The Wonder of Woolies

Staying with my parents this week, there are still some items around their home that I have never known life without. This painting is one of them. It used to hang in the lounge of my childhood home in Rayleigh, Essex, and is now in the bedroom I use when I come to see Mum and Dad. It's quite large, at over a metre wide, and is painted on stretched canvas. Much of the oil paint has been applied fairly thickly with a palette knife or similar, especially the bold slashes and downward strokes which represent the crowd milling about. The people in the painting have always fascinated me, and as a small child I would stare at the picture for hours and imagine myself being amongst them, with all the sights and sounds and smells of the scene. Some of the ladies give the impression of being quite smartly dressed in colourful outfits. I've never quite made up my mind which country they're in, but it could be either Spain or Italy. Sadly I can't make out the artist's name from the signature, but it's unlikely we've got a priceless work on our hands...

The biggest surprise about this painting is where it came from. I asked Mum about it this afternoon, and she told me that she and Dad bought it in 1963 for about £10 in Woolworths, Southend-on-Sea. In the 60's Woolworths was better known for selling framed prints of famous paintings like Constable's "The Hay Wain" than original semi-impressionistic oil-on-canvas works. I still love looking at it, so I'm glad it's now in my room.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent prayers and good wishes for my Dad. We went to see a chest specialist today for an initial appointment. He's taken a history of Dad's health and lifestyle, and has examined his chest. He confirmed that there is fluid in the membrane surrounding Dad's left lung, which is crushing in on the lung and greatly reducing the amount of air it can take in. They took 3 vials of Dad's blood for testing, he will still have the CT scan done tomorrow, and he will also have the fluid drained early next week. This should help him to breathe more easily. The fluid will be sent off for analysis, and then we'll see the consultant again in two weeks for the results of all the tests, and to discuss what happens next once they know what's causing the fluid to build up. I think we all feel a little easier and more positive knowing that things are getting done fairly quickly, and having been given a better idea of what's happening.