Love And Marriage In Framlingham And Paris

It's been a busy week with little time to blog. I went to see my local farmer and his wife on Tuesday and we went through all the finds I had made in their fields. It was good to get to know them and they were fascinated to see the bits and pieces from the past that had turned up on their land. They told me that they had had some problems with people turning up with detectors without permission, digging up crops and leaving a mess so I feel lucky that they are still happy for me to detect. I took the finds to the county archaeologist in Bury St Edmunds on Friday so everything is being fully recorded. But that's nothing to do with the heading on today's blog.

  

Love and marriage has been a recurring theme this week. On Wednesday evening we went to Framlingham College for  Love And Marriage In The Renaissance, a talk by art scholar Nicholas Ross. Nick discussed a number of classic paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries with an emphasis on the works of Botticelli. He showed us the amazing allegories in the paintings and explained hidden codes and meanings influenced by both catholicism and Greek mythology. It was a totally fascinating talk and it inspired us to look more closely at what is in a painting rather than simply view it as a whole. The talk was presented with charm and a good deal of impish humour that had the audience asking for more. These events run by FramSoc never fail to impress. They are open to non members for a small admission fee but inexpensive annual membership is open to Framlingham residents and is highly recommended.

Continuing on the marriage theme, we went to Cineworld in Ipswich to see Le Week-End on Wednesday afternoon . Starring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan who are both five or six years older than us, it's the story of a thirtieth wedding anniversary in Paris. It's brilliantly acted. Broadbent is world weary; unhappy in his career and his sex life and leeched upon by his druggy son. Duncan is a modern, independent woman who is weary of her marriage and life in general. Will the romantic weekend return to their honeymoon hotel rekindle the sparks or will it drive a final nail into the coffin of their romance? I thought that, in view of the proximity to our own ages, I might see some parallels in our own relationship but, although it's very real and played with humour and charm I'm pleased to say that I didn't (don't know about Marion mind). With a great supporting role from Jeff Goldblum, it's well worth going to see.

It was fabulous to see Sarah, Rose and Melody visiting us on Skype yesterday. Rose is very happy with her new little sister although, as you can see from this photo, Melody is not that little any longer! We really miss our family in Scotland but it won't be long before we head back up north for a couple more weeks in St Andrews.

Sarah sent me some photos from my 60th birthday party. I will save everyone else's embarrassment by not naming my friends and sparing them from Google but why a fire extinguisher, a teddy bear and a standard lamp are involved is anybody's guess. One of those allegories perhaps.

On a final note today, we were very sad to see a neighbour taken to hospital this week. She's in her tenth decade but the hospital tell me that she's doing very well. We miss seeing her and look forward to welcoming her home very soon.