I’m excited to share that I'll be collaborating with Elaine Kingett, writer and course leader of creative writing retreat Write it Down, to co-host a retreat at Finca Buenvino in Andalucia, Spain in June and August next year!
I joined Elaine's retreat in 2022 (pic of us below) for a week of journalling, meditation, hikes, swims in their infinity pool and meals cooked by Jeannie and her son Charlie Chesterton, the family who have been living at Buenvino for over 40 years, and immediately felt that it would be a perfect setting to to teach The Calm Kitchen class - about mindfulness through eating and creating a peaceful and easy relationship with food. Enjoying a week of home-cooked meals and local wines in a beautiful home setting allows you to completely relax and focus on you.
I'm delighted that Elaine said yes to my idea to do this together and we've been planning Write and Savour since the summer!
You can read Elaine's blog post on our retreat here, and Elaine's recent writing for The Guardian here:
New people and places are what keep me alive
Link to book to join us here.
Rates:
29 August - 5 September
Shared Room £3000
Private Room £3500
The week will be an exciting, delicious and inspirational opportunity to slow down, let go, relax, write and rediscover your creativity, encouraging a more peaceful relationship with ourselves and with your food – all the while being nurtured in the elegant and beautiful surroundings of Finca Buenvino.
There will be morning meditation around the pool, leisurely breakfasts, walks under the sweet chestnut and cork oaks with our notebooks and writing workshops in the Pool House looking out over the wide Sierra. There will be long lunches, siestas, plenty of time to swim, read or chat with new companions.
We will visit local villages and towns, always with notebook and pen in hand, using all of our senses to fully appreciate the world around us. And every day will finish with tapas and supper, celebrating the wonderful Andalucian farmhouse cooking of Jeannie Chesterton and her son Charlie.
This is a retreat is for you if you would like to create a journalling or writing practice. That could be anything from writing a shopping list or a diary, sending a postcards or birthday cards. Keeping a physical record of your life that will create memories. It is not about grammar, spelling or technique - but about freeing yourself from that critic on your shoulder and experimenting. There are no wrong ways to respond to any of our prompts.
It will include creative writing exercises to kick-start your imagination, build your confidence and share your stories with like-minded companions.
In a small, supportive group, in an uncritical environment, everyone can turn off that critic inside and be amazed and delighted with what turns up on the page!
There will also be ‘intuitive eating practices - the practice of reconnecting with your body, learning to listen to hunger, fullness and satisfaction cues instead of following external diet rules.
It teaches you to make peace with food, letting go of the guilt and restriction so all foods can fit, without labelling them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or ‘naughty but nice’!
It empowers you to trust yourself again, build confidence in your ability to nourish your body with balance, pleasure and self-compassion.
This week is not about YOU cooking but about enjoying the fruits of Buenvino kitchen labours and writing about them.
All you need is the courage to trust yourself and be ready to welcome the writer that we believe you are.
Because the finca is way up in the Sierra, the temperatures are always far lower than in Seville, the infinity pool will be the perfect temperature for swimming at any time of day and we can still walk early in the early mornings because of tree-cover.
All rooms have comfy beds, private bathrooms, masses of books and splendid views, none are on the ground floor. The outstanding food and wine will be highlights of your holiday.
