Contributors

Joyce was a teacher and librarian. She gave many talks for the Fintry Trust in the early days of the programme, centred on her special interest in myth as the story of the human soul. Her notes for a series of talks on mythology and story-telling have been included in this website.

Alison is an Osteopath and teacher of Osteopathy and Osteopathic Education. She has a life-long interest in philosophy and the application of universal ideas into daily life. She recognises parallels between healing and learning and their role in realising our individual potential for health and understanding.

Heinrich runs a general medical practice in Bavaria with his wife Bärbl. Theirs is a musical family, and Heinrich himself is a keen violinist. He is also very active with local community groups offering his medical and counselling skills.

Anita Hunt studied fine art painting at Central School of Art & Design and took her MA in painting at Chelsea College of Art. She has continued to create and exhibit her artworks, and currently runs a business selling her own artisan soap and upcycled furniture.

Madeleine studied comparative religion at Bristol University. She has worked in the charity sector for some years, and now manages volunteers.

Jean-Paul is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction trainer and a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance Professionals, UK, and he has many years’ experience leading contemplative retreats. He worked for 27 years for WWF International on sustainable business and education initiatives, and as director of development projects in various countries. He is co-founder of the Forest Stewardship Council, the award-winning One Planet MBA, and OPEN for Business (One Planet Education Networks). He is a Visiting Professor at Audencia School of Management, Nantes.

Sally is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction trainer and a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance Professionals, UK. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a Visiting Professor at Audencia School of Management, Nantes. She is co-founder of the Green Economy Coalition, One Planet MBA, and OPEN for Business. She has also worked in sustainable development in Nepal, Rwanda, Cameroon and Western Europe at community and policy levels.

Martha is a Platonist living in Scotland, where she plays the fiddle with local musicians. She likes to explore the traditional culture of the Outer Hebrides, and detects surprising affinities with ancient Greece.

Here she plays ‘The Fiddler’s Joy’ and ‘The Man from Skye’

For many years Elizabeth was Editor of a magazine whose main thrust was the power of ideas and Right Thinking. She has written many book reviews, contributed articles to various magazines, and is currently engaged in compiling a book of short stories. She has been interested in the perennial philosophy from an early age and has taught a meditation course based upon this. More recently she has developed an interest in the Renaissance scholar and musician, Marsilio Ficino.

Murray is a novelist and poet, living in Crete. He has a particular interest in the deeper meaning behind ancient myths, especially those of Egypt and Greece, and the wisdom that has been artfully woven into fairy tales. His second novel, Time Knot, was recently published.

Derek is Librarian of the Fintry Trust. He was previously Head of Educational Development at Hilderstone College in Kent. He has a special interest in the life and work of Alvin Langdon Coburn, who donated a large collection of books to the Fintry Trust library.

Eleanor is Lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford, and a columnist for the magazine History Today. She is the Social Media Manager for the Fintry Trust and has given talks on topics including Anglo-Saxon literature, Julian of Norwich, and Old Norse Mythology. Eleanor is also author of three acclaimed publications: Dragon Lords, Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo Saxon England, and Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo Saxon Year.

Julie is Educational Coordinator and Manager of the Fintry Trust. She was previously Vice Principal of Hilderstone College in Kent. She runs the ‘Reading the Mystics’ course, has led retreats and contemplative days, and has given talks for the Fintry Trust on subjects including Dante, The Cloud of Unknowing, and Dionysius the Areopagite.

Freya studied for her MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where she was a Lecturer for 25 years. She has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Junior Fellowship in Painting at Cardiff School of Art, the Digswell Arts Fellowship, and the Boise and Villers David Travelling Scholarships. She has exhibited her paintings both nationally and internationally, and describes them as ‘inhabiting the border between abstraction and figuration’. She draws on a wide range of sources from classical themes in painting to the subtlety of philosophical and mystical thought. www.freyapurdue.com

Silvia lives in a vicarage attached to an 11th-century church in Bavaria surrounded by a beautifully tended garden. Both house and garden have featured in the press. Silvia is a high-school teacher of English. For some years she has led an award-winning project to maintain a school urban roof-top garden, which has had a transformational effect on the children involved. She also has a special interest in herbs and gives courses on the subject.

Sarah originally trained at RADA and worked in the theatre before training as an English Language teacher. She worked for many years at Hilderstone College in East Kent. She later trained as a yoga teacher. She had a life-long interest in philosophy, literature and mysticism and was especially interested in the universal ideas that underpin all systems of religion and knowledge.

Kevin retired in 2010 as a Church of England Parish Priest and as Interfaith Adviser in the Diocese of Bath & Wells. He has lectured in Religious Studies at Bath Spa University, and elsewhere. He is Vice-Chairman of the Churches’ Fellowship for Psychical & Spiritual Studies, a member of the Scientific & Medical Network, the World Congress of Faiths, and other groups fostering dialogue between traditions. He has contributed to a number of academic publications on the history of the Theosophical movement and other subjects.

Jan is an award-winning artist, art teacher and author specializing in the arts and spiritual traditions of China and Tibet. She has a BA in French from California State University, a BA in Chinese, and studied on Masters courses in Art History and in Counseling/Psychology. She also studied Chinese Painting both in America and in Taiwan for many years, and spent 7 years in a solitary mountain retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. All these experiences have fed into her writing.

Jessica is an accomplished flautist and has given recitals at Fintry. She studied at Chetham’s and Trinity College of Music, and now plays with various ensembles including Kingston Philharmonic Orchestra, the RCT band, and chamber music groups in the South East. Jessica teaches music at King Edwards School, Bentley School and privately. More recently she has begun to use music as a therapeutic tool with children with emotional and psychological needs.