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I've just come back from a week in Yorkshire on a Commercial Fiction course with authors Katie Fforde, Judy Astley and Mike Gayle. We stayed at Lumb Bank, an 18th Century mill owner's house set in 20 acres of steep woodland. It was once the home of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate, so no lack of inspiration there then! The scenery was stunning, the weather sunny & hot and the company brilliant, fifteen ladies and one man.

The food was great but that was because we did it ourselves! We all cooked in groups of four, taking it in turns (and the other chores!).I couldn't let them escape without some wild food so enjoyed rootling around in the wood and lane bank for salad ingredients!

The wine helped to fire the imagination and help the thought process (or not!)and we all had a good time. What an amazing group of people, so many diverse ideas and writing skills.

We had no internet, no radio, nor TV and a very poor mobile signal and no-one missed them. We left with fresh ideas, enthusiasm, encouragement, inspiration and a whole group of new friends.

Lumb Bank is one of the 4 historic house venues run by the Arvon Foundation and are well worth considering for courses in any writing genre.

This hasn't been the best timing to be away because of all the Really Wild stuff going on at the moment, what with the Festival, Shop and Dining club etc, but the courses book up fast and the Really Wild Shop wasn't even remotely approaching our radar all that time ago.

www.arvonfoundation.org (Can't wait to go again!!!)

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