Oh to be in England

Back from teaching art course.Idyllic country house setting :bluebells, blossom ,birdsong ,walled garden with rows of seedlings and grass greener than green in the spring sunshine .It was the definitive England in Spring.Really over the top this year, in an alarming way ,if it was not so enjoyable.
The place is described as being a venue for multi-faith retreats and there were slight signs of religion like very rough towels and punctuality for meals requested but nothing too much.You would not go for the night life as News at Ten is as good as it gets . The writing group was bigger than the art .Maybe more people want to try writing than making art and it was advertised mainly in literary magazines.Most people were not in anyway beginners and were a bright ,interesting group . The standard was high.
K ,who went to carry my stuff really,actually enjoyed it and organised one of the evening sessions where we combined writers and artists .They met in a converted dovecote and he made some paper doves to fit in the blocked up holes in the wall.Each dove had a different translation of a Rilke poem from Sonnets of Orpheus which mentions 'doves falling down' written inside . One was in the original German. People chose them and read them aloud.This little mini installation sparked off a good discussion on the impossibilities of translation.
Really strange how once you become aware of something it pops up everywhere.One of the writers was South African and knew William Kentridge's work well. She said that the national museums there can't afford to buy his work anymore , which is ironic as the subject of his work could be said to be the new South Africa. Global capitalism swallowing all in its path.