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Clitheroe and Pendle Hill

A happy Christmas has been had in Brittany after six weeks away.
We painted over thirty shop windows in Clitheroe, a pretty Lancashire town nestling in the shadow of moody, infamous Pendle Hill.

AD Price at Clitheroe Dry Cleaners

It's a delight to be back among friendly folk and the cold days are pierced by plenty of hot drinks and " Do you want a bacon butty, Caroline, only we usually have summat round now?" ; "I made this flapjack last night" ; "would you like a mince pie?" ...well... yes, yes and yes!

Caroline Johnson at Revolve Gallery, Clitheroe

This time the weather's much kinder than last year's constant rain. We've rented a cosy cottage in a nearby village.. and what a treat! it's just a two-minute walk to see my daughter and her family, sit in their kitchen, repel the over-enthusiastic dog who eats my new hat, ("Bad Dog, Trevor!!" ) and do a drawing.

Mr.Price is chuffed, too, to be able to stroll to the shop for The Guardian or an actual pint of milk in a proper bottle.

Parking on the village street's a bit tight, though- feelings run high and an angry note "DO NOT PARK HERE AGAIN!" is left one morning on our windscreen .
Caroline Johnson: Roo's Kitchen #3

Window painting takes up a lot of our time but I manage to get a few sketches done. I'm pleased to get a couple of hours drawing the great view from the back bedroom window towards the church. Here is a delightful muddle of old stone walls, gardens and their clutter of sheds, coal-bunkers and a row of what must have been the old cottage toilets. I wouldn't fancy trailing out there and exposing myself to the season's cruel blasts, I muse, and think of Christina Rossetti's poem....
' In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan'.

Caroline Johnson: The Backs of the Cottages