VARNISHING ACT

I've recently added a new word to my vocabulary ... vernissage, meaning a reception at a venue for an arts event that's about to take place.
The word's origin is French: its literal meaning is 'varnishing' and refers to the day before the opening of an exhibition that was traditionally reserved for the artist to varnish his paintings. Nowadays it's an opportunity for invited guests to mix and mingle ahead of the public opening of an arts event.

Hence the glass of red wine and lively conversation I enjoyed at the opening of the Guernsey Literary Festival, a four-day extravaganza of culture and art that's due to become an annual event.
This photograph was taken by Chris George, the island's finest photographer, whose extraordinary images of Guernsey enable even the most jaded of us to see our island as though for the first time and fall in love with it all over again.

You can find many more of Chris George's Festival pictures by clicking on the link below.

https://chrisgeorge.dphoto.com/album/0321ev