Category Archive

This very excellent photo of a book held against sunlight was taken by Netherlands photographer Marc van Agteren. See more of his photos at www.shotsbyme.com. The photo sums up summer reading, so we asked Arvon staff what books they were reading this summer. Here’s what some of them said:

Cynthia Rogerson (Moniack Mhor) is reading Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Ariane Koek (Arvon London) is reading Young Hearts Crying by Richard Yates 

Emma Johnson (Arvon London) is reading Alis by Naomi Rich

Rachel Humphries (Moniack Mhor) is reading Under the Skin by Michel Faber

Kerry Watson (the Hurst) is reading London Orbital by Iain Sinclair 

Philip Cowell (Arvon London) is reading Land’s End by Michael Cunningham 

Pauline Smith (Totleigh Barton) is reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

Julia Wheadon (Totleigh Barton) is reading Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna

Stephen May (Lumb Bank) is reading Marilyn and Me by Shanta Everington

Nick Murza (Arvon London) is reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

Costa del Lumb Bank eh?  Here at Moniack Mhor, we too are enjoying el scorchio weather with the added package holiday ambience of droning diggers and radios blaring out music of the dance, trance, or prance ilk.

This, I hasten to add, is actually good news and, as we have no courses at present, not a problem.  Our next course is a month away – Poetry with Ann and Peter Sansom – by which time all will be Highland tranquil again with the trill of skylark and plaintive kee of buzzard the only distracting sounds.

Our tutors will be delighted to hear that from now on they have the luxury of en-suite bathrooms in the cottage.  We have also increased parking space (previously we only had room for two cars and a sheep) and now have vehicle access to the front door of the main house which should help those with walking difficulties. 

Now, it’s away from the musings on the benefits of change and back to dealing with the needs of the best builders in the world – ever!

Looking forward to a long, warm, happy summer – best wishes from a tired and dusty Andrea.

March, and Moniack Mhor is quiet. Little dots of rain are flecking at the window, while the sky casually threatens snow. The phone is not ringing but that’s fine. I’ve got peace and quiet to get on with some work.

There’s nobody here but me… well, me and the hares.

The hares, I hasten to add, are not in the office! (The sheep wouldn’t allow it – seriously) Anyway, as I drove down the track this morning I was greeted by the creatures.

I have seen glimpses of them before. Usually when leaving for home on one of those gold-lit, rainbow-basking late summer evenings that Moniack does so well, and they’ve snuck away, frightened.

Today they were nonchalant. The first one crossed the road slowly and ignored me while the second one actually galloped towards the car before ducking off into the field next to the track. I stopped and watched it for a wee while. It was all long legs and big, black-tipped ears. Its eyes were tawny globes looking straight back at me. Then it yawned! Yes! It stretched its’ gangly, feral legs and yawned right at me before loping off with a flick of its tail.

The wildlife around here has no respect!

Best wishes from Andrea Muir, Centre Director, Inverness-shire

Well, it has been sometime since we have shared our news of which there is plenty. In fact, so much, that time and space will not allow the full telling. We had a wee period of the doldrums when it became clear that we were not going to achieve our goal of raising £500,000 to build a new accommodation block. However, the Moniack Mhor team is never long defeated by such minor inconveniences and so we continue to plough onwards and upwards.

There may come a time in the future when a new accommodation block is built but for now we are strengthening our already considerable strengths. We’ve made the house cosier inside with new squadgy sofas, candelabra and muted shades of paint; we’ve spruced up the outside, changed all the menus, and now have haggis, neeps and tatties on the Friday night!

We’ve got new computers which are sleek and black and flat-screened and, amazingly, their acquisition means we have more room in the cottage, which in turn is allowing us to put in a little kitchen area and two en-suite shower-rooms! It’s actually all quite miraculous!

The students who come here in the summer months continue to be over-awed by our spectacular scenery, stunning sunsets and shaggy sheep. Lyndy and I continue to battle the elements to get to our place of work and spiritual home whilst Cynthia, languishes at home writing a novel courtesy of a Scottish Arts Council bursary. She will return in the spring, hopefully thrice-published.

From Andrea Muir – adieu!

We’re looking for Arvon Friends to share their experiences of the Arvon courses they have been on. Have you ever been on an Arvon writing course? Which writing house did you visit? How was your journey there and back? How did you feel on the Monday night as you met your fellow writers for the week? What was unexpected? Did you experience any writing epiphanies? What did you cook and did people like your meal? Who were your tutors and your mid-week guest reader? What kind of weather did you have, what colour were the skies? What inspired you most when you were there (and what didn’t?) With Arvon’s fortieth birthday coming up next year (our first course, with Ted Hughes as guest reader, was in 196 we’re going to collect as many stories about Arvon experiences as possible. Add your experience by clicking on Comments…