Old friends

It was great to catch up with old friends Faith & Sandra today. I've known them for around 30 years, originally when we all lived in Brighton and now that we live just a few kilometres apart here in France.

Faith O'Reilly (on the left of this photo) is an extraordinary painter who was a protégée of the late great Sir Stanley Spencer in her youth. They both lived in Cookham so she was a frequent visitor to his house. Today, over lunch, she told us fascinating stories about his method of working. 

Faith is a Royal Academician and we are fortunate to have portraits she has painted of us. The woman in the red painting behind Sandra is of Dame Flora Robson who sat for Faith when they both lived in Brighton.