A wonderfully creative atmosphere. I finally started my novel and finished the first chapter. I would have loved to stay longer to finish the second.
Andrew Stevenson
Andrew attended the Writers' Lab at the Skyros Centre on Skyros island, Greece. See www.skyros.com. The Guardian named Skyros as No 1 of the World's Five Best Writing Holidays. See press coverage here.
Its 7am time for yoga with Suzie on the terrace. I’m halfway through my third week. I've been sound healed, painted mandalas, made hay with Hazel, sung a trio of songs with my Scottish and Irish inmates in an operatic belly dancing fashion and freed my spirit.
More dead dog than downward dog says Suzie, concentrate on your breathing. If only I hadn’t stopped off for that hot chocolate and brandy on the way home, may be too much after the half litre of red with dinner. It was delicious though.
Don’t let your mind wander like a drunken monkey. But I do. I’ve had such a fantastic time I just can't stop smiling. Where is that cynical jaded anxious woman that I brought to the island before Skyros worked its magic? I'm not taking her home that’s for sure.
Put your left hand behind you and imagine you are curling it round a hamster then stretch the other up as high as you can. Keep your feet strong not like floppy dead kippers.
Suzie inspects our yoga poses.
Your hamster is crushed, she reports, moving me into a vicious twist. As the sun starts warming my body and I know the pain is nearly over, I can hear Julian crossly calling Mollie the collie who has made yet another break for freedom. Finally we lie down and Susie goes through opening our chakras as we reach the crown of our heads a white light suffuses my body and I am filled with energy. I sit up and open my eyes. The ground tumbles towards the blue green aegean sea. A perfect view, A perfect start to the day.
Maggie Sackett
Maggie attended the Writers' Lab at the Skyros Centre on Skyros island, Greece. See www.skyros.com. The Guardian named Skyros as No 1 of the World's Five Best Writing Holidays. See press coverage here.
In 1997, I was shipwrecked in my life. I had lost the past, and was full of fear for the future. On an impulse, because I saw it advertised in THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS magazine, I enrolled on a course with Sue Townsend (Of Adrian Mole fame). I wanted to laugh, and learn. I wanted a holiday. I had never travelled abroad alone before. I was apprehensive.
Skyros island itself is beautiful - like the enchanted island in Shakespeare's TEMPEST. The journey there is a slow induction into a different culture, climate, ethos. The place is heaven scented with herbs.
Sue's course was everything I hoped for, fun, insightful, dazzling. But the whole place, the whole atmosphere, was so welcoming. They told me something amazing. "You can do whatever you set out to do."
And so I did. I joined other courses as a participant, one run by writer Andrew Davies, another by founder Dina Glouberman. Out of this I gained new confidence - enough to offer myself as a facilitator.
I have now done this for eight years. This year will be my ninth. But in between, I have done all sorts of other things, pushed my own boundaries, testing the limits of courage I didn't know I had.
The experience has been one of the best of my life. It isn't perfect - nothing human is. You'll find all the usual faults and frailties. But you will also dream new and remarkable dreams, and you will discover the love of strangers. I was washed up - but on such a lovely shore.
Be prepared to discover the fresh and new, occasionally to confront difficult experiences, to unfold, rather than to be instructed.
Be ready to eat well, and be startled by the sudden laugh of a donkey, the dart of a lizard, tempted by the very special jewellery and ceramics of Skyros. You will stand in the wonderful stone amphitheatre overlooking the sea and be amazed. You will be on an island of myth and magic - and you will carry that with you home. You may, like many of us, pass it on.
Although I am a children's writer my course on Skyros has always been for adults (not forgetting the inner child). I have a deep grounding in literature and many years experience of teaching - which has always been mutually rewarding. So it is not so much the kind of writer I am that determines the nature of the course, but the kind of teacher I am. And the kind of people you are. We make our own unique mix, every time.
Anyone wishing to e-mail me for more details of my course is welcome to do so.
Joyce Dunbar
At the age of 21 Joyce Dunbar decided she was a writer, but she didn't know what sort. For the next 15 years she wrote poetry, fiction, journalism, and radio talks on a range of subjects, with limited success, while teaching literature to adults.
It wasn't until she was 35 that she wrote her first children's book, inspired by an illustration. Since then she has published 80 more. She also teaches creative writing, is a former writing fellow at UEA, and at present her 12 step guide to writing can be found on the BOOKTRUST website in BOOKBITE. She is also writing a memoir.
Joyce will be running her course 'What Kind of Writer Are You?' at the Writers' Lab on Skyros island, Greece, from Sunday 18 to Saturday 31 July. The course will explore different genres to help you discover the kind of writer you truly are... Call 01983 865566 or book online at www.skyros.com.
Only 10 days before I’m off to Skyros. I’m feeling the familiar flutterings of happy anticipation in my stomach. This will be something like my fourteenth year working there. How hard that is to believe! I always thought I was someone who would not repeat experiences, or read books twice, or go back to the same places for holidays. Being restlessly curious, I thought life was too short. Skyros proved I can be committed. Every year, I am asked again by Yannis if I want to go, and every year, I don’t pause for a moment before saying ‘Yes’. It truly is my second home.
What is it about the island that draws me back? Many words have been written about its charms, and I don’t want to sound like a brochure here. I’ll try to be really personal. I’ll talk about Atsitsa, as this is where I go most often, and is my special place.
Atsitsa – it’s all about freedom. That very first time I entered the ‘Atsitsa –zone’, I felt free as a bird. I wanted to kick off my shoes, and let down my hair, and wear very lightweight, colourful clothes, and actually put on that toe-ring. I wanted to swim a long way out into the crystalline sea, lie on my back under pine trees and DO NOTHING (unheard of, for me), plan my day around doses of thick, proper Greek yogurt, sing my heart out with a bunch of cool people who didn’t care if I hit the notes or not. I looked forward to teaching my courses in a perfect teaching environment: outside, warm but sheltered, two minutes walk from my abode, and with students who would be dropping stress faster than you could say ‘You’re free to be yourself now’. When I first entered Atsitsa, I just knew I was going to be very, very happy there.Atsitsa is a festival, a garden, a playground, a primordial settlement, an open-air cocktail bar, an under-water world. It’s silly and serious and soulful and challenging and peaceful and satisfying and creative and utterly joyful. It’s about love, friendship, nature, art, exercise, all 5 senses and feeling alive in every pore. It’s just one delicious part of a beautiful island, and it’s just a cab (or moped) ride away from one of the most unspoilt, pretty, cosy, colourful, exquisite little towns in Greece (Skyros town itself). Oh dear, I can really get verbose about it, and I still feel I’m only scraping the surface....
Back in my mid-30’s when I first went, I thought I might find lots of places like Atsitsa in the world –now I know there really aren’t many, perhaps none with its particular blend of delights, and if there are, I may not have the time or money to find them. There’s nothing wrong with going back to this idyllic place time after time. And if you’ve never been, I envy you that first sighting, those little explorations of the environment, the first time your jaw drops with wonder at a revelation (Atsitsa is the place for revelations). See you there in July, I hope. Now, where’s that toe-ring?
Alison GoldieAlison Goldie is a professional actor, theatre director, broadcaster and facilitator. She has a wealth of experience performing comedy and drama in London, the UK and all over the world. Alison has taught comedy, drama, flirting and creativity to professionals and non-professionals for over 20 years. She has worked as a stand-up comic, TV presenter and corporate trainer. She is currently touring her one-woman autobiographical show, Lady, in Bed, to great acclaim. See www.thedramabusiness.co.uk.
Join Alison this summer in Atsitsa from Sunday 4 to Saturday 17 July (AT6) where she will be running her course in drama, comedy and flirting. To find out more about Alison's course and the other courses on offer in Atsitsa at that time (including yoga, dance, life coaching, mosaics, windsurfing, sailing, music & more) see http://www.skyros.com/atsitsa_program.htm.
Just to let you know that I am at Skyros Centre doing Writers' Lab with Jennie Rooney, who wrote the novel Inside the Whale. There are nine of us, from different countries and at different levels of experience. Some members have been published; two are intending to be writers full time and are working to get their first novels planned. Others have written for the commercial press and now want a voice of their own.
I am retired from social services management and seeking to write novels and memoires rather than committee reports. In the first week we have explored aspects of novel writing. We have done different exercises each day. These include writing story lines in which the character’s flaw brought about an occurrence. Mine was Monica who liked being the centre of attention and therefore she volunteer for roles she could not possibly carry out. The catastrophes that ensued meant that she got fired.
On other occasions we wrote about arguments, birth and death. We read our contributions to the group members who gave great suggestions to support the story line or make the argument more authentic. We worked on most occasions out in the Greek sunshine, shaded by bamboo matting, some of us with our electronic notebooks others with pen and paper. In the last week we have continued with exercises and personal projects with tutorial support from Jenny so that each person is nearer to the publication of their novel by the time they leave. This course has completely lived up to the blurb in the Skyros brochure.Saturday we had a short downpour of rain, probably the last real rain of the season, which soon ran in torrents down the cobble streets and then became a rapid stream in which we sought stepping stones as we jumped in sandals from one cobble to the next. We soon dried out in the sunshine. We had two optional trips this week, including reading poetry at Rupert Brookes grave, talking with a wood carver who aged 11 decided that this was the skill he wanted to learn. He still makes Skyrian Chairs which are low but as we found very comfortable to sit on.
Also optional were sessions of Shiatsu and massage by Susie. I have enjoyed co-listening with my partner who is in Dina’s group, doing Life Choices. My co-listener is seeking a job where she can experience success and hopes to go home with a better idea of her direction in life. I hope to continue seeking my natural writing mode now that I no longer have to write formal reports for work. The group are encouraging me to look at developing novels where there is a sense of humour as they have found some of my written work funny.
We have participated in village life. On Sunday a TV crew came to Skyros village. The villagers turned out in force in costume to dance in the square and others having cooked and baked the delicacies of the area, arranged the goodies on long tables. Most interesting for me were the old ladies dressed in black dresses with black jackets, leaning on their sticks chatting in groups each with their black grey hair put up in a bun behind. Old men with sticks chatting, or sitting drinking Ouzo. One preferred to use a walking frame to negotiate the cobbled streets whilst holding his walking stick for use on the flat. As an Occupational Therapist I can see that this village on a hill has limited access for cars and its cobbled streets and steps up to houses would pose difficulties for wheel chair users.
Last week we had two sessions of Greek Dancing and two of Salsa. This week Hazel is offering optional sessions of singing, drama and dance. We have just completed a ‘whisper to song session’ which started with us lying on our backs breathing and eventually sighing and then signing a note before getting up and singing songs such as ‘swing low sweet chariot’ and ‘when the Saints come Marching in’. Then dividing into 3 groups to take a song each and sing it to the same rhythm as we intermingled.The vegetarian food provided by the Greek cook is great and the tavernas all have their specialities. If one does not want to go into the village there is a tavern by the sea where the sun sets as one eats so it is helpful to have a friend who has a torch when returning.I first came to Atsitsa in 1985 and have been on this holiday six times in all - four at the Skyros Centre. The atmosphere is great here and has been every time I have come. I am never disappointed.Signing off now as I am about to develop a belly dance act for the last evening soiree tomorrow.
Jess Mortimer
PS Athens posed no problems the Acropolis still looked great from the roof of the Titiania hotel lit up at night. The bus to Skyros took us past a group of communists who had red flags and were peacefully eating breakfast at a street side cafe. For anyone who does not not want to go into Athens, there are direct flights from Athens airport to Skyros costing £50 single.
If you'd like to join one of the Writers' Lab holidays this summer, call 01983 865566, email office@skyros.com or book online at www.skyros.com.
We are very sorry to tell you that Yannis Koboyannis, the Skyrian ceramic artist who has been, for many years, a member of the Atsitsa staff, died after a short illness on Wednesday, the 19th of May. Cancer had been diagnosed just two months ago.
Yannis Koboyannis was born in Skyros in 1954 and was a self-taught artist. His work - traditional designs approached with an innovative spirit - had received wide recognition both in Greece and abroad, particularly in the United States where he sold many of his pieces. His workshop was established in Kyra-Panagia, five hundred metres from Atsitsa Bay, in 1992.
Despite the fact that he couldn’t speak any English, Atsitsa participants who joined it loved both his course and the man himself, and in many instances went away with treasured pieces of work they produced under his guidance. Yannis is shown on the right of this photo.
His workshop in Kyra-Panagia, Skyros island and close to Atsitsa, was also used as a cultural centre with exhibitions of old local photos, jewellery, embroidery or local wine. Take a look at this lovely video too, of Yannis' workshop and his works of art. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMMAWmmTanc
In 2006 his workshop became the centre of Athenian Fine Arts students who created a stunning exhibition of marble sculptures locally carved. Yannis leaves behind a daughter and a son aged 33 and 28 and also his mother, who has been managing his shop in the village for many years.Liz Clayfield wrote too: Yannis Koboyannis has been a part of our lives in Atsitsa for many years, running ceramics courses, hosting parties and welcoming us into his home and garden whenever we visited. He has been a source of inspiration to so many and his work is found all over the world. His death is a sad loss to us here in Atsitsa and the island and I myself will be amongst the many who will miss him.
This summer, gather again your spirit of adventure, your passion for life, and do what excites you and delights you. Rekindle your joy of living and reconnect to your deepest hopes and dreams. For we need those hopes and dreams as beacons that guide us on our life's journey, as reminders of where we are heading, and as invitations to life. If we do not hope and dream, our energy will frizzle away.
Skyros, and especially Atsitsa for me, is a wonderful place to be reminded of what is essential in life. The stark beauty of the landscape, the sea and its ever changing everlastingness, the light that renders objects and people luminous – all contribute powerfully to coming back to basics in oneself. To remembering that life is just such a gift, and that to waste it is being so very unkind to ourselves, and to all around us too – for everybody is part of a larger whole, and everybody influences that larger whole.
Every cell in our body has a brain, and communicates with those around, and every cell matters. Similarly, every action we do, every thought we think, every emotion we have, matters, not only to ourselves, but in the larger context. Listening in to ourselves, listening to what we know, very tangibly, in our bones and marrow, in our muscles and tendons, in our heart and gut, in the many brains in our body, will reconnect us to our hopes and dreams.
So, if you want to have a good time, if you want to reconnect to a deeper and more passionate way of living, if you want to "save the world by saving yourself" – join our community in Atsitsa, this summer! In spite of the Ash clouds, in spite of the Greek economic unsettledness, Greece is still a wonderful place to reconnect to the simple and fully lived and deeply satisfying life which so many of us crave for.
Silke Ziehl is a body psychotherapist specialising in training professionals. She is the founder of the Entelia Institute for Creative Bodywork in Munich and London, and a member of the Open Centre, London.
Join Silke this summer in Atsitsa from Sunday 20 June to Saturday 3 July (AT5) where she will be running her course 'Body Magic'. To find out more about Silke's course and the other courses on offer in Atsitsa (including photography, windsurfing, music, yoga, dance, music & more) see http://www.skyros.com/atsitsa_program.htm.
Its 7am time for yoga with Suzie on the terrace. I’m halfway through my third week. I've been sound healed, painted mandalas, made hay with Hazel, sung a trio of songs with my Scottish and Irish inmates in an operatic belly dancing fashion and freed my spirit. 
In 1997, I was shipwrecked in my life. I had lost the past, and was full of fear for the future. On an impulse, because I saw it advertised in THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS magazine, I enrolled on a course with Sue Townsend (Of Adrian Mole fame). I wanted to laugh, and learn. I wanted a holiday. I had never travelled abroad alone before. I was apprehensive. 
Only 10 days before I’m off to Skyros. I’m feeling the familiar flutterings of happy anticipation in my stomach. This will be something like my fourteenth year working there. How hard that is to believe! I always thought I was someone who would not repeat experiences, or read books twice, or go back to the same places for holidays. Being restlessly curious, I thought life was too short. Skyros proved I can be committed. Every year, I am asked again by Yannis if I want to go, and every year, I don’t pause for a moment before saying ‘Yes’. It truly is my second home.
Just to let you know that I am at Skyros Centre doing Writers' Lab with Jennie Rooney, who wrote the novel Inside the Whale. There are nine of us, from different countries and at different levels of experience. Some members have been published; two are intending to be writers full time and are working to get their first novels planned. Others have written for the commercial press and now want a voice of their own.
We are very sorry to tell you that Yannis Koboyannis, the Skyrian ceramic artist who has been, for many years, a member of the Atsitsa staff, died after a short illness on Wednesday, the 19th of May. Cancer had been diagnosed just two months ago.
Despite the fact that he couldn’t speak any English, Atsitsa participants who joined it loved both his course and the man himself, and in many instances went away with treasured pieces of work they produced under his guidance. Yannis is shown on the right of this photo.
This summer, gather again your spirit of adventure, your passion for life, and do what excites you and delights you. Rekindle your joy of living and reconnect to your deepest hopes and dreams. For we need those hopes and dreams as beacons that guide us on our life's journey, as reminders of where we are heading, and as invitations to life. If we do not hope and dream, our energy will frizzle away.
