Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the unofficial history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the tradition with his own contemporary parables.

A self-taught musician, composer and song writer, Chris is a lifelong autodidact whose independent streak shines through everything he does. Always direct and unafraid to speak his mind, his song writing has been praised for its surgical clarity. He cites his major influence as Anon.

On stage Chris has the air of a craftsman who doesn’t need to be precious about his art. Without any apparent effort he reaches deep into an enviable repertoire of songs before revealing another gem.

£18 / £5 concessions

To book, get in touch with our box office at  01453 837537 or [email protected]

A fresh, boundary-pushing take on traditional songs.

The Haar introduces the formidable singing talent of All-Ireland Scór na nÓg winner Molly Donnery combined with three of the most exciting instrumentalists on the folk and traditional music circuit: Cormac Byrne (BBC Folk Award/Show of Hands/Seth Lakeman), Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger (both of the FATEA award-winning Ciderhouse Rebellion).

Their self-titled debut, released in June 2020, is a collection of traditional Irish songs tackling love, poverty and oppression that garnered attention from Mike Harding who described it as “absolutely amazing”. The latest album, Where Old Ghosts Meet, received multiple rave reviews and has paved the way for outstanding festival appearances.

£18 / £5 concessions

To book, get in touch with our box office at  01453 837537 or [email protected]

Coracle are Paul Hutchinson, Karen Wimhurst and Anna Tam. Coracle brings together the talents, imagination and creativity of three artists with vastly different backgrounds, who have come together through their love of traditional music cut through with experimentation, boldness, humour and risk.

Expect ethereal to turn gutsy, passion to be tempered by a good laugh and a tide of improvisation which means no two evenings are ever the same. Be thrilled by the silvern voice of Anna Tam, the free-flowing mix of reeds, clarinets and accordion, cello, nyckelharpa, viola da gamba and hurdy gurdy.

The British folk tradition at its very heart with eddies of contemporary classical and splashes of early music, ebbs and flows, squalls and flurries – each gig is an exhilarating journey of exploration and enjoyment.

£12 / £5 concessions

To book, get in touch with our box office at  01453 837537 or [email protected]

“The torsion of deep space, beaming into the cold water of this stream like bent light, the stream where I was caught by the fish I was catching.” Tim Morton Being Ecological Penguin 2018

caught by the fish is not about fish or fishing. Or at least I don’t think it is – well, not literally anyway. Rather, it’s a response to visiting the art and ecology centre at Cortijada Los Gazquez in the Sierra Maria mountains of Andalucía. A response which I hope has value being shared.

Los Gazquez sits in a white, arid bowl some 3000 ft above sea level. Oppressively hot in summer, cold in winter, and rainfall so low that it’s classifiable as desert. This is wild, arid country – a three-way battleground between subsistence almond farming, rampant pines and the seemingly unstoppable effects of climate change. Here, in early spring, I wandered by day with my camera, by night reading and meditating on Tim Morton’s writings on being ecological.

Morton’s words are a soaring and evocative exploration of our interconnectedness with the world. He became guide, provocateur and fellow traveller in a journey off the beaten track, both mentally and physically.

It was perhaps a journey more about the flapping of butterfly wings than it was about fishing. But then again, not literally.

Auguries of Liminality incorporate cultural and ritual preoccupations, exploring the principle of causation. Through initiation there is a duality where outcomes may manifest into eventus. A state of tension between precision and uncertainty. Customs facilitate important traditions, and within rites of passage predictions are made on a desired outcome. Personal experiences are unique to the individual, yet held within a universal truth. They afford inspiration, a foretold path that may be orchestrated by others.

Auguries influence the interplay between structure, boundaries and outcomes. Here is also the marking of the passage of time. Memories are created and remembered that can suspend us or project us forward if acted upon. The auspicious and inauspicious weave through such passages, suspending outcomes, held within liminality. Liminality may be seen as ambiguous and disorienting, a dissolution of a known order, transforming the previous structuring

Esmé Clutterbuck trained in Fine Art at Portsmouth Polytechnic, the RA Schools and Central/St. Martins and has a studio in Bristol. She works with drawing, photography and print. She has had work in numerous open exhibitions: most recently the RA Summer Exhibition and this year’s RWA Photo Open.

Her drawings are made on a variety of surfaces, including digital images, magazine pages, walls, flannels and domestic linens.

Her most recent drawings are made with Bideford Black and other earth pigments sourced in North Devon. Initially they were planned as a series of 100 small drawings, although that has now grown to include other sizes and some much larger wall drawings. “Working rapidly, in fairly quick succession, allowed me the freedom to follow an initial impulse wherever it went.”

The drawings are reminiscent of fabric designs or the celebration of rituals. There is joy in the purely optical. They also suggest the scientific: cell formations, planets, solar systems, the cycles of life and the female body, generation and growth.

“I love the idea that our universe is essentially unstable: that substances are changeable, and that our bodies, whilst new in human terms, actually contain atoms that are billions of years old.”

“An exhibition of hand rolled felt textiles and stitched appliques from my Sill Lives series (from my window sills, started in lockdown!)

I studied Fine Art followed by an MA in textiles at Goldsmiths where I became entranced by painting with wool. Wet felting is a physical method of shrinking wool fibres together, which enables permanent bonding, often causing the image to shift and appear animated.

This alchemy has facilitated, fascinated and challenged me ever since, and I have continued to develop processes and imagery for felt wall hangings, with exhibitions and commissions here and abroad.”

Come and enjoy the wonder, wit, mystery and magic of stories from all over the world with storytellers Fiona Eadie and Ariane Olner.

Stories are for everyone – adults without children are as welcome as children with adults. Suggested ages 5-105.

No need to book, pay on the door (cash please) £5 adult, £4 child, £12 family

www.fionaeadiestoryteller.com

Enquiries: [email protected]

Come and join us in enhancing and maintaining our beautiful landscape, and afterwards enjoy a complimentary lunch in the café.

Booking is essential so please call 01453 837537

Advent Spiral
Sunday 3 December | 4pm
The advent spiral is a journey for children, accompanied by gentle music and an angel guide. A beautiful, peaceful and reverent beginning to the Christmas festivities. Free

Christmas Market
Saturday 9 December | 10am–2pm
A treasure trove of beautiful, handmade goods from Ruskin Mill students, tutors, makers and artists. Make your own Christmas wreath and dip candles in our special workshops.

Children’s Christmas Stories at 11am and 1pm in the Festival Room with Fiona Eadie

Christmas Music and Singing
Sunday 17 December | 7.30pm
A candlelit evening for sharing seasonal stories and songs by the fire. Free