Such a wonderful week of Spring sunshine! Primroses and daffs are brightening everywhere and the first martins arrived yesterday – we heard them around the nests above the utility room. Our Freefall writing group are having their final celebratory meal at the end of their week-long course and, inspired by the Spring weather, we’ve been decorating the tables with primroses, forget-me-nots and tulips for their last evening.
Barbara Turner-Vessalago (http://www.freefallwriting.com) runs this course here at Poulstone annually and all the writers and would-be writers who attend rave about her ability to facilitate and guide their writing. We send out an invitation to the course each autumn so send us an email if you’d like to be added to the mailing list – it books up fast! It makes a nice change for Mel to have regular visitors to the office each morning as people come to print their work and have a chat. This group has at least two published authors attending which is testimony to the usefulness of the course.
Last week we hosted Manda Scott (http://mandascott.co.uk)and Chris Luttichau (http://northerndrum.com) bringing Manda’s advanced students here for a shamanic course on death and dying. Both teachers have a strong reputation in shamanic circles and we enjoy hosting them every time. Manda’s new novel “Into the Fire” is out in June and details are on her website. The synopsis sounds really intriguing: http://mandascott.co.uk/book_item/into-the-fire.
Next week we say hello again to the Gordon Moody Association (http://www.gordonmoody.org.uk). This is the second residential part of their 12 week programme for women with a gambling addiction. The group really enjoyed the supportive environment here when they came in January and we look forward to seeing them all again.
Things are really getting going in the garden. Steve is on a pruning-fest around the place and Mel has been weeding between the paving in the kitchen yard to smarten up the back. Gail’s been weeding the top yard and working in the veg garden. Mel has sown the beetroot, carrots and parsnips into the raised beds as well as sowing the courgettes and squash indoors. The window ledges in the barn cloakroom are full of Gail’s seedlings including kales, peas and beans. It definitely feels like the year is getting underway now!
Right! Time to slope round to the kitchen to see if there’s any of the delicious walnut and cashew wellington left!
More soon!
Mel & Steve
