As we drove into Lennoxlove Estate, the trees let loose their leaves providing us with a burnt-orange and gold ticker-tape parade all the way up the grand driveway. We parked the car and reluctantly left behind the sunshine and blue skies to make our way into Lennoxlove House. (In my view this is a misnomer as the grand building is much more like a castle than a humble abode.)
A smile of pink and gold chairs welcomed us as we entered The Great Hall which reminded me of a set from a Harry Potter film – walls made of stone chunks, wide oak floorboards, a cavernous fireplace, arched doorways and pictures of people long dead. I half expected the portraits to make a rude comment or flit from frame to frame in a game of ghostly tag.
Being the first audience members to arrive, we carefully selected our spot (just off centre, front row). The spindly chair legs gave a wibbly-wobbly effect and I was glad I wouldn’t be sitting there any longer than the allocated hour.
The audience swelled to an (almost) full house, and a wizard reading of poems and short stories kept us spellbound. My writing colleague did me proud in her reading of my story, Stuck. Her performance was definitely the most energetic and I was pleased to hear the audience chuckle in all the right places. (Phew!)
All too soon the performances were finished. We hurried out into the sunshine to find our tomato-red car garnished with leaves – the autumnal finale to a splendid morning at Lennoxlove.
Sitting in the audience, on another wibbly-wobbly chair, I really enjoyed your story Ishbel! A splendid morning soaked in words and autumnal colours.