On Art For Cure And A Return To Scotland

Last Wednesday I wrote about a bit of culture and on Friday evening we had a bit more. Marion managed to get hold of two tickets for the opening night of Art For Cure a charity event held just outside Woodbridge in support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. It’s a very popular event and tickets are hard to come by but Marion was able to secure a couple of cancellations and I’m delighted that she did. The event is held in the lovely Bredfield House which is set in acres of parkland. The house and surrounding outbuildings and gardens were crammed full of artworks by leading artists including Maggi Hambling, Jason Gathorne-Hardy and many more. All were for sale in aid of the charity. The wonderful paintings and sculptures would have been worth the cost of admission alone but the event was made more special by the addition of live music along with champagne and canapes.

There were a dozen pieces that would have looked great at home but most of our favourites had prices that were well beyond a spur of the moment purchase. However we did find two pieces that we felt comfortable with and bought this fabulously quirky seagull on a perch by Leiston sculptor Paul Richardson that should look good peering over the hedge in the garden and will give the local cats and pigeons something to think about. We also bought a great and inexpensive driftwood art whale by Andrew Ruffhead for the spare bedroom we’re planning for the granddaughters’ visits. The event runs until 5pm today and admission is now free.

On Saturday we headed up to the caravan in St Andrews. We enjoy our Framlingham Saturday mornings so, before we hit the road, we did our usual weekend’s shopping and stocked up with some savouries from Leo’s Deli and bought our regular chocolate fix from In Da Cottage before tucking into an excellent and very hearty breakfast at the Lemon Tree to set us up for the very long drive.

It’s wonderful seeing the Scottish branch of the family again. Today we went to nearby Kellie Castle and Gardens.

Rose is growing up so quickly. She loved the bird watching hide in the grounds.

Today I’ve been busy cataloguing the finds from my last metal detecting trip for the county archaeologist and Finds Liaison Officer in Bury St Edmunds. The field is being planted now so I won’t be able to go back for some time but once again I found some extremely interesting (at least to me) finds.

Like these medieval buckles and strap guide.

I wonder if these lead and copper alloy items might be medieval styli.

I found another fragment of a bronze vessel.

And this cut quarter penny from the reign of Henry III dating back almost eight hundred years. I love these tiny coins and can’t imagine how they managed to circulate. Medieval traders must have had incredible eyesight.

Along with the usual pile of buttons and shotgun cartridge cases I also found these other bits and pieces including a very early sewing ring (or thimble) and a few as yet unidentified items that may or may not date back to the middle ages or Tudor periods.

Now I need to find another field to keep me occupied when I get back to Suffolk.

I got a blank look when someone asked what we were going to call the seagull and I said "Jonathan Livingston" ...... here's an explanation