Shorten Days

Monday was the arrival of snow in our village. This is highly unusual as we have had three or four incidences of snow over the decade plus years, we have been living here. This made me excited to go down and photo the buried book. Would it be sticking out of a layered blanket or fully covered?

As I work long hours, up at early and back late. I realised that the darkness might make it too dark for photo, as I don't have a flash. I was had a quick check and felt I might get something. I trudged gingerly round to the back garden. There is always something special about stepping across new snow. In a way, it is a blank page, waiting for the world to emerge from the wrapping.

I found the book, partially covered and hope that there might be enough light being reflected off the snow to get something. Unfortunately, nothing registered, so I am going to have to wait for the weekend to get an image. I am wondering what will happen to it and how the snow, frosty ice and water will affect it.

This finished off a frustrating weekend, when I with daughter in tow, tried to visit the Francis Bacon exhibition at Tate Britain. Having to go the long way round via Hamleys and the South Bank. Then losing my travel card and getting caught in a jam, probably due to a protest march. Arriving late, tickets were booking at least 3 hours ahead, so it was just too much time to wait.

My only consolation was picking up the Bacon catalogue from the Library, which is sat waiting for me to turn a page after reading the latest choice of Belle De Jour Book Club . Last year, I found in the Tate Modern a very early Bacon picture from before the Second World War, this had not been included the exhibition rather oddly. What intrigued me was the image was a landscape and ran parallel to one of my inspiration, Graham Sutherland. Bacon also did a series of paintings based on Van Gogh, similar to the Velázquez and the Screaming Pope.

I have only heard Robert Hughes link these painters, Van Gogh, Bacon and Sutherland in his programme, The Shock of the New. There might have been a comment in the Roger Berthoud's biography of Sutherland, but I do not have a comment to check.