Friends

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting up with this friend in the Lake District. Having not seen him for a few months it was nice to catch up with him. I painted this picture of him a year ago but having got better at using my pencil I thought I would return to it and see what I could do. I am happy with the result will see how he feels later.

Friendship is a wonderful thing. I have friends in the Lake District I do not see very often but it is always such a pleasure to be back in their company.

By friendship you mean the greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds of which brave men and women are capable.

Not that is a definition of what real friendship is and I feel honoured to be able to say that I have friends who would fill that measure.

I have friends and members of my family who would say that friendship could be summed up thus. "Nothing in the world is friendlier than a wet dog. "

A newspaper publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following.

 
"One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable." 

"One who understands our silence." 

"A volume of sympathy bound in cloth." 

"A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down." 

The winning definition read: "A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."

My apologies that this blog is rather short, but I am sure my friends will understand.