…with lots more stories, including two heartwarming tales from Hollywood, why there are a billion fewer plastic bottles in the ocean, what Shakespeare knew about knitting, the perils of pronunciation, and of course, all the latest news on Watermill creative courses. Read All About It, by clicking here,
The vine verandah: the convivial heart of a Watermill creative course
Randy Hale has just sent us this wonderful watercolour of the mill seen from the walled garden, with the vine verandah and its green umbrellas in the foreground. He calls the painting Contemplating Aperitivi, and I think it celebrates one of the distinctive features of a Watermill creative course. For it is here, as the […]
Food is another creative passion for the Italians and the Watermill
When the cacio e pepe arrived in a local trattoria, my friend Max tasted it and asked the waitress: “Is there cream in this?” When the waitress said that there was, Max said: “Take it away, please!” And they did, with little or no demur. Max, like many Italians, is passionate about food. He’s also […]
We’ve helped to prevent a billion plastic bottles from polluting our oceans. Thank you
Yes, the tremendous news this week is that one of the ‘watery’ charities that the Watermill supports, Ocean Bottle, has just reached a major milestone in its fight against ocean-bound plastic pollution. We are proud to have made our own (very small) contribution, aided by all the guests on our creative courses. Ocean bottle announced: […]
On mnemonics and psalms (to say nothing of chutzpah): Why does English have so many silent letters?
We whose native tongue is English sometimes run into pronunciation difficulties when speaking Italian, confusing our c’s and ch’s (cello, chiara, Cimabue, Brunelleschi and so on) but at least there are fairly straightforward rules. Just think of the nightmare our Italian friends have when trying to pronounce English. For a start, there are many words […]
How two remarkable women, centuries and worlds apart, used art to project their power
Looking at Katharine Augusta Carl’s 1903 portrait of Cixi, Dowager Empress of China in the DailyArt online magazine today, I was struck by the parallels with a picture of another woman, made three-and-a-half centuries earlier and half a world away: Eleonora of Toledo, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Here she is, with her son Giovanni, in […]
With more than 30 years’ experience running creative courses, we think we know what we’re doing!
When I first bought the Watermill at Posara in 1989 (having been delighted by the scenery in this unspoiled area of rural Tuscany and enchanted with the ancient buildings and their beautiful grounds), I had no idea that my capricious purchase would turn into a world-renowned centre for ‘convivial creativity’. I was living and working […]
Italian prosecco producers are up in arms against British pubs!
Such is the popularity of prosecco that it has far outstripped champagne as Britain’s favourite fizzy tipple. And Aperol spritz is as enthusiastically sipped in the bars of London as in the canal-side cafés of Venice. But, as is often the case, with demand comes deception. The producers of prosecco, a sparkling white wine from […]
Welcome to Dottoressa Lois in the new Watermill newsletter
The Watermill’s packed February Newsletter celebrates the great event of last month for the Breckon family: Lois’ graduation as a Doctor of Philosophy (music) at the University of London. It gives you the lowdown on why Bill spouts portentous poetry out loud most mornings. It also keeps you up to date on all our Watermill […]
How we are making the Watermill Cooler and Greener. Part Two: Electricity
I reckon that you could boil 25,000 teapotsful* (litres) of water in an electric kettle on the amount of electricity we’ve produced from the sun at the Watermill. I hope I’ve got the figures right, and you may think I ought to have better things to do with my time, but I was just trying […]