A Journal of the Centauri International Writer’s Tour to Scotland, August 2013
by Julie.
Friday 23 August
We arrived in Edinburgh after an uneventful flight, and transferred by coach to our hostel, where we stored our bags for the day before setting out immediately on a sightseeing adventure! We walked through the new part of the city and into Old Edinburgh, with its marvellous architecture, narrow closes and cobbled streets. Everyone was chatting excitedly as we arrived at Edinburgh Castle, where we all got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels, the Stone of Destiny and much more… including fantastic views of the city from the castle ramparts.
By the time we emerged from the Castle, the Fringe Festival was in full swing, with an overwhelming assortment of street performers lining the Royal Mile… everything from physical theatre to jugglers, magicians, Shakespearean actors reciting their lines, puppeteers, dancers, musicians, fire swallowers and even a strangely studded woman who was in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most body piercings in the world! Campers broke off to explore in groups… soaking up the atmosphere of Edinburgh during the Fringe is an absolute must! There was so much to see and experience! Everyone met back at 4pm, and then we took a tour of the city’s underground vaults, which was definitely as creepy as it was informative. By this time, jet lag was getting to us, so we ate street food (British fish ‘n’ chips being a favourite choice, washed down with a can of ‘Iron Bru’ and a deep fried Mars Bar) before heading back to the hostel to sleep.
Saturday 24 August
After breakfast, we gave everyone a choice for this morning. Half the group chose to hike with Julie to the top of Arthur’s Seat, a Volcanic peak in a park of beautiful wilderness, right in the heart of the city. A second group went with Cheryl to see an additional show at the Edinburgh Fringe. The remaining campers chose shopping time on Princes Street. ‘Rabbitskin’ was apparently an amazing performance, and the ‘rose’ of everyone who saw it. The same was also true for the campers who chose the hike. In places the walk was very strenuous, but the reward was a breathtaking view from the top in glorious sunshine, right over the Firth of Forth, and past the city to the mountains beyond.
This afternoon, all of us saw two shows together at the Festival. Choosing high quality theatre is a gamble at the Edinburgh Fringe, and it’s difficult to predict which shows will be of good quality. The first one we saw – a ‘musical comedy’ about Einstein – was funny and informative, but perhaps not as memorable nor as theatrically interesting as we’d hoped. The second show was a different matter. ‘Angus, Weaver of Grass’ used puppetry, mask, storytelling and Gaelic song to tell the life story of a traditional crofter who left his rural life to fight in the Second World War, only to return with severe PTSD. He spent 50 years in a psychiatric hospital, but during that time, wove beautiful works of art out of grass. The play was haunting, magical and, in places, extremely moving.
Tonight, in the hostel, Matt ran a film workshop with everyone, so we’d all bee ready to work on our film project once we reached Moniack Mhor.
Sunday 25 August
Today we took a bus out of Edinburgh to the lovely seaside town of South Queensferry, which lies in the shadow of the historic Forth Bridge. After wandering the quaint town and the little beach, we took the ferry to the unspoilt little island of Inchcolm. This was truly a 
paradise. Just one mile long, it is a haven for rare seabirds, puffins and seals. We saw a lot of grey seals basking on the rocks, including a few pups. In the centre of the tiny island is a ruined abbey. This was a wonderfully sunny day, and we spent it basking in the tall grasses, exploring the narrow passageways and spiral staircases of the abbey, writing in total tranquility, hiking to the island’s far point and frolicking on the beach. Today was such a perfectly Scottish experience, and filled us all with wonder. Some of us got to see a further show at the Fringe in the early evening, while others took a writing workshop with Julie. Afterwards, we gathered together in the hostel and listened to a traditional Scottish story – the Tale of the Selkie Girl.
Monday 26 August
What an adventure we had today! The coach came for us at 8am and drove us out of Edinburgh and Northwards, into the Highlands. In the late morning, we arrived in the Inverness area, and our first stop was the moorland where the Battle of Culloden took place. We learned all about the battle, then had lunch on the battlefield, with glorious 
moorland views on all sides. But the real adventure began when we returned to the bus – and it wouldn’t start! The coach was a new and very luxurious 29-seater… so this was definitely unexpected. We all tried pushing from the back, amidst a lot of laughter, but still no luck. The driver told us he would have to call for help from Inverness, which was only 20 minutes away. Culloden is really in the middle of the countryside, but we had also hoped to see Neolithic burial mounds nearby called Clava Cairns, and since they were only 2 miles away, we decided that rather than wait in a hot bus, we’d set out on foot. The battlefield gift shop provided us with a map, and we headed out, all of us excited and exhilarated by the unexpected adventure. The walk was lovely, and we were just pausing at a picturesque river we’d discovered, and munching on wild raspberries, when the coach caught up with us, in full working order. We spent an evocative hour exploring the mysterious ancient burial mounds and stone circles, set in an equally mysterious wood, then shopped in Inverness for a couple of hours, before arriving at Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre in time for dinner.
Moniack Mhor is isolated, serene, and surrounded in mountains, valleys, forests and little fields dotted with fluffy sheep. It’s a whitewashed cottage with thick stone walls, roaring fires, old fashioned window seats and the most inspiring views imaginable from every single window. The sitting/dining room is a long, narrow room that probably hasn’t changed in centuries. There is a heavy oak table that runs along one side of the room, with iron chandeliers suspended over it, and it was at this table that we would eat meals, all together. Within an hour of arriving, we were tucking into roast potatoes, vegetables, pork, boccocini and tomato salad, and a vegetarian dish with eggplant and parmesan cheese. This is when we met our course tutor – the novellist Alan Bissett – who would be a part of our group for the remainder of the week.
Tonight we curled up on the sofas together and shared stories of our favourite movies and music, so we could get to know Alan, and he could get to know all of us.
Tuesday 27 August
This morning Alan ran a 3 hour writing workshop for us, which was all about ways to hook a reader, and the ingredients needed to begin any story, short or long. This afternoon turned chilly, but we all went on a hike-and-write with Julie, getting to know the area around the writing centre and writing pieces to use as a narrative for the film of visual poetry we will be making throughout the week. Our first cooking team created an amazing meal for us – fish ‘n’ chips, followed by a fantastic chocolate mousse. This evening, Alan read and performed for us from his books.
Today was a wonderful opportunity to settle in to life at the writing retreat… and to immerse ourselves in writing.
Wednesday 28 August
Alan’s second workshop, held over three hours this morning, was about plot… how to structure it, and how to shape the protagonist’s journey. After lunch, we split into two groups, based on our interests. One group chose to work with Matt, filming images for our short movie, to go with the narratives we created yesterday. The other half went with Julie to Abriochan Forest. 
That group had the opportunity to explore both the forest and the shores of a nearby loch, before climbing up through the trees to the moorlands above. By late afternoon it seemed we stood on top of the world. From one of the highest peaks, the mountains stretched all around us into the distance like frozen waves. It was completely awe-inspiring.
This evening we had perhaps the most Scottish experience of the entire trip when a nearby fiddle group came to perform. There were five fiddlers, all under the age of 17. One of them also spoke Gaelic, and sang traditional songs. She also taught us to greet one another in Gaelic. The raucous part of the evening came when two of the fiddlers taught us all some traditional dances, then played while we tried them out. Alan got involved, too – standing on the couch and yelling instructions while all the campers stamped, twirled and laughed. All this took place between the thick stone walls of Moniack Mhor, with a fire raging in the hearth, the old iron chandeliers above us, wild winds whistling over the moors outside our windows, and the sun setting between the peaks of the Highlands. It truly can’t get much more Scottish than this.
Thursday 29 August
Alan offered a workshop on narrative voice and dialogue this morning, which was very entertaining – campers told stories in one another’s ‘voice’, complete with vocal inflection and body language, and then created definitions for made-up words, constructing their own ‘dictionary’ and using the words in original writing compositions.
This afternoon, we took a coach down to Loch Ness and explored the evocative ruins of Castle Urquart, which stands right on the banks of the Loch. One group claimed to see the monster… though someone later admitted it might have been a duck.
When we arrived back at Moniack Mhor, the BBC was filming the new community garden that is being constructed around the writing centre. The garden was a hive of activity, with several giant cameras set up, dozens of vounteers planting, and children and dogs running everywhere. Seven of our campers chose to get involved in the filming, and helped create a rockery. They will be featured on the episode of Beechgrove Garden… and hopefully we’ll be able to get a copy of the episode to share with everyone in the Fall.
Tonight, we gathered together in front of a roaring fire, with the sun setting over the Highlands outside the window, and told stories. Julie shared the historic tale of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie. Alan told two spine-chilling ghost stories. But perhaps the highlight of the storytelling session was Spencer’s incredibly terrifying story of a haunted hotel room. Alan is boarding in a little cottage at the bottom of the garden, and we had to laugh when he didn’t want to head back there on his own!
Friday 30 August
Today was our last full day at Moniack Mhor. Alan ran a fantastic workshop on editing this morning, and in the afternoon, some campers hiked with Julie to Arbriachan Forest and the peaks above, while others filmed with Matt, did some writing, or worked on the team outside, filming with the BBC. Today was wonderful weather: blustery, moody, with little storms and flashes of unexpected sunshine. Several campers had close encounters with sheep this afternoon, while others met a herd of Highland Cows! We all gathered together in the early evening for our farewell dinner – Haggis, Neeps and Tatties! The Moniack staff arranged for a young bagpiper in traditional dress to serenade the start of the meal out in the courtyard, and to parade us in to the dining room. The meal was truly fantastic.
This evening, all campers were invited to offer a reading of their work, while Alan listened and enjoyed what had been created during the week. Then, we gave out sprigs of lucky Highland heather, sharing our favourite memories of the trip. We wrote ‘warm fuzzies’ to one another, and rushed outside to enjoy the blazing stars of the Highland sky one final time. Now, our bags are packed and it’s almost time to leave. The coach is picking us up at 1am for a through-the-night journey back down to Edinburgh and a morning flight home. By the time you read this, the trip will be over… and what a fantastic trip it has been. Alan Bissett summed it up tonight in his ‘rose’ when he spoke about how truly amazing all members of our group are, and how filled with personality, energy and creative spirit. This tour concludes 9 weeks of working round the clock with our campers… and I couldn’t be sadder to see it come to an end. Of course… there’s always next summer… and the new Centauri Arts Academy opens in Toronto in just three weeks!
For more photos click here https://www.centauriartscamp.com/media/Galleries/2013/index.htm