They Call It Progress

There's nothing worse than a NIMBY I suppose but this week we got a taste of what NIMBYISM must feel like as the bulldozers moved onto the fields some way behind our house.

The Fram Residents' Association did its best to stop the Taylor Wimpey development but without success. We bought the house for its lovely south-facing view. The bulldozer is a long way away (you'll need to enlarge this photo to spot it to the right of the central telegraph pole) but it's a start and, no doubt, in twelve months time we'll see a host of red roofs. Sadly it's progress and, while there are people homeless in this country, it would be churlish to moan too much but I will be sad to see the fields disappear and I imagine the people who live in the house on the hill will be sadder still.

We got called up to do a bit of babysitting in Rochester last week. Teddy isn't really a baby anymore. He's a lovely little boy and we had a great day playing with him before his sister Catherine came home from school.

We've been catching up on a fair bit of work around the house since we got back from Scotland but decided to down tools for a day yesterday and headed to the Antique Market in Beccles. 

The open air market is held a couple of times a year and is well worth a visit. The organisers were blessed with a dry day and we arrived bright and early to see if we could find a bargain. Marion bought a super vintage skirt for just a few pounds. She couldn't try it on but when she got home found that it fits perfectly. We arrived as the market opened. There were plenty of stalls but I struggled to spot any sleepers.  

My only "bargain" was this very attractive Chinese porcelain charger hand painted with a Mille Fleurs pattern. It's not ancient and probably dates to the first half of the twentieth century but its's a very pretty piece and I think it was a decent price at £30. I hope that the eBay buyers think the same.

The blossom-covered churchyard in Beccles looked beautiful and I had to take a few snaps on the phone. No doubt it will all be gone in a couple of days. 

This week's eBay sales went well and now I've got the charger to list as well as this very attractive cup and saucer made by the famous Meissen factory around 1920.

We've got a few jobs to do for the Framlingham Hour Community this week and then we're heading up north to another 60th birthday party. I think that's all our closest friends' 60ths over now so there won't be another party filled year for another seven or eight  years when we all start hitting seventy  (unless we all start to celebrate our 65ths).