NEWS FROM JOHN HALL, APRIL 2010

I am glad to say that on this year’s Course in Venice our American students were back up to pre-recession average numbers of 8, not forgetting that one year we had 19. My eldest son Nicholas, (Venice 1976) is now International Head of Old Master Paintings at Christie’s, New York, which strengthens our American connection. But we miss our Swedish students, our Dutch, our Australians - where are you?

I am extremely pleased to be able to tell you that my second son Charlie (Venice 1978) is back working with me on the Venice Course, which gives the prospect of continuity. Among many responsibilities, he has the front-line job of living in the hotel with the students, which he carries out with just the right mixture of authority and (usually) good-humoured tolerance: peak working hours midnight to 3am, but on duty all night and all day. When not in Italy with the Course, Charlie works in London as a managing director of Hatfields, an old-established antique furniture-restoring firm. Charlie is happy to arrange for any of your things to be put in order- from your most run-down kitchen table to your Badminton Cabinet. Get in touch with him at charlie@johnhallvenice.com.

Also very good news is that the dynamic and efficient Vicky has succeeded in taking over from Clare, Course Administrator for 22 years, a seamless and happy transition. Vicky worked in the London Christie’s educational and marketing departments for 10 years, so knows our world very well.

We are grateful for the loyal work of Patrizia Dowling, resident in Venice, wife of Venice University Lecturer Gregory, who gives excellent lectures to our students on the English poets in Italy. Patrizia fine-tunes our timetable of visits and lecturers, has an extensive network of influence in ecclesiastical circles, from patriarchs to monks and sacristans, which makes possible all kinds of special visits, and can be something of a mother-figure for students needing advice about daily life in Italy.

This year in Venice, without reducing the Arts content, we introduced talks on some contemporary global issues - climate measurement, terrorism, fundamentalism, which were well received : and next year there will be two brilliant Cambridge professors talking about the Big Bang and Dark Energy, and about Darwin, Evolution and Religion. When the Course began in 1965 it was called the Contemporary Europe Pre-University Course and dealt largely with topics such as political theory, economics, sociology, philosophy, psychiatry - things which interested the young at a time when few schools taught art history. Over the years we have reduced the length of the Course, on cost grounds, from 12 to 10 to 8 to 6 weeks in Venice, and the emphasis has gradually come onto Arts subjects more obviously connected with Italy. So including some global and contemporary issues is in part a return to how we began.

A hugely successful innovation this year was some Cookery Classes run by the Venetian Contessa Enrica Rocca. Do look at her website www.enricarocca.com as it gives a good impression of her appealing style, both energetic and relaxed. Gourmet Magazine rated her among the top 10 schools in the world. There is a page of photos of her classes in our new brochure, which you can download from our website, on the info page.

This year, 2010, because of recession and cost, we reduced our time in Venice from six to five weeks, which made our programme too full. With a huge majority of our students in favour, we are going back to six weeks in Venice in 2011.

Costs have inevitably gone up horrendously over the years. Our fees have always kept pace more or less with fees at a private boarding school in England, which now average about £9750 per term (see note on fees). The 2011 Venice fees are £8480- still unfortunately too expensive for many who would like to do it, but we live in the centres of the most culturally important and therefore expensive cities in Europe, and we have a faculty of about 30 very distinguished people. The Course has always been regarded as a cultural investment for life, of more lasting value, we believe, than many gap-year experiences. Parents say it’s worth every penny.

It gives me great satisfaction that we have had well over forty second-generation students, and myriads of brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces. About 85% of our students come through word-of-mouth or family recommendation. Please note that there is a register of all our students on the website (alumni) as well as of each year’s programme and lecturers from 1965 .

In most recent years our students have produced their own Newsletter, for the benefit of their successors : a selection is on the website under Students’ View. After the 2009 Course we made our video, an impromptu decision after seeing the superb photos that our student Arthur Laidlaw had taken during the Course. Have a look on the website under “Multimedia”.

I thank all those students and parents of the latest Course for their many letters of appreciation. The details of the daily programme, the lists, the mugshots are now in the archive. The 2011 Course programme is almost arranged, from day one in London to our final lunch by the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli .We already have a nucleus of students booked. The rest of you out there, wherever you are - America, Australia, Sweden, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland,Wales…….don’t leave it too late !

John Hall
Director

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RE-UNIONS IN VENICE, LONDON.....

There have been many hugely successful re-unions arranged by John Hall Venice alumni, both in Venice and London.

If you happen to be a student from 1974 and are interested in a reunion expedition to Venice at some point in the next few years please do contact James Nimmo (Student,1974) on james@arkios.co.uk giving a percentage degree of interest for the concept of a reunion expedition, and a percentage degree of preference for that to be in 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014.

For inspiration, please read on for an account of the wonderful 60th Birthday reunion of the alumni who were on the first John Hall Venice Course in 1965.

VENICE REVISITED

I returned to Venice exactly 42 years after my first visit – to celebrate my 60th birthday in the city where I celebrated my 18th birthday. It was to be a very different kind of celebration and much had happened in my life in the intervening years. However, not everything had changed as I was celebrating with some of the same friends who had been there first time around. There is something about the ‘John Hall Venice Course’ which bonds friends for life.

We decided to arrange a number of events and excursions around the birthday party taking place on the Saturday night. This gave our friends the option of when they began and finished their trip. We did not arrange the accommodation or flights and left this up to individuals. The events and meals were all arranged with the invaluable help of John Hall without whom the whole trip would not have happened. A more informed and well connected contact would have been hard to find and it is to him I owe a debt of thanks for organising the visit to the St Marks and the Cini, the CIRCOLO SOCIETA DELL’UNIONE for the drinks reception and the choice of restaurants for the meals.

The following is our itinerary:

WEDNESDAY 28TH MARCH
ARRIVE IN VENICE

THURSDAY 29TH MARCH
A DAY OF SIGHTSEEING AT YOUR LEISURE

FRIDAY 30TH MARCH
A VISIT TO A PRIVATE OPENING OF ST MARK’S*
FOLLOWED BY DINNER AT IL BACCARO

SATURDAY 31ST MARCH
A VISIT TO THE CINI

CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION*
AT 7.00 P.M.
AT CIRCOLO SOCIETA DELL’UNIONE

DINNER*
AT 8.30 P.M.
LA FURATOLA

SUNDAY 1ST APRIL
A TRIP TO TORCELLO
FOLLOWED BY
LUNCH AT ROMANO ON BURANO

‘To taste in all their fullness his first impressions of Venice the traveller should arrive there by sea, at mid-day, when the sun is high………..He who comes for the first time to Venice by this route realizes a dream – his only dream perhaps ever destined to be surpassed by the reality;’ Charles Yriarte

Our first afternoon was spent at leisure finding our bearings and enjoying the sunshine waiting for various friends to announce their arrival. It transpired a number of guests had booked in the same hotel and others were dotted about the city. With everywhere in such close proximity it was never a problem meeting up and occasionally bumping into people who were exploring on their own. A truly memorable lunch took place impromptu on the Zattare after we met three friends by chance and we sat down to a delightful fish lunch in the open air taking in the wonderful view especially that of San Giorgio. Memories are made of such things.

Whilst the highlight of our trip was the fantastic party which took place on Saturday night, when asked, all our guests without exception agreed that the private viewing of St Mark’s on the Friday night was their own personal favourite event. With just our party in the confines of the church and an exuberant guide in the form of Bruna Caruso we were treated to a guided tour and account of the history of the church as the lights gradually lit each area as if somehow magically bringing it all alive; a truly unforgettable experience in everyone’s minds. By this time all our guests had arrived and the partying really began.

On Saturday night we began the evening with a reception at the CIRCOLO SOCIETA DELL’UNIONE overlooking the Grand Canal. We drank prosecco and nibbled on delicious canapés while listening to speeches. The party then moved on to the restaurant La Furatola where we arrived and were treated like royalty. We had taken over the main part of the restaurant and the staff had decorated the tables with beautiful fresh flowers and spent the evening attending to our every need. Michael Burton and I rolled out the Cici song yet again. This was the opening song of the student’s review which we had co- written back in 1965! To this we added a few songs written for the occasion including my version of Volare which had caused a bit of a stir with some Germans at Michael’s hotel when we had been practising on the landing the day before!

We had a diverse group of people not all of whom knew each other but new friendships were formed and everyone joined in the spirit of things. A few were unable to make the boat on Sunday morning after taking the party to a nightclub after the rest of us had left the restaurant! The trip on Sunday was the perfect antidote to the partying of the previous few days as we spent a leisurely few hours on the boat visiting Torcello and Burano and taking in the sights and smells of Venice from the sea followed by lunch at Romano on Burano.

All good things have to come to an end and we left reluctantly on Monday already planning our return for my next ‘big’ birthday in 10 years time.

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PRESS NEWS : THE ART OF LIFE

Gap-year students try Italy, not Vietnam, says Charlotte Metcalf.
The Spectator, 2nd February 2008

Writing in The Spectator of 2 February 2008, Charlotte Metcalf includes some fascinating insights into the John Hall Venice Course.

"A wise friend once said that you only regret what you don’t do. Until I met John Hall....I had never really thought about it but ever since I have been regretting that I didn’t spend my time between school and university... in Italy."

"John Hall formed his Pre-University Course in 1965 when he decided he was bored being a schoolteacher and fled Kent for Venice. Over 40 years on, his passion for all things Italian, from sculpture to wine, remains undiminished."

Metcalf writes of Hall’s ability to boost "students' souls by exposing them to the wonders of Italian culture" and she continues "Hall is proud that many of his current students' parents attended his course. His formula has stood the test of time. As Sophia Seymour, a recent student, says, 'Whether you love art or cinema, food or poetry, the John Hall course has offered us a rounded knowledge that is hard to come by . . . we have all taken something away from this course which we will always remember and treasure.’"

"I think of my various godchildren trudging rather aimlessly round India and Vietnam, looking for meaningful experiences. Thirty years ago such a trip would have been extraordinary. Today, travel is so affordable and accessible that a gap-year trek round Namibia has become almost commonplace." She says that what John Hall Venice is offering is a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... true education is about opening young souls and minds to life’s wonders and potential — in a safe, clean environment. What more could a parent want? If I were you, I’d confiscate that dreary rucksack immediately. Lest she have regrets later, I’m signing my three-year-old up now to ensure a place."

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