Painted Earth

We had a rare couple of hours free this afternoon and I took a sudden notion to visit a place that I have not been to for many years-- Broughton Gallery.
The house in which the gallery is situated is not nearly as old as it appears, having been designed in 1938 by Sir Basil Spence, but it blends in beautifully with the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders around the little picturesque village of Broughton.
I think the last time we had visited the gallery was many years ago when a friend of ours was exhibiting some of her watercolours.
Today there was an exhibition of paintings, sculpture, ceramics etc. including works by the well-known John Lowrie Morrison and an impressive collection of paintings by Clifford William Blakey entitled "Painted Earth".
In fact, as we entered through the huge solid oak door, I got the impression that we may have stumbled into a private pre-exhibition viewing, although no one asked who we were or why we were there. Instead there was held out towards me a plate of warm, freshly baked cookies and some champagne. I declined the champagne, as I was driving, but gave in rather easily to the temptation of the cookies. Definitely a good move.
Unfortunately, although Blakey's paintings seemed equally 'tasty' to me, they were not free and we couldn't afford to buy one. Pity. But seeing them was enjoyable enough, and afterwards we took a short walk up the hill to look down on the gallery.
Sometimes when you turn a corner on the journey of life you meet a nasty surprise, but, equally, there are times when the surprise is a very pleasant one. As it was today.