WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA WITH A PERVADING MIST... (My new poem inspired by John Tuck's painting...)

 Wells-next-the-Sea With A Pervading Mist…

(Inspired by John Tuck’s painting…)

Tethered boats niggle idly upon Wells’ full tide, their

Moorings stable upon a wharf wall, stern and weather worn.

A mesmerising mist smothers the quayside, pervading,

Probing, infiltrating and luring with its propensity to seep

And mystify, fading the weak sunlight to peach and buff 

At its upper reaches, then sidling between red roofs to where

The old granary stands as testament to industry. The haze permeates the forlorn  

Gantry, supported by spidery legs, once used for the loading  Of malt onto vessels bound for breweries, then the smog wriggles free to creep

Across the channel onto the marshes, amongst wading birds and samphire grass, hardy and tough…  

Pete Ray…

22nd February 2026…   

I love Wells…

Hope to be there in a couple of weeks…

The painting sets the scene with some fascination…

(Malt is grain, made to germinate by soaking it in water but it is then prevented from further germination by drying it with hot air. This process is known as ‘malting’…)

The thoughts of The Sand Martin...

‘This exquisitely painted picture depicts a scene of three or possibly four small boats on the water near the wharf at Wells -next –the- Sea.

Two boats are moored on the wharf itself. The boat in the foreground is painted in red and white and focuses the immediate attention. Close by a blue and white boat is also moored and further along in a similar colour is a rowing boat with one occupant. It is the only clear movement in the picture. 

The colours of the boats are bright compared with the overall pale delicate colours and ethereal style that dictate a calm and quiet feeling. There is a soft glow in the smooth sky as pale yellow and apricot colours blend imperceptibly into soft pale grey blue tones that are reflected beautifully into the water where there is barely a ripple. 

The sea and sky would almost merge together if it were not for the wall of the wharf and also buildings in the distance all painted delicately in pale misty grey tones.

The feelings of peace this evokes are in contrast to the once very busy quayside when malted grain from the granary was transported by sea to the breweries. Now it appears as a sleepy dreamy place of recreation and leisure. 

It is an idyllic scene with soft muted gentle tones where boats, wharf and buildings almost merge into a Heaven on Earth and Sea…’

KENILWORTH SPORTING 5-1 LEAMINGTON HIBERNIAN: THE LINK TO 20 MINUTES OF VIDEO ACTION WITH FULL COMMENTARY...

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS MESSAGE TO GO TO THE 20 MINUTES OF VIDEO ACTION WITH FULL COMMENTARY... 

BRAD ALLIBONE (WALKING TOWARDS THE CAMERA) HAS NETTED HIS SECOND GOAL, TO ADD TO HIS BRACE OF ASSISTS... 

RARE JOY FOR HIBS, AFTER BRAD COLEMAN HAS SCORED FROM A PENALTY...

THE INIMITABLE CURTIS CUTTS (RIGHT) HAS STREAKED AWAY TO GIVE HIS TEAM A 3-0 LEAD...

HANDS ON HIPS TIME...

THE UNIQUE 'DUGOUTS'...

HARRY WILSON IS FORCED TO RECITE HIS 14 TIMES TABLE BY THE REFEREE...

BRAD COLEMAN AND THE USUALLY SAINT-LIKE JAMES CHAPPELL ARE CAUTIONED EARLY IN THE GAME.
JAMES & CURTIS CUTTS CHATTED WITH AFTER THE MATCH, WHICH WAS APPRECIATED...

MY VIEWPOINT...

CUTTS WAS DENIED ANOTHER GOAL BY A FINE SAVE FROM HIBS' 'KEEPER ATTWOOD...

I MOVED ACROSS TO THE MAIN SHELTER AT HALF-TIME, DUE TO RAIN, FILMING WHILST THE KENILWORTH CHOIR PRACTISED SHRIEKING HYMNS...

EARLY PAIN...

THE TOSS...

NEAT SKY OVER GYPSY LANE...

THE BODGING & THE PYDOG ENJOY THE DAMP GRASS...

OWEN SUDDICK IS ABOUT TO RECEIVE A TELLING-OFF...

SPORTING IN CELEBRATORY MOOD...

SUMMER NIGHT... (My new poem inspired by a Harald Sohlberg painting, 1899...)

 Summer Night…

(Inspired by Harald Sohlberg’s 1899 painting…)

Summer light fades, reflected in windows and the rare sky

Forms a kaleidoscope array of pallid colours, angled into the imminent sundown,

Dyeing the fjord a stern shade of green, as it tarries, potent and silent.

Decorative rows of red and white flowers caress the balcony and its privacy 

In a show of affection and protection, intimating at an evening of romance…  

Carafes and half-empty glasses stand forlorn, two plates abandoned lie.

Gloves hang poignantly over an edge of the table and the glossy stools of brown

Have been discarded, as if vacated in the emotion of a celebratory moment…

A lady’s straw hat has been placed amongst the blooms, suggesting intimacy

To the occasion, a seclusion, a liaison between lovers, perchance…

Pete Ray…

20th February 2026…    

It appears that this painting was likely a celebration of the painter’s own engagement…

The atmosphere and colours created in the scene are really becoming, to my mind… 

The thoughts of an independent source, The Sand Martin...

'This delightful scene appears to show a wooden mountain lodge overlooking a forested area and the lake below. 

Beyond the lower hills and surrounding the lake to form a frame around it are gentle uplands or low mountains.

The balcony looks enticing, the balustrade decorated with bright orange and also white flowers. 

We see a table and two empty stools with half finished drinks and carafes still in evidence. 

This scene invites the onlooker to the table and at the same time to wonder why it has been left. Did an urgent call demand immediate attention elsewhere? Was someone overtaken by sudden illness? Did a dispute bring the encounter to an end? There are any number of other plausible reasons to cause the table to be abandoned suddenly… 

The positioning of the stools might indicate that they were suddenly pushed from the table. 

The use of very bold and striking colours suggests that a drama of some sort has taken place. 

The orange flowers are in direct contrast to the unusually bright navy colour of the uplands that frame the lake. This in turn is painted a vivid turquoise colour. 

The white flowers dominate the balustrade and bring the eye immediately towards the balcony despite the stunning scenery so boldly and attractively painted. 

Diagonally across from the balcony the white of the evening sky and the last of the daylight demand attention. As the light fades into evening shades of blue, it amplifies the drama surrounding the balcony. 

Again the white gauze tablecloth calls attention to this cosy corner of the balcony and we are left wondering and puzzling about the events that have occurred in this idyllic spot. 

A beautiful puzzle for one to consider…'

THE OLD CAPTAIN'S HOUSE, WINTER AFTERNOON, 1909... (My new poem inspired by Harald Sohlberg's painting...)

 The Old Captain’s House, Winter Afternoon, 1909…

(My new poem inspired by Harald Sohlberg’s painting…)

Chopped wood lies redundant in crisp snow afoot

The writhing, distorted boles, anchored, enabling

The myriad of naked and thinned branches to claw

At the icy air, like wind blown tresses of black, silhouetted

Against the winter sky, glorious in a sunset’s pale peach hue,

A gleam matched along the worn track, which slithers

Sinuously towards the dwellings, both proud against the weather’s 

Vagaries. And beside a cottage, rising powerfully into view

Is a fine dwelling, the old Captain’s house, impressive and feted,

Its pallid walls bedecked by windows, spying upon a climate too often raw.

And like a sentry-box the front entrance lingers, a humbling

Guard for such an illustrious property of some repute… 

Pete Ray…

19th February 2026…

Norwegian artist Harald Sohlberg painted this snow scene, likely around Oslo.

I was taken by the late afternoon sky and the snaking lane leading to the homes.

The number of windows, presumably to allow in as much daylight as possible are remarkable but for me, the ends of the branches of the trees add a spectral flavour to the work…

The additional thoughts of The Sand Martin:

‘As the sun goes down and the night sky moves softly into the picture, the

immediate attention is drawn to the three enormous dark, bare trees in the

foreground. 

It is clearly winter and the branches are devoid of any leaves, so that their strong structures dominate and reach across almost the entire width of the painting. 

Behind them stands the rather large and imposing Captain’s house with an adjacent cottage and a number of much younger looking, flimsy small trees, close to the properties. Thus one has to peer to look carefully at the buildings.

The yellowish hues along the track to the buildings indicate that the doorway to

the Captain’s House is well used and with little to no snow on the roof it is very

possibly well heated and poorly insulated. 

The cottage roof is almost entirely covered in snow, like icing on a cake.

In fact all the ground looks icing sugar soft, being white and blue-grey as it gently

undulates up from the track and away into the far distance. 

There is a powerful contrast for attention between the huge dark dominant trees, the very pretty snow scene and the Captain’s House, yet this is a peaceful, calm picture, showing the beauty of Nature in harmony with man-made buildings.’