Retreat at the Seekers Trust

I had a few days solitary retreat at the Seekers Trust as a meditation and art  space. The Seekers Trust website here
It was good to be back amongst the gardens and wood around the site.
They have been refurbishing the flats and have a new café and office space. There were bluebells and forget- me -nots in the woods  and mock orange by my door.

I was lucky to have good weather after the first day with showers and I took my canvases into the wood to do some drawings and back to the flat to paint them.

Some of my favourite trees remain in the wood, though some have fallen down or been cut down, such is the ecology of the woodland.  Many birds still around, lovely to hear them singing most of the day.

I was up at dawn on one day to hear and record the dawn chorus, I love that sense of being surrounded by bird song. It's always amazing how much sound can come out of such tiny birds.

I am still working on some paintings of the woods and church on the hill and on the photographs I took there. I'll upload them when I've finished them.

Dreamland Margate

 

Dreamland in Margate is due to reopen on June 19th this year. The original Dreamland considered the oldest amusement park in Great Britain, dates back to the 1860's. Then it was "The Hall by the Sea"run by the famous circus impresario, ‘Lord’ George Sanger.

Since Dreamlands closure in 2003 there has been public campaigning for it's restoration, which lead to the Dreamland Trust and major fundraising. Dreamland website here.

The Scenic Railway, a wooden roller coaster is listed and is being restored along with rides from a number of decades, some saved from the site and others donated. The original circus cages are also listed and being restored.

Wayne Hemingway has been involved with the design along side his wife and team and the heritage theme will be the unique aspect of the new Dreamland amusement park.

I went into the derelict site when the council finally took it over in 2013 and was back earlier this year when the first tickets went on sale.