Visited my best friend in Surrey at the weekend as we have birthdays on the same day and it is a great excuse to do something together.
We went to the gardens at Wisley on Saturday afternoon and it was so so cold my fingers turned blue.
Sunday was wet so the suggestion of a visit to the Watts Gallery at Compton, which is mostly an indoor activity with a bit of walking from one point to another, proved to be an excellent choice. A new gallery had opened the previous week next to 'Limnerslease' house and Watts Studio. We had lunch at the Tea Shop - which was that good we went back for tea and cake later on.
The gravestone above was at the Watts Chapel and I thought the words were very relevant still today.
' .... No friendship dieth
With death of any day
No true friendship lieth
Cold with lifeless clay.
Though our boyhood's playtime
Be gone with Summer's breath
No friendship fades with May-time
No friendship dies with death'
JRS
We realised that it was almost 5 years since we had been there before and DH had never been at all so he got a huge surprise. I wanted to draw in the chapel but it was far too cold but I was lucky enough to come home with a book about the symbolism which will prove an endless source of inspiration for years to come.
A mirrored dome which enables visitors to view the ceiling (and themselves!).
One of the gesso panels in the new gallery
Detail of one of the many flowers which cover the walls in the chapel.
So - one more for the 'I must visit......' list !
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