"Blea Tarn Cottage"   I have done very few water colour paintings during my time. We were given some experience in the use of them at the Laird school of art when I was young, but I was weaned principally in the use of oils when I specialized in fine art for the last two out of four years. Having attended a wonderfully inspirational demonstration in the use of water colours since I retired from teaching, I have had many pleasurable hours, since, experimenting with it. This is one of the few paintings that I have completed. I spent a week bed-and-breakfasting in that cottage! They had no electricity there - they were not connected to the national grid! They had a diesel-driven dynamo in that building attached there below the house! The last one to switch off a light at night stopped the dynamo! I sat up reading a book till about 1,00am. The dynamo was thrumming away, and stopped when I switched off my light. The owners of the house went to bed about three hours before me! What they thought of me using up their diesel fuel I don't know! I felt rather guilty afterwards! (but hopefully they were asleep and didn't know!) I had a lovely week there, though! I rambled all round those hills you see in the picture - and those behind me. The views were wonderful.The air was so clean and fresh with lovely scents in the air. You can understand, I'm sure, why I love landscape painting, not only for the enjoyment - and the challenges it brings me, but because it's my way of re-living the enjoyment of having actually been there.