As you know, I have no qualms whatsoever about promoting my friends, or even complete strangers, who do fabulous things.
Peter Ashley at the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham has done a fabulous thing. He is painting a series of townscape capriccios, starting with Stamford in Lincolnshire. You will have come across Peter before on this blog, when he produced the delightful collage ‘Shunt With Care’.
Watch this film below in which Peter talks about the new painting and buggers about in a graveyard wearing goggles.
I am going to introduce someone else to you in the next few days who does equally fabulous work of a different kind, but who only occasionally wears goggles.
Wartime Housewife 
Oh I loved watching that WH, so see and hear Peter again!
That should read: So GOOD to see and …
Stamford is lovely but regrettably it is in Lincolnshire
Thank you so much for pointing that out, Rutland Ned. This is what comes of messing about on the computer late at night. Uppingham is in Rutland, Stamford is most definitely in Lincolnshire.
I like Lincolnshire, I like Peter Ashley’s work too. I shall have to go and have a look at the link you have given us. Thank you!
Thank you so much for posting that, WH. Being a Stamford girl, I really enjoyed seeing all the buildings I know so well in Peter’s wonderful work. Absolutely lovely!
Great idea and I enjoyed the video, but I have to ask: what is it that St Martin is without?
One is tempted to say ‘trousers’ Mr Parrot, but the truth is more prosaic. ‘Without’ normally means outside the city wall or town bounday ie not ‘within’. But you knew that.
Out of interest, St Martin of Tours is the patron saint of (wait for it) Against alcoholism, reformed alcoholics, impoverishment, against poverty, beggars, Burgenland, cavalry, equestrians, France, geese, horse men, horses, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, Mainz, Germany, quartermasters, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners, wine growers and wine makers.
As patron saint of beggars he may well be without trousers.
Alternatively, Saint Martin is a rather lovely island in the Caribbean, so maybe he is without a plane ticket.
I bet you wish you’d never asked…
This was very interesting. I like Peter’s painting, and I didn’t know that a capriccio was a style of painting until today, so thank you for edercating me a bit more. I also love Stamford, and was reminded while watching it that a friend of mine said his grandfather, or possibly great grandfather, was the architect of many of the buildings, including the George hotel. My friend’s surname is Hilliam, but I am not sure whether this was also the architect’s name. I suppose it is silly of me to be wondering why the goggles?
Alltime Fishwife: I wondered about the goggles too.
Actually , must have been quite a few more “greats” . Wish I could remember the name.
It’s a great painting: I hope the people of Stamford like it too.