Here's a bit of serendipitous coincidence. I think I may have already mentioned that Her Indoor's sister lives next door to a woman who breeds Bedlington dogs in Sheffield, and that this lady used to groom the Bedlingtons for none other than the painter, Cragie Aitchison, who has owned and painted Bedlingtons for years. He used to come all the way from London, just to have them pampered by her.Well, Cragie died fairly recently, and he was found in his studio, sitting in a chair having died of a heart attack, with his last two dogs standing faithfully beside him, waiting for him to wake up, or - more likely - mourning.
His dogs have been taken into custody by two friends of Cragie, and - although I knew they now live somewhere in the Bath area - I haven't yet seen them walking the streets, and I have never met the two chaps.
Well, it turns out that the two young men who now look after Cragie's dogs are going to come to the opening of Her Indoor's exhibition, which is on the evening of the 20th November - a saturday. I really hope they bring along the Beddies - such famous dogs would be a real asset on the evening.
Isn't it funny how things go around in circles like that?
P.S. - Sorry for all the blogs I am posting right now, but I'm spending too much time at home, preparing for H.I.'s exhibition, so I keep sneaking over to the machine. I'll get down to some out of town work soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope the dogs show up at the show Tom...they certainly could add an air of elegance to the affair.
ReplyDeleteMaybe HI could do some quick sketches of the dogs, and continue the saga. Funny little things aren't they!
ReplyDeleteRIP CA.
They might not, J, just in case there are too many people packed into a small gallery.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea, Cro. After we have met the owners, I'll suggest to H.I. that she does that, but maybe it would be a bit too derivative? She could do a picture for them called 'Cragie goes to Heaven'. (For those that don't know, C.A. made a picture of his first Bedlington, after it died, and it was called 'Waynie goes to Heaven', with the doggie floating upwards).
P.S. - I've always thought of Bedlington Terriers as half dog, half sheep. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a fondness for eating grass. Want some, John? (or are you a bit dogged-out at the moment?)
ReplyDeletePlease wish your other (nearly said better, but what do I know?) half all the best for her exhibition and I hope you get to meet the dogs.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzanne, I will. 'better' would be more accurate, 'greater' would be technically incorrect, but spiritually more accurate too. Some halves are less equally divided than others.
ReplyDeleteI love those dogs. I too always felt they were half dog, half sheep (altho I would have said lamb). Hope they show at at the show :-) Ann
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