Watermill at Posara, Italy, Newsletter

..... Florence here we come!

The big news from the Breckon family is that we are going to live in Florence for a few years. Lydia and Lara are to go to the International School there and will also continue their musical education in Italy (the Italians are quite good at music, we hear!); Bill’s writing his detective story set in the city and Lois is to pursue her musical research – and we are all going to enjoy the Italian lifestyle in the cradle of the Renaissance.

Our move also means that we will be able to intensify our work on the improvement of the watermill and to plan interesting new activities (such as getaway weekends, cultural and gastronomic events), as well as enjoy more time in Posara ourselves.

Florentine skyline We are all very excited, as you can imagine, and looking forward to our next big adventure. We’ve already found a lovely apartment, on the top floor of a 16th Century building in the historic centre of the city. We have not one, but two, terraces with magical views over the rooftops of Florence, the great dome of the cathedral, the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Santa Croce and the blue cupola of the synagogue.

We’ll be moving in August, ready for the start of the school year at the beginning of September. We even have an Italian (mobile) phone number: +39 366 488 2587, but don’t use it yet, as it won’t be active until 1 August. Until then, please contact us on our UK number: 01888 568 375. And our email won’t change: you’ll always be able to find us using our secure Contact Form.

Easter in Posara

We spent a lovely Easter at Posara, doing our usual Italian things with family and friends: walking along the millstream, sitting in the walled garden, making an ‘eeyore’ house in the bamboozery, rolling decorated hard-boiled Eater eggs and, of course, eating lots of delicious fresh Italian food and drinking too much Italian wine.

In between, we made excursions to the Cinque Terre for clifftop walks (and a sunlit lunch in the harbour square); pedalling along the city walls in Lucca (and lunch in the piazza where Puccini was born); walking (after toasted sandwiches and cappuccino in Fivizzano) in the botanical gardens high in the foothills of the Apennines and taking in the fresh pine-scented air; Family and Friends partying at the mill on Easter Sunday with Italian friends (lovely potato tarts made by Nadia, Mirella’s homemade lasagne, grilled mixed meat and vegetable kebabs prepared by our friend the butcher). As you can see, we rather like Italian food and we have had to go on a diet on our return to shed a few pounds.

Another of our excursions was to an old villa in the hills above Fivizzano, to see its daffodil display. It was quite interesting and there were certainly lots of daffodils, but the villa had a run-down air. The highlight of the visit was a male peacock, excited no doubt by the Spring, in full tail-spreading display.
Here he is:

Peacock While we were there our builders were beavering away on our new courtyard bedrooms, opposite the main Tuscan house, with the new dining room and kitchen below.

As always, there still seems a lot to do, but much progress was being made each day – and it is all going to look wonderful when it’s finished.

We made a foray to buy all the furniture for the new rooms: beds, wardrobes, dressing tables and the like, so it is all coming together.

Several of our painting holidays and creative writing courses are more or less fully booked, but we still have places on others, so if you’d like to enjoy the delights of Posara yourself, you’d better get that booking in. Full details of availability are given below.

We still have some availability in our self-contained apartments for a relaxing holiday under the Tuscan sun and if you are interested in these, drop us an email on our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375 and we’ll reserve your place.

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%.

The Last Supper: getting larger and larger

Talking of food, we were intrigued by a recent story from the International Journal of Obesity about the size of the portions depicted through the centuries in paintings of The Last Supper. Prof Brian Wansink Brian Wansink of Cornell University, an American expert in consumer behaviour and nutritional science, has used computer technology to look in detail at more than 50 paintings of the scene over the centuries. He compared the size of the main meal, the bread and the plates with the average head size of Jesus and the apostles in each of the paintings. And he found that food portions have been getting bigger and bigger over the years. 20th century entrées, for example, were more than two-thirds bigger than those in Medieval times; plate size has also increased by two thirds and bread, by more than a fifth.

Prof Wansink says that the dramatic increases in the production, availability, safety, abundance and affordability of food is reflected in the paintings of history’s most famous dinner: “I think people assume that increased serving sizes, or ‘portion distortion’, are a recent phenomenon, but this research indicates that it’s a general trend for at least the last millennium.”

Here is Duccio's Last Supper (1308-11) to compare with Titian’s (1544). Note how the size of the food, bread, and plates on the table compare with the size of the heads of Jesus and his disciples.

What’s still available

As we said, many of our painting holidays are virtually full, with only a place or two left. The courses with one or two places left are:

John Christian (watercolours), 5-12 June
Annelise Pio Hansen (watercolours), 28 August- 4 September
Laraine Simpson (oils, pastels, watercolours etc), 4-11 September
Charles Sluga (watercolours), 3-10 October.

If you would like to book on any of these courses, please contact us as soon as possible, so we can reserve the last place(s) for you. Email us on our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375, but hurry!

We have a few more places on the following painting holidays, but now is the time to book to ensure you are not disappointed:

Fergal Flanagan (gouache, watercolours and pastels), 15-22 May
Guy Gruwier (watercolours), 19-26 June
Liz Seward Relfe (watercolours), 10-17 July
Freda Alschuler (watercolours, acrylics & mixed media), 24-31 July

To whet your appetite for these tutors, here are some of their paintings. There are more details about them in the section Your 2010 painting holiday tutors: the full list below.

Ballyconnely coast by Fergal Flanagan This is Fergal Flanagan’s oil painting of the Ballyconnelly coast in Connemara. Ireland.

Fergal says: “This painting captures the incoming tide on an Irish beach showing the rock formations and the source of the light highlighting the shadows on these rocks. The distant headland gives a feel of space to the painting allowing the eye to move through the scene.”

Fergal’s painting holiday, in gouache, watercolours and pastels runs from 15-22 May.

Good morning Bruges by Guy Gruwier Our Belgian tutor Guy Gruwier is taking a course in watercolours from 19-26 June.

Here’s his lovely watercolour Good morning Bruges!

Guy says: “If you have never been to Bruges, a marvel of our small country Belgium, you will notice that ancient architecture can be quite unexpected, especially when the first sunrays throw whimsical patterns of light and shadow over the buildings.”

New Forest River by Liz Seward Relfe Liz Seward Relfe, from Surrey, will be teaching in watercolours and acrylics from 10-17 July.

This lovely acrylic by Liz is called New Forest River.

She says: “This is the sort of landscape subject I love: a lazy summer afternoon with sunlight filtering through the trees. This was painted in Acrylic on a support of tissue paper mounted on to a piece of mountboard with PVA glue. This base is wonderful to paint on being both extremely durable but sympathetic and absorbent to the paint.”

Freda's Cafe in Provence
Our talented Swiss-based tutor
Freda Alschuler will be teaching in watercolours, acrylics & mixed media from 24-31 July.

Here’s Freda’s Café in a village in Provence.

She says: “The negative painting in the foreground is important. The feeling of a warm afternoon under the sun umbrellas gives this painting the right mood.”

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.
Three 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.
One place 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.
Two or three 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
Five places left.

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
One place 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
One or two 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.
One or two places left.

A special place for Writing Romance

Participants on our Writing Romance courses at the watermill have been full of praise for the place and the tutors. Here’s what some of them have had to say:

"We had a fantastic time at The Watermill at Posara: an enthusiastic tutor who really encouraged and brought out the best in us.”

“I learned so much about the techniques and craft of writing and was inspired and encouraged to pursue my own writing ambitions.”

"My writing course at the watermill was not only inspiring but amazingly relaxing -- great hospitality and lovely food meant that we students were able to concentrate on our writing.”

“A wonderful place. I can't imagine anywhere more peaceful. A location of outstanding beauty … and food that was out of this world."

“We laughed our way through a fantastic, excellent value for money, week. The mill, the skilled and sympathetic tuition, the organisation, the cooking and the transportation were superb.”

Yes, laughter, good company and inspiration are the key themes of a Posara creative writing course.

Sharon Kendrick’s Spring course in May, is now fully booked, but we do have places on Jessica Hart’s Autumn course, which runs from 25 Sep - 2 Oct 2010.

If you would like 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. Please Email us on our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375 and we’ll reserve your place. There are details of Jessica’s course below.

Our inspirational Autumn Writing romance course

Our best-selling, award-winning creative writing tutor Jessica Hart returns to the watermill for another inspirational course this Autumn. Her course on Writing Romance runs from 22 September to 2 October 2010 and if last year’s course is anything to go by, it’s going to be great fun as well as artistically stimulating. Jessica said of her time at the mill last year: “I had such a good time, it honestly didn’t feel like working. The watermill is a lovely old building in a beautiful place, and the weather was perfect, but what really made the week for me was being with other people who were interested in romance.

Writing group “Some groups never gel, but this one did right from the start, and one of my lasting memories of the week will be sitting around the big table, talking about our favourite books, playing Boggle and laughing. I’d expected to enjoy myself, but I had no idea it would be quite such fun!”

Jessica added: “Some great stories began to take shape over the week, and I was quite puffed up with pride in them all by the end, although I don’t actually think it was much to do with me. It was about being with like-minded people in beautiful surroundings, with nothing to distract you but the sound of the river and the clanging of the church bell, no deadline beyond the next fabulous meal, and no responsibility beyond wondering if it was time to move into the shade or not …"

Here are more details about Jessica and her course:

Jessica Hart

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.
Still plenty of places.

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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