Sissinghurst's best known writing space is Vita Sackville-West's writing tower but it is also home to her son Nigel's splendid writing gazebo (pictured above on a recent visit), next to the moat and which has quite lovely views over the surrounding Kent countryside. He built it in 1969 as a memorial to his father, Harold, to the same spec as the Apollo 11 lunar module, and wrote his famous Portrait of a Marriage there. "This is my summer office," he wrote of it at the start of his book Long Life, "but an office without telephone, light or heat, so I cannot use it in the winter."
It's still without all those things - though there is plenty of light thanks to the large windows - and to celebrate it and him, Sissinghurst is running an 'off the grid' workspace project for writers, artists, and creatives this summer, giving them the chance to work from the gazebo all day, from before visitors arrive to when everybody goes home. And I'm delighted that they have asked me since it coincides with the publication of my new book Rooms of Their Own. So this means that on June 18 I'll be working all day inside Nigel Nicolson's marvellous gazebo in the garden's grounds. Although I'll be working, I'll also be very happy to be distracted so do come and have a chat! And I'll probably be signing copies of my book in the shop at some point.
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