Hall (Christopher, RBA RCA, 1930-2016)

one of at least three incarnations of this worthy and much-loved venture, founded and run by the eccentric and indomitable Louise and Yvonne Veness, a retired cabaret act who funded this project with donations and by running a local bric-a-brac shop. Redevelopment had forced them to leave their previous premises in 1976, but the local council, on which Christopher Hall, a friend and supporter of theirs, served for many years, found them this pair of slightly delapidated houses in Pelican Lane, where they lived in one and used the other as the hospital. The year after this painting was made, which includes the Venesses in the centre, they relocated again to an old cemetery lodge on the south side of town.

oil on board, 230 x 320 mm. (9 x 12 1/2 in), signed and dated lower left, [Hall 1363],