Watermill at Posara, Italy, Newsletter

..... Famous authors and other matters

We’ll, there they were, Lara and Bill, minding their own business, queuing up to pay for a rather nice top in Desigual, the funky clothes shop in London’s Regent Street, when Lara turned to her Dad: “Don’t look now, but I think that’s Jacqueline Wilson behind us.”

Bill looked, of course, but didn’t recognise the most famous children’s author of our time: “ Why don’t you ask her? ”

Lara, very politely: “Excuse me, but are you Jacqueline Wilson? ”

Jacqueline Wilson (for it was she): “ Yes, I am. ”

Lara with Jacqueline Wilson And how nice she was, not only signing an autograph for Lara (and another for Lydia), but also suggesting that, when Dad and she had paid their bills, he took a picture of her and Lara together. Here it is:

Lara was walking on air as she and Dad left the shop and then hopped on a bus to meet Lois and Lydia, who were in Selfridges, where Lydia was going through the very grown-up process of having her ears pierced.

These moments were among the highlights of our traditional foray into London for half-term, which also included a visit to Legally Blonde, the musical, and Dim Sum in Chinatown, watching the dragon dancers celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Tiger.

Then it was back to the hectic life of North-east Scotland, hectic for the girls anyway (and for their chauffeur and chauffeuse).

Inspire Choir with First Minister Alex Salmond Lydia and Lara went with their young people’s choir to Edinburgh to sing in the Castle in front of our First Minister Alex Salmond and the Edinburgh diplomatic corps, assembled for their annual official dinner.

Here’s a newspaper picture of Inspire Choir with the First Minister in Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall. The Chinese Consul-General was so impressed that she asked the choir to Shanghai. (We think: there may have been linguistic difficulties. Watch this space!)

Lydia then played the grand piano in a Beethoven trio (with clarinet and bassoon!) at a concert in Aberdeen Music Hall, while Lara and Bill skived off to London again for a 4½th birthday party! Perhaps we should explain: Jessica, the daughter of some very old friends of Bill’s, was born on February 29th, so although she thinks she’s 18, she’s only had four birthdays (every Leap Year) and it’ll be another two years before she has her fifth. We had a lovely champagne lunch in a gastropub in Hampstead, swapping yarns with mutual friends Bill hadn’t seen for years, before staying the night in town with other friends, ordering in a Thai supper and watching the Up! DVD.

So, as you can see, despite the wintry weather we’ve been rather busy (Oh yes, and Lois took her Grade 8 singing exam and Lara and Lydia scooped up cups and shields and medals at the Burns Federation schools competition.)

Meanwhile bookings continue to come in steadily for the watermill painting holidays and creative writing courses. And we are pressing on with the new dining room and kitchen with our two new Courtyard bedrooms above. We’re off to the mill for Eastertime, so we’ll hopefully be ordering the furniture and beginning to get everything in place.

A wonderfull setting for teaching If you’d like to enjoy the special delights of Posara, either as a painter or a writer, or just to take one of the self-contained apartments for a relaxing holiday under the Tuscan sun, now is the time to book. We have only one or two places left on some courses (availability details below), so you’ll need to get your reservation in soon to avoid disappointment.

Email us using our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375 and we’ll reserve your place.

Easter in Tuscany

The Italians have a phrase for it: “Natale con i suoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi' - Christmas with our family, Easter with our own friends.

Easter certainly is a special time for fun and friendship at Posara. This year we’re off at the end of March. Friends are certainly going to join us – and some family too, but they come in the ‘chi vuoi’ category: we’ve chosen them as friends. And we’ll certainly be asking lots of Italian amici over for a Sunday lunch at the mill, hopefully in the walled garden, under the shade of the vine verandah.

On several Good Fridays in the past we’ve gone up to Fivizzano, our local walled Medieval town, where there is a solemn procession, following an ancient statue of a recumbent dead Christ around the town, accompanied by hooded lay brothers carrying flickering torches. But we find it a little macabre and Lara, in particular, finds it disturbing, so we might give it a miss this year.

What looks much more fun is the Scoppio del Carro, literally the ‘explosion of the cart’, an Easter Sunday tradition in Florence which dates back to the First Crusade. When the crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, it was a Florentine, one of the Pazzi family, who was the first to raise a Christian banner over the city. He was rewarded with chips of stone from the Holy Sepulchre, which were later used in Florence to light a fire on Easter Day, symbolizing new life. This fire was taken round the city by cart and used by households to relight their own hearths, which were traditionally extinguished on Good Friday.

After the Pazzi were banished for messing with the Medici in the late 15th Century, the government of Florence, the Signoria, took over the celebrations, which evolved into a ritual explosion of the cart!

So now on Easter Sunday, a richly decorated 18th Century ‘cart’ is hauled by white oxen from the Porta al Prato to the cathedral square. A wire is run from the cathedral choir and fixed to the cart – and then a dove-shaped rocket, la columbina, is ignited in the cathedral and it whooshes down the nave on the wire, leaving a trail of smoke. It bashes into the cart, setting off firecrackers, followed by a multicoloured, noisy display from fireworks hidden in the cart. A catherine wheel on top lights up and starts spinning, ending with a loud bang and opening up to form the petals of a lily. Then four small flags appear, bearing the emblems of Florence, the Pazzi family, of the Wool Merchants’ Guild and these days, as a sign of peace in the world, of the UN.

They do know how to do these spectacles, the Italians!

We suspect time constraints mean we’ll miss the Scoppio this year (we’ve eating and drinking to do at the watermill), so perhaps instead we’ll go to the Daffodil Festival at the Villa La Pescigola near Fivizzano, where, we’re told "more than 150,000 daffodils of 400 different varieties will welcome all visitors. The varieties include numerous historical daffodils, others of the highly scented poeticus group, while others represent the most recent hybrids with hues of rose, coral and salmon dispersed in colorful waves bordering the fields or in wonderful broderies on the terraces of the Italian garden”.

The Daffodil Festival people add: “Lovers of Spring flowers will find beds of tulips and iris dispersed along the walk with fountains and waterways. For the little ones there will be numerous Easter egg hunts over the holidays and a refreshment stand where picnic baskets for 4 people, food and organic farm products grown on the land can be purchased.”

We told you the Italians were good at organising things. Sounds good to us, so we’ve put the Villa La Pescigola on our visiting list. We’ll let you know what it was like.

Painting holidays and creative writing courses:
what's included

It is very important to realise that our painting holidays and creative writing course are truly all-inclusive. There are no hidden extras. Everything is included in the cost: tuition, accommodation (including all linen and towels), pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals (including dinner with wine at charming local restaurants) and local transportation (including transfers to Pisa airport; an excursion by train to Lucca).

All you have to do is to get to Pisa and we do the rest.

And you don’t have to worry about the strength of the Euro versus the pound. The only Euros you’ll have to spend on your painting holiday or creative writing course are on that extra cup of coffee or a postcard for Mum. Let us worry about the pesky exchange rate.

Prices depend on which room you choose (see www.watermill.net for details). They start at £930+IVA (Italian VAT) per person per week (based on two people sharing), with a discount of £25 for a non-painting on non-writing partner. Single rooms start at £995+IVA (Italian VAT). Italian IVA is currently 20%.

Tutor of the month: John Christian

Our featured painting tutor this month is John Christian, who will be teaching in watercolours from 5-12 June 2010.

This will be John’s third visit to the mill and he tells us he can’t wait to be back in Posara and painting around the mill, along the river and in the surrounding countryside and villages. John is a wonderfully enthusiastic and sympathetic tutor and his courses are full of fun.

We already have nine people booked on John’s course, so we only have two or three places left.

John’s ‘wet into wet’ technique is acclaimed and widely admired: he works in ‘pure’ watercolour in a fast spontaneous manner with a large brush and a limited palette. The idea is to express mood and emotion more than merely fact and detail. John is an avid exponent of painting (and sketching) on the spot and relies on very little detailed drawing. He likes to work in a loose and spontaneous way, merging his washes, working quickly with few brush strokes from a limited palette with a big brush.

There is a richness and strength of depth in John’s work and the results are exciting, pure, clean and spontaneous. His students love his painting – and the man, whose charm, care and sympathy make him an ideal tutor.

Here’s a very typical John watercolour of the River Rosaro that runs past the mill:

John says: “This picture was painted on the spot as a demonstration during one of my painting holidays at the watermill. My only drawing was the dominant tree to left centre (then only a few marks!) The tree was left blank until the end. The picture was painted all in one go on a grey wash of French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber. The bright areas were New Gamboge and the greens were New Gamboge and Paynes Grey. The demonstration was pure 'wet-into-wet', the effect achieved by dropping in suggested detail at the appropriate moments in the drying process. It was very fast (the initial wash was still wet when the picture was finished!)".

And here’s another lovely landscape, this time from Dartmoor, near where John lives in the UK.

John says: “This is Belstone Tor, a high ridge on the north side of Dartmoor, with granite outcrops and autumn colours. The picture was prompted by the suggestion of a grassy track (along which I’d been walking with my dog) taking the viewer to the ridge and distant tor. The picture was made by the broken sky and the strong clouds.”

He adds: “ It took about 50 minutes. It is now in California.”

If you would like to come on John’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any other courses, now’s the time to book. To recap: his week-long course in watercolours runs from 5-12 June 2010.

Your 2010 painting holiday tutors:
the full list

We’re introducing our painting tutors individually in more depth in our regular newsletters and blogs, but here’s the full list:

Fergal Flanagan
Saturday 15 May to
Saturday 22 May 2010
Gouache, watercolours and pastels
Fergal is a leading Irish painter and an accomplished and sympathetic teacher. He has painted in many locations around the world, producing warm, vibrant landscapes. Fergal works at the Burren Painting Centre in County Clare
For more about Fergal and his paintings, visit his Tutor's page.
Four places left.

John Christian
Saturday 5 June to
Saturday 12 June 2010
Watercolours
We are delighted to welcome John back to the mill this year. He’s been several times before and loves the place. John is such an enthusiastic and sympathetic tutor and his courses are always full - and full of fun! He works in a fast spontaneous manner with a large brush and a limited palette. For more about John and his paintings, visit his Tutor's page and see above for more details.
Two or three places left.

Guy Gruwier
Saturday 19 June to
Saturday 26 June 2010
Watercolours
Guy is considered to be one of Belgium’s leading watercolour artists. He paints in a ‘realistic-romantic’ style and he passes on his insights and skills with love and patience. Previous students on Guy’s courses remember him as a gifted, patient and very helpful teacher. For more about Guy and his paintings, visit his Tutor's page.
Three or four places left.

Liz Seward Relfe
Saturday 10 July to
Saturday 17 July 2010
Watercolours
Liz has a widespread reputation for still life floral, and landscape paintings . Her main inspirations are light, colour, and the heathland landscape around her home in Surrey. Liz demonstrates to Art Societies throughout the country and teaches at residential courses. For more about Liz and her paintings, visit her Tutor's page
Four places left.

Freda Alschuler
Saturday 24 July to
Saturday 31 July 2010
Watercolours
Freda is a full-time artist and teacher, born in England and now living in Switzerland. Freda has taught in art schools and run painting holidays in America and Europe. While her course will concentrate on watercolours, Freda is also happy to teach acrylics and mixed media. For more about Freda and her paintings, visit her Tutor's page
Still plenty of places.

Annelise Pio Hansen
Saturday 28 August to
Saturday 4 September 2010
Watercolours
Annelise is a regular and very popular tutor at the watermill. Her colours are soft but bright, just like the light reaching the sandy beaches and the soft hills not far from where she lives just outside Copenhagen. For more about Annelise and her paintings, visit her Tutor's page
Two places left.

Laraine Simpson
Saturday 4 September to
Saturday 11 September 2010
Watercolours, oils, acrylics, pastels
Laraine, who's taught at the mill for several years now, is a Fine Arts-Painting graduate of Central School of Art & Design (now Central St. Martins), London. She is highly regarded as a perceptive, patient and encouraging tutor working with beginners and advanced students alike. For more about Laraine and her paintings, visit her Tutor's page
Three or four places left.

Charles Sluga
Saturday 2 October to
Saturday 9 October 2010
Watercolours
Charles is a highly respected and sought after artist and watercolour teacher in Australia. His friendly and enthusiastic approach, and eagerness to impart his wide knowledge, is reflected in his popularity as a tutor, and the waiting lists for his regular classes. For more about Charles and his paintings, visit his Tutor's page.
Four or five places left.

Only one place left for Sharon’s writing course in May

Sharon Kendrick’s renowned Writing Romance course at the watermill runs this year from 8-15 May 2010. But if you would like to be a part of it and enjoy a stimulating, fun-filled week with an enthusiastic tutor and like-minded fellow students (to say nothing of enjoying lunches at the mill and dinners in local traditional restaurants), you’ll have to hurry: we have only one place left.

If you want to make it yours, please email us on our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375 and we’ll reserve your place.

And don’t forget our other skilled and sympathetic best-selling author Jessica Hart who is returning for another Writing Romance in the Autumn, from 25 Sep - 2 Oct 2010.

To enjoy the delights of a watermill week, to learn more about the art and craft of writing and how to produce what publishers really want – as well as having that vital encouragement and support from other aspiring writers – now is the time to make that reservation.

Your 2010 best-selling creative writing tutors

Here are the background details for Sharon and Jessica’s courses in 2010.

Sharon Kendrick
Saturday 8 May to
Saturday 15 May 2010
‘Writing romance’

This will be Sharon’s third visit to the watermill: “One of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. The mountains nearby are tall and green, streaked with a pure white, which looks like snow, but which is really the Carrara marble from which Michelangelo chiselled his David. How neat is that?”

Sharon has written 75 books for Harlequin Mills & Boon and regularly tops the Waldenbooks list in North America as well as selling well all over Europe, Asia and South America. Sharon will pass on the benefits of her vast experience in writing romantic fiction and her intimate knowledge of what publishers like Harlequin Mills & Boon are looking for in a romantic novel. You can find out more about Sharon and her books on her Tutors Page.

Jessica Hart
Saturday 25 September to
Saturday 2 October 2010
‘Writing romance’

RITA* award-winner Jessica Hart has written more than 50 books for Harlequin Romance and has been published around the world in more than 20 different languages. (*The RITA is the US romance-publishing industry's highest award of distinction.) She is also a winner of the coveted Romance Prize, awarded by the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK.

Jessica’s second course at The Watermill at Posara will focus on the emotional tension that is key to all romantic fiction and it will provide a practical approach to constructing a satisfying – and sellable – love story. There will be plenty of opportunity, too, to talk about writing romance with like-minded people: “The social side of writing is so often underestimated, especially when it comes to structuring a story,” says Jessica. You can read more about Jessica and her books on our Tutors Page.

What's available

When the mill is not full of painters or writers, we divide it into five elegant self-contained apartments available for self-catering lets.

Two of these bright, sunny apartments
(Apts 1 & 2) are in the three-storey Tuscan house in the mill courtyard, with views over the gardens and the mountains beyond;
two others (Apts 3 & 4) are set above the older watermill, with river and valley views;
the fifth (Apt 5) is set beside the olive press and the artists’ studio and looks out over gardens and the river.

All have comfortable living rooms, well furnished bedrooms, a well equipped kitchen and modern bathroom. There’s more information and plenty of pictures on our website.

If you choose a self-catering holiday you’ll find a thousand fascinating things to do, in the mountains and at the seaside. And the mill is in easy reach of Florence, Pisa, Lucca and the other tourist attractions of Tuscany. But you are actually more likely to spend a lot of your time relaxing at the mill itself, enjoying the beautiful setting and sunning yourself in the gardens …

.If you would like to book a self-catering apartment next year, please call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or use our secure Contact Form

Anything more you’d like to know?

If there is anything more we can tell you about our activities, and the true Italian lifestyle, please call us on +44 1888 568375 or use our secure Contact Form. And keep up with our website and blog at www.watermill.net.

In the meantime, with very best wishes,

Lois and Bill, Lydia and Lara, and Bella and Rosa (the Labradogs)

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