I had such a good time, it was a fantastic holiday. I can’t say how much I enjoyed it: the place, the pool, the food, but above all the company, the talk and the teaching.

Harriet

Thanks so very very very much Jackie and Barrie.   I came home full of umph and a sense of myself as a writer.  Such a confidence boost and such a lovely holiday.

Nell Dunn

Yesterday I landed in London after two weeks stranded on a magic island called Collaldra. All beings around me were wondrous and wonderful — you Barrie giving wise guidance about playwriting (I can still hear you exclaim “Smashing! Smashing!”), you Jackie nurturing body and soul, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You both gave so much to make this experience possible!

Ingar (from Sweden)

The morning classes were flexible but focussed, and we got a lot of work done. It was very instructive for me, not only getting feedback on my own writing, but also to hear Barrie’s wise comments and suggestions about the other writers’ work.

I told Barrie that I’d like to try my hand at writing some dialogue, so he suggested that I think of two characters and a subject for them to talk about. I wrote a dialogue that afternoon, and read it to the group the next morning. Barrie pointed out that I had most of a scene already written. I was amazed – but I was keen to develop the ideas that this scene threw up, and by the end of the week I had six or seven scenes at least partially finished.  In one week, I had a substantial start on a play – I was impressed by how quickly this happened, compared with novel writing.

The environment of Collaldra is conducive to writing. The air is sweet, the views over wooded mountainsides give space for imagination to take wing, and there are plenty of peaceful corners of the gardens for meditative jotting. In late afternoon, I favoured an old bench against a stone wall facing the low sun, where Princess the cat sometimes joined me.

We visited several good local restaurants for dinner, but my favourite meals were the lunches we ate at a long table set under a wisteria-clad trellis in front of Collaldra, with the sun and the clear air and the great green mountainside before us – and tumbling puppies at our feet.

Philip

Thank you again for a terrific time. It was one of the best 2 weeks of my life. I loved Collaldra. The scenery is just stunning, the hospitality and accommodation is first class. I loved the relaxed atmosphere and the respect that was given to people who might want to find a quiet space to write or surface and join in the interesting conversations. I loved the dogs and Princess the cat wandering around. Most of all I loved Barrie’s classes. Your knowledge was passed on generously and always in an interesting way. The time at the morning tutes seemed to fly by and I know that that when I left Collaldra I was a significantly better writer than when I arrived. It was a long way to come from Australia but well worth it and I look forward to future attendances at your school. Thank you again and feel free to use any part of this in any publicity material.

I read out the last 4 scenes to my wife last night and she was very impressed. She said my writing had really moved up a couple of gears and I know it has as well. 

Tom