An Anniversary Dig

It's our 38th wedding anniversary today so, naturally, I went out with the metal detector and Marion went to have her hair done. But that doesn't mean we aren't celebrating. Last night we went to Jimmy's Farm for a meal and the fabulous Shakespeare performance that I reviewed on yesterday's blog.

The weather was glorious as forecast and I enjoyed a refreshing bottle of this. I haven't seen dandelion and burdock for years. It was a real favourite when I was a kid.

Marion looked as lovely as ever 38 years on from our big day. We're continuing our celebration tonight with a visit to The Crown here in Framlingham.

As for the detecting?

Here's what I turned out of the bag when I got home after four hours in the fields.

After getting rid of the rubbish I was left with this. It may not look a lot to those who are not into the hobby but there were some really nice and interesting finds.

This tiny medieval coin has a perfect portrait of the king (possibly Edward iv) but somebody has carefully clipped off all of the legend from the edges leaving a full identification well nigh impossible. Clipping coins was rife in medieval days but was a risky activity as penalties could be severe if you were caught.

Here's the other side of the coin.

Another medieval penny turned up. Sadly this one is not as clear but I think that it is probably Edward I.

This buckle could date anywhere between 1300 and 1600 but it's unusual to find one with its pin complete.

This is a small piece of horse harness decoration which I think dates to around 1600.

This weight is a real puzzle as I've been through 3500 photos of lead weights on the PAS database and not found another like it. My best guess is that it is post medieval but I will leave it to the archaeologists.

The thimble is certainly post medieval and probably falls into the modern period.

This stud was probably used as a harness decoration. There are some traces of silvering remaining. I think that it's from the medieval period.

Finally there is this strap fitting which again could date from medieval to post medieval times. In view of the coins and other finds it may well be at the earlier end of that scale.

So all in all a productive few hours. I've just taken delivery of a new (slightly larger) coil for the machine and look forward to trying it out soon. We're off to Bury St Edmunds on Monday to pick up Marion's new car so I'll drop the finds off with the archaeologist to get them recorded and make sure that my identifications are right

Red Rose Chain's Comedy Of Errors Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin

We don’t tend to do too much on impulse but I saw a tweet praising Red Rose Chain’s Theatre in The Forest the other day and went straight online, checked the weather forecast and booked tickets for Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors. And less than forty-eight hours later we were at Jimmy’s Farm just outside Ipswich enjoying a lovely pre-theatre dinner before heading into the woods for the al fresco play.

What a delight it was to see Shakespeare staged in such an authentic way. With the action set in a Cuban bar and a musical score that included Rock The Boat, We Are Family and Latino dance numbers you may question that last statement but, with plenty of crowd interaction, cast members taking on more than one role, girls as men and men as girls this was Shakespeare as the Bard intended.

I’ve often been to a Shakespeare “comedy” and questioned the validity of that word but Red Rose Chain made The Comedy Of Errors exactly what it said on the tin. There was no questioning the comedy classification this time with the audience regularly in fits of laughter as the cast threw everything into the production presenting us with slapstick and farce as well as making Shakespeare’s jokes, for once, funny.

I won’t single out any of the cast, as all were outstanding. The words were delivered clearly and, despite an extremely convoluted plot about twins, it was extremely easy to understand and to enjoy everything that was going on.

We’ve seen scores of Shakespeare plays in the last fifty years. Many of these were at the RSC but I can honestly say that few equalled this performance for entertainment value. Five stars for a super evening. It’s on for a few weeks, book your tickets now.