Writing Retreats

I’m not sure when or where it started, but it feels like I’ve always made a collage around New Year. An ex-boyfriend tells me that I introduced him to my New Year collages back in the late 1990s so I must have been doing it for at least twenty years. Way before I became a coach, I was already interested in being the architect of my own life and saw that there was a value in spending time reflecting on what I wanted. And what better time to reflect on that than at New Year? So I began using words and images to create a vision for how I wanted my future to look. For the last 2 years I’veI shared the experience as a workshop and, at the start of 2020, I’m looking forward to presenting the workshop at Kollider from where I’ve been running the Writers Hub in 2019.

‘You had one job!’ she shouted, her rosy cheeks glowing from the oven’s heat. ‘I wrote the lists, I bought the presents, I even set up the GPS. I’ve packed the bags and loaded up the carriage. I fed the reindeer and sprinkled the sleigh with magic dust. I’ve got dinner in the slow cooker and the veg are all chopped ready for when you get home from work. All you had to do was putting on a chuffing red suit (which, by the way, muggins here laundered and pressed for you) and stay sober enough to drive and you couldn’t even do that!’

My son is learning to juggle at the moment. I’ve always felt that circus was his calling and it’s such a thrill to watch him apply himself to something that he really loves to do. It’s even more exciting because he’s combining several things that he loves in one act; the boy they call Hatter, is now juggling hats alongside the balls!

But what’s this got to do with writing?