Art by Jill and Holly Maguire at The Bridge Patisserie

Jill and Holly Maguire at The Bridge Patisserie

Excellent art exhibition by Jill and Holly Maguire at The Bridge Patisserie in Winchester.

The one aspect I did not like was covered in glass, which makes viewing difficult if not impossible due to reflection from the lights and from the street outside.

The artwork by Jill Maguire was painted ceramics and glass, although this was not immediately obvious.

Jill Maguire and and Holly Maguire are mother and daughter.

Jill Maguire (mother of Holly) is a ceramics artist who works out of the Colour Factory Collective in Winchester.

Holly Maguire (daughter of Jill) is a Bristol-based illustrator.

The Bridge Patisserie is a lovely little coffee shop in Winchester, just over the old bridge, more or less opposite the Old City Mill.

• Jill and Holly Maguire, an exhibition at The Bridge Patisserie

A picture at an exhibition

Rosemary for Remembrance - Ann Sinclair

artists on closing day of U3A art exhibition at Guildford Institute

With apologies to Mussorgsky.

Sometimes a particular picture catches our eye, and so it was for me, one picture out of maybe a hundred caught my eye. It was a strange picture. It clearly had an Alice theme, but with dark Gothic overtones, hints of Edgar Allan Poe. I was intrigued and baffled. Why the cross and open grave as the centre piece of the picture? It was unfortunate the artist had decide to put glass over her painting as the refections made it nigh impossible to see the work. The title of the work, Rosemary for Remembrance, gave not a hint, far from it, as it seemed in no way connected to the painting.

I was in Guildford for the day, or at least lunch and the rest of the day. It was whilst having lunch at the Guildford Institute surrounded by paintings that I spotted this strange painting. It was part of an exhibition by Guildford U3A.

It was an altogether strange Alice cum art cum Paulo Coelho cum Orhan Pamuk day out.

My day started seeing an American lady looking rather lost outside St Mary’s. I stated the obvious that it was locked, and added that sadly it was rarely open. For her it was a pity as she was in Guildford for the day for its Lewis Carroll connections. There must be many disappointed visitors like her. More must be done to keep St Mary’s open. I like to sit in St Mary’s in quiet reflection, when I find it open that is.

I explained a little of the history of St Mary’s, told her Lewis Carroll had a house nearby and gave the occasional sermon in St Mary’s. And I gave her a couple of websites where more information could be found on Lewis Carroll and Guildford.

keithpp.wordpress.com/ —> Lewis Carroll
www.heureka.clara.net/art/ —> Lewis Carroll
www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/ —> Guildford

I then had lunch at the Guildford Institute where I spotted the strange painting. It was part of an exhibition by Guildford U3A.

I always pop into the library, a lovely little private library. Chatting to a lady I suggested she read Paulo Coelho. I pulled off the shelves one of his books and gave her websites where she could find more information on the author.

keithpp.wordpress.com/ —> Paulo Coelho
www.heureka.clara.net/art/ —> Paulo Coelho

Leaving the Guildford Institute I chatted with a lovely young Spanish woman who was a keen fan of Paulo Coelho. I gave her websites where she could find more information.

keithpp.wordpress.com/ —> Paulo Coelho
www.heureka.clara.net/art/ —> Paulo Coelho

I was then in a bank, more Paulo Coelho fans.

Then a secondhand bookshop where I met a charming Indian who I had never seen before. Any books by Paulo Coelho? Yes. Please show me I said, knowing there were none. Oh, she said, there are none. I then explained I had bought all eight the previous Friday! It turned out she too was a Paulo Coelho fan and she told me that he was a very popular writer in India. She also liked Orhan Pamuk. I was impressed! I gave her websites for more information.

keithpp.wordpress.com/ —> Paulo Coelho
www.heureka.clara.net/art/ —> Paulo Coelho
www.heureka.clara.net/art/ —> Orhan Pamuk

Fancying a cup of tea I thought I would pop in the little tea shop in Guildford House. It has been closed for weeks if not months. Apart from the Tourist Information that has now relocated to Guildford House it all looked closed, so I inquired, to be told, yes it was open. The tea shop was devoid of customers. Apparently few people had bothered to do as I had and inquired, they had walked past assuming it was closed. I asked had they been compensated for the loss of trade whilst Guildford House was closed. No, was the response, and they had still been charged rent!

Walking down the High Street I chatted with a lady who was just finishing a drawing of the Old Town Hall. She said she would be turning it into a water colour. She had come all the way down from Malvern for the day for this one painting. She showed me a photo of a painting she had done in Oxford the previous day. As she had lost her train times, I gave her my timetable, which I said would give her the times of trains from Guildford to Reading. I gave her a website for information on Guildford.

www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/ —> Guildford

All in all, a very interesting day.