I got up this morning, as usual shortly after seven, and went downstairs to make a cup of tea. While the kettle boiled I pulled back the curtains in the living room, and was astonished by what confronted me. At this time of the morning in the UK, at this period of the year, it is still almost dark, and a delicate crescent Moon still hung in the sky. The greater surprise, however, was the vision of the planet Venus, hanging in the sky nearby to the west of the Moon.
At first I was not sure what was this bright light in the sky, and suspected that it might be an aircraft, but it was indeed a heavenly body. Although Venus is a common sight, and I normally know to look for it, I could not believe its size and brightness on this occasion. Typically the planet appears to be not a great deal larger and brighter than a star, but before me was an object which obviously had three dimensions, and was responsible for almost as much illumination as the Moon. I can only suppose that the orbit of Venus, like that of the Moon, varies in its distance from the Earth, and this morning I happened to see it it its closest. It was a breathtakingly lovely surprise.
As I drove over to Leeds for a trip to the climbing wall I was thinking about this experience, and it struck me that had I painted a picture that had represented faithfully my experience it is probable that I would not be believed, and would be accused of exaggeration. I wonder how often painters are compelled to moderate their images in this way, because they fear that they will not be believed in they show the truth. The moral of the story is, paint your vision and not what you expect might be the vision of others.
Today has also brought good news and bad news, in other directions. The Leeds climbing wall has re-opened, and it was a tremendous relief to get back to climbing again after a break of four months. The bad news is, of course, that after not having climbed for that length of time we were both really rather unfit and consequently weary, and my hands were blistered by the end of the session. The really good news is that, although my climbing mural in the children’s “adventure zone” has been removed, as a part of the remodelling of the centre, I gather that it has been taken to a new home and not junked.