Joseph Wright was born in Derby and spent most of his life working in Derby and the Midlands.  He is celebrated as the first  major professional artist to capture the spirit of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.  He is best known for his dramatic candle lit scenes, his masterful use of light and shadow and for vividly documenting scientific advancements and the dawn of modern industry.  Wright was closely associated with the Lunar Society of Birmingham, a prominent group of intellectuals, inventors and industrialists such as Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton and James Watt.  He painted portraits of notables such as Erasmus Darwin.

The cost will be £28.00.  There is a cafe at the gallery offering light refreshments and an alternative establishment nearby.  For further details please contact Carole carojoby@gmail.com.

Beneath the Great Wave:  Hokusai and Hiroshige

It was a full coach that departed Welshpool for the Whitworth Gallery to see a most unusual exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints by both Hokusai and Hiroshige. Reflecting scenes of their culture, domestic activities and nature, each image invariably included the iconic Mount Fuji in the background. The small prints and accompanying video of a long horizontal ‘map’ were highly detailed using just 3 or 4 colours simplifying an extraordinary insight into the skilled art of woodblock carving. A magnifying glass would have perfectly enhanced the intricately written vertical characters on each print. At our own leisure, we enjoyed a varied menu in the gallery’s beautiful atrium cafe overlooking wooded parkland.

Thank You Carole for organising yet another successful ‘Grand Day Out’.

We last visited Compton Verney in September 2011 and it was enjoyed by everyone on that visit.  The building is an 18th Century country mansion set in 120 acres of beautiful countryside landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.  Compton Verney is considered the best museum in Europe outside the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.  It houses a collection of Neopolitan art from the Golden Age of Baroque Painting (1600 - 1800).  The designated collection of  archaic Chinese bronzes is one of the top three in Europe and there is a small collection of Portraits and Miniatures plus one of the best collections of Northern European sculpture and painting.  Compton Verney is also home to the largest collection of Folk Art in Britain.  A trip not to be missed.  Contact Carole carojoby44@gmail.com for further details.

We last visited the Barber in 2014 and as they are currently holding a couple of exhibitions, "Sound in the Landscape" and "Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites" we thought it was high time we returned. We will spend the morning there before going on to the newly re-opened Birmingham Art Gallery.  Although the Barber does not have a cafe, hot or cold drinks are available.  It is free to go in but a donation is always welcome.

If you are interested in booking a seat, Contact Carole @ carojoby@keme.co.uk

What a day to hold a Summer Party ...  the weather was cold and blustery and it was also the day of the General Election.  To cap it all there was a burst water main at Garthmyl which necessitated us all to travel to Cwm Weeg via Montgomery.  However, once there and greeted by our wonderful hosts, Wolfgang and Kingsley, everything went well.  With a glass of bubbly in hand, those more intrepid members braved the wind and rain going around the garden to marvel and appreciate those beautiful borders. 

Our new caterer, Sarah of CastleKitcheninMontgomery, turned up trumps with really delicious food .... the sandwiches were actually made by a Michelin starred chef!  

Thanks to our very generous members, the baskets of goodies for the raffle were full to overflowing and I am sure much appreciated by the winners.

Our last visit of the season took us to Liverpool and the magnificent Walker Art Gallery.  The main focus of the Gallery was to see The Rokeby Venus by the Spanish artist Diego Velazquez on loan from the National Gallery in London.  Also known as The Toilet of Venus, this enigmatic figure still divides opinion as to her beauty and the numerous interpretations of the viewer. The painting on the right is Maggie Hambling's 'A Laugh with the Rokeby Venus' is a case in point.  The Walker never disappoints with numerous exhibitions contained within the gallery, some temporary and contemporary, others on permanent display we were free to visit.  

On leaving the gallery, some of us headed towards Albert Dock to browse around the numerous shops and wide choice of eateries before settling down for lunch.  Others decided on a guided bus Tour around the city.   It was a bit breezy that day but it remained sunny with no rain!   Thank you Carole for another great day out. 

The group thoroughly enjoyed a two for one excursion on the same day to Boscobel House and Moseley Old Hall.  Together they told the dramatic story of how Charles II sought refuge as he was pursued by Cromwell's soldiers after fleeing the Civil War defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.  Both properties exhibited priest holes, secret nooks and crannies facilitating his escape to France where he lived in exile for the next 9 years.

Boscobel House and home of The Royal Oak was originally a timber framed farmhouse and was later coverted into a hunting lodge.  It was regarded as a secure 'bolt hole' for sheltering Catholics at times of persecution.  It now has a fully restored Victorian working farm with happy animals you can meet.

Moseley Old Hall was another refuge Charles took full advantage of hiding in their priest hole when the Parliamentarians came knocking.  He rested up for two days before continuing his journey to France.  Since then the house has undergone various alterations and is now fully restored with period furniture throughout including the original four-poster bed reputedly used by Charles,  now in the Kings Room.  Outside there are well stocked borders of traditional shrubs and flowers with laid out orchards and an ornamental knot garden.

Another interesting visit was organised by Carole in February, this time to Manchester City Art Gallery to see their exhibition 'Unpicking Couture'.  To quote the Gallery - "this exhibition celebrates pioneering creativity and design and includes works by Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, Azzedine Alaia, Cristobal Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Bruce Oldfield and Alexandra McQueen.  The exhibition focussed on repair and restoration inviting us to consider the lifecycle of a garment and the way it is valued and cared for.  The exhibition shows the recent restoration of a 1930's silk velvet jacket by Elsa Schiaparelli.  'Unpicking Couture' promotes sustainable approaches to repairing and preserving much loved and well-worn clothes.

An interesting trip although not as large an exhibition as anticipated.

PURE BRILLIANCE: The Boodles Story

The coach left Welshpool from a new departure point and then picked up at Gledrid after those embarking had experienced a snow storm! The weather improved and it turned out to be a lovely bright sunny day to enjoy the Pure Brilliance exhibition celebrating 200 years of Boodles at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight. Pure Brilliance: The Boodles Story showcases the jewellery brand’s 200 year story and shows how Liverpool has helped shape the company’s growth, from a family jewellery business to purveyors of some of the most stunning jewels in the world. A visit to the Lady Lever Gallery is always such a pleasure;  there is not too much on display that you are overwhelmed. Lunch was good too!

We enjoyed another trip in July to two National Trust houses in Warwickshire, Packwood House and Baddesley Clinton. We went to Packwood House first which is a Tudor house extensively restored in the 1920s with a fine collection of 16th century textiles and furniture and yews to rival Powis Castle. Ten minutes away

Baddesley Clinton, another Tudor mansion with a moat and which was used extensively for hiding Catholic priests. The guide said that 8 priests hid in the hole she showed us for many hours while the house was being searched for them. Must have been pretty tight!  A happy day. Thank you, Carole.

Garden Party

Kingsley and Wolfgang kindly invited us to their home and garden again on the 7th July for our annual Garden Party. Carole invited Rob Hubbleday and his wife, Mary, together with Deborah Yates and Lucy Harvey Scholes from Shrewsbury AS and Nicky and Terry Lipscombe from Wrekin AS to thank them for including us in their Zoom talks during the Covid period. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The sun shone continuously, delicious food was brought and eaten, loads of raffle prizes were won and a good time was had by all.

Having been starved of visits for nearly three years the enthusiasm was such that Carole had to order a larger coach for our trip to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool for their exhibition. This is called The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics and featured around one hundred objects with almost seventy works from the National Portrait Gallery.  It is the first time such a significant number of the National Portrait Gallery’s renowned Tudor portraits have been lent for exhibition and one can only imagine the negotiations and logistics of moving the pictures from London to Liverpool.

One of the incredible loans is the Bacton Altar Cloth which new research suggests is an item from Elizabeth I's  wardrobe, making it the only known surviving example of her clothing. The portraits are stunning and this detail is of one of the dresses and the embroidery is painted. Amazing. The sun shone and we had a lovely day. One of our members went to the Museum of Western Approaches where the plotting room for Atlantic convoys operated and the key turned in 1945. A splendid and enjoyable day.