Friday, July 19, 2013

 

Uckfield Art.

Mostly a home day.
This evening we were out - travelling a little south to Uckfield on a glorious evening.
Sussex was looking at its best.
We were in Uckfield for the first night of the Uckfield festival arts trail exhibition. Thirty nine local artists were showing examples of their work, including Paula Oakley who I have come to know through facebook........just one of those random things that turns out so well.
The art was well presented - but the artists were at a disadvantage because the heat in The Civic Centre was oppressive - too much.
It was hard to want to be in the rooms of art, filled with too many people.
We had a complimentary glass of wine as we chatted. Then we went down and outside to get cool and enjoy a long drink of soda and lime.
We then looked at all the work - but couldn't spend much time with each artist. I remember a few pictures that I liked.
And I have to say that the price of art on sale was not outrageous as is sometimes the case.....good to have original art affordable.


Some of Paula's landscapes/seascapes.


















































And here is Paula. Great that we have met up at last.
She has said how remarkable it is that our random contact has led us to learn of somehow very parallel lives  - in the same sort of places at the same time.
In the 1950s she was living on one side or the river Ouse at a couple of farms whilst I was enjoying "camp" on the other side of the river valley up on the South Downs.
For both of us those places are so familiar.



























































At nine o'clock we left. We picked up a portion of chips from a High Street shop.






The High Street looks good.....I can see that we shall have to make a point of visiting again.
After all it was once an ancestor's home.
My great great uncle Asher Clarke had a grocer's shop in Framfield Road, Uckfield.
Many of that branch of the family came from the villages surrounding Uckfield.

We ate our chips in a car park in Ashdown Forest.

Lovely evening.