Summer breaks out briefly in Wiltshire

Once again today summer flatters to deceive, bright sunny spells of piercing summer light race through- however Bath’s day visitors are not so easily fooled, as they parade down York Street sporting bobble hats, body-warmers, with the occasional braveheart in a T-shirt. Blue, black and white jerseys abound, worn with pride following Bath Rugby’s valiant defeat at Twickenham on Saturday.

No rough sport for these two, just dreams of a fast chase and a big feed.

The Doorway by Louise Gluck

‘I wanted to stay as I was
still as the world is never still,
not in midsummer but the moment before
the first flower forms, the moment
nothing is as yet past-

not midsummer, the intoxicant,
but late spring, the grass not yet
high at the edge of the garden, the early tulips
beginning to open-

like a child hovering in a doorway, watching the others,
the ones who go first,
a tense cluster of limbs, alert to
the failures of others, the public falterings

with a child’s fierce confidence of imminent power
preparing to defeat
these weaknesses, to succumb
to nothing, the time directly

prior to flowering, the epoch of mastery

before the appearance of the gift,
before possession.’

James Needham’s work is part of the ‘Classical Roots exhibition, which runs in the gallery until 22 June. In conjunction, and within every one of the rooms in the building, an Anna Gillespie sculpture exhibition always garners interest aplenty. This one is no exception. Well worth visiting Bath, and the gallery, for this show alone…

Tired of Love Poems by Megan Fernandes

‘But we never tire of them, do we?
We wish to worship more than just each other.
We put a god first, sometimes a tree,
write a sonnet to a bird in the black
of night or offer a light to a stranger
and not call it love. But it is. To pull
out a chair is more than manners.
What we tire of is that we never tire of it.
How it guts us. How it fails, then reappears.
Because what is the bird compared to you?
The bird is replaced each morning.
You approach on a red bike in summer
and the poem takes shape. I entitle it
anything but Love, anything but what it is.’

One of the sculptures I see from my desk is this wonderful bronze, which is reminiscent of ‘the climbing angels’, carved into the western entrance to Bath Abbey- and said to be the dream-vision of Bishop Oliver King (Bishop of Bath and Wells) at the tale end of the 15th century.  The sculpture owes its title to a more recent visionary….

‘May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young’

Bob Dylan ‘Forever Young’

Click on the images above to take you to the individual artsits ‘webpages.  The current exhibition runs until 22 June 2024. Anna Gillespie’s sculpture show runs concurrently with the painting exhibition ‘Classical Roots’ and ceramics by Katharina Klug.

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Thank you very much for reading.

Aidan