J. Ardian Lee, Tennessee, August / Awst 2005. (Milford SF Writers) "Trigonos is a gorgeous facility. A Victorian mansion with garden and outbuildings. My room looks out over a babbling brook and is larger than the sort of room you'd find in a Holiday Inn. Mind-boggling luxury after the tiny rooms I've had since arriving in Scotland. The table on which I've set my computer has a pleasing view, and I can hear various birds outside. Each day I'm more impressed with the beauty of this place. The surrounding town is rather ordinary, but the property here has a high slate wall around it and trees enough to give the impression of forest, and the back looks out over a lake, beyond which lies Snowdon peak. It feels almost as remote as the place in the hills I used to live in during high school, which actually was remote. A stream wends across the property, also defined by slate banks. Vines and flowers grow everywhere, and this time of year it seems everything is in bloom. I found a sundial made of pieces of slate on a lawn inside a wattle fence. There are blackberries and apples. I've stayed in hotels that cost many times what this is costing, that were not nearly as pleasing as this. I wish I could afford to come back for the workshop every year, just for hanging out purposes. We gathered in the library every evening before dinner, and waited for the bell. It was a real bell. Some drank wine from a box, and we talked of writing, our work, and the cultural differences between Brits and Americans. Folks took walks in the gardens and along the lakeshore. Tuesday night a few of us sat out on a blanket to look at stars. There were some meteors and satellites, and a nearly full moon popped up over the mountains. At that moment I was listening to Clair's ipod, terribly spooky stuff from Iceland. Jaine tapped me on the back to look, and I turned to see the silvery disk rise over the dark shadow of mountain as the music swelled and sent a shiver down my back." See J.
Ardian Lee's website for full story (scroll down to Monday, August
15).
Trigonos,
Plas Baladeulyn, Nantlle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales, UK. LL54 6BW |
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