10 May, 2007 Gillian said...
I recently did a 1 day "Drawing on Buildings" course at the John Soane Museum and it turned out to be far more interesting than I had expected. We were given access to parts of the museum not usually open to the public: his drawing studio, his model room (we sketched buildings), and his collection of architectural drawings. These included some early drawings by Adams - it was heartening to see that drawing didn't come naturally to him in his early days either. I can highly recommend the course - the museum is a fascinating place to work in.

Anne : Thanks for mentioning the course, Gillian. Sounds just up my street. It's some time since I signed on for an art course. Have done several at West Dean and at Can Xenet in Mallorca/Majorca.

"Can Xenet is a 400 year old manor house idyllically set amid 25 acres of cornfields, almond and fig trees. The large rustic barn, used as a studio and for alfresco lunches, lies between the swimming pool and the croquet lawn.


A varied and excellent menu includes some regional dishes and students may help themselves all day to drinks which are provided in a special fridge for them in the barn. Tapas, wine and cocktails are served on the terrace every evening. All wines, liqueurs, coffee and drinks are included and there are no extras whatsoever in our holiday.
The school offers courses for beginners; courses for students of mixed ability and workshops for advanced students and professional artists. These courses are advertised in the Artist and Leisure Painter from January-March and take place mainly between April-October."

I also went to Venice with the Can Xenet people and had a marvellous time.

09 May, 2007 Judy Astley said...
"He wasn’t faithful to his wife. I wondered why she didn’t value him more; so many women, including me, would happily have changed places with her."

Interesting - perhaps the wife DID value him, till he started cheating on her. Judy

Anne : We have only Elizabeth Jenkins' word for it. Sir Eardley Holland died almost 40 years ago at the age of 87. His obit is here. He was married twice.

I think it was rather silly of EJ to waste her life longing for someone who was unattainable.

09 May, 2007 Helen said...
I am often amazed when I find out the a partner of one of my friends and acquaintances are being unfaithful. I often refuse to believe it. But it is not possible to see what is going on in other peoples relationships. Maybe Dr Holland's wife was glad he was having sexual relationships with others, or maybe she had lost respect for him. When you lose respect for your husband it is usually the death noll for the relationship.

Anne : Other people's relationships can be baffling. Someone I've never heard of before, Allan K Chalmers, wrote "The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." Change the second 'something' to 'someone' and I'd agree with him.

I don't often leave comments on other people's blogs but did add one to Danuta Kean's piece on the future of reading.

If you haven't already discovered it, this is an excellent blog by someone with a keen understanding of the publishing "industry".

More about West Dean

"Edward James was born in 1907 into a world of privilege. He inherited the West Dean Estate on the untimely death of his father in 1912. He is perhaps best known as a passionate supporter of Surrealism, a movement that was born from the political uncertainty and upheaval between the wars. Surrealist artists escaped into a world of fantasy and irrationality. Edward was an early enthusiast of Surrealist artists and supported them by building up a collection of paintings and art objects that subsequently came to be accepted as one of the finest collections of surrealist work in private hands."




"He also provided practical help, supporting Salvador Dalí for about two years and allowing Magritte to stay in his London house to do some paintings."

The West Dean website is well worth a browse. They offer many other courses besides art.