There was something magical about driving up to Whitworth Hall on a sunlit autumn morning – deer chewing on the damp grass, spilling their breath into the cold air, a wet crust of coppery leaves on the gravel paths, lipstick red berries, melting frosts, a promising blue sky. If we had orchestrated the weather for the first RoomToWrite weekend we could not have done better and the morning was a gift that made our exercise in Close Observation, Wendy’s brilliant idea that subsequently yielded such beautiful writing, all the more inspiring. The world outside our round- tabled conference room sparkled.
In the evening, we were joined by our illustrious guest writers; Elizabeth Gill, Pat Barker, Sharon Griffiths and Fadia Fakir. We enjoyed wonderful food and great conversation, and drew our first day to a close with the dimming of lights and the lighting of sparklers -an inspired touch by Gillian.
But perhaps what sparkled more than anything over the course of the weekend were the writers themselves and their writing. So many thanks to; Jackie, Judith, Michael, Anne, Erica, Mary, Eileen, Norma, Alison, Hilary, Linda, Lisette, Kathryn and Geri –a great list! – for making it such a brilliant weekend for us and to John from HPM. Thanks for all your hard work and for your great sense of fun, enlivened of course by the odd G&T.
Whilst we hope we enabled and inspired we were truly inspired by you. We felt the magic and I certainly came away believing that in the coming months I will make my writing an absolute priority – finish my current novel and start a new one (that’s exciting) – there is so much still for me to do in the world of writing – so much for all of us – and I look forward to hearing how everyone’s work and plans progress – I look forward to seeing some published novels too– the world’s our oyster now we have HPM to help us publish – so Good Luck and Keep Sparkling!
Do take a look at the feedback and lovely photos courtesy of Geri now at RoomToWrite
Wow looks really good!
A wonderful weekend, thanks so much to you all. I popped along and spent an hour writing in the lounge ( that’s how motivating this course is!). The place was alive with good memories and inspiration from the excellent time we all had there…so I felt it was only right that I had some cake on everyone’s behalf!
Thanks Kathryn – it’s great to know you’ve already been back to Whitworth and have been motivated to write. That’s what the weekend was all about – that and the great people, the beautiful surroundings and afternoon tea of course – cake, scones and cream etc, – a real treat! Good luck with the writing – I’m looking forward not only to the book but to the film too!
Avril x
Hi Avril. I love your sparkly report of Whitworth weekend but I can’t find Geri’s photographs anywhere. I’d like to see them.
The course was a great success wasn’t it? I look forward to next year.
E.