This is the gateway to one of my favourite sketching spots. It is what is known in the UK as a kissing gate, which is a gate that moves within a semicircle, designed to let people through, but not animals. Do these exist outside the UK? I've never noticed them in Europe.

After painting it, I began wondering why it's called a kissing gate. There seems to be various reasons, one is that the gate touches or " kisses" the sides of the semi circle as it opens and closes. Another is that when a couple went through the gate, the man would hold the gate closed until he received a kiss from the lady!, and in the north of England, an old word for a coffin was a kist, and people carrying the coffin would stop to rest before passing through the "kissing" gate. Personally, I can't see people trying to carry coffins through this type of gate.

If anyone has any other ideas, I would be interested in hearing.

Sorry about the length of this post, and, of course, comments on the painting are both welcome and appreciated.