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To celebrate the Wheel’s fortieth anniversary the
regional
committee have put together a short history of Eastern
Region. |
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The British Wheel of Yoga was founded in 1965 by Wilfred Clarke. Like
many new spontaneous organisations, the demand and growth kept
out-stripping support. It was soon recognised that a national
frame-work was needed and the first national structure had six regions
~ see the extract from one of the early Wheel magazines. |
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You will notice from the above we had
‘provincial’ members and those of you that are not myopic might notice
that by 1973 we had changed the name from
The Wheel of British Yoga
to the
Western Yoga Federation.
It was changed to
The British
Wheel of Yoga in 1974.
The old and new logos are shown below: |
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You will also
see that Wilfred spoke about ‘the Federation’ and Acacia House
in Acton London, was referred to, for a while, as the Wheel’s [Federation] Headquarters. The Wheel had
a purpose built unit installed behind Acacia House, which was used for
seminars and was still in
existence in the early ‘90s. |
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For details of Eastern Region's current officers please go to
Regional Structure page on this
website. |
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Regional Officers |
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Initially in the development of the Wheel, Eastern Region was part of
BWY's South East Region, which included the regions that are now
London and South East. Eastern Region itself came into being in 1975,
when the British Wheel of Yoga expanded to eleven regions. |
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Eastern Region came into being as separate B.W.Y. region in
1975, when the British Wheel of Yoga expanded to eleven regions. |
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Regional Officer ~ Roll of Honour |
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Ken Thompson
Brian Down
Bob Bury
Julia Nichols
John Cain
Position Vacant
John Green
Jonathan Heath
John King
Position Vacant
Gill Pendreich
Helen Smith
Ian Burgess
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1975-1978
1978-1980
1980-1982
1982
1982-1993
1994
1994-1996
1997-1999
1999-2000
2000-2002
2002-2004
2004-2007
2007-
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The first Regional officer for Eastern Region was Ken Thompson and
initially we only had four counties in Eastern Region with Cambridge
coming into region in 1975 bringing us up to five counties. Essex
was divided into two sections in 1987from a ine East of Brentwood. |
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Eastern Region is ‘managed’ by Regional Officer who heads up the
Regional Committee and sits on the BWY Executive committee which
organises the national organisation. The Regional Officer is our line
manager and the link between the region and the national organisation.
The
Regional Committee consists of the Regional Officer, the County
Representatives, Regional Treasurer, Regional Editor, Training Officer
and Website Admin. The Committee meets 3-4 times a year. |
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John Cain writes:
’I
took over the job of Regional Officer at a time when there seemed to
be no written systems or guidance for running the regions. I was lucky
to have a tremendous group of County Representatives who worked their
socks off for the region. Between us we put the region on a firm
financial footing and developed a basic documented working structure
and. It was hard work, but a lot of fun’. |
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Helen Smith writes:
I guess the main reason I thought I would have a go at
the Regional Officer role was that I thought it would be an
interesting challenge and I would get to know what goes on. Well
so far I have not been disappointed, I've met loads of nice people,
been to places and events I hadn't been to before and it’s been
brilliant. What I did not foresee was that part of my duties as
RO at Congress 2005 was to dress up as a circus performer and appear
on stage! I still don't quite know how that happened ........ |
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Regional Treasurer |
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The Regional Treasurer oversees the regional finances in accordance
with the BWY guidelines and the Charities Commissioner regulations |
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Regional Treasurer ~ Roll of Honour |
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Maude Defty
Betty Belsham
Ian Burgess
Hugh Frost
David Primett
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1976-1989
1990-1991
1991-1993
1993-2004
2004- |
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David Primmet writes:
'I
am now in my
second year as Treasurer, having taking over from the excellent
work of Hugh Frost. He ran the Regions finances for many years and BWY
Services locally. Whilst most of my time is spent dealing with
the payments and receipts I am active in the Regional Committee, and
am hoping in the near future to assist in running the first Regional
Festival in the East. I am enjoying seeing the work of the Wheel
evolve." |
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Regional Magazine |
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The first Eastern Region magazine that we are aware of was
Satsang, which started the Autumn of 1978 with Brian Down as
the editor and ran to twelve pages. It was run off on an old Gestetner
machine, with the ‘copy’ typed out on a skin and run off by hand [and
the sweat of the brow] |
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The
cover of the very first
edition of the Eastern
Region magazine that
we produced called
'Satsang'
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The
re-birth of the regional
magazine. The new title was
Yoga-East
~ although
from the front cover design
most regional members
thought it was
'Yeast'
and
the name stuck |
The front cover of the current
magazine, now printed
professionally and
the new title was
'Yogaeast' |
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In 1979 Brian handed over the reins
to Jenny Surey when he became Regional Officer.
Satsang
ran for twelve issues and then ceased publication. |
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The regional magazine was re-started
in 1983 and by this time the regional funds had sunk to an all time
low [
£25..00 ] and there
wasn’t enough in the kitty to cover general correspondence or
sending out diplomas, etc, let alone produce a magazine. It was the
financial input from some Essex teachers, led by Rita Gregory, that
enabled us to get the first editions out. |
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The re-started magazine was edited by John Cain and Bernard Booty
and run off on a second [or third]-hand Gestetner machine. Initially
the new magazine wasn’t as big as the version started by Brian and
Jenny. It was just three double sided sheets of A.4 simply stapled
together. In 1984 we got back to the folded version and went up to
sixteen pages. Molly Allen took over from John. |
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Since then the magazine has continued under
several editors ~ Anne Heyden, Marion Pidgeon, Christine Matthiesson,
Kay Russell, Fran Hiller,
Debbie Kilby ~
through
to the current editor
Caroline Bradley. |
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Regional Editor ~ Roll of Honour |
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Brian Down
Jenny Surey
John Cain
Molly Allen
Anne Heyden
Marion Pidgeon/Christine Matthiesson
Kay Russell
Fran Hiller
Debbie Kilby
Caroline Bradley
Anne Raymond |
1978-1979
1979-1980
1982-1984
1984-1989
1989-1992
1993-1996
1997-2002
2002-2005
2005-2006
2006-2008
2009-
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Molly Allen writes:
“I
enjoyed being Regional Editor. The incoming mail was highly
entertaining and informative. Turning back to another era[apologies to
younger members], I used to type out all the info on an old
pre-electric typewriter, then collate it and send it to John Cain and
Bernard Booty who ran it off on an old Gestetner machine then they
would staple the pages together to send out to the county
representatives” |
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Kay
Russell writes:
I grew to love it, even the hair-standing-on-end,
flying-by-the-pants bits (in retrospect) and miss it still. Coping
with technology - a mystery and a challenge; from IBM to Apple Mac
and back again. Getting to know and still be friends with so many
people. The enormous satisfaction of seeing each copy in print Feeling
useful. Thanks to all of you that convinced me I could do the job of
regional editor. |
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The County Representatives |
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The
counties
that make up Eastern Region are
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East & West
Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Each
county has it’s own representative who is part
of the decision-making group that manages the region’s affairs |
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When
the
region was originally set up, the CRs were responsible for collecting
subscriptions, sending out the Wheels magazine and the news -letters,
organising seminars and answering queries from the county or people
looking for classes. |
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County Representatives ~ Roll of Honour |
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Bob Bury
Hildegard Andreyev
Roy Islip
Hilton Francis
Ken Thompson
Maude Defty
Rita Gregory
Vi McKenna
Hazel Fisher
Kerstin Elliott
Joan Wyatt
Hugh Frost
Jeanette Armsworth
Daphne Feavers
Ann Barney
Brain Down
Roy Stevens
Valerie Langford
Thelma Lovewell
Bob Roberts
Joey Robinson
Joan Roche
Ann Davenport
Margaret Townroe
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Hugh Frost
Sally Studd
Carole Tovell
Dianna Ship
Roy Stevens
Annie Knights
Angie Jacobs
Catherine Linton
Margaret Woodley
Dennis Gladwin
Mary Thurston
Jill Turner
Anne Sparkes
Angela Uff
Rita Bartholomew
Gill Pendriech
Charlotte Prud’homme
Yvonne Jones
Megan Joyce
John & Kay King
Jan Cory
Kerry Bryant
Jeremy Jones
Dorothy Turner |
Ian Burgess
Anne Woolnough
Chrissie Clarke
Lorraine Croxford
Phil Ansty
Chris Watson
Fiona Mason
Carole Ledger
Beverley Nolan
Mike Beaven
Sophie Massey
Enid Feinson
Emma Escott
Kari Knight
Jacquelyn Cooper
Karen McQueen
Sophie Leek
Annya Stoddart |
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Ian Burgess writes:
I became County Rep for West Essex in 1993. To be absolutely honest I
only took the job on to give myself an excuse to give up being County
Treasurer. Why on earth I did that I’ve no idea because I am totally
useless at figure work*. Gill Pendreich had been looking for a
replacement CR for herself for about 18months and someone said to me
“you know as a County Rep you don’t actually have to do very much”.
Well, what a misrepresenter of facts that person turned out to be
(notice the P.C.-ness here!) In the main, though, being a CR has been
a pleasure – even including Regional Committee meetings. As it
happens, these meetings are one of the pleasures of the job –
especially when we go punting on the Cam afterwards! Of course, there
have been downsides but ( in the words of the Frank Sinatra song) ‘too
few to mention’. I love being C.R. and I’ll continue with it as long as I’m able
and while people let me. Hari Om |
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Kerstin Elliott writes:
[written
in the shade of a hazel tree]
I was persuaded to stand-in
as temporary County Rep by Julia Nichols in the early eighties and 14
years later was still there. ! In the meantime ~ it was a lot of work
at times but also very enjoyable. I got to know so many of the Herts
members and its teachers as well as the other officers in the region.
It opened my eyes to the pleasures of going to seminars, courses and
the Wheel’s Congress. The support of the member, especially in St
Albans, meant I could benefit form the insights of many different and
wonderful teachers. |
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Teacher Training Courses |
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Before 1970, teacher training was run on what would be best described
as “an apprenticeship scheme”. A list of people authorised to
run teacher training courses was kept in the ‘grey book’ by BWY. In
1970 the BWY teacher training course was formalised. This was a course
designed by Chris Stevens, supported by Velta Wilson, Ken Thompson,
Vam Morais, Tony Crisp, Wilfred Clark, Swami Purnanda, Karl Werner,
Frank Chandra, Pandit Vishnu Narayan, Monty Barnes, etc.
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The first courses that were run in Eastern
Region were in 1972 and run by Ken Thompson in Essex at ‘the
Hermitage’ [ Brentwood
Evening Institute ] in 1971, other
courses soon followed with Hildegard Andreyev in Beds and by Hilton
Francis in Norfolk. |
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Ken Thompson writes:
Chris Stevens, with the help of Velta Wilson and myself put together
the first educationally approved BWY teacher training course in
1970/71. It was a 90 hours, one year course. I ran the first one in
Essex (Sep 1971) from the 'Hermitage', Brentwood Evening Institute.
This
all came about because of the need for the 'Wheel' to combat the
problem when ILEA brought out a ruling that only Iyengar train
teachers could teach in their area. |
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Many other yoga organizations have based their teaching systems on the
Wheel’s formula.
We
think, but can’t be 100% certain, that over 100 teacher training
courses have been run in Eastern Region. |
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D.C.T. ~ Roll of Honour |
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Name |
App. |
Name |
App |
Name |
App. |
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Hildegarde Andreyev
June Baker
Vonnie Bloom
Ian Burgess
John Cain
Swami Dharmananda
Brian Down
Tabitha Evans
Pauline
Fleming
Elaine Fletcher
Elianne Flower
Hilton Francis
Gwen Gwatkin
Diane Hallett
Megan Joyce
Derek Lucas
Nicki King
Sandra Kruger |
1971
1982
1999 1986
1980
1976
1976
2001
2008
2001
1991
1971
xxxx
xxxx
1990
2001
1992
xxxx
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Andrea Kwiatkowski
Angela McDonald
Miki Marks
Bridget Minor
Jeanette Morton-Holmes
Jayantibal Patel
Gillian Pendreich
Steven Philips
Elaine Powell
Charlotte Prud’homme
Ian Rawlinson
Cheryl Ray
Bob Roberts
Diana Silk
Helen Smith
Eileen Smith-Williams
Peter Taylor-Woods
Angela Thompson
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1982
1999
1987
1991
1978
1990
1988
1984
1995
1975
1980
1976
1976
2006
1971
1983
1980 |
Ken Thompson
Margaret Townroe
Ann Weston
Tug Wilson
Lian Wimmer
Margaret Woodley
Rosie Wright
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1970
1985
1990
1984
1978
2007
2008
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Note:
From September 1971to 1984 Diploma Course Tutors people running
courses were known as Teacher Educational Tutor[TETs]. Pre-1971 a
number of people were listed by the Wheel as having sufficient
knowledge to trained teachers under an ‘apprenticeship’ scheme. |
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Since that time the diploma training has changed the length of
training has increased and there have been five upgrades and
modifications to the original course. We have been blessed with DCTs
that have helped the region to grow. |
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Regional Training Officer |
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In 1995 to support teacher training and in-service-training, the
position of Regional Training Officer was introduced. The aim
being to oversee and co-ordinate in-service-training in the region. |
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Training Officer |
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Jeanette Morton-Holmes
Gill Pendreich
Dorothy Turner
Margaret Woodley
Gill Pendreich
Vonnie Bloom |
1995-97
1997-02
2002-03
2003-06
2006-09
2009 |
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Gill Pendreich:
"Whilst I was RTO I campaigned for annual IST to be made compulsory
for all Diploma Holders and that Insurance to be withdrawn for those
who did not attend. The year that I retired as R.O I was delighted to
see that it has finally been adopted. If you want to get to know other
people in the BWY and how the 'wheel' works, take on a voluntary job,
you might even enjoy it!" |
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The Region's Growth and the Future |
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The membership of the region is varied with teachers accounting for
just under half the membership. About 12.3% of the membership are
trainee teachers.
Since its inception,
the
region has shown good growth which has been largely due to the
efforts of the County Representatives and other officers in the
region. Below is the growth trends of the BWY regions up to Oct 2009 |
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Below is the
membership totals of the BWY regions in 2009[excluding overseas members ]. |
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Below is the breakdown of Eastern Region Membership: |
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The size of the region means we have to put a lot more effort into
running the region and also it’s training programs ~ both in
teacher-training, in-service-training and seminars for members. |
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The Way the Region
is run and administered |
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The Region and administered by people who volunteer their time and
are elected at the Region’s annual AGM and run the region on your
behalf. The Regional Committee usually meets four times a year. All
members of the committee work to documented systems which are shown
[ for the benefit of all
regional members ] on the region’s
website. |
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A schematic diagram of the regional structure is set out below: |
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Anyone in the region requesting advice, a query, a problem, or a
complaint, should in the first instance, contact their County
Representative, who is their line manager, and usually the County
Representative can deal with everyday queries. The Regional
Officer and other members of the committee are also available to support the
County Representative and help deal with queries. |
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The Future |
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The above is, to date, the history of Eastern Region to date, and we
hope there is a lot more to come, but how we progress is up to you.
How much you support regional activities and what you put back into
the region reflects your attitude to the organisation. |
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There is probably a lot we have missed out but this only a brief
history and we are always hopeful that members will add more [ if
you have any comments please advise us ] ~ this is just a
brief documented milestone in our development. |
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If you have any comments on our regional history please
e-mail us
web admin
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We are confident that the
region will continue to grow and develop. |
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…To be continued ~ an ever-developing story ! |
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Last updated: Nov 2009 |
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© British Wheel of Yoga |
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