Spring

It has taken a while but here some news from the Villa! With the utmost severity Kate swept the mushrooms of the past winter, which threatened to overgrow the building, out of the door. If you wander through the rooms of the Villa you will see that she replaced these decorative fungi with spring flowers. Although I, of course, prefer sad ‘funginess’, there was nothing to be done against Kate’s ‘spring storm’.

Spring brings new life which manifested itself clearly. At least three small ‘sprig’s’ announced themselves in the surroundings of the Villa. Faithful to the tradition Kate knitted several pairs of baby socks, following an old pattern used by her mother.

In the evening another harbinger of spring appeared in the back yard: a beautiful Common Frog (rana temporaria). Unfortunately, the kiss ofnMs M. did not change it into her Prince Charming...

In the Vegetable Garden all sprouts are growing hard. Our private detective Koko Co sharply monitors the progress, from behind the dill...

Watching Owls

April fulfilled one of Ms. M’s greatest wishes: she spotted two Little Owls in the area of Oude Willem in the province of Drenthe.

Also in the Art Collection an owl presented itself: a Barn Owl, painted in subdued browns and greens, sitting in a chestnut tree. The decoration is part of Ms M.’s family heirlooms. For this special occasion you can see the video-poem Watching Owls again Outside, and the new poem Watching owls (2) added by Ms M.

Other special animals

One of the special animals visiting the Villa was a guest: Shower Cat, which happily joined the occupants of the Villa in the shower every morning. You can find her in the Bathroom.

Theatre play The Void

Ms M. had to recover a while from the busy times with theatre play The Void. In December 2014-January 2015 the Villa performed this play five times, together with the sculptor Hanneke de Munck, at the Minitheater Helling X, part of the sculptor’s atelier. The altar piece The Void, which she made with Deirdre McLoughlin, was in the centre of the play. In the first part Hanneke de Munck explored The Void with improvised theatre, in the second part The Villa did the same through 11 of her poems.

About 50 people saw the performance and faced the cold. Almost unanimously it was well received. For those who could not see the play ‘live’: video’s of the first six poems can be viewed in the Living Room, and there are more to come.

The next performance of The Villa is planned at November 1. The Villa will participate in Voordorps Verbeelding (Voordorps Imagination): an art route through our neighbourhood. We will keep you posted.

Have fun in the Villa!

Seamus McAllister