Life can be tough can't it? The daily grind, the relentlessness of chores, getting up daily to go to your day job, only to come home to housework. Working hard to make a living. Trying to teach our children that hard work pays off but that it isn't the be all and end all of life. It seems more and more people are unhappy with their work life balance and are consistently getting it wrong. Through my work and becoming part of a community of people on Instagram who share similar interests, mainly of a creative nature I have met some truly wonderful people. It has made me much more aware of the movement towards a different way of living. A slower pace of life, consuming less, reducing waste and being more in tune with nature seems an ever present message and a steadily growing way of thinking. This is an ethos, a different way of living and one that can be incredibly rewarding. It was whilst thinking about this that I decided I wanted to come up with a way to bring some of these ideas together to create a wonderful break away from daily life. A chance to slow down and enjoy some new experiences, meet new people, eat delicious food in a wonderfully relaxed and beautiful setting and more than anything else, have some fun!
So the idea of 'A Season To Gather' was born over many cups of tea at a farmhouse table belonging to one of my new and very lovely friends met through Instagram, Vicky Radtke owner of Starnash Farmhouse in East Sussex. Vicky runs the farmhouse B&B, is a wonderful host and an amazing cook creating the tastiest dishes using ingredients from her garden vegetable patch. We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Tracey who has the perfect mix of wisdom and wicked humour about her and also shares a love of nature as well as excellent photo taking skills. Many hours of hilarity have ensued between the three of us just to come up with a name for this event we've been working on together. We want to share our love of the seasons, we want to meet new people, we want others to enjoy the beautiful setting of Vickys farmhouse, we want to share our skills and knowledge whilst eating delicious food on a (hopefully) sunny Spring day. And more than anything we want to do it whilst feeling relaxed and having a giggle. We've also managed to persuade the lovely Ros from The Natural Dye works to join us to impart her knowledge of naturally dying. Ros has recently given up her day job as a Buyer for Habitat to pursue her passion. She already supplies some of the most incredible floral designers and stylists in the country with her stunning ribbons and runners. I'm really excited for her and to see what she can do now she has made this her day job and can focus solely on her dream. We're also really excited to have her on board for the first of these gatherings. The hope is that these will develop into a seasonal meet up. Some of which will be weekend retreats, some just a free meet up somewhere to enjoy a particular moment in the season or a shorter workshop session. The key to this event being a success is the people. We really hoping this is something that you will join us for and that we start to create a community and friendships through shared interests, a love of nature and an appreciation of the seasons. Hope to see you there.
Anna
x
'A SEASON TO GATHER'
A creative retreat weekend
26th -28th April 2019
Workshop day Saturday, 27th April
Starnash Farmhouse, Upper Dicker, East Sussex
For prices and booking please see listing under workshops on my website www.talesfrom.co.uk.
