Penny’s worked best for me, so when I was organising my school I wanted the best for my students. I had done several courses at the Penny Price Academy so Penny knew me and when I approached her to discuss this she suggested that I might like to become a satellite school… I gave her my C V and so Chalice College was born in 2009.
You don't do distance learning, do you have plans for that or do you prefer to be "hands on"?
We have always had aspects of learning that can be done at home, for example part of the IFPA upgrade includes a tailor-made course to cover any aspects needed so students can then join the later modules without having to cover everything again (saving money too).
The Penny Price Academy has put in place some distance learning courses; please ask me for further information. Obviously there are courses that have practical elements such as massage where it is necessary to be present to ensure the techniques are correct.
My own view is that people learn in different ways so some methods suit better than others and it is a personal choice. If someone is confident in learning situations and happy to extrapolate their own information, plan their own study times and is self- motivated distance learning is good for them. It can be fitted into times to suit them and their other commitments. However as with any solitary learning, distance learning has drawbacks – the lack of discussion and exchange of views and information from colleagues being one, another being the opportunity to ask a question at the time it is at the forefront of your mind. I am always here to ask, but waiting for an email reply when you want to know there and then can be frustrating, also sometimes those questions then just do not get asked.
In class we get to know each other, it is friendly and informal; students are encouraged to ask those questions: information can be explained in a variety of ways and we can go over a point again if needed, also as a teacher with many years’ experience I have tips and techniques I can offer my students to make the learning easier.
Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most?
I thought a long time about this –being not so young I have had a lot of influences in my life: but came to the conclusion that the person with most influence was my mum. I know it sounds obvious but I didn’t realise it until much later in my life: previously I would have said this person influenced that aspect of my thinking – another that and so on. With a greater overview I realise I was lucky because mum was very open- minded and encouraged me to read whatever I wanted to and encouraged discussion. I remember she would let me have her library tickets (no internet then and children were not allowed to get books from the adult section and anyway the children’s section only allowed three books – not nearly enough), also she took me everywhere she could so I was able to see and experience whatever was possible. All this meant that I came across a lot of information and viewpoints, learned to be open to thoughts and ideas and to evaluate them and so my own philosophies have developed gradually. It is an on-going process.
What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
Again the best advice came from Mum; it was what her father said to her:
“Lass, what you know would fill a book – what you don’t know fills a library”
Never close your mind and think you know it all – always listen to other people and respect their views, you might think you are right but you can never be sure.
Would you name six "desert island" films or books?
Only six books / films. This was difficult – I am a bookaholic!! No six books would be enough, however thinking it through much of the enjoyment of a book is in sharing it with others, so the ones I have chosen are ones I have particularly enjoyed sharing with people who mean a lot to me and re-reading those books brings back that happiness. I have ‘cheated’ a bit; instead of films I have plays
The Wind in the Willows
Mum read this to me when I was very young (along with many others). I liked this because I liked the character of Ratty, he was so generous and went out of his way to give pleasure to others and always considered their feeling, putting their well-being ahead of his own. I experienced so many feelings in this book – awe on finding Otters lost son and meeting Pan; fear in the Wild Wood; the feelings and emotions that were brought by the different seasons, and not least the humour surrounding Toads adventures and character.
The Water Babies
Another one read to me when little. I have re-read this many times and have had increasingly better understanding of it as I got older. As a little girl I couldn’t understand how Tom could cry because Mr. Grimes being hurt and punished – I thought he deserved it. This book was probably the earliest lesson in karma that I remember.
Tom Sawyer
It was so funny and the people so true to people everywhere. I love Mark Twain’s humour. I particularly liked Tom having to paint the fence and getting others to do it for him, it was so clever; also his comment that he was only called Thomas when he was in trouble – this came back to me when at times I gave my own children their full titles, and when they call me ‘mother’ instead of ‘mum’.
These three books particularly take me back to evenings cuddled up and sharing the emotions of all the adventures, to a time of being loved, secure and taken care of; love and happiness. I have read these to my children and grandchildren because these are things that should be shared.
The Crucible. I am really thinking about an RSC performance here that was ‘in the round’. We were in a large hall, the actors moved in and through the audience and in that way we became part of the action, particularly the courtroom scene, became equally responsible for the decisions made, and so it was particularly powerful. At the end the audience was too stunned to react and it took ages before we could move to give applause (which was overwhelming too). I had taken my elder daughter and was a wonderful experience to have shared. The book brings back the memory.
The Canterbury Tales
This again is a theatre performance, I had taken my younger daughter and we actually did laugh until it hurt. I have heard that term but this is the only time I experienced it – we held our sides because they ached.
Before the performance officially began, the late Brian Glover came out and walked round the audience in a chicken costume (The Nun’s Priest’s Tale). He was the Miller he told us and the powers that be wouldn’t allow him to tell his tale as it was too bawdy; he was drumming up support in the audience to get them to let him tell it, the audience joined in and of course we got all the tales including the rude ones. The humour was not just in the stories themselves but in the portrayal of the characters, the visual humour of the costumes and the altercations between the ‘stuffed shirt’ attitude of the ‘directors’ and the down to earth character that Brian Glover played so well.
I would choose this not only because it reminds me of a great evening sharing this with my daughter, but takes me back to doing ‘A’ level English Lit. We were only going to study the moral and uplifting ones but like in the play we all read the rude ones as well, which I am sure the teachers expected. A happy time I am glad to return to.
- The White Goddess. I admire Robert Graves, his poetry, his prose, his plays. I have added this book because each time I read it, it gives me more to think about. It reminds me of Graves himself, his other works and what a brilliant mind he had. This book and others like it have helped to form my thinking taking me to where I am now and to the so very lovely people I meet in the course of this work. Like Ratty they are generous, unselfish put the welfare of others as a main concern; they are loving and lovely people.
