visits | the writer is a lonely hunter

Heading for Edinburgh, a holiday hit

by gailaldwin

Ann Hathaway’s Cottage, Stratford

The destination for our family holiday was Edinburgh. We stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon so that we could use the hotel reservation and theatre tickets cancelled earlier in the year due to exam revision pressure. (I’m pleased to say that my daughter got two As and a B in her A levels and will be going to study history and American studies at Nottingham University). We saw Troilus and Cressida at the Swan which I enjoyed but my husband thought it pretentious and my son wanted to slit his throat rather than go back in after the interval. The interpretation was baffling with the Trojans represented as North American Indians and the Greeks as desert soldiers and there was a transvestite for the fool. In addition, there were TV screens around the stage showing footage of Inuit cultural traditions interspersed with Hollywood movies. Now that was a little confusing, particularly when the actors watched the screens and replicated the actions. Overall the family gave it the thumbs down, as did The Guardian, and you can read review here.

Beatrix Potter’s Cottage

We stopped for a few days in Cumbria with our friends the Huggetts and managed to visit the lakes, Beatrix Potter’s home and spent a day at the seaside. The weather was wonderful and the company great. Our first night in Scotland was in Glasgow and we had breakfast in the Willow Tea Rooms which boasts an interior designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and serves a splendid Scottish breakfast. Following a visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (there’s a fascinating and brave section on Glasgow life) we drove to Edinburgh where we stayed in a Stockbridge flat for the rest of our holiday. Read the rest of this entry »

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An almost family outing to Camp Bestival

by gailaldwin

A few years ago, when the children were young enough to be able to buy a family ticket, we spent a day at Camp Bestival, Lulworth Castle. Dave, my husband, hated it and retreated to the car with a newspaper for almost the entire time. He did come with us to the Big Top where Lee Mack was doing a stand-up routine where he proclaimed Camp Bestival to be Glastonbury for the middle-aged. I’m not so sure about that, as a toddler hanging off your hip appeared to be a compulsory accessory. This year I went back again with my daughter, now eighteen and my son of sixteen.

Fortunately, it was a warm day with plenty of sunshine even if it did turn a little windy as the evening drew on. We studied the programme and each of us chose something we wanted to do. My choice was to attend the RSA discussion on optimistic vs pessimistic views on the state of the world. Eliane Glaser argued for a good dose of sceptisim (rather than pessimism) particularly in view of ‘green-wash’ that sees petrol companies using fake green symbolism when their interests lie in oil production and bakers who promote whole food breads that in one slice, contain more salt than a packet of crisps. Laurence Shorter, on the other hand, talked about the search for happiness through optimism. Happiness is a choice, he argues so the advice is simple: if you’re not happy, get happy. After an hour of listening to the discussion, me and the children had plenty to talk about.

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A cultural couple of days

by gailaldwin

I spent a couple of days in Surrey last week with Sue, a friend I met at an Arvon course in 2010 and she introduced me to Carol last year, when we were together for a weekend in Cornwall. Sue is a fantastic host, cooking delicious meals and making us feel very welcome. You can find out more about Carol by visiting her blog Scribbling in the Margins.

In spite of the wet weather, we spent the whole of one day at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. Here buildings of historical merit have been relocated to form a fascinating ‘village’ that includes a medieval hall-house, a tudor kitchen, a toll house, and a working watermill. For those who are interested in historical writing, the musuem is holding an event in August titled Historical Fiction Day where Emma Darwin, Maria McCann and Alison Weir are offering input. There’s also a short story competition that you can enter.

And if that competition doesn’t interest you, why not think about entering the Historical Novel Society short story competition?

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Visit to Portmeirion, location for The Prisoner

by gailaldwin

While in North Wales, with others from Ty Newydd, I visited Portmeirion. The village was designed by Sir Clough Williams between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village. It is located on the estuary of the River Dwyryd about two miles from Porthmadog. The village has inspired many Read the rest of this entry »

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