Cosmic Teapot UK

26/02/2025

I've had a busy couple of months!!!! But have just had a wonderful week's break in the Algarve... to catch my breath. Bliss. 💕

I'm looking forward to reigniting this page... in some slightly new directions. I recently updated both the Cosmic Teapot site and my NEW Che Young site (I am the brand lol!).

There are links in comments for anyone unsure 'what I'm up to nowadays'... Me being me, it's constantly evolving, revolving, shifting and changing anyway. I struggle to keep up with myself. 😁

Right now... I'm feeling very aligned, on track, and ready for everything 2025 brings.
And so it is. 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️
Bring it. 🙏

20/12/2024

Time to 'Put My Mouth Where My Money Is' - and take a proper break when I need one. 😉 So please consider this my official 'OUT OF OFFICE'!

My break starts with an early rise and drive to honour Solstice Sunrise in the Welsh Hills tomorrow (Saturday) morning, with my best pal, Dukie (my faithful corgi-beagle cross 'familiar').

And then I am lucky to be spending 'special time with special people' - my kids and my folx... and some lovely friends.

My *extra special gift to myself* this year was putting my phone in the washing machine yesterday morning with a full load... and realising mid cycle.

Ten years ago I'd have been a mix of apoplectic and devasted... with a tearful red face, and brain in a panic-fuelled overdrive... possibly for days.

Ten years on, and I just laughed. And thought 'nice timing!'.

I need a new phone.

And I needed to get off that one! 🤣

Been a bit TOO doomscrolley recently for my own liking...

Was wondering about screen-time management over Christmas...

But thank my lucky stars / my sub conscious / higher consciousness / the universe / the cosmic jester... (whatevs!)

For just dealing with it *nice and cleanly*.

(Pun intended!)

Phone kapoosh. Kaput. Ka-gone.

Me too!!

Have a lovely break if you're having one.

I wish you special times with special people.

And will be making the most of mine.

See you 'on the other side'.

6th of Jan - or thereabouts.

Signing off for 2024.

Out of Office - ON ✅

Sending love to you and yours. ❤️

17/10/2024

Autumn in the Forest of Dean is always such a delight. 🤩✨🫶

And the light right now is incredible… with the sun lowering each day in the sky as we head towards Solstice… the way it interacts with, and bounces off, the kaleidoscope of colour…

Natural. Pure. Magic.

Food for the soul.

10/10/2024

Autumn has landed in the Forest of Dean, and Dukie and I are loving it. 🥰

22/09/2024

✨ Happy Autumn Equinox from the Isle of Skye! ✨

The actual Equinox moment is later on today at 1:43pm… but the important thing is to greet sunrise on the Equinox morning (which this year is on the 22nd of September, not the 21st).

The Equinoxes mark the time when we have ‘equal night and day’, and today is just a tiny bit over 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. And tomorrow will be just under 12 hours…

So Autumn Equinox marks the start of shortening days, the ‘darkening’ / wintering. A time to go inwards and reflect. On what is serving us and what isn’t. In order to put down the latter, to make space for ‘the new’.

Just like the trees. Who drop their leaves, to preserve their energy… which they’ll need again in Spring… to start afresh… a new cycle of growth and expansion.

May you have a glorious day and if you didn’t mark the sunrise this year, take some time around the Equinox point itself, or sunset even if you can.

And prioritise gratitude - being grateful for all that has served you well this year, as well as mustering gratitude for the lessons learnt from the things that haven’t. 🙏

With love ❤️

09/09/2024

So. I have a NEW ‘Chosen Name’.

‘What does that even mean?!’ 😉
Well… it’s something I’ve been wrestling with this past year.
And it’s been quite the journey!
-

To go back to the beginning…
My Given Name was Cheryl Ann Jones.
Born to my mum Jennifer and my dad Colin in the hot summer of 1976.

Their marriage didn’t end well…
My mum remarried...
And I became Cheryl Ann Summerton.
-

I then met my ex-husband in 2001.
We married in 2004.
So I became Cheryl Ann Barnes.

We had kids in 2007 and 2010.
Then split in 2013, and divorced a year or so later.
Yet I never changed my surname.
-

I always wanted to.
Out of respect for my ex’s new partner if nothing else.
But quite frankly I didn’t know what to change it to.

Cue 2023… and I started to wonder about changing my first name too.
I’d always struggled with saying the ‘ryl’ bit at the end.
And as I leant into my gender non-conformity, it began to feel a different type of uncomfortable.

My mum chose Cheryl *specifically* so that it couldn’t be shortened.
So I never really *considered* doing that.
But I did start trying on other options…
-

Nothing felt quite right. ☹
Until… one day... someone suggested shortening Cheryl to Che.
Pronounced Shay.

💖

And it sounded and felt *REALLY* right instantly.
Like it retained ME, but uncluttered it.
Making it somehow ‘to the point’ and ‘no nonsense’.
-

So I then tried it with different surnames.
Jones, Summerton, and my new step-dad’s name, Bennett.
And options from my maternal lineage – Nightingale and Young.

I also felt into whether to keep, or change, my middle name.
Ann was my aunt’s name, and her name had been given to me in her memory.
She had sadly drowned as a young girl in very tragic circumstances. 😕

It didn’t feel right to have her story entwined with mine anymore somehow.
So all three elements of my name were 'up in the air’.
And it took a little bit of time to work it all out…

To arrive at,
Simply,
Che Young.

I love it. ❤️

!!!

*I have however kept Cheryl as my legal name*
Which may seem surprising – given going to all that effort anyway…
(The deed poll process and consequent life admin has been very significant, and this is the very last step... PHEW!)

But changing all three elements felt ‘untethering’ somehow.
Like I’d have no connection to where I started.
And ANY of the names I was given at Birth.

And whilst I want to be known as Che…
It feels ok (nay fitting!) for that to be a shortened version of my fuller name.
Like Matthew might be shortened to Matt, Christopher to Chris, or Catherine to Kate.

Once I ‘got there’,
To the end of my choosing process…
All felt right in my world, and I was ready to start the (now completed 🎉) official stuff.

SO! Legal name: Cheryl Young
Known as: Che Young
FROM HERE ON IN.

Thank you for reading the story of my name change.
*And thank you in advance for updating your address book and records accordingly.*

20/06/2024

Happy Summer Solstice ☀️✨🙏

It was a lovely start to the day, watching the sun rise from the top of our hill.

An early start, but oh so worth it.

Greeting the sun on solstices and equinoxes is a ritual that dates back many millennia.

The burst of energy as the sun comes up over the horizon on the day of the solstice (or equinox) is said to replenish our spirit.

And specifically on Summer solstice to open our third eye / star gate, enabling us to see clearly, and to spot opportunities and potential.

May the warmth of the sun today nourish your soul.

Solstice Blessings.

09/06/2024

The Forest Foxgloves are an absolute delight this year 🤩

22/05/2024

The TCM, Meridians and Acupressure workshop we ran last Saturday was really wonderful. ✨

And we are *very* grateful to all who came (we had a full house!), and to those that helped with lunch and photography. 🙏

Having gone through all the photos and videos, I’ve selected the best shots to create this little reel to capture the essence of the day. 😍

So if you are curious about what we got up to… check it out! 👇

It was lots of fun and the feedback has been *fantastic*! We are both hoping to offer more workshops on these topics in the future... 😁

If you’d like to keep in touch with us about future workshops, let me know. ☺️

https://youtu.be/Hna9W9357fU

Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and The Meridian System - including simple framework for understanding. Held at The Wilderness Centre, Fo...

12/05/2024

We had a *wonderful* time on our Traditional Chinese Medicine and Meridians workshop at The Wilderness Centre yesterday. 😍 We had a full house, great weather and I enjoyed every minute of it!

The feedback has been fantastic and there’ll be more photos to follow from the day itself, once we’ve sifted through them all…

I absolutely *loved* running this with Shiatsu With Lys, and am confident we’ll be running more Intro days together, as well as some more advanced sessions for practitioners in due course…

And potentially a local practice group 🤔🤩✨

21/04/2024

A beautiful day yesterday and enjoyed visiting this local quarry. I love the exposed rock… and a bit further along are some gorgeous scowles (a geological feature unique to the Forest of Dean).

Feeling lucky to live here, and looking forward to more adventures today. :-)

15/04/2024

Last walk of the day…