Anne Tottingham welcomed two visitors to our February meeting. She was also our evening’s Speaker, giving us an insight into the history of Homeopathy and her own work as a homeopath. Anne trained for four years in the mid-1990s.
The German founder of Homeopathy living in the 18th Century, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, believed that instead of treating an isolated symptom, questions should be about the background, the whole body experience and especially when the symptoms began. He undertook scientific experiments on his friends for many years, confirming his theories on homeopathy – “similar suffering”. Anne gave us a list of some remedies and explained what similar suffering means –, mirroring, treating like with like. Examples are: Nux Vomica – poison nut, is good for nausea, sickness and hangovers. Alium Cepa – red onion for hay fever and colds. One member commented that she boils an onion to help at the onset of a cold! Some of the ingredients sound alarming, but Anne explained the system of dilution to 1 part in 100. Anne tends to use tablets, but there are also granules and liquids, all produced in one of the few licensed pharmacies in the country. Animals can also be given remedies. During the Foot and Mouth outbreak a farmer in a heavily affected area put a remedy in the water trough and none of his cattle caught the disease. It was a fascinating insight into Anne’s work – the questions and comments showed our interest and Anne was warmly thanked.
In a brief session after the talk, knitting poppies and setting up a knitting/craft group, the next Walk, Skittles and the New Speakers Day were all discussed.
Next month will be the 88th birthday of Edington and Tinhead WI… The speaker will be Amy Leavin , on How Artisan Chocolate is Made. That must help us to celebrate!