June 2010

Working Weekend

4 - 6 June • No Charge

This is a chance to get to know the farm, turn your hand to old jobs and new, enjoy good company and good food too!

Our Working Weekends are run in the spirit of the wonderful WWOOF organisation: we feed and accommodate you, you work, with us. No money changes hands. An opportunity to have bright ideas by the compost heap, happy talk in the hen house, and cool chat in the kitchen. Join us to prove that many hands make light work and that today’s stranger is tomorrow’s friend. For more information on WWOOF, see www.wwoof.org.uk.

Wildflower Walks

with Patrick Harding

11 – 13 June • £126

Let’s go for a little wildflower walk! Patrick will lead us to a range of habitats in Wiltshire. These include chalk downs, meadows, and woodland. We will walk slowly and have time to locate, identify, photograph, and enjoy splendid native summer flowers. From orchids on the downs to yellow rattle in the hay meadows, there will be floral folk tales and tips about their medicinal and culinary uses.

In the evenings, there will be flowery slide shows, books to peruse, and time to see what Jean and the artists (see below) have been doing!

Dr Patrick Harding is an expert who exudes enthusiasm in the field of flora and fauna. He is the author of numerous books on natural history topics, and a regular broadcaster on radio and television.

Drawing and Painting Wildflowers

with Jean Binney

11th – 13th June • £126

Here is a chance to enhance and focus your interest in flowers! Concentrating on a range of watercolour and coloured pencil techniques through demonstrations, handouts, and one-to-one tuition, you will be able to portray flowers as you see them.

You will be able to draw and paint to your heart’s content. And like the real thing, the outcome of your work may both delight you and brighten your home.

A wide range of books on art techniques, contemporary botanical art and flower identification will be available during the course and art boards will be provided. More information on what to bring will be given on booking.

Jean Binney, a knowledgeable and accomplished painter of flowers, has taught botanical art to adults for over 15 years and is happy working with artists of all abilities.

Creative Music Weekend

with Surya Cooper, Andrew Walpole, Paul Ash, and Linda Lee

18th – 20th June • £126

• Young person’s (under 25) concessionary price £86!

A weekend of pure musical indulgence for all singers, musicians, and songwriters, and anyone who is or would like to be any or all of these!

This will be a weekend to make music, sing songs, write lyrics, share musical experiences, and generally have a very good time.

Guitar tuition, all styles and levels, will be provided by Andrew Walpole – an experienced performer, song maker, and guitar teacher.

Voice coach Surya Cooper will be offering useful yoga-based breathing and voice techniques and will familiarise us with vocal chords and diaphragm!

Founder and leader of the ever-expanding Swindon Scratch Choir, Linda Lee will get us singing in harmony to songs old and new, or even newly-written!.

Song-writing sessions will be led by Paul Ash, experienced lead vocalist and songwriter, who will demonstrate different ways that songs can come about and then evolve. There will also be lots of opportunities to try out or perform your own material.

All lovers music-making welcome, whatever your expertise or experience. Life goes on in endless song; how can we keep from singing!

The weekend starts on Friday evening and will end on Sunday at 4pm with tea, cake, and a song, or three!