We spent part of the day in Lyndhurst, where a bus (er, coach) was to take us to Lymington.

St. Michael and All Angels Church has a fresco by Frederic, Lord Leighton (who died in 1896), entitled The Wise and Foolish Virgins. At the church we saw the fresco, restored in 1996 for 21,000 pounds. The original cost of the fresco in 1862-64 was the materials, as Leighton was already earning about 4,000 pounds a year (compared to a typical annual wage of less than 30 pounds), and was more interested in the opportunity than the money.

Every stumble you make in the UK is likely to help you discover an interesting place. The Fine Art Café on the high street is an unpretentious restaurant where you can look at art, buy art, and learn to do art. There was a lesson going on while we ate brunch. We didn't tell the instructor that we were drawing.

Catherine's version is lovely. We were perched on high chairs with only a small table, in the front window of what had been a shop. The originals are in wax crayon, on discarded computer printout paper.

Catherine told me that in Art School, my drawing would have got the accolades and hers would have been pooh-poohed. It would have been kind for her to say "don't give up your day job", or "not bad considering the time of day", but she was extra special kind. As to the Art School types--the greater fools they.

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Last modified May 11, 2000