Keep safe

As I enjoyed the warm sunshine at a deserted Hollingworth Lake it seemed to me that standards of separation have improved. I found another "sorry, we're closed" sign.

My walking pace was accelerated by listening to Nick Lowe's terrific 1979 album Labour of Lust, on which my favourite track was Without Love.

Today's painting is a similarly upbeat portrayal of a Jovial Company by Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst. He had lived for a time in Rome and used the dramatic light and shade technique of Caravaggio.  On returning to his home in Utrecht, van Honhorst used the device of a single light source in a number of his works. In this case, a candle is held by an old woman, shining through an elegant wine glass, creates not the drama and tension of Caravaggio but a sense of warmth and friendship in a smiling group of friends.