Experience a world of Creativity and Leisure in Tuscany, Italy
I reckon Spring is a couple of weeks late this year here in Posara and we are still waiting for the clematis to bloom on the vine verandah and the roses to burst forth en masse on the pergola. Won’t be long now, though.
And the wild flowers in the meadows have been particularly wonderful this year. Here’s a picture from our creative writing tutor Sharon Kendrick. Isn’t it colourful, bathed in the intense Italian sunlight?
“On holiday with the pros.” That was the headline in The Sunday Times this week, over an article about learning from experts on holiday. The article started: “There are tours by guides who have learned their scripts by heart and deliver them with all the passion of a jaded actor doing an advert about tax returns. Then there are trips with real experts, people who live and love their subjects…”
It added: “…travelling with them will take your holiday to another level. Here’s our pick of the best.”
And top of the pile was: “Scriptwriting in Italy”, with Laurence Marks. Here’s the front page
“You will leave the Watermill a considerably better scriptwriter than when you arrive.” That’s Laurence’s promise about the watermill’s first-ever TV Comedy and Drama scriptwriting course. Laurence, along with his writing partner Maurice Gran, was responsible for such TV hits as Birds of a Feather, Shine on Harvey Moon, The New Statesman and Goodnight Sweetheart. His week-long course will run from Saturday 29 June to Saturday 6 July 2013.
Laurence will show participants how to craft their work from the original idea through structure, character, plot and finally script. He’ll lead you slowly through what makes classic television comedy, using one-to-one tutorials, team writing sessions, and most enlightening of all, studying films and TV series that have become ‘classics’.
We have room for just two more pople on Laurence’s excting course. You can find out all about it by clicking here. And if you would like to enquire about latest availability and reserve one of those last two places, please click here
Speaking of writing romance (as we were yesterday), a Leader in The Times of London had some fun yesterday with the results of a recent survey which suggest that the people of Doncaster, a town in the North of England where they’re supposed to be tougher than the softies of the South, apparently read more romantic fiction than anywhere else in the UK. Under the headline Nowt So Queer As Romance, the newspaper’s leader writer reported: “Doncaster is the country’s passionately beating heart of romantic fiction.”
And the leading article went on to say: The people of Doncaster, says a survey, read more romance novels than anywhere else in the UK, with Barnsley not far behind. Who knew? People in Yorkshire, obviously. But now movie moguls, ever keen to milk an extra dollar out of their films, have begun redubbing romantic epics to make them more appealing to the Yorkshire ear, as is evident in these clips from forthcoming re-releases:
Of all t’ bars in all t’ world
. . . from ‘Casablanca’
Rick: If ’a’ plane leaves t’ groun’ ’n thas not wi’ ’im, tha’il rue it. ’Appen not today. ’Appen not tomorra, bur soon ’n fert rest o’ thy life.
Ilsa: Bur wha’ abaht wee?
Rick: We’ll allus av Paris. We dint av, we, we lost it while theur cem ta Casablanceur. We getten it back last neet . . . Wheear ah’m gonneur, theur can’t folla.
Wha’ I’ve getten ta doa, theur can’t be enny part o’. Ilseur, it doesn’t tek much ta see ’a’ t’ problems o’ three lahl fowk dooant amount ta eur ’ill o’ beans i’ dis crazy world … ’Ere’s lookin a’ theur kid.
. . . from ‘When Harry Met Sally’
Sally: Most wimmin av faked it.
Harry: Well thee ant faked it wi’ uz.
Sally: Oh, that’s reet, ah forgot, thas eur bloke.
Harry: Theur dooant think ’a’ ah could tell t’ difference?
[Sally starts to fake an orgasm] Eur theur OK?
Older woman [to waiter]: Ahl av wha’ she’s avin.
. . . from ‘Gone With The Wind’
Scarlett: Ah onny kna ’a’ ah love theur.
Rhett: That’s thy misfortune. [Walks daahn t’ stairs] Scarlett: Oh, Rhett! [Watches him walk teur t’ door] Rhett! [Runs after ’im] Rhett, Rhett! Rhett, Rhett . . . Rhett, if theur nip on, wha’ shall ah doa?
Rhett: Frankly, uz eh up, ah dooant gi’ eur bugga.
But who will voice Rhett’s role? The early money is split between Geoff Boycott and Roy Hattersley.
Maybe we should ask Sharon Kendrick, who will be taking her next famous Writing Romance course this year from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June, to include a session on North of England dialogue!
We already have ten people booked on the course and currently have room for only one more. If you’d like to reserve that last place, please use our Secure Enquiry Form, by clicking here. And to find out more about Sharon and her Writing Romance courses at the mill, please click here.
Eeeh bah gum. ‘Ow can thee resist?
Sharon Kendrick, whose famous Writing Romance course is the first of the 2013 season of painting and creative writing courses at the watermill, brought with her a new hat! That’s what you need to run a course in Tuscany, she reckons – and she even sewed on the bright artificial flowers on her way here. Here’s the hat, on the vine verandah, looking out over the walled garden:
And here’s Sharon wearing it yesterday on her excursion to the fabulous Cinque Terre:
Sharon’s first course is going well) more news later) and she’ll be coming back to the mill (with the hat, we hope!) for her second Writing Romance course this year, which runs from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June 2013. We already have ten people booked on the course and currently have room for one more. If you’d like to reserve that last place, please use our Secure Enquiry Form, by clicking here. And to find out more about Sharon and her Writing Romance courses at the mill, please click here.
Oh! And it’s not obligatory, but we’d love to see you in a colourful hat, too!
I thought you might just like to see the watermill’s latest press release. And if you fancy the transition from the rural peace of Lunigiana to the busy rush of Piccadilly in London, now’s your chance! Here’s the Press Release:
Could you go from The Watermill to the Royal Academy?
Since 1769, without interruption, the Royal Academy in London has held its famous Summer Exhibition each year. The 2013 show runs from 10 June until 18 August and, as usual, will be open to all artists. With around 1,200 works of art on show, there are always a good number of pieces from first-time exhibitors – as well as from already-established, famous artists.
With applications closed for 2013, you may have missed the boat for this year’s exhibition but, head to The Watermill at Posara in Tuscany, perfect your painting skills and, who knows, you could be exhibiting in 2014!
Aimed at all levels, from amateurs to the experienced, The Watermill’s week-long painting courses are all led by professional artists and the group and one-to-one tuition is interspersed with excursions into the surrounding countryside and delicious Italian food. Paint in picturesque hill-top villages, sketch scenery in an artists’ pad and find inspiration in every direction, including the Watermill’s pretty waterside gardens.
Here is a selection of week-long painting courses which still have availability this year:
NEW for 2013: Sue Ford – watercolours, pastels, gouache and oils (24 – 31 August 2013): a contributor to Leisure Painter and Paint! Magazines, Sue teaches in a wide range of media, including paints such as watercolours, oils and gouache, and pastels. Ensuring that all students benefit – regardless of their experience – Sue offers demonstrations and tuition, dishing out practical advice about materials and technique.
Laraine Simpson – watercolours, oils, pastels and other media (31 August – 7 September 2013): returning in 2013 for her sixth visit to the Watermill, Laraine’s courses, which focus on a wide range of media, are always popular. Friendly and approachable, Laraine provides students with constant encouragement, helping them to appreciate the relationships between line, tone, shape and colour.
NEW for 2013: Bev Wells – watercolours (14 – 21 September 2013): a great believer in teaching people in a step-by-step way, Bev always explains what she does and why – passing on what she’s thinking about as she paints. Once she’s established what everyone wants to gain from the course, she’ll do her utmost to ensure it happens – adapting the tuition to everyone’s needs.
Charles Sluga – watercolours (28 September – 5 October 2013): Australian artist Charles is a flamboyant and highly-respected watercolour artist and teacher in both Australia and Europe. He travels widely, holding painting workshops and exhibiting, and has made a number of previous visits to The Watermill. With a good sense of humour and a friendly nature, his classes are always relaxed, informal and inspiring.
A week’s painting course costs from £1,236 pp (two sharing). The price includes transfers (Pisa), all tuition, seven nights’ accommodation, pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals (including local restaurants), local travel and a mid-week excursion to either Lucca or the Cinque Terre villages. Non-painting partners pay just £1,036 pp. Flights (Pisa) extra.
For further information contact The Watermill at Posara on 020 7193 6246 (www.watermill.net).
Waiting to tickle your tastebuds!
Tuscans go to town with sagre (local festivals) which, often centred around food, take place across towns and villages. In July and August alone, sagre in towns and villages near the mill will celebrate everything from eels in the village of Gassano (12-14 July) to fried polenta in nearby Bardine (14-18 August) and trout, focaccette (local flatbread) and testaroli (crepe-like pasta). And a sagra’s not a sagra, unless it’s complete with live music and dancing. We still have some self-catering apartments available in the Summer so you can come and see (and taste) for yourself. For more about our self-catering apartments, please click here. and to enquire about availability, please use our Secure Contact Form, by clicking here, or call us on (UK number) 020 7193 6246 (www.watermill.net).
Mmmm….
Jennifer enjoys a prosecco in the mill courtyard last year
Jennifer Drogell from Canada, who has been on a couple of Sharon Kendrick’s famous Writing Romance courses at the watermill, is going through the wonderfully exciting process of having her first book published. She says today: “Woke up to the fact my book is now LISTED ON AMAZON as coming soon! And I love my back cover blurb! Eek. So amazing!” Please click here to see what they say.Jennifer (nom de plume Jennifer Hayward) is full of praise for Sharon’s teaching and the support of other participants in the week-long courses. She says: “ I can’t say enough about how fabulous Sharon’s romance writing course at the Watermill is or how much it’s helped me with my writing. The course is an interactive week where we write a book together and learn real-time the techniques in writing a romance, from developing the characters and plot line to writing the book. There was so much learning, laughter, debate and life-long friendships made. And Sharon is an amazing mentor! And PS – the folks at the Watermill are wonderful, it is SO gorgeous you must see! What a great week.”
Guess what? Jen is coming again on one of Sharon’s courses this year. Sharon’s May course is fully booked, but we do have a place or two left on her second course this June. It runs from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June and you can find out more by clicking here. And if you’d like to bag one of those remaining places, please use our Secure Booking Enquiry Form by clicking here.
What’s the first line of your new book? Sharon Kendrick, the best-selling author who tutors our famous Writing Romance courses at the watermill, thinks first lines are very important: she’s been musing about them while looking at the cover of her latest novel, A Whisper of Disgrace.
Sharon says: “It’s always interesting when you get the first copy of a book you’ve written. It’s real! You can hold it in your sticky little hands and flick through the pristine pages. You can sniff the gorgeous new-booky smell and read the first line all over again. And that first line should leap out and grab you. Hard. It should capture your imagination and make you hungry to devour those pages….
“Of course, I haven’t yet got a copy of A WHISPER OF DISGRACE. I’ve simply seen the front cover of the UK edition – and seeing a picture of the characters you’ve created is weird. These people have existed in your imagination for so long that you have a very definite idea of what they look like. Sometimes that idea is matched by the art department and sometimes not. Long, dark hair means different things to different people. And a single image of a pair of eyes gives us only a hint of what’s going on behind them.
“This is Rosa and she’s running away. Running from the truth and a life which has become a lie. Running straight into the arms of a man who is pure, emotional danger.”
Sharon adds: “I haven’t got a copy of this manuscript to hand, but I remember the first line. You should always be able to remember your first line. That sharp, steely hook which grabs you…. The bottle was cold, but not nearly as cold as the ice around her heart.
Sharon is taking two Writing Romance courses at the watermill this year. The first is fully booked and we only have a place or two on her second course, from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June. At the time of writing we have had three enquires for these places, so I expect the course to fill really soon. If you want to improve your chances of getting your steely first line (and the rest of your book!) published, please get in touch with us to grab a final place, using our Secure Contact Form by clicking here.
Fans of classic TV comedies Goodnight Sweetheart and Birds of a Feather will be excited to hear that writer Laurence Marks is turning his hand to teaching. Join Laurence in Tuscany on The Watermill’s first TV Comedy and Dram Scriptwriting course, combining script-writing sessions with one-to-one tutorials and regional cuisine; think local wines, home-cooked pasta and deliciously-fresh fruit and vegetables.
Laurence’s course runs from Saturday 29 June to Saturday 6 July and we have only two or three places left. To find out more about the course, please click here. And to enquire about latest availability or to reserve your place, please use our Secure Contact Form, by clicking here.
Enjoy fine food and good company at thw watermill: La dolce vita is here!
We now have eight firm bookings for Sharon Kendrick’s fabulous second Writing Romance course this June, so we have room for just two more people who would like to learn the secrets of success in the world’s most popular literary genre. Many of Sharon’s watermill pupils have gone on to publishing success and you could be the next one.
Sharon’s second week (the first is a sell out) will run from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June. She says: “I can’t wait to return to the watermill. I keep thinking of the roses and the mountains, the silence and the birdsong, the people on the waiting list… I’ love to take courses there.”
Sharon has written more than 80 books for Harlequin Mills & Boon and is a USA TODAY bestseller, as well as selling all over Europe, Asia and South America. She loves interacting with other people and, in particular, nurturing the talent and passion of new writers. 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.
To recap, Sharon Kendrick’s Writing Romance course at the watermill will run from Saturday 22 June to Saturday 29 June 2013. You can find out more by clicking here. If you would like to enquire about latest availability and/or reserve your place before it is too late, please use our Secure Contact Form, by clicking here.
The mountains above the mill: a watercolour from one of our pating course tutors, John Christian
