2015 Our year in pictures

So here we are. It seems like five minutes since we said goodbye to our colleagues at Instanta and took the leap into the unknown that is retirement. But it's just over five years ago that we handed over to our successors and headed down to Manchester to see Madness at the Apollo sing the amazingly appropriate One Step Beyond to open the show. It was snowing then but there's little chance of seeing snow here anytime soon. Here's a look back at what went on in 2015. 

New Year's Day saw us walking around Tarn Hows in Cumbria. We were there to celebrate our dear friend Janet's 60th birthday.

Janet with son Will.

February saw FRAm the Framlingham's Residents' Association protesting against over development of our small market town. We've got about 3,200 residents and developers think it's a good idea to build over 300 new houses increasing the population by about a third. Were not NIMBYs and support sensible development but this is madness.

I found this lovely old rose gold ring in February with the detector. It is now worn by the lady landowner.

We went down to London to se the wonderful Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night-Time at the Gielgud Theatre.

I had my only really successful eBay find for 2015 in February when I spotted this rare antique German tobacco jar for a few pounds.

I didn't get to see The Cattlemen play too many times in 2015 but saw them promoted after a successful season.

It was Marion's turn to celebrate her 60th in March

We celebrated with friends at the excellent Inn At Whitewell

Then we celebrated again in St Andrews with Sarah, Duncan, Rose and Melody

My mum came up to St Andrews to spend a few days with us in April.

And we had another trip to London.

We saw Beautiful the Carole King Musical. Another fabulous show.

We had a super weekend at the end of April when son Paul and granddaughter Catherine came to stay with us in Suffolk.

I got new invisible (sort of) hearing aids.

May saw us back in St Andrews visiting our Scottish family.

In June we visited Crowes Hall near Debenham for their Opera in the barn. Sadly the weather was unfriendly

But the sun shone in more ways than one when our dear friend Jane came to stay with us for a few days.




After Jane left us it was off to London again. This time we were lucky to be invited by our pension people to a private viewing of the incredible Alexander McQueen exhibition.

One of the amazing exhibits

In July it was back to St Andrews for granddaughter Rose's fourth birthday.

And then to Kent for granddaughter Catherine's third birthday.

We drove straight from Rochester to Llangollen for our friends Dave and Janet's Eisteddfod party.

UB40 with Ali and Astro closed the Eisteddfod with a brilliant set

Then it was back to London to see Neil Diamond at the O2

One of the benefits of living in Suffolk is the abundance of seafood. Lobster became an occasional summer treat.

Our latest grandchild Teddy was born in London

Which gave us the chance to babysit Catherine for a few days.

In August we had four brilliant evenings at the Proms at Snape Maltings

We didn't have a holiday this year but had some great August days around Suffolk.

We had a bit of a scare when neighbour Wilfrid was rushed into hospital but one week and one pacemaker later he was back to his best.

In September we were back in St Andrews for Melody's second birthday.

When we got back we went to Snape again for a lesson from local expert Vivia on the art of foraging at the Aldeburgh Food Festival 

And I went on my first ever metal detecting rally a few miles down the road from home.

I celebrated my birthday in Suffolk at Maison Talbooth

In October I had my first visit to the new Wembley Stadium when I took Paul to see the New York Jets play the Miami Dolphins - great stuff.

I went to The Guardian offices in London to hear publisher Scott Pack talk about how to get your book published.

There was another treat for us in store in October when Catherine paid us a visit for a few days and I appeared in the credits alongside Paul for his company's new quiz show Pick Me

In November we joined four friends for a wet but very enjoyable weekend in Malham

We met some of the the locals 

We thought winter had arrived in Aldeburgh in November. 

But it was far from wintry when we were back in Scotland

And still glorious in Framlingham in December.

In December we were very sad to see friends Caroline and Ron Tosh and their daughter Lily leave Framlingham. We had some memorable times with them in 2015.

I made these books for the farmers who let me search their fields.

We went back to the caravan in St Andrews for Christmas. We had some unwelcome visitors. I tried to catch them with humane traps but had to resort to cruel ones when they kept shutting them without going inside. The death toll was five mice before the activity stopped.

But the mice didn't stop us from having a wonderful Christmas with Melody (top) and Rose.

So that's it for 2015. It's been a busy year but we've enjoyed it and hope that we stay happy and healthy enough to enjoy another year of retirement in 2016.

Happy New Year 

Look out for my second novel in 2016

A Mouse Is Not Just For Christmas

A mouse lived in a caravan in a St Andrews park

And when we arrived there? Oh what a lark!

He'd made himself welcome inside Marion's slippers

And eaten the towels with his little nippers.

After eight hours' drive to our Christmassy break

There's only so much mouse s**t a camper can take.

What fun we had in sweeping the floor

But less fun for him when he finds what's in store

We gave him one chance with two traps humane

But he just pinched the bait - we'd left them in vain.

So fifty quid lighter - let's hope it pays

The van now resembles a mouse Crystal Maze

There's ultrasound, plastic and nasty spring traps

May that be the end to the mouse and his craps.

As you will have guessed, we are up in the caravan in Scotland to see the Scottish branch of the family in St Andrews for Christmas. We worried that the closure of the Forth Road Bridge would add hours to the journey but we went via Kincardine and had five minutes delay at most. We drove past Appleby on the way up and the floods looked devastating.

That mouse can't have been in the caravan too long as the damage is minimal and there were maybe fifty or so droppings but the site closes for a month soon and a family of mice could wreak havoc in that time with so much nice bedding and upholstery to work on. It's no fun sleeping in a confined space and wondering what vermin are running around. 

In honesty I really don't like killing anything but we gave him a chance with the humane traps and he just waved two fingers at us. I've given him the best chance by putting the humane traps closest to where he's been busy and if he (or they) have got any sense they'll get in there and I'll take them to a nice field tomorrow. Otherwise it's a messy end in store. 

Our granddaughters Rose and Melody have made us a Christmas tree to make our visit a bit more festive.

There's no internet as usual so we're back in the (very very quiet) Students' Union enjoying their WIFI in a mouse free environment. 

Before I go, here's a Christmas present for you. My book is free on Kindle until tomorrow. Download by clicking the following link and enjoy a little bit of winter sunshine.

Click here.

Gross Out Time At The Movies And The Detecting Season Goes On (And On)

Marion's brilliant organisational skills coupled with a cancelled weekend visit has left us with time on our hands this week. The presents are all wrapped and we are all set to go on our Santa run to Kent to deliver the family's gifts this weekend before heading to St Andrews for the festive season. I wasn't relishing December nights in the caravan but the weather forecast indicates that we won't be in danger of freezing.

We've done the usual exercise classes at Fram Leisure and on Tuesday had this week's cinema visit to Cineworld in Ipswich.

Our film choice was Sisters. It's the sort of gross out comedy like Badass and The Hangover that you usually associate with American men behaving badly. What makes it original is that, this time, it's women behaving badly and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are very funny in their roles as the eponymous sisters of the title. I'd like to say that I loved this film but as I haven't really loved any gross out movies it's perhaps unsurprising that I didn't. Like The Hangover it does have its hilarious moments but they were too far apart to make it a classic - it relies on some pretty base schoolgirl humour and some filthily inventive swearing for too many of its laughs. Mind you, we were perhaps forty years older than the rest of the people in the screen so maybe we weren't the target audience. By the way, everyone else in the audience (including Marion) seemed to love it.

Last night we tried The Castle Inn here in Framlingham for the first time since new landlords Tony and Jennie took over a few months ago. We were there for the regular quiz but went early to try the menu. I had a very nice steak and kidney pie and Marion had scampi and chips. It was decent pub grub in pleasant surroundings and Tony and Jennie were very welcoming. I hope the venture is successful for the couple. As for the quiz, our team Danbury Metal Detecting Club (well it is Lance and Andy's local) came a respectable second.

The warm weather has extended the detecting season again and I've had a couple more visits to the fields. I took a friend with me and I think he enjoyed his couple of hours tramping around a muddy field. Here's what turned up.

Medieval Cut Quarter Penny

Antwerp Coin Weight C17th Century

Unusual Watch Winder c19th Century

Post Medieval Spectacle Buckle

These copper alloy rings are probably Medieval

Medieval Buckle Frame.

Post Medieval Clasp

Medieval Penny

Metal Working Waste - Probably Medieval

Victorian Thimble Engraved "Forget Me Not"

        

They've Done It Again!

It's only a couple of weeks ago that I told you about the amazing coup pulled off by those wonderful people at Slice Of Life Fram in bringing Edinburgh Fringe favourites Daphne to our local church hall and here I am gobsmacked once more having spent an hilarious evening at FAYAP (Framlingham Area Youth Action Partnership) last night watching more side splitting comedy brought to us by Councillor Spadge and his team.




First on stage was ex Cambridge Footlights member Jonny Lennard whose set included a deadpan deconstruction of The Owl And The Pussycat  that had us in fits. In a wonderful forty minutes or so he flitted from his Newcastle accent (or lack of) to his finger hold on the housing ladder taking all sorts of weird and wonderful sidetracks (including some insightful and cleverly surreal life facts) along the way (the average parent has one ovary and one testicle). Jonny's take on children's stories is one that, if adapted by all parents, would make bedtimes around the country very interesting indeed. 

  

Jonny was a hard act to follow but we were spoiled yet again with another hilarious set from another ex Footlights performer Pierre Novellie whose Italian, South African, Manx (but not French) background provided material for a whole host of gags including a brilliant tale of Santa arriving at Pierre's fortified childhood home in South Africa after negotiating the 40,000 volt electric fence.His degree in Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic studies led to a fabulous enactment of a conversation between a Viking warlord and an English missionary monk that reminded me of Bob Newhart at his very very best.

I can't praise Slice of Life highly enough for bringing such intelligent and funny comedy to a small Suffolk market town. We can't wait for their next production which is, I believe, something extremely different.

We've had a relatively quiet week at home in Framlingham. It was beautiful on Wednesday so I had another play with the iPhone camera and took this shot of the castle which I'm quite pleased with.

When I looked at my Google Plus photos recently I noticed that they had applied special effects to a couple including this recent shot of St Andrews' cathedral.

We finished all our Christmas shopping in Norwich on Friday. It's a great city to visit and we enjoyed a glass of wine and a snack at the Picture House which is located in a wonderful old merchant's hall. We would have stayed and watched a film but we'd seen what they were showing so headed back home. We chose a very unfortunate time as an accident shut the main A140 in both directions and there was over an hour's delay. At least we were not as unfortunate as the people involved. 

I like to try and thank the farmers who allow we to indulge in my detecting on their land so I went out this morning and visited a couple of farms with some wine and a card. As an extra this year, I made up some books. Most farmers are interested in what turns up in their fields but they are often out when I visit so I decided to give them a permanent record.

I made up these books on Photobox.com. They run to 32 pages and outline some of the finds that I have made on their fields over the last three years.

Here are a few sample pages. I am pleased to say that the farmers were so pleased with them that one asked if I could get another copy. I've just ordered it and hope it arrives in time for Christmas. 

More Treasure

All detectorists dream, like Lance and Andy of the TV series, of one day finding treasure. Their motives are not merely financial ones and the thrill of the find and buzz amongst the metal detecting community often far outweighs any pecuniary interests - many finders donate their finds to museums. It's interesting what actually constitutes "treasure". 

Whilst Lance's gold Anglo Saxon aestel undoubtably ticks every treasure box there is in terms of it's historic, aesthetic and financial value, most treasure finds unearthed are far less interesting. Since I moved down to Suffolk I have made three finds that had to be reported to the coroner as "treasure" - the definition being 'Any metallic object, other than a coin, provided that at least 10 per cent by weight of metal is precious metal (that is, gold or silver) and that it is at least 300 years old when found."

This ring, despite being gold, fell outside the scope of the Treasure Act as it is less than three hundred years old.

         

This silver tag from the end of a shoe lace or belt and this fragment of a medieval brooch were both declared treasure.

As was this medieval silver brooch that now belongs to the Colchester Museum

So what's the "more treasure" of today's headline? I had a few hours out in the fields again on Monday and turned up this.

Not exactly one to set the pulse racing is it? But it is now my fourth treasure find in the last three years. It is a solid silver bodkin dating to c1600. It would have been a beautiful piece before it was snapped at the eye and bent.

It has a couple of initials engraved on it. I have taken it to the finds liaison officer and he will be reporting the find to the coroner. I imagine that it will be disclaimed and returned to me in six months or so. 

It wasn't the only silver to turn up on Monday. I also found this Victorian four pence from 1852 and William III shilling from the 1690s.

We've had plenty more to keep us occupied. On Friday we went up to Framlingham College's Headmaster's house for a charity breakfast in aid of Crisis At Christmas. It was a great event with plenty to eat in the enormous open plan kitchen with one of the best views in Suffolk.

We joined some friends at The Crown on Friday evening to wish goodbye to other friends Carol and Ron and their daughter Lily who moved to Norfolk this week. We enjoyed a good meal with plenty of wine. We will miss Ron and Caroline's sense of humour very much. The exercise classes at the college won't be the same without Caroline's upbeat personality keeping us all going. 

As I had to take the "treasure" to Bury St Edmunds, we decided to give the Abbeygate Cinema a try. It's a great little picture house with a good cafe. The film was Bridge Of Spies. This is as old fashioned a movie as you will ever see - I'm surprised it wasn't in black and white. Tom Hanks is a character straight out of the Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, James Stewart stable of good old Americans with pure morals and a strong sense of justice. He's a lawyer who is given the unenviable task of defending a Russian spy in the 1950s. Of course everyone wants the spy executed but Hank's character James Donovan is determined on a fair trial. It's a Spielberg movie and we see lots of his trademark lighting but not many of his trademark surprises as everything is very formulaic - American = very good, Russian = bad East German = bad and a bit comical too.The film has received excellent ratings and Hanks puts in a fine performance but to paraphrase another of this week's soundbites "it ain't no Mr Smith Goes To Washington bruv".

On Detectorists And Detecting, A Beautiful Romance, Local Politics, And A Great Evening At The Framlingham Wine Shop

We've been getting back into the swing of Framlingham life after our fortnight in Scotland. We'll be heading back to Fife for Christmas so it was great news to hear that the Forth Road Bridge is likely to be closed :( . After two weeks away our fitness had taken a bit of a dive so we got stuck back into the excellent exercise classes at Fram Leisure. I've done nine classes this week and Marion has done plenty too. Some of the classes are undersubscribed so, if you are in or around Framlingham, do check them out. We've got some excellent instructors and the classes are great value for money.

The regular exercise classes meant that we could go to the monthly wine tasting at The Framlingham Wine Shop on Wednesday with a clear conscience and check out Richard and Sarah's latest offerings accompanied by some tasty cheese and some good company. We had a great evening and ordered a nice mixed case of wine for the festive season.

On Thursday evening we attended a fairly acrimonious Town Council meeting in which the local residents' association (of which we are members) was accused by the chairman of being a trouble making protest group. This did not go down too well with the public (many of whom were also members) and the meeting ended with the chairperson making a dramatic resignation speech, removing her badge of office and leaving the room. A very un-festive meeting. (And we though we were retiring to a quiet unexciting little town). 

This week's movie Carol was set in the festive season in 1952. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two women strongly attracted to each other at a time when such things were not spoken about, it's a tender, powerful and beautifully filmed movie with outstanding performances from the two lead characters. This is a romantic classic up there with Brief Encounter and will melt the heart of even the most ardent homophobe. 

Another tender and beautifully filmed story with two outstanding lead characters finished this week.

Being a detectorist myself and living in Framlingham where it was filmed you might think I am being biased but The Times' Andrew Billen shared my view and gave it a rare five stars. It was a wonderful series with so many perfect moments. Undersized Toby Brown with his oversized metal detector, a trampoline rolling down a hill with a mad farmer in pursuit on a quad bike and Lance and Andy's "gold dance" were but a few of the moments of pure treasure that filled this whimsical and extraordinary series. Mackenzie Crook is casting doubts on there being any more episodes. I do hope he changes his mind. At least there's definitely a Christmas special to look forward to.

The Wonderful gold dance finale.

Andy and Lance head into Framlingham

As one of those detectorists (described by Lance as solitary creatures who swarm. together in herds for rallies), I have been taking advantage of the continuing unseasonal weather and had three hours in the fields on Friday. Here's what turned up.

This is what I tipped out of the finds bag. "Hot rocks and grots" as Andy might say.

Lots more lead to go in the lead scrap bin (which will soon be too heavy to lift)

Certainly a "grot" but the 28th hammered coin I've found this year. It's a Medieval silver penny.

I was delighted when someone told me there was something similar to this Medieval piece on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.

Sadly it's unidentified

I've a horrible feeling that this scrap of silver may be defined as "Treasure" which means a lot of form filling

This was my favourite find of the day. It's a cloth seal with the arms of Haarlem in Holland. It dates to the late 16th or early 17th century.

Reverse

                           

Not all finds were old. Here's a Victorian sixpence dated 1866.

If the weather continues like this I may get another chance to go out before Christmas. Maybe I will get the hammered coin total up to thirty for the year (it was over forty last year).

And, by the way, Detectorists didn't have just great scripts, acting, locations and filming, the theme was pretty much perfect too.