| 'Writing the Bright Moment' with Roselle Angwin |
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Dates: Sat 26 Aug - Sat 2 Sep 2017
Cost: £795* (shared room £695) - £100 discount for booking on both this event and 'Seize the Week'.
A week to quicken the heart, fire the imagination and enliven the senses. Through lively discussion, shared silence, slow walking, time outdoors, mindfulness exercises and creative prompts we’ll find new ways of being in and writing from each moment – effortlessly.
This retreat will focus on developing our writing at the same time as deepening our sense of relationship to the world around us, in this moment – the only one we ever have.
There’ll be lively discussion, stimulating writing tasks for the imagination, shared silence and walking as well as words and readings, and time to simply be in the natural world, and, if you’d like, to immerse yourself in the waterfall pool. All the time there will be gentle prompts to relax into the present moment and its joys and gifts.
Roselle will be facilitating another week immediately after this one: Seize the Week. There a reduction of £100 total for those booking on both events.
It isn’t easy to put into words what a haven of peace, quietude and relaxation Gardoussel is. Having never attended a creative writing course before this was a revelation for me and I wrote more in a week with Roselle than I have in my life so far. Her techniques, encouragement and critiques set my creative juices flowing and gave me tools to continue my writing when I get home. (Kerryn Alt)
Roselle’s deep and thoughtful humanity, her affinity with nature, her skilled handling of material and participants, her inspirational writing and readings created a deeply healing and creative space. (Chloe Balcomb)
I went to Gardoussel to kick-start the writing of my book and pick up a few tips along the way. The week was marvellous and truly inspirational, in so many different ways. The exercises in poetry writing fired up my neurons and this improved my prose writing as well. Highlights were the delicious, healthy food, the atmospheric fire pit in the evening, the fun, laughter and the sharing of poetry and prose. (Anja de Jager)
Access to a printer (bring a UBS key) can be arranged and we have a wifi point.
As with our other weeks, massages are normally available from our on-site therapist, Frances. Walking maps can be provided, hammocks abound, and we’ll show you to the firewood pile in case you'd like to make yourself an outdoor fire in the evenings.
As part of the informal atmosphere at Gardoussel, guests are asked to participate in tidying up after meals, on a rota basis. This is generally considered to be a plus rather than a chore - as it helps the group to get to know one another better.
Arrival is from 4pm on the first day, departure is after breakfast on the final day.
*Pricing
Accommodation (single room) is £495, including meals and wine
Course cost is £300
Tutor
UK poet and author Roselle Angwin leads the Fire in the Head holistic writing programme, and The Wild Ways ecosoul project, a path of reconnection with self, other, story and land. She's passionate about wild places and the natural world, as well as the relationships and meeting points between inner and outer geographies. Roselle trained in Transpersonal Psychology and holds a counselling qualification. She has been described as 'a poet of the bright moment whose own sources of creative inspiration are her native Westcountry, the Scottish islands, and a highly individual blend of Celtic myth and metaphysics, psychology, shamanic and Buddhist thinking'. She leads courses and retreats on Dartmoor, in Cornwall, the Isle of Iona and abroad.
For more info visit www.fire-in-the-head.co.uk or http://thewildways.co.uk or
Price includes all course tuition, accommodation and meals. Single rooms will be provided to all participants depending on availability unless otherwise requested.
EXTERNAL ATTENDEES:
Our local village of St Andre de Valborgne is just over 1km away, a gentle 20 mins walk along a quiet B-road. (A lift by car is also possible for anyone prefering not to walk). Accommodation is available at the following places (prices are approximative):
Auberge de la Vallee: http://www.restaurant-auberge-vallee-borgne.com
47€ single room - 57€ double/twin room - breakfast 6€
Hotel Bourgade: http://www.restaurant-bourgade.fr
rooms from 61€ - breakfast 7,50€
Cocon des Cevennes b&b: http://cocondescevennes.blogspot.fr
rooms at 75€ (2 people) including breakfast
If anyone has trouble booking, Sharon (see Contact) is happy to help.
Although we are not set up for camping (we have no bespoke camping facilities for example), as an exception we have decided to offer a 'wild camping' option on this retreat only. Pitch your own tent anywhere on our land (we have 45 acres of meadow and woodland) - taking your chances as most of it is not 100% flat - or on a flat grassy terrace we will clear for the purpose - and share rustic bathroom facilities (bath with shower head, wash basin: but the water's hot!) with our resident cook and massage therapist Frances who lives in a yurt. For the loo, you'll need to walk down to the main building to use the 'public' Gardoussel toilet - or pee in the woods, the choice is yours. This option costs £550 / week.
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