A Meeting of Friends: Cirencester, 20th July 2006

 

This happy trio of ladies is (left to right) Pauline, me and
Gill. We're sitting in the shade of an umbrella on Gill's scenic patio in Gloucestershire, recovering from an exciting afternoon spent having lunch at Brewery Arts, trying on clothes in the far-too-tempting shop that is named Sahara, perusing quality art supplies in the Coln Gallery, and being culture vultures inthe Wonderwall Gallery before making our way to our main objective, the the Wetpaint Gallery, to see their exhibiton of work by Bridget Riley, Terry Frost and, most importantly for Pauline, Sandra Blow (she's studying her work for her next university coursework. Very interesting work, despite it being a small exhibition. I personally fell in love with a print by Brenda Hartill, a very rich print on heavily textured paper entitled Waterlands III which I will purchase if I have a windfall.
Anyway, we retired to Gill's charming abode for refreshments and enjoyed a delicious drink she and her husband, Mark, had developed: Rock's Blackcurrant Cordial "spiced" with ouzo on the rocks - very refreshing and not at all cloying. Pauline and I would both love this wonderful bosky home, with its ginormous play room and very swish kitchen, but it was wonderful to be guests there. The kitchen was deliciously scented with this bunch of lilies on the windowsill, as well as yummy foody fragrances. It was hard to tear myself away to return to my own humble abode but I eventually did, despite Gill's protestations that I should stay for dinner (and it was a delicious home-cooked risotto I was missing out on).
It was a wonderful day. With friends like these my life is rich indeed.