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Visited the Watts Gallery with Lizzie today. We met in Guildford and walked along the North Downs Path to Compton in the September sunshine. The gallery, recently restored, houses a large collection of work by G.F.Watts (1817-1904). I learnt a lot about an artist, whose work I had seen in the Tate, but who hadn’t, until today, made much of an impression on me. He had quite a social conscience and wanted to bring to the attention of the public the poverty that existed in the 19th century. His most famous painting is called ‘Hope’ and depicts a blind-folded young woman sitting on a globe stooping awkwardly over a harp straining to hear as she plucks the one remaining string.  Above in the sky shines a single star. A very powerful painting.   Next time we will visit the Watts chapel designed by his wife Mary - and sample again the culinary delights of the excellent tearoom!