It doesn't matter if you are coming back from a war zone or a business trip - sometimes you just want perfect peace and quiet. When you get that plus fine wine and food - you know you are in Lalinde!
Bordeaux's historic centre has been revitalised in the last few years and is now one of the biggest pedestrian precincts in Europe - yet compact enough to be visited on foot. In the area adjacent to La Terrasse à Bordeaux are wonderful cobbled streets with some of the best restaurants and bars as well as an open-air food market and antique and bric-a-brac market on weekends.
Porte de Bourgogne
LET YOUR PICTURES TELL THE STORY
Join Suzanna Clarke for a day as we take some intriguing images of the picturesque region we live in. Learn how to create images that are both works of art and communicate the spirit of place. Our aim is to take a series of wonderful shots that may be exhibited in a group art show.
Programme:This one day workshop will cover:
-- Composition: ways of seeing beyond the obvious. Breaking down a scene into details and framing it in interesting ways.
--- Light: creating atmosphere by using different types of light. How to both plan for effect and also make the best of existing lighting conditions.
-- Portraiture: Candids and posed portraits that help to reveal the character of the subject.
-- Movement: learn the tricky skill of panning to give an added sense of excitement and how to create unusual pictures using time exposure.
You will need: --a digital camera that has manual settings;
--beg or borrow (but don't steal) a small tripod if you don't have
one;
--to download pictures, a laptop would be handy if you have one.
--comfortable clothing and walking shoes
--The day will start at 07:30am at the Chateau Lalinde and include a coffee and croissant breakfast
--a working lunch will be served on the Chateau terrace
--and at the end of the day everyone will convene to study the day's work, get feedback and enjoy a glass of wine.
--There will be theory as well as field work done during the day -- and the group will be doing some walking as well as going out (transport provided) on location shooting
Each participant will also have one enlarged and framed photograph, chosen from their work by Suzanna and yourself, displayed at a small exhibition in Lalinde (venue to be announced) -- whether you want this photograph made available to be sold, or keep it for yourself, will be up to you!
Clarke's photographic work has been the subject of major government touring exhibitions and has been used to promote Australia at World Expos. Previously as a freelancer she has worked for Travel and Life magazine (now Conde Nast Traveler), New Scientist, Illustrated Science (Scandinavia), The Bulletin/Newsweek, Time Magazine, WWF, numerous tourism commissions and interior design magazines. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Communication, a Masters degree in Creative Writing and has also worked part-time as a university lecturer. Clarke is skilled and enthusiastic teacher who thoroughly enjoys sharing her love of photography.It's been a while since our last update and so we have lots to catch up on. This is what we've been up to since September last year, when we were still in the UK, enjoying the touring and another Summer full of sunshine.
After a run of folk clubs throughout September, we really settled into the rhythm of travel in October (One four day jaunt saw us in York, Southampton, Birmingham and South Shields on consecutive nights!). Along the way, we encountered even more of Nicole's seemingly endless supply of relatives, caught up with a lot of old friends, and played at some beautiful clubs (One of our favourites being The Sutton Folk Club in Bedfordshire). This tour saw us travelling to a lot of clubs where we had not previously played, as well as a fair few return visits to places we'd been in 2004. It was a real treat having Jacey Bedford looking after the organisational side of the tour, making it possible for us to concentrate our energies on our performances.
We did manage to find time to be tourists as well as playing, even making it to Stonehenge between two gigs. John was happy that there was no repeat of his first visit, when he emerged from the tunnel to see the ancient stones among the mist, only to hear a loud, harsh voice from behind him (you guess the accent), "IT'S NOT AS BIG AS I THOUGHT IT'D BE". To balance things up, on the right you'll find a photo of John appearing to be much larger than you thought he'd be.
Towards the end of the tour, we managed a few days of down-time at Birdsedge and for Nicole's birthday, celebrated with Canadian band Tanglefoot who were staying with Jacey and playing at the beautifully restored local village hall. A great night.
We finished the month off with the Sheffield Folk Festival. Once again, we had the pleasure of teaming up with Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer to play our final performance as a four-piece. (Plans are afoot to get these guys to Australia, so we can repeat the experience on our home turf - we have a dream to meet up with them at Woodford, but we're not sure that small-pipes like the heat - more on that later).
As well as Jacey, our friends at Music In Hospitals were looking after us well on this trip, and so after we'd finished off the folk clubs and festivals, we were off to Jersey for a leisurely 29 performances in 11 days. Fortunately, Jersey isn't all that big a place (about 8 miles by 5 miles), but they have managed to cram 400 miles of road onto the island. Astonishing how many times you can become lost in so small a place. We had a great time on Jersey, finding it a land rich in aged-care facilities, amazing sunsets and ever-flowing Harvey's Bristol Cream.
The hospital performances are necessarily different to our normal folk-club repertoire, with lots of opportunities for singing along, and trips down memory lane. We are also always open to requests, occasionally being thrown completely (We even managed to rise to the occasion when someone wanted an Elvis cover).
We were well looked after on Jersey, and after three gigs a day, we left exhausted but happy (and we've said "yes" to Guernsey for 2006).
After a hectic tour in the UK and a madly busy time on Jersey, we were ready for a break. Our friend Wilna (of Christmas generosity and Wilna's Dance fame) found herself in the beautiful French town of Lalinde, with an all-but-empty chateau, and so we leapt to her assistance. We were very tired and didn't know what to expect (we are desperately short in the chateau department in Australia). WOW!
A short drive from the Bergerac airport, the chateau seemed like a magic place to us. Turrets! The Dordogne flowing outside the windows! It was almost impossible to believe, but there it was. Once again, Wilna made us welcome and we had time, space and the perfect surroundings in which to relax. Four days later, we flew back to Stansted, our hearts full of our wonderful time in France.
The first of September was a special day for schoolchildren in Beslan, traditionally celebrated as the ‘Day of Knowledge’. But after September 2004 the day would be remembered for all the wrong reasons, when a group of terrorists took hostages at Beslan’s School Number One …Scribe Publishers
Real-life headlines have given Sandy McCutcheon the substance of a plot that wrestles with information and disinformation in a masterful telling of the betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict.
Six teachers of children killed in the school siege - Fatima, Tatyana, Madina, Zoia, Katya, and Alina – have come together to plan a unique memorial for the dead hostages. In a gripping role-reversal, they have become the hostage-takers, and a group of the terrorists are at their mercy. But, as they come face to face with their arch enemies, each ‘black widow’ is forced to confront her own demons. What is justice? What price revenge? What price truth? Black Widow ratchets up the unbearable tension for an explosive showdown.
A taut and compelling psychological thriller, Black Widow is an astonishing achievement.
