There's a corner of East Sussex which I love to visit for the joy and inspiration it gives me through its artistic and literary connections, and this week I spent a few days there in the sunshine with friends.
Staying in the beautiful town of Lewes, I went back to Charleston to revisit the house where the Bloomsbury group of artists and writers lived until the 1970s. There was a trip to Berwick Church nearby where Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell had been invited to paint the most incredible frescoes on the walls and pulpit in the 1940s. And there was Farleys House and Gallery, to enjoy the home of the photographer Lee Miller.
There's always something new to discover and ponder, even among the familiarity of these locations. On this visit I was reminded, once again, of the implications of the unconventional lives led by these creative communities. And I was drawn to the glorious textiles at Charleston, and the inventive recipes and kitchen gadgets at Farleys!
No opportunity this time to visit Virginia Woolf's home at Monk's House, but we did see a wonderful exhibition of the books produced by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in the Hogarth Press. We sampled a lunch created from one of Lee Miller's recipes at Farley's, learnt about the recently rediscovered artist Gladys Hynes in a talk at the gallery at Charleston Lewes, and discovered another beautiful bookshop, Much Ado Books at Alfriston.
I've come home full of ideas, inspired and stimulated by all I've seen and experienced, and, of course, I have brought back more books to devour and add to my groaning bookshelves!
Thank you for reading.