Forget the chocolates this year and learn how to write romantic prose
(09/02/2010)

Forget your £10 bunch of supermarket flowers, for the same price men are being offered the chance to learn how to write romantic prose which they can then put onto a scroll to give to their partner on Valentine’s Day.

Gibside Arts’ head of drama, Alexander Tempest, will be there to help course participants to express themselves to their sweethearts using examples from great writers from James Joyce to Whitesnake.

The love letter writing workshop is taking place on Saturday 13th February the National Trust’s Gibside, which has been the setting of many love stories throughout history. Men wanting to take part in the workshop, which must be booked in advance, are asked to bring ideas about what they might like to say to their partners which Lynn and her team will then help them transform into romantic prose. The workshops run from 1.30 – 3.30pm in the Stables Learning and Discovery Centre at Gibside.

Lynn Huggins-Cooper, director of Gibside Arts, has organised the workshops and has held similar events before: “It means so much more to get a personal gift – something that has come straight from the heart. Forget the chocolates this year – give your ladylove a gift she will treasure forever!”

On Valentine’s Day itself, Gibside are taking bookings for romantic champagne cream tea’s, there will be music in the chapel and guided tours telling the tragic love stories at Gibside.

A wonderful venue for your wedding ceremony, Gibside Chapel hosts Anglican weddings for those living within the Diocesan boundary. The Chapel boasts graceful columns, delicate carvings and plasterwork, and crowning it, a dome decorated with festoons. Inside, there is Georgian simplicity, with elegant cherry-wood furnishings including a three-tier pulpit. The design of the Chapel allows for a very special and intimate wedding.