IAL was pleased to sponsor one of the prizes for the recent Hereford art competition called Hereford my Passion, put on by local Hereford law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys. There were two categories for artists: one for contestants under 15 years of age and the other for contestants over 15 years of age. We sponsored the prize for the former category on the topic of ‘Leisure’.

The award ceremony was held on 12th November in All Saints Church, Hereford. The winner of the category we sponsored was Halle of Fairfield High School, who painted a lovely image of local great Edward Elgar with his beloved bicycle against the backdrop of the city (see image at left).

For those who don’t know it, Hereford is a beautiful small city in the mid-west of England near the Welsh border. As well as having been the home of the composer Elgar for seven years, it also houses one of the great medieval treasures of Britain, the enormous Mappa Mundi, a map of the world as it was understood in 1300, which placed Jerusalem at the very centre surrounded by the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. It can be seen in the visitor centre of the imposing Hereford Cathedral. It’s definitely worth a visit. Direct trains to Hereford leave London Paddington four times daily!