Sunbury Embroidery Gallery

The weekend seemed short to me. How was yours? Mike and I went to a meeting at Sunbury Embroiery Gallery, in Sunbury on the Thames on Saturday. My work and Alan Emsden's will be exhibited there next March. If you remember, we both did an art fair at Teddington in early summer. At the PV, Barbara from the gallery picked us for the exhibition. We both are so excited!

It was our first visit. It is a leafy area along the Thames, The gallery has a beautiful garden and a nice cafe. It is such a pleasant place! It is close to Hampton Court Palace.

We parked at the car park, and walked on a path covered with vines and wisteria. The path was dark and quiet. Then at the end of the path, you suddenly see the beautiful garden! I felt I was wandering into Queen of Heart's garden in Alice in the Wonderland! It was a walled garden with tranquility. Shame, it wan't a bright day. There are colourful summer bedding flowers. A volunteer lady told me that it has the national collection of clematis.

At the end of path

The walled garden

We were late. There was an incident after we got off the motorway, and we got stuck there about 20 minutes to wait for the car to be moved away from the road. When we were walking into a cafe, Mike soon spotted Barbara and Alan waving from a table inside.

The gallery and cafe

We looked inside the gallery, and I was shown plinths I could use. Suddenly I noticed typical parakeets' calls in tall trees. There they are! Three wild Indian ringnecks are flying over us. Then we discussed more details about the exhibition. When we finished the meeting, it was already two o'clock. We decided to have cakes and coffee at the cafe, and explore the garden. It used to be, we were told, the vegetable garden for a large house.

The gallery is boat shape. Alan and Mike

I walked slowly to feel the space, air and atmosphere to think about a title for the exhibition.

 After that, we went to the Thames, which is just the other side of a road. As soon as we appeared, a dozen of geese, three swans and coots came toward us. Apparently nobody had fed them for a while. We didn't have anything to feed them. But I stretched my arm to pat a signet! He thought it was a chip, and tried to eat my digit. Don't worry, I was safe. :D

Hungry signets

On the way back was eventless luckily.  We came home tired but happy.