A weekend in the country with Tom Robinson, his assistants Sue and Nick and nineteen fellow participants in a songwriting and performance residential workshop at the magnificent Bore Place, a 500-acre working organic farm built around a Jacobean Manor House in Chiddingstone, Edensbridge, Kent. The old wall around the reflecting-pool garden behind the house dates back to Tudor times, and the main house is a combination of Tudor, eighteenth century and twentieth century elements. The farm was bought in 1976 by Jenifer Wates and her late husband Neil, pursuing the creation of an organic haven of peace, owned and run by the Commonwork collective, who hire it out for everything from corporate retreats to discovery weekends for disadvantaged children. Currently booked solid until late 2006!
An early start to get the train to Sevenoaks. Shared a taxi from Sevenoaks to Chiddingstone with John Murray of Liverpool who writes and records under the name of The Forgotten Cowboy, also playing in The Gentle Scars. 20 minutes along quiet narrow country roads and more fantastic views. You can smell the old wood polish as soon as you enter the front hallway of the house. Kitchen has fulltime staff to create all meals...good grief, what meals! A seemingly endless bounty of farm-fresh milk, ewe's-milk cheese, fruits & vegetables, salads, frittatas, soups, 24-hour access to tea, coffee, juices etc. We were extremely well looked-after. So to the workshops. Tom and his team wonderfully supportive as well as bluntly realistic. Having written and performed for 30 years, Tom moved into work as an evening presenter on BBC 6 Music a few years back, and so was able to provide a no-nonsense view, from the hard-bitten radio format and programming side of things, of various CDs he's been sent by hopefuls in recent weeks. On top of the pep talks, performance masterclass, the goal-focusing and visualisation sessions, we had a few hours before Sunday lunch to walk around the grounds, sit in our rooms, sit in the garden, wherever, and use the techniques and tips we were learning to knock together a brand new song each (or in collaboration) for performance on Sunday afternoon. And by heaven it worked! Twenty participants, eighteen bloody good songs. In three hours. Tom was so impressed with us that he set up an email list exclusively for this weekend's group, for staying in touch, collaborative work and the sharing of ideas. I think this is the start of something wonderful.
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