Samphire Soaps

Well, in the next month or two I’ll be getting busy in the soap lab, preparing stock for a market stall at the Price Nature Festival over on Yorke Peninsula at the end of September. Samphire Soaps will be there with free giveaway samphire books, the saltmarsh stories, “floating rocks” for the kids and lots of lovely soaps for sale to remind you of the interconnectedness of the natural world and humankind.

Autumn will eventually be on its way, so here are some autumn soaps - the green a little “over the top”, as the dropper fell out of the colourant bottle! These will all be cured by March, ready to amuse the family through the cooler months. I really love the reds and browns from refined Aussie clays, and annatto is a favourite plant based colour, even though it tends to fade a little over time.

November saw a return to the soap lab, with many old favourites (lemon beeswax, milk and honey) added to the curing racks along with a batch of my signature calendula soap.

Been an age, but in a bright spot six weeks ago I made several batches of soap. They are smelling divine now they are cured. I’ll smell of lemon beeswax for the rest of winter!

I have closed down online sales - but Samphire Soaps' artisanal soap stall may be spotted at a market near you.

Saltmarshes are the cradles of humanity’s civilisations.. Everywhere. On every continent, saltmarshes provided gathering places, foods, and other resources, to the local people. Once upon a time we recognised that gift, and approached with wonder and awe. How have we forgotten?

Built on a saltmarsh, placed between land and sea, Seahenge is a remarkably preserved 4,000-year-old timber circle which re-emerged on the coast of Norfolk in 1998.

Seahenge was built in the spring or summer of 2049 BC. Made from 55 split oak trunks which were tightly spaced in a ring to create a place of communal worship, the narrow entranceway was aligned with the rising midsummer sun. In the centre, an upturned tree trunk created a small platform 🌳

Soon after being constructed, Seahenge was inundated by freshwater and covered by peat and sand, protecting the timbers before the monument was gradually revealed by tides and storms.

15 of the 55 timbers that make up Seahenge are on loan for the very first time in , closing 17 July.

🎫 Don't miss your chance to see this blockbuster show – late night openings have been added on selected July dates. Book your tickets today: http://ow.ly/ijO530snqBi

Artist and archaeologist Rose Ferraby has helped the Museum to contextualise Seahenge – read her blog about the wonder of exploring and capturing Seahenge’s archaeological stories through art here: http://ow.ly/3sUO30snqAO

📸 Seahenge at the time of excavation. © Wendy George.