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robert
collins
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The Ridgeway Back in 1986 I was asked to paint pictures for an exhibition of images of the Ridgeway, the ancient track that runs across the centre of southern England from Avebury Stone Circle to Streatley in the Thames Valley. In early spring I borrowed an old van and camped up on the hills near Uffington. I painted a hedgerow with snowdrops growing along the bank, it was bitterly cold. I began a picture of the famous Uffington White Horse. An hour into my work it began
to snow. Before my eyes the whole hill turned white and the horse
disappeared. I got back to the van, cold and fed up and made myself a cup of tea before deciding whether to brave out the cold and carry on working or give up and go home. Sitting in the driver's seat with the door open, there was a bottle of milk in the pocket of the van door with enough left for just one cup of tea. As I reached for the milk a bird flew directly overhead. I saw a splash inside the milk bottle, the bird had ruined the rest of my milk. It was time to go home. |