Venice and the Biennale

I walked down the street today, pensive in the soft autumn air, it was such beautiful light and I felt like I had forgotten to look at the hills and the trees for ages.  A friend of our’s died recently, a gentle, quiet and sincere man who had chosen excellence for all the things he

Seeds of Hope, ‘Harvest’ by Shona Nunan

While we were Artists in Residence in Hong Kong at the Yew Chung International School, Shona created the bronze sculpture, ‘Harvest’, in an edition of eight. The sale of all eight works will go to the charity to help build schools for underprivileged children in China. If you would like to know more about this,

The Bernabo Thermal Spa of Bagni di Lucca

Today the old Bernabo thermal baths were open to the public for viewing, completely refurbished with all the massage tables and oils and candles and gently running water into ancient marble baths. I wish I could ‘write’ smell and sound.  All our senses were cocooned in the perfumes of oils and music that wrapped themselves

Our roof festa in Pieve dei Monti di Villa

This summer has been busy for us renovating our old properties.  One of the loveliest things we have done is to put a new roof on our little Pieve dei Monti di Villa village house.  The roof has been leaking gently for the last 8 years since we had had it repaired the first time(!),

A Bohemian Collective at San Rocco in Benabbio, Bagni di Lucca

This area is really interesting culturally.  There are people starting to gather here with their marvellous gifts, proffering events that are supporting contemporary musicians and singers and acrobatic performances and visual artists and writers who are all possibly great.  Bagni di Lucca is attracting not just artists but also sponsors and patrons and lovers of

Michael and Shona in a hidden Tuscan valley

We have an amazing life.   Here we are now, living in a little town in the mountains of Tuscany, a town that people for centuries have been coming to, to bathe in the thermal waters and enjoy a summer that is cooler than down on the plains.  All around us, gracious old villas with

Italy, beautiful for its own sake.

It’s summer.  It’s hot, hot, hot.  And every day we are reminded of why we love to be here, of what we miss when we go away.  Its riding on the vespa down tiny country roads, through the vineyards and olive groves and avenues of Linden trees and into the mountains through golden green glades

Back in the mountains of Bagni di Lucca

We are back in Italy.  We have been back three weeks and have hit the deck running. Everywhere so green.  Heavy.  When we first got back, the mountains felt heavy with green, you could hardly see the villages, the roadsides overgrown, great fronds of grass obscuring the road, everything abundantly, quickly growing in the damp

Automatic Writing – turning on the light

I am putting in this funny little post because I have some dear friends who are really curious about automatic writing.  I thought it would be helpful for them to get the same inner help that I received, if I could explain it a little.  I arrived at automatic writing when I was about thirty

Capital M Beijing

Beijing is monumental.  Masculine, strong and tough, some of the finest buildings in the world are here.  Just arriving at Beijing airport is an amazing experience. Designed by Foster and Partners, the airport is massive and looks like it has just lifted itself gently from the earth, the roof line soft and undulating, but in its underworld,