Page 139 of A Christmas Celebration
‘I’m coming.’ Angus beamed as he bumbled along, stopping to welcome someone else and turning Archie’s face so red as a result, I thought he was going to combust. ‘Thank you all so much for coming.’ Angus continued to dawdle.
‘Dad!’ Jamie practically screeched, adding his desperate plea to that of his brother.
‘I’m here,’ Angus said mildly, stepping between his two sons. ‘There’s no need to shout,’ he added, making everyone laugh.
Brodie looked at me and shook his head.
‘That man,’ he sighed.
‘I know,’ I agreed. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Sick to my stomach.’ He grimaced.
‘You’ll be fine,’ I said, looking deep into his eyes and thinking how wonderfully his navy-coloured shirt set the intensity of them off. ‘Everything will be fine.’
‘If I can do it, lad,’ Albert stoically said, from Brodie’s other side as he smoothed down his tie, ‘then I’m damn sure you can.’
It had been a rush to get everything ready that morning. Angus’s insistence that the Christmas celebration should remain a surprise for his wife had caused untold issues and hold-ups as nothing could be set up until she was off-site.
Thankfully, Anna and Cass had come up with the ingenious idea of taking her on an impromptu trip to Wynter’s Trees on the Norfolk coast which gave us a bit of extra time. As well as selling and renting out potted Christmas trees, the place sold all kinds of bespoke and local crafts, the creators of which were set up in a street of little beach huts.
To convince Catherine to go, Anna had come up with the excuse that she hadn’t seen the sea for a while and that she hadn’t had any opportunity to buy Christmas presents and off the three of them had gone to this wonderful sounding one-stop festive shop. I would have loved to have gone to see the place for myself but obviously that wasn’t an option because I was in charge of coordinating the speedy set up at the hall.
There were more decorations and twinkling fairy lights to go up and the display boards were arranged to give each of the six invited artists a booth of their own. Albert and Brodie’s work remained covered and wouldn’t be revealed until the guest of honour returned which, according to the desperation in Archie’s tone, would be very soon. I was glad about that because I still hadn’t had so much as a peep at Brodie’s work.
Among the exhibitors, along with my two favourite men, there was a young woman called Bec who Angus had rather a soft spot for and when I met her, I immediately understood why. She was a whirlwind of infectious energy and had as many off the wall ideas as he did.
Bec’s canvases were huge colourful abstract affairs. She had somehow managed to wedge them into her bright yellow 2CV with the roof down, which itself caused quite a stir when it arrived. It looked even more decrepit than Brodie’s Volvo and I wondered if all penniless artists favoured quirky, have certainly seen better days, modes of transport.
She and Albert were getting along like a house on fire and from the few glimpses of his work that I had caught in the studio, I wasn’t surprised about that. I hadn’t seen all that much though and my memories of what had been prominently on display when I first went into the studio were a little hazy because I had been so angry that Brodie had barged in that day. Most of the canvases had been hidden after that and therefore, I was looking forward to examining Albert’s work every bit as minutely as Brodie’s.
There was also a watercolour artist, a textile artist and a lino print artist. I had already viewed their work, along with Bec’s, and I was fascinated by it all. Each of them favoured different techniques and mediums and yet all managed to capture the essence of the Fenland landscape which is why Angus had been so keen for Lizzie to invite them. I didn’t think there could be another family in the whole of East Anglia who were more melded to the landscape than the Connelly’s.
‘They’re here!’ Archie yelled, making everyone jump and Brodie groan.
We all fell silent which, given the number of cars parked in front of the hall was a bit of a waste of time, but it added to the atmosphere and Catherine’s face was a picture when Angus took her hand as she came in, then gave the signal for the lights to go on.
‘Surprise!’ everyone shouted.
‘My goodness,’ she laughed, one hand on her chest. ‘What’s all this? I guessed something was going on, but I wasn’t expecting quite so many people.’
Everyone was thrilled with her response and welcomed her home so warmly you would have thought she’d been gone for months rather than a few hours. I felt deeply touched and recognized practically everyone in the crowd and I felt a fond affection for them too. It was amazing to think that just a few weeks ago, many of them would have been total strangers.
‘You know Dad,’ said Archie as he led Catherine further in.
‘He never does things by halves,’ chorused Jamie and Christopher.
‘Never a truer word spoken.’ Catherine smiled as she looked about her.
Angus then explained the purpose of the party, telling everyone that it was in part to celebrate the arrival of Christmas, but also to champion and appreciate the work of local artists.
‘I have recently discovered not one’ – here he pointed atBrodie who was looking greener by the second – ‘but two new artists in our midst,’ he continued, with a sweeping gesture which took in Albert, who gave a little bow and betrayed no sign of nerves even though I was sure he must have been feeling some. ‘And I thought it would be a wonderful end to the year to give them, and everyone else here, the recognition they deserve in creating such beautiful work, which captures the unusual landscape we live in so beautifully.’
‘Albert?’ Catherine asked, sounding surprised. ‘Are you going to share your work?’
‘Yes,’ Albert confirmed, blushing as far as his boots. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Well, I never,’ she gasped, looking at the covered boards. ‘I think this is a wonderful idea,’ she then said to Angus, kissing him on the cheek. ‘Where shall we begin?’
