Tuesday, March 08, 2022

Letter from home

It is so hard to know what kind of post to write while the war in Ukraine continues with all the concomitant suffering.

I know you’ll all be as upset about it as I am, so what else is there to say? Except to rail against our cruel and mean spirited government that is making it so hard for refugees to get here to safety. All EU countries are allowing entry with no visa and offering three years residence along with the right to work and to benefits. The U.K. insists that desperate people work their way through the bureaucracy of a visa application, and even then there are only a few people eligible.

The only good thing about this situation is that British people who have so far been ignorant of just how impossible it is to enter the U.K. as a refugee can now see the truth about our government's 'hostile environment' policy. 

So with all of the above, it feels wrong to be writing about what is going on at Hepworth Towers. What this war is teaching me, though, is how important it is to appreciate what we have, and to allow ourselves to enjoy small pleasures. It would be ungrateful not to.

Warmth is one such pleasure. We live up a lane and there is no gas supply so we have oil central heating. When I rang up to order some last Friday I was told that although usually I could order 2000 litres, they would only sell me 1000, and the price had gone up in a week from 69 pence per litre to 96 pence. I did not order any, and we have turned the heating right down and severely restricted the hours it is on. Lucky for us we have log burning stoves and a stock of firewood that Dave collected last winter. With the stove lit, the sitting room is warm on the coldest day. Snuggling in my warm bed at night I feel lucky I am not sheltering in a cold, cold metro, or a basement in Ukraine with no food and no water and children to care for, like my friend who is trapped in Kyiv with her teenage son. 

Other news...

If nothing worse happens on the world stage, I am hoping to fly to Colorado next week to see the family; and I have been working on two paintings. This one is finished.


Acrylic on canvas board. 59 x42 cms.


This one of Wensleydale is nearly finished. It needs a tiny barn adding somewhere on the bright green hill, and I think I am going to lighten the sky.


Wensleydale meadow.
Acrylic on canvas board 42 x59 cms.

I want to paint a washing line next and I’m so pleased I  managed to get a photo of our line one day when the sun was shining and there are shadows on the grass.



Last evening I joined with 250 other Quakers from America and the U.K. for an hour's zoom Meeting for Worship with the focus being Ukraine. It is a daily event  sponsored by Friends House, Moscow, a small, non-profit organisation living out Friends' testimonies in service to the people of Russia, Ukraine and beyond. 

The Meeting was powerful and sustaining.


If you would like to join in, please email me at hugsDOThepworthATgmailDOTcom and I will send you details.

That's it.

I must get up and dressed. I am going with a friend to an art/photo exhibition in Buxton called A Celebration of Derbyshire Trees.

Wishing you all a peaceful day.


Our plum tree last spring



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

My fingers and toes are crossed that all goes well for you to fly from Heathrow ! So very happy for you. Loved your artwork naturally, but specially inspired by the laundry photo. We have had a years worth of rain already on east coast of Australia with dreadful flooding for many Today we have sun and breezes and a chance to dry every thing out We we’re safe from flooding but so conscious of those that weren’t so fortunate
Bon voyage
Ana

Sue Hepworth said...

Thank you for your good wishes, Ana.
Floods are terrible tings to endure.Thankfully they have receded here.

marmee said...

Hi! Yes happy visiting sue ! That wash line pic is just stunning, the shadows , the shirts full and billowing, a work of art in itself .

Lina said...

Sue. I love the first painting in your blog post - the stairs. You are clearly very talented. Hope your flight to Colorado goes well.

Sue Hepworth said...

Thank you for your good wishes, Marmee and Lina, and also for the compliments on the pics. It's very encouraging!