I'm going to skip the weather report this week!  Topic of conversation was the congestion in Eye, with the road closure in Castle Street, and Cross Street Car Park closed too.  Maggie-Anne stepped in to provide a painting location away from all that, along with intermittent refreshments and a scrumptious tea.  Not only did she have us to contend with but also a visiting high-spirited dog which needed to be kept in order!  Many thanks, Maggie-Anne.

Painting the surroundings was challenging - there's so much of it:  distant views of church and castle peeping out from the mass of trees, shrubs and grasses;  the garden also full of trees, many laden with wonderful fruit, and wild and hilly in places.  There were nine of us, I think, who pressed on regardless.  Click on images to enlarge them.

By the way, we had a very nice letter from Janet Wheeler of The Water Mill, Hoxne, who commiserated with us on such a cold, wet day for our recent visit and said we were welcome to come again in more conducive weather.  She also thanked us for the flowers.

After the fantastic summer we’ve had, we shouldn’t complain about some much-needed rain.  But does it have to be on a Thursday?  Spirits hardly dampened though, two members showed up in the morning, chatted with our host Shila, enjoyed her welcome coffee, and in a slight lull went outside to take some photos in her beautiful but parched garden.​

​Fingers crossed for better weather next week at Wortham.

I came across an old EAG Newsletter of Sylvia Philpot’s the other day - some of you will remember our former Chairman.  It was a particularly wet season and she said:  “…it will take a lot to dampen the spirits of members of the Guild.”  That surely applied today, when eight members ventured forth and after making a few soggy starts retreated to the barn, where there were all sorts of interesting subjects to draw.  But it was draughty and cold (cold??? yes, cold after all those sizzling temperatures!) and it poured down incessantly, but spirits were undampened and we sensibly knocked off just after 2pm to take a very welcome early tea at Sally’s. 

We have visited Hoxne Watermill a couple of times before.  We are so lucky to have occasional access to this private location, with its wonderful mill, old cottage, river and distant views across the River Waveney, meadows and grazing cattle. 

Mrs Wheeler showed us a catalogue for the exhibition “Munnings and the River” at the Munnings Museum.  She pointed out that Munnings had lived in a cottage here for a time and he had written about his love of the river, the mill and landscape hereabouts in his autobiography.  I hope to obtain a copy of an extract she showed us, which refers particularly to Hoxne Watermill. ​

By the way, Sally makes excellent ginger cake and I’m sure the rest of her cakes were delicious as well.  Many thanks Sally!​

Hope to see lots of you next week at Thorpe Abbotts Hall.

Click on images to enlarge them.

We had to restrain our eagerness to see our new Summer Exhibition at Dickleburgh this morning, whilst queueing at the locked gates!  Our resourceful committee soon gained entry however, and we (12 or so) found our hung pictures looking splendid.  

Flowers and plants engaged most of us.  We had no access to the animals today - apart from beautiful George the horse who posed briefly but was really just looking for food and didn’t stay.  

​Our real work of art came at tea time - see Jacque’s raspberry and cream sponge.  Sally P’s apple cake was less photogenic but equally delicious.  We looked at each other's sketches over tea as usual.  Lesley showed us some of her textile work, which is work-in-progress.

Join us at Hoxne Watermill next week, tea at Sally P's.