Writers Retreat

The month of October is, in my opinion, the best time of year, light is always superb with mist hugging the mountains, woodland colours all beginning to change to the golds reds and browns of Autumn.
An inspiring time to welcome our writers to our first Writing Retreat!

Thrilled to work, for the first time with my dear friend, Edana Minghella, who led the retreat and the lovely, Vincent O'Connell who took the Master Class.
My daughter, Emily also helped with the entertaining and prepared the aperitivi.

Edana Minghella is a writer and jazz singer who comes from an Anglo-Italian family, steeped in creativity. Her brother, the late Anthony Minghella, was an Oscar-winning film director (The English Patient), writer, and opera producer. Her other brother, Dominic, is a writer and TV producer who created the British TV series 'Doc Martin' and BBC One's 'Robin Hood'.

Edana co-wrote several episodes of 'Doc Martin' with Dominic, and is an experienced writer of fiction as well as influential and award-winning articles, papers and reports, a stage play and a short film. She is currently working on a two-hander radio play. She has studied creative writing and drama over a number of years. She has a regular yoga, meditation and mindfulness practice, helping to support the relationship between body, mind, creativity and the natural world. Edana is a qualified teacher of adults and has a background in mental health practice.

Vincent is a Bafta- and Television Society- award winning writer and director. He has written prolifically for TV, film and stage and is a passionate teacher of film making and creative writing. His directing work includes the short film Skin (written by Sarah Kane) which was shortlisted for a Golden Bear. www.vincentoconnell.co.uk

Emily ~

Our four interesting ladies arrived with great enthusiasm.

They bonded with Luna, Teddy and Ruby~

Evenings were spent over dinner and a glass of wine or two and a variety of subjects were debated.

Something rather special about sharing food...

 I loved nipping down to our village to source local produce ready to prepare our lunch and dinner. 

The sun shone, it was warm enough, hot at times to wear tee shirts!

Pumpkin soup.....

One of our spectacular views...

The ever changing light and colour feeds the soul~

"Edana is a great facilitator – generous, gentle, mindful and experienced".

Edana also happens to be a terrific jazz singer, one of her many talents, so we were also spoilt with her wonderful voice. 

Quite unexpectedly, our neighbour Mauro turned up with a pumpkin with my name scratched on it and beautiful bunch of Sunflowers!

I think perhaps he had seen our ladies arriving and curiosity got the better of him!

"The work on identifying the essence of the screenplay and the 

hotseating threw up some interesting ideas, and Vincent is an engaging 
facilitator."

The magical experience of witnessing a beautiful full moon~

A trip to Monterosso, part of the beautiful Cinque Terre, offered our writers the chance to see something of this stunning area.

Nothing like a brisk walk by the sea.

A little retail therapy!

 Sampling a delicious lunch at one of the local family run restaurants.

Time to sit and draw~

Something to nibble at with tea in the afternoon.

Friday, our last evening, we celebrated Lizi's birthday and had a farewell party!

Cocktails!

Edana and I had a joyous week working together and indeed with Vince, who was sadly unable to stay for the party due to his previous commitment with the London Film Festival.

Lizi loved her birthday present!

Dinner by candle light, under the stars !

Champagne and dancing!

Our first writing retreat was a huge success, amazing how everyone really bonded, new friendships were made and our group left with a sense of new inspiration excited to return to their corners of the world and do what they loVe best.......write. 

Our Spring Writing Retreat is being held at Settimo Cielo from, 25th April~2nd May 2015

We hope you will join our intimate group

Please email Karen

vita.uk@btinternet.com

All enquiries welcome. 

"If you're looking to expand your mind, to step away from the day to day grind, you couldn't think of a better place to do so. Nestling in the Italian hills of Monte Vignale, Settimo Cielo offers creative retreats, which include photography, writing and art. A bit like that well known supermarket brand (!) this isn't just any retreat, this is a place where the host and her family throw open the door to their home, hearts and minds. You leave feeling you've made new friends for life."

Tracey Jefferies~

Andare a Piedi ~

I can't tell you how happy I feel right now, at this very point in time.

Sitting here in the piazza, sun beating down, last day of October 2014.

I feel it swathing, hugging my entire body ~

This small embracing piazza, the centre of where I have sat, (now live), for more than ten years.

I sit at a small table for three, the Italians being so superstitious would not place chairs for two or four!

Umbrella shaped trees flank either side of the large Comune door in big antique stone pots.

Step into the entrance hall and you will see the stone staircase running to the top of this huge building, linking all the floors and rooms, one of which houses our Sindaco, (Mayor), Enzo Manenti.

A man close to my heart...... having agreed to help me obtain  planning permission for the land we had bought, all those years earlier, from criminal English estate agents.

How many times had I ran up to his office for a fragment of news, sometimes to offer additional information, over the course of months, more than a year........the tears that were shed and final joy, elation when he announced to Jim and I that indeed he had obtained the necessary documentation.

He closed the huge shutters and wiped across his brow, phew! 
We had done it!

He could so easily have turned me away at the beginning, after all, I am English he didn't have to help me!

A moment so deeply touching, never to be forgotten ~ now etched within me.

"Come la vita", (how is life), Bugelli announced as he walked past me towards the entrance to the bar.

"Bello", beautiful I reply, thinking, we all have our worries and gosh mine are deep at times, but I choose to live each day and notice all the little things in life that make me so very happy.

I do what I can for others and remain positive with a glad and thankful heart, conscious too that life is a very fine line.

We are here to help one another to be more tolerant, must be glad for all the things we have.

I count my blessings daily.

The castle standing proud, opposite the Comune building takes up almost the width of the piazza.

Dating back to the 12th Century I admire the heavy chestnut doors and try and imagine how many rooms inside.

  Bugelli reappears, lights a cigarette and sits at my table.

Noticing the small branch, awkwardly stuck through my jute bag, he tells me the name in dialect, Peti.

I had picked it up as I walked down the hill into the village, with the idea of placing it decoratively across the top of the glass cabinet.

He knew all about this tree and it's healing qualities of the fruit with a nut in the centre.

Good for the intestines apparently.

Bugelli is a well known and loved musician, also sings, and a great friend of Zucchero.

When mentioning Zucchero, I replied asking if he is at home at the moment or on tour, at home apparently, which is very close to here.

Bugelli proceeds to tell me that he has also sang about Peti, he sings Blues, Rock and Folk music.

Apparently you eat them in the evening, after dinner before going to bed, amazing healing properties, he was bought up on these beautiful shaped fruits.

We talked some more about the importance of natural medicine, a subject I strongly believe in, far better than pills and potions, he agreed.

He informed me of another plant, La Malva, a great one for tooth ache.

Mauro has some growing in his orto, he tells me, so I will ask him to show me the plant next time I am passing.

Bugelli is one of life's wonderful characters, a colourful individual who sports his own unique style.

I felt privileged to be sitting here chatting in Italian with him in the glorious sunshine.

He had a lot to do that morning he told me as he got up, proceeded to give me information about the children singing with him on Tuesday in the piazza at 11am. 

On that note he tipped his hat, took my hands in his, drew them towards his lips, gently kissing them and wished me a good day!

My attention was slowly drawn back to the piazza and all the life coming and going, voices chattering, friends, neighbours greeting, hugging kissing one another.

This is the place where everyone meets, people who were born here, families who have lived in this village for generations, a community living side by side.

A community supporting one another, when a member passes on to the next life, the same announcement is posted around the immediate area, a different name and age, the same public notice because everyone will attend the funeral and when the church is full to the gunnels they will stand outside to pay their last respects.

Many of them share the same beliefs, linked by the Catholic Church, everyone has, more or less, the same service at their funeral.

A few ladies embrace, exchange a few words, and laugh before entering into the butcher's shop, opposite to where I am sitting. 

Folk come and go from the Comune perhaps making an enquiry about a bill or speaking with the Mayor.

Voices chattering people laughing, all seem content to pass the time of day interspersed, of course, with the traditional kissing of each cheek or hugging whilst patting a firm hand across the back.

It's warm, very warm in every sense with a gentle breeze occasionally stroking my cheeks.

Deliveries being made to the bar, a man with a barrow stacked, bar all decked for Halloween.

Someone calls across the piazza to me, feeling blessed feeling I belong, that we too are part of this caring community.

My mind winds back to earlier this morning, when I climbed out of bed, then realising I needed a few provisions and still no car.

Even so the weather beckoned and I needed the exercise!

I pulled on my very old Timberland boots, not one for labels, I bought these because they were, still, are incredibly comfy.

They had become a bit shabby around the uppers, so I found  a lovely lady with a sewing machine in a street in China, a few years ago,  bought a strip of fabric and asked her to restitch over the top.

They looked terrific, she made a fantastic job and no other pair in the world!

Stepping out in the fresh morning air, I had started walking with a  skip in my heel eager to meet the day.

Minutes later I saw Mauro at his orto busy clearing out the little rustic kitchen.

An invitation ~ he asked that we should join him and Carla, together with Laura, Luciano and Alberto, his sister-in-law Angela the following day.

How wonderfully unexpected, Saturday and Sunday are festa days, All Saints and All Souls where they all honour their loved ones by taking flowers to the cemetery and light candles.

Lovely that we should be asked to spend time with them on such a family day.

Feeling thrilled, I continued along the track, inhaling the earthy woodland smells, fir cones, leaves, interwoven with wafts of honey, wild mint and sweet clover.

Passing the beautiful ancient shrine, Santa Maria.

I think of the festival day each year during September when prayers and thanks are made for the chestnuts and other fruits provided within the woodland.

 

Taking pleasure from the bright light glinting through the trees, I watched the occasional butterfly flit across my path.

Scrunching golden leaves as I walk, scrutinising my surroundings, so as to notice splashes of wild mauve flowers, rich brown chestnuts peeping from their protective spiky casing and all other treasures found whilst within such a naturally inspiring place. 

I reached the bottom of the track, by the church and followed the 

main road down towards Licciana Nardi.

I hadn't walked far when I saw Laura and Alberto driving towards me.

Alberto stopped the car, wound down the windows and Laura hung her head towards me, we shared a joke about me being on foot again!

They had just been to pick up flowers from the local shop to place on family graves.

We mentioned our invitation to Mauro's orto, left saying we would see each other at 2.30pm the next day. 

Continuing my downhill walk I marvelled once more over the spectacular views, drew another deep breathe slowly exhaled and felt so glad to be alive.

I had reached my destination. ~

The Painting ~

 Sitting in the orto on my old bench, naked feet gently pressed in Thyme, releasing the most divine scent.

Occasionally I glance at my dear Italian friend, Michelina as she paints on canvas........our house!

Birds singing, calling to one another, Ruby and Olive at her feet.

Bees dip into the vibrant blue Borage flowers, colourful butterflies flutter from flower to flower.

Bells chime the mid~day hour from the church along the lane....a gentle breeze in the air, sun warms our backs......love this place.............I am lost in time.

Allowing the breeze to carry away any stresses I have, gradually I relax more enjoying the presence, the energy of now.

Revelling the sweet moment connecting with nature, the smell the aroma of herbs and vegetables growing, surrounding us......my friend paints with all her heart and soul.

I am so very touched, it's for me, my special place, this tranquil haven......I want only to share with other creative souls and free spirits, and of course, my husband!

She lights a cigarette, like one of those actresses from an age gone by, elegant and glamorous.....full pink lips and broad smile, she laughs from within.

Painting with a palette knife one moment, then the special angled brush, it's looking so wonderful, I am filled with emotion.

Bee buzzed past with intention, another squooze of paint hits the palette and Michelina hunts through her box full of tubes of paint for......just the right shade.

I make us a tray of coffee carrying it down to the vegetable garden, it felt so special.

We chatted in more depth together, Italian and English, each trying to learn.........perfecting our language skills a little better.

A pic~nic lunch, fresh pear, in season, ruccola, walnuts, parmigiano a little olive oil, the one Karen and Al bought all the way from Australia....undeniably made from olives they had picked!

A small glass of wine....a little bread, here in the middle of the orto, water......what fun!

I clear our plates, my friend reaches back towards the canvas.....love the smell of the paint, lost in the gentle warmth of being and in the company of one who feels as I do, that this is Settimo Cielo!

I am so blessed thank you......so blessed X