Virginia Astley has been writer-in-residence at Thomas Hardy’s Cottage in Dorchester throughout September and October. As the residency draws to a close, she shares her writer’s journal with Writing Places – a website created through a partnership between Literature Works (the Literature Development Charity for the South West) and The National Trust. Writing Places is a pilot project funded by the Arts Council and designed to celebrate literature and its place in our history by placing Writers-In-Residence at four National Trust properties in the South West.
This entry from Virginia’s journal focuses on Apple Day (7th October) and captures the work that she has been doing at Thomas Hardy’s birthplace.
“I have high expectations of Apple Day. The enthusiasm and anticipation of two of the children who’ve attended writing sessions has been catching. Their apple poems tell the story: the excitement of knocking the apples from the trees, the thrill of chopping and pressing. The Cider. Clearly Apple Day is an annual delight.”
Read the full essay over on the Writing Places site: http://writingplaces.literatureworks.org.uk/reflections-from-a-residency-virginia-astley-on-apple-day-at-hardys-cottage/
http://writingplaces.literatureworks.org.uk
www.nationaltrust.org.uk