As I said in my opening post, I am near the beginning of considering this. Contributors have been very kind and thoughtful and I am grateful. I am now of the opinion that it is a definite plan. I am seeing a business director friend next week and will then arrange to see a bank (when my director friend has given me good advice).

Any business needs to have a speciality. I want weeks in the summer and weekends all year round to be full of music and art.

So ... any ideas for a name for this so far imaginary place? My working title is The Art House, but I'm sure you can come up with something better.

And ideas to add to prospective weekends below would be fab. My ideal house would have a 'conference room' where these gatherings can take place. I'd like to have all-in specialist weekends of ...

Meet The Artist / Musician - A weekend in the company of a painter, guitarist, etc., including workshops and a Saturday night concert, where a small audience get to know the tricks of that person's trade, their influences, inspirations, and come away with knowledge they can apply for themselves.

Tutored Weekends - Beginners, intermediate and advanced skills tuition weekends for painters, flower arrangers, creative writers, guitarists, fiddlers, concertina players, etc. (Not all on the same weekend!)

Ceilidh weekend - I've met lots of people who feel awkward at their first or nearly first ceilidh. A 'safe' and relaxed beginners' weekend to show them the ropes and give confidence, hiring somewhere local to practice and with a Saturday night (and Sunday afternoon?) ceilidh. Perhaps the same for other forms of social dance.

Any more to add? Would these ideas be popular enough to be successful, do you think?